CROOKED LINES

Pond Hopping

2012-01-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

I've fished a few giant, awe inspiring waters in my time. Broadclyst Pond isn't one of them. One of those little pools you usually give only a passing glance as you drive past, Chris Lambert and I decided we would stop by and look for a perch or two. It was pretty, that's for sure. Other than lots of ravenous small rudd we didn't find much however, and so it was off to another pond to try and catch something that wouldn't slip through the holes in a landing net. When the temperature bites and the banks get muddy, fishing becomes a test of patience and wet weather gear as much as anything. You can detect the subtle change in expectations on a tough day, in our case it slowly shifted from "great big perch" to "anything with fins would do." At least with smaller lakes you can usually count on a few bites and I've been weaning Chris onto the joy that is fishing with a centre pin (or some "straight up Chris Yates shit" as he puts it). Ok, so it wasn't an outrageously big perch, but a rather beautiful mirror carp showed up, along with a golden winter common. My only results of the day came with the camera rather than a rod in the end. Elsewhere, it continues to be an up and down season for the pike. Besides one or two slow sessions on the Exe, I've also been back to the Somerset Levels. The rain continues, with muddier waters necessitating the use of evil smelling baits and feeder tactics. Traipsing a crooked route towards Glastonbury with me was Russ Hilton, whose excitement was palpable after his best pike so far of just under 14lbs. It picked up a whole sardine, before going slightly mental and making Russ shake slightly!

It's a Stick Up

2012-01-22T13:10:00.000-08:00

The words "free fishing" are enough to make any angler's eyes light up. They're not always accompanied by the words "surprisingly bloody good fishing" - but in the case of the urban River Tone that's certainly the case. Busy yes, but there are plenty of swims to choose from, and when you find a bite every other cast on a chilly, blustery day you know you're onto a good thing. A very good thing- in fact when I reflect on it, there are few more enjoyable ways to spend a day then trotting a stick float. The dip of an orange float tip quickly dispels any cold and I love the variety of a nice mixed river. My first five fish today were five different species- a pretty grayling joining a chub, dace, roach and trout. It's on a chilly, windy session you really appreciate the need to fine down and feed carefully. I took a while to find my rhythm and get the presentation just right, as it needed to be at times, with 2lb hook lengths and small, fine wire hooks the order of the day. Quicker off the mark was Russ Hilton- who had his stick float set up spot on for a steady stream of fish. There were some lovely trout in amongst the silver fish too, including this little beauty, a really mad mosaic of fine spots: I'm already thinking I must return here in the warmer months with a fly rod for trout and chub. On what Russ considered a pretty "mediocre" day, we each had no shortage of interest. Not just from fish either, but the odd curious and accidental visitor. And that's urban fishing- for every loveable eccentric there is that shifty bugger covering the banks- or the one who spills out their life story to anyone who'll listen (regardless of whether or not you give a toss). Nevertheless, we had a blast- and if this is the kind of net possible on a "slow" day I'd love to see what the red letter version looks like!: That little lot came readily enough before we hit one of the weirs for a change of scenery before sunset. A good move not only to capture some shots of the golden last light, but more dace and grayling in the faster water. I thought winter fishing was meant to be bleak? You can also find Russell's new blog on the "blogs I'm following" link- if like me you love old school canal and river fishing you'll enjoy this one. In fact, it's turning into a blog frenzy at the moment- Chris Lambert's "Fish Tales" blog is another one to watch for anyone who casts a line in the Westcountry.

Chilling, not blanking

2012-01-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

This week I feel the need to use that classic angler's excuse, dipping temperatures, for some fairly slim pickings. Then again, on some winter days any catch can feel like a bonus. That's fishing- and perhaps also the difference between a blog and a magazine feature, where the bones are removed and many hours toil are all too often boiled down to a grinning angler with a big fish. We all seek that holy grail of "consistent fishing" and yet it's the very opposite that makes the sport compelling. We have good days and indifferent days; days when we can do nothing wrong and days we can do nothing right. This is also why sitting it out on the same densely stocked water every weekend would leave me as cold as a well-digger's backside.Even the oft-derided commercial fisheries can be slower in winter though. At Viaduct I enjoyed a long overdue session in the company of fellow blogger and fishing nut Chris Lambert. With the going slow and fish baits off the menu, we put our faith in other offerings- including maggots, prawns and one of my favourite winter methods, chopped worm. We got the first part of the plan right, trickling in feed to get silver fish active. The odd better roach or skimmer showed up to entertain us, but where were the perch? A stiff breeze didn't help- although some meatier bites finally arrived later and Chris successfully switched from his normal livebait tactics to grab a lovely perch of a pound on double red maggot. "Beau-ooo-tiful"-as Lambert himself rated it. No bigger ones showed, but what a heartwarming species perch are.Regular followers will know my love for tying flies for all kinds of fish out of just about anything I can get my hands on. A current recurring theme is streamers. It's always fun using "accidental" materials. I am like a human magpie basically, and the latest in a long line of bizarre finds was a stash of rather fetching cocktail umbrellas:A lure hook, some marabou, a dash of tinsel and a dab of epoxy and hey presto- a chunky little Epoxy Minnow pattern. I thought the blue and silver looked fishy anyway: Here's another late creation, a minnow streamer intended for chub:Talking of chub, my Sunday trip was in search of these very big mouths. The conditions rather killed it sadly- a combination of bitter cold temperatures and surprisingly muddy water on the Tone defeated our attempts. A shame because such flies take chub well on their day. Even so we still had some fair sport by hopping onto the canal for a final couple of hours of lighthearted fun. Again, this is the joy of fishing- there's usually a plan B and when you're scratching even a handful of little jack pike are a pleasant surprise. Here's a cold but beautiful shot of the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal (just out of shot: a random bloke rather alarmingly armed with a gun, shortly followed by an irate cyclist arguing with a dog walker):

Science vs Fiction

2012-01-05T02:38:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy experimenting when I'm fishing. Without wanting to get pedantic, or overly scientific about it, I just find it interesting to make a few notes and try some fresh ideas. I blame my family partly, and their fixation with natural sciences. The sort of people who ruin a perfectly good science fiction movie with comments like "that's not actually possible".
On the subject of science, I've been having some interesting chats with my brother about global warming, along objective lines of inquiry like "what the bloody hell is going on with the weather this winter?" Totally unpredictable, fluctuating temperatures and water levels do little to reassure even confirmed Daily Mail readers that our climate hasn't become skewed. It says it all that many of the "Global Warming is a Myth" type studies have been run along similar lines to Manchester City- i.e. with oil company funding.

