A look back at August

I've always felt that August can be quite a dour month on the Faughan. 

Traditionally, the main grilse run arrived in July. Fresh fish would enter the river in dribs and drabs during August but most of the fish in the pools would have been in the river from July, have seen all manner of flies, spinners and worms in that time and just seemed to switch off. They didn't show much and they seemed to be very difficult to tempt. Yes, you always caught fish in August but you just had to work slightly harder for them. 

My first visit to the river in August was not until the 4th of the month. I went out on the Sunday evening and, as usual, went downstream from my house to the two pools I seem to fish most. I had fished through both of them with no success and sat down on the bank to change the fly. 

A Thunderstorm just appearing over the trees

Just as I sat down I thought I'd heard something in the distance. "Is that thunder?", I thought. I took my phone out and checked the rain radar on the netweather website. There was heavy rain around. I then clicked the lightning button and there was quite a thunderstorm not far away.  I wouldn't say that I was afraid of lightning but common sense would suggest that highly conductive carbon fibre and highly electrical discharges should be kept as far apart as possible. I think I may have set some sort of record time for the distance between that part pool and my house.

The rain from this didn't put too much water in the river but kept it topped up on the Monday. There were more heavy showers on the Tuesday and the river was rising again and colouring. I didn't bother fishing. 

We hadn't a bad day here on the 7th, the Wednesday of that week. However, there was heavy showers further east that must have been hitting our headwaters. I was at the river on the Wednesday evening and had fished through the first pool and was making my way down the second when a fish showed in the stream. Then another in the tail and another in the pool. Were these fish on the move?  I had just hit the 'danger zone' when I felt that old familiar and very special feeling of the line being drawn from the hand as a salmon heads back to the depths with your fly! Yes, fish on!!! 

The fish went deep with the fly and I got it turned and got it coming upstream towards me. It came onto the surface and I could see it was a nice grilse around 5lb in weight. I had the fish directly opposite me. I felt it was time to get the net ready. I got the net off my back, got it loosened and just as frame of the net flipped over and locked into place, the fly flew past my ear. Another one lost!!! 

There I was, cursing my luck, while fishing the pool on through. I was nearing the tail when the line went again! I'd another one on. "This is sure to get off too...", I thought as I was getting line onto the reel.  It was on long enough for me to think about getting the net ready again. It was still on this time as the net entered the water and I managed to scoop it! At last!!! It was a smaller grilse around 3lb in weight but it was more than welcome!!! When I came back to my crossing point, the river had risen almost a foot. Those fish must have started to move as the fresh water began to hit.

A nice little grilse that had taken a small Calvin's Shrimp

I then went into the stream closest to my house and began fishing it down. If I'm on the right bank, I'll fish the first part of the stream from that bank and then cross to the left bank about half way down which was the case that evening. I got to the spot where I usually cross and started making my way to the left bank only to feel that dreaded feeling that all anglers dread. The cold, wet feeling of water running down your inside leg! Hole in the waders!!! I must have caught it on the wire the night of the lightning. There's always something to annoy you!

Well there's your problem!

A few running repairs

The level of the river was rising and falling almost on a daily basis from then and was rising again on Sunday, 11th August, but it wasn't all that dirty. It got up to 2ft or slightly higher. 

In the higher water, the pools upstream from me fish better. I entered my first pool of the day which had a lovely draw through it from the height and force if the water. I had big flies on. I hadn't had too many casts when I got a 'pull, pull' take. The line actually moved twice from my hand. Once again, lifting the line into nothing. 

I then went down to the next pool and had fished it right through to the tail. Casting to the far bank, the line was working round beautifully when the line tightened again. This time when I lifted I felt weight. At last I'd finally hooked one! Or so I thought.  I was winding line as fast as I could, still felling the bend in the rod. Then I looked up! The tip of the rod had caught on a tree, there was no pressure on the line and the fish had already spat the hooks. My losing streak continued!

I came home again disgusted at my run of luck. It was only 1pm at this stage. I went back to the river that evening and got another 2 heavy draws on the line without hooking anything! What do I have to do to end this run? I've been in contact with 20+ fish and have landed just two. I don't ever remember a season like it!!!

A Willy Gunn Waddington getting a dip on the Sunday

I didn't get to the river on Monday evening and it was later on Tuesday evening when I managed to get rushed down.  I wasn't quite finished fishing the first pool when a guy appeared on the bank. "Any good?", he shouted to which I just shook my head. He then said, "... There's someone else coming...", looking up the field. I thought to myself, "I'll not be hanging around tonight then. " I let the fly swing till I reached the end of the stream and wound in. I asked the guy if there was anyone, "... Down below...", and he said there two others. No point in me heading down that way then. I'll go home just.  As I was heading upstream again I had a change of heart. Maybe I'd give the pools further up a throw. I was just passing below the house when I saw someone else coming down the field. I was going over rants in my head about buses arriving and such things when I noticed he wasn't carrying a rod. It was one of the bailiffs.  A quick chat and a check of my details and he was happy enough and carried on downstream and I carried on upstream.

