lesson of the day: trout eat meat

Hi guys,

I got out again on one of the English Chalk streams last night (not the Test).  Up here in Yorkshire there is a seam of limestone that makes a lot of little chalk streams, but there are also a couple big ones.  Last night I fished a place called Mulberry Whin on the Driffield West Beck (a beck is a stream).  It is a little smaller than what I was fishing on the test.  Depending on the place it is between 25 and 50' wide but it was fairly deep in places.  Some of the flowing holes were 6' and you could see to the bottom.  One of the slower moving spots would have pushed 10' deep.  The water was crystal clear, but there was a lot of weed growth so you had to find a bare patch to see any depth.

I started around 5:30, but since it was so cloudy and drizzling rain it was like fishing the evening hours all night long.  I had hoped for a nice hatch, but the rain and wind made fishing a hatch pretty tough.  Also as I found out the fish were rising sporadiaclly, but not enough that you could time any particular fish.  I could have fished a dry to sighted fish, but there were a lot more fish that weren't feeding on the surface than were.  They were eating up nymphs though, so I put on a small BH olive flash back hares ear (about an 18) under an indicator and started picking off grayling out of each hole.  Every hole had a couple fish actively feeding, but once you caught one they would all spook and you'd have to move to the next one.  I picked 6 fish (15-20") in a hundred yards that way before I started walking to learn the stream.  One thing I learned is that there are a lot of pike there.  Some big ones too.

After doing some walking around the rain started and fishing an indicator rig wasn't getting it for me.  Rather than pack it in early, I put on a #4 6xl white zonker and started to try for some pike.  I fished back through the same water and promptly picked a dozen trout and another grayling.  The smallest fish was 14" and most were in the 14-17" range with a couple pushing 20".  They were absolutely hammering the fly though.  I was casting down and across and stripping back at a fairly quick pace.  I did hook one pike that would have pushed close to 40" and well into the double digit weight range.  He was mouth hooked and I had him fairly close in, but he turned into the line and wrapped it around his mouth.  I think we all know the end of that story.  He'll be there next time though.

Long story short, no matter how fussy the trout are, no matter how prestigous the stream, or how particular the other anglers are that typically fish it, trout eat meat.  It is tough to beat a big chunk of fish coming across the stream with a little wiggle and flash to make a trout go nuts.  Half of the takes I got were slamming the fly.  The other half went airborne on contact.

Sorry, only two pictures and I don't have them loaded yet.  However you can see the stream from their website and the pictures they have taken:

www.mulberry-whin.com


Only one fair picture. Can't tell the scale in the picture, but he was 20" nose to tail:




Thanks
Rick

yeah, you could say I'm pretty lucky right now. Sure it costs a little bit of money to fish them, but I'll never have the chance to come back over here again for this length of time so why not? Besides, there are plenty of fish of whatever your persuasion. Tomorrow I am going to check out a native brown trout stream that I've heard about. It is well off the beaten path and not known by many. Day passes are 3 pounds ($6), so if it is a blow out I don't mind. It is only a half hour away, and could be a really nice evening spot.

If anyone is going to be in England, especially up north, let me know and we'll get you onto a stream.

Thanks
Rick

Enjoyed reading about your venture. thanks for sharing!
 
Al

Thanks for the story, Rick!  I always enjoy reading about other lands.  Can you post some pictures of common things such as; pubs, pastures, cars, gardens etc.  Thanks.

Thanks Rick.  I'm just trying to "see England through your pictures/eyes".

Great story and pic's.,don't sweat the price of 3 pounds for a day pass,paid 5000,yen for a day pass in Japan and another 10,000 for the train ride, around 150 dollars every weekend i could, to fish for trout over there.Worth every cent. A day on the strem is priceless. 

Rick,
 
Great photos!!!!
 
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