I ventured out again today. Conditions weren't great in the morning but things turned out okay in the end. My usual 1-2 hours of nymphing in the morning didn't produce that much, a few dropped 1lb Trout and a Sea Trout of 1.5lb.
Same as yesterday I sat and ate something, changed line and fly and waited for the trout to rise. 1pm was again when the first flurry appeared and the hatch trickled off until 4pm. Pretty isolated in places so it was worth wandering and keeping your eyes peeled. I picked away at some nice fish on a Deadly Emerger pattern (special thanks mate
) but kept on the move all the time.
My walking was rewarded when I came to a pool where several big noses were popping out taking the upwings as they drifted past. Most of the good fish were out of reach although I did have a 7-8lb salmon torpedo itself out the water at my emerger, I'm not sure if it went for the fly or was just coincidence.....
However there was one steady riser tight to my bank, on my hands and knees I crawled towards it and waited for him to show. He nailed the next two flies that past over him, paused and then took the next one. I covered him pitching the fly about 3 ft above his position, the drift was perfect - Gulp!!! I knew he was big but got a shock when he came out the water, holy s**t my knees were shaking and my heart was racing. After a good 10 min tussle I slid him into the net, let out a victory roar and had a few fist pumps!
A solid fish which I measured at around 23" although I have a couple of sources double checking that. Weight wise I have no idea but as you can see from the pictures it was chunky.
