I went out trying to catch a sea trout last night. It was first time wet
fly fishing in the Torridge as I usually prefer dry fly fishing, trying to cast
to a fish and see the take. However, more sea trout are caught at dusk and at
night wet fly fishing so I opted for that this time.
I had won an evening for two at the Torridge Fishery Association raffle
last October and Wayne Thomas, the local angling journalist and I said we would
fish together. We have been taking about this for years and on this evening we
finally made it.
We fished the stretch known as Madeira. It
had been raining all day and there was a tint of colour in the river, but it
looked very fishable. As the evening drew on I saw two fish jump and managed to
cover one, there was a swirl and a faint twitch on the line, but nothing that I
could set the hook into.
So, in short, I blanked but had an enjoyable time in a peaceful spot, just
what I needed.
Just like buses, Wayne and I decided to have another go and were granted
permission to have another go three days later. Just like buses, nothing for
years and then two come together. Wayne
took me to fish Blinsham, a stretch he is a member of, for salmon in the
afternoon. After a wet and horrible
morning, we headed off to be greeted by brilliant sunshine. The river was a few
inches up after the rain since the previous trip and the river was more
coloured but we decided that this would not put us off as the visibility was
still several inches, but no fish felt like giving themselves up.
We fished up the Blinsham beat without any takes other than a small brownie
for Wayne.
After a break for tea (sandwiches and water) we moved up to Madeira
and fished until dusk and again we blanked.
At one pint my heart raced as a small brownie smashed into my fly, splashed
on the surface and then leapt into the air. I shouted out as I had initially
thought that I had caught my first sea trout but it was just this beautiful fish
below. I couldn’t be disappointed at catching such a pretty fish, even though
the heavens opened up and I was fishing in just a shirt and fly waistcoat and
got a little damp.
