First ever fly caught fish!

count zero · #1 01-04-2010, 10:36 AM

With the cold weather and all the ice having messed up the last few fishing outings and after consulting with my fishing buddy Dom, I decided that at last it was time for me to have a bash at a bit of "fluff chucking" something that I have been wanting to try for a long time. Dom lent me an eightweight? fly outfit and we decided to head for Blakewell trout fishery near Barnstaple a pretty stream fed fishery that stays ice-free in all but the most severe conditions.
We arrived at about 10am to find it cold and bright and that we were not the only silly B*gg**s fishing, there were 3 or 4 others. Dom ran through the rudiments of casting with me then left me to practice for a while, after about 20 minutes he hit his first fish a hard fighting rainbow of about two and a half pounds which i netted for him, over the next 2 hours two more fish followed for Dom and my casting was improving to the point where I was getting into the fish zone 90% of the time, Dom was saying it was only a matter of time till I caught a fish. We moved around the lake to stay in what sun there was and within a couple of casts I felt a pluck on my line but failed to connect, next cast and wallop... a nice trout of about the same size as Dom's in fact they were like peas in a pod.

That was it once the duck was broken, a good afternoons sport commenced which ended with us both getting our bag of 6 fish each. We weighed them on the way out so we could complete our returns Dom had six fish for 15 and a half pounds and I had six fish for 15 pounds. All in all a great days fishing and a great improvement on the blanks we have had on our last couple of pike fishing outings. Also I have discovered another form of fishing which I enjoy so that means another load of tackle to get past the missus