But I digress. Back to pike fishing and I've been thinking about what the numbers mean. It's a little geeky, but comparing trends on different waters can be revealing. To take a classic question: how long should I leave my bait in the water before moving on? If you look at the average time it takes to get a run, the results vary massively between waters. The optimum on small canals and drains, for example, is often around the 15-30 minute mark. On waters that are bigger, deeper or heavily coloured though (e.g. reservoirs, ship canals) looking at previous diaries it's surprising just how many runs occur well after the hour mark- or even the 2-3 hour mark. Makes you wonder- and whereas I once used to jump spots at least every hour, I'm growing more inclined to sit it out for longer these days.

Another notable recent trend has been the sheer number of runs occurring just before or just after dark lately. Is this the result of fishing pressure, natural feeding spells- or a bit of both? Geek theories aside, I just love that eerie feeling of a decent fish thumping away in the blackness! This nice net-filler came half an hour into darkness:

I've also been reaping the benefit of some local knowledge from fellow pike fishing reprobate Ian Nadin. He's had a cracking season so far, due largely to his intimate knowledge of the GW Canal. I thought we'd picked a duff evening for a fish yesterday. The water resembled chocolate, to the extent I thought we had more chance of snaring an Umpa Lumpa than a pike. Unless I'm on a nice river slack, coloured water often batters my confidence. Nevertheless, the power of large sea baits with a proper hum to them accounted for a couple of pike:

The really notable feature of the catch was that all the runs came on one rod, out of four shared between us. The difference? That one was the only set up using a swim feeder packed with bloody, fishmeal based ground bait. Definitely the way to go when visibility is poor- and it seems that feeder rigs are rapidly becoming the norm now in predator fishing.

One final reminder for all Westcountry anglers is to put a couple of dates in the diary for Jan/Feb. The Pike Anglers' Club is delighted to announce a joint talk on Tues 24th January, downstairs at The Mill on Exe, 7pm start. We have a cracking double bill of Worcester predator specialist Dilip Sarkar, along with brilliant piscatorial artist Karen Sarkar, who will bring a selection of her best loved works. See my links section at www.dgfishing.co.uk for further details on the Devon PAC Blog and Karen's site. We are also excited to be lining up the Devon Baits Pike Match in February- with free bait for every competitor! Watch this space for more info...

A Boxing Day Blast

2011-12-27T04:31:00.000-08:00

After my detour with some surprising "commercial" pike, I've returned to some more flippant, down to earth canal fishing. And very welcome, after some days of festive gut ache and several enquiries over the small water twenty in the past week, which I'm informed has already been recaptured within a matter of days! This is one of the thorny issues with piking in general- but especially where small waters are concerned. The fish don't have much space to hide and whilst you can't begrudge anglers wanting to catch fish, you do worry about the condition of specimens repeatedly targeted. Pike can't suddenly switch to vegetarianism, and I guess ultimately it depends on how careful each captor is.
Back to the fishing itself though, and Boxing Day was an absolute blast on Tiverton Canal. Accompanied by my brother, sibling rivalry soon kicked in. I made the usual mistake of lending him my pike fly box- and a yellow fly proved the real destroyer, standing out well in the water even where it was carrying some extra colour. Was I to be defeated using my own weapons? It didn't seem to matter a whole lot while takes with all the finesse of a car accident kept occurring.

Had this fishing trip been a Boxing Day footy match it would have been one of those games that ends 4-4, with a penalty, three sendings off and a pitch invasion. Brilliant fun on light tackle, even if the pike were typical Tivvy specials, the biggest scarcely troubling the three pound mark. Ben ended up winning 10-9 in the catch stakes, although play was interrupted as a deer jumped into the canal! No joking, I'm not still sozzled from Christmas Day, someones dog spooked it and we watched the thing swim across and jump through the hedges to freedom. The other feature was swarms of Jackdaws- twenty strong mobs soaring over the trees.
It's great to see the canal so much healthier too, the rains having taken it from drought levels and back to health. Had there been a big freeze rather than rain, a fish kill could have occurred- and my fellow Pike Angler's Club RO Ian Nadin deserves credit this year for really sticking his neck out with the angling club and canal trust.

Aside from catching up on eating and sleeping, the Christmas break is also a good time to catch up on other fishing related homework- such as tying up a selection of flies for the new year. One current project is trying to use all sorts of household junk, odds and sods and flotsam to use for fly dressings. Christmas is great for this, as there's always lots of sparkly debris. Inspiration can come from anywhere though- most lately, the pet cat, Belle. She asks for it really, always jumping onto my lap whenever I'm busy at the vice.

She certainly sheds plenty of hair- and it's not bad quality either: fine, good colour and easy to dub! A little goes a long way too, so no need to pull it all out just yet! This cat is so tolerant, you could probably saw one of her legs off and she'd carry on purring. Here's a "Belle" Nymph:

In other news, I also have a long awaited shipment from Finland. We may have missed the Christmas rush, but I am now fully stocked for 2012. These are the hand carved perch and pike key rings (www.dgfishing.co.uk):

Manmade Monsters

2011-12-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

On a list entitled "likely places to catch a sodding big pike", you'd expect small, manmade lakes to be near the bottom. A shame, because the potential is there if you can only find the ones with pike. I've tried several club lakes and day ticket commercials over the past few seasons, with mixed results- but also the odd genuine surprise, like today!
It's true that their usual carp related muddiness does limit water clarity for fly or lure fishing, but there are other advantages. One of these is that rather than sitting there shivering, you can fish a float while waiting for that monster to bite on a second rod. Quite often I plonk a dead bait right alongside the line I'm feeding for smaller species- often enough, this activity will draw predators in. If not, then I can think of worse ways to spend a day than watching a float and picking off roach, skimmers and carp.

After several mediocre to downright poor sessions on the river and canal around Exeter, it was fun just to be getting bites again and spend an overdue day with my Dad- pike or no pike, we hadn't been fishing together in ages. The lake in question hasn't the biggest head of pike, but they're growing fast- strangely enough, the fishery boss also insisted "no publicity please" -a decision I fully understand, and in some ways refreshing in that it shows that the condition of the fish is the priority rather than just flogging tickets (and no, sorry folks, the lake isn't the pic above- just a nice wintery shot from Frazer McBain).

