Be Prepared!!

I must be the most prepared Fly Fisher in France. As the season proper, does not open for me until mid May, I have much time to ready all my gear for the event.

Whilst the fishing opens in March, it's when wading is allowed, you can really set to catching a trout or two. The non wading ban (until mid May) is an excellent idea as it gives the new fish eggs a chance, as seen in previous posts the Touvre trout spawn very late!!http://pagesperso-orange.fr/volanteangoumoisine/ptouvre/scalimet.htm.

Last season I changed over to a 10' rod. In the past I have seen little need for a rod longer than 9' and my Sage XP 5# has always been my number one go to rod, for trout fishing. But with the huge amounts of weed on the river in summer, and fish holding under the weed beds, a high sticking, come czech nymphing technique is called for, a 10' rod is far better for this kind of fishing. Not only are you able to hold more line off the water, but it gives you added leverage on a big fish, hooked in weed.

I also find with river fishing a fly line with a high floating tip is essential. When nymph fishing with heavy flies most tips will sink, but many of the newer lines now have an integral tip loop. In my humble view, these loop tips aid buoyancy, and stop the age old problem of water seeping into the line core (one of the main causes of tip sink) It's the double thickness of fly line that helps the high floating.

When making a choice on buying a fly line for river fishing, everyone has different needs for their style of fishing. But many of the lines described as having 'Subtle front tapers for delicate fly presentation' are useless for nymph fishing, as the tips are far to long and thin. Even small weighted nymphs will pull down these types of floating lines very quickly.

By far the best two lines I have used are Scientific Angler GPX http://www.sportfish.co.uk/product/mastery-gpx-floating-flyline and Airflows Tactical ridge lines. Both have very good floating properties, but you should remember the GPX is half a size heaver in line weight, ideal if you have a rod rated for two sizes?

Finally the last thing I do is discard all my old nylon tippet, and buy new. In past years I have used Rio Powerflex, but last season changed to Preston Powerline. It's a line used by match fishermen in the U.K, its finner just a strong, and cheaper, and you get 100m rather than the normal 30m, perfect!!