A very quick smash and grab session with a bit of a moan about the weather this season and the lack of fly life and subsequent chances of fishing the dry fly.
Nice trout at the end 👍 Haven't seen a kingfisher in many years. Bet that made your day. I think the last I saw was working as an outdoor instructor in French France pushing 30 years ago. I hope to go car camping to my little river spot again soon. Cheers Mr.
We see quite a few on our rivers, always a delight. Bloody hard to catch on film though, just so fast. Twice I've had them perch nearby but they soon fly off if you try and get the camera on.
Lack of fly life down your way seems strange Chris. My local River, the Leven in Fife is seeing so much variety in the hatches just now. I had my best ever April and guys I have seen have all been catching. Regarding really small Trout, the first few weeks of the season were like that up here but bigger tiddlers and decent size fish now being caught. Nice fish at the end, always good to hear a delighted response 🎣
Obviously it's a range of issues Davie but mostly I believe the change in land use from pasture to arable (mostly to grow feed for an increase in animal numbers) has created a "perfect storm" of more slurry and pesticides entering our rivers. No doubt the fly life has been in decline for decades, but I've really noticed it over the last 5 to 10 years. It's a bit depressing, really.
@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 That's a shame, without looking into it more closely you would expect rural rivers to have better fly life than an urban one with all its junk and shopping trolleys, just goes to show
I echo your thoughts Chris........what a crap start to the season! I went out several days ago and only caught a few tiddlers and not much rising. I noticed my local rivers seems to stay coloured long after rain has stopped.......and now river will be out of action for a week with all this fckin torrentrial rain today! And yet I go on social media and green with envy of all these people grinning holding huge, stunning wild trout from South Wales, Cumbria etc............I sometimes think are they in the same universe??
Yep, Carl, our rivers are shot to bits now as well. I doubt it will recover in time for the long weekend ☹️ I did manage a few hours Tuesday morning before the storms. Pretty quiet but the river was still coloured (not sure why). Even saw a few Mayfly but it just doesn't have time this season to settle down before the next deluge.
@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 It must effect the fish ( and fly life ) this unsettled weather. It's depressing as we haven't really had a spring. May is my favourite month and it's basically gone already? And we almost halfway through the season!! My local is the same in that it takes ages for it to clear after rain. I was thinking of fishing the Usk next week, but with all this rain I'm thinking is it worth it............
Evening Chris. That last fish was a nice one. Had a good hatch of March Browns on my local river the other week backed up by a few olives. There are active signal crayfish on our upper reaches which I'm certain must have affected the fly life BUT, I have it on good authority that when the trout key in on the smaller ones they put on weight quickly. Must be true because i had two good fish around the 12 inch mark but fat as butter and in lovely condition. cheers
Hi Peter, I'm hoping this week will see an improvement in hatches👍 I'm sure I remember seeing a Matt Hayes show years ago where he was talking about a size increase in the Chubb on his river because of the signals. Maybe nature finds a balance in the end but for now they are definitely impacting the invertebrates.
Well done Chris, good solid fish at the end there! That looks remarkably like my wee river lower down below the woods where it cuts through pasture with clay banks, always a rusty colour! Strangely, my little river is down to its bones now, but fishing its head off on dry fly! More fatties about than usual. I can't work out what's going on up and down the country.?? 👍👍
Who knows Dave? It could be the exceptionally wet Autumn/Spring causing it (more flooding today) but maybe your urban rivers don't get the agricultural pollution that ours suffer with? Certainly this wet weather has forced farmers to reapply alot of the chemicals because they were washed off. And where were they washed off to???
Yes, our trout do "very nicely thank you" on a diet of sewage. I remember a certain stream in Bolton that was very peaty but clean as it dropped from the moors into town. Lots of little trout, but guess where the bigger fish were? yep, right below the 1st CSO on the outskirts of town.
My old school friend had a massive fish out of the river Walkham years ago actually fishing jn the "slick" from the treatment works! Needless to say, he didn't take it home for tea.
Evening Chris was on my River all last week was the most fly l have seen on the water but nothing rising was on wets today had 20 fish in a hour nothing bigger than 8 inch
Evening Euan sounds like a good session, I really should fish wets more often when nothings rising . Were you fishing them upstream or down and across? I find the takes difficult to spot when fishing upstream.
I wonder why the rivers are slow where you are, up in scotland near Edinburgh the rivers a full of fish including the little tributaries. Huge mayfly hatches in the thousands every night 🤔
Lots of reasons but I think the major one is change of land use from pasture to arable. I'm out tomorrow and hoping to see some rising fish. Tbh I really need to question the other club members who fish a lot more than I do. A small sample of one isn't much to go on.
Yes farming seems to be playing a huge roll in fish and insect decline throughout the whole country, but I do suppose if there were no farmers there would be no food. Good luck on finding some rising fish I’m sure they will be there.
It's a very difficult balancing act. The agri chemical industry really does seem to have the farmers over a barrel. If they don't use the products and the crops fail their insurance is void. Talk about a captive audience!