Anyhow, back to the fishing and the script was uncanny. Two hours in I exclaimed "funny, lots of silver fish, but where are the pike? Not a sniff so fa-" and before I could finish the sentence, the drop off signalled a take. The first pike went just under fifteen pounds, gratifying enough. I would have gone home happy enough, until the next run produced an even more solid presence, a gentle take followed by a bottom hugging fight. With the fish only lightly snared on barbless hooks, it was a case of bundle it into the net as fast as you dare. "Bloody hell" was my old man's verdict. The fish was an absolute barrel- incredibly well fed and thick round the middle. Once the scales were zeroed, she yanked the needle round to very healthy 20lbs 4oz. After several tough recent trips with most of the drama provided by gales and heavy rain, this was a very sweet catch. Thank you pike, and merry bloody Christmas to you all!

Toothy Edits

2011-12-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

I am a total mash of different emotions at the moment. 2011 will have been perhaps the busiest year of my life, with two books now in their final proofs and design stages. There's still a while to wait for publication in each case, but it's exciting already just to see "Fly Fishing for Coarse Fish" now listed on Amazon to preorder! I am especially proud of the cover shot- one of the best of some 20 000 taken in the last twelve months. Behind one glossy book cover is a campaign of muddy, long haul trips and endless planning and writing- some disappointments but also some remarkable catches I hope.
The real thrill will perhaps be to contribute something of a permanent reference point in angling. Magazine features are great, but they're there and then they're gone. A hardback with over 200 pages of my best words and pictures is very different. On the home straight, my feelings are mixed to say the least- relief, trepidation, pride, a hint of exhaustion. If nothing else, I hope plenty of fellow anglers enjoy "Fly Fishing for Coarse Fish" and give something new a try. Some of the chapters took real determination (tench, zander), but other species are just so perfectly suited to fly fishing I can't quite fathom why we're not already flyfishing for chub, rudd, carp etc in our droves.

Text is one thing, but I also wanted to show the methods in practise with a DVD of the same title, which includes roach, rudd, carp and last of all pike, which I've just finished filming with Steve Lockett. Film work is a very different pressure- juggling different camera angles with a loose script and the need to catch in a limited time frame. A slow start on the Levels didn't help, with rains really stirring up my chosen drain. Having taken just one tiny pike, plan B was an afternoon on the Taunton to Bridgwater Canal.

A smart move as it turned out, because the water was much clearer and although hardly on fire I managed a further five pike to around 5lbs. The best fly seemed to be a pink number, which really stood out and was also, interestingly, the only colour to get any response in coloured water early in the day.
Credit is also due to film maker Steve Lockett, my partner in crime for the DVD. From the footage you might guess there were several cameras- when in truth it's just one intrepid camera man- scaling banks, dodging casts and getting up to the armpits in cold water. You'll have to watch this space for a trailer- but most of the project save some fly tying sequences is now finished.

Wandering the Wandle

2011-11-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

With so many current stories of rivers being threatened, it's always nice to find a positive angle. The River Wandle, which topped this year's list of most improved river habitats, isn't so much a tale of recovery as a minor miracle. I met up with fellow angling scribe and Wandle conservationist Theo Pike to witness the surprising beauty of this former chalkstream for myself. It was to be a mission which neatly combined areas that each of us have focussed on lately- coarse fish on fly gear and urban angling.

Surrounded by supermarkets and fast food joints, it's a curious buzz to cast a line here. We felt a bit like naughty schoolboys as we were ticked off by a lady in a Marks and Sparks outfit for fishing on a bridge. A little further on though, we found plenty of good looking water to try with both nymphs and dry flies. I began on Czech Nymphs, but a pink shrimp was the stand out pattern- a mixed shoal of chub and roach darting out from a raft of debris to grab the thing. At the back of the shoal was a gold fish! Here's a chunky chub:

There are now so many kinds of fish in this once dead river, you could try any one of several methods- which we did. Further downstream Theo pointed out where barbel and trout can be found. Legering was a pain with all the drifting leaves, so I decided to trot a nice, deeper pool with a pin and stick float. Lovely fishing- with chub, dace, roach and even a rare Wandle perch. A day of plenty of action, as well as some fascinating info on this great little London river, rescued thanks to the work of those like Theo and groups such as the Wandle Piscators. It's also very democratic- free fishing for much of its length.

Piking in the Pink

2011-11-20T11:40:00.000-08:00

With autumn so mild, I've been having a rethink of late and getting back to the fishing I love best. Or, to give you the other side of the tale, I've grabbed the fly rod again after getting bored stiff with dead baits. On short sessions on the canal I haven't seen my float drift away so much as my life drift away. The ensuing boredom and car smelling like a fishmonger's dustbin spelled time for a change. The right move, as a couple of enjoyable sessions have proven. Lots of hits, lots of fun and on today's bash at the Levels a lovely double figure pike that was a riot on a fly rod and reminded me exactly what I've been missing.

Joining me for this one was fellow pike angler Dave Smith, who also had a series of smash and grab hits from pike on both the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal and River Tone. The early morning was electric- and interestingly the fly proved king in clear water at the start, while it was Dave's lures which came out in front later on in slightly more coloured water.

Either way, we were both as happy as pigs in muck and when the action slowed we were just as captivated by the glorious autumn colours.

Natural beauty is a phrase that wouldn't apply to todays best flies though- the fish seemed to like loud best, a dash of hot pink to be precise. Slow sinking flies are spot on for the canal, but moving on to the river later on it was a clouser style, dumbbell head fly that did the honours- just one of several designs that will feature in "Fly Fishing for Coarse Fish". This "jig fly" pattern fishes really deep, ideal for teasing just off the bottom when the pike are sitting tight. It's also a great zander weapon.

Talking of the Tone, we had a great session but a bit of a sour start. I'm not one to turn the other cheek with rule breakers and the sight of an angler tackling steep banks with no net or mat (and a friend with a plastic bag) really got my goat. I asked this idiot how he ever hoped to land a lively pike on sheer banks- no answer, so I asked him to pack up and leave, which he did. I'm not even a Taunton bailiff- but until all of us start challenging such poor practise the result will be dead and damaged fish. Anybody turning up to a carp fishery with no net or mat would be sent packing- and the same should be true of pike anglers.

