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Wild Weather

Our April 2000 contribution from Lesley Crawford

'Cold, wet, misty and altogether beastly. No fish rising'
Muriel Foster 'Days on Sea, Loch and River'

THE WEATHER

The weather is a mighty touchy subject amongst wild trout anglers. - 'Its too hot, bright, windy, cold, humid' (substitute whichever word is most appropriate!) are declarations heard again and again down at the waters edge. It may not have escaped your attention however, that the climate is rarely discussed when we are busy catching fish, only when things are going none too well.

So is the weather an easy to blame scapegoat on which we can hang our fishing hats when trout are not being netted? - Well it is and it isn't, for while it is true that trout are remarkably sensitive to changing weather patterns, our inability to react with similar speed often means we ourselves are found wanting.

THE TROUT'S REACTIONS

Canny wild trout nurtured from egg to fully grown in a purely natural setting are highly dependent on the weathers' ups and downs. Whether in a mountain stream or a deep glacial loch, three things will always be uppermost in a trout's mind; food, safe shelter and a place to reproduce. The climate plays a crucial role in regulating this trio of requirements.

Availability of food is partly dictated by the amount of sunlight and the temperature of the water. As the water begins to warm after the long winter so the food supply becomes more active. Shrimps, caddis, snail, beetles, larvae and nymphs all respond to the suns rays. Winged insects begin to hatch and with the appearance of a more expansive menu it is little wonder trout activity correspondingly increases. Only in prolonged extremely hot conditions do trout become torpid and less eager to feed, probably because of less saturation of oxygen in the water.

Safety from predators can be compromised when conditions are arduous. Volatile weather usually means that trout have to take more risks over their access to safe shelter. For example, severe spates push river trout away from their usual hidey holes; lengthy periods of heat force trout away from the shallow margins out into deeper less productive water; storms and high winds create wave damage on exposed shorelines and trout may have to abandon their usual feeding stations until things calm down a bit.

Spawning sites come under a major threat from sudden swings in rainfall and/or temperature. Young developing trout are extremely vulnerable to changes in the weather. Sudden spates wash eggs out of redds, fry can be killed in sharp late frosts, mini droughts can lead to spawning sites drying out before the young have vacated them and so on ad infinitum.

ANGLER'S REACTIONS

While what the trout are doing during different weather patterns can to a certain extent be rationalised, anglers have the uncanny knack of reacting completely illogically! For example there is still a huge amount of debate concerning better weather for trout fishing. You will often hear sweeping declarations like the best conditions must be 'mild, breezy and overcast' or that you will need 'a swift shower of rain to bring on the hatch'. Equally someone will advise 'fishing the early season in the warmest part of the day' or maybe that you are in for a treat because you have arrived during a 'settled spell'. The worst conditions in which to try and catch trout are usually pronounced as being either 'hard and bright with East winds' or 'sudden thick cold mist' or perhaps weather which is unpleasantly 'thundery and humid'.

It quickly becomes obvious that there are many grey areas and that not all of these proclamations, however true, will match exactly what the trout are doing on the day!

In addition it is unfortunate that some anglers have the habit of concentrating on the most negative aspects of the prevailing weather. Perhaps because many of us have limited time in which to go fishing, should the climate look in any way dodgey, dark mutterings will often start before the rod is even up. This is a great pity because many otherwise positive aspects can be overlooked. - Despite moans to the contrary, patterns of successful trout angling weather do exist, even in conditions which would otherwise have been thought of as hopeless.

GOOD ANGLING CONDITIONS

Firstly the weather must be settled and by that I mean settled into any pattern from a 'cool east wind and sunshine' to 'dull grey mirky days' to 'NW gales and rain'. - Trout rise best in weather which is set in a particular pattern. What they don't like is sudden changes be that swinging alterations in temperature, a hefty rainfall or mighty gales springing out of nowhere.

Secondly, rising barthometric pressure (an approaching 'high') is normally more productive than falling pressure (a 'low') but then again as long as things happen slowly and gently down in the trouts world, the fish are not too bothered. Trout can be taken in most conditions providing their watery world appears uniform, its only acute extremes in the conditions which adversely affect them.

FOLKLORE

Given the trouts reactions and our obvious obsession with the climatic conditions its not surprising that successful trout angling conditions have a considerable amount of legend attached to them. Far from being an old wives tale 'Keeping a weather eye out' is probably the best advice any fisherman can follow when after wild trout. Flexibility is the key and anticipating how the fish are reacting to subtle changes in conditions is usually vital. There are any number of signs we can look out for but you would be surprised how many of us really bother to take what appears old hat folklore into consideration. Here are just a few of the more useful;

• 'Mackerel skies spell change' - usually very accurate in forecasting an alteration in the conditions eg from fine to wind and rain.
• 'Gusts of wind before the rain' - also pretty precise, especially if the wind is sudden during a spell of quiet overcast weather.
• 'Sun before seven, rain before eleven '- normally correct for the first half of the season. Has similar connotations to 'Red sky in morn shepherd forlorn'. Take the waterproofs.
• 'Low flying swallows portend rain ' - not always, but any birds flying low over the water are good as they are busy gobbling up the hatch. You should put down that cup of coffee immediately and get on with the fishing!
  
• 'A settled spell will bode us well ' - absolutely, nothing better.

A FINAL WORD

Scottish weather is known for its enormous variation. Several differing conditions can happen all within the space of a day. Hail, wind, sun and flat calm have battered me on many occasions, usually during about two hours of fishing! The important thing to remember is that the weather can deteriorate and improve again very rapidly. - Reflect a moment on what the trout are likely to be doing, keep your tactics suitably fluid, remember a few of the old sayings, and you should not go far wrong ...

About Lesley Crawford

Lesley has fished for brown trout and sea trout from a very early age and her enthusiasm for these beautiful Scottish fish shows no signs of diminishing. She is well known as a leading angling writer and photographer with prodigious articles in a wide range of publications including Salmon Trout & Sea Trout and the Scotsman.

Lesley is a REFFIS qualified fishing guide and arranges bespoke wild trout angling holidays in the Northern Highlands. Her first major book `Fishing for Wild Trout in Scottish Lochs' (Swan Hill 1996) was a runaway success and the long awaited follow up `Scotlands Classic Wild Trout Waters' (Swan Hill) will be published in May 2000. Order your copy now.
Read more about Lesleyat www.wildtroutfisher.co.uk

Also within Fish & Fly...

March 2000: Lesley Crawford takes a light-hearted look at how to get the most out of your wild trout fishing holiday in Scotland. A Survivor's Guide to Trout Fishing in Scotland.

February 2000: Lesley Crawford takes a seasoned look at various tactics employed by past masters in Scottish trout fishing and ponders how best we can apply old skills in the new millennium. Out with the old and in with the new. 

January 2000: Visiting the Highlands of Scotland for the first time you might be forgiven for thinking you have arrived in loch fishing paradise. An introduction to fishing for trout in Highland lochs from Lesley Crawford.