First Trout Fly Fishing

Since I've started Fishing, I've been dieing to try the pursuit of Fly Fishing out ( It just looks so much fun ) - Well luckily a few days ago, that wish came true and a visit was planned to the superb venue of Moorhen Trout Fishery.  The proprietors of the venue were very accommodating, and a warm welcome with free tea and coffee and a well kitted club house to sit and chat awaited  After a safety briefing, it was down to the nitty gritty of learning to fish with a fly rod ! We had a superb instructor who was keen to show the basics, so you could get on the water fishing with little delay. Surprisingly I was able to cope with the casting and keeping the fly line in the air easier than I was anticipating - there was certainly no hideous knot balls of line flying around... The hardest part I found of fly fishing was the discipline needed in holding and casting the line - It was a completely different mind set and style to coarse fishing, and took some time to get use to - you basically had to hold and work the rod vertically between 12 o'clock and 10 o'clock, moving it in synchronization to the line flailing above your head  Well after a few hours of this, we managed to land two nice trout both in the 2lb-3lb range, and after a coshing round the head with a metal priest, were ready for the fun of gutting and cooking.

The whole process of getting the fish ready to be cooked was all very involved, The gutting was actually all very easy and took around 10 minutes, however, trying to fillet the trout took allot longer ! about 3 hours longer to be accurate.. but it was worth while being patient, and filleting the trout properly as it made some excellent fillets ready to be cooked.

The fillets were just pan fried for 7 minutes with a bit of garlic, oil and herbs...some mashed potatoes and green beans as an accompaniment - And what did I think of my first taste of Trout.... It was yummy ! a really mild flavour and not heavily fishy like I was expecting - It was certainly something I would like to eat again, although I kinda fancy trying to smoke it next time... All of this will be based on whether I'm able to actually catch another Trout again though

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