My little rant over, the afternoon was simply beautiful looking across the huge plains of Somerset. The pike gave us some big hits and the skies were so vivid I spent the rest of the day torn between fly rod and camera. The Levels really are at their finest in the autumn, the reddish land and golden last light such a stirring combination. Stunning scenery, great sport and a day to savour.

Plan Z

2011-11-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Some of our rivers represent a bit of light hearted diversion- a couple of cheeky hours with a stick float or fly rod, if you like. Others, like the mighty, muddy Severn are formidably large, unpredictable beasts. You might describe the river's zander in the same terms. They seldom get caught by accident and so I was grateful to be in the company of Worcester angling mates Dicky Fisk and Jim Smith.

Frustrating they might be, but I find zander a unique challenge. With the river fairly coloured, it seemed fly and lure fishing were off the menu and so out came the bait fishing gear. Rather than go with scaled down pike gear however, the boys have been catching well on quiver tip tactics, complete with swimfeeders and groundbait. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Fishy ground bait offers a potent scent trail, drawing in not only predators but fodder fish, whilst a sensitive tip is perfect for spotting bites from these finicky predators, which don't give the full blooded runs of pike.

The Severn itself was glorious in the autumn sunshine- concrete pilings and rusting cranes blending with golden willow leaves. We struck early to take a zander each not long after first light. Nice, involved fishing too- no back droppers and alarms involved but a keen focus on the rod tip- with quite gentle bites common. "Schoolies" of three or four pounds are more numerous here, but there is also the tantalising possibility of something monstrous. Jim's double figure zander that day was still several pounds short of his biggest, taken on a lure.

With bites at a premium however, it became a whistle stop tour of steep swims, deep corners and the odd local boozer. All was set for one final showdown on Sunday evening, but the going was slow after a cold snap. Which made it all the more satisfying to finally connect with a better zander- a twitchy bite, a healthy bend in the rod and a beautiful fish getting on for seven pounds.

Credit is mostly to Dick and Jim for putting me on the spot- and ensuring a few jars and a fun weekend. Who knows, we may have had another fish or two had I not kept getting the camera out and issuing orders! Pictures don't take themselves any more than fish catch themselves though, and these days I'm just as keen to capture the mood and surroundings as the fish. How's this for a frame buster?:

Surviving Llangorse

2011-10-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

A long leap from recent drain hopping days, Llangorse Lake in south Wales is a beast of a water. A test of not only tackle and tactics, but resolve and wet weather gear. When the bites arrive here, you sense that anything might happen; during other long, fruitless hours spent bobbing around in the drizzle it can suck the very marrow out of you. Like the lakes of Ireland, the only consistent feature here seems to be rain.

Still weed choked around the edges, myself and Seb Nowosiad made our way around the drop offs, daydreaming about monsters. After a little jack that took a spoon on perhaps only my fifth cast of the day, things were decidedly slow. In the course of two days we seemingly tried every trick in the book to earn takes: lures and flies, static and trolled baits, herrings and roach. In the green tinged water I even tried some brightly dyed baits to eke out a response.

Even the purist would be well advised to take a fish finder on a Llangorse adventure. The place feels like an endless chasm of nothing-much-in-particular when the action is slow, but gradually we found that the pockets of fish seemed to favour those banks quickly dropping away to three or four metres. Predictably enough, one of Seb's Kopyto shads was eventually mauled by a gold dashed seven pounder.

The sky had been threatening a bit of a punch up for a while, and once we'd set up camp for the night the rain came- and the drizzle never stopped from then until we left. Planning our counter attack we kept our hopes up with cups of brandy spiked "pirate tea" and dodgy jokes. In the morning light you could hardly make out the hills, and by lunch we were sodden, grudgingly accepting that damp feeling like you're sitting on a pile of used tea bags.
Eventually we also found something of a hot spot, with several takes to float fished roach and something big which shook its head and parted company with my lure. Still, when you've been wiping rain off your face all day any fish feels like a gift and we added another four pike, all in the five to six pound bracket.
The other great spectacle was a swarm of several thousand starlings wheeling overhead. This was absolutely fantastic, until they flew right over the boat and discharged an almighty volley of bird shit all over the water. By pure fluke, neither of us was hit. Great sight all the same, to cap off a testing trip. Sadly my top notch camera was kept out of the drizzle in the safety of the car for this spectacle, but I did get a nice shot of one of the lake's rocket powered pike giving Seb the runaround:

Fun-sized lure fishing

2011-10-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Lure fishing doesn't get much cuter than an ultra light outfit and a box of pint-sized special lures. The little works of art certainly catch anglers as well as fish- but when it comes to tempting a wider range of species such as chub, perch and trout, besides the usual pike, these little devils really come into their own. I had been meaning to grab the camera for a trip with Ian Nadin for a while now to capture the fun of an ultralight session.

The handmade Polish specials he imports (above) are about as appetising as they come. For my money they just cried out to be used for chub and so he took up the challenge of a bash at the River Tone on the outskirts of Taunton. In many ways it is perfect ultralight territory here: narrow, clear waters with a good number of chub in the 1-3lbs bracket, as well as other surprises in the form of pike, perch and even trout. It's rather urban looking, but in some places if you squinted you might fancy yourself out on a little chub stream in the sticks; until you spot the shopping trolleys and the concrete bypass that is.

You could run a stick float through much of this and catch all day, but somehow lure fishing -like casting a fly- offers visual kicks and a special thrill. The big issue with small lures is always how the heck you cast them and do them justice. The only answer for little plugs and spinners that might weigh only a couple of grams is to use a fine, tippy rod and light braid of around 10lbs strength. You do wonder if you might catch more without one, but with jack pike present a light wire trace is essential.

In the streamy, cold waters it proved real cat and mouse stuff. The chub are certainly interested in lures, but painfully easy to spook. A little Mepps earned some action with smaller chub, but the better ones seemed to favour the dive and wiggle of a baby plug on this occasion. It was totally absorbing watching the fish tailing the lures- often switching on when a little burst of movement was added. Is this a feeding response or pure aggression? Like Ian, I believe it to be more a mean streak than a feeding response. After several near misses and spooked fish, a lean two pounder gave Ian's little lure a mouthy response and his 1-5g rated rod smashed over.

