Walthamstow Reservoir, Part Two

(If you have not read Part One of the Walthamstow Reservoir report, I urge you to do so now before continuing, by clicking here)

So, how much a new cap can lift a man's mood!  I started the day's fishing today with Exuberant Confidence.  It was not long until I was rewarded with my first fish:

A 'Minkie' fly, with fish attached.

Now, they say that good things come in small packages...  Indeed, although not likely to provide much physical sustenance this catch did yield a great feast of satisfaction for me - because it is in fact the first fish that I have caught on a fly that I have tied myself!  The Minkie is made with real mink fur, and looks a lot fluffier when it is not wet and out of the water.

I would like at this point to say thank you to Ray, the lovely chap from whom I acquired the fly tying kit.  It has been a source of great enjoyment for me and I am looking forward to many more successful outings armed with a battery of home-made flies (for better or worse!!)

Fortunately the fish above was travelling with protection, in the form of a brute of a trout roughly two pounds in weight.  In terms of gratification, though, this fish weighed many tonnes because it is the First Non-Miniscule fish that I have caught on a fly that I tied myself!  

Brute of a Trout (left), close-up of fly in mouth (right)

So, it seems the scales were tipped my way today.  To balance my fortune, however, someone had to pay and at about 5pm one of the other anglers fell in the reservoir.  He survived, but went home "with the hump"

I went home with the trout, and served hot smoked trout to my darling wife for dinner.

- Mike "The Wandering Rod"