I’ve heard previously, from articles and other anglers, about the impact that sudden drops in pressure can have on trout. I can now say I have experienced it first-hand.
Following a perfect sunny, calm Good Friday (spent with the family), Saturday was my only chance to get some fishing in. The weather report was not favourable with another Atlantic storm on its way; 25mph winds, heavy rain forecast for the afternoon and, I realised after, a 40mb drop in pressure (1020 to 980). Still, any day fishing it better than none.
I started on Farmoor I, the catch and release section, but the strength and direction of the wind (which was also swirling in the concrete bowl) made casting pretty much impossible. The ranger allowed me to switch my ticket to Farmoor II where there was a bit more protection from the wind on the south side.
To cut a long story short, I tried everything: floating, intermediate and sinking lines; lures, blobs, fry imitation, tadpoles; buzzers, diawls and crunchers; even a couple of dry flies. After six hours without a bite and the rain getting heavier, I finally gave up.
I’m still a novice angler but given the different depths, retrieves, flies and locations I tried, I’m pretty sure there was something else at work. Given what I’ve heard about sudden drops in pressure turning the trout off feeding, I can only assume that was a key issue. So, lesson learned, check the pressure forecast as well as the weather forecast.
NB: This website is quite useful for air pressure forecasts www.bigsalty.co.uk
General conditions – Cold, overcast and very windy. Low pressure.
Wind direction – Southerly
Flies that worked – Nothing!