Nice session Chris and we are suffering the same probs in Wales but I have found going size 18 gnat is working well and I had two 9in and lost a big 'un saturday to prove it , my chum also had a 2.5lb on a 20 gnat and it was the most beautiful trout I have ever seen like a bar of gold with vivid coloured spots, I was very envious, wanted to go today but just too hot for me. ATB Mike
Hi Mike, the Black Gnat used to be a fantastic rise on our Devon Rivers. There must have been millions, if not billiins of insects, when you think of the miles and miles of rivers and streams that were covered by them. Some of my most memorable days on the Teign were at Black Gnat time. Sometimes, it felt like the whole place was alive with rising fish, often jumping out of the water to take the flies. The fact that this huge biomass of food for all of nature has been eradicated in my lifetime is very, very sad.
Nicely played end game to finish on a high, lovely looking fish too!! I caught my first wild browns today from a river on Dry fly, west Dart. Although, I missed & lost many more than I landed. I've a 7/8 weight rod, I wonder if it's too heavy for the small trout and that's why alot came off? I was using tiny flies though so maybe it just happens with them? Do breathable waders work? My non breathable chest waders work well but I'm wringing in sweat when I'm finished😮🥵 The fish are small but it's so much fun.
Hi Chris, I would say your rod is a bit too powerful a set up for the Dart. You really want a 3 or 4 weight through action to prevent braking off on light tippets. Much more fun to play the fish on as well. Those feisty Dartmoor brownies can give a great account of themselves with the right tackle and if you hook a biggen........ Still expect to miss loads though, I'd be surprised if I hook 1 in 4 and that's being generous. My last Dartmoor vid was a perfect example of how to miss takes, and I've been at this a long time. Thanks for watching.
It's a very odd season so far, isn't it? And yet I read about an angler fishing the Axe over in East Devon, who had a great day with the fish already locked on to Mayfly. I'm planning an all-day trip this week, so surely I'll find some rising fish at some point during the day?
It's a Wychwood river and stream reel, and like a lot of reels today, its "wide arbour" seems to be all the rage? I bought it to match the rod, but I have to say I'm not a fan. You can't tighten the click pawl drag at all, and it's just too loose for me!!
![แฟนแนวใด๋ - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [ SyncVersion ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fm8oDwos2uc/mqdefault.jpg)
Cracking video, Chris, nice fish 👍😍
G’day Chris good effort mate ..lucky last was a very pretty fish …cheers 👍👍
Nice trout at the end 👍
Haven't seen a kingfisher in many years. Bet that made your day. I think the last I saw was working as an outdoor instructor in French France pushing 30 years ago.
I hope to go car camping to my little river spot again soon.
Cheers Mr.
We see quite a few on our rivers, always a delight. Bloody hard to catch on film though, just so fast. Twice I've had them perch nearby but they soon fly off if you try and get the camera on.
Lack of fly life down your way seems strange Chris. My local River, the Leven in Fife is seeing so much variety in the hatches just now. I had my best ever April and guys I have seen have all been catching. Regarding really small Trout, the first few weeks of the season were like that up here but bigger tiddlers and decent size fish now being caught. Nice fish at the end, always good to hear a delighted response 🎣
Obviously it's a range of issues Davie but mostly I believe the change in land use from pasture to arable (mostly to grow feed for an increase in animal numbers) has created a "perfect storm" of more slurry and pesticides entering our rivers. No doubt the fly life has been in decline for decades, but I've really noticed it over the last 5 to 10 years. It's a bit depressing, really.
@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 That's a shame, without looking into it more closely you would expect rural rivers to have better fly life than an urban one with all its junk and shopping trolleys, just goes to show
I echo your thoughts Chris........what a crap start to the season! I went out several days ago and only caught a few tiddlers and not much rising. I noticed my local rivers seems to stay coloured long after rain has stopped.......and now river will be out of action for a week with all this fckin torrentrial rain today! And yet I go on social media and green with envy of all these people grinning holding huge, stunning wild trout from South Wales, Cumbria etc............I sometimes think are they in the same universe??
Yep, Carl, our rivers are shot to bits now as well. I doubt it will recover in time for the long weekend ☹️
I did manage a few hours Tuesday morning before the storms. Pretty quiet but the river was still coloured (not sure why). Even saw a few Mayfly but it just doesn't have time this season to settle down before the next deluge.
@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 It must effect the fish ( and fly life ) this unsettled weather. It's depressing as we haven't really had a spring. May is my favourite month and it's basically gone already? And we almost halfway through the season!!
My local is the same in that it takes ages for it to clear after rain. I was thinking of fishing the Usk next week, but with all this rain I'm thinking is it worth it............
What an instantaneous gratification there at the end...
