Brown Stonefly strikes again...

The brown Stonefly nymph in the post below is amazing. It catches all sorts of fish.

 

Today we were at the lake trying to hook one of many trout that were swirling around figuring out the hierarchical pecking order between themselves (what is that activity called?). We pulled out a few rainbow trout and I hooked a 40cm fish, but it escaped when we tried to land it. I then had a go with the fly rod and instead of the trout biting, I got bites straight away from some perch that were in the shallows.


I was aiming at the small fish to get my eye in before going for the trout, but I hooked a few of these little fighters. I was quite surprised. I let them get on with their business, but failed after that to even land a trout.

Funny day indeed.

More info on the Perch (Perca fluviatilis):
Wikipedia (English): European perch
Wikipedia (French): Perche commune

The greyling's cousin

Well the weather service got it all wrong. Although blustery, the front passed over us with only a few drops of rain at dawn. The rest of the day was sunny and fine. We went fishing after lunch and tempted the trout and greyling of the steams. Tom and I ended back where I caught the greyling yesterday. At first we saw a few small fish - not sure exactly what they were, but then we saw a couple of larger greyling take up position in the stream, head facing into the current. Perhaps they were related to yesterday's fish. I tried a fluffy little fly with no luck and then changed to this brown stonefly pattern (with a 22mm hook), below, that hung a few inches under the surface and one of the greyling took it straight away.

Unfortunately the fish got away as we were landing it. We need to work on our landing procedures a bit better. It all gets a bit chaotic when a fish takes the fly and we fluff about bringing it in, getting the camera out and trying to take a shot. Anyway, we had fun. Tom was a bit frustrated getting his line tangled up a bit, but he was happy that he saw so many fish through his polarised glasses. If you have the patience to pause a little you will see one little fish and then by his movements, you'll suddenly see a whole lot more. We are so lucky to have such a nice chalk stream virtually all to ourselves.

The Lady of the Stream

So the weather was not that bad. It did rain, but there were some clear patches and the sun even came out once or twice. During one of the clear periods, I went out on the river to see what was in the swim. After an extraordinarily wet June, the river was full and slightly murky. There were a few fish though and what I found was this: A Greyling (Thymallus thymallus), known as The Lady of the Stream. Caught with a small daddy-long-legs dry fly hiding a 13mm hook (below). The fly is actually mimicking the Crane fly which you will find in abundance near the rivers.

This particular fish was about 30cm long and a very beautiful specimen. I actually mistook it for a trout as I saw it next to a small bridge on the river Selle at Conty, just up from the old railway station. I was able to cast the fly over and above the fish without having to back-cast as I was only about four meters from the fish, luckily just out of it's angle of vision. For five minutes I played with the fly, trying to tempt the sleepy creature. And then, as if just for my pleasure and knowing that it was a protected species and would be put back, it rose and took the fly. Without much of a fight, I landed the young Salmonid onto the bank. I don't know who was more startled, me or the fish. "A Greyling!" I proclaimed to the birds and trees. The first one that I've caught here as well.

I fumbled to get my mobile phone out of my pocket to take the photo above. Not great quality, but it shows the beautiful dorsal fin, indicative of the species. I removed the hook and returned it to the water. The poor thing didn't move for about a minute and I thought that it was dead, but then it stopped pretending and rolled over and swam off to same spot that it was caught. It would not have been fair to catch it again, so I left the fish alone, knowing that one day, we may just meet up again.

More info:
Wikipedia (English): Greyling
Wikipedia (French): Ombre

The weather...

... is wet. Grotty weather forecast for the next few days. Not looking good for fishing on the lakes or river this week-end. There is a trout competition on Sunday and I was hoping to enter, but I may just reserve that decision for tomorrow. If the conditions are bad, then I may just simmer for a week.

Gilfin 455

A 100mm (4") Gilfin 455 reel that I picked up recently. Great movement and excellent brake system. Case says: "Gilfin Model 455, Distributed by Gilfin International Fishing Tackle Ltd., London, England."