1st June 04 - Two Flyfishing PB's in One Day

The Rainbow, estimated at 17lb (click for bigger picture)

Pennine Trout Fishery is a commercial fishery and not to everyone's cup of tea, but the quality of the stock is unquestioned and it's a pretty enough place if usually somewhat crowded. But good fishing and popularity go together so you can't have it both ways. If you want good food then look for a full car park and a crowded restaurant.

Dave and I bought our usual sporting tickets, £16.00 for 8 hours fishing and, of course, all fish to be returned. Being as neither Dave nor I are particularly fond of eating trout (give me a nice piece of cod any day) we would rather put them back unless a friend or relative has put an order in. The main problem with a sporting ticket at Pennine though, is that you are not allowed to weigh the fish and you are not allowed to hold them for a photograph. For those reasons I was to regret having a sporting ticket that day, although I would not have killed the brown trout from choice and a new rule at Pennine forbids the killing of all brown trout anyway.

We began with our usual buzzer patterns, fishing various buzzers at various depths and, apart from the odd pull, not having much success. Trout were rising though and I don't need much persuading to fish the surface with a dry fly. It's my favourite method and nothing at all to do with snobbery or anything like that. I'll strip a lure back with the rest of 'em when that's what's needed on the day.

I tried a Black Hopper and then a Purple Klinkhammer and raised a couple of enquiries. Then I noticed a small olive coloured fly struggling on the surface and rooted in my fly box for something similar. I found something that was worth a try and tied it onto my 6lb leader. The leader was greased up to a foot from the fly and that last foot had been drawn through a dab of fuller's earth to make it sit below the surface film.

I got a rainbow of about 2 ¾ lb first cast and then nothing for 20 minutes or so. I suspected the fly had been drowned when I caught that first fish and no amount of drying and treating with floatant would make it behave as it did when it was new. What next then?

Dave had raised two or three fish on a big brown leech that was hovering in the surface before it sank. The nearest dry I had to that was a Goddard's Sedge. So I tied that on and that's when my best day's fly fishing began as far as big fish are concerned. I don't know what it was about that fly that day, but the big fish wanted it.

The Rainbow goes back (click for bigger picture)

First, I lost a big rainbow that came off the hook. Then I lost a big brownie that must have been in double figures when that too slipped the hook after clearing the water when the hook first bit home. Next was the big rainbow I landed, which those that saw it reckoned was about 17lb. Dave managed to grab the shots you see on this page. Not much cop but they give you an idea of the size of the fish.

The next fish were three Blue Trout that must have been around 3lb apiece; the first blues we've ever seen caught from the water. An hour after the big rainbow was caught I landed a brown that was estimated at 9lb which wasn't photographed at all.

From then on I was on cloud nine and although I caught a few more fish, all on the Goddard's Sedge fished dry and merely twitched occasionally, I didn't care what happened. Dave had his usual quota of fish but nothing big.

What a day. Two PB's, three Blues from a water where we've never seen any before. Lost two other big fish, which I note but am not pleased about. And all on my favourite method.

Can it get better?