Fly Fishing Tomorrow

[Greenheart]

You struck lucky Pross. The travellers were served an eviction notice & left yesterday. Should be safe to park in the carpark now. The fishery ranger has welded the hinges on the gate so they can't lift it off again. Saw a couple of fish caught this morning & I only parked up on the causeway for 10 minutes.

[Pross]

Well, I popped into Sweet's Fishing Tackle in Usk to get my flies and bits and pieces. This in itself is an experience I would recommend to anyone, the service you get in there is fantastic, the shop looks like it hasn't altered in 50 years and doesn't look to have much stock but the lady who runs it can conjour up anything you ask for and even provides a nice cuppa she is also incredibly knowledgable (note - make sure you have plenty of spare time before entering the shop as you will be there at least half an hour chatting even if you aren't buying anything!!!)

I completed the first half of my job in Yeovil at 4.00pm and set off to Sutton Bingham only to realise I'd forgotten to take cash out so had to go back to Yeovil After a quick chat with the ranger which confirmed Greenheart's suggestions for flies and location I headed off to the West Lake on the western side of the causeway and set up the rod. I was fishing with a 6/7 weight rod, floating line with 9' tapered leader and a size 12 black buzzer.

I cast out and was surprised to not get tangled and managed to get about 10m of line out. On my 3rd cast I felt some resistance on the line while retrieving but there was no sign of movement on the line so I continued the retrieve and it was only as I was about to lift the line for my next cast that I discovered I had a fish on. It was only a tiddler, about 4 inches long but I told myself it was 1.5 points for the species hunt. However, on retrieving the fish to unhook it it turned out to be a roach (at least I think it was but it didn't have any red colouring on its fins ). Thinking how easy this fly fishing lark was I started wondering how long it would take me to reach my 2 fish bag limit and whether I'd need to get another ticket. Needless to say I didn't get another fish all evening with just one tug to show for my troubles, I also got several tangles in my leader which were frustrating. I think a combination of a cheap rod with a poor action, poor quality fly line, a reasonably long leader and a bit of a breeze combined with my rusty casting were the causes.

In my defence there were 2 others fishing including the ranger and no-one caught a trout although there were lots of them rising and jumping (would a dry fly have been a better option ) but always about 20m or more from the bank and outside casting distance!

I really enjoyed myself and look forward to getting out again, probably to the beginners pond at Cwm Hedd fishery. Before my next trip I hope to invest in some decent fly line and I will probably use a shorter leader (unfortunately a decent rod will have to wait for now).

[Norfolkboy]

Shame you didn't manage any trout Mark, but atleast you enjoyed yourself

[BaggieRich]

Unluck you didn't get your trout Pross, but from the sounds of it the passion has been well and truely re-kindled...

Nice one mate.

Rich.

[pingu]

still sounded fun mark well done

[Greenheart]

Unlucky Pross, as you can see by all the jumping fish, there's plenty of trout in there. I think it's been fishing better in the mornings though. Sweets tackle shop is somewhere I remember well from when I lived near Chepstow in the early 1980s. Did'nt think it would still be there. A real time capsule & what they did'nt know about choosing the right fly for the Usk & other local waters, was'nt worth knowing. Better luck next time mate.

[Pross]

I'm sure it was just my rustiness and all round lack of competance rather than the time of day that resulted in the lack of trout. I think I was casting for about 20 minutes before I realised that the leader and fly had got wrapped around the fly line.

[Greenheart]

well there's one lesson learned. Check your cast for windknots more often LOL Also if you get a pull, check that your fly is still there. Better luck next time mate.