Silver on the Silverburn

This river is as close as we get to a chalk stream. There is limestone in Castletown and the river runs over it. Invertebrate life in the Silverburn is prolific and so are the fat trout that live in it's waters. the Silverburn has a run of sea trout and salmon so it wasn't a surprise when the first fish of the day wasn't the ubiquitous brown trout but a rather fine salmon smolt.

This was at the very start of the river, just up from the sea and a minute from where the car was parked. Not a place I usually stop to fish but a large shoal of fish under the tree was far too tempting a target not to cast a fly to. the fish are incredibly spooky in this stretch. Partly because there are no features and partly because the path runs along side the water.

Keeping tight into the bank and staying low was the only way to go. It was a bit blustery today. Not enough to need the titanium line but enough to put on the 14lb FC Sniper Invisible. This is a true diameter line at #4 but equivalent of a #3.5 Buttobi or Yamatoyo, which are thicker in the gauge for their stated weight. The Invisible really lives up to it's name. I couldn't see this line above the water. I can see a clear line much easier than this stuff with it's bands of camo greens and browns. If you need a stealth line, definitely check this one out if you can find some. I had to use the ESO Wax to put a pink marker on the end just to give me half a chance.

Further up is one of my favourite spots. Right at the end of the park a pipe crosses the river and the farmer has hug a gate on it to keep the livestock that side. Naturally I cal this the "gate pool" but I'm sure it probably has other names like the "pipe pool".

It doesn't look much but I had 5 fish out of this little area. Plenty of slashes and misses as well. the brownies of the Siverburn sure are pretty. A passing family were very excited I'd caught a fish and their little daughter came for a closer look. She even got the courage up to touch it! "It's wet!" ...classic.

I was using one of my favourite patterns. Very simple, deer hair back and tail with a hackle and silver rib. It's not a "humpy". Tied very slim. Here it is drowned:

You can see the underside of the hackle is clipped and everything is sticking together. The fish still take it like this. twitched to the surface and allowed to sink again in a typical Tenkara rhythmical manipulation. In one section, using this method I had fish attacking the fly from every direction. 

Of course it works really well as a dry fly. Using the Twanger is an easy first step to drying it out. So it looks more like:

It will now float, but not for very long. Definitely needs some help. Out comes the new "Bob-it". Sample of this have been doing the rounds since November and I've finally settled on the formula after extensive testing in the lab. That's another write up tough. Using floatant powder in a breeze is tricky. Here's how I do it:

I hold the bottle between my thumb and first finger. The leader comes through between my first and second finger and the fly sits in my palm. That way I can open the bottle and get the floatant powder worked into the fly up close to my chest and protected from the wind.

Once the big one had been caught the pool went quiet. This was a lovely 11 inch fish measured against the rod handle. This is a big fish for our rivers. I continued up river taking fish steadily until I reached the top pool. This one is tricky. It's a favourite swimming hole for dogs taking their owners for a walk.

Sometimes I'm lucky and the fish will cooperate, most times it's a beautiful deep pool that is nothing but frustration. Today was a good day. First cast and a fish came out from the tree roots to engulf the fly and drag it down deep. It was only a short fight but another 10 inch fish was in the net.

I could have fished on for much longer but a shoulder injury (non casting arm) was starting to get sore. No need to push it. The fish would be here another day.