So the trout on the Kelvin are largely responsive throughout the day at the moment, which is pretty shit as my fishing opportunities are in the evenings. Usually as a trout angler you do not want blazing sunshine throughout the day however at the moment it would be great to head out at 8pm and know that by half ten the dusk would be making the trout more responsive. However, the temps during the day have been hovering around the low teens and by the evening the temps have dropped to 11-12 degrees – this pretty much kills the action. It means the trout sporadically rise and are super spooky.
Still, I managed a few hours out with the legendary Jim Burns the other night, there were lots of wee flies around which I had difficulty identifying..
Jim managed a lovely trout as soon as I got their and was setting up – I thought it might be a sign of things to come however after this the trout became too spooky to tempt.
On that evening I managed to lose around a dozen flies to the tree branch you can see in the river – I had tied the majority up that day in preparation for the session. With hindsight and after what I learned on today’s session what they were wanting was something stuck in the surface film.
Today, I managed out for a few hours in the afternoon as the time was pre-booked with the old ball n’ chain. I hit the river with Atkins and after a quick discussion with a homeowner who did not want us walking through the bushes behind the fence at the bottom of her garden we walked through the bushes behind her fence at the bottom of her garden…
It was a pool we had not fished for trout before and we had some fun working out the wading. The river bed was made up of the usual rubbish: boulders, bits of metal, random wire and a huge metal cylinder that freaked me right out.
This morning while out for my run I had already spotted the trout so I knew where we had to go. When I am out for my run I always peer at the river and see these trout rising confidently and safely. I doubt these trout have been fished for and very soon after a change of a fly to a tiny klink that sat in the surface film I was awarded to a lovely wild Kelvin trout…
Atkins somehow managed to catch the smallest trout in the pool and then after I caught another smaller one …
Tell you what though, even the small ones we had to get the drift exact for the trout to even look at our flies – Atkins managed to raise a few to his fly and fluffed every one due to thinking about Salmon probably.
All in all a thoroughly great couple of wee sessions, my supply of tiny klinks have dried up so it looks like a session at the vice is on the cards for me – I have never been that good at micro flies (now I wish I had stuck in during the winter) however I shall rise to the challenge.
Just not tonight!
I have unfinished business at the vice and at the river!
Beautiful vivid spots on those. I thought it was fairly dead last night down our way despite the late swarms of biblical proportions. The air temperature seemed to plummet with the rain , you could see your breath. Maybe it was just the guy surfing that put them off. Or the game of water polo that stephen m witnessed in the park.
What was hatching Alasdair? The fly life this year has been pretty impressive – I always thought after the large dark olives we did not get any other upwings however this year I have seen loads – I think there are some medium olives mixed in their as well.
Surfing and water polo?
Looks like a Pale Watery (Baetis fuscatus) to me, a male spinner, pale body & big yellow eyes.
I’ve been following this site for years and for sure, as you’ve all been saying, the trout are at least 1/2-1″ larger in average. It would be interesting to compare those hand shots Alistair takes of each fish from years past to today to see the change. Are they still all on the site?
Put it this way Chuck – back in 2005 (ignore the date on the picture) this was by far a huge trout in the river:
I caught it at dusk and it was by far one of the biggest trout I had caught from the river – now it feels kinda standard….kinda! It still stands out in my memory though as it pulled like a beast and almost ripped the rod from my hands!
@thetroutfly Many thanks!
Yeah, male pale watery spinner – big yellow eyes. If it’s similar but eyes are reddish, you got a small dark olive spinner.
Nice report by the way…..
Thanks Matt!
What a journey just to fish the Kelvn, but by far the bravest part is “staying in a hotel near the river”! What a guy!
They did not even throw in a breakfast :-/