Warwickshire Trout - River Alne Pt.7

Being a permi now the annual bonus I received didn't last long, a caput, dead, knackered dishwasher that needed to be replaced, a UK summer holiday to pay for, a flight booked for a lads 5 days holiday in Spain, Sam's birthday etc etc, all spent as soon as I received it. I could go on strike like many of the public section workers I suppose to show my displeasure, but I'd be sacked now wouldn't I. 

If I wasn't happy I'd just do what I usually do and that's hand my notice in and go elsewhere to seek better pay. As a 50 year old though, plenty of perks being working in the private sector and ok, I'm not that badly paid in the scheme of things but then I've >30 years as a design engineer, I should be well remunerated for all my experience as I'm left to do what I do most of the time.  

Could I go back jobbing again, > quite possibly but the Wife would lose the XC90, she'd be looking for a hit man most probably. I shouldn't moan I did treat myself to a nice single malt I've had before and also got the Wife a bottle of Cloudy Bay which is one of her favourites.

Rum (decent sipping stuff) is my default tipple but I've not bought a bottle of spirit for ages and ages, so hey, lets treat myself.

Now the Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve is matured in French Limousin Oak casks. Limousin Oak is a popular choice for maturation of Cognac. 

From the classic Speyside fruity (sherry) smell, it evolves to a lively explosion of wood, vanilla, toffee, tobacco, banana and so on. A real first class decent scotch that doesn't break the bank, oh and leave the whisky for 15 minutes before drinking, like any decent dram.  

 Talking of Spey a famous gillie who'd worked on the Spey for decades used regularly to catch fish when others found it extremely difficult or others thought it was just that the gillie knew the water so well he impossible. Some put it down to his enormous experience while could time his fishing to perfection.

One day he'd done particularly well whenever his guest handed him the rod and went off for a while. Each time the fisherman returned he found that the gillie had landed another fish. After three fish had been caught in this way the fisherman decided to stick it out. He fished hard for a couple of hours. Nothing. It was puzzling because the fisherman was experienced and extremely knowledgeable. 

Eventually he stopped fishing, offered the gillie a dram from his flask and asked him how he did it.

Feeling sorry for the fisherman who was an old friend, the gillie looked about quickly and then beckoned him to come closer.

'Dog hair,' said the gillie.

'What?' said the guest.

'Dog hair,' came the reply.

'What on earth has dog hair got to do with it?'

Each time you went away I tied a bit of my old Alsatian's fur to the hook. On a gloomy day like this it can make all the difference. The fisherman clearly didn't believe a word of it so the gillie took the rod, reeled in and, having fished around in his pocket, tied on a short tuft of blackish hair. Five minutes later he was into a good fish. The fisherman was astonished. 

This time instead of removing the dog hair when he handed the rod back to the fisherman the gillie left it on and within minutes another salmon lay on the bank. The gillie insisted the trick did not always work, but when everything else had been tried it was, he said, always worth a shot.

That's why we love fishing, the superstitions we all have are all different and many we keep to ourselves. 

Every time I'm bankside here I literally don't think about anything but fishing, but there is a good reason for that. You see as soon as I drive in to the field and lock the gate behind me I know that it will just me and the sheep enjoying the solitude and the fishing often is just a by-product.

A tale of two half this one....

I started at the upper reaches I fish and worked myself down but was struggling to hook up on the natural looking Salmo butcher I wanted to try. 

I had at least 4 fast grabs from trout but I failed to hook-up any of them. I've had this before to be honest especially when the water is clear like it was for this two hour session.

They almost nudge it with their heads at a ridiculous speed and whack in to the lure without their mouths open, all very frustrating. I did see some rises when I was there so maybe it's mayfly and dry fly time. Anyway the last swim I managed a small'un but that wasn't good enough for me.

So to the weir forthwith, you see here you are almost guaranteed a bite most of the time. So back in the car and back to the end of the stretch to try and winkle out a better fish.

I didn't need 15 minutes either (curfew time) because the first cast of the Salmo butcher a fish nailed it after a few cranks of the reel. A decent scrap as well launching a few times out of the water trying to escape the hooks. No such luck though and it was soon landed after a spirited battle. Not the 3lber I was after but they are here, I just need to keep plugging away, excuse the pun !!!