Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Leopards
You can't get too much of a good thing and once again the test was fantastic. It forecast two days of continual rain but that never showed and it made for a pleasant trip and a great group.
It started well and i had this lovely brown on Beat 11 in the morning. It came up and took my size 16 klink brilliantly. However there was a hatch of Pale Watery Dun's sailing downstream and i couldn't imitate them properly. Another couple of grayling and a brown made for a lovely day.
The following day we thought we would take the long walk top beat 3 as neither Phil or i had fished that far down before. It was a lovely morning with the sun glinting on the water and plenty of wildlife about. Can you beleive it Mick was there already and had taken his car, never mind there was plenty of room. There were good numbers of fish rising but i didn't have the perfect flies. Fishing a duo of a black klinkerhammer gold bead hares ear gave me a few options and a bit of stealth kneeling behind the reads and an old tree stump gave the fish confidence to keep rising. I had two brownies that were very different and almost leopard like spots. They were very colourful fish.
A i walked back up river i knelt by a bend in the river and i could see a shoal of small grayling sitting on the bottom. I took the dry off and and dangled the hares ear in front of them. It took me ages to get any interest but i found by lying the fly on the bottom and lifting infront of a fish triggered a take. They were a bit fussy but i managed to induce a couple.
A few more fish later and the evening was pulling in and we started to head back a Buck and Doe Fallow Deer put in an appearance until they got scent of us and made a run for it.
Monday, 22 September 2014
A win at last
Once again it has been a while since I had done some fishing but I had committed to Shane that I attend the annual BOS v Barclays match. This time I was looking forward to taking part but a bit nervous about whether I could properly compete. The BOS team is full of cracking anglers these days and feel that the last few times my thought process has been naff and keep doing the right things but at the wrong times.
We had a good trip up and a few walks around Stirling before my obligatory Haggis Supper - Mmmm fantastic!
Practice day on Lake of Menteith was overcast in the morning and then as the mist and cloud lifted the sun came out gloriously. It did put the fish down a few feet but if food was in front of them they would still take. The wind was a big factor and with a gentle breeze they were more confident to take.
While everyone was on Midge tips this cracking fish took on a Di7 which gave me great confidence that is was more about the depth and presentation than anything else and that stayed with me.
At the team talk in the evening there were fish over most of the water with the two main concentrations in and around Loch End or from the cages to Mallin Shore. The lines were mainly midge tip although Ross and Ash had done well on Slow and Fast Glass. The flies were similar with 2 small boobies (Cat, candy, Coral) with small flies in between (crunchers, buzzers, cormorants, daiwls). The team was great and sharing of flies and tactics really helped me to get my head in the right space.
On the competition day it was similar weather with the sun changing the conditions in the last few hours. I was drawn with Derek Purves and I was really looking forward to a good fishing day out.
The first bay we went into and I was 3 down in a very short period of time to Derek’s Midge tip and the doubts started to creep in. I knew I hadn't quite got the depth right on the midge so decided to change to the slow glass. As we turned back into the bay for another drift I soon connected and two on at once. The fish were so hard fighting that there was no way I was going to get both so when one dropped of it was a relief and I was up and running. I then had another 2 on the next few drifts and all was well with the world at Loch End. We then traded fish until Derek's Midge came into its own and caught a rapid 5 fish. I was pleased at the end to have done as well as I had although being beaten 12-8 is not always so good for the team. We took the Jeff Bailey trophy for the best boat and I the top bag for Barclays. The rest of the team put up a great consistent performance and we were able to pip the Scots by 67 fish to 60 and take our first win for a good number of years.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Barclays National @ Pitsford
It was back to Mike and I to arrange for this year and to make it easier we bought it to Pitsford. A great couple of days with no rain saw the Northerners (Radbroke and North East) win with a maximum 24 fish between for 48lb 12oz.
