The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I'm of very similar opinion to that of Shaun Harrison on the previous page. Indeed it would be easy to imagine that fly-fishing was actually invented as a conservation measure because of the trouts gullibility to bait! However I also recognise the skill involved in methods such as 'upstream worming' and the 'drop minnow' and of course the right for us all to fish in our own preferred way using allowed methods. 'Float and fly' is perhaps the trade off required in tight swims where casting a flyline can't be accommodated or as in the use of 'bubble and fly' I saw in Ireland where the distances involved preclude all but tournament casters. Trout can be very gung-ho and ridiculously easy to catch at times but at many more times leave me believing that their eyesight is amongst the very best in the natural world. One thing for sure is that the name of 'brown trout' vastly understates their utter beauty! Enjoy your fishing

I would recommend fly fishing start with the wet fly casting downstream and across letting the current drag it around, the feeling of catching your first fish on the fly is something else and it is addictive and so much more enjoyable than bait fishing. stick to tried and tested patterns like march browns and greenwells glory etc.

This appears to be the Yorkshire Byelaws;-

3D LURES AND BAITS
No person shall between the 14th day of March and the 16th day of June following (both dates exclusive)
use in connection with fishing with rod and line in any river, stream, drain or other water where the close
season for freshwater fish applies any lures or baits except natural or artificial fly, minnow, worm, shrimp,
prawn, sand-eel or artificial lure without the permission in writing of the Agency
Byelaw No 5 made on 12th March 2001 and confirmed on 11th may 2001.
(The provisions of Byelaw 8B .3. of this booklet apply to this byelaw

If you, very hypothetically spoken, wanted to target trout with a live bait minnow, Billy Lane's Trout Trotter would be the float of choice for the traditional fisherman.
Well, if you wanted to catch trout for the table, deep hooking wouldn't be a problem of course. But if it was only for catching your first ever trout, I recommend to follow the advice, you've been given here and start to learn fly fishing. It's quite straight forward really. Of course you make a lot of fuss about it, but in the end you'll catch even with medicore casting skills, cheap tackle and scruffy flies. (It works quite well for me)

This would be the time to buy the fly fishing set up and do a bit of practicing.only 8 days til the season begins.shouldnt cost much for a basic set up.fly lines don’t need to cost an arm and a leg,ok the more expensive lines are much better quality,but to just get a fly out there,there’s lines on the market for under a tenner.

Ian - North East Region Bye Laws:-
Yorkshire area - river trout starts - 25th March.
Northumberland - river trout starts - 22nd March.
Close seasons also differ!

Confused? Welcome to English & Welsh fishery regulations - every region seems to differ!

These two trout I caught on minnow July 1986. I seem to think I had been fishing for perch originally and ended up taking these two as well.



I used to do a bit of spinning in the closed season for trout on the lower reaches of River Hull. Trout were few and far between so spinning was a way of covering the water. My lure was often a Devon minnow but the outstanding lure was a Mepps Black Fury.

I also used to do a bit of worming on some small streams where you couldn't possibly get in with a fly rod. You can also free-line or float fish a worm in places where you could never present an artificial fly such as under a bridge or right under a tree.

I never found trout any more likely to swallow a bait than perch. You just don't give them too much time before striking.

Reminds me of my neighbour when I lived in York. He caught a 6lb plus brown trout from the York Ouse and had it stuffed in a case above his mantlepiece. He claimed it was the Yorkshire Ouse record and that he caught it on two pound line, size 18 hook, and a single maggot. I think he caught in in the sixties or early seventies.

The river Hull produced some amazing brown trout in the past which were definitely not stocked fish but fish that had turned predatory. From memory there were at least three which reached double figures with the best I seem to recall around 15lb. In recent years I've seen two fish round the 5/6lb mark which I've not bothered to fish for but decided to leave undisturbed. Both were very predatory.

They are a fascinating species capable of filling many niches throughout a river system from virtually it's source down into the tidal reaches and out into the sea. The lower reaches of many large rivers hold big trout all the way out into the estuary. Often referred to as bull or slob trout these fish I suspect roam long distances in the intertidal zone but not quite far enough out to sea to be considered anadromous or 'true' sea trout.