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FEATURED ARTICLES Natural Born Killers With fish holding features and natural food in abundance, the margins of any small stillwater are to be overlooked at your peril, whatever the time og year. Dominic Garnett keeps it up close and personal with natural, imitative patterns for the prime rainbows of Bellbrook Valley fishery, Devon. Pictures by Simon Steer.
Strange creatures, trout fishermen. Give us a small water with rich insect life and a wealth of features close in and we still throw a long line. But just how often do we overshoot the mark? For the sake of sport as well as strategy we might all do well to take a closer look at the edges, because taking margin fish with natural patterns is arguably the real cream of fishing on many a small still water. As Nature Intended Before we tackle up, our first task is to take a quick dip in the ponds with a fine meshed net. As well as a fun diversion in itself, this gives the angler a pretty good idea of which prey items are abundant. In no time at all we have a great number of creatures in the net. Most numerous are freshwater shrimp and the bigger, uglier hog louse; these form a year round staple for the trout of Bellbrook, just as they do at many other fisheries. Also numerous are corixa and, surprisingly, several immature newts, not dissimilar in size or wiggle to one of Bellbrook’s staple trout catchers, the damsel nymph. Less surprised by the prolific array of trout food is fishery owner Chris Atwell. He is committed to keeping a natural looking, well-balanced fishery and firmly believes that as well as top class imitative fishing the rich pickings for trout here make for excellent, clean-tasting table fish. The lakes are “trickle stocked” here, just a few fish at a time. Most of these trout are already well accustomed to browsing for natural food, which makes for a refreshing challenge in finding acceptable patterns.
In the Clear Whilst you don’t need to be a commando to fish the margins effectively, a little caution and common sense go a long way. A good general rule of thumb for all such fishing is to move slowly and deliberately, in no rush. It also pays to check behind you- not only for casting space but available cover. Trees and bushes help to mask your outline, whilst open featureless banks can see you stick out like a sore thumb. At six feet five, I am not the most easily concealed angler admittedly, but make sure my approach is cautious and will happily stoop or even kneel if I feel my presence is too conspicuous. Should you find the water gin clear, as it quite often is here, your starting position should be further back from the water by another couple of yards, preferably crouched. Since we won’t be aiming for the horizon, it is also worth limiting yourself to just one or two back casts at a time to project your flies. Overall it is down to the angler to gauge their approach and how much care and fuss is required, but care is your watchword and on this score I am reminded of Richard Walker’s cautionary advice “you will scare more fish than you ever know about”.
Softly Does it... Perhaps the most common mistake in switching to natural patterns is to hurry them in. For anglers accustomed to lure fishing, the need for near constant movement must be overcome. Natural patterns, and especially the smaller, subtler flies, require a more gentle, patient approach, as well as a little thought if we are to trick any fish into thinking our dressed hook is a living thing. With the one fly at a time rule at Bellbrook, it will be a case of careful selection and experimentation to keep takes coming. Our session starts on the Daiwl Bach. Whilst the pattern hardly leaps out of the fly box at you, nothing does subtle-cum-generally pretty damn edible like the Bach, hence it is an ideal first choice for the day. The first takes come just a few yards out and along the bank, giving the fly a good twelve seconds to sink and drift, before imparting an ultra slow figure of eight retrieve. By slow, I mean doing little more than gently taking up the slack in the line. Trout taking small, natural offerings seldom hammer at the line either- and unless your eyes are glued to the last few inches of fly line, you might miss the whole event. Whilst I fail to connect with the first little draw on the line, John Garnett reacts smartly to a subtle take along his own margin and the day’s first rainbow jolts off for the middle of the lake. The key area early on seems to be the “drop off”. This simply means the area where shallower water meets deep. This is a productive area on so many fisheries and yet so easily ignored by anglers who cast long and then hurry the retrieve through those vital last few yards, exactly where they should be letting the fly pause for longer. Trout love to cruise around this natural holding area, where they can pick off a whole range of food items along the slope with minimum effort. In my own margin the fish have backed off the Bach for a few minutes, so I consider a change. Having seen so many shrimp and hog lice in our earlier sample, I just can’t resist trying one of my own shrimp patterns. Rather than casting straight out, I send the line parallel to the near bank, landing around two rod lengths out where a fringe of sunken weed meets the slope to deeper water or “drop off”. I retrieve the shrimp with another fairly slow figure of eight retrieve, giving the odd little “kick” with a little pull on the fly line. I get a gentle pluck almost immediately, followed by a more aggressive tug the very next cast. A quick lift of the rod and a typically strong three pound rainbow is on, fighting right to the net. Moving On My next target is an outflow. The pools here are all connected, and the corners where water flows in are always worth a try. Today, the water in such areas is a little coloured by rain water, so I opt for a pattern with a little more presence. A natural Damsel pattern should be easily spotted by any trout hanging around the inflow. Out of all the imitative patterns in the box, it must be said that the Damsel Nymph, effective though it is, is perhaps the least likely to be mistaken for a real insect. However, there are baby newts galore in the margins at Bellbrook and I have my suspicions. The infants of last spring have a very similar profile to a marabou tailed Damsel nymph: green flanks, a length of around two inches and a real wiggle when in motion. At least, that’s my theory. I like to fish the nymph with a busy little retrieve to get the tail working, in conjunction with intermittent pauses just like the natural. Even if the idea sounds a tad far-fetched, the trout certainly respond. On only the third cast on the edge of the flow, a slamming take tightens the line solid. The value of a forgiving actioned six weight blank is immediately apparent when a spirited fight starts in the confines of a corner swim. The fish is steered away from the near bank to fight in open water, where its headstrong antics pose no threat. Options Open Moving lakes it seems that the fish are still responding best to the smaller patterns at our disposal; I aim for a quick, dramatic finish, but the bigger fish don’t fancy the Damsel. Once again, it is the Daiwl Bach that does the damage- a patient, just about moving retrieve just the ticket for the best fish of the day, just on the drop off where the margin tapers away to deeper water. This time the fight is less of a sprint, but more dogged. It’s not one of Bellbrook’s real monsters on this occasion, but a fine and fully-finned three and a half pounder nonetheless. Perhaps the only frustration of the day has been that overnight rain and extra tinge to the water has prevented any serious fish spotting. This makes spooking the fish less of an issue though, and clearly there has been enough visibility for the trout to locate even pretty small natural offerings. Hopefully this only proves the point that less than ideal conditions needn’t be your cue to pick out the biggest, brightest flies in the box- trout have an uncanny knack of finding even tiny food items in their environment. Indeed it is the angler’s confidence in presenting a smaller, more subtle target that is often the sole barrier to a good session on imitative flies. But by studying the margins and persevering with natural patterns, you might just discover some of the most intimate, satisfying sport on offer. Holo Daiwl Bach- Partridge Shrimp Hook: Kamasan Grubber 12-14
Natural Damsel Pearl Belly Corixa Hook: Nymph 10-14 Fishery Fact File:
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