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I
have fished the National Sea Trout Festival a
number of times, which have all proved thoroughly
enjoyable, not only because of the beats it enables
you to fish, but because of the people you meet.
The first time I entered the Festival I kept hearing
people say, "It's not a competition, it's
a festival". I used to think to myself, "What
are they on about, surely the aim is to win it?"
However, after fishing the week-long Festival
for the first time, I soon learned that competitiveness
really does not apply. In the past few years I
have had the pleasure of meeting some excellent
fishermen from all over the country, from whom
I have learned many things about sea trout. One
over-riding thing I have learned, however, is
that with so many facts, theories, techniques
and flies to hand, the sea trout fisher approaching
a river for an all-night session can easily become
confused as to what his approach should actually
be. Whether it be a festival competition or a
night's pleasure fishing, it's important that
the sea trouter thinks he's constantly in with
a chance of a fish; he's only got the blackness
of the night in front of him - there's no flowers,
trees, birds or scenery to cause his mind to wander
and compensate for a sleepless night - and little
wildlife interrupts his thoughts. He has to be
confident to keep fishing throughout the night.
He may start his evening brimming with expectation,
knowing that fish are resting in the river, but
if he is initially unsuccessful he can start to
quickly lose confidence in the approach he has
decided to employ. Instead of concentrating on
the technique, his mind becomes cluttered with
questions: Should I be using another colour of
fly? Should I switch lines? Should I try a big
tandem? Should I be fishing a different pool?
With sea trout fishing, I think there is one facet
that is more important than any fly, technique,
or even line and pool - and that is confidence.
When you are wading, casting, retrieving and feeling
for takes with your sense of sight completely
removed, and your hearing and sense of touch are
the only things to guide you through a pitch-black
pool, then you simply must be confident that your
flies and approach are going to give you the best
chance of a fish. There is nothing more draining
than fumbling around in the dark, thinking you
are using the wrong method or flies. If your confidence
wanes, tangles often result, casting becomes erratic,
and doubt creeps in to further erode your confidence.
A quiet sea trout pool in the middle of the night,
an empty bag, and a doubtful angler, lacking in
confidence and constantly changing lines and flies,
is not the best recipe for a memorable session!
Since taking part in the Sea Trout Festival, I
have fished on a number of Welsh rivers and also
a number of my western border rivers - mainly
the Eden, Annan and Nith (I can't get on the Border
Esk!) - and, in meeting many sea-trouting kinsmen
I have come into contact with many flies, ideas
and theories which differ from my own. However,
despite all this wealth of sea trout knowledge
'on tap' as it were, and despite which river I
am to fish, I still find my flies and methods
for sea trout do not deviate. I stick to the method
I like, no matter what the river. Confidence,
you see. No matter where I'm fishing for sea trout
the approach is the same.
At dusk, I usually start with a floating line
and a team of flies, two droppers and a point
fly. I will put an Alexandra on the top dropper,
Mallard & Claret on the second dropper and
my Nicole's Charm on the point - all the same
size, either 10 or 12. Alternatively, I might
try my Black Shrimp early on in the night in rough
water for sea trout, especially if grilse are
about, as it has proved to be a more than capable
fly for both. Once darkness takes over, I will
switch from a floating line to a sinker or sink-tip,
depending on depth of the pool I am fishing. I
then put my Nicole's Charm - dressed on a size
2-4 low water iron - on the dropper and the same
fly dressed on a one-and-a-half-inch to two-inch
Waddington on the point. I don't use two different
flies after dark, and there are a few reasons
why:
First: I don't have to ponder over what to put
on next and have niggling doubts about fly pattern.
Second: I get good results. I have developed my
fly - Nicole's Fancy - over quite a few years
and I think I now have it right. It's named after
my fiancee, because it's nearly as pretty.
Without stopping to change fly, method, or lines
I can still offer the sea trout variety. When
I am fishing a pool I tend to alternate my casts
from square across the river to 40 degrees downstream
with different speeds of retrieve. This tends
to give me good results, as it not only presents
the fly at different angles and speeds, but can
also affect the depth at which the fly fishes.
