New fangled CDC flies

I had my third outing yesterday. On my first two visits I saw no rising fish but I did catch a reasonable trout on the Piddle using the fly of last resort; the pheasant tail gold head nymph. Yesterday was better. The weather conditions were ideal and a few grannom were about. If the fish were a bit reluctant to show the same cannot be said of DFC members. I met six others as a I wandered between lower Bockhampton to the top of the middle stretch above Grey’s Bridge and then back down again. I must have spent half of my time chatting to them on the state of the fishing, the merits of various rods and reels and the meaning of life.

A few fish were rising on the lower stretch, mainly small trout and grayling. I saw nothing above Grey’s Bridge and the same for the Stinsford side stream. I noticed that the brick bank wall has partly collapsed at ten hatches and the girders that used to support the hatches for the main river have quite an incline. This will present an even greater challenge to the more athletic members who cross the river by doing a high wire walk across the top of the girders.

The fish in the net was caught in the late afternoon in one of the new pools that John Aplin created on the lower Bockhampton stretch. The sky had cleared and the heat of the sun brought out a few more grannom and one or two trout began to rise. As usual I was fishing a size 16 Greenwell. One day I must try one of these new fangled CDC flies. It was very satisfying to catch a half decent fish on the dry fly without having to resort to the chuck it and hope gold head nymph. Perhaps the fish have at last realised that spring has arrived.

Cheers,
Jim