Practice day went well and i was fishing with Phil, we didn't have a lot of fish but drifted all day. We learned what we needed in that the fish were close to the shore and hatches of sedges and buzzers. There were a few catching and those that had stayed around bog bay and the causeway seemed to have had more than their share.
On the day itself i was fishing with Matt from Barclaycard and our info was about the same so after a little diversionary tactic in the small half we settled in and anchored in on North Farm Shore just below the causeway. We had a few takes and felt the fish were behind us as London Northern were catching well however expected a few fish to go looking further down the bank for food. I put a damsel on the point with buzzers on the droppers and fishing into the bank i had my first take and felt mighty relieved. Another followed but then it dried up.
We kept considering moving which in hindsight would have been the best thing to do but hey there were fish around and with Matt's first fish in the boat we were feeling better.
I added another but then it was early in to arrange the weigh in and to retire to the Westone manor Hotel for the AGM, Presentations and refreshments!
The others had caught a lot of fish and the best catch was Gerald Farnell with six fish for 13lb 11oz including a 5lb 2oz Rainbow on buzzers and Daiwl Bach's.
Surprise of the evening was Clearing who managed to come in 2nd place and achieved their target of beating Barclaycard - providing lots of banter for the evening.
Another good event - maybe we'll try the same venue next year.
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Flooded
We had seen it on the news with sandbags holding back the water from peoples houses but until you see the extent for your self it is difficult to comprehend. Although the River Test was on it's way down it was over it's banks in a few areas and flooding was still around, It was difficult to find a dry parking place!
I am not sure how high it got but this cabin was a casualty.
However with chesties on and kitted out we were ready for a bit of wading. It was not as bad as we thought and although it was pushing through it was still fairly clear and as usual you needed to be smart about where and how you fished - nothing new then.
We started on the main river and had a great morning session catching some superb brownies and Phil a rainbow. We were using heavily weighted peeping caddis and you had to pick the slower parts of the river.
The carriers were quite tricky and i couldn't quite get a method going although Phil was able to have a few fish on smaller pink shrimps. It was Grayling we went for and finally on the last afternoon up on the top beat i was able to roll cast along the tree line and pick up another four fish that appeared not to have been spooked. The second of these as a really nice grayling well over a pound that fought great on my 4 weight in a fast current. Another magic couple of days!
I am not sure how high it got but this cabin was a casualty.
However with chesties on and kitted out we were ready for a bit of wading. It was not as bad as we thought and although it was pushing through it was still fairly clear and as usual you needed to be smart about where and how you fished - nothing new then.
We started on the main river and had a great morning session catching some superb brownies and Phil a rainbow. We were using heavily weighted peeping caddis and you had to pick the slower parts of the river.
The carriers were quite tricky and i couldn't quite get a method going although Phil was able to have a few fish on smaller pink shrimps. It was Grayling we went for and finally on the last afternoon up on the top beat i was able to roll cast along the tree line and pick up another four fish that appeared not to have been spooked. The second of these as a really nice grayling well over a pound that fought great on my 4 weight in a fast current. Another magic couple of days!
Monday, 21 October 2013
River Test again
Yes what a luxury - twice in one year!
This time we took 14 of us from MNTFA for the weekend - a Motley Crew!
Although my motivation for fishing the reservoirs seems to have currently gone AWOL my enjoyment of river fishing certainly hasn't. What a fantastic location this is. The beat is situated just outside Wherewell - which quite interesting means bubbling streams - it has 11 beats on the carrier streams and 1 beat on the main river. It also has a small well stocked lake for those that can't catch and a cabin to use as a base, breakfast and tea and coffee on tap. I always think it is quite quaint with carefully tended path's, refuge huts, foot bridges, seats and a gently flowing green and white river - magic!
