Fishing guide Gilly Bate gives us some advice for when fishing chalkstreams.
The beautiful southern chalkstreams are considered the cream of fishing within the UK with crystal clear alkaline water and pristine fish all eager to take a dry fly. Sadly for some, they fail to live up to their reputation with the day ending in frustration and disappointment.
The majority of beats have rules of upstream dry fly only with upstream nymphing from July onwards. This style of fishing and the nature of the habitat requires certain strategies and with a little forethought and military style tactics the result should be very different.
1. Preparation Safety
Check the weather for the possibility of thunderstorms and lightning as carbon fibre rods are terrific conductors of electricity and never cast under pylons or cables.
Sunglasses must be worn at all times for eye protection from hooks. Insurance will not cover fishermen fishing without eye protection.
Wading can be dangerous even in relatively shallow water so wear a life vest and use a wading staff.
Always ensure that someone knows exactly where you will be fishing and check the rules for wading especially if there has been recent downpours as the river height and topography of the beat may have changed.
Weil’s disease may be present in any water with fish so always cover any cuts on your hands and wash your hands before eating. Signs of possible infection are flu like symptoms 7 - 10 days after fishing and it is imperative that you seek medical advice as quickly as possible.
Equipment
Ask for a clear description of the type of water that you will be fishing on your day; this is vital when it comes to selecting your tackle as rod and line weights make a significant difference depending on the type of water that you will be fishing.
Fish are extremely sensitive to any vibration, either bank side or more specifically on the water and a landing fly line will alert them to your presence.
A shallow, slow moving beat will require you to have as light a rod and matching line weight as possible. Three to four weights are quieter with a more delicate presentation on the water, if you are fishing for wild fish, then try even lighter rods.
Faster flowing riffled water or deeper water is less likely to be affected by line weights so if you are fishing a wider piece of water where you need to cast further then move up to a five weight rod and matching line.
There are a multitude of leaders on sale so keep it simple, Frog Hair supple leaders have a a superb turn over with a delicate presentation of your fly and are increasingly popular with chalkstream fishermen.
Your leader size is related to the size of the fly that you are using and longer leader lengths keep your fly line out of sight from the fish. Bought shop tapered leaders are usually 9 ft and the tapering helps to transfer the energy from the thick fly line along the leader to turn over and present the fly as delicately as possible.
To increase the leader length try adding 12 - 18 inches of lighter fluorocarbon or co-polymer nylon.
Be careful though with flurocarbon as it slightly sinks and if you are using CDC style flies, it can slightly pull them under the surface. Fluorocarbon at higher breaking strains becomes quite stiff in character and may make the fly move in an odd manner so co-polymer would be a much better choice.
If you are using a 6 lb or 4 lb nylon leader, try adding 12 - 18 inches of 3 lb tippet.
Large flies such a daddies or large sedges will cause lighter tippet to twist so stay with your 9 ft x 6 lb leader without tippet.
Another consideration is the size of fish that you are pursuing as many of the middle beats of the River Test are stocked with large and heavy fish. Fluorocarbon is slightly stiffer and more likely to snap at lighter strengths so if you are relatively inexperienced then continue to use a 9 ft 6 lb leader. Once your leader starts to shorten during the day as you continually snip pieces off for new flies you may either add more nylon of four pound breaking strain to take the leader back to 9 ft or replace with a new leader.
Fly choice may seem daunting at times however it pays dividends to have at least a basic understanding of the entomology of the river. There are countless books with superb photographs of insects, the time of year that they should hatch and the imitation to use. Some days any old fly will do but more often than not, it is the right fly that catches.
Before your visit contact your guide/fishing agent and local tackle shop for the most up to date information on fly hatches. There is also a phone app called matchahatch which give you a rough guide to flies throughout the year. On arrival at your beat, look out for cobwebs on gates or fences as they often have the latest fly life trapped in them and take time to observe the fly life on or above the water before you start fishing. Birds flighting down over the river can be a good indication of fly life hatching.
2. Attire
What you wear does matter. The military wear camouflage to enable them to merge into the background and disappear. For fishermen it is exactly the same. Brightly coloured bonefishing shirts may be attractive but they have no place by the river bank, neither do large white hats. You need to be indistinguishable from your surroundings so dull, tweedy colours are perfect. The fish are always on the lookout for anything that appears unusual. We may be trying to sight them but equally they are scanning the horizon for us.
Peaked hats can help to funnel your vision and polarized sunglasses are an essential, not only for eye protection but also for sighting fish. The higher the quality the better the definition. There are many brands on the market with the majority of guides around the world choosing Costa Del Mar. Grey lenses are the most popular for the UK light levels although the yellow lenses are excellent in poor conditions and prescription lenses are also available.
Mirrored sunglasses may cause flashes over the river in bright sunshine along with new shiny leaders. Try some Orvis mud lightly smeared along the leader to remove any shine. Equally a blade of grass will have the same affect. Fly line colour should be irrelevant as your fly line should be nowhere near the fish.
3. Stealth
Your approach on the river is paramount throughout the day and unfortunately lacking in many fishermen as they wander down the riverbank peering into the water with their dog running in front of them and occasionally jumping into the river. Fish may be put down for hours and you will have lessened your likelihood of catching dramatically. You are on the hunt so think like a hunter.