Conspicuous by their absence were the pike however, although Ian later added a pretty jack. Aside from this we saw all sorts- nosey perch, a trout, roach, dace and even the odd grayling. Perhaps the strangest happening was Ian's capture of a minnow however, hooked fairly in the lips on a tiny spinner! A predatory minnow- what next? The fish may not have been big, but I could happily spend every weekend fish spotting and casting a lure when the fun is so instant and so visual. Chucking about small lures in clear water is basically pure play -as fishing should be. For those curious about Ian's devilishly cute little lures and ultra light lure tackle, take a look at his site (www.microbaits.co.uk) or see the links section at www.dgfishing.co.uk

And on the subject of exciting, visual fishing I hope some of you can join us on Tuesday for the PAC meet at 7pm, Mill on Exe. I'm doing the first talk, and the focus will be exactly this- the thrill of close quarters fishing with a special emphasis on flies. Besides the actual fish, I spend much of my time trying to capture inspiring images and I hope to share plenty of unseen highlights on the night.

Back to the fishing itself, apart from a lost pike on the canal, the only other action of late has been at Exe Valley Fishery. The fishing was funny- slow in much of the lake, but absolute dynamite in one or two "hotspots". Along with four solid rainbows, I also took a grayling of about a pound on a buzzer! I'm not in the habit of cooking them, but this tasted pretty good.

Murder on the Levels

2011-10-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

A long slog over the last two days have left me with creaking legs and aching shoulders, but plenty of enjoyable fishing. The Somerset Levels have been especially beautiful, in their own muddy kind of way. I might make loose plans with fishing and writing, but so often it's the little detours that entertain most. As is the case on the fish filled, "flat as piss on a plate" Levels, the more you look, the more you find. Supplying sketchy directions and even sketchier banter was Bridgwater's own piking Pole, Seb Nowosiad (who is also popular with cows).

I've often teased him in the past about his dogmatic loyalty to fishing his special jigs to the exclusion of other lures, but on this occasion I also learned the danger of letting him dip into my own box. Armed with a Kuusamo spoon, the bugger proceeded to hook and land three pike in the first forty minutes of the day! Not bad going.

We began by drain hopping then, but things only got really exciting as we approached a little, unnamed channel however. It was certainly pretty; one of those many, cute and weedy little culverts, just like somebody dug a boggy channel, chucked a load of fish in it and then time forgot it even existed. What started as a cheeky cast quickly became an adventure in it's own right. The first encouraging signs were clouds of fry, amongst sporadic weed growth and no more than three feet of water. I decided to get revenge and poach one of Seb's lures and on the very first cast, a little jack pike walloped it from under the far bank.

The next hour or so was utter havoc- pike bulging everywhere in the shallow water, slashing at the lures, missing the lures, sucking in the lures, cartwheeling clear of the water. The biggest of the lot from this Lilliput sized drain was probably not much more than four pounds, but I can't remember the last day I had so much fun.

There's just something special about shallow, clear water that makes everything a little more thrilling, more direct. The fish can't plunge deep when hooked, and so simply fly off along the bank, shaking and jumping like maniacs. You also notice the difference when fish are seldom bothered by anglers- unlike the "one hit wonders" of pressured waters, these critters will attack repeatedly. In the course of just one cast and retrieve I watched one jack grab at Seb's lure just after it landed, then nip it again, before following another few metres for an epic final grab, destroying the thing in a blur of gills and teeth!
We finished the day exhausted from about six miles of mud, hundreds of casts and a stack of trigger happy pike. The stand out lure of the day by a Somerset mile was a Kuusamo Fat Professor spoon, which has a beautifully lazy wobble, finishing the day rather more toothmarked than at the start of play.

If only other types of fishing were as guaranteed to quicken the pulse- but alas, it was not to be with my other trip, in search of a late season salmon, on the Lynher. My brother Ben is well and truly addicted, but I can't make my mind up yet: is life too short to fish for salmon, or too short not to fish for salmon? A bit of rain should have helped us, but only one fish was spotted, a grilse of around 5lbs which was unimpressed when we turned up, both flies and spinners drawing a big fat blank.
In spite of their idiosyncrasies, pike really are comfortingly predictable by comparison and I'm looking forward to the winter, with night fishing a current area of interest- if only to squeeze the odd session in around other commitments. Organisation is a must in the dark though, and bite indication can be tricky- hence I've been testing some of Greys LED Nite Floats- I'm no tackle tart, but these are great fun to watch.
I've been enjoying playing with the camera for dusk photos as much as the actual fishing of late- and a "Pike Fishing by Lamp Light" style Angling Times feature is on the way soon.

Piking by Convention

2011-10-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

A great place for the pike angler, a bad place to bring a full wallet- such is the annual PAC Convention. This was my first ever trip to the event, a real Alladin's cave of lures, books, artwork, flies, but most of all a meeting place for that singular breed, the pike angler. When not on sales duty I had a grand time looking around and meeting so many great people. Indeed, beyond new things to cram into tackle boxes and bookshelves, it seems an event all about the fun and friendship the sport brings. As well as the wares of established companies like ET Tackle and Fox, it's always great to meet those smaller but highly individual companies that make fishing what it is. Such is the case with Alex Prouse at Zoota Lures, who makes hand poured soft jerkbaits with alluring titles such as Gangsters and Wobbly Bobs. I can't wait to try out a couple of his Wagtails (like the jack version below) in the coming weeks.

Definitely a place to grab those hard to find items then, as well as those hard to grab anglers and the event was like a who's who of pike fishing. I couldn't resist dipping into the kitty for signed copies of work from John Watson and Graham Booth- and also grabbed a brilliantly moody pike print by Karen Sakar to ponder whilst I tie more flies this winter, one of a gallery of great works:

There are too many great things to list here- I had to virtually tie my hands behind my back around all the lures, and some of the more unusual detours such as the sub zero fishing equipment on display from "Esox on Ice" also caught the eye. Keep an eye on my links page at the usual site (www.dgfishing.co.uk) where I hope to add a range of highlights shortly. As for my own stall, it was a case of unexpected success, with the Finnish soft pike quickly selling out! For those who missed them, I hope to get more stock later in the year.

