Fishing: Fickle findings at the Tarn

Moving five platforms every half-hour meant every angler would touch on the hot areas. I drew a favourable first platform down the back straight and was delighted to see plenty of fish moving a few yards out.

Despite every effort to tempt the fish with dries and small nymphs, I could not get fish to take. Finally, I went with a single Black Dancer on a floating line and pulled it past them.

I saw two fish rise and cast in between and pulled as soon as the lure hit the water. Much to my delight, a big bow wave honed in on my fly and then came the lock on. It was a nice fish of just over 2…lb and it went berserk as it made for the weed beds.

Luckily for me, I managed to turn it in time and played it out and into my net. Two to three casts later I was in again. After netting the second fish, which was slightly smaller than the first one, it was time to move on.

However, that was to be the last action for me till late in the day when fishing a blob under the bung brought about my last and biggest fish – a fin-perfect four-pounder.

It was a difficult day for all concerned. Although plenty of fish were moving, only a handful of anglers could fathom what they were feeding on.