A cast on the far side

Of all the characters I've met in the angling world, it's perhaps the rebels and convention defiers I treasure the most. Such is Dee Egginton, better known as "Skateboard Dave". Here is a fly angler who hasn't so much ignored the textbook, but crossed out every line before setting it on fire and throwing it into the Mayor's back garden. Not surprisingly, he fly fishes for everything and some of his ideas and exploits are on a different planet. Kind of fitting really that we found the above sofa for one of the more bizarre photo opportunities I've ever come across.


From the off, and a long walk, I knew the day was going to be an adventure as we made our way to a madly overgrown river. There was hardly room to cast, such were the tiny dimensions of a lost midlands stream, but that didn't stop us sneaking around and catapult casting our way to some devilishly exciting close-quarters fishing. It began with a bang, literally, as the first fish was a powerful trout which took a streamer within seconds.

It was to be the first of a cracking brace- although we were actually after coarse fish primarily!

In the limited confines of such a water, long rods were the order of the day, with short casts and tactics not a million miles away from ultra light lure fishing. Perch were abundant too, also giving jig style Tadpole flies a good whack around any form of cover.

Sadly these buggers were common too:

In fact, my pal and invasive species expert Theo Pike would have been proud of us as we dispatched several. I say "we", but I found them tricky- Dee showing me the best method of sneaking behind the buggers before applying the boot. Actually, quite a strangely satisfying thing to do.
Meanwhile though, in the fishing stakes I managed to miss a good early chance or two as fish hit my streamer. Luckily for me, I got my mistimed strikes out of the way early as I managed to react better to an even better hit a few yards further on. A real whack and a hair-raising fight could only mean one thing: trout! The biggest wild brown I've had in several years in fact:

It was to be a fascinating, eye opening day in general, and although there is only limited space in the scribble that is my blog, the adventure continued as we added chub and dace before driving to Mallory Park to turn our attentions to further targets. Carp were first- and while the oft cited tool for landing these hard fighting fish is a stout seven or eight weight, Dee showed his typical disregard for convention by digging out a little three weight solid glass blank:

Basking fish were targeted by both of us without a dog biscuit in sight. I kicked off with dark spiders dressed on forged hooks, while he landed some crackers on tiny bloodworms:

The most instant fishing was had by simply landing slow sinkers gently in front of basking fish. However, it got really interesting with a switch to "blind nymphing" with tiny flies such as bloodworms fished right under the rod tip. I'd never been very confident carp fishing in this fashion, but Dee's tactics were a revelation. The tiniest knocks were followed by surging hooked carp hooked fair and square in the lips, to the point where he was actually disappointed because he wanted to catch more roach and perch than these greedy things!

The odd silver fish did follow before we remembered that human beings need things like food and water. And while there is only limited space in my scribblings here, my mental notebook is still awash with thoughts and musings on the maverick that is Skateboard Dave. The fact that the guy is not a household name in angling, while sponsored planks trot out the same guff every season, is a damning inditement of the current angling scene I would say. But perhaps this is the difference between an angler who fishes to impress others, and someone like Dee who fishes not for endorsements or reputation, but to satisfy an insatiable inner curiosity that sees possibilities where others view only arbitrary boundaries.
The worrying thing for fly fishing in particular, is that the more it follows the familiar (and often expensive) course of tradition, the less it will appeal to the new breed of angler, and the young in particular. Which is why it was excellent to be part of the Fly Dressers Guild part of the CLA Game Fair with the Turrall team. A whole host of youngsters tied their first ever fly, which was excellent fun, while I was bowled over with the skill and enthusiasm of Ben Beckwith, who ties patterns that would be the envy of fly dressers several times his tender thirteen years of age. We did a little swap as he showed me a brilliant sedge pattern and I showed him how to tie a pike fly in return:

The show was a lot of fun as always, and I also had the honour of signing some of the new "Canal Fishing" book with the other authors on the Coch-y-Bonddu Books stand (pictured are Peter Hayes, Theo Pike and Malcolm Greenhalgh).
As per usual, this blog is lagging a little behind current goings on I'm afraid, as I literally dashed home from the Game Fair and headed straight over to Ireland for a crack at both trout and rudd. But I'm knackered and that's another story to tell altogether. So, till next time…

Summer Events

Just a quick extra slice of blog for me as I prepare for the CLA Game Fair, which I'll be attending on Saturday and Sunday with Turrall. Really looking forward to this, as it's always such a great event to meet fellow anglers. I'll be tying flies for coarse species and trying to keep the real ale to a minimum. Do Stop by and say hello if you're about.


I'm also excited to confirm some events for the summer. The Wye is very much on my mind and chub, like the five pound beastie above taken on a large dry caddis, are especially prolific and very willing to take a fly. The place always gives me a little shiver of anticipation- and barbel will also be on the menu. If it runs low, fly fishing is possible for the species, but even if it's high other methods will work. I'll be co-hosting two-day sessions with none other than Bob James, who remains an absolute maestro when it comes to river fishing (just watching him trot with a centre pin is a joy). The events will be for small groups of four to six anglers, with enough beautiful swims and time for everyone to enjoy some of the very best river fishing and try their hand at various methods. I can't wait.




