A Tale of Two Rivers

I had a number of thoughts about where and how I was going to fish. The Sulby river was my main target as I'd driven past recently and my appetite had been wetted. when the Sulby reservoir was constructed there were issues with aluminium poisoning and much of the river died off. That was many years ago and the river is recovering. This section is not far from the dam and I was interested to see how it was doing.

I intended to fish Tenkara style with only patterns designed for the purpose. These are fished according to the water conditions rather than hatch matching. I had another idea as well. I wanted to try a 6' 1# rod from Maxcatch to see how it would go. I strapped it into my sling pack.

It fitted nicely using gear wraps to hold it together. On my back I couldn't feel the rod at all. That's a bonus as I thought the reel might dig in. My thinking is that perhaps other rods could be carried this way on bigger rivers like the Dee.

My initial casts, although perfectly accurate, into likely runs and pockets produced nothing. Not a swirl or any interest at all. My heart sank a little. Perhaps, beautiful though it looked, the Sulby hasn't recovered.

My new Strooan 2 was working perfectly in the close environment. I'd got the line length set for the medium length, 325cm (10' 8"). That's still a lot longer than the 6' rod on my back. The multi coloured Sunline BMS Azayaka line is still my favourite line. With it's built in indicator and slightly more subtle colours than a full orange, pink or yellow line.

Overhead this section was clear so casting parallel with the river was a breeze with the full length of the rod. Lots of interesting places for fish to hide. Sticking close to the bank and staying low, eventually I was bound to find a fish. I was confident that there must be fish in here. A rise upstream confirmed that there were fish. Not many, but certainly some.

Persistence paid off. Not the biggest fish, but a fish all the same. I was soon into another. something big. Very big. It had come out from under a tree and taken hold. It swan a couple of meters back upstream and went back under the tree. It was as if I'd hooked the tree itself. It was sold, but I could feel the slow sweeping of the tail trough the rod.

A good bend in the rod and the fish moved off station enough for me to see it was a huge sea trout. At least 40cm long. It came up then redirected under a boulder. The 3lb tippet rubbed against the rock for a second or so before it was cut. The fish was gone.

Sad that I didn't land the fish but elated that sea trout are still running in the river and getting so high up. I composed myself and fished on.

There were more than a few fish in this stretch. Every other cast I was getting a fish. It seems the fish had come out into the glides to shoal up. My worries about there being reduced fish stocks in the Sulby river have pretty much dissipated.

It's not as stuffed as the Silverburn but there are fish in  good numbers to be found in pockets.

I'm very pleased with the new Strooan 2. The improved lightness and balance have made it a rod I didn't think was possible within the budget.

So what about the little 6' rod I was carrying about? What about it? I didn't get it out. Forgot I had it with me. Didn't feel the need for such a short rod at any time. A family were playing in the river in front of me as I neared a camp site. I decided to call it a day and head off to another bit of water near'ish by.

The Druidale river is above Sulby reservoir feeding into it. It's one of my favourite places to fish and I'd been there recently. However, I hadn't fished the downstream section so that's what I did.

I parked up in the usual place and instead of fishing downriver I hiked all the way to the big pool at the bottom so I could fish upstream.

I call it the swimming hole because it is large and very deep. I've swam in this water and I can tell you the bottom cannot be reached. One day I'll bring a mask and see how deep it really is. then again, do I really want to know what lurks on the bottom?

I've never had much luck with fish in the swimming hole. The water above is another story. There plenty of eager fish to be caught. They'll splash at almost anything that lands in their watery world once, and only once. If you miss them they are gone. they are amongst the spookiest fish I've every tried to catch.

They are there with their black backs and buttery bellies. Some of them are decent sized for the water. The long deep glides can be 3 feet deep in places. they don't totally freeze in the winter so they make sanctuaries for the upland trout.

The fishing is wild and rewarding. The fish fight hard with their disproportionally large tails.

Yet there is a downside. As the sun starts to dip behind the hills the midges come out. Swarms of the evil, little, black biting things.

There are fish under that bank on the bend but the growing number of itchy red dots on my arms, face and neck are driving me round the bend. I call it a day.

More fish above the dam than below it. However, there are a lot more fish than the last time I fished the Sulby at the same sort of distance from the dam. It's all very positive. I wish I could have landed the sea trout, but no way would it have fit in my net. The new rod is worthy of the 2. I don't know how I can improve on it.

I should also note that I fished both of these rivers without my trusty wading stick. Normally I'd have either my big, fixed length, rabbit head stick or I'd have at least a collapsible on my hip. I had neither. I am now so confident in the abillilty of the Rock Treads to keep my feet from slipping I'm not worrying about needing the extra support. Believe me, both of these rivers would happily dump you on your backside with their slippery rocks.

There was a concern voiced to me about the Rock Treads making too much noise. Metal on rock. I have to say I've not noticed an increase in noise or my catch rate suffer. If I lose the rubber tip from my wading stick, then it's like the school bell ringing out every time I plant the stick. Doesn't happen with the Rock Treads. With 6 teams in the World Championships using them, they must be doing something right! I'll never have wading boots without them ever again. That's how much they have boosted my confidence while wading.