The Poor Man’s Fly
The constant strong gusts made the fishing a bit tricky this morning. It was nice to see swifts over the meadows and plenty of noisy reed and sedge warblers in the bankside vegetation. My attempts with a dry fly were mostly disastrous and more than a couple of flies were left in the trees. But, just for fun I tried an old pattern of unknown origin called a Poor Man’s Fly which I found in a book of old fly patterns from 1932 and it took one trout of around 8 inches, the only fish I saw rising, but on the next attempt the fly went missing in a shrub. It was tied with a single strand of brown wool and very basic ‘wings’ made from feather tips from a common domestic hen. Its name came from the fact that country cottage dwellers would all have had access to the materials and when wet it did look quite realistic.
I finished my couple of hours with three trout and also a minnow – one with big ambitions. The best was this one which took aggressively and for once stayed on.
Will Bown
Photos by Will Bown
Sedge Warbler
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The Club
The Club is a private one, founded in 1877, of approximately sixty-four members and six Town Rod subscribers. The Club’s waters consist of about 12 miles of wild brown trout & grayling fishing in the main River Frome, River Cerne and River Piddle, together with attendant carriers and side streams. The waters extend both above and below the town of Dorchester and the Club employs a part-time keeper.
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Hi where can l fly fish near Dorch
You can fly fish the River Frome, you will need an EA Fishing Licence and permission to fish or buy a day ticket for the Club’s water from John Aplin, who also has other fishing available – these are all flyfishing only. https://www.grhe.co.uk/about-2/day-tickets/
Contact the Dorchester & District Angling Society for coarse fishing in the area.