Saturday, 16 March 2013

Opening Day...

...opening cast?  Yes I've even decided where I will try to make my first cast to my first rising fish of the season in 16 days time.  Here is the very place, from a snap taken last July with a home-made camera.



Of course there will be nothing like the number of leaves on the trees this coming All Fools' Day and there will be barely anything on the banks to hide behind.  Sitting low and moving slowly will be the order of the day.  Nature gives us a nice example of perfect handicapping.  In our favour, the fish are easier to catch early on and the casting is easier with fewer things to snag up on.  In the fishes' favour, hiding ourselves is much harder at this time and so we are easier to detect by the fish.



Here is another spot that in summer was easy to hide within but in April demands an approach that would not be out of place in the Special Forces...

Be Stealthy!



Have you decided on your first foray yet?





Regular Rod
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10 comments:

  1. The Jassid Man16 March 2013 at 20:26

    No fly fishing yet here in the middle of Sweden. It's freezing and it'll be a month or so before there will be any action. Lovely pictures! Play some fishes for me ...

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  2. cofisher16 March 2013 at 21:53

    Hey Rod, Beautiful photographs! Here in Colorado, there is no closed season so anytime I feel like fishing during the Winter (read never)I can go out. It was 76 degrees here yesterday so I went out today (49 degrees this morning)to check out my stream. Still iced.

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    1. Regular Rod17 March 2013 at 12:21

      Howard with winters like yours to protect the trout maybe they can manage without a close season?

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  3. Patrick19 March 2013 at 14:22

    I'm heading up to the Derbyshire Wye April 21. Not sure precisely where yet but will very likely stick the the stretch close to the Peacock unless you have a recommendation. It's quite a hike for me up from Hertfordshire but well worth the journey for such a lovely river. Can't wait!

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    1. Regular Rod19 March 2013 at 15:55

      Very wise to not make any attempt at fishing it all in a day Patrick. Choosing one section and concentrating on that is a good plan. Take your car and from the Peacock turn right and drive up the main road towards Bakewell. Take the very first lane on the left, the lane to Congreve and Stanton. Drive a couple of hundred yards along the lane over the hump backed bridge and park immediately on the left by the electricity pole. Get your tackle ready and instead of climbing the stile walk on towards Congreve and go through the second gate on your left into a field. Go to the hedgerow on the right and follow that all the way to the corner of the field, pass through the gate, bear about 45 degrees to your right and cross that field to a gate. Go through that gate and follow the fence line on your left up and round through a little wicket gate and then ignoring the river, keep walking down river as far as the head of the rapids below the weir at Wye Farm. Sit down. Get your breath back. Watch the water and fish your way back to the car. It will take all day.

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  4. Patrick20 March 2013 at 11:21

    Thanks for taking the trouble with those directions I'll certainly take your advice. Just so I'm clear... I'm guessing the weir you mention is not the one where the mill stream splits off, which would be a little downstream of Wye Farm. Looking at Google Earth, it looks like there might be another weir further upstream, a couple of hundred yards SW of the farm buildings?

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    1. Regular Rod20 March 2013 at 13:12

      The rapids are downstream of the weir where the millrace splits off downstream of Wye Farm buildings but still on Wye Farm land. You stay on the right bank and stay with the river not the millrace.

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    2. Patrick20 March 2013 at 21:35

      Got it. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how I get on.

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  5. robert garnier20 March 2013 at 19:42

    Reg Rod:

    Nice post and photos. In SW Alberta there are a couple of streams open year round, so you can winter fish. However, no dry fly action until April. This past weekend I drove into Montana and fished midge patterns to risers on the Missouri river. Cold but fun.
    Robert

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