It's good to see you back out again and some more fish 👍
Evening Chris. That last fish was a nice one. Had a good hatch of March Browns on my local river the other week backed up by a few olives. There are active signal crayfish on our upper reaches which I'm certain must have affected the fly life BUT, I have it on good authority that when the trout key in on the smaller ones they put on weight quickly. Must be true because i had two good fish around the 12 inch mark but fat as butter and in lovely condition. cheers
Hi Peter, I'm hoping this week will see an improvement in hatches👍
I'm sure I remember seeing a Matt Hayes show years ago where he was talking about a size increase in the Chubb on his river because of the signals. Maybe nature finds a balance in the end but for now they are definitely impacting the invertebrates.
Well done Chris, good solid fish at the end there!
That looks remarkably like my wee river lower down below the woods where it cuts through pasture with clay banks, always a rusty colour!
Strangely, my little river is down to its bones now, but fishing its head off on dry fly! More fatties about than usual. I can't work out what's going on up and down the country.?? 👍👍
Who knows Dave? It could be the exceptionally wet Autumn/Spring causing it (more flooding today) but maybe your urban rivers don't get the agricultural pollution that ours suffer with? Certainly this wet weather has forced farmers to reapply alot of the chemicals because they were washed off. And where were they washed off to???
Yes, our trout do "very nicely thank you" on a diet of sewage.
I remember a certain stream in Bolton that was very peaty but clean as it dropped from the moors into town. Lots of little trout, but guess where the bigger fish were? yep, right below the 1st CSO on the outskirts of town.
My old school friend had a massive fish out of the river Walkham years ago actually fishing jn the "slick" from the treatment works! Needless to say, he didn't take it home for tea.
Evening Chris was on my River all last week was the most fly l have seen on the water but nothing rising was on wets today had 20 fish in a hour nothing bigger than 8 inch
Evening Euan sounds like a good session, I really should fish wets more often when nothings rising . Were you fishing them upstream or down and across? I find the takes difficult to spot when fishing upstream.
@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 down and across for the most part
I wonder why the rivers are slow where you are, up in scotland near Edinburgh the rivers a full of fish including the little tributaries. Huge mayfly hatches in the thousands every night 🤔
Lots of reasons but I think the major one is change of land use from pasture to arable. I'm out tomorrow and hoping to see some rising fish. Tbh I really need to question the other club members who fish a lot more than I do. A small sample of one isn't much to go on.
Yes farming seems to be playing a huge roll in fish and insect decline throughout the whole country, but I do suppose if there were no farmers there would be no food. Good luck on finding some rising fish I’m sure they will be there.
It's a very difficult balancing act. The agri chemical industry really does seem to have the farmers over a barrel. If they don't use the products and the crops fail their insurance is void. Talk about a captive audience!
Nice session Chris and we are suffering the same probs in Wales but I have found going size 18 gnat is working well and I had two 9in and lost a big 'un saturday to prove it , my chum also had a 2.5lb on a 20 gnat and it was the most beautiful trout I have ever seen like a bar of gold with vivid coloured spots, I was very envious, wanted to go today but just too hot for me. ATB Mike
Hi Mike, the Black Gnat used to be a fantastic rise on our Devon Rivers. There must have been millions, if not billiins of insects, when you think of the miles and miles of rivers and streams that were covered by them. Some of my most memorable days on the Teign were at Black Gnat time. Sometimes, it felt like the whole place was alive with rising fish, often jumping out of the water to take the flies. The fact that this huge biomass of food for all of nature has been eradicated in my lifetime is very, very sad.
Nicely played end game to finish on a high, lovely looking fish too!!
I caught my first wild browns today from a river on Dry fly, west Dart. Although, I missed & lost many more than I landed. I've a 7/8 weight rod, I wonder if it's too heavy for the small trout and that's why alot came off? I was using tiny flies though so maybe it just happens with them?
Do breathable waders work? My non breathable chest waders work well but I'm wringing in sweat when I'm finished😮🥵
The fish are small but it's so much fun.
Hi Chris, I would say your rod is a bit too powerful a set up for the Dart. You really want a 3 or 4 weight through action to prevent braking off on light tippets. Much more fun to play the fish on as well. Those feisty Dartmoor brownies can give a great account of themselves with the right tackle and if you hook a biggen........
Still expect to miss loads though, I'd be surprised if I hook 1 in 4 and that's being generous. My last Dartmoor vid was a perfect example of how to miss takes, and I've been at this a long time.
Thanks for watching.
Not to plug my own stuff too much but if you haven’t seen it this might be worth a look
th-cam.com/video/62thjOtNlsM/w-d-xo.html
@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 I've watched that a few times 😂 but a recap never hurts!!
Fair enough 😂😂
Same issues in Herefordshire, the rivers are just not coming alive
It's a very odd season so far, isn't it? And yet I read about an angler fishing the Axe over in East Devon, who had a great day with the fish already locked on to Mayfly. I'm planning an all-day trip this week, so surely I'll find some rising fish at some point during the day?
nice way to spend an hour. what reel are you using? it looks oddly wide.
It's a Wychwood river and stream reel, and like a lot of reels today, its "wide arbour" seems to be all the rage? I bought it to match the rod, but I have to say I'm not a fan. You can't tighten the click pawl drag at all, and it's just too loose for me!!