The Battle of Bratton

After a very wet river season you really do appreciate the consistency of stillwaters to get your fly fix. Bratton water is all a lake fishery should be: beautifully natural looking, dececent sized and with some cracking, more challenging brownies in addition to the usual rainbows.
After running a feature here, I just had to return to enjoy another day and try dries in addition to the usual buzzer tactics. Even so late in the year we were treated to hatching sedges and some explosive surface takes. A CDC sedge on a fairly light tipped was the order of the day and the method also proved a fairly selective way to tempt the brownies- we took four crackers between us. John Garnett had the best at three pounds plus, a fish that battered the dry and then did the same to a six weight. All of these were carefully returned.

I was also pleased to meet a local using one of John Bannister's beautiful cane rods. Having taken his bag on a Griffith's Gnat, he let me have a cast and I managed to hook and lose a solid brownie that looked every ounce of four pounds.
Even when the fish weren't rising, sport was still excellent on nymphs for fish cruising in the upper layers. Whilst unmissable takes are great, I do love the subtle draw of trout intercepting a buzzer or Daiwl Bach. Like lure fishing, it is the take itself which is so magically addictive.

Credit is also due to Frazer McBain once more for his brilliant pictures.

British Fly Fair International 2009...

What do you call 3000 fanatics, a host of ace fly tyers & enough materials to fill a warehouse? The BFFI of course! What a terrific event this is- as well as stocking up on hard to find materials and bargains it was a real pleasure to meet so many fly tyers and characters from all over the world.

The tyers row itself was truly international- and what a range of flies! The work of German tyer Peter Joest was first to catch the eye. As well as great mylar fry patterns, how's this for a baby squid pattern for bass and other species:

Other areas were full of cute and clever flies- some fiendishly realistic, others simple but irresistable. Plenty of faultless Mayflies- or how about this Mantis from Dutch master Paul van den Driesche?:

On a simpler but more practical level, here are two Stoyan Filipov preyfish patterns for big trout. Perhaps his simplest creations among some real marvels, but I loved these:

Another interesting stop was Chris Sandford's corner- and I just had to admire his antique pike flies, as well as other beautiful cased specimens. Chris was right by Waterlog publishers The Medlar Press, whose new book of "Great Pike Stories" was a must have- a real treasure trove of past gems.

The Wonders of Wales

What a fantastic destination Wales is for just about any type of fishing you care to name. Along with the Westcountry Rivers Trust's Toby Russell and pro instructor John Dawson I enjoyed a quick fire tour along with a host of tourism and angling folks from Wales and Ireland.
The Wye and Usk Foundation have truly transformed fishing in the region in the form more access, better information and vast improvements in fish habitat. We saw new fish passes for Salmon & sea trout, beautiful rejuvenated rivers and other excellent work including their hatchery, which turns out some 230 000 juvenile salmon a year to give nature a helping hand.


Sadly the rivers were much too high for any Grayling fishing- although we did have a dabble in a surprisngly pretty club lake near Merthyr Tydfil. We got no joy, although local legend has it that a hulikng great rainbow known to locals as "Charlie" (!)keeps breaking tippets and locals' hearts here.

Above all it was great to see how passionate and forward thinking the Welsh are with their fishing resources here. And as for the Irish contingent, they were brilliant fun although some of their jokes were completely unrepeatable! I already have several plans set to "simmer" from the Welsh experience, and with so many committed individuals working for fishing here, the future has to be bright.

Life's a Ditch

More muddy miles in pike country this weekend. With fellow drain hoppers Rob Darby and Ian Nadin, we enjoyed a day of narrow roads, poor directions and some unlikely pike spots. The Somerset Levels truly are an adventure; a land of rusting tractors, bizarre attractions (trip to the Peat Museum anyone?) and flooded corners. It's so rural out here that the yobs have to throw hay bails rather than trolleys into the local river. We must have tried at least four locations in the day- including a ditch no more than 18" deep! Amazingly, there was still the odd small pike lying in wait.

