September fly patterns for the Duchy

[johnesmithson]

Hoping to get up to Dartmoor for a final fling soon. Would you stick with the usual suspects of Klinks, EHCs, spiders and nymphs? I see from some other posts that heather flies and daddies might just be on the menu, but I've always thought of these as stillwater/loch beasties.

[terry]

It was me that mentioned what we now think was heather flies. Although they were prolific the trout did not seem interested. Mind you they did not seem interested in anything much last week, let's hope that little drop of rain wakes them up a tad.
If there is any sign of life a large deer hair sedge in orange ( as per Jezney's suggestion ) has been working for me other than that the standards you suggest are as good as anything.
Might bump into you otherwise have a good trip and keep us posted.

Terry

[Pete Tyjas]

Think you have the patterns covered Johnsmithson. For me it is more about the presentation rather than specific patterns but I sometimes tweak them a little dependent on trout behaviour to the fly. I do have good success with a black F Fly with an antron trailing shuck I call the Shuckakahn after one of my favourite singers! It seems to work especially well on Cherrybrook.

[johnesmithson]

Just got home after 2 days on the East Dart. The river had fallen back to summer level after a 1 metre flood 24 hours earlier, and was running as clear as ever. Tackled the assault course from Bellever to Postbridge (had to watch out for fences of the barbed and electric varieties), but was delighted to catch my best wild BT yet on dry fly (Black Klinkhamer). It must have had some seatrout genes because it ran downriver and jumped in the pool below before I could bring it to hand! Hard going after that but I did pick up some salmon parr which I handled with extra care. Today I went down to Laughter Hole (saw a deer, then a green woodpecker on the path) and fished back up to Bellever. Thanks to suggestions from other forum members I felt confident to try a different pattern (leggy orange hopper) which every fish in the river wanted for the first hour and a half. Two of them jumped over it and drowned it before taking it properly. It then went very quiet, dark and misty, but I did get two hefty rises in the afternoon to an EHC. When I looked at Dartcom this evening I discovered that the atmospheric pressure rising in the morning then falling in the afternoon exactly mirrored this switch on and off of activity. Just what the textbooks say!

[Pete Tyjas]

Great report and loved the pics too!

[terry]

Glad you had a good couple of days. Interesting to see the data on the atmospheric pressure drop, I,ve always thought that the trouts behaviour is affected by this more than we think.
To think that only a drop of less than 4 mbar turned them off, could explain a lot this year. Thanks for posting.
Terry

[Pete Tyjas]

Interesting, if you get the chance it is worth reading the Barometric Breakthrough by Andrew Bett. It talks about how fishing is affected by pressure changes and correlates to catches, especially salmon.

The author says that a steady and rising barometer is good for fishing and falling not so. I ended up buying a watch with a barometer on it and first wore it on a fishing trip to Scotland. First few days I was getting some gentle ribbing for keep watching the barometer and on the last day I was packing early up as I had to go to work the next day but was asked if I wanted a quick cast. I mentioned the barometer was at it's highest for the whole week and I hooked a salmon with my first cast!

I do think it is pretty reliable although I have seen salmon hooked and landed when the barometer starts to fall as well.

[boisker]

Interesting, I've read about it but never paid any attention to changes in pressure

[Pete Tyjas]

Funny you should say that but I am sure we also pick up on changes too whether conciously or even sub consciously .

How many times have you been on the river and said it doesn't "feel" right or that it feels cooler, warmer or air feels thinner/denser?

[Andrew Pieterse]

Ever since reading this thread I've kept an eye on the Dartcom pressure gauge and certainly for wild brown trout there seems to be a pretty good correlation.
Went out a couple of days ago, had 3 on in the morning and then suddenly couldn't get a bite for love nor money, despite seeing plenty of fish. Timing just happened to coincide with the pressure topping out and then dropping !