I have a theory that if you want big sea trout
you fish big and fish deep. However, on many of
our sea trout rivers 'deep' does not neceassarily
mean fishing a full sinking line or a sink-tip.
If you do fish a sinker, you can spend a great
deal of time de-weeding the fly, or getting the
fly stuck on the bottom if the flow is light or
the pool is reasonably shallow. In both cases,
your fishing and casting rhythm is consequently
disrupted, and your confidence can be dented.
On some beats that are shallow or simply at low-water
height, I will sometimes use my floating line
throughout the night; a long (9-foot) leader can
combine with a Waddington to fish as deep as I
require. The dropper is six-foot up from the point.
Waking them up in the middle of the night
The only exception to my 'deep is best' rule is
the use of the Surface Lure. The Surface Lure
method does seem to bring more fish out of hiding
than you would believe; even though you tend not
to hook a lot of them, you certainly see and hear
a lot, which, again, can do wonders for your confidence.
Also, it doesn't need to be as dark a night as
many books lead you to believe it should be in
order for Surface Lures to be successful. Most
books will tell you that for the Surface Lure
to work, the darker the night the better. This
is true, but Scottish sea trout anglers will tell
you it never really gets very dark during those
short, Northern mid-summer nights. However, if
you use your Surface Lure under trees, or when
the moon has set, or in a gorges - all those darker
parts of the river - at 1-3 o'clock in the morning,
it can still work. Try it, the results can be
astonishing. Once you have located fish you can
then cover the area in which you moved them with
a deeply sunk fly and sky-high confidence. Usually,
if nothing is happening with my sunk lure during
the dead of night (ie no takes, or surface movement),
I will switch to a Surface Lure to see if any
fish are about.
My Surface Lure is dressed like this: the body
is deer hair spun and packed all the way down
the shank of a longshank 6 hook, which has had
a size 12 trailing treble attached to protrude
past the bend. The deer hair is clipped to a 'torpedo'
shape and the head of the fly is formed from a
bullet-shaped piece of cork glued between the
deer hair body and the eye of the hook. I have
seen no other Surface Lure to rival this one,
apart from a little innovation Welsh sea trout
fisher Jonathan Jones showed me, and I have since
adopted, which replaces the cork head with one
of shaped Plastazote.
| Black
Shrimp - a good fly for dawn and also
fast water at dusk, as it can entice grilse
to take as well as sea trout.
|
| Black
Shrimp |
| Tail: |
Black
bucktail. |
| Tag: |
Red
floss. |
| Body: |
Silver
or lurex (pearlescent). |
| Rib: |
Fine
oval wire. |
| Hackle: |
Black
cock and Crystal Flash. |
| Cheeks: |
Jungle
cock. |
|
As
daylight starts to creep on and dawn breaks, I
usually fish my flies nearer the surface, but
not necessarily with small flies, sometimes I
will keep the Waddington on. The time I usually
change is when I start seeing grilse. I then put
on a Black Shrimp fly, which I have been using
for a few years now, as it can give some good
early morning sport.
You may ask why do I use two flies of the same
dressing? My philiosphy is: give the sea trout
a choice of fly and they don't know what to take!
I sent my two versions of Nicole's Fancy up to
the north of Scotland to someone who was trying
sea trout for the first time. He ended up being
the only person to catch in a group fishing on
the Ness system - he caught three fish, the smallest
was 2 1/2 lb. My faith in my flies and approach
can be measured by the following story from the
last night of the Festival last year on the Teifi
in Wales. The vice captain of the Welsh team gave
me a really good looking fly and told me it would
certainly catch that night, but I couldn't put
it on, as I still pinned my faith in my own flies
and approach. That night my loyalty was rewarded
with a beautiful 4 1/2 pounder on the Nicole's
Charm.
As I write, in May, this year's sea trouting has
just begun. Early season sea-trouting is about
big specimens that are thin on the ground - they
tend to move into the river before the main run
of smaller fish. Over the last four night's fishing,
I've lost four fish and my mate - who also fishes
my flies - has landed three, including a 6 1/2
pounder. Nicole will never lose her charm - of
that fact I'm completely confident.
This
article originally appeared in July/August 2001
issue of Flyfishing and Flytying |
