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Post by boisker on Apr 15, 2015 18:28:29 GMT
Not the first I'd seen this year, but the first time in big numbers. Had a very quick session on the Axe at Forde Abbey, just less than an hour fishing on the way home from work, the Grannom were pouring off. Even with the big hatch I only found four rising fish, caught three..... Nothing large 8-9"...... and no doubt scared the fourth witless with a rather over gunned and heavy it was still 19C when I arrived at the river.... Fantastic to be able to get out after work with the sun on your back and feeling like the river is coming alive...
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Post by Pete Tyjas on Apr 16, 2015 8:16:56 GMT
Hi Boisker, I don't know if you have thought the same but the hatch has been a good one this year, I was going to start a thread asking if people thought the same.
I always find it an interesting hatch to fish and from a fish perspective most happens either subsurface or in the meniscus as the adult fly emerges. The last part happens really quickly and the fly takes to the air rapidly giving the fish a small amount of time to key in on the adult which is why I don't have as much success with an adult pattern and prefer to fish an emerger pattern instead.
The other thing is that the pupa ascends and emerges in quite a vertical manner and to replicate this I tie the emerger in a shuttlecock style rather than a on say, a klinkhammer. Whether this makes any real difference or not I don't know but it makes me fish more positively. I will sometimes fish this on a dropper and have an unweighted emerger fished just subsurface to cover both bases.
On Sunday I fished a river where they were on grannom for a while and then the fly stopped working. The hatch was still in full swing but was masking a small hatch of olives that the fish became more interested in.
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Post by boisker on Apr 16, 2015 16:51:14 GMT
Hi Pete Funny you should mention that, I've never really had much joy with a typical sedge pattern for Grannom. I tied some up with a green egg sack and didn't have any takers yesterday, admittedly I only changed over to it towards the end of the hatch. I've been trying to stick to my original plan of using just a few patterns that I've tied myself. I've pretty much tried to focus on finding rising fish when I've been out so lots of walking the bank CDC brown biot emerger, tobacco and brown /olive CDC on an emerger hook, sizes 14, 16 & 18... haven't had one refusal when cast to a rising fish..... Well as long as you don't count a couple of heavy splash down casts that scared fish in neighbouring counties! I think it's a great pattern, look fantastic from below, slim brown profile and that translucent effect from the CDC.... Perhaps it's just confidence in the fly, but it def seems to tick all the boxes for most of our flies..... Even though it's early days it's looking like it could be my go to fly for the season... Obviously will still need some other patterns.... Midge, hawthorn et al..... But as an olive type it's a great emerger
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Post by Pete Tyjas on Apr 18, 2015 6:56:08 GMT
I think your plan will be now be pretty easy to stick to, Grannom are one of those funny hatches. I have been fishing my mergers with a pearl butt last few seasons and the added trigger point has been good for me.
Might be worth getting the hawthorns ready, there were plenty about yesterday.
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