With longer, warmer days and fish waking from their winter slumber, spring is a great time to be a fly fisher. Turralls Dom Garnett reports on some excellent early season sport, along with a selection of tips and new flies to try.
When tackling up on a sunny spring afternoon, there is so often that fuzzy feeling of relief for a diehard angler. All the rain-swollen rivers and icy days on the bank can be forgotten and forgiven. Renewal is everywhere you look and you relish each little sign that winter is over, whether it’s the first rising fish, or your tatty woollen headgear being swapped for a brimmed sunhat.
So, where do we start with spring fly fishing? Here in Devon and Somerset, my first moves for the new trout season are often down to conditions. Stillwater fishing can be awesome in March and April- and even if you love rivers best, they can be a vital plan B if there are heavy rains. This spring, though, the streams have been in fine fettle.
Old tricks and new flies on the rivers
Looking at settled water levels and gorgeous weather, I couldn’t wait to get back on running water for wild brown trout. I’m a huge fan of both the FishPass app and some semi-urban rivers close to home. I tend to start on waters that fit the “small but prolific” bill – and we’re blessed with dozens here in Devon. It’s bordering on travesty that, while you look at the heavy pressure on pike and carp these days, this absolutely beautiful style of fishing is so undersubscribed!
The going is not always simple in the early season, in all honesty, but if you are mobile and find the sweet spots, the fish can be quite clustered up, or so yours truly and older brother Ben Garnett hoped. Surprisingly, for March, we quite quickly found fish in quite shallow water. These were reluctant to budge mid morning, and it was a deeper pool that produced the first fish- but sport got better and better as the day went on, with trout moving into tail waters of just 12”-18” more willingly.
What fish these browns are, too! On a 7’6” 3 weight rod, they battle like little tigers. I would once pack heavy camera equipment and special lenses to capture their beauty, but these days phone technology is so good I get by with just the mobile. I am moving more and more away “grip and grin” shots, too and focussing on detail instead. You not only capture some stunning patterning, but it’s much easier to keep the fish wet – and they are much prettier with me not in the frame! It’s also rapid- a couple of quick shots and you can enjoy the detail later without messing about with the fish.
I was also excited to try out some new flies for the session. Turrall are going to town with over 40 new additions in 2025. There are mayflies and daddies galore (more on these to come), but what caught my eye most for the early season were the half-dozen new Perdigon Nymphs.
With tungsten heads and smooth, epoxied bodies, these little beauties sink very well and fit that perfect “plenty of weight but modest size” equation for plundering the pools on small rivers. Euro Nymph fans will love them, but in the smallest 16s, they can also happily be suspended under a dry fly or indicator.
I spent the session therefore alternating between my own, teeny little 18 bead headed PTNs and Hare’s Ears in the shallower runs, before letting the new Perdigons loose each time we came to a larger pool. All the colours look tempting, and the trout certainly agreed. I’d opt for black and just a hint of colour for browns, but also save the pink and reds for dirty water or grayling a bit later in the year.
It’s a really precious thing, fishing with your brother. Especially as we are now both time-starved dads in middle age. We actually tie each other flies for birthday gifts these days, while others are traded for confectionary! We’re also happy to take the fishing in turns, which adds a slower, sociable feel for the day. It also means that when one of you gets tangled or snagged up, the other can then make hay while the other curses.
The trout were of a lovely stamp for our petite Devon streams, with lots in the 8-11” bracket. The only thing we didn’t quite manage was a fish on the dry. We did attempt this, but with only two rises seen all day it’s probably not surprising it was nymphs they wanted.
I also enjoyed testing out Turrall’s new Detached Body March Brown. Usually it’s only classic, cream coloured mayflies you see in this style- but this looks a winner.
We don’t get many true March Browns in Devon, but there are certainly other larger olives, like the LDO and Large Brook Dun that it will also make a passable impression of. The size and visibility are bang on, it floats beautifully and will easily support a nymph for NZ style “dry and dropper”. No cigar this time, but soon, soon…
Wimbleball Lake and Hawkridge Reservoir
Out on the lakes, the season also kicked off in fine style, albeit with more mixed fortunes, in the company of fellow fly angler Simon Emmanuel. One of the joys of guiding is that you get to know repeat visitors really well, and become friends as opposed to just client and guide. I’m always thrilled when folks come back, because it assures me I must be doing something right! And this time we were both excited to kick off the new stillwater season.
Wimbleball Lake proved a tough nut on a very bright and not very breezy day, first of all. I think we had just three takes the whole day, but not from any want of trying! What busted us out of jail in the end was paying close attention to the ranger, who recommended fast sink lines and rotating spots. It’s always wise to ask a question or two and not assume you know best.
Eventually, it was up on the corner just before the dam where we found some action- and it was a palpable relief to finally hook a fish, on a Black Humungous, fished deep and around 40 yards out from the bank. Boy it was slow and cold- and I should say not generally reflective of this usually excellent fishery. We didn’t see another bent rod from bank or boat all day.
What a vast difference, therefore, to arrive at Hawkridge Reservoir on our next stillwater session and find fish moving everywhere. This is one of the best lakes for fly fishing anywhere in the South West. Big enough to retain a challenge, yet not so big the fish just disappear, it is about as reliable as reservoirs get.
The lessons of our trip were very simple: pick any colour lure as long as it’s black, and retrieve aggressively! Indeed, you can try to “out-clever” these early season fish. Give it some vim, with short, sharp strips of line, and watch that line simply lock up! The absolute stand out fly was a Beadhead Red Montana. What is it about early season fly fishing and black lures with a “hotspot”?
Simon struck into the first of many fish- and these are some of the best conditioned rainbow trout you’ll find anywhere. Beautifully spotted and ridiculously fit. With their power and the tactics employed, you’d be silly to go under 8lb leader.
It was such an action packed day we eventually decided to slow things down with some more natural patterns. After all, you cannot catch and release at Hawkridge. Nor does it take long for trout to cotton on to natural food- and in the afternoon there were some buzzers coming off, along with swirls and rises. And with the banks all awash with spring flowers and soaring buzzards, life felt pretty good.
I lost a good fish by swinging a team of two flies (a Bibio with a UV buzzer on the point) across in the breeze. It’s a lovely, slower way to fish these reservoirs- the key is to let the wind do the work and watch like a hawk for takes.
The next fish was less lucky, not that it didn’t do its best to pull the rod out of my hands. With Simon also completing his bag, it was a great way to finish the day, with enough trout to feed the neighbours as well as my family, and some very pleasant arm ache.
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