The Trout & The Woodcutter

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is the start of some vain attempt at writing a kids story - fear not !

Read on where all will be revealed...

In a bid to capitalize the good weather over the last few weekends of the 2015 trout season another foray on the Wey was called for on Sunday morning. Car boot coffee whilst threading rod eyes and flies in a misty autumnal morning saw us on the water at about 9h30. My main aim was to try and land a particularly large brownie I'd been fortunate enough to catch a few weeks back.

An inauspicious start comprising of a few hookups and other such blunders saw "The Woodcutter" take matters into his own hands by removing obstacles preventing a successful cast ...

Tactical "military style" trout fishing ...

That's better ...

Putting such tomfoolery behind us, we pushed through the undergrowth to the pool where the aforementioned trout was lurking (I'd hoped at any rate !) A few casts towards the head of the pool saw me come up dry. Alwyn on the other hand nailed it and well placed roll cast later saw the below beauty come to fruition

Catch of the day !

Spirits lifted and confidence back at an acceptable level we moved on. A brief interlude was taken which involved "The Woodcutter" attacking an ill placed tree with as much gusto and vigour as pensioner in a brewery ! A valiant effort opened up a significant stretch of water which was otherwise un-fishable. After a cooling dip in the river (hot work this bush clearing !) we forged on.

Fly of choice

The rest of the morning was whiled away, picking off small fin perfect little trout ...

It's a kind of magic !

Those colours ...

Tools of the trade

Yet another cracking day out !

Last of the summer wine ...

Moving on downstream on the River Rother where I left off last weekend, saw myself and mate Alwyn tackling up next to the rugby club early Saturday morning. Not having fished this stretch of river for about three years I wasn't sure what awaited us but memories of fin perfect, fighting fit brown trout spurred us down the overgrown banks of the Rother. Straight away it became evident that roll casting was going to be the order of the day what with fallen trees and all manner of foliage making casting a challenge.
A few hook ups, leader entanglements and an "incident" in the mud which almost prompted a mayday phone call to air rescue saw a small brownie make a stab at my parachute adams only to foul hook itself. Not the start I had envisaged !

Being the keen guys we are we forged our way, careful to avoid the tyres and various lager cans that seemed to litter the river bed (the residents here sure like their beer - pity they can't throw the cans in the bin !!) to the small open pool where dogs enjoy a good dip. Having always had a fish or two out here I felt reasonable confident we'd bring something to hand. And that's exactly what we did ...

Watching my small 2 weight contort itself into a near perfect circle to the point I saw pound signs flashing in the air anticipating the cracking of carbon fiber, the above beauty came to hand. Probably the biggest brown trout I've had from a river. Awesome !

So we pushed on - feeling a lot more confident having landed such a fish. Alwyn being the next recipient of a good sized brown trout.

A few more fish each saw us making a well timed exit from the river to make it home on time for family duty. I've fished this stretch many times in the past and have never landed fish of the size and quality we did today. Most definitely worth negotiating this little piece of river and dealing with the frustrations of fallen trees, brambles, nettles and near lethal hidden mud filled holes threatening to swallow a man whole to be rewarded with such incredible fish.

River Gold

Rother

It was with some apprehension that I returned to the stretch of the Rother I've written about previously (see post "Fishing the Improbable") - I guess because you never know what you'll find after not having set foot in that area for a few years. My initial fears were realized when I saw the state of the river when dropping into the water in my usual entry point. A plethora of plastic, tin and other trash people have without conscious dumped into the river. A few yards up I stumbled across a dumping site for garden refuse including old plant pots, plastic bags - you name it ! In the past this was a near definite run and pool in which a fish could be extracted however this was not too be. I pushed on nervous as to what was underfoot as the going was dicey to say the least. Eventually I entered into a "cleaner" stretch which seemed to hold a bit more promise. A small rise up ahead elicited a stab of excitement and anticipation - fears of the river having been stripped of fish slowly abating. A gentle roll cast saw the parachute adams in the right vicinity - a few seconds followed a sip of the surface and we were in.

 
Relief ! Not bad at all for the first trout of the day.

I continued for another two hours, missing more than I landed but the fish that came to hand were of great quality. What a testament to these little fish that surviving the murk and waste that is this stretch of the Rother is in fact achievable. What a shame to those sociopathic individuals who see no issue in tipping all manner of waste into a small stream with so much as an iota of consideration for the environment or others trying to enjoy it.

It's been a while ...

A long overdue trip to Dartmoor ...