Tuesday 4 June 2013

Top Sport with the Browns

Brian on holiday from Australia
We did have a good rise of water in mid May which influenced a few more Salmon catches up and down the river, however, the Salmon fishing in general on the Eden this year continues it's slow trend, although there are fish in the system, and some good fish at that. Unfortunately the chances of encountering many of these fish, at the moment, are very slim due to the low water conditions we are presently experiencing, and many Salmon anglers will be praying for water as the 16th June approaches. This is the date from which anglers can take a Salmon home for the pot.

David into a good fish
However, one mans loss is another mans gain, as they say, and these low water conditions have produced some great sport for the Brown Trout angler, which has again proved phenomenal at times, with some sessions still producing catches into double figures, on all methods, as well as producing some very good quality fish too. Even on the most difficult days we have still managed to catch a few fish, not to mention the ones that got away.

The result of a good battle 
The latter part of May was very reluctant to let go of those North Westerly winds which were a little cool at times too, but during the lulls the days have continued to have a much warmer feel to them (as mentioned in my previous blog). This in turn has encouraged a few more insects to appear (although not in great numbers) and with olive upright hatches improving, along with a few more Large Brook Duns and Iron blues appearing, (amongst others) the dry fly has been producing some great results during these periods. Spiders continue to do well too, especially the partridge family (not the musical group) and when those cold snaps (which are still hanging on a bit) rear their ugly heads, then the upstream nymph has been producing the goods.

Bluebells on the Eden in June
Nature is still two or three weeks behind, and this has certainly influenced the insect life, although this may also extend certain hatches into later months as temperatures warm up (here's hoping) and for those of you fishing in the vicinity of wooded areas there is an added bonus, as you will have probably noticed some beautiful carpets of bluebells still reluctant to relinquish their hold on the world. Here is an example of such a spread on the middle Eden. "Enjoy".

Charles with a trout in mid air
Although we do still have Easterly, North Easterly and North Westerly winds forecast for the rest of the week, which will keep temperatures a little lower than normal for this time of year, they are quite light winds, and conditions in general are still feeling much more comfortable than they have been, and the fish seem to agree with this too. Mind you, the forecasters may have got it wrong again, as they often do and at the moment it is very warm outside. "This is Cumbria after all".

A successful outcome
I am out with another group of keen anglers over the next three days, most of whom are fishing the Eden for the first time and all being well they should soon be experiencing some of those hard fighting wild Brown trout, whilst enjoying some of the most fantastic fishing available on the river Eden. "You can't beat it"
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