New to Sea Trout fishing

[Crabacle]

Hello all

I'm completely new to Sea Trout fishing - and I am wondering about general tactics and flies.
I'm sort of getting the impression that choice of fly doesn't matter as much as depth of presentation and retrieval speed - is that fair?
Also - fishing on surface vs at depth - any suggestions as the surface Muddler fishing seems simpler if not 'wrong' !!

I'm not a huge fan of the tandem hook flies, so will generally be fishing muddlers, mallard & claret, golden butcher etc. am I constraining my chances?

My local river has a couple of pools currently stuffed with sea trout in this low water - but the stretch is 30 yards long at most. Seems rather futile to flog the same pools all night!

Help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[silverstoat]

Hello all

I'm completely new to Sea Trout fishing - and I am wondering about general tactics and flies.
I'm sort of getting the impression that choice of fly doesn't matter as much as depth of presentation and retrieval speed - is that fair?
Also - fishing on surface vs at depth - any suggestions as the surface Muddler fishing seems simpler if not 'wrong' !!

I'm not a huge fan of the tandem hook flies, so will generally be fishing mallard & claret, golden butcher etc. am

Welcome Crabacle.
You won't need as many fly patterns as you would for regular trout fishing. Different sizes and profile are more important, fishing with small flies (10-12) in the riffles above your pool at dusk before switching to size 6-8 subsurface flies once it gets dark. When the fish go down you need to fish deeper, e.g. tube/needle/waddington flies with a sink tip or sinking line to present the fly level and at the right depth. The muddler is a wake fly, which I tend to fall back on when everything else has failed. You strip the muddler back fast across the pool surface to elicit a take. It's not 'wrong'; rather a last resort. The other thing to bear in mind if you're switching from trout fishing is that you will mainly be casting down/across (or across/down). Vary the retrieve speed, slow for fast current and faster for slow/slack water. I tend to avoid lifeless dead drifts - you're trying to trigger an aggression response from the fish.

My local river has a couple of pools currently stuffed with sea trout in this low water - but the stretch is 30 yards long at most. Seems rather futile to flog the same pools all night.

Pools stuffed with sea trout - where is this place?
Don't be disheartened if these fish aren't responsive - if they have been held in the pool since your rivers' last spate they won't be fresh run ('resters' rather than 'travellers') and maybe used to having flies and lines whipped past their noses.

[Crabacle]

Thanks - seems sensible.
I must admit using the muddler just seems a bit crass.
I intend to flog it to death possibly thursday night.
If I get a result I will drop a note on here.

A the river is low there are only a few pools with any depth of water. Luckily are dead easy to fish.

Any other comments from others?

[T7]

Fish stealthily and you won't disturb them too much...

[johnevs]

And don't strike|\:>

[Chrisc161076]

Fish through the intended area before your first night session so you can find the trees, snags and potholes are. It's all very different at night.

Change your line type, floating or intermediate etc and see if you are dragging the bottom or can go deeper.

Make your first casts short and build from there, don't shoot for the opposite bank on your first cast.

I put my first choice flies (different flies and profiles) including wake on a fly patch so they can easily be found.

Use a red light if possible so your night vision stays good and to avoid scaring the fish.

Take your time and Enjoy

[T7]

Try a light set up first - 6 weight or similar. Should be fine as long as you're not casting huge flies.

[twmtwm]

Wake lure crass? Far from it ,it's one of the most exciting forms of Sewin fishing and can be very productive ,defiantly beats a sinking line dredging the pools full of algae this time of year.Start with small flies in the evening then go up in size as it darkens , perhaps with an intermediate line if no response. When it's dark I'll not leave until I've tried a surface lure.When you hook your first double on one ,you'll be glad. Tight lines.

[Crabacle]

All great posts and a big help - thanks all.

[johnevs]

Wake lure crass? Far from it ,it's one of the most exciting forms of Sewin fishing and can be very productive ,defiantly beats a sinking line dredging the pools full of algae this time of year.Start with small flies in the evening then go up in size as it darkens , perhaps with an intermediate line if no response. When it's dark I'll not leave until I've tried a surface lure.When you hook your first double on one ,you'll be glad. Tight lines.

Seems to be the case with surface lures dai went out last night had a few good pulled on tube but that was it, back at the car spoke to a member and he had a great night on a surface lure wen I think most on sunk flies proberbly failed so have given them a try out on the tying front and will give them a swim this weekend, I think if never really bothered with them as I can't usually be arsed setting up two rods but I think it will be a thing of the past from now on....|\

[Crabacle]

Guys - gave it a couple of hours tonight - but it never really went dark, I was knackered and there was a better fisherman than me in the swim - Mr Otter.
However until Mr O appeared there were a number of fish moving, including a rather sizable fish probably pushing 12 lb.
It's the Ribble by the way at Sawley. The river is at rock bottom and needs water badly. Saturday morning's rain didn't raise the river but started moving fish, including a grilse that came out.

Please rain...........

[laffingravy]

Which beat at Sawley are you fishing?

[Crabacle]

Yorkshire Fly

[laffingravy]

Nice looking water

[silverstoat]

Wake lure crass? Far from it ,it's one of the most exciting forms of Sewin fishing ...

Agree with twmtwm - I've just been converted to wake lures. I didn't have a problem with them, I just lacked confidence as they hadn't worked for me previously. This time was different and it was exhilarating to hear sewin slashing at the fly and chasing it to the bank in the pitch black. Of course, I didn't actually land any of them (lost one at the bank edge) but that's another story.