Brownies on the Frome

As its only a couple of weeks until the end of the trout season, I thought I'd make the effort to get out for an hour or 2 after work and try catch a couple before the season ends.

Low water levels on the river Frome 

I headed down to the local river Frome, a small stream that meanders its way through the Stroud valleys before joining the river Severn. Due to the more sever weather of recent times and a lack of sensible river management, the water levels can get very low (to only a few inches) from where the various old mill gates along its length are opened up to help prevent flooding during severe wet weather, and are inevitably forgotten about and left open so the river level drops right down during prolonged dry spells. This has pretty much pushed out all of the coarse fish species, which means the trout now have free reign over the river.

Fallen trees litter the banks of the Frome

Despite running adjacent to a footpath, the stretch I decided to fish is a pretty quiet stretch, with only the occasional passing dog walker disturbing the peace. Its also a fairly neglected stretch, which is often overgrown with a few fallen trees crossing the path or in the river. The fish don't get very big in this stretch, but its not far from home and I like it for the peace and quiet it offers.

Most people would probably associate trout fishing with fly fishing, but it doesn't have to be that way! Despite the fact that the overgrown and intimate nature of the river makes fly fishing almost impossible, I like to use an old simple method that's been around for centuries, a free lined worm. Just you're standard light float rod, some 4lb line on a small fixed spool reel or a centrepin, tied to a size 12 hook with the barb crushed (I return all the fish I catch so don't like to use barbed hooks, but find a worm will stay on a crushed barbed hook better than a shop bought barbless one). That's it, that's all you need along with a small landing net and of course a tub of big juicy worms! Simply cast your worm into a suitable spot, and let the current take it down stream, while carefully mending the line on the surface. You'll know when you get a take as the line will tighten and zip across the surface, or if you're fishing deeper water, simply just feel for bites by letting the line run over one of your fingers.

It didn't take long before I had my first take, after maybe 3 or 4 casts the curves in the line on the surface straightened out as the trout made off with my worm. It was only a small fish of a few ounces, but there's something about wild brownies that makes them all feel special, including the small ones. I popped the hook out and put him straight back, holding him in the current for a few seconds to make sure he was recovered and ready to go. I quietly made my way down stream looking for another likely spot when I heard the tell tale splash of a trout snatching something from the surface. I peeked through the undergrowth to see the remains of the rings in the water a few yards down stream, and carefully dropped my worm in an area where the current should carry it straight to my target. Ten to fifteen seconds later the line zipped off and I had another fish on, leaping clean out of the water in a bid for freedom, but the hook held and I soon had him on the bank. Another small trout, this time hooked fairly deep, but as I was using barbless hooks it came out straight away with the aid of some forceps without causing any damage to the fish, and I returned him to the water.

The light was starting to fade under the cover of the trees, so I decided I'd try and find one more fish and call it a day. It didn't take long before I spotted a fish a few feet from the bank, illuminated by a ray of sunshine that had managed to penetrate through the tree cover. I cast my worm a few yards up stream so it had a bit of time to sink down to the depth of the fish, and this time watched the fish instead of my line. As the worm drifted down in the current, I saw the fish just casually swim over and gobble it up, so I struck straight away to avoid deep hooking. A short battle ensued before the fish was in the net, another small brownie of maybe 5 or 6oz neatly hooked in the scissors. The hook popped out easy and again I held the fish in the current to regain some strength before releasing it. They might not have been very big but 3 fish in a little over an hour of fishing wasn't a bad result, and on light tackle even the little ones put up a fight in the fast currents of the river. That's probably the last trout I'll see now until the new season starts in March next year, when hopefully they'll have grown to be a bit bigger!

A small wild brownie from the river Frome