Yes, we are already heading into the second month of 2018 and a new#sea trout season is dawning…April 17! Feels like it’s just around the corner so it’s time to get the tackle and oil can out.
Every year I lose days due to bad weather. I have had to cancel the occasional day here and there but last year took the biscuit with five weeks on the trot! Never before has this happened. Loch Conn rose by two metres late August and the water table was so high there was no soakage left. Henceforth, every time it rained the water just ran off the land and the Moy remained in continual flood until the end of the season. Let’s hope this year is a little drier.
We anglers are at the mercy of the elements and fish are sensitive to any change in wind, water levels and water temperature. Any change can determine whether you are going to have a good day with the rod. One minute they (sea trout) are feeding, the next minute they stop feeding. Why? Without a doubt I am certain it is because they sense a change, so slight that we are not even aware of it.
The Moy Estuary is at its best during a dry spell and as the sea trout arrive they will continue feeding on sand eels, herring fry and shrimp in the lower estuary in preparation for their journey upstream to spawn in the Autumn. However, as soon as water levels start to rise they will run early or back out to sea.
To be continued!