Weekly River & Hatches Update
There is something enthralling about casting at dusk, when you can barely make out your fly from the willow floss, and you strike at the slightest inkling of a take, as the trout continue to rise lazily at wriggling gnats long into dark. This is the month made famous by the evening rise. Welcome to June!
Weather:
Last week bucked the trend a little, with wet and blustery conditions and even a little rain. Mild winds from the southwest of up to 18mph blew much of the fly life off the water and into the trees before the trout had a look in… but thankfully this week average temperatures are 20 degrees, and conditions seem much calmer; overcast, with sunny spells and gentle breezes from the west. The turn of the month that is June marks the advent of the long-awaited evening rise. Yes! The sun officially sets after 9pm. Sunrise: 04:50 GMT. Sunset 21:20 GMT. UV: Medium, Pollution: Low. Pressure: 1020mb.
River Flows:
The river flows currently range between normal and below normal as rated by the Environment Agency. Whilst there has been limited rainfall in the last few weeks, the chalk stream aquifers are still full after a wet winter. Thankfully, the riverbanks are drying out (finally!), so in most cases walking boots will suffice, though a pair of wellies or thigh waders might just help coax your quarry to the water’s edge.
Hatches:
As the Mayfly hatches start to fizzle out in places, you would be forgiven for thinking this week is the beginning of the end. Fear not! Our Dorset and Wiltshire streams have finally hit their Mayfly crescendo in full force with terrific hatches of Mayfly reported on the river Frome at Islington in particular, and Danica hatches on the Avon are expected to continue in their fleeting bursts long into June and July. It’s been quite blustery this week, and nymphs and small dries have generally outperformed larger patterns, but whatever the weather, there are still regular hatches of tiny olives and midges in their many hundreds of thousands, so come with flies aplenty.
Fly Patterns:
Over the past few weeks, the trout have gorged themselves on Mayfly sometimes to the point of refusal, so now is generally the time we start to turn to smaller dry fly patterns to outwit our wily quarry. At the front of my fly box this week will be Blue Winged Olive (BWO), Klinkhammer, Parachute Adams and Elk Hair Caddis.
Our Seasonal tips:
As a general rule, we would expect surface action timings to be determined by the weather on the day, generally warm and sunny with a little rain this coming week. The best fly fishers are more snipers than machine gunners and so waiting, watching, observing and picking your moment, is almost always the best approach. We have often noted a tendency in recent years for the fly hatches to come on late in afternoon and evening, so therein lies the excuse you need to have a lazy morning and an early lunch, or even just pop out after work, and enjoy the moment when it arrives.
News, events and catch reports:
