JULY FISHING
There are many references in trout fishing books and journals to the relative poor quality of trout fishing in July. There are many reasons put forward for this sorry state of affairs, including high water temperatures, the clarity of the water, low water levels, abundance of natural food sources for the trout, hot bright sun and a number of others too long to list.
These undoubtedly have a bearing on how a particular water is fishing on a given period of time during a day, hence, for example, the saying “Fish early and late” at this time of year and avoid a combination of these factors.
I have fished at 5.00 am on occasions in the past but I'm too lazy to get up so early nowadays. Nor do I fish too often in the late evening mainly because I prefer to travel home on twisting country lanes in daylight. Signs of impending old age I fear. That and Mrs C's cooking.
I usually fish reservoirs situated quite high in the Pennine hills that straddle Lancashire and Yorkshire so that even on days that are hot and still at sea level there is often a cooling breeze at 1000 feet. This helps the fishing no end. The fish in these reservoirs are stocked rainbows but with stocking taking place at rather infrequent intervals thus allowing the fish to 'naturalise' and become wary and canny.
Walking the water
I follow my usual habit of walking the circumference and looking for any fish activity and noting how the wind and current are working around little headlands and into the neighbouring bays. I do this first before tackling up and resist the almost overwhelming urge to get my rod in the water as quickly as possible - a trait that leads to fruitless fishing sessions for many. Only when I have walked and inspected do I decide on which rod and line to use, which leader set-up to select and which fly patterns to tie on. These are good habits that were taught to me years ago by anglers long since departed but about whom I think every time I venture onto the bankside.
What to fish
I've been out twice in the last week and on each occasion I fished from 2.00 - 6.30 pm on windy days with little sun and an air temperature around 65 F. I walked around each of the waters and found little fish activity. What activity I spotted were quick swirls under the surface in the more sheltered area. Very occasionally a fish jumped out of the water in mid-reservoir, too far away for my casting ability. Apart from that there was very little to excite the imagination. On each day I saw very little insect life until around six o'clock when Lake Olives in particular began to hatch.
I decided to fish from a little jutting bank of sand and shale that had a current coming from my left and running into a sheltered area. There was a 'wind lane' showing about five metres from the bank and I used a nine foot rod and WF5 Floating line to which I tied a fifteen foot leader that started at 8lbs breaking strain tapering down to a final length of 4lb fluorocarbon.
I stood well back from the bank and cast out my line into the wind lane with a size 12 floating Daddy Longlegs. I applied floatant to the upper body and took care not to apply any to the underside or to the legs themselves; I wanted the fly to sit well into the surface film and hoped that the legs would actually poke through and give the fish the impression of a drowning Daddy.
Second cast saw a swirl by the fly but not a take. I recast and allowed the Daddy to be taken into the same area. This time the trout took the fly with a surging lunge and hooked itself. A super-fit 2lb rainbow that fought well above its weight.
Free to fight another day….
I quickly eased the barbless hook out of the fish's mouth and guided him back towards the depths. I then moved on down the bank some fifty metres and found another little peninsula and bay. I don't know whether or not it's my imagination but I find that if I release a fish back to the water the swim goes very quiet whereas if I decide to take the fish for supper the swim may well stay productive.
I progressed around the water, from one small headland to the next and drifted floating Daddies along the wind lane. I was averaging a fish every three or four casts with this method and only decided to change methods when the legs eventually disappeared from the fly after so much aggressive chomping from the rainbows.
A change of pattern
I changed tactics for a while and tied on two buzzers suspended by a buoyant Muddler pattern and let the leader hang out in the wind like Mrs C's washing line. I detected no pulls or twitches during this time but did note several inquisitive swirls around the Muddler on the surface.
I reeled in and snipped off the buzzers so that I was left with a size 10 Muddler which floated on or at the surface. I cast well out and retrieved quickly through the surface waves and this tactic paid similar dividends to the Daddy Longlegs. Fighting fit two pound-plus rainbows were quick to enter the fray and, as I moved on around the water, every third or fourth cast brought at least an interested if inconclusive chase. I landed three more good fish before the hatch started around six fifteen.
Still and hot and horrible…
The very hot days are really frustrating and I find only the occasional fish. I suspect it is some restless individual who does not join in the communal siesta but is irritated enough to have a go at a passing buzzer or nymph. Sheer chance. I remember a colleague at Barnsfold Water on such a day, moved by his lack of success and in lunatic desperation, he shouted at the lake in general and the trout in particular “You f****** fish are just taking the f****** p***!” Sums up those hot days perfectly.
Roll on September or at least lets keep this cool westerly system for the rest of the Summer.
Tight Lines!
Eddie Caldwell
