With news of the Big weather Event hitting us over the next 5 days I thought it was a good time to get out on one of my favorite streams for a bit of R&R as well as a test to see how my body would stand up to fishing after surgery a week+ ago.
On arrival I saw that the stream was at a lovely level and running crystal clear.
My windscreen on the car was splattered in insects and there were lots of insects in the grass and a few on the wing.

It was one of those warm 30C days with little or no wind so I opted to wade wet this time compared to last time I guided here and waders were required.
I chose my 8’6″ 4wt Mystic Reaper over my 3wt rod as even though there were insects on the wing I would probably be doing a fair bit of nymphing under the dry fly and needed something with just a bit more grunt and length.
I was fishing a bit lighter today as I am still on weight restrictions after my Hernia operation and normally my pack/vest carries more than enough water for 2 to 3 people as well as food and other extras.
The only things in the pack besides my fly boxes etc; were my water, first aid kit and a UHF radio since I was fishing on my own and there isn’t any phone coverage.
Not light by some standards but compared to what I normally carry: It was a pleasant change.

After gearing up and locking the car, I headed down stream for a 30 min walk to my drop in point.
The grass was long and I took my time looking carefully where I was walking so as not to trip or drop in any hidden holes or depressions in the ground.
Also to keep an eye out for those scaled slithery things which I prefer not to bump into if I can help it.

On arriving at my Get In Point I found a nice shady spot to rig up my leader for fishing a single dry fly as the last session out with it was a double nymph and indicator rig.
I opted for a 14ft leader and another 3ft of fine 6.8lb tippet connected to a #12 Elk hair Caddis.
Unlike a lot of the smaller streams I fish that are very tight and overgrown I have a bit more room on this one but still have a few places where the willows close in.
A couple of practice casts on an open bit of water had me feeling comfortable with my rig and ready to play.
A good pair of Polaroid sunglasses is a must when fishing so as you can see clearly into the water and be able to locates deep sections of the stream bed as well as being able to see fish.
Spotting a nice drop off into one of these deeper channels and the feed in current had me making my first cast in earnest for the day.
It worked my way along the edge of the drop off and covered the lower section pretty well without a hit or curious inspection and was about to move up to fish the head of the run when I looked across to my right and saw a nice little tail out run from under an over hanging tree.
I put in an under powered cast so as to drop my fly just into the main current feeding out of it whilst kicking my leader at a right angle back towards me and laying my line away from the fly for a natural drift.
The fly drifted beautifully down and was at the bottom of it’s drift where the run shallows into the riffles and from off the bottom rose a shape and sucked the fly from the surface.
A short pause for the trout to turn and I lifted into some nice solid head shakes and then the trout darted off towards some snags.
A short fight later I was holding the first of many trout for the day.
There were a few sections where I added a nymph dropper to my rig where there were deeper sections that needed exploring.
There were some lovely sections where I could see trout holding and I got to sight cast to.
There were some sections where it was deep and very fast and I rigged up with a heavy nymph and lighter nymph trailing behind and I used an indicator.
There were good fish holding in the quiet edge waters where most people just walk past or walk through.

I had a few fish reject my fly and I took my time to tie on a different fly and recast and worked the section again to be rewarded for my efforts.
I am not sure how many fish I landed on the day but I knew I had had a great day as by the time I had fished my way back to the car landing a good mix of Rainbow and Brown trout; my face was sore from smiling.
I think I only lost one fly for the day which stayed planted in the moth of a good sized brownie that made a zipping run into the current and snapped me off.

I am now sitting on the couch typing this out as the rain falls.
Off to the vice to tie up more flies for my boxes and for sale.