Better Conditions Ahead

Discussing the one that got away!

For the most part, April never did warm up, with cold winds persisting throughout, prompting many of us to put the thermals back on underneath our fishing clothes at times, especially when spending longer periods of time wading in the river, in fact the previous month (March) often threw up much more pleasant temperatures in comparison. 

David with a Cracker!

The river itself has remained low and because of this, for the most part, (during fishing sessions) we have been targeting trout, as apposed to salmon, however it is interesting to know that those salmon anglers who have persisted with the fly, whilst faced with these low flows, have actually been picking up very fresh fish, granted not in great numbers, but certainly in good condition, as you can see from the picture on the left, showing one of these beautiful creatures caught on Thursday from the beat I manage on the lower river. The same angler went on to catch another fish almost identical to this one three days later. Well done David!

Eoin with his first Trout

With the trout fishing generally remaining difficult throughout April, (both above and below the surface) most certainly influenced by those cold windy days we have been experiencing, it has to be said, despite these colder snaps, that we are now seeing a bit more activity from the trout, which has recently been affording us a much better success rate, especially toward the end of the month as we approach May (a great all round month for fishing).There is something quite exciting about May as things generally tend to reliably warm up, as nature bursts into life, often offering us some incredible sport at this time of year.

Phil into a nice Trout

This recent activity is most certainly being influenced by the availability of a wider variety of fly life which is appearing on a more regular basis on the river as we move into May, and although we have already been seeing small amounts of Large Dark Olives, March Browns and Grannom, (at times) we are now seeing a few Iron Blues and Olive Uprights in the mix too, the latter two species should certainly become more available to the trout as we move into May.

Phil's friend Henry also playing a fish

I certainly cannot be accused of being a purist throughout my fly fishing career, i.e. dry fly only; as some people advocate, because I do like to fish wet flies, (spiders etc) nymphs, both light and heavier versions, and a variety of other techniques too, I also like to teach these many and varied techniques to others, simply because as I am in no doubt that having these options available to you as an angler, given the many situations and conditions you will be faced with on rivers or stillwaters, can really improve your success rate. However, I also have to admit that when we do get good numbers of Upwinged flies on the surface, that there is nothing more exciting, visual, and enjoyable than fishing the dry.

Eden Trout Returned (underwater shot)

I have also been very active under the Borderlines Banner again this month, along with the rest of the Borderlines team, (as shown in the picture below) with several youth sessions already completed this year and several more in the pipeline for May and beyond. These sessions are incredibly rewarding and the feedback so far, from both the youngsters and their families has been fantastic. Let's hope many of them go on to become future anglers, or better still, future instructors!

Borderlines Entomology Session

Finally, lots of casting sessions again in April with many people coming along to get themselves up to speed with their casting and fishing techniques prior to their planned fishing trips later in the season. I always enjoy a casting session and With May now upon us I am also looking forward to catching up with many more of you this month and meeting several new faces too, many of whom are already booked in for tuition, fishing and guiding on the river Eden. See you soon!