The thing about spring at Millbrook is that you often don’t know quite what to expect from one day to the next. That certainly proved true when Craig and Wendy joined us for their annual Cup Weekend visit. In typical November fashion, in the course of 5 days we went from warm & still, to icy sleet and gales, to a frost, to hazy sun and finally back to blue skies.
Perhaps ironically for the uninitiated, the most idyllic weather human-wise – calm & sunny – provided the most challenging fishing. We sighted fish by the dozen, but getting them to eat the fly in glass-clear water was another matter. What a reward when we did though!
Conversely, the brutal weather on the weekend, complete with hail, sleet and a Severe Wind Warning, had even the big browns behaving recklessly and chomping a big dry without hesitation. Fortunately, Craig and Wendy have seen it all before at Millbrook and they had no trouble fishing (and dressing!) for the conditions, as the pictures show.
Another important element in their success was flexibility. While a good dun hatch is everyone’s favourite, and we had some rippers for this trip, Craig and Wendy don’t build their day around the dun hatch (or lack of). The duns don’t turn up like clockwork – even when conditions seem ideal. The important thing is to fish according to what’s available at that moment (and once or twice we had the exact opposite experience when the duns hatched up when we didn’t expect them. Nice when you can get it!)
The closest we came to a clockwork event was the evening midge hatch – these ‘Smarties for trout’ have been showing up for months now and hot or cold, the temperature doesn’t affect the massive hatches. Only rain puts them down. Whatever the weather, the great majority of trout caught this trip took dry flies, and most were sighted first. Craig and Wendy know we don’t always have either luxury, but it sure is great when we do!
Perhaps ironically for the uninitiated, the most idyllic weather human-wise – calm & sunny – provided the most challenging fishing. We sighted fish by the dozen, but getting them to eat the fly in glass-clear water was another matter. What a reward when we did though!
Conversely, the brutal weather on the weekend, complete with hail, sleet and a Severe Wind Warning, had even the big browns behaving recklessly and chomping a big dry without hesitation. Fortunately, Craig and Wendy have seen it all before at Millbrook and they had no trouble fishing (and dressing!) for the conditions, as the pictures show.
Another important element in their success was flexibility. While a good dun hatch is everyone’s favourite, and we had some rippers for this trip, Craig and Wendy don’t build their day around the dun hatch (or lack of). The duns don’t turn up like clockwork – even when conditions seem ideal. The important thing is to fish according to what’s available at that moment (and once or twice we had the exact opposite experience when the duns hatched up when we didn’t expect them. Nice when you can get it!)
The closest we came to a clockwork event was the evening midge hatch – these ‘Smarties for trout’ have been showing up for months now and hot or cold, the temperature doesn’t affect the massive hatches. Only rain puts them down. Whatever the weather, the great majority of trout caught this trip took dry flies, and most were sighted first. Craig and Wendy know we don’t always have either luxury, but it sure is great when we do!
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