My luck seems to be changing or is it Rodder's fly?

Got to the river last night by about 9.00 pm. The conditions were perfect! That's happened to me twice this year so far! It was warm, slightly overcast and still. A real pleasure to fish the river - pure enjoyment!



I started fishing the pool between the ditch and the bush opposite where we tackle up. Half way down I had a confident and solid take and got into my first fish, a 4 1/2 lb sewin that fought like hell, taking yards of line off my real and causing a right commotion in the pool. I was fishing Rodder's Special tube and when I say the take was confident I mean that the fish took the fly in a perfectly relaxed, normal kind of way. It wasn't a savage take but I could tell that the fish felt comfortable in taking it and that it would be well and truly hooked!



As I approached the bush I had a gentle pluck, a bit like a brownie. I continued fishing down the pool and as I got to the bush on the far side another take happened. Again it was confident, again it was going to stay hooked! It was a bigger fish this time that started cartwheeling down towards the fast water, stripping 10 metres of line on it's first run. I tried to get below the fish but it took more line and was getting dangerously close to the fast current. Eventually I managed to get below it and beached it about 10 metres below the bush. It weighed 6 1/2 lb.



I then went around the corner and fished all the way down to the bend. I did this twice to no avail. I then thought I would try the pool opposite our base again and hooked a 2lb fish right by the bush which I believed was the same fish that had had plucked me earlier. I returned this fish to fight another day.




I fished on until 1.00 am, had no more takes, saw no more fish, didn't see a fish move all night but enjoyed every minute of it! Except the bullocks in the field between the river and the car! When I came back through the field last night, as quietly as I could possibly be, you would have thought that the 30 or so bullocks in there would have hardly noticed me wouldn't you? Like hell! They were chasing around me like maniacs, I was chucking rocks at them, shouting, waving my arms, running, everything! When I got to the gate I flung myself over it, heart thumping rapidly. As I picked myself up the other side and looked back at the 30 staring pairs of eyes I thought ' I'm too old for this'! Swines!

Catch to date (2007 Season)

2 No Seatrout - up to 2 lb (Torridge)
7 No Sewin - up to 7lb (6.5 lb, 4.5 lb) (Towy)
2 No Brown trout - up 1.5 lb (Torridge)(Towy)