Unlike the main ranunculus cut back in June, last week’s work was focused on filamentous algae, the stringy, bright green blanket weed that thrives in warm, low, nutrient rich water and can smother gravel beds if left unchecked through August.
It was a very different job to cutting ranunculus. Rather than working with scythes through open channels, most of the week was spent hand raking algae off gravel runs and spawning areas, clearing it away before it could choke the invertebrate life that trout and grayling depend on. Warm, settled weather like we’ve had this month is exactly the kind of condition that lets filamentous algae explode, so a mid summer clean up like this has become a fairly standard part of our calendar on the Test and Itchen.
The good news is it didn’t take long to make a visible difference. The beats we cleared last week are already looking noticeably better, cleaner gravel, clearer water, and fish sitting up nicely in the improved flow.
Even with last week’s clearance done, filamentous algae has a habit of fouling flies and tippet mid drift at this time of year, particularly on the slower glides. If you notice fish refusing what looks like a perfectly good drift, check your fly hasn’t picked up a stray strand of weed on the back cast or during the drift itself.
A quick false cast to clear debris before your presentation cast, and a regular check of your fly between drifts, can save a lot of wasted opportunities on algae prone stretches through August.
While the trout fishing remains the main event through summer, it’s worth mentioning that grayling have been showing well on several of our beats already, particularly on the stretch we featured a few weeks back in our beat spotlight. Grayling season proper doesn’t get going until autumn, but a few early fish taken incidentally this month are a promising sign for the months ahead.
That’s all from me this week, glad to have the rakes back in the shed for a little while now.
Wishing you the very best of luck and the tightest of lines if you’re beside the river in the next few days.
Best wishes,
Jamie Hayes-Pankhurst
Founder & Managing Director
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