INSTRUCTION

UnderThe RodTip

Northeast fly fishing expert Paul Richardson believes that you don’t have to cast to the horizon to catch stillwater trout. Apparently, the margins are where it’s at.

There’s nothing more relaxing than spending the day afloat in a boat. The world, as they say, is your oyster. Everything that you need is neatly stored away and everything is to hand, it’s all very easy and comfortable. If you’re sitting at anchor in a sheltered bay, quietly fishing a floating line and a team of Skinny Buzzers, slowly creeping them back at a pace akin to that of an asthmatic snail carrying a heavy load, a boat is the business.

Similarly, the boat allows you to drift across the middle.

It’s great being pushed along by a zephyr-like breeze, casting to rising trout with a single dry fly. Yep, boat fishing is a great way to fish.

However, as things are just now, and given the time of year, you can take your boat and stick it where the sun don’t shine. A struggle, granted, but I’m sure that you get my drift – there’s a joke in there somewhere.

The Bank The water at the moment is still cool; in fact, it’s bloody cold. On the day of this feature the water temperature was a paltry 3ºC! There’s not an awful lot of activity, insectwise, when the water is as cold as this. It’s worse out in the middle, where the water’s deeper – there’s none at all. The margins are where the feed is and, consequently, so are the trout, so bank fishing is by far the best option. When you are fishing in and around the margins take a good look at what’s around you; the surrounding bankside will give you clues as to the kind of water you’re fishing in. By looking at the structure of the bank and www.totalflyfisher.com

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