Trout & about
BY LOUIS FEROX IT’S been a long week to start the trout season. The sporting calendar’s been decimated as the Six Nations then the football have been put on hiatus.
Spectator sports may have been shuttered for now but as I was reminded the other day, nature isn’t closed.
The Angling Trust’s announcement echoed the thoughts of a lot of my fisher friends.
It said: “Where appropriate, anglers should carry on fishing and encourage others to do so.
“Fishing is a fantastic means of getting active and outdoors, engaging with your environment and provides significant benefits to our health and well-being, which are important considerations in the current climate and we would advise anglers to continue fishing.”
Taking precautions and staying safe is the first priority just now, limiting contact and not taking unnecessary journeys.
In the meantime, fisheries that are small independent businesses remain open, angling associations that depend on ticket money to maintain their beats have the new trout season there ready and waiting, while days on the salmon rivers are popping up as visiting anglers are forced to cancel vacations.
I don’t remember the three-day week in the 70s, when commercial use of electricity was limited to three days’ consumption.
The foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 was the last time I recall sporting events being cancelled en masse.
This outbreak hasn’t put restrictions on access to waterways but it has left people in need of distraction.
Social distancing will cut down on people casting across you but it means avoiding handshakes and a good social afterwards.
It also means having to click and collect your gear rather than have a good nosey around the tackle shop.
As for the trout? They’re going about their business and hopefully just waiting to pick off a nice glint perdigon or pheasant tail bomb when I get out this weekend.
This time of the year, the fish are normally found closer to the bottom of the river and, with the water level up, you’ll need something heavy to get down. Reaching the right depth can be the difference between blanking and finding a few fish to net.
Whatever the outlook, over the next few weeks I hope you’re all safe and healthy, take care of each other and we’ll all keep catching fish for the foreseeable future.
LAST week, I mentioned that the anglers at Catholes were harling on the Tay. They wouldn’t use this method. They were fishing the fly from an anchored boat on different spots in the beat to cover fish.