Enough of the pre-amble but the first morning session Phil and i decided to fish the shallow carriers before they got too much disturbance. As I walked up the river slowly I kept to the far edge of the patch to avoid too much disturbance. There were quite a number of fish all holding in the current usually in the bare patch depressions behind a patch of weed waiting to ambush any fly that decided to hatch or drift past their window of vision. I had a couple of casts at a few fish but was amazed how skittish they were. Well it may have been me being a bit clumsy! However after only 10 mins I saw a fish rise under a tree on the far bank and then some others holding in the current behind that. So a bit more stealth required this time and i dropped to my knees and crawled up to the edge of the reeds, stripped the right length of line off and a lovely cast above tree to let it swing round underneath. I tightened up with a figure of eight retrieve and BANG it took and headed further under the tree. The fight was great and a few minutes later had slipped the net under a Grayling of just over a pound. What a great start - the rest of the weekend could be enjoyed.
After another small Grayling and lunch it was my turn on the main river. I started down from the bridge and thought i would go down river on the nymph and come back up on the dry. There were loads of fish in the first pool but i couldn't tempt them. They seemed a little dis-interested but i guess it was that i didn't quite have the right fly. The second pool had a deep hole on the far side and i gave a great cast into the far bank with a gold bead little chap. I mended the line to let it sink for a second and suddenly wham this fish took it and came out of the water. It was a big brownie all yellow and buttery and in the sun looked fantastic. I played it out and just as I was about to net it, it came off. Ah well the photo opportunity was missed but as Mick said "proper catch and release. I went most of the way down the beat and headed back up but with no interest. As i got to the bridge Mick and Phil had settled in to try and tempt them on dry's but no luck yet.
I kept moving up river and when I came to the pool above the weir with some others further up i thought i would settle in the deeper area and see what I could tempt. As i looked out across the water there were occasionally big fish rising but also i could see shapes moving across a bare chalk depression and knew there were fish out there. I struggled for a take until I put the little chap back on again and then i was off. In the next hour I took 4 brownies to 4lb and a lovely Grayling around a pound and a quarter.
What a superb session! As i was just packing up, Phil came up the other side and nicked my water for a cast and he was into a sizeable rainbow on the last cast of the day.
The second day Phil and I had decided to go and fish beats 4 and 5 by the side of the road where we hadn't fished before. I also had decided that i was going to try and get the duo working and master another technique. I set up a black klinkerhammer with a red collared size 16 hares ear 9 inches further down tied on New Zeeland style. I tried a few pools but the fish were again a bit wary. I paused on the bridge between beat 4 and 5 and I could see some fish holding on the far bank so crawling around behind them I set myself for a cast back to the bridge. It was quite tricky with the wind having picked up and changing direction but fortunately fo me the fish stayed around and after five or six casts I got the right one close to the reeds and as it floated down the dry popped under and I lifted into a lovely Grayling.
As I moved down the pool there was one deeper run that seemed to hold a few more fish and i thought i would persevere here. I went over them for a good half hour but even if i disturbed one there was another that came to replace it in the lie. I kept changing flies and depth to no avail but at 18 inches deep I put a double beaded hares ear on to get to the depth quicker and as it floated towards the tail of the pool it went under and i was into a better Grayling. The pool seemed disturbed so i left it for 10 minutes and the fish were back again. I then managed to catch two cracking brownies but this time I pulled them quickly out of the pool and netted round the corner. What a cracking session and I felt great confidence in the method too.
I gradually started to rain a bit more as early afternoon went on and by two it was chucking it down quite hard. however with a dozen fish already that was enough and without marring a cracking weekend we headed for home early.
Although my motivation for fishing the reservoirs seems to have currently gone AWOL my enjoyment of river fishing certainly hasn't. What a fantastic location this is. The beat is situated just outside Wherewell - which quite interesting means bubbling streams - it has 11 beats on the carrier streams and 1 beat on the main river. It also has a small well stocked lake for those that can't catch and a cabin to use as a base, breakfast and tea and coffee on tap. I always think it is quite quaint with carefully tended path's, refuge huts, foot bridges, seats and a gently flowing green and white river - magic!
