Penpont, River Usk - 20th March 2011

Well I said I wasn't expecting a bonanza and I was right! Sunday 20th March saw me loading the car for my first outing of the season, and long overdue it was too. 2 hours of driving later (taking in the beautiful scenery of the Forest of Dean and then the Brecon Beacons) and I was eagerly setting up my 5 WT, complete with new reel. My newly tied flies, as per previous posts, were packed ready and I was soon walking the familiar route over the bridge at Penpont House to start making my way downstream over the fields. The season had really started for me at last! Ewes and their lambs ambled casually across the grassy hills; the sound of buzzards could be heard high in the sky; nobody else was in the vicinity; and the Usk herself called with the sound of rapids full of promise.

And now the reality-check....cue sound of needle being scratched across vinyl record....

The skies were foreboding. Morning calm had given way to a penetrating westerly which whipped up between the river banks like a wind-tunnel. Although it was supposed to be around 11C, it felt much colder in the wind. The river was incredibly low too, almost as low as it got last summer. The water was gin clear and despite a modest hatch of Large Dark Olive, as well as tiny midge, I didn't see a single fish rise the whole day. In fact I didn't see a single fish at all, apart from some shoals of fry in the shallows (one good sign after the winter we've had).


River Usk at Penpont - rather low at the moment!

 I decided my tactics would be to focus on some of the deep gullys and try to fish them upstream with short casts. I used my tungsten weighted Baetis nymphs and midge larvae, all fished deep on a dead drift. I tried a few lifts periodically, particularly with the Baetis nymph to see if I could induce a take. All this amounted to nothing. Not even the slightest hint of a take for the whole session, which lasted from 11am to 4pm.

A newly hatched Large Dark Olive (Baetis Rhodani)

So I'm sorry to report that for the first time since I started fishing on the Usk, I blanked. But no matter. Just being there was what it was all about, Moreover, after a long absence over winter, I felt confident and happy with my tactics. A winter spent researching and reading has equipped me with new knowledge which I began to apply on this visit and I shall, no doubt, be a better angler for it. Afterall, if it was instant gratification that I desired I could have just as easily parked up at a stocked lake and almost guaranteed myself some action. That kind of gratification wasn't on my agenda today. I went home having blanked but still satisfied - just not sure I can fully explain why!!

The new reel sees some action at last!



Penpont beckons

At last I have my first session of the new season arranged with a booking on the Penpont beat of the Usk this Sunday. The trickle of early season reports have certainly wet the appetite, albeit that the fishing is quite slow with only sporadic hatches of LDOs and midge observed so far. Based on the flies I've tied to-date I'm feeling reasonably prepared but I won't be expecting a bonanza.

My last few tying sessions have been focused on the March Brown, for which there are various recommended patterns. Here are a couple of simple 'spider' based variants which I've produced.




#14 March Brown variant 1 - with tail




#14 March Brown variant 2 - no tail

March Browns generally hatch in April so I may not get a chance to test these for a few weeks. But the weather is set fair this weekend so I'll be on the look out for any opportunity to fish these patterns. My guess is that patterns like this may prove to be quite versatile and could be deployed to imitate any of the large dark upwings. I'll give them a go throughout the season and post my findings.

Countdown part 3 - and the rest....

Less than 1 week to go now and preparations are well under way. I've added some more trout-tempting morsels to my armoury including some Midge emergers and Baetis nymphs and adults. I'm still focused very much and the small end of the size spectrum as I'm enjoying using my new vice with its "midge jaws".

One of my regular go-to flies last season was a tungsten head Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN) which is a highly versatile nymph representation. I make these up in sizes 16 down to 22 and usuually add some flash to the thorax. The type of tungsten bead I use varies also from black, to gold and to silver. This has been a real fish-catcher for me in the past so I always make sure I have some tied and ready to go.


#20 Pheasant Tail Nymphs

These PTNs should take fish when the early spring Large Dark Olive hatches are underway. During these hatches and when the trout start looking upwards for their food, emerger and adult representation should bring success. I've prepared some RS2 designs in various shades of olive with size #20 and #22 hooks. These are really simple to tie so a great choice when starting fly-tying at the small end of the scale. I found the micro-fibbets (tails) a bit fiddly at first, but there's a great video (here) on how to tie a RS2 which really helped me. It includes a really neat tip on using the tag-end of your thread to split the tails.



#20 Olive RS2

On the midge front, I've expanded on the larvae imitations from the previous post to include some pupae and emerger representations that should be fished higher in the water as midge hatches develop. Here are two examples - a grey midge emerger with some UV Krystal Flash as the main trigger point; and black spider patterns with a small soft hen hackle plus a little flash for a trigger point.

#22 Grey Midge Emerger

#22 Black Spiders with a flash trigger

Finally, I'm doing some research into March Brown patterns so I hope to post some new ties in the next 'Countdown' entry.

Countdown part 2 - Midges

The new vice is earning its keep. Having been inspired by several excellent reference sources and blogs on the art of tying small flies (to my mind that's anything size #18 or below) I took the plunge and bought a new vice which included a set of jaws for "sub 18 undertakings". The whole concept of going down a few sizes presented some challenges initially but I've got the hang of the basics and made the necessary adjustments, to the point where I feel I'm tying up some usable designs. The forthcoming season will be focused on learning how to fish them...I like a challenge!

In a previous post I said I'd have a go at some midge imitations as part of my preparartions for spring. I've kept to fairly simple designs as I get used to sparsley applying the requisite materials. The result has been a variety of straightforward midge larvae imitations in a variety of colours, all ready to be experimented with on the river.




Various Midge Larvae tied on #20 & #22 hooks


It's quite hard to imagine that a trout is (hopefully) going to be fooled by these tiny offerings as they skip past in a flash through the water. Just can't wait to give them a try when the opportunity arises!

Usk Season Rod

Got back from a business trip to Belgium today and to my extreme delight a season ticket for the Breconshire Fishery had arrived in the post. Thanks to Allyson Williams at WUF for turning this around so quickly. All part of the build up to 03/03/11 and small things like this just fuel the anticipation. Back to my vice now!