An Afternoon on the River Tame!

This year I have set one of my targets to get out on the Rivers and see what all the hype is about!  After a recommendation from the chap who I bought my Fly Tying Vice from I decided to make a trip to the River Tame in Stalybridge, Manchester.

With little experience and little tackle I took my Guideline #7Wt that I use for still waters and a small selection of river flies bought from the tackle shop, purely based on what I think the fish might like! (I have no idea what I am doing!!!)

The plan was to weigh things up, decide what it looked like, maybe spot the odd fish and hopefully not get mugged.  I didn't really expect to catch anything at all.

After a little trek up and down the canal close by, I finally found a way onto the river Tame.  I tried a few spots up and down before coming across this nice little spot.

There were a few fish regularly jumping to take food from the surface as it was washed down the weir and the currents slowed.  I started casting into the current and trying to let my fly wash through their path.

After a few little knocks and nibbles I finally hooked this little chap!

It may not be the biggest but I was made up, success!!!

This spurred my on and I carried on with my tactic, which lead to three more;

 Fish number two I was much happier with, he put up a bit of a scrap too but my rod was maybe a little too heavy for him.

Number three, again another really nice little fish.  After I had taken this chap I decided to move further up the river to see what else was around.  There was an old mill that was recommended to me by a passer by so I went up to take a look.

 

Another great spot with fish rising here as the current slowed.  Casting was a little more difficult here, still a bit more to learn but I still managed to take one fish.

My last take of the day, I only had a few hours so I packed up and headed back after this chap.  He looks a lot bigger than he was in this picture, a similar size to the second fish.  The fly shown is what I caught all on during the day.  I tried another similar pattern but without success.

Speaking to a local at present nobody owns the River Tame but I believe Oldham Angling Club are looking to take over, although this could take some time.