On Saturday, Glendevon looked more like the Pyrenees in high summer: nice for an alpine hike, but not much good for fishing. The skies were clear and bright and the temperature at 8.00am was already touching 20 degrees. There was little evidence of rising fish and the only insects on show were those pesky horse flies. I had naively brought along my 5 weight rod in preparation for the prolific hatch of heather flies and daddies. Kenny, the fishery manager, warned that the fishing has been unusually difficult of late and even their season ticket holders were finding it tough, with bank anglers in particular struggling. He added that the fishery was being stocked as usual, but the fish were holding very deep. This was a big clue.
We had 6 boats booked for the session, with me out as a single angler. Given the conditions, all sorts of dark lines were being spooled with the standard combination of boobies and lures being tied on leaders. It was little surprise that most boats, including the Grizzlecats (also out), headed towards that dam and the deeper water. There was just enough breeze for a slow drift out from the dam and this seemed a sensible tactic to start. Dougie Goddard, out fishing with Trevor, was quickly into a fish and then I noticed John Miller (fishing with Jimmy) also netting his first of the day.
Plan A: Di-5 sweep – cormorant booby, mackay nymph, cruncher – Nothing
Plan B: Di-5 sweep – cat booby, cormorant, sunburst blob – Nothing
Fishing was generally quiet, but any fish being caught were out in the middle. It was noticeable though, on the odd occasion of brief cloud cover, the odd fish would show. Given my complete lack of success so far, a chuck with the dries was worth a shot. I headed up the water to target the far bank, underneath the bankside bushes, where there was still some shade… and it’s is normally worth a cast or two.
Plan C: Dries – Bibio emerger, bibio hopper, claret f-Fly – Nothing
This proved equally ineffective but had convinced me to persist and to try a few drifts across the open water, hoping to find some feeding fish. This also proved futile.
Plan D: Single Dry – Black CDC Shuttlecock – Nothing
John Gibson, fishing with Allan Brown, picked up a fish to a hopper, while Trevor and Dougie Goddard were enjoying regular action. Some of the Grizzlecats were catching on Di-7 and buzzers at 35ft.
Plan E: Slow Glass – Damsel, cruncher, Bibio – Nothing
John Miller was also catching, either on an Orange Booby or a Diawl Bach, on a Di-7. Jimmy was having as much luck as the rest of us. Fraser/Peter, Matt/Stephen had all run through a number of different approaches with no success.
Plan F: Fast Glass – Doobry Crippler, Black/gold dabbler, Kate Muddler – Nothing
My situation was not improving. The summer of 2018 was taking its toll, and it was getting worse. England had even taken the lead against Sweden.
Plan G: Fast Glass – Cormorant booby, Diawl Bach, Diawl Bach – Finally!!!
Top fishing by Trevor, with 7 fish on a Di-7 and Boobies, while both Dougie Goddard and John Miller ended with impressive bags of 5 fish each. The club ended with a total of 23 fish between our 11 rods.
Anyone got a Di-7 and a couple of snakes for sale? Come to think of it, anyone with a good BBQ?
