Last-minute plans: dry fly fishing for wild brown trout

I had planned to sit down and map out the line-up for the June edition of the magazine.

For some reason, I often do this on a Sunday morning. I don’t really know why, but I find it enjoyable. Having had a sausage sandwich and a couple of cups of coffee, I was about to start.

The spontaneous call

My phone pinged and, despite trying my best to ignore it, I picked it up.

It was my friend Jon. He was in town and wondered if I had time to go fishing.

I thought about it for a moment. The weather was bright, but over the past few days it had taken time for things to warm up. I rationalised that I could get an hour’s work under my belt and arrange to meet Jon a little later.

These things never play out that way, though. I started thinking about which rod I’d use, whether we’d need lunch, and by then the notion of work had already slipped away.

We caught up in my van as I drove us to the river. I’d walked the dog earlier, but he was happy to come along and sat quietly on the back seat.

Setting the ground rules

As ever, we set a few simple ground rules for the day, easy enough to break if needed. The main one was to fish only dries and see if we could hunt out a rising fish.

Jon led the way, raising a fish that didn’t stick, but he cast at it again out of some sense of duty, and it took.

I have to admit, I cracked a little and fished my dry blind in some soft water on the other side of a run, just in case.

The pool above had an even, flat flow, and spotting a rise would be easy.

The art of patience

It’s a relaxing way of fishing and a great way to practise your patience.

I didn’t have to wait long, perhaps five minutes, before a single, lone rise appeared.

It was against the far bank, which took some wading to reach, but it was worth it. The fish took on the second drift.

Jon had seen the commotion from downstream and, knowing I’d forgotten my net, came along, with the dog, to help out.

The day felt like it might become more consistent, but it never fully delivered. We caught a few more fish and marked a really nice one for another day.

It felt as though the season, where I fish, had yawned, taken a good stretch, and was ready to get going.

Now, back to the computer…