For those that live outside Glasgow and the Americans you should know it has been raining pretty much non stop now for ages. Probably since Chuck left Glasgow which shows just how jammy he was with his dates. The River Kelvin is in a crazy spate and so is pretty much every other river within peeing distance of Glasgow.
Just outside Glasgow is a wee burn that I have fished once before however did not do well as it was high and colored. The stream is fed by a stocked loch and I have been told it not only has monsters in it but it is usually high due to draining the loch. I passed by it on my way home from work and decided I should give it a bash as I had nothing to lose – I could see what looked like long glides from where I was standing 100 yards away however up close they were anything but…
It was fast and fairly furious and after a few casts of using a dry and dropper I did what anyone else would have done in the situation – instead of facing upstream I faced downstream and swung a wet fly – well, it was actually a nymph as I had no wet flies however I could not get a CDC n’ Elk to sink so the nymph it was.
I fished several pools and noted that I was not at all that far away from my usual urban environment as a train sped past behind me and the usual weird concrete blocks faced me..
At every pool I felt trout attacking the nymph, I would feel a quick thump thump thump and then the trout would be gone – am I supposed to strike or something? When I fished down and across years ago they just used to hook themselves. Finally, one stayed on long enough to put a bend in my rod and I gave out an audible “Awwwwwwww” a few moments later when it got off.
It was still a good wee session of an hour or so considering there is no respite from this rain in sight – if it carries on much longer a Pike trip may be on the cards!
At this rate we could be jacking in the fishing and taking up other weird hobbies – weather watching anyone?
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How you guys holding up?
My local stream only carries a lot of water in winter.
In summertime I always fear it might actually fall dry.
This year I do not have that feeling, the weather pattern
is pretty unstable and temperatures are not that high.
It is also windy a lot of the time.
Now and then the stream gets a hammering when lots of summer
rain fall but usually it takes a day or two for the stream
to clear up again.
My sunday session was cut short when rains fell in the nearby hills
but the valley stayed dry.
In about 10 minutes time the water level rose and the upper reaches
of my stream turned in to a brown mess.
Just as I was tossing nymphs at a few carp that somehow got in
to the stream.
I think I am cursed what carp is considered, never got one yet on the fly…
I have fished the canals back home during some high water periods and
allthough it is fun to get a few perch and a pike now and then it can
not hold up to fishing in flowing water.
So I hope for some stable weather this month so I can finally fish some
dry flies and maybe get a carp.
Similar situation in the East feels like the rivers have been high for 3-4 weeks,maybe more? had a few casts for pike tonight looks like, i’ll be doing the same next weekend. O.d’d on the trout at the earlier part of
the season so enjoying a change, ive even been doing a bit sea fishing, off down south SWFF for bass and mullet in a fortnight, just hope the weathers kind.
Conditions on the Kelvin and Endrick forced me into a wee chuck in the Allander on saturday afternoon. I like yourself set up at first with a dry then rather grudgingly switched to a nymph, fished down and accross or up stream where possible.
The water was still high and just running clear, tea coloured round your wellies and dark and swriling in the deeper glides. I picked up plenty of wee boys in between the showers, with the biggest being just shy of half a pound.
I was going to my parents for dinner on saturday and just as I was waiting to be picked up I connected with a much more solid fish. My 3wt bent double and worried about a potential birds nest in my wee click check reel, I glanced down…and it was off! Adrenaline pumping I cast in vain hoping to pick it back up, but knew I’d had my chance and blown it.
After dinner I took my dad along for a couple of casts and we picked up a few very small fish, it’s amazing how much the water had run off even in 3 hours. I just goes to show though, it doesnt matter how much you study the weather and the sepa river levels you still need a little bit of luck to be in the right place at the right time, and even more to actually catch the fish!
Colin – aye, I have been reading Streamside Diary, are you telling me you are getting complacent with catching huge trout? 😉
Guy – nice meeting you the other day by the way, I wonder if that was a Salmon you connected with?
I wish Alistair , i think(hope) once i come back from my holidays my appetite wil be sharpened again for the trout till the end of the season, still got to get a decent pike or two though this year, my last pike trip on a loch for pike was very dour , i dont know if this “jet stream” thing is in someway related,and ,i cant wait to see some dry weather!
Could well have been a salmon Alistair, that, or a BIG trout 🙂 Either way it was encouraging!
Was a pleasure meeting you the other day also! I pinged an email with my contact details to you, give us a buzz and we can go for a chuck sometime.
Since you Scottish are so spoiled about only dry fly fishing (Jealous because I wish I could dry fly all the time) we who have to nymph a lot can tell you that when, “I would feel a quick thump thump thump…..” you strike no matter what. It may be only bouncing off the bottom, but you never know.
Psssst! where is that little (wee) stream Alistair?
It is over in South Lanarkshire 🙂