Enough of the pre-amble but the first morning session Phil and i decided to fish the shallow carriers before they got too much disturbance. As I walked up the river slowly I kept to the far edge of the patch to avoid too much disturbance. There were quite a number of fish all holding in the current usually in the bare patch depressions behind a patch of weed waiting to ambush any fly that decided to hatch or drift past their window of vision. I had a couple of casts at a few fish but was amazed how skittish they were. Well it may have been me being a bit clumsy! However after only 10 mins I saw a fish rise under a tree on the far bank and then some others holding in the current behind that. So a bit more stealth required this time and i dropped to my knees and crawled up to the edge of the reeds, stripped the right length of line off and a lovely cast above tree to let it swing round underneath. I tightened up with a figure of eight retrieve and BANG it took and headed further under the tree. The fight was great and a few minutes later had slipped the net under a Grayling of just over a pound. What a great start - the rest of the weekend could be enjoyed.
After another small Grayling and lunch it was my turn on the main river. I started down from the bridge and thought i would go down river on the nymph and come back up on the dry. There were loads of fish in the first pool but i couldn't tempt them. They seemed a little dis-interested but i guess it was that i didn't quite have the right fly. The second pool had a deep hole on the far side and i gave a great cast into the far bank with a gold bead little chap. I mended the line to let it sink for a second and suddenly wham this fish took it and came out of the water. It was a big brownie all yellow and buttery and in the sun looked fantastic. I played it out and just as I was about to net it, it came off. Ah well the photo opportunity was missed but as Mick said "proper catch and release. I went most of the way down the beat and headed back up but with no interest. As i got to the bridge Mick and Phil had settled in to try and tempt them on dry's but no luck yet.
I kept moving up river and when I came to the pool above the weir with some others further up i thought i would settle in the deeper area and see what I could tempt. As i looked out across the water there were occasionally big fish rising but also i could see shapes moving across a bare chalk depression and knew there were fish out there. I struggled for a take until I put the little chap back on again and then i was off. In the next hour I took 4 brownies to 4lb and a lovely Grayling around a pound and a quarter.
What a superb session! As i was just packing up, Phil came up the other side and nicked my water for a cast and he was into a sizeable rainbow on the last cast of the day.
The second day Phil and I had decided to go and fish beats 4 and 5 by the side of the road where we hadn't fished before. I also had decided that i was going to try and get the duo working and master another technique. I set up a black klinkerhammer with a red collared size 16 hares ear 9 inches further down tied on New Zeeland style. I tried a few pools but the fish were again a bit wary. I paused on the bridge between beat 4 and 5 and I could see some fish holding on the far bank so crawling around behind them I set myself for a cast back to the bridge. It was quite tricky with the wind having picked up and changing direction but fortunately fo me the fish stayed around and after five or six casts I got the right one close to the reeds and as it floated down the dry popped under and I lifted into a lovely Grayling.
As I moved down the pool there was one deeper run that seemed to hold a few more fish and i thought i would persevere here. I went over them for a good half hour but even if i disturbed one there was another that came to replace it in the lie. I kept changing flies and depth to no avail but at 18 inches deep I put a double beaded hares ear on to get to the depth quicker and as it floated towards the tail of the pool it went under and i was into a better Grayling. The pool seemed disturbed so i left it for 10 minutes and the fish were back again. I then managed to catch two cracking brownies but this time I pulled them quickly out of the pool and netted round the corner. What a cracking session and I felt great confidence in the method too.
I gradually started to rain a bit more as early afternoon went on and by two it was chucking it down quite hard. however with a dozen fish already that was enough and without marring a cracking weekend we headed for home early.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
River Ure, Hawes
I managed to find a few days to get up to The Yorkshire Dales with Phil and fish on the River Ure. A real unspoilt place tghat was made even better this year because of the numbers of wild flowers around. We may be moaning about the weather but it has done wonders for the spring flowers. The farmers here are leaving the fields and growing hay but the buttercups make it a very bright place.