In the midst of a hectic week before I was also pleased to make a successful return to the Somerset Levels. Accompanied by Seb Nowosiad, it was a fun day hopping between the canal, the rivers and the drains. It started with some nice roach and rudd. The fish were quite spooky in the bright conditions, but still catchable on a small buzzer or spider.
Perhaps the best sport of the day however came on a weed choked stretch of water little bigger than a ditch. Seb was first into the action, catching a really classic looking perch just shy of 2lbs. Predictably enough, it fell for his usual choice of lure: a Kopyto Relax shad. I still tease him about staying glued to just one lure type, but when it works this well why switch?

It felt stupidly hot for summer, and after another detour we stopped for a cold pint, the barman taking pity on our tired faces and combined total of £5.33 to provide two pints of ice cold beer. Better refreshed, I quickly ditched the four weight and spent the last part of the day slinging small pike flies about on a heavier outfit, losing a a good fish but managing to get amongst the jacks. For all they lacked in size, each one was happy enough to give the fly a smash and go like the proverbial shit off a shovel.

What will the new season bring? I have no idea, but if each day out is as much fun as this we're in for a ball- as well as many, many soggy miles walked.

Raining into Autumn

2011-09-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Summer hasn't so much ended with a bang and a whimper, as a big puddle of rain and lots of extra homework. Autumn may be the season that creative types wax lyrical about, but it can be a funny time to fish. A real in between stage until the weed properly dies back and everything settles. With a stack of jobs to finish, my fishing of late has been confined to the odd short session close to home such as Exeter Canal. Not exactly dynamite so far, although the odd perch has obliged and these days I'm never without a handful of Kopyto shads to target them with.

I did also manage to steal a quick afternoon nearer Tiverton in the company of fishing writer Theo Pike, which is always a pleasure The water looks ominously low on the Grand Western canal, but the roach and rudd are still there to be had on a sunny afternoon. I don't think he could quite believe just how pretty the place was and how obliging these terrific fish are. We both filled our boots with simple spider patterns, each taking a pound plus fish on the fly rod, along with the unenviable task of plunging through the overgrown banks to net fish for each other.

At present however there are more pressing matters than fishing itself. It is the theory rather than the practise that is taking up my time as I continue to work as adapting author on "Fishing for Dummies" -part of the classic reference series. An American edition already exists, so how tricky can it be? The differences are quite substantial in places; the yanks are miles ahead on lure fishing for example, but bait fishing techniques are very different and much simpler- wagglers, swimfeeders and the like all an alien language Stateside. The difference in attitudes is revealing and at times quite funny- carp are described in less than flattering terms for example as "like giant goldfish." Nevertheless, it's a great task to be involved with and from personal experience teaching English I can only say that a clear, user friendly book of this nature is long overdue. The book should sell stacks and it will be great to introduce a lot of others to the sport I love so much.

It's all slowly coming together- and I have also now hit the magic milestone of 100 articles in print. Other than scribbling, I also have the task of preparing for the much awaited Pike Anglers Club Conference 2011. It'll be the first time I've been and it should be excellent fun, just as soon as I've finished tying the hundred or so pike flies needed to complete my trade arsenal. I hope I'll see some of you there- albeit bleary eyed and with my hands smelling of fly varnish!

South West pike anglers will also be pleased to hear that the PAC has a new list of events for 2011/2012 and a new meeting place at Mill on Exe- hit the links section on my site (www.dgfishing.co.uk) for more on this on the PAC Region 13 blog.

From Dawn till Usk

2011-09-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

Rocky, wild and unpredictable, the River Usk offers a rough cut beauty second to none. Throw in muscular flows and some awesome trout and you might feel drawn to fly fishing techniques outside daintier traditional etiquette. Indeed when the river runs hard, presenting a little dry fly to a these solid, predatory trout feels a bit like waving a salad leaf at a serial killer. These fish eaters want blood. And in fact, even when they don't want fresh meat they're still up for good punch up. Hence my weekend fly box was filled with big, heathen creatures in the shape of woolly buggers, muddler minnows and other streamers.

Getting up early for the long drive to Fenni-Fach on the Wye and Usk Passport, the river looked in fine fighting fettle. Plenty of water pushing. No shortage of boulders, rock ledges and other places to conceal a waiting attacker. The tactics were hardly subtle, throwing a sinking line up and across the flow before pulling any one of my ugly mob of flies kicking across the current. It took a while to hit my rhythm, but there is an undeniable excitement in the knowledge that at any moment the peace could be undone in a single, bone-jarring hit.
So much for the theory- it seemed that several trout no bigger than half a pound quite fancied a go, or at least had a very clear "sod of" message to my muddler minnow. It was to be an exciting, frustrating session with plenty of hits but few hookups- were they punching the thing rather than biting it? Three fish stuck in the end, including a lovely 15" brown with an impressive degree of tooth and muscle.

Overnight it rained hard and so Pantyskallog, our next destination, proved hard work and treacherous wading with raging falls and slippery rocks. Sady it was to be a tale of more misses than hits. My other half probably had a better time of it than I did in capturing this supremely rocky river in all its glory. No Usk monster on this occasion then, which is in itself an excuse to come back again. I am also intrigued by doing more night fishing in future- the one fish I managed just into dark smacked the fly like it had just insulted its mother.

Snails on Snails

2011-09-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's a curious phenomenon that in so much of modern fishing, we start from the standpoint of what baits we want to introduce rather than what the fish are actually eating. Have we got it the wrong way round? Fly fishing usually starts from the opposite perspective, but even when it comes to bait there is a lot of scope for going natural. It seems crazy at times that on some fisheries, using a lobworm would mark you out as some kind of dangerous revolutionary- but such is the stranglehold of the boilie.
Snails first popped into the equation for me some ten years ago when I watched a Sussex angler catch a succession of large carp when the rest were struggling. When I asked what the trick was he popped off a lid to reveal several dozen garden snails- he shelled one there in front of me for the hook and within five minutes the float buried and another double figure carp was hooked.
Roll on a few years and snails are still a bait I should cast more often. And in the hunt for interesting leads I couldn't help but notice the appropriately titled "Snails Lake" at Digger Lakes, Cullompton. I got even more excited when owner Ben Gratwicke explained the reason for the name was no whim, but an absolute mass of pond snails present. Could one or two of these be a killer bait? A real fishing fanatic and carp expert himself, Ben seemed as keen as I was to find the answer- and in no time rustled me up a fistful of the buggers. My aim was to fish at close quarters; no broom handles required, just a gentle lob into a few likely looking spots with a lighter rod and low diameter 12lb line.

