Sea Trout

Better known for its Salmon and Grayling fishing, the river Frome also boasts a small run of Sea trout. Rarely targeted these fish are well spread from early May and provide good sport until the end of October when the season ends.  Although not a large run, fresh run fish can be encountered right up to the end of the season.

As most of the lower reaches of the Frome are syndicated and fished mainly for Salmon the Sea Trout tend to get caught mainly whilst anglers employ Salmon fishing tactics.

There are some very large fish amongst them and tales of big fish lost are common. The river once held the Record Set Trout, caught in 1946 by S.R. Dwight the specimen weighed 22 1/2 LB and was taken at Bindon.

For some reason the Frome is not considered to be worth night fishing for the Sea Trout. I assume this may be due to the weedy runs where the fish tend to lie. There are some great pools with nice gravelly tails which look ideal for night fishing so i intend to give his a bit more effort this year. A friend of mine did fish a few nights last years and encountered a fair few fish including loosing one of a good size, potentially double figures.

The Seat Trout of the Frome tend to be very thick set, deep fish and have proportions more like fat , stocky Rainbows. They clearly encounter rich feeding at Sea. Presumably these fish spend their time in Poole Harbour over winter exploiting the abundance of juvenile fish.

A good fish taken in bright sunlight on the fly

Fly fishing by day tends to be an effective method to target these fish, i use a small wighted Tube fly with a tungsten cone head to search out the deep shady lies where these fish tend to rest during the daytime.

Small coneheads I tend to use on the Frome

Any pool with deep packets and overhanging vegetation tends to be a spot to find the larger fish. Fish do spread out in the shallower runs but getting anywhere code to the tends to be the biggest challenge. Smaller fish tend to be less wary and easier to cover effectively.

A typical shady lie

For the dedicated angler who choses to target the Sea Trout specifically may enjoy some good sport. Although not abundant the river holds some very large fish and having lost a large fish in the mid teens last year i can confirm that some heart stopping action can be experienced.