Warwickshire Trout - River Alne Pt.9

It was almost certainly the publication of Tarka the Otter that marked a sea change in attitudes to the otter. For centuries it was simply accepted among country people that the only good otter was a dead one, but Henry Williamson made us realise that the otter is a very special animal indeed. And he did it just in time. By the 1960s persecution and habitat loss had reduced the English population of otters to dangerously low levels from which more recently they have happily recovered.

In Scotland, though the otter was equally disliked for eating salmon and trout - as if it should change its diet to turnips to suit its human critics - the otter had the great advantage of space. People are relatively scarce in Scotland so otters survived in far greater numbers than they did in England. Despite their often resentful attitude to otters at least one fisherman has had reason to be grateful to these much maligned animals.

The fisherman in question had had a terrible day on a remote northern spate river. He had flogged the water continually and was baffled by his lack of success. He knew the river well and had fished often, with some success, in similar conditions. But this day was turning into a nightmare.

By five o'clock he'd decided that enough was enough and he began to pack up. His rods and reels safely stowed, he began the long walk to the lodge. This took him along the bank of the river and two fields down from the last pool he'd fished he saw something both comic and out of the ordinary. A young otter was battling to pull a big salmon from the river by its tail.

The fisherman watched in astonishment for some time before realising that this could be his chance to redeem his disastrous day. He dropped his tackle on the bank and walked briskly towards the otter, which dropped the fish and ran, but only at the very last moment. The fisherman reached the lodge an hour later with a fresh-run springer of nearly ten pounds, but he had the decency to admit that a far better fisherman than he could ever hope to be had really caught the fish.

Now a visit to my father-in-law the weekend he was telling me of the huge brownie he lost on his club lake that contains mostly priest boshing rainbows. It took him all the way down to the backing, under and over other anglers rods until eventually the hook pulled. 

"Did you get to see the fish ?"

"I didn't actually, I didn't even manage to see the start of the leader"

"Have you been out for trout again anyway ?"

"I have actually, had this nice one recently"

"How did you catch it ?"

"On a lure, a small crankbait"

"A LURE !!!"

To be honest trout must be one of the easiest fish to catch in my experience. They just cannot ignore something getting within their territory and are happy to strike whenever an imposter strays in to it. The Alne was a little lifeless last time I fished it but we have had some rain recently and I'm sure some extra oxygen in the waters would have got spurred on again. 

So in the quest for a 3lber and some short term relief from some pandemonium at work I was back on this lovely small river where thankfully my mind goes on to other things, those worries out to bed for a couple of hours. I also wanted to see of the mayfly had hatched as well, because there is a little stream I fish with a dry fly (Sid, yes you heard right)

Now apparently thousands of workers from the Met Office, Health and Safety Executive, Intellectual Property Office, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Natural England and UK Research and Innovation are on strike today.  

I know most of those you probably wouldn't notice that they were, so for the weather rather than look at the Met Office website I took a risk and looked out of the window and there looked like there was a gap in the ever constant rain.

Anyway better get fishing hadn't I !!!

To be honest looking at the colour of the water I was in two minds to just turn back and get back in to the car. But I was here now I might as well have a go hadn't I. A quick dunk of the lure there was a few inches of visibility  

Swim after swim without a hit though this wasn't looking good especially when there was some rain on the way looking at the 'awfully black' clouds. Anyway I braved the weir swim which was nearly above my wellies and again cast after cast in the banker swim there was nothing doing whatsoever.

It's probably going to be coloured for a while now I'll imagine. I've some stoneloach to catch on here though and also that 3lb trout, so plenty of fishing time here over this year and next. It's a no brainer really being so handy, anyway, canal next it is then !!!