Dan O’Neill angling guide and casting instructor at South East Casting reports from the Nore…
With temperatures rising in recent days hatches have become stronger and more frequent along the Nore. We have had some rain which pushed the water level up from .40 Saturday morning to .75 by midday Monday. I did fish over the weekend and had some nice trout at the top end of the fishery. I chose to mix things up a little trying some dry dropper, wet fly and even a little bit of dry fly fishing. Griffiths gnat was by far the most popular dry pattern I used with some lovely head and tail sips on the slower moving parts of the river.
I have tried many tapered leaders over the past few years and find that the Rio Powerflex leaders are superb. I was using a 6x tapered leader today for my dry fly fishing. If the leader gets knotted near the end I re-tippet to the leftover leader and use it for dry dropper, wet fly and dry.
Trying dry dropper for a while paid off. I had a couple of better fish on a 2.5mm Hares Ear with a blue hot spot. I fished perhaps 3 rod lengths from myself as I slowly moved upstream. I find people try to cast to far at times which leads to poor presentations, spooking of fish and bad hook sets.
Switching to wet fly for a short time was enjoyable and probably my favorite style of fishing Some lovely takes on the swing, fishing upstream just above the water breaks also; where trout like to hide out, keeping the rod high to take as much fly line out of the water as I could; again fishing close and accurately to put my fly in the right position and where I wanted it each time. Catching fish this way is very exciting and you really get caught up in the moment as you gently lift into your cast then place it as discreetly as possible back to you chosen position on the water, watching the loop slowly unfold, leader straightening then all to be lowered onto the water with finesse which is hopefully followed by your line stopping/a rod lift and a beautiful trout leaping into the air shocked at the power of the little insect which the fish thought was dinner or lunch.
Go fishing…
I am now taking bookings for fly fishing classes and guided trips on the River Nore. The classes are a great way to gather more information on your chosen discipline, tackle information and casting, no matter where you are on your fly fishing journey. One thing I did learn and it was most valuble to me was gather all the information you can. In fly fishing you can never know too much.
For a full list of classes contact me on the below details,
