Me-on Trout: A Micro Blog

Yesterday was my first line wetting of 2014's trout season. In fact, it was my first outing since 29th January......which is why it felt like a long time since I'd last fired up the Quattro in classic Gene Hunt style and headed to the waterside.

I've seen a lot of discussion about the effectiveness of the Jingler as an early season fly, and I'd sourced some of these from the excellent Hartley Fly earlier in the week. My Jingler acquisitions had been the source of much hilarity and a limitless supply of "double entendre" wisecracks, e.g. "Tony'll be getting his Jinglers wet at the weekend" and "Make sure you dry your Jinglers properly after fishing" etc. All very childish, but understandable as there has been a certain amount of "Cabin Fever" in evidence at the office, given I was but one of three twitchy fly fishers who hadn't fished for a looooongggggg time.

My fortune is being offered the opportunity to join a small syndicate fishing a stretch of the Meon is considerable, and I was initially torn between this venue (which I'd visited but never fished before) and the Dorset Piddle. The Piddle is another small syndicate, which I'd joined last year, and apart from three working party days had been untouched since the end of 2013's trout season.

I left the house intending to head west, but decided on a whim to head east. To the Meon I was bound, Jingler-laden, feeling disorganised and under-prepared. My tackle appeared to be in the same condition of disarray that I'd left it in after what turned out to be my final grayling outing. I had envisaged that further outings would be on the cards, but the ridiculously wet weather, work and family commitments meant that this was not to be the case. It's unlike me not to have "fettled" since then - something that amuses my wife greatly, when she sees me sorting and re-sorting flies, fly boxes and tackle in general.

 Dorset Piddle Mid-February; severe flooding beginning to recede

Back to the ridiculously wet weather this winter past, for a moment. The Piddle had seen considerable flooding, like many rivers in the Wessex region, and our stretch of water has a number of fallen trees which will need to be removed. The working party three weekends ago enabled us to tackle some of the smaller ones; in a couple or more cases we didn't remove the trees. We were able to use a couple as flow deflectors and another we decided to just leave where it was. Discusssion around a further WTT advisory visit (last one was April 2010) had ensued.

Roughly the same shot, a month later

Anyway, back to yesterday. In large measures, this was really about blowing away the cobwebs. I started at the bottom of the beat, fishing an Olive Jingler, and persevered for 30 minutes with no result. The day was pleasant, cloudy but with plenty of sunny spells. It felt good to be back in the water, albeit fishless, and I switched to the duo. Underneath my Klinkhammer I tied a shrimp pattern, and cast expectantly into the shallow, streamy run ahead of me.

Bang. The shrimp was nailed and a silvery fish of about half a pound was firstly airborne then in possession of my shrimp pattern no longer. I smiled at this, pleased that the change of fly had bought a result. Was this another "school peal"? Or, merely a very pale Meon brownie dazzling to deceive in the bright April sunlight? I'll never know.

For the next couple of hours I fished up the beat and occasionally did so from the bank, as the vegetation has yet to put on its annual Spring growth spurt. My mind drifted back to 2013 and how late Spring was in arriving last year. Flies were changed, I felt in a shrimp-pattern state of mind so at one stage found myself fishing two, New Zealand style. A handful of what could have been takes, judging by the end of my fly line, proved either to be the bottom, weed or were missed fish.

A meeting of fly, leader and branch at about three in the afternoon prompted me to pause and take stock; I decided the cutting of grass and walking with Border Terriers could wait a little longer. After successfully retrieving flies and tippet with about six feet of leader remaining I tied on a shrimp pattern and an olive quill nymph New Zealand-style on a couple of feet of tippet. By now, I was working my way through a very narrow stretch of the beat, twisting with both banks tree-lined. This was close work, a couple of rod lengths at the most.

A roll cast. A good one, actually. Flies sinking quickly, line dead straight. watching the tip intently. A hesitation. A strip strike and slight lift of the rod tip (no room for more) and resistance. This was a strong current, and what felt like a good fish. Then I caught a glimpse of flank and realised how spirited the Meon trout are. I stayed downstream and did a good job of not falling over my own feet as I backpedalled slightly and unshipped my net from the back of my wading jacket. In the bag, safely, not big but certainly beautiful.

"Spot" the salmo trutta...wild, it was livid!

Breathing deeply, I kept the fish in the water whilst I readied my camera. The Olive Quill had been snaffled and I felt pleased that the change of fly, leader length and tactics had worked.

Lift and click!

In the above picture, the shrimp pattern is visible in the net.

Worth a closer look.....

And with that, my camera beeped angrily at me; I had not charged the battery so no further shots were possible. The fish was released, I was content, and able to return home to grass and terriers, feeling pleased with my day and having caught my first Meon trout.