First Fishing Day of 2012

I have been missing trout fishing for 3 months now, our lake is closed between November and March - too long. I arrived at the lake fairly early in the morning and was really pleased to see all the old regulars there. The old guy who had a heart attach last June was back (I thought he was dead!) and Graham was just leaving and had caught 6 trout, we was so happy - 'Fucking fantastic!' were his exact words.

Graham kindly directed me to to bottom end of the lake where he said they were biting. I started off to far end by the cattle gate and even though the wind was in my face I decided to try his advice for a bit. I put on a fuzzy black fly with a bit of green (this worked so well last April) - on the second cast I had a fish, I was so relieved to break the 2012 season in with a fast catch. A few minutes later I got another and then while battling to the wind got caught in the tree and last my fly - the only one like that.

I found a slightly bigger black and green lure and popped that on the line. Again very quickly I got three more fish and then decided to move as I didn't want them to come out quite that fast. I had a stunning walk around the lake and then fished from the near bank with no luck but honestly, five on my first day was way more than I could ever have hoped for.

It was so exciting to be back, I had my new bag and equipment prepared for weeks and from that side my rod, reel and line are just perfect for this lake. It's almost like time has stated again and to see all the 4 regulars again just like 3 months hadn't gone by was fantastic. It was all over in a few hours but what a start!!