Brassminkies

DEPENDING on what your local area offers and for those who do not chase grayling in winter, the colder months can be a long time away from casting a fly.

March 15 sees the beginning of the traditional Trout Season in Scotland but our small stillwaters offer sport with all year round to get their angling fix.

This year’s big freeze and Covid restrictions mean a lot of venues had a rest. That means for many fisheries there has been a restocking, and excellent late winter/ early spring conditions have made for superb fishing!

My friend Dougie, who’s a casting instructor and keen angler, had a fantastic short session on New Howwood with his son, getting more than 20 fish to the net. The fishery has had a high rod average since it reopened.

Here’s Dougie’s tips on getting the most out of your small water trips and picking up a tricky overwintered fish or two.

●One of the good things about fishing in the colder months is the fact that the fish have a more limited menu available to them,

CATCH A COLD Winter fishing making them less selective.

Freshly introduced fish or “stockies” will often be hungry and as long as you move around trying to locate pods of fish, you should see some action once you find them.

●Try not to stick to one spot, move around and try different densities of lines until you start to get a response. If you find a group of fish in front of you, be sporting – catch a few and move on to let someone else try their luck.

●A good approach when searching for fish would be an intermediate line or slow sink line and small lure – fish this at different speeds of retrieve until you get a response. Once you have found a few fish, you could try fishing other attractor patterns static under a bung, which can be devastating when the fish don’t really want to chase. Change the depth of your flies under your indicator until you start getting regular takes.

●Overwintered fish are still “stockies” but have been in the water much longer and have switched to feeding on insects, crustaceans, and small fish. These fish can be much harder to tempt so it pays to think of these food groups when choosing fly patterns. Lures such as minkies or zonkers are great fry imitators. Smaller, drab nymphs such as a Hares Ears or daiwl bachs can be good at tempting fish feeding on shrimps and beetles. Or a bloodworm and buzzer combo might be the answer – ring the changes until you get a response.

It’s still Scotland and the wintry weather’s not quite over yet, so make sure you have the right clothing to suit should things get cold and wet.

Take care to follow the Covid rules on the fishery, it won’t be long until the sun’s out and we’ve got the whole country to explore again but for now stay safe and stay local.