Hoon Hay (Hilton)

The rivers have had a proper good hiding this week so me and my brother visited a small stillwater called Hoon Hay. The fishing was difficult but pleasurable as the water was crystal clear, which surprised me to be honest, especially with all the rivers running chocolate. I don't fish this venue often but it feels like your in the middle of nowhere, which is always a good start.

There were LDO's about, and loads of Black Sedges/Alder fly shown below. The fish were not switched onto either, however there was a rise now and then, that encouraged me to try to match them. I tried my Intermediete line first, but soon changed to my floater as it brought me little success.

I caught this lovely conditioned brown which gave me the a fantastic fight on my light 4# rod. It just kept stripping my line away, time after time, giving as good a fight as I can remember. Thankfully my brother landed it for me, and later I returned the favour when he caught a lovely Rainbow.

Sadly there was no rise tonight for which Hoon Hay is well known for, but I came away fully satisfied with memories of that stunning brown trout.