After a couple of blank still water sessions I was far less confident than normal as Nick and I drove the 130kms to Granchester. It was the third time we’d fished the water and success had been greatly varied. On our first attempt we’d punished the water and landed 8 decent Rainbow Trout. The next attempt however was somewhat disappointing with both of us blanking.
We were a little disappointed when we pulled into the parking only to discover another fisherman already on the water. What? We’d book the water early and he definitely shouldn’t have been there. After a few attempts to phone the booking line to find out what was going we gave up and kicked out onto the water. It turned out that the booking line had been down for a few days and so he had chanced it…I suppose we can’t be too upset with him for that.
The morning’s session produced one small fish for Nick and left me once again empty handed. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever catch a Trout again. Thankfully after a 10am break and a few snacks things turned in my favour.
I braved the heavy wind and made my way up to the inlet. After a few casts I missed a knock and immediately threw my line back in the same general direction. Almost instantly I was on. A fish at last! I threw out another cast with no luck and then on the next cast a fish followed the fly all the way to the boat, turning it down at the last second. And then it went quiet again.
I fished my way back to Nick who’d been fishing the deeper water by the wall. He kindly informed me that he’d landed another fish and that I was therefore still trailing by one. Bastard!
We continued fishing the wall area for a while with no luck. The wind then switched suddenly and the weather took a turn for the worse. Thankfully we made it to the bank, packed up and were in the car before the downpour began.
It might not have been the best trip, but hey, at least we got a fish or two.