what goes on in Salmons heads??

[johnmac]

I went down tonight after work..... its handy that im only 300yds away from the nearest pool! I managed two full hours and decided to head down to the lower pools because it would be quiet..... i fished two pools ... about 45mins on each.

The water had come up a bit overnight and was dropping back, but was almost clear. I fished with a floater with a 5ft fast sink poly leader and a four foot leader with a size 8 yellow shrimp fly..... anyway that was the set-up!

What i wondered was...... as i fished down one of the pools ( the fridge pool!) a fish topped and tailed at the lower end of the pool..... just under were my fly was fishing on the far bank...... it then did it a few more times again when i was within 5ft of it......i hadnt seen the fish in the half hour before or again in the next 15mins..... so the question is..... was the fish "into" my flies?? ;D or was it just a coincidence as there was no-one else fishing i went 50yds up-stream of where i had seen it and fished through again..... but didnt see it again....... should i have fished the pool for longer?? changed flies?? or was i right to move on??

I then moved down to the next pool which is a sweeping bend and fished it in the same way for half an hour.... with no signs of fish..... and just at the tail end as my fly was no more than three foot from it ........a fish that looked huge !!..... jumped and skimmed accross the surface...... my next cast and the same happened again...... then nothing...... i fished on by then got out and fished the last 50yds down again until near darkness.... but no more signs of the fish so again.... what does it all mean?? what should i have done differently?? Im hoping to go down again tommorow night.... although the water will have dropped a degree since tonight i'll bet! so quick answers!!! ;D ;D ;D

and cheers again to Dennis for the guided tour!! Im brimming with confidence!! surely its only a matter of time?!?!?!? dont want to temp fate!

thanks all!

[Fruin]

The fish may well have been rising to the fly and turning away before taking it. Assuming that you had mended the line and the fly was swimming at a nice even pace past the fish, the next thing to try would be a bit more speed. Either, try swimming the fly past the fish quicker by using the current (ie. don't bother mending the line or mend downstream), or, when the fly is near the fish try retrieving the line.
If this didn't work, I would try a smaller fly fished at the same pace as the first time the fish moved to the larger pattern. Some would say a bigger pattern but, from experience, I've found a smaller pattern is a better bet to get a cautious fish to take.
Just to confuse things even more; try not to pester the fish. If it is sitting in a lie, and you have already 'covered' it a couple of times. Leave it alone for a while and try later, on the way back up the river. By covering it too often in a short time period you may put it off the take altogether.

[johnmac]

thanks for the info Fruin! Im going back down tonight for a few hours... so i'll see if i can put your plans into action! fish dependant of course! John.

[Fruin]

John,

From reading your post again, it is also possible that you were fishing the flies too fast and the fish(particularly the second one) missed the fly altogether.

If that is the case, then try an upstream mend to slow things down a bit. Try to get the flies moving at a bit less than walking pace as the norm.

[johnmac]

Thanks again Fruin..... i do mend the flies upstream......so i can only assume the fish should have gone to spec-savers or yellow wasnt his or her colour!! hahaha went down again tonight..im just in the door..... not much doing, i did see a fish jump a couple of times at the bottom end of the same pool i fished last night...... my flies weren't so close this time..... maybe ten metres away... so he must have just been showing off...... another day maybe!

[kercock]

A better man than I once said. Salmon are like women ! "The only predictable thing about them is ,the fact that they are unpredictable" He was also braver than I.!!
I assume that when you had cast across the stream, you kept the rod tip out over the river to your right,which of course will keep the fly out there longer in the fishy bit. Do not fret John you will get your first take,but you must remember ,it aint a troot !

[johnmac]

Thanks Dennis! I fished it just like you told me! Im looking forward to that first take! I only wish you could have told me the bit about women seven years ago! All the best! John.

[jt]

I'm of the belief that fish (all kinds) keep it simple.

Salmon, on entering a river may be pre-programed as such:

Don't eat, don't eat don't eat, what's that?, DON'T EAT, don't eat, don't eat, corr that looks tempting etc etc

Take a little grayling - they're almost the opposite:

EAT, eat, eat, eat, eat, er that looks a bit dodgy, DON'T EAT, eat, eat, corr that looks tempting, oh b*gger!

Bit like me and cigarettes at the moment to be honest...

Just a thought/pet theory mind.

Jon