River Day on the Test

By

Lindsay Simpson

Well I had not heard much about the day, I had asked James Gardner who is an experienced river angler to tie me up some grayling flies and that was about the only prep I put in. I travelled down to the river with my fellow river virgin Kev Wood, surprisingly the trip only took 30 minutes and we found the place quite quickly. As we stood waiting for the rest of the crew to turn up our attention turned to the small lake beside the lodge. There were rainbows smashing into fry and they were easily spotted in the crystal clear water. We frittered away the hour talking fishing and whishing we had brought some minkies.

The others had arrived on time but we were a bit light handed as a few of the guys had dropped out last minute. Good for me and Kev as we would have the chance of one to one tuition from the more experienced guys. Andy Croucher took me off down the bank and explained the basic concept of fishing rivers. I was right out of my comfort zone and there was a lot to take in. Andy patiently explained where the fish would be lying and how to approach them. Down the river a bit Martin was having immediate action and caught and lost a grayling very quickly. He soon had another and I was able to get a photograph. Below left. Right Andy Croucher waits for the take.

The weather was horrendous and with the clap of thunder came a dazzling display of lightning, not the time to be waving carbon fibre in the air. We retired to the lodge for a cuppa and a chin wag. The most prolific method was a klinkhammer with a size 22 nymph below it. We went back to the river after the thunderstorm had abated and continued to fish. Everyone bar Kev and I had taken a few fish so at lunch we were mad keen to get back to it and catch a few. In the afternoon Steve Perkins took over the role of gillie from Andy to give him a chance to go and fish. My wife tells me I was saying “keep your rod up!” in my sleep and “lift!” but Steve’s coaching seemed to be working by around 1330 it was starting to come together and I was consistently catching small grayling. Also in the mix were a couple of out of season brown trout. To top my day of I caught a lovely grayling of just under 2lb they are beautiful fish and have an array of colours. As 1500 hrs approached you could feel the temperature dropping and it was time to think about going home. I spent the last 10 minutes or so taking some photos. Below left Kev Wood with a nice fish and Right Steve Perkins enjoying the day.

Would I go again? First chance I get, you don’t need much tackle a 4# or 5# rod floater to match, waders, some 6x tippet and Andy and Steve’s fly box and your sorted. My advice to those who are already getting grief for doing too much fishing is, don’t go because you will get hooked.