My first roach on the fly.

I popped up the canal on Sunday with my brook rod to pester the shoals of roach that are resident there. I've had a few attempts at this now and whilst the roach normally show some interest, getting positive bites is another matter entirely. I'm a total fly fishing novice and truth be told the short sessions I've had are more casting practice than serious fishing. Today however I was determined to catch something!

I headed to a large basin near the end if the canal. Fishing some small headed nymph patterns I tried a few different strip speeds and depths and as the water was nice and clear I could see the fly and the fish but it seemed it was to be another frustrating session with plenty of interest but no bites. I persisted for over an hour before I finally managed to get a bite and luckily it was an aggressive one that resulted in my first roach on the fly quickly being landed.

A very small roach but I didn't care!

I'm not sure what I did that induced the fish to bite but I was unable to replicate the feat over the following hour. Whilst fishing away I did however spot a small pike suspended in the margins and it was interesting to watch small meal size roach swimming by it in close proximity completely oblivious to the potential danger. I guess like sharks they are quite a selective predator, preferring to prey on the weak and vulnerable and would rather conserve their energy for a more opportunistic and easy to catch snack than expend energy chasing healthy fish. Anyway, I became mesmerised by this and as the pike watching had become way more engrossing than my fruitless attempts at catching more roach I decided to head home quite pleased that I had christened the rod even if the fish I'd caught had barely put a bend in it.

I guess I'll have to do a bit more research and practice more with my fly rod before I'm filling a keep net with roach!

Tight lines, Scott.