Slow flowing pools

[say]

Just wandering if anyone has some hints or tips for fishing (very) slow flowing pools.

There is a particular pool on a beat I fish that is so slow that it 'appears' to be only good for the spinners and wormers, but it does hold a lot of fish.

The cast to cover this pool is a good 30 yards and I have tried the conventional methods and stripping a sunray/collie through the pool without success.

I hear of the Beauly belly, backing up etc and would appreciate if any members out there fish pools that have similar characteristics.

Any advice would be appreciated

[macd]

Slow pools need a good upstream breeeze on them- waves even. If the pool is flat calm leave it alone.

i would leave the collie until you have covered it with more conventional flies.

A dropper is not everyones cup of tea, but works well for me.

Backing up is your best bet. Start at the tail, cast squarish and handline and work your way upstream.

Works like a charm..........

[Fruin]

From my own experience, slow pools fish better when there are fresh fish in them competing for the best lies. However, even resident fish seem to take an evening stroll around the pool as the light starts to fade in the evening; you can often pick a fish or two up in the half light.

Failing that, if you have regular access, wait until a good spate puts a flow through the pool.

If you can cover the best lies with a single handed rod, this will make it easier to hand line effectively; preferably with a slow intermediate or an old floating line that sinks slightly.

[dmc72]

macd said:

Slow pools need a good upstream breeeze on them- waves even. If the pool is flat calm leave it alone.

i would leave the collie until you have covered it with more conventional flies.

A dropper is not everyones cup of tea, but works well for me.

Backing up is your best bet. Start at the tail, cast squarish and handline and work your way upstream.

Works like a charm..........

I`l 2nd that.......a majority of fish i`v caught have been taken when backing up, very effective.

[blanketyblank]

I heard a rumour that on the slower, deeper stretches of the river Finn below Ballybofey in Ireland, people would tie another knot onto their salmon Flies after tying them to their leader, to make them sit at 90 degrees. Then ,preferrably with a good ripple on the water, they would be cast out and retrieved with as much surface disturbance as possible. Worked similar to bubble and fly , which was also deadly on these slower stretches.

Also traditional irish Salmon shrimp flies are designed for relatively slower water, if the water is too fast they won't pulsate in the current.

[jt]

Sorry to sound dim but why would fishing up a pool be different from fishing down aside from time spent potentially visible to the fish?

Hoping to learn something here...

[easky]

when 'backing up' you normally still fish across and down but as you hand line the line in (to give the fly(s) extra movement/life) you step backwards up the pool. This creates more speed to the line and hence more action on the fly. As long as you move gentlying then you shouldn't cause any more disturbance than if you fish the normal downstream method.

Hope this makes sense

[macd]

backing up shouldnt work- you would expect to be lining the fish. But it does work- they see the fly all of a sudden as opposed to watching move towards them downstream.

i have many times fished down and then taken a fish backing up. But you need a good breeze for cover.

[Old School Tris]

I remember fishing a slow (although not VERY slow) pool on the Dee at Crathes last September - Floating bank. There was an upstream/into your face wind, making it very difficult to get out more than 15 yards of line. In fact 'tyneandrew' had sacked it and was tucking into my hip flask whilst I battled away with the gusts.

The Ghillie Brian Sim told us of 'very large' residents in this pool, but we were generally not that enthused to fish this large expanse of slow moving water, where other more classic glides were drawing our attention.

I was fishing a size 6 Garry Dog with a fast sinking polyleader and was casting as square as possible. After each cast I would put in a large downstream mend and then kept my rod parallel to the bank while the fly fished all the way round.

I thought that I had got stuck on the bottom just before lunch, but then after a pause a huge fish bolted downstream 150 yards to the very tail. It was an awesome experience and one that I will never forget, especially for the fact that when trying to get off the croy and onto the bank, i was snapped off.

Sorry have gone on a bit here, but not surprisingly since that date I have always viewed deeper slower pools as more inviting spots than I did before. Being a fly fisherman only it is not often easy to fish this type of water, but I always like the challenge of fishing a fly in a place where someone says "No good for the fly in there" or "it's only worth spinning that piece of water". Admittedly it may not be as fun as fishing a lovely pool like the Lummels , but it can certainly pay dividends at times

[jimthefish]

I've just had a marvellous experience on a slow flowing pool. Fishing the Helmsdale this Wednesday on Beat 1, I was sent down by the ghillie to fish the bottom of Lower Caen in the late afternoon. For those of you who don't know the pool, you fish it from the left bank off a jumble of big rocks on a high bank. This deep pool sweeps round to the right and with a blustery strong downstream wind it is a challenge.
To cut a long story short, it was full of fresh fish and between 3.30pm and 6pm I had 7 salmon and grilse and lost others. The tactic was to get out a good line and then handline back. They were rolling over the dropper (size 10 Hairy Mary) like trout ! A few took the tail fly (size 12 Executioner). Because you were up high, every rise/take was seen. Marvellous sport !
I had 2 in the morning which made 9 for the day plus my wife (who was one of the rod sharers) also had a grilse in the morning. What a day !
Some river the Helmsdale. I ended up with 17 for my 3 days plus 1 to my wife. The Beats are fished by 2 rods but with 5 people sharing we ended up with 36 salmon/grilse for 3 days. Who needs to go to Russia !!

[rooster]

Jimthefish,I'm jealous,I heard of a trout fishery very close to the helmsdale flooding into the river running parallel with it.Couldn't have been rainbows these fish by any chance?..Please say yes.
Well done,tak a boo.

Regards,

Rooster.

[williegunn]

jimthefish said:

I had 2 in the morning which made 9 for the day plus my wife (

9 salmon I can take the bragging but the wild sexual claims are just too much.

[jimthefish]

Willie Gunn/Speyvalley,

Here's a picture of the happy girl fishing Upper Torrish ;D


And a picture of Lower Caen showing the good wave which stirred them up. In a flat calm this part of the pool is usually a waste of time.

[Old School Tris]

Will be taking my girlfriend fishing next time. May even turn a blank day into something more interesting

[themoygreen]

When im fishing slow pools i always throw straight across or slightly up stream and then mend my line down stream so theres a nice belly of line coming down and across,I always strip my line back too at a fairly fast pace,strip it back 4 or 5 inches at a time but fairly fast tho !!!the flies i use for this method are your standard shrimp flies. this way for me always works the best.

hope this helps

Gerard