The water levels were a little low and there was not much flow but the warmer weather did create a small hatch and there were a few fish rising to duns and buzzers. Just my type of fishing at the moment as i walked up the river looking for rising fish but being distracted by wildlife sandpipers, flycatchers, oystercatchers and some cute fledgelings. My first fish i saw across the far bank under a tree rise a few times and i slowley got into position creeping up behind the bank and then kneeling a the side of a tree. It rose another couple of times while i was there and a black klink cast just upstream and the surface came alive as it hammered the fly, yes!
As the evening went on it got a little quiet and after 9 o'clock i was at the bridge and ready to head for a pint. Phil came along about ready to go too when a fish rose and i cast and suprisingly he took, a lovely brown.
We decided to stay and miss the fish and chips but i had another couple and it was more than compensation.
The next day wasn't great as it was quite windy and cool and there were not many fish rising at all so we decided to try out the beck in the afternoon. At the top was this waterfall - what a brilliant place to fish, i can't beleive Phil didn't get one.
The water levels were a little low and there was not much flow but the warmer weather did create a small hatch and there were a few fish rising to duns and buzzers. Just my type of fishing at the moment as i walked up the river looking for rising fish but being distracted by wildlife sandpipers, flycatchers, oystercatchers and some cute fledgelings. My first fish i saw across the far bank under a tree rise a few times and i slowley got into position creeping up behind the bank and then kneeling a the side of a tree. It rose another couple of times while i was there and a black klink cast just upstream and the surface came alive as it hammered the fly, yes!
As the evening went on it got a little quiet and after 9 o'clock i was at the bridge and ready to head for a pint. Phil came along about ready to go too when a fish rose and i cast and suprisingly he took, a lovely brown.
We decided to stay and miss the fish and chips but i had another couple and it was more than compensation.
The next day wasn't great as it was quite windy and cool and there were not many fish rising at all so we decided to try out the beck in the afternoon. At the top was this waterfall - what a brilliant place to fish, i can't beleive Phil didn't get one.
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Kinder surprise
After trying a number of times last year, Matt managed to catch his first trout at Ravensthorpe.
It was not a great evening as the fish had been on in the morning and the fishing was tailing off. However there were still a few fish rising taking buzzer off the surface. I had been looking forward to an evenings dry fly so that's what i would do.
I had a few takes as we drifted on to the lodge so that was encouraging but over by the island the fish had definitely gone off. The wind didn't seem to be dropping so we headed off for Cotton end to see if we could get some quieter water. I was fishing a team of three dry's to see if i could get the colour and surprisingly a fish came up and took my carrot fly. Not only surprising it was a fish but also that it took red where i was expecting green.
Matt put on a soldier palmer and after a cracking take got snapped up. Stronger nylon and a green tag sedge was set up and not too long to wait - another one was on.
Nice and easy he took his time, a nice rainbow of 1-10 and well hooked, just what you want for your first fish.
The wind didn't drop much and there were plenty of fly on the water but the fish were waiting till the next morning I guess. With the sun going day it drew a great trip to an end.
It was not a great evening as the fish had been on in the morning and the fishing was tailing off. However there were still a few fish rising taking buzzer off the surface. I had been looking forward to an evenings dry fly so that's what i would do.
I had a few takes as we drifted on to the lodge so that was encouraging but over by the island the fish had definitely gone off. The wind didn't seem to be dropping so we headed off for Cotton end to see if we could get some quieter water. I was fishing a team of three dry's to see if i could get the colour and surprisingly a fish came up and took my carrot fly. Not only surprising it was a fish but also that it took red where i was expecting green.
Matt put on a soldier palmer and after a cracking take got snapped up. Stronger nylon and a green tag sedge was set up and not too long to wait - another one was on.
Nice and easy he took his time, a nice rainbow of 1-10 and well hooked, just what you want for your first fish.
The wind didn't drop much and there were plenty of fly on the water but the fish were waiting till the next morning I guess. With the sun going day it drew a great trip to an end.
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