Post by boisker on Sept 16, 2015 16:26:50 GMT
Just had a week in the Pyrennees at a friends cottage in the Riberot Valley, stunning spot and some amazing rivers... Not to mention the rest of the scenery...
It's a little cottage 1/2 way up the valley right by the Riberot river...
It wasn't a fishing holiday but I'd agreed in advance a couple of passes for some fishing time... So thought I'd wet wade and only took a 9'4w rod and planned to wade in 3/4 lengths and my walking boots.... My first mistake!
I hoped to fish the river by the house a few times for an hour or so as chance allowed as it was at the bottom of the garden and then 1 or 2 trips to the River Lez for 2 or 3 hour sessions.
Turned out the season finishes early in the valley as it is a reserve... Closed August 30th! So although I would no doubt have got away with it I thought I'd be well behaved and just try the Lez.
Popped down one eve just for an hour as a recy.... Had one stunning 12" trout in about 40 mins... Made me remember that I was supposed to be improving my nymphing this season, as opposed to the 99% dry fly I have actually done.
Couple of evenings later I went to a section I'd seen from the car a few miles downstream... Easy access and somewhere to park and a couple of great looking runs, I thought it looked like there were a couple of spots I could wade out to the far bank which would make fishing far easier.
So, excitedly I parked up and headed t the bottom of the section I'd planned to fish...
What appeared to be shallow'ish water turned out to be mid thigh level by the bank, with round boulders everywhere.... The water is so crystal clear trying to gauge the depth is real tricky.
Having psyched myself up and uttering phrases like grow a pair I started to try and wade out. At this point leaving waders and more crucially wading boots at home seemed a pretty teririble call... With my wife's last words as I set off ringing in my head....'be careful' ...... I decided that heading off downstream at a rate of knots with my feet above my head didn't seem like a good plan, so I carefully got my arse back onto the bank.
So I popped back up to the spot if fished on the first outing, had a couple but nothing big.... Annoyingly or excitingly a large brown followed my nymph right back to the rod twice but wouldn't take.
So things learned... Go earlier in the season, take wading boots and sort out a wading staff.... The current was seriously strong....
So the next few days when I had spare time I just mooched about the river by the house. It's a stunning little river... Falls from over 2000m... Big boulders, fast little runs, deep plunge pools and some smoother sections. I spotted trout up to 15", most pools seemed to hold at least one trout. Next time that's the river I'll spend time on, nice little 8' rod, wading boots and wet wade...ideal.
In the absence of fish I did get a good feel for it and took a few photo's.... Hopefully given the chance I'll get to fish it next year!
It's a little cottage 1/2 way up the valley right by the Riberot river...
It wasn't a fishing holiday but I'd agreed in advance a couple of passes for some fishing time... So thought I'd wet wade and only took a 9'4w rod and planned to wade in 3/4 lengths and my walking boots.... My first mistake!
I hoped to fish the river by the house a few times for an hour or so as chance allowed as it was at the bottom of the garden and then 1 or 2 trips to the River Lez for 2 or 3 hour sessions.
Turned out the season finishes early in the valley as it is a reserve... Closed August 30th! So although I would no doubt have got away with it I thought I'd be well behaved and just try the Lez.
Popped down one eve just for an hour as a recy.... Had one stunning 12" trout in about 40 mins... Made me remember that I was supposed to be improving my nymphing this season, as opposed to the 99% dry fly I have actually done.
Couple of evenings later I went to a section I'd seen from the car a few miles downstream... Easy access and somewhere to park and a couple of great looking runs, I thought it looked like there were a couple of spots I could wade out to the far bank which would make fishing far easier.
So, excitedly I parked up and headed t the bottom of the section I'd planned to fish...
What appeared to be shallow'ish water turned out to be mid thigh level by the bank, with round boulders everywhere.... The water is so crystal clear trying to gauge the depth is real tricky.
Having psyched myself up and uttering phrases like grow a pair I started to try and wade out. At this point leaving waders and more crucially wading boots at home seemed a pretty teririble call... With my wife's last words as I set off ringing in my head....'be careful' ...... I decided that heading off downstream at a rate of knots with my feet above my head didn't seem like a good plan, so I carefully got my arse back onto the bank.
So I popped back up to the spot if fished on the first outing, had a couple but nothing big.... Annoyingly or excitingly a large brown followed my nymph right back to the rod twice but wouldn't take.
So things learned... Go earlier in the season, take wading boots and sort out a wading staff.... The current was seriously strong....
So the next few days when I had spare time I just mooched about the river by the house. It's a stunning little river... Falls from over 2000m... Big boulders, fast little runs, deep plunge pools and some smoother sections. I spotted trout up to 15", most pools seemed to hold at least one trout. Next time that's the river I'll spend time on, nice little 8' rod, wading boots and wet wade...ideal.
In the absence of fish I did get a good feel for it and took a few photo's.... Hopefully given the chance I'll get to fish it next year!