Against the run of recent form our latest spell of nasty weather blessed us with an unforeseen, yet extremely welcome fly hatch of biblical proportions! Not only did Olive Uprights treat us with sustained activity, Iron Blue Duns joined in too, making it a day of days. For the first time this season, numbers of trout where discovered topping in several pools, making those weeks of scratching about a distant memory… These trout literally went berserk, mopping up everything in their path. Even fish hell bent of targeting Iron Blues couldn’t resist a size 14 CdC dun. Sadly, a strong breeze blew many duns into marginal scum lanes, trapping them there (above). And whilst these winged adults perished, many more made it to safety. Fingers crossed this has signalled the start of our season proper and not before time.
~When compared side by side an adult Iron Blue Dun (left) is a mere shadow of the lofty Olive Upright (right). Thankfully this didn’t matter one jot to trout as they greedily snaffled both species~
One of a number of larger specimens which pounced on a carefully presented fly
…Nearly all my trout fell foul of this hackled CdC dun, despite fish often favouring natural Iron Blues…