I had just got into the streamy part of the neck of the pool and I could hear sheep bleating. I didn't pay much heed as there was a field full of them on the opposite bank.  I was just taking the fly off the rod ring to start fishing when I glanced over my shoulder to see if there was anyone coming behind me when I saw something in the shallow water above me sitting about 2 to 3 foot out of the water. "Is that a bag?", I thought. It didn't really look like a bag. Then I heard the bleating again. It turned out to be a sheep. How it got so far into the river I do not know but it was standing on its hind legs and looked like it couldn't get grip on its front legs which were straight out in front of it. It was closer to the far bank than the bank it should have been on.

So, I had to abandon the rod and try to get this thing out of the water. Having worked with sheep in my life, I knew they were heavy brutes to start with. But one that had been lying in the river for god knows how long??? It was heavy! Very Heavy!!!

I tried to stand it on its feet but it was too weak. It was exhausted from all the time it had been in the river. Nothing else for it, I had the slipe it.  So there was me, own my own, trying to slipe, god knows what weight of an animal, out of the Faughan. With the weight and the slippy stones, it was a real struggle. After a while, I got it close enough to the bank that I could lay its head out of the water while most of the body was still in it. I had to sit down. I was wrecked. After 5 minutes or so, I gave it one more heave-ho and got it clear of the water onto the bank. I don't know if it survived or recovered as I haven't been up that way since.

I gave the neck of the pool I had intended to fish a very quick throw but left soon after. I was exhausted and could barely make it up the field myself. I came into the house and lay down on the sofa for half an hour before hitting the shower and getting a change of clothes. Thankfully evenings like that at the river don't happen too often. 

I fished the Thursday and Friday evenings of that week and didn't see a fish never mind touch, hook or get any. There was heavy rain overnight on the Thursday night and into the early hours of the Friday morning and the river went up again. That Friday evening, the river was in perfect order. However, the fish were not interested.

Lovely water but no fish

There were more torrential downpours on the Saturday. I was away shooting clays and the intensity of the showers when they started was unreal. Standing in bright sunshine one minute and the next you couldn't hear yourself speak in the Clubhouse with the noise of the rain on the roof. Intense shower after shower after shower. I didn't even look at the river on Saturday evening. It had to rise again. I didn't bother fishing on the Sunday either.

Dirty water on the Sunday morning after the torrential downpours in the Saturday

The showers kept coming on Monday. Not with the intensity of Saturday but quite heavy at times. I had intended getting to the river during the day but I didn't get to the evening. The river looked a good height when I was crossing. When I went upstream and was getting into the neck of the first pool for the evening, the water looked to be colouring again.  Sure enough. When I entered the second pool, it was fast becoming worm only water. I'd give this pool a run through though. I thought I'd remove the polyleader and try to fish the fly as close to the surface as possible to create a silhouette. Talk about overthinking!

I was nearing the tail of the pool when the line seemed to slow up, then started to be taken slowly from my hand. I lifted into nothing once again. What have I to do to even hook a fish???

I fished most days that week but other than the odd touch and half hearted pull there was very little to report.

On the Friday evening, I had my tea early and headed off to the river.  The river was quite low again after a drier period, or at least fewer showers anyway.  I decided I would head upstream and try those pools.  I had one quick run through the pools but didn't see or touch anything.  I was making my way downstream and was coming to the first decent pool below the house.  This used to be my favourite pool on the river but it just hasn't fished the same in low water since the big flood of 2017.  I wasn't in the best of form and was just basically out at the river rather than sitting in the house. My losing streak was knocking the stuffing out of me.

As I was approaching the pool, I was thinking, "...is there any point even trying that?", "That place is finished". Then I thought, "Well there's no point walking past it".  I went into the neck of the pool, which you don't have to wade as you can cast from the stone bank.  Third cast square across the pool and I was into a fish! I was more than shocked.  It was a small grilse of not much more than 3lb but, my goodness, it was more than appreciated.  More than welcomed. Such a relief.

A small grilse of around 3lb. I was glad to finally land one.

I didn't fish that much between then and the end of the month.  I was shooting again on the Saturday, had a lazy day on the Sunday and had other things to do during the following week.

I had managed to land another 2 for the month and had touched, hooked and lost so many more.  The frustration continued.

We had a really horrible day here on Friday 30th August.  I was helping out with setting up traps for a charity clay shoot at my club.  The waterproofs got tested that day.  They failed.  We had so much rain that the lane to the club got washed away.  Needless to say the river rose again. But, what water we had on Sunday 1st September!