The weather this week has been more spring-like most of the time, except the last day I went fishing when there was a howling nor'wester and temperatures in the high 20s.
I think the lesson is to go fishing as soon as some good weather comes along - as long as the rivers are fishable, which they are, which is remarkable considering the rain that has fallen in the last week or so.
The ground seems to be so dry it is soaking up the rain and there is very little run-off. Some streams are rising but only up to low summer level.
So except for the odd thundershower having a local effect, most places should be fishable this weekend. This will be the end of the holidays for me, so I am making the most of it.
As mentioned last week, waters are cool so fish will be active most of the time, including at dusk and through the hours of darkness. If you are somewhere near a lake, fishing a stream mouth at dusk can be productive either using normal daytime flies such as a damsel fly nymph or a big feathered lure, such as a Mrs Simpson.
Cast across the current and retrieve as the fly swings out into the lake. Bigger fish often come close in as darkness falls, so it pays to use a heavy tippet.
My nor'wester day started promisingly warm and calm and there were even a few spinners on the water and the odd trout rising to them, so it was not surprising a spinner imitation brought the first fish to the net.
It was a while before I spotted another fish rising, just once, it took the nymph that was by this time attached to my tippet.
On such a warm day I expected trout to be on the willow grub and I eventually spotted one, which took straight away. It turned out to be the best of the day at 1.7kg. I saw a couple of others later on but they were inaccessible.
Eventually, I came to a deep pool with a wide ledge on one side with about half a metre of water flowing over it and a trout was moving around feeding on something or other.
I slipped into the water behind it and cast the nymph at it. The nymph drifted out of sight near a bush, followed by the fish. I lifted gently and the fish hit it hard - another nice fish.
Because of the ripple caused by the gale it was difficult to spot fish but as I waded up the ledge another fish cruised over a light patch of rock, giving itself away and obligingly taking the nymph as soon as it hit the water. I am looking forward to a calm day tomorrow.
-By Mike Weddell
