Following on from last week’s algae clearance, the river Test is fishing beautifully, but bright, low, gin clear water in early August can make dry fly fishing genuinely tough going through the middle of the day. This is when it pays to have a nymphing approach in your back pocket alongside the dry fly box.
A single small nymph, fished on a long leader with just enough weight to tick along the bottom, can draw takes from fish that have completely switched off to anything on the surface. French leader and Euro nymphing style tactics, where permitted, work particularly well on these clear, relatively shallow chalkstreams, letting you present a fly with almost no drag through the trickiest lies. It’s a quieter, more technical side of chalkstream fly fishing, but a hugely satisfying one once you get your eye in for the takes.
With the school holidays now in full swing, August is one of our favourite months for introducing younger anglers to fly fishing. We offer family friendly sessions aimed squarely at beginners, shorter in length, relaxed in pace, and focused as much on spotting fish, wildlife and river life as on catching your first trout.
It’s a lovely way to spend a morning together on the bank, and more than a few lifelong anglers on our books first picked up a fly rod on one of these summer holiday sessions. If you’ve got children or grandchildren keen to have a go, get in touch and we’ll find a date and a beat that suits.
As the meadows and trees either side of the river dry out in the August heat, daddy longlegs become an increasingly common sight blown onto the water, and trout certainly haven’t missed the memo. This week’s featured pattern is a simple daddy, tied with knotted legs and sometimes a touch of foam for buoyancy.
Unlike the delicate presentation needed for a spinner or small olive, a daddy longlegs pattern can be fished with a bit more confidence, even a gentle plop as it lands can help draw attention rather than spook fish, mimicking the clumsy landing of the real insect. It’s a brilliant searching pattern for blind fishing likely looking lies through the heat of the afternoon.
That’s all from me this week, enjoy the last stretch of the summer holidays.
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
Dreaming of a burbling chalkstream brimming with frenzied brown trout slurping in the gunsmoke of an electric fly hatch? Your next adventure starts here!