Once you arrive at the bottom of the beat, take 10 minutes to observe the river ahead. Take note of fly life in the air and on the water, scan the river for subtle takes or little movements of anything unusual. Observe detritus or foam on the river which indicates feeding lanes. When you see fish, study their movement, are they: sitting on the bottom - not feeding, finning from side to side - possibly feeding on nymphs, just topping under the surface - taking emergers, rising properly to flies - duns, slashing at the surface - sedges or are they quietly sipping spents gently off the surface. Once you have analysed all the clues, decide on fly choice with silhouette and size the most important factor.
Wading a river should be a slow affair so take your time as trout feel movement in the water and any vibration from your boots on the gravel. If you are on the river bank, try crouching and again move as slowly as possible. Many fish are missed by over eager fishermen. It takes time to adjust your eyes with reflections, distortions and currents all interfering with the scene before you.
4. Casting presentation.
Fly lines zipping back and forth over the river disturb fish - it is back to movement and anything being unusual in the fish’s world so try to limit your casts. This is so important and often your first cast at a fish is usually your best chance of a take.
It can be down to confidence as a caster so practice at home, pick up the line and let it go without false casting and practice casting at targets. If you only have one cast then you need to ensure that it lands exactly where you want it. If you have to judge distance by false casting then do it behind the fish so that it is less likely to see the fly line.
Always cast above the water and not directly at the fish which may cause the line to crash onto the surface.
Upstream Dry Fly:
The fly should land like thistledown, gently floating down onto the water and the fly line should be nowhere near the fish. Once your fly has drifted over the fish allow it to float back about 5ft behind the fish, then gently peel the line off the surface to recast. If you rip the fly line from the water, the fish will be scuttling off in all directions.
Be wary of casting too far ahead of the fish as the longer the fish has time to analyse your fly the higher the probability that it will distinguish it from the natural so try to minimise the distance between the fly and the trout.
Sedge rarely drift with the current as they are often laying eggs. They pop down then pop off so a sedge that drifts is a clear indication of an imitation. A closer presentation of the fly in front of the fish has a higher prospect of a take.
With subtle casting you may cast to a fish for quite a long time however if he completely ignores your beautifully presented fly after several attempts you need to change the fly.
Ignore fish that appear solid looking as if they are asleep. There are two scenarios with these fish, 1. They know that you are there and they are ignoring you. 2. They are completely disinterested in feeding.
If a fish approaches your fly and appears interested but then refuses last minute you have to interpret why it was refused. There are several possibilities:
1. The fly may be the correct imitation but possibly too large. 2. The leader was visible. 3. There was drag on the fly making it appear unnatural.
Dry flies should have some floatant applied before immediate use however be wary of over doing it. The fly is not supposed to perch on top of the water but rather sit slightly in the surface film. Also note that flies such as CDC flies require the use of floatant powder and not a silicon gel which clogs all the tiny fibres together.
Upstream Nymphing.
Nymphing in a lake or casting downstream (which is forbidden on the chalkstreams) causes an instant ‘take’ by the fish and it is obvious that you have hooked your quarry. Upstream nymphing is an entirely different affair with the fish taking the fly and more often that not expelling it at great speed with the fisherman unaware that anything has taken place.
The use of tiny nymphs to imitate the naturals makes observation of the fly travelling in the current relatively difficult however the fish’s movement in the water sends tell tale signs of a take. Watch the fish as acutely as you can and look for the following:
1. If there is a sideways movement of the fish - strike 2. A flash of white as the fish opens its mouth - strike
5. Line management.
Line management is a fundamental skill for river fishing. Without it your catch rate diminishes rapidly so practise before you actually start casting to fish.
When your fly and line hit the water, the current will be moving it downstream so if you don’t ‘take up’ or recollect your moving fly line as it flows downstream you will end up with a pile of loose line in the current. If you then try to strike into a fish nothing will happen as you are disconnected to the fly with all that slack.
Therefore you must always stay in contact with your fly with a straight line from the end of your rod tip to the fly. This is done by retrieving line as it moves with the current however be careful not to pull the line and make it move at a different speed to the current making it completely unnatural .
If you are casting across the river you may have different current lanes which alter the way your line travels downstream, particularly if you are presenting the fly into slow moving water but the fly line is landing on fast moving water. This will cause the fly line to move quickly and therefore pull or drag the fly at speed.
To counteract this drag, you must mend the flyline upstream by drawing a C (if you are on true right bank) with the rod tip. This can be done before the line lands on the water or after the line lands on the water. If you are on true left bank then the C is made in the opposite manner.
Occasionally experienced fishermen may twitch the fly as it comes over a fish which may induce a take. This is an extremely subtle movement and barely noticeable but it imitates a fly struggling to break through the surface film and is a great trick to ploy if you can master it. This technique may also be deployed when nymphing.
Complete line control and a direct connection to the fly are the route to success.
All of these tactics should increase your chances of catching a fish and their importance cannot be emphasised strongly enough. Chalkstream fish have their own highly developed strategies at avoiding being caught and they are attuned to any subtle changes in their environment.
The most successful fishermen vanish on the water, present their casts carefully and approach the river with the utmost caution.
More from Gilly at Fly Odyssey UK