Wk 2, Fetternear
Well, Fetternear would be a new beat to me, although as an ADAA member, I've seen it from the opposite bank of the ADAA Kemnay beat. So I was interested to see if the grass was greener on the other side...
I arrived a little later than ideal on Saturday morning, and, parking at the footbridge, found a couple already setting up for a BBQ... Saturday of course was the day where the sun shone high & bright, my least favourite conditions for trouting.
The run under the bridge is lovely:
Being a perverse, stubborn bugger, I'm sticking to dry fly... this proved to be perverse indeed, as despite a few wee trout popping around 11, 1130, there was not much else to target.
I wandered up and down to get a feel for the beat:
Conditions underfoot were decent enough, down at lower ends of the beat anyway. Chatted to a couple of friendly, regular salmon anglers who talked about some of the big trout they've seen, both targetted and when salmon fishing.
I watched a pleasant display by the Fetternear floaters for a while:
Ah, but what aboot the troot? Well, I blanked on the dry. There, shameful, but true.
I found one decent rising trout, in a slack pocket on the far bank. And I sat and watched for waaaaaaay to long. It would pop its head up occasionally, maybe every 10 mins or so. I gambled on a decent hatch from 1pm or so, and waited... and waited... and had a sandwich... stuck my hand in a pile of nettles for diversion... then waited some more... and then out came the sun. And the trout.... I had a few chucks at it, groin deep and slightly too close to floating away for comfort. Lost a flee (and some patience) in a bush behind me. Tried again, got a drift of maybe 3 seconds but nada!
ah well. Basically, there was very little fly life on that beat on the bits I was watching. I'd been watching other parts of don when out, and seen plenty of flies, so I was a little disappointed. Still, as always, great to be out on a new beat and to wander about and see some new spots
Better luck this coming week for me? Couldnae be much worse.. I might yet have to dig out some tungsten...
cheers
iain