The Early Riser gets the Flounder (chinese proverb)

Thursday/ Friday brought persistant rain, that promptly  killed  any plans of fishing a grayling stream .  That was one of our plans for the weekend but also , we planned to hit the beach we fished last weekend, and it was a go'er cause low tide  was  early but during day-time hours at  7:30 am so we had to be out our beds kind of sharp ,  we were fishing  by 7:20 am just as the sun was coming up.

For bait today we had a few blueys and a few mackeral , the blueys though were crap for staying on the hook , awful soft and maybe could have been better salted a few days before use to toughen them up, so the mackeral was the go too. There was a  fair surf on the water and our tripods had to be placed a good distance from the tide line. I had two rods set up with 2 hook flappers and 3oz leads, Brian had the same on one rod but a running ledger setup on his other. I was first to land  a flounder, a decent one and a keeper. Then it was Brian who took the next few fish , his running ledger took this cracking flounder of 1 1/2lb

then had a few more flounder, then a turbot!

I managed afew more flounder, then it went a bit quiet, and al the time the surf seemed to be getting bigger and bigger , a change to 4oz grippers on one rod though i kept with the 3oz flattened lead on the other and just as we were contemplating a move to the nearby estuary my rod loaded with the 3oz lead registered a bite, it was a good fish too, it came in on the tide , and between waves lay on the sand where the hook popped out , a bit wresting and a bit of a soaking for us , and it was safely landed.

It went 2lb on the dot (42cm) a new PB.
That seemed to trigger a really good spell as i had a wee run of fish including a wee turbot.

Brian finished the morning session with another couple of flatties to 1 1/4lb .

At 12:30pm we decided to go for a bite to eat just as the tide was nearing it's highest point filling the sea with weed.

    
After that we decided to return and try the ebb, the sea was still wild and casting our rods they were imediately hauled by a weed filled sea. So we made a move for the estuary. I took one more fish but that was our lot for the day , it had been a great day, rewarding , and the flounder tasted great too!


 

some simple grayling flies

With some grayling fishing on the cards soon I've been stocking up the box with a few of my favourite flies for this time of year, like most of my fly tying these days i tend to keep it as simple as possible.

It's not unusual to find Grayling smutting on small black flies at this time of year so a suitable imitation in black such as a klink is a useful pattern to have in the box

the grayling were smutting in this pool on a very low and clear river

rather than the heavy bugging associated with grayling fishing in the depths of winter, a nz set up with a wire nymph suspended below a big klink can be good, pink or plain tungsten beads have their day.

 Ive started using coq de leon for the tail rather than pheasant tail as its more durable

a nice autumn grayling

a simple shrimp pattern  in grey with a wee bit of glister is another one for the box



a  fine October day on a grayling stream

    

sun, sea and flatfish

We were back on an  East Lothian beach yesterday, with the hope of catching some nice flounders and maybe a turbot if we were lucky, unlike the last visit, we fished two rods each this time to increase  our chances of success.

I was quickly of the mark landing two flounders in quick succession before Col had his first double shot of the day

Col had a good wee spell after that landing a few including a nice pounder and a tiny Turbot!

note the disposable gloves to try and keep the stink of the smelly bait of our hands!

I was having a quite spell so moved up the beach where i lost a decent fish before landing my first ever double shot

it was a lovely day to be on the beach

sport slowed down after that but Col landed another decent flounder and just as we were ready to call it a day i got a better one too, three for the frying pan.

Total tally for the day was six flounders  for me, seven for Col plus the lovely wee turbot.

final fling

Today the river definitely had that end of season feel about it, there was a chill in the air and the water temperature felt oh so cold, especially with leaking waders! the banksides are beginning to look autumnal too with trees on the turn and the rowans well berried.

    The fishing started of slowly, a couple of pools passed without a touch , and then just as the sun broke through the clouds came the first  trout of day on the nymph, not big but most welcome

a few more followed here and there

still the odd campanula along the banksides

this dipper stayed still long enough for a picture

a nice trout on the klink to end the season

   

  ,

the sound of the Suburbs

Went to a wee burn on the outskirts of Livingstone, it flows through parkland by housing estates and in parts through heath-land . When i first laid eyes on the water i thought i'd made a bad decision, as there appeared to be quite a bit extra water in, but there was enough clarity, so itwas a day of fishing the slack water at the edges behind boulders etc, my flies i picked were the stimulator and good old glister bug.
My fears were put to bed when my stimulator dipped as a fish nailed the glister bug.

It was a reoccuring theme throughout the afternoon, with plenty modest sized brownies from this magic wooded burn.

As the afternoon wore on there seemed to be a bit more interest to the stimulator. Why that should be ive no idea .

This will be my last trip to the burns for almost six months with the close season looming. Good to finish on a positive note.

little gem's

Yesterday was my last opertunity to go fishing for a fortnight, so i made good use of the afternoon and nipped of to the "mossy stone burn" for a few hours. I've fished this burn from a young age and it hasn't changed much in that time, whenever i visit here it feels like stepping back in time, back to being a boy again.

I have fond childhood memory's of catching minnows from this very pool which we called Contentibus, reason being that that was the name of an old farm in the area i think.

the trout havent changed either, each one of them a colourful little gem and a joy to catch

The banks are heavily overgrown making casting a challenge in places, it was satisfying when a tricky cast resulted in a trout slamming into the big stimulator, equally annoying when a fluffed  cast resulted in a tree branch! 

theres something man made about this waterfall, a sign of an industrial past? 

one on the klink

   

time was moving on but i kept on saying to myself, just one more pool! another hour of fun passed before i thought i better negotiate my way back downstream to the car.

ideally i would like to get dropped off  and spend the day working my way upstream, then get picked up at the other end. No time for that now this season but something to look forward to next year. 

The simple things...

Locally we have a fair number of burns each of them have there very own bit of character differant water quality and moods.

The first burn i hoped to fish today is a moody water, it is though more often or not very coloured  days where it is fishable are hard to time , i reckon it's just after a spate  as it's falling back to normal level it's at it's best but even then it can be a lottery. It does though have the novelty of a grayling population which is probably the main reason i fish it though i must admit the urge is weaning.I gave it a hour before deciding it was just too dirty, so headed 1/2 a mile along the road to fish a neighbouring burn.

This burn was running perfect.  With a slight peat stain. 

Mainly fished klinks and glister nymphs and there was plenty willing takers in brilliant techni-colour.

 I headed further upstream as i did  the burn lost a few small tributaries and naturally the fishing got tighter, due to undergrowth and trees encroaching on the small pockets of water. Here the catapult cast was useful , and it really gave a great sense of satisfaction when all went to plan .

 Here the fish seemed to be that bit smaller though none the worse for it .

Awwe!

 

but here and there there was still the odd better fish lying in wait .

what a refreshing  way to spend a afternoon.