 |
| UPSTREAM FROM BALLYHOOLY BRIDGE. |
On moving upstream i knew that we might have a better chance meeting a fish due to the slower water and this would allow both fly and spinner to achieve optimum depth. Fishing down from the top of the beat i caught 9 Kelts which were in great condition and even one gave me a scare for a moment due to the fact that it stayed deep and pulled hard upstream. Looking at the spent fish and the great condition that they were in i reckon that they were late arrivals ( October / November ) and now having spawned are heading back. The fish are not marked and some have still got good body weight to them and fight very strong so they are not in the system very long. Last October and November a large number of fresh salmon were seen going over Fermoy weir and i reckon i caught a few of those fish today. I was using a 20gr Black / Silver flying C with a size four blade to achieve maximum depth, casting upstream from mid water to the far bank i met all my fish hugging the bottom. Kieran also caught three kelts on the fly but the downstream wind was making fishing a nightmare for both systems because it was speeding up and blowing the lines back across the river and not allowing us to fish slower. With cold weather due i reckon that if the river drops another foot and a half there might be some fresh fish caught over the weekend. At the time of writing this report i didn't hear of any fresh fish taken on the Blackwater. The video will be edited and up on youtube tomorrow ish due to the fact that i'm knackered from spinning heavy water all day.
why do you cast the flying c upstream? as i generally meet most of my fish casting the flying c directly out in front of me to the far bank and letting the flying c swing around paul, i find the blade seems to kick in faster that way.
ReplyDeleteHi Kieran,
ReplyDeleteFishing upstream cuts the proper angles across underwater rocks while downstream fishing bounces off the rocks as it comes across in an arc. Fishing upstream with braid you will feel every rock, weed and gravel bar so it gives you a better understanding of the river bottom and areas that salmon use as lies. With the flying c coming at them so fast it causes them to react very aggressively. I have promised to put up a video to show the effectiveness of upstream spinning and how to get spinners back when they are stuck under rocks etc., soon.
Regards Paul.
I GENERALLY USE 30LB SPIDERWIRE ULTRACAST BRAID FOR SPINNING/ PRAWNING AS I FIND IT CASTS WELL OFF THE SPOOL. THESE DAYS I USE A PLIERS TO DEBARB THE TREBLE HOOK AS IT IS EASIER TO UNHOOK KELTS QUICKLY IN THE WATER WITH A FORCEPS AND NINE OUT OF TEN TIMES WHEN I GET SNAGGED IN THE BOTTOM, I WILL RETRIEVE THE FLYING C/ TOBY FROM THE SNAG. SURE I WILL LOSE A FEW FISH BY DEBARBING THE TREBLE BUT I ALSO HAVE LOST FISH TO BARBED TREBLES.
ReplyDelete