Good Weather for Sailing - Ellerdine in High Winds.

11th Jan 2019     With the rivers in flood and stillwater-inhabiting coarse fish still cold and lethargic, a couple of opportunities to go fishing in January meant fly-fishing was back on the agenda. Speaking of flies, there was just one in the ointment - high winds. With winds forecast for 30 mph and gusts of up to 50 mph casting was going to be mostly a downwind affair. Still, I'd whetted my appetite for a big trout from Ellerdine and still wanted to catch my first tiger, spartic or blue trout. 

Dawn - a beautiful time to arrive at any fishery

On arrival I opted for the lake immediately in front of the lodge, and positioned myself on the point of a spur that juts out into the lake. The wind was blowing from behind (and slightly across) from me, so I was able to use the wind to my benefit rather than work against it. It's worth noting that you should take great care casting flies in windy conditions and if there's any doubt about whether the fly is going to catch you rather than the fish it's better to try something different. If you do persevere then  a pair of safety specs or sunglasses are well worth considering to protect the eyes. 

I started with a black leech on a slow intermediate, with a 12 ft leader. The first couple of casts resulted in the fly just sitting limply on the surface, and so a little sinkant was applied to get the fly down in the water. My third cast, and the first to result in the fly actually sinking resulted in a sharp tug part way through the retrieve. A quick strip of the line and a lift of the rod and I was into my first fish. Arriving early and creeping along the banks of busy fisheries often seems to yield quick results.  A rainbow of a couple of lbs put up a spirited fight before slipping into the net. Not one of Ellerdine's monsters but a welcome sight and confirmation I wasn't completely mad to be out fishing in the conditions.

Black snake / leech - deadly in coloured water for fry-feeding trout

Casting back out I had two tugs in quick succession, neither resulting in a fish, likely the fish just nipping at the back of the leech without quite engulfing the hook. After no further action for an hour I inspected the movement of the fly in the water and it again seemed to be staying a little high in the water column for my liking. I applied another liberal coating of sinkant, checked the fly in the margin and cast back to the horizon. After no more than perhaps 5 yards of stripping another tug and another modest rainbow was connected with and brought to the net. 

Another twenty minutes passed before I connected to my third fish of the day, the fish hammering into the fly and shooting away, stripping line through the rod rings and off the reel. The fish put up a really dogged fight and my eyes lit up as I caught that first glimpse of the fishes flanks as it turned and bolted under the rod tip. Tiger! Getting control of the fish and myself I managed to navigate the leader past the bankside cover without incident and brought my first Tiger Trout to net. A quick photo and a weigh in the net and the fish was slipped back. My first Tiger Trout at 3 lbs 12 oz. It's interesting to see the difference between the different species, the big paddle-like caudal fin, thick caudal peduncle and powerful jaws. Not to mention the pretty mottled pattern across the back and flanks. 

Tiger! Look at those markings!

The next hour was one of frustration. I connected with three fish and failed to land any of them. The first, a savage take whilst stripping the leech quickly through some rising fish snapped my leader as I trapped the fly line against the rod with my hand. The second snapped me off after the fly line wrapped around some bull rushes at my feet. The third, a nice brown, simply fell off at the net. Still my mood lifted when I finally landed my fourth fish and my first ever blue trout. The unmistakable blue hue of the trout's back almost seemed to glow in the water. Weighing the fish at 2lb 3oz I returned the fish and continued. A small tiger, a 3lb rainbow and another smaller rainbow all followed before pausing for a spot of lunch. It had been a superb morning's fishing. I'd achieved my objectives and the sport had been really prolific. 

Blue Trout! I can't imagine where they get their name from...

Retreating to the warm lodge with it's crackling log fire and a flask of soup I reflected. I would try something a bit different for the afternoon. My casting arm was getting tired, and I'd seen a number of fish fry-feeding in against the downwind bank which was being lashed by the waves generated by the high winds. 

Choppy - Fish can often be found on the tail of the wind

Picking myself back up I headed back out into the cold. A few casts into the wind resulted in the fly landing behind me rather than in the water. With the waves high and the water coloured I guessed that the fish steaming into the near bank margin to harass fry weren't going to be overly cautious. Flicking the fly into the margin with no more than 4ft of leader off the end of the rod tip I proceeded to walk the fly along the margin. Tea in one hand, rod in the other it was only a moment before the rod tip bent round and a fighting fit rainbow shot out of the margin tearing line off the spool. Sacrificing the tea I took the rod in both hands and played the fish to net in the waves and the wind. At 3lb 7 oz the fish was above average and took the fish count to eight. Moving to the next bay and fishing the same technique, I reached the end of the bay and was just lifting the leech to flick it back out and a huge blue trout leapt from the water engulfing the fly in the process. My excitement was short-lived however with the fish shedding the hook on it's first run. I was gutted. The fish was comfortably into double figures. Thick-set, long, aggressive. But not to be. You can't win them all I suppose!

The next fish resulted in my third new species of the trip, a spartic! The fish was short and stunted, but tremendously fat and tipped the scale at 2lb 7 oz. Another spartic followed shortly after, breaking my newly set pb with a weight of 4lb 6 oz. Another rainbow followed before losing a final fish hooked during a retrieve along the reed-line.  

I'm Sparticus!

No, I'm Sparticus!

With eleven fish and four different species of trout it had been a tremendous day's fishing. My only regrets would be that in losing that brownie at the net I hadn't quite completed the full-house of trout stocked within the fishery. That and the ghost of that enormous blue trout leaping from the water was now etched onto my memory. 

So much did that lost brown haunt me in the coming days, I revisited Ellerdine a few weeks later, (22nd Jan). This time the water was mill-pond calm, but I still managed three rainbows and that brownie that evaded me the trip before. The fish was a deep silver with large black spots peppering it's flanks, weighing 3-4 lbs.

The Elusive Brown - Better late than never!

Ellerdine truly is a fabulous fishery, and I've really enjoyed catching something a little different to the average stockie rainbows that I'm perhaps used to. I'll definitely be back, perhaps that big blue trout fancies another tussle...