In other news, I'll also be running summer sessions closer to home for local youngsters on both West Pitt Farm (Near Tiverton, 21/22 Aug) and South View Farm (Near Exeter, 28/29 Aug). The idea here is to run fun, affordable half day trips, where young anglers can learn key fishing skills and enjoy catching fish in a friendly environment (and yes, I'm also fully trained, first aid and CRB checked- I take my coaching seriously). More info to follow, but for more info or to book either of the above, just drop me a line (domgarnett@yahoo.co.uk 07804 240986).

New steps and old favourites

Oh dear. I'm looking at the blog and have just realised it has been ages. July has rapidly flown past and I'm going to have to cram a fair bit into this update. Brace yourselves!
One major step for me has been to join a syndicate this summer. This is something I've never done before in my life, but I found the draw of a quiet and very traditional looking lake quite irresistible. And as you can see above, part of the joy is just having access to somewhere private, enjoying nature, some fish spotting and maybe even catching the odd beastie without the hurly-burley of a day ticket fishery. Those who have done it themselves will realise it's not always cheap. But I figured it could be now or never: I thought if the offer came in five years time I might easily be lacking funds and wonder why I missed my chance before.


While most anglers will join syndicates for species like carp though, I've been just as interested in the rudd that an old, secretive lake might produce. I've had great sport so far and some of the fish have been as vividly coloured as any rudd I've ever landed. They're all worth catching as far as I'm concerned, but I would dearly love to catch a two-pounder on the fly from here. So far so enjoyable though- and with some good ones sighted I've been stepping up to large size 10-12 spiders. This one is the king so far, at around a pound and a half as you can tell from the size of the reel:


Just as agreeable as the fishing though, is the way that the handful of members are really civilised anglers who are refreshingly lacking in the tunnel vision that can afflict carp angling. Although they like to gently take the Mickey, they've also taken great pleasure in borrowing my fly rods to successfully catch rudd- which is great to see. Equally though, the learning process works the other way and I just love the crafty ideas carp heads get cooking with. It's going to be a lot of fun.

In fact, contrary to expectations, I've come much closer to banking carp on artificial flies than on bait so far. I've taken carp on things like bloodworms and floating snails previously, but I get the feeling these wily syndicate fish will be a challenge. They're certainly eating natural food though- so who knows? I came painfully close with a fish that looked every ounce of twenty pounds at close quarters, for example. After several refusals with a damsel, I watched a bigger fish turn and have a look. With the fly settling gently on the weed I held my breath- and watched as lips opened and sucked the lot in! A rod-wrenching battle ensued, but the fish got mired up in the weed. Try as I might I could't free it- and by the time I'd literally got in position to reach under the bank I'd lost her. Frustratingly, I literally had the net ready and even touched the beast's tail. So close to what would have been my best ever fly caught carp, and not a dog biscuit copy in sight! A nine weight outfit is the next logical step, with extra strong leaders- because fish of this size in this much weed take no prisoners.



Crazily enough, my other notable capture has been a fly caught gudgeon (above), fluked on a carp pattern. Perhaps I should come clean: my phone had gone off (don't you hate that when you're fishing?) and the fly had sunk right to the bottom. As I picked up the rod and brought it in, the cheeky little thing attached itself, grabbing the fly fair and square in the lips! You really couldn't make it up.


Another little success has been getting my dad on the bank again, who might not thank me for telling you he's recently turned 70. He's very much the fair-weather fisherman. If it's a grey day, it can take serious arm-twisting. When it's sunny though, he doesnt need asking twice and so we hit the smaller of the two Creedy Lakes. Lovely it was too. I've commented before how many anglers can't look beyond weights- which explains why this weedier pool tends to be quiet while the main lake sees more rods than the Tackle and Guns Show. We had takes on both floating and bottom baits and it was exciting stuff- here's the old devil with a plump, dark gold common. The killer bait were cat biscuits sneakily nicked from my folk's old moggy:

In actual fact, the typical residents here are much skinnier and longer though, almost resembling the wild carp you read about in old angling books. I did a little field testing with some late samples from the Bait Factory and these did the trick for some runs. I'm not one for using PVA products and multiple rods on such classic waters, opting for small boilies float fished (I know, revolutionary isn't it to avoid three ounces of lead). I find that by wrapping these and the hook itself in soft paste you can guarantee a clear hook point on the strike, the paste offering protection from debris and weed (if you're curious, keep an eye on the Bait Factory site for some techy points and tips shortly).

This pretty low double was my best, fighting ludicrously hard:

And actually, that will do for this instalment. I've missed some bits out (including some news on "Fly For Coarse" and some exciting summer events!), but will add another entry soon. It's meant to be a blog after all, not War and Bloody Peace.