Spring Road Trip!

Two Hat's and myself had this trip planned for several months. A visit to the 'Plateau Millevaches' to fish its clear water's and catch it's beautiful wild trout, would be my first proper trout trip of the season.

Two hat's had started his season two weeks before, and had fished (with some success) the same rivers. But the weather for his visit, could not have been any more different, to the weather on our short weekend visit!

For those of you who are unaware of this lovely region, but have visited Scotland would find the surroundings very similar. Hilly with many hidden valleys, small twisting road's with a gorgeous view's around each every bend, and clear cascading river's, full of little hard fighting wild trout. Its a fly fishers Paradise, if you get the weather right, and here we were unlucky, as it had recently rained.

Since last December we have had very little rain, and many of my local river's are very short of water. The Touvre is in desperate need of rain, its dirty and very low. But I don't expect it will stop the farmers taking water from it in the summer for crops, such as corn, and wheat even if we have a dry year!!

Prior to T. H last visit, there had been little rain, and the rivers were in perfect condition for the start of the season. Even though there we no hatches on his last visit T.H found several willing trout, along with a real beauty of 32cm, a large fish for the river. But on this visit several days of recent rain, had turned the river brown, and the fish just could not see our gold head pheasant tails.

Fortunately T.H knows the river system like the back of his hand, and suggested we move nearer the source of the river, were he hoped the water would be a little clearer. But it was not to be and the first day was a complete washout, if you count fishing in purely catching fish terms. I don't however, and the gorgeous spring colours, and bird life, would have made the trip worth while without fishing!?

After a good nights sleep (helped by 3 large glasses of vin rouge) and a large continental breakfast we approached the river with little hope. But to our surprise the level had dropped and the water had cleared a little, now the fish were for it!!!

But buy lunch time we were both still fishless, despite walking miles of river, and me taking a seasonal dunking (I doubt it will be my last). The water was just too high, and insect life was non existent. As a final chance T.H suggest a little river he knew that may just give up a fish or two, if we were lucky.

And so it was late on the Sunday afternoon, we found ourselves on a small stream known for it's grayling and trout. With a few Stoneflies and Olives coming off, we fancied our chances, and so it proved.

On my first cast I took a nice (out of season) grayling of 30cm then a small trout (pictured) and another two fish before we packed for home, so a blank was saved. And T.H had saved a few for himself, but it was close!?