Catch Your First Trout Despite The Cold

Something was lacking in my life. I had always been a keen course fisherman, but whilst I still wanted to catch fish, I was getting bored.

Fly fishing had always interested me, but I (wrongly) considered that it was a rich man’s game and that I couldn’t afford it. However, on visiting a local trout fishery which consists of two lakes, I found this was not the case.

I also found the lakes to be stunningly beautiful, and this, I believe, is important and the basis for my first tip:

1. Try and find somewhere you actually like to visit anyway.

When I started fly fishing, I never thought I’d catch anything. I had been several times and always enjoyed it, probably because of tip 1 above.

You can also get very frustrated if you are finding casting difficult.

Tip 2. Get some casting tuition.

Casting a fly line is completely different to any other type of casting. It’s not hard, but technique is everything. Bad casting can ruin your pleasure and even put you off altogether.

My casting was coming on fine, but I had yet to catch a fish. This brings me to my third tip:

Tip 3. Talk to the other fishermen.

Most fly fishers are friendly sorts. If you see someone catching a fish, go and talk to them and ask them what sort of fly they are using and at what depth they caught the fish. People are only too happy to talk about their success!

This way you can learn what methods they use and try them for yourself.

This leads me to my fourth tip:

Tip 4. Admit defeat and pack up fishing altogether.

Because I enjoyed the natural beauty of the fishery, I kept going which I might not have done if it was just a hole in the ground, which, let’s face it, some fisheries are.

By trying different things, changing fly, fishing depth or presentation, we increase our chances of catching, so:

Tip 5. Try something different.

If you are like me, you will go out and buy all sorts of books about your new sport and try and learn everything you can. This is absolutely the right thing to do, but don’t be afraid to go against the perceived wisdom at times.

My first trout was caught on a floating line with a short leader and a bright orange fritz fly. No problem with that, except that it was a freezing cold day, very overcast and dark, conditions which anyone will tell you suit a sinking line and long leader, and a dark fly!

So there you have it, a few tips – tight lines!

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