Firstly, It’s now the 2008 Trout Season! I hope your new season starts well!

I was determined to get another day’s fishing in on the weekend, and with the sneaky goal of making sure I catch a nice grayling before I go on a ‘Stockie Hunt’ with a few mates this coming Saturday (see earlier posts). I don’t want my first fish of the 2008 season to be a rainbow.

Unfortunately, on arriving at the river Rhymney, the conditions were a little off. Very high (due to the large amount of hammering rain we endured Friday night), very coloured, and very windy. Still, ‘Who Dares Wins’! I dared my legs off…did I win? Did I f*#k!

This was my second time on the Rhymney, fishing around the Caerphilly area, and I’m a true convert. I love the place. I spent four hours fishing teams of Czech nymphs through fast runs, deep runs, past boulders and stones, under trees, past road signs (yes road signs!), and through food lanes. The fish just refused to play, even though I knew I was doing everything right. Ah well, still glad to just be on the river.

It was nice to be out fishing on a lovely sunny day. I could have closed my eyes and thought it was summer at one point. Birds flitting up and down the river all afternoon, picking a few tiny duns out of the air as they blew about in the strong wind.

Also, I thought I’d give my new toy (a Scientific Anglers XPS DT5F line) a bash. Without meaning to sound a little cliche, the line seems to have been made for my rod. Roll casts are a thing of pure ease, the rod loads so much easier, I even attempted a few fake ‘target’ casts to mimic casting a dry fly to a rise…all top marks. All I need now is the season to switch to dry fly mode in order for it to be used properly.

Anyway; no fish caught, however, Wednesday after work will mean my first visit to my home stretches of the Taff this season. I’m determined that my first fish of 2008 is NOT going to be a bloody rainbow!

On a different note, February’s issue of This is Fly is now available online. For those who don’t know it, give it a view, it’s not at all bad, and offers a ‘cooler’ view into the world of fishing than some of the other ‘tweed’ based magazines.

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