Damsels on Blagdon

I have fished the Bristol lakes for forty years and have never before found more than just odd damsel flies in any of the fish that I spoon.  Many anglers catch most of their fish on damsel nymphs, but this is because the fly is fished more as a “lure”; it is often fished too fast and too deep.  It might as well be a fritz pattern – or blob!  The appearance of the bright blue male damsel flies make so many anglers that I know delve into their boxes for the “nymph”.  If, like I do, these anglers spooned their fish they would not have seen the real damsel nymphs in the fish.

This year on finding more than a couple of fish with damsel nymphs in them I dug out some flies from the corner of my box that I used years ago when fishing in the weeds of Eyebrook for trout that were crashing into damsels.  The fly is basically a large (size ten) Bob’s bits, with a tail.  This is fished static.  If a trout comes for it and misses it, a slow lift of the rod gives the fly the appearance of the slow swimming nymph and more often than not a bow wave appears before the line goes tight.  It is fun fishing and so effective!  I had Charles Samler out with his mother Ann recently and Charles, who had never previously caught a single trout managed to take eight fish!

On the Yeo Valley “Catch and Cook” day earlier in the month, Martin and Andy caught twelve fish between them on my pattern of damsel, and neither of these guys are regular fishers.  Martin had only ever fished for trout once before – on this same event last year!