The fishing itself proved challenging- but what a pleasant surprise Digger Lakes are (www.diggerlakes.co.uk) . No 'hole in the ground' fishery this, and I enjoyed simply walking around and watching all the quiet corners and weedy channels here. It looked a perfect stalking water- until I showed up! Try as I might, I just couldn't get a bite by alternating swims with float tackle. I'm an impatient carper at the best of times, but at least moving swims you start to form a loose plan and can put a little bait in to sit on later- in this case snail based pellets with the odd crushed real one in the mix.
As is so often the case, the fishing improved once it was dark. I presented a pair of snails on a hair, just off the rod tip in a hole in the weed. Finally, something took off at around 2am and within about five seconds I had crashed forwards out of the sleeping bag, grabbed the rod and felt a wrenching presence at the end. Well worth getting up for- and persevering with snails as bait! More on this soonish in the shape of an article...

I am also delighted to see the first fruits of my recent work with angling filmmaker Steve Lockett this week. You may have spotted his feature on my Rudd on fly exploits in this week's Angler's Mail- a cracking session including a very nice brace of canal rudd. If the linked clip below is anything to go by, the DVD to accompany my book next year should be a cracker- despite that weird sensation of watching yourself back on film! Grab a look at Anglers Mail TV (http://youtu.be/t2fMeraC2dE) -hit You Tube and then search Anglers Mail is probably the easiest way, since getting a video up and working properly on blogger seems harder than Chinese algebra.

Milestones & Millstones

2011-08-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week has marked a very welcome first for me. Magazine articles are great, they are my bread and butter. But to submit my first book manuscript is something special. "Fly Fishing for Coarse Fish" has been a real labour of love- hundreds of miles, many fish and many waters. Flies that look a million dollars and flies that ended up in the bin beneath my work bench. And so it was a real thrill, not to mention something of a relief, to visit the good folks at Merlin Unwin in Ludlow with a first draft and two hundred or so images. It's a real honour to be working with the publishers whose other output includes the work of Chris Yates and "BB".
As well as work, I had time for some play on the river slap bang in the middle of Ludlow. A very pretty bit of water, with huge overlapping sheets of stone and trout lurking in the shadows. Several vividly marked brownies dashed out to grasp a little nymph:

As for the book itself, set for release early next year, I can only hope that readers will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the adventure of writing it. Some of the escapades in its pages will strike a chord with those who keep an eye on the blog and magazine work- but there are also plenty of surprises I've done my best to keep back, including a whole string of original and adapted flies for rudd, pike, carp, zander... you name it, I've been feverishly experimenting with it. Some of the coarse species are more willing takers than others it must be said, but I'm relieved to have ticked all the required boxes. There have been times that the tench, for example, have had me wracking my brains for answers. Here's a hard won tinca from the Grand Western Canal:

Perhaps I haven't always taken the conventional route with my fishing and writing. But the reassuring development so far has been that many editors and readers are more than willing to give something different a try. There is so much more to fishing than the technique of beating those around you, or becoming obsessed with huge fish. And on that note, this week's Angling Times will feature a place low on the list of most specimen hunters- but close to my heart. The little millstream on the Exe is the setting for my piece on escapist fishing for dace and chub, a case of stony water and cute fish. Talking of cute fish, I've also been revamping my site and online shop, including these beautifully detailed Finnish fish. You'll also find a lunking great pike on the site, big enough to eat this lot!

Dotty Weekend

2011-08-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sea trout fishing has its cliches just like any other branch of the sport. You go at night, with big surface-waking flies right? Not necessarily. My brother has been enjoying some good day time sport around Devon's quieter corners. The Lynher in Cornwall is especially tempting; fairly close to the sea, with plenty of dark, shady holes for these creatures to shelter and it's also a very affordable ten quid a day on the Westcountry Angling Passport scheme.

It was to prove an interesting exchange of ideas. Whilst my previous few seasons have been focussed on coarse fish on the fly, Ben has developed a real obsession with salmon and sea trout. These little rivers are stirring places- and the sea trout can be tempted on small goldhead bugs in daylight hours. Basically it's like using stepped up trout gear and trying to get an aggressive response from sheltering fish. Like salmon they don't feed in freshwater but sometimes react to the flash and movement of a fly. We had to work for it though, with lots of tiny brownies plus a party of canoeists not exactly helping us creep up on these shy fish.

After many yards of careful wading we began to spy tantalising signs of life- the ripple of a phantom fin near the bank; a sudden beam of silver turn in the current. A 12" fish finally took my goldhead bug, giving a fine scrap on light tackle- light, metallic sides soon identified this one as a sea trout. Not a big one, but beautiful.
Sunday's trip was in the less wild setting of the town centre by Mill on Exe. Joining me was Chris Gooding, who spent many happy days as a boy catching fish of all kinds here- and has lost none of his enthusiasm. With balls of steel, he decided to take up some precarious trotting positions right on the edge of the weir! A flashback to mispent youth perhaps- where back in the less health and safety obsessed 80s he once ran across these slippery spots with a rod.

We tried the classic offering of silkweed for roach- which were sadly absent, although plenty of dace and even a small trout fell to maggots. Fellow city slicker Ian Nadin also managed a trout on a small jointed plug and a beautifully marked one too:

After a quick pint at the Mill we pushed on for a spot of wet wading, this time with a fly rod. Chris and I had a great fun hour or so casting at (and usually missing!) schools of flashing, fast biting dace. Proper Sunday afternoon fun and there was also a bonus in store. I'd spotted a reasonable sized chub earlier, prowling under branches near the bank and a a carefully presented goldhead nymph got an instant response from this scrappy city two pounder, whose big mouth truly dwarfed my little nymph:

A Road Trip with Fins

2011-08-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

What could be better than a mega Euro-road trip? A road trip with a selection of fishing tackle sneaked into the car, of course. This years break was a long, long drive. Five countries, various bizarre food stuffs and a frightening total of 16 different beds slept in- most on the low budget end of creaking cabins and campsites. Our eventual destination was Finland- via Holland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden in that order. Where do I even begin?

