It’s been a wild start to the trout season and with last weekend’s wind and snow, there was a good chance a few folk chose the Six Nations on the couch rather than an icy day on the bank.
I was out on Saturday, so my planned trip was cancelled and the backup plan produced nothing but very cold fingers.
I was determined to get out on my local river, though.
It’s good to break your duck on the club water when you’ve paid the season up-front.
So I watched the river levels, keenly waiting for a drop to more fish-friendly flood, or at least not at breaking point.
I left work a bit early, packed my light lure rod, some shads and jigs, as well as my fly rod and headed out to fish the mouth of the loch and the run-off, hoping to pick up at least a hungry perch, if brownies in the main river were off the menu.
So, getting to my spot. I noticed the water was chocolate brown and the current was fast, probably too fast for the jig heads in my box , never mind the ittle nymphs and wets.
Fish of the Week: Trout and about for the start of a new season
Starting as heavy as I could to hold a little in the flow, I was looking for sheltered areas away from the current, hoping a predatory perch was in hiding, waiting for a meal to drift by.
All the good spots seemed to be vacant or maybe they weren’t in the mood for such a big lure whipping past.
I switched around and reduced the size of the shad and jig head but it all felt a bit light for the flow, so I set off for the footbridge further downstream.
It’s always worth finding structure and, among the debris and snags, the bridge offered respite and ambush points.
Third cast across the arch and I felt a bite that took me by surprise and I was too late setting the hooks.
I hoped whatever took a bite at the shad was still there, so I reeled in quickly and cast along the same line.
This time, the shad barely touched bottom when there was a huge strike.
I initially thought I hooked a Jack but, upon getting it closer to the bank, it was a cracking brown trout that had been hiding out.
Carefully landing it, I removed the hook and shad and snapped a photo of it before releasing it back into the stream, chuffed with breaking my duck and filling my scoop net .
Seeing a golden bellied trout coming out of that water, I think I’ll need to work on sculpins, streamers and sinking lines to see if I can get one of the big crocs out the Clyde while the water is high.
