Early season: Rolling the dice
We all know early season fishing can be a gamble.
And we all know gambling’s not for everyone.
That early April morning, you could bet your shirt on what most people were thinking about their chances of decent fishing that day.
Strong winds and heavy rain across the whole chalk country?
No dice. They’d all be folding right there.
Waiting for better odds.
Warm sun. Strawberries. Big creamy Mayflies.
But hold that thought.
Strong winds and heavy rain…
… on the Ginger Beer beat of the Test?
Stack all my chips on LDOs.
So that’s how it played out.
I met my fellow addicts Paul, Marina, Nick, Patrick, Claire, Laura, and Lola the trout bum spaniel in the fishing lodge at Kimbridge, and we steeled our nerves with strong coffee before betting everything on red.
(Red-spotted trout, that is).
And Lady Luck smiled.
LDOs hatched.
The sun came out.
Trout showed us they were players too.
Legendary Orvis rods were bent. Smooth, solid reels were compared and tested.
And a sneaky side bet on a peeping caddis sometimes turned up trumps.
Because in the end, when you’re fishing the early season, Fortune asks just one question.
How lucky do you feel?
(Photos 1 and 6: Paul Sharman)
Update: thanks to Zambuni PR for this link!
Whilst it is something of a gamble early in the season, the first thing I was taught as a small boy was that “fish are essential to fishing but catching them isn’t”. Just being on the Test, checking out the trout waiting to be fed on Stockbridge High Street is joy enough. Having said that, on this beat you can usually find a few fish below the weir even on the worst of days….. We still need to arrange an SPLCA trip somewhere Theo!