It was on the slightly larger bodies of water (ie, those you couldn't jump across) that the sport was best however. It took a while to find peaceful spots however- and currently there are alarming levels of very poorly equipped pike anglers at the access points- no nets or mats spell big trouble on these steep, snaggy banks. At least there's space out here though, and on both the North and South Drain there was sport to be had for those prepared to walk. Soft shads and shallow running lures still seem the best option in these weedy waters- and what a thrill it is watching pike tail the lure before making a savage lunge! We took over ten jacks between the three of us, up to around the five to six pound mark, not quite as big as one or two midweek samples taken on a morning off:

Excellent fun neverthelss and some top quality banter to boot. Certainly more fun than a day at the Peat Museum I dare say, which is surely a rival to Dartmoor's Paperweight Centre for the title of the South West's most spectacularly boring tourist attraction.

From Drain to Drain

A busy old time of late- so many plans, so little time. But when I can't decide on which, I usually opt for somewhere quiet. Such was today's plan for the Levels. Conditions were poor though- bright and sunny. In my writing I'm probably as guilty as anyone else at identifying the best conditions- but more often than not we're not at liberty to pick our free time and so the conditions choose us!
The King's Sedgemoor Drain was very slow. As dead as my herrings in fact, although I covered a lot of water and was probably the only one roving outdoors hoping for darker skies. Plenty of pikey spots covered, but pikey spots do not always equal active pike. A quick move was in order and I fancied the pretty South Drain (above), a water I'd admired but never fished. Another long walk led to just one bite and a shy one at that. The line hardly moved before I struck and something screamed about twenty yards off! A ballistic fight and a very long fish of twelve and a bit pounds. The pike are still skinny, angry customers- and with the awkward banks here all I can say is thank goodness for unhooking mats.

Otherwise, I have been enjoying other business, including my new found role as a bailiff for Exeter and District AA. I asked to see the permit of one oik walking along HOLDING A BLOODY FISHING ROD who said "I'm not fishing". He was either carrying out some kind of surrealist mime then, or was the world's worst liar. Either way, he was politely told to bugger off and not come back without a permit. Some people!

Rocket from the Cripps

Sunday, boring Sunday. No encouragement required to shoot off to the Somerset Levels again for some more pike finding. Had a look at The Huntspill, South Drain and Cripps River (which isn't actually a river) today. The best bit? Taking a long walk and seeing nobody in sight for hours. The closest I got to being harrased was a herd of very curious cows, who seemed intent on studying my fishing tackle and eyeballing me.

The Cripps was particularly enjoyable- shallow as a boy band and very weedy. Deadbaits were a dead loss frankly, but a quick throw with soft lures got some interest. It was one of those days though- lots of jacks, few properly hooked. Partly because it was so weedy I took the treble hook off the suspending Storm Shad they took a liking to.
The pattern seemed to be little clusters of pike with long empty spaces in between. Finally though, one pike stayed on, taken by dropping a deadbait in front of a fish that followed a lure in but wouldn't take. An utterly ballistic fight too for a fish of five or so pounds, a very skinny brute that looked in need of a few more roach for lunch.

A long way from being a red letter day then- but what a fantastically peaceful place to roam. And on the walk back I saw the unmistakable shape of a barn owl swooping over the trees. Magical.

Lessons from Cider Country

Fishing is an odd sport sometimes. You don't always get what you deserve. Sometimes you can fish for just a few casual casts and get a result; next week you put in maximum effort for very little. Which has been the story of the last week.
The Somerset Levels looked prime for a long walk and hopefully a few pike on the Kings Sedgemoor Drain. I love these drains and long venues- not convenience fishing, but rewarding for those prepared to search far and wide. Sadly it was one of those days when conditions looked perfect but only a handful of jacks were prepared to have a look- just the one made it to the bank, from perhaps a foot of water by a bridge, literally right under the rod tip.

Otherwise, the only real lesson was courtesy of Rob Darby, on the dangers of cider and falling down wet steps the day before. In the above picture you might be forgiven for mistaking the lad for a pikey hobo, rather than a pike fisherman.
The only other action (or lack of it) was a trip to a very soggy Chew Reservoir. The trout were surprisingly absent to fry patterns, and the pike not especially active either with just one jack and two other knocks on decent sized pike flies. The water level seems alarmingly low at present, ruling out some of the usual features, and some areas seem muddy too. Perhaps no surprise that all the bites came on brightly coloured offerings. What a foul day too! My kit is still drying out as I type this...