East Okement

[halfstoned]

Fished up the East Okement today from the dual carriageway bridge upstream. Not much happening to start with , a few missed on the dry and one fish on a pheasant tail nymph. Lots of small black gnats about and after a bit of a march up above the waterfall I found some rising fish, in fact they were going mad jumping out of the water etc..etc.. Managed about 20 on M Weaver type black gnat, missed plenty!!! One good fish of 7 1/2" and a couple at 6". It's strange that I could pop down the road to the Yeo and catch bigger fish and yet the moor keeps pulling me back? Just a great place to spend some time  walking and casting and paddling about in a rocky stream! Heaven!

Forgot to add, the water had some colour in it , years ago it would have had my Dad out on the Teign with a Rapala. Unlike the Yeo which looks like mud at the moment , still it could do with a good flush through!

[halfstoned]

First try tonight on the West Okement by the castle. Only fished for a couple of hours ( more walking than fishing ) but looks like it could fish well in May/June given some water ( very low at the moment ). Managed two WBT and a few quick rises missed, one of the fish was a good size for such a small river at 10" it was a bit of a shock when it jumped after being hooked. Observations........
Wading difficult !!!
Scared most fish before I could get near them in the low clear conditions!!
My midge repellent doesn't work!!!
2 was higher than most Aussie batsmen today!!

[halfstoned]

  Dog walking duties on the East Okement Sunday, a tiny stream with tiny trout but hours of fun. Sometimes the trout are really free rising and other times you'd swear there were no trout in the place!!

[halfstoned]

O K so struggling a bit with the photobucket pictures, bear with!!
  Well can't seem to get it to work ,I have other pictures but don't seem able to put more than one on the page? Help

[halfstoned]

[halfstoned]

First outing on the Okement this year and after some great fishing on my local river Yeo it was back down to earth with a bump tonight. Very difficult fishing, I don't know if it was the lack of water or the even grey light but pools which normally always produce a few fish seemed utterly devoid of life. Scared plenty , missed about a dozen and caught four small ( really small) fish. However nature was to provide ample compensation with a beautiful display of wild garlic and bluebells on the hillside above the waterfall. I put the rod down and just sat there drinking it all in, listening to the river and the birds ( and occasional sheep). Sometimes it really is about so much more than the fishing, I will try and get back with my camera before the show is over, and post some pictures ( still take the rod,just in case).

[boisker]

I couldn't agree more, I toyed when filling in my catch return for TFFC last season in reducing the number of hours I recorded against each session... If I'm only out for an hour I'll fish pretty much solidly, but the longer the session the more time I take out just sitting, watching and smoking a cigi... Assuming I'm not in one of my frequent 'breaks from smoking'
I had a few long sessions on the Frome last season where I was pretty much on the river from dawn through to dusk, lots of sitting on the bankside waiting for rises, plus the occasional mid-afternoon snooze on a really hot sunny day... We are very lucky fishing down here, feels like you're missing the point if you don't take time out to enjoy the surroundings...

[Pete Tyjas]

Sounds like a perfect trip halfstoned, it's about more than the fish isn't it?

[halfstoned]

I may be miss quoting but I seem to remember a line by Bernard Cribbins from "A Passion for Angling" about how the fishing was "just an excuse for being there" the older I get the more I realise what he meant.

[Pete Tyjas]

I'm with you halfstoned!

[yeoman]

I went to London the other day for the first time in about 5 years.living in Devon,I think we are "there", even when we're not by the water.

[halfstoned]

  Blue bells above the waterfall on the Okement

[halfstoned]

Can you smell garlic?

[halfstoned]

I haven't fished the Okement much this season , mainly due to lack of water and to be honest some rather disappointing results ( let's face it blanks) earlier in the year, but for some reason I decided to give it a try this afternoon. The average size of fish on this small stream ( for me at any rate) is between 3 to 6" with a 7" fish being a goodun, so I'm already slightly hesitant at revealing tonight's results at the risk of not being believed ( there was also a part of me that thought about keeping it to myself). Scores on the doors were upwards of 25 fish to hand with perhaps twice as many rises missed ( maybe more they are just so fast) with three fish at 7" one of 8" one of 81/2" two of 9" and two at 10" ( the second ten inched went Ariel twice then dived under a tree stump and I had to put the rod underwater to steer him out). In a little over two hours fishing I had caught more large trout from the East Okement than the previous five seasons put together!! Just for the record some fish fell to a deer hair sedge, some to a wickhams but all the big fish took my stripped peacock herl klinkhammer ( see fly swap ).

[Pete Tyjas]

Sounds like a perfect session halfstoned and I believe your numbers! It seems when you have fish of that sort of size there are plenty of them but not so many bigger ones.

The Taw where I am is a little different this year, we have caught fewer but bigger fish. That having been said I have not ever seen so many fry as this year. I hope this bodes well for future seasons.

[halfstoned]

Loads of fry in the Yeo as well Pete ,not sure why last winter should have been a good breeding season though? Do you fish with streamers much? I have tried it with some success ( I was hoping it might sort out some better fish) but it all seemed a bit hectic to me.

[Pete Tyjas]

Yes I do from time to time. It can be great fun too and always surprises me how small a fish will chase down a large streamer. I am convinced some of this is territorial behaviour but there is nothing like a great big whack from an aggressive brown that lurks in the depths of a pool. As has been mentioned I also like to catch day time sea trout this way too in normal weather conditions. It is really worth a try.