It’s that time of year when the waters start to warm up and the insect hatches are at the best, it’s like someone turned the lights on. The Trout start moving and feeding actively and to me probably the best time of year to target these fish on the dry fly. The August winds are starting to settle and the days starting to get longer with great dry fly fishing in the shallows.
On a recent trip up to the Little Berg on some pristine private waters, the weather perfect with very little wind and towers of mayflies covering the shallows the caddis flies scatting the surface of the water and the odd explosion of some decent Rainbows were great signs for a good afternoons dry fly fishing. I rigged my Xplorer Guide II 9FT 5 Weight rod with the new Rio Gold InTouch fly line and a 12 foot Rio Powerflex leader with a freshly tied CDC Elk wing caddis in an olive colour.
The fish were rising to the caddis all around with the sun starting to set in the distance, with a few precise casts to the rises my CDC Elk wing caddis was engulfed off the surface, the fly line screaming across the surface of the water and the fish breaking the surface with some spectacular jumps.

Within a few minutes the fish was in the net a couple of pictures and the fish safely released to fight another day.
Catching Trout on a dry fly must be one of the most exciting form of Flyfishing one can do as the visual of fish hunting on the surface really gets the hart racing. A good 63cm Rainbow will definitely keep you coming back for more!
The late afternoon can still get a little chilly this time of year and the water temps just starting to hit the early teens so make sure you are prepared to brave the elements. Breathable waders and a warm wind breaker are must for early spring.  I prefer the Redington Sonic Pro Breathable waders and Redington Sonic Pro Wading jacket.