That Black Fly - Oh and that Black Dog again...

This evening I had company once more...

 He wasn't too bad but he upsets me because he whines pitifully when I release the fish.  He is convinced we are both going to starve to death if I don't soon learn how to hang on to these river prey so we can both eat them!

Warren tells me he knew a chap who took his dog fishing as it taught the dog to be patient.  It is not working very well in our case.

The fish came to me via Charles Cotton's Black Fly.

Charles Cotton really did create a versatile fly when he made his Black Fly. The Hawthorn Flies have nearly finished hereabouts but their memory lingers on. As a result the trout still eat biggish black flies with such ferocity they hardly need striking to set the hook. Basically they hook themselves. Terrestrial flies in general can be subjected to this ferocious style of attack from the trout. My pet theory is that the potential meal is a substantial one that has been known to escape suddenly, so the trout don't mess around with them. Bam!

The water was very bright facing into the west this evening and it was best to continue with the Black Fly even though the fish were clearly eating olives.  "How can this be?" you may well ask, "Surely 'Matching the Hatch' is the best ploy?"

Yes it is, usually.  This evening, however, it was important that I could see the fly.  It was better to risk some fish ignoring this wrong fly and hoping for others that were still keen on black flies.  Me being able to see the fly was more important than a fly that perfectly matched the olives that the fish were eating.  You can perhaps make out the fly in the stripper ring?  I'd just caught a fine wild rainbow trout here and thought a snap would nicely illustrate the type of water I'm trying to describe here.

Have you tried this trick of using a dark fly on a bright water when the sun is low and leaving the 'Match the Hatch' policy behind for that evening?

Of course it is not always a good idea.  If the fish are preoccupied on a particular natural fly then it is certainly best to maintain the normal rule of 'Matching the Hatch' as best you can.


Regular Rod