Freezing Day. But Worth It

[JustMark]

I have made quite a few saltwater flies now ready for later in the year. Trouble is, last time I used a fly rod was nearly 20 years ago. Some practice is in order I thought.

I wanted to find a nice trout fishery somewhere that I wouldn't look out of place if I messed things up. I chose a saturday because I reckoned there would be plenty of folks about I could watch and copy if needed.

I knew there was a fishery somewhere near Dunkeswell Airfield near Honiton and decided on that one. I arrived just before 10am and was quite surprised to see only two other people there. Maybe it was something to do with the light dusting of snow or the ice which was covering all but half of the largest lake? Anyway, I was glad I brought my waterproofs, they are padded and insulated, allthough not waterproof anymore as I found out last time on the boat.



The two guys that were already there each had a brace of nice rainbows so I thought I might even catch something as long as I could get the fly into the water.



The owner, Rob came over to introduce himself, and I wasn't sure how he was going to react when I brought my almost antique Ryobi sportsman rod out of the bag. He gave it the once over and announced "That'll do the job!"

The flies I had with me were another story though. They are as old as my rod and almost all of them are dry flies. This would be fine if I was going for Brownies explained Rob. Top bloke, he soon sorted me out with a couple that he said would do the job.

I set up and picked a spot on the bank that was far enough from the ice.

What happened next wasn't pretty. To say my first few attempts were comical is an understatement. I swear I caught the other two guys having a chuckle more than once.

After a couple of hours I had had one nibble that didn't develop into anything. The other guys had another fish each but they were having to work hard for them. Then they packed up and left me on my own.

I changed flies a few times. Changed retrieve rates,sink times etc etc but I couldn't get so much as a sniff.

At around this point the peace and quiet was shattered as Rob and a couple of others fired up chainsaws and started cutting down a pretty sick looking Ash tree at the side of the second (completely frozen) lake.



This was fine by me, because it was drowning out my swearing as I kept tangling and messing things up. I was getting maybe one good cast in ten.

Rob must have seen my troubles,because he came over with his own rod and asked if he could have a go with mine. I gladly jumped at the opportunity to watch how he did it. Needless to say he had no problems at all, however he did say that I was using a brand new line and that it needed to be worked hard to get it out there. He suggested I stretched it between two trees or something to soften it up a bit.

He then lent me his rod.

I got on much better with this. The action was much more forgiving than my rod and the leader was only around 9ft, whereas I had probably over 12ft on mine.

I moved around the lake for the next couple of hours. Casting steadily improving. Rob had gone back into battle with the tree, leaving me playing with his rod. Still not a bite though.

At just after 4pm Rob asked if I'd like to have a go on the other lake. Part of the tree had crashed through the ice and he had noticed hungry fish circling. I walked up to the second lake,past some smaller ones in which I could see lots of roach, rudd and bream lazily patrolling just under the surface.

I was glad I had practiced, this was precision time. There was a lot of debris in the water with twigs,leaves etc. I had an 8ft tree stump to my right, a large bush and another tree to my left.

I was dropping the fly into the gaps in the debris. Did this a few times then BANG! off the line went.

Keeping the fish from tangling with the rubbish and/or darting under the ice either side of me was good fun, but I eventually got it to the net. Yes! Result!

I was suddenly not feeling cold any more. I had a two and a half pound rainbow keeping me company on the bank. I know he ain't heavy, but what else do you expect from the Hollies?



It was starting to go dark fast now. I had a couple more bites, hooked into a decent fish but the line cut on the ice. It was time to reluctantly call it a day.

Rob did the honours with my little point and shoot camera.



I will definately be going back to the Hollies. Great place. can't wait to hook into one of the many large brownies I saw feeding at the surface most of the day.

[Leigh Cocker]

Nice one, Great report :). Looks a nice place to fish :)

[fullcreel]

Great report, playing fish on fly gear is great. I target carp quite a bit in the summer, will try some sea fishing this year as well.

[pingu]

great report there mark

dave

[Lman]

well done mark
nice report

[Fishing Forum Admin]

cracking report mate well done

[Baz T]

Well done Mark, nice report, and nice pics too.

[geejayy]

[quote=JustMark;183981]. I know he ain't heavy, but what else do you expect from the Hollies?



QUOTE]

just luvin that comment

well done on your rainbow in what looks like arduous conditions.
the size ain't important , and its pleaseing to seee such a well conditioned fish.
the lake looks a cracker & i hope you'll be pulling out a few more in the future.
tight lines, gj.

[flyman]

Great report, well done at keeping at it and finally catching the rainbow.

[BaggieRich]

Well done Mark, that's a fantasic report.

Here's to many more fly sessions with equally good outcomes!