During the early season, if you are a regular visitor to the oggin, you will inevitably experience the worst trout fishing conditions associated with a high pressure weather system, namely a flat calm combined with bright sun in a cloud less blue sky. Great for sun bathing and getting a tan but dire for catching trout. Judging by the empty bank space I have witnessed at Pitsford when these conditions prevail it would seem that the majority of trout anglers simply give up, admit defeat and refrain from a visit to the oggin!

If like me your fishing trips are limited and you are not happy to lose a valuable days visit to the oggin you will need a strategy to deal with these conditions that will give you a genuine chance of catching a fish or two to save the potential embarrassment of a blank.

Here are some of my winning strategies that I use to avoid such a calamity in these extremely tough fishing conditions. Hopefully you will no longer be dissuaded from visiting the oggin when the weather forecasters predict high temperatures, blue skies and a wind less spring day.

Food Means Feeding

From late March all through April and well into May buzzers are active and on the trouts menu. The trout switch onto these avidly and can feed heavily on these tiny morsels. So the choice of fly is easy as these buzzers are your target imitation - a heavily weighted buzzer on the point to fish at depth.

Trout have no eyelids and are not known for their purchases of sunglasses down the opticians. So they will tend to gravitate away into the depths in these blue skies for two simple reasons:

1. To gain some cover from the sun in the gin clear water
2. Nearer the bottom is where the food such as buzzers is to be found

Their tendency being not to look up into the sun while there is a lack of cloud cover.

In these trying conditions were every action is accentuated it pays to slow down, limit the amount of casting and hone things right down.

I use a specialised floating line that is capable of being cast some distance combined with the longest leader I can comfortably manage. Typically 20ft minimum straight through 6lb fluorocarbon with a single weighted buzzer on the point.

It is important to get a clean cast with no tangles so that it lands in a straight line and not all bunched up. Allow it all to settle so that the point fly has settled on the bottom and more to the point any fish in the area are confident and undisturbed. If there is a fish in the vicinity usually an initial couple of good two foot long retrieves which imitate a buzzer rising quickly off the bottom will result in a fish taking. Sometimes very gentle takes can happen on the retrieve with the fly coming back clean, often a subtle change is needed to get a more confident pull. Shorten the leader slightly, slow down or speed up the retrieve or changing to a different buzzer may all work.

If there is a slight consistent ripple I increase the leader to 8lb fluorocarbon and add a dropper 5ft - 6ft up from the point with an epoxy buzzer. Once again a minimal amount of correct distance casting is in order this time making use of the slight ripple to let the line and flies move around on that slight ripple. Takes are usually savage to the buzzer on the dropper.

Whilst the sun is blazing a heron like policy of doing very little is in order. If there is any hint of cloud cover increase your concentration levels and start fishing seriously as your chances of a take significantly improve with the arrival of any cloud no matter how brief it may last.

If this does not work it is time to get really crude and change the approach completely and use the somewhat heavy handed, basic sunk line and lure tactic. As a last resort try a Di7 with a 4ft - 5ft leader of 10lb or 8lb fluorocarbon with a booby on the point. Shorten the leader to keep it closer to the bottom if needed. Most pulls happen at the extremity of the cast in the first couple of yards of the retrieve.

Give these tactics a try on the next blue sky spring day and I am sure your chances may well be rewarded.

"Are they fanging?"