Sweden is somewhere I want to return to. We whistled past perhaps the biggest lake I've ever seen on the way out, and had a stopover on a little campsite with a lake. Predictably, I had some cheeky casts but the fish were elusive in the scorching hot weather and only the odd little jack pike proved willing to bite. Nevertheless, I loved it. Above is a typically traditional Swedish scene near Gripsholm castle, not far from Stockholm.

A ferry across the Baltic Sea came next. What a place! Countless islands and little hideouts, a real playground of the rich (like so many beautiful and secluded areas!). The ferry was fun too. Tacky cabaret bands, general lounging and gypsies gambling on the decks. A mixture of excess sleep, coffee and high cholesterol foods saw us roll on into Finland late- another day, another campsite, another random look at stacks of passing rivers and lakes.

Finland was, unsurprisingly, beautiful as always. My other half wanted to visit in the balmy weather of August this year- great for catching some rays, not so great for catching fish. It gets bloody hot and they tend to switch off or go deep. In fact, try as I might, I struggled at first to grab more than the occasional jack. Jigging over deeps was little better for sullen, sleepy zander. The trick was to try the less sociable hours of the day with lures and flies which resulted in a good few zander in the end, along with perch and pike. They were nothing huge, but I always find it a thrill to connect with this perplexing, challenging species.

Random catch of the holidays was to arrive in the shape of this bream to a Rapala plug. It felt for all the world like a zander. Sadly absent were the other unusual species I've managed to catch on previous visits, such as ide and whitefish. Never mind- the lakes were beautiful and there's nothing quite like a hot sauna and chilled beer when you're cld and tired after an evening paddle in a float tube. The tube is an absolute must here, with access tricky and boats and guides for hire fairly scarce.

It is with a tinge of sadness that I think back now on Finland- with property for peanuts out here, we had invested in a little summer house, hence my annual visit to Finland. With harder times and more places on the hit list though, it was time to settle up and move on. The old haunts were as beautiful as ever- albeit devoid of big pike this year. For anyone thinking of a Scandinavian trip I woudn't recommend August, May and June have been miles better for fishing. Nevertheless, the place has a stark beauty and is as much about freedom and true wilderness as anything else. I spent as much time with a camera as fishing, just trying to capture the feel of the place. Below is the Great Woodpecker- a more perfectly primitive pike lake I may never find in my life time:

Even with the fishing slow, it's always fun to go lure shopping in a fishing mad country. The market in Mikkelli, central Finland, is always an eye opener for local, home made specials along with the world famous Kuusamo and Rapala classics. I also like the fact that the market seller has his own tank allowing you to see each seductive wiggle in action for yourself!

creations range from the deadly to the brash to the downright bizarre. Fancy catching a pike on a mermaid?:
The hand made, home rolled lures are a particular joy and I was keen to track down some intriguing central Finnish specials which combine the wiggle of a plug with the fluidity of fly materials. The main man for these in the area is now dead (as indicated to me by locals with the international finger drawn across throat "kicked-the-bucket" gesture). Time to stock up on some of these beauties- now a (very) limited edition you might say:

Our long road trip thus made a mazy route back across Scandinavia. Stopping south of Stockholm, I was again taken away by the granduer of the Baltic sea, a place where pike rub shoulders with prawns and herring. The biggest pike I saw in the whole trip followed a lure I cast into a boat yard on a morning stroll. A great sight, and I only wish I'd stayed longer. On any travel though, it's the unscripted experiences which you remember best. Like meeting Aussie artist John Dullaway- who uses techniques inspired by native Oz to create authentic works. As an angler, fish are a real focus and I felt that the shape of the pike went perfectly with his primal, bold paint schemes- so much so that I now own one of John's great pike canvasses! When i get hold of John's new site address I'll post on my links page so you can see more of his work.

The beauty of a road trip is thus that you see so much; the disadvantage is that you never stop long enough in one place to really get your teeth fully into whats around, although I now have no shortage of interesting leads for next time! We tried a Danish trout fishery on the way back, but alas with baking hot weather the fishing was poor again. A shame, because I thought I had stumbled on possibly the ultimate in crazy mixed fisheries- a trio of interconnected lakes containing trout, zander, salmon, pike, roach, perch and carp! Only roach resulted from trying every trick in the goddamn book.

More gratifying was the Netherlands. In fact I loved it there. I've always had a bit of a thing about canals and so I felt right at home- plus the Dutch are such civilized, laid back, great people. I caught pike and perch in a little rustic river, before trying one of the canals in Rotterdam. Surprisingly beautiful: birds nesting below motorway bridges, bicycles everywhere, house boats among highrises. Strangely stirring.

Last Euro stop of all was Amsterdam. No fishing this time, but what a great city. Rather than get wasted or trawl the sleazy end, I enjoyed some of the interesting bits and, you guessed it, more gorgeous canals. A great place- we have city foxes, the Dutch have city herons!:

Meanwhile in blighty, we'd been informed by various European neighbours that London was ablaze with riots, looting and general chaos. Not what you want to hear when you're stopping in... London, shortly. In fact, ever since departure abroad it seemed the world had gone mental- shooting in Norway, Amy Winehouse dead, then the riots. What next? I decided to escape the madness in London Aquarium for the afternoon. Well worth a visit- if only to test your photography skills against the fiendish combination that is dim light and subjects which refuse to keep still. A worthwhile exercise, and some terrific displays of British sea and coarse fish too I might add. Great displays:

Euro-Trek

2011-07-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

Typing this on a bumpy Scandinavian B-road, there's just enough time to reflect on an eventful trip so far. From the flat lands of Holland (a bit like Somerset, but with added windmills) through to Denmark, Sweden we now hit Finland. It's sweltering hot. I have about two dozen mozzy bites and a beard.

The image above, hastily taken on the phone, could be any one of the hundreds of beautiful, often untouched lakes out here. I've also been marvelling at strange foods and the odd corker of a mullet hair cut.
Trouble is, the fishing has been rock hard. It's just too hot for much except jack pike. Last night was a minor breakthrough though.
Zander are the real target out here- but they tend to frustrate. Just when I manage to tempt one and think I've cracked it, they play silly buggers. The locals all say I should be trolling with about six rods- but this is not my idea of fun. Plus, the lack of a boat doesn't help. Failing this then, I've been jigging over deep holes with the float tube. Thus is where the Zander lurk in the day, albeit thoroughly bored and not especially hungry. The theory is good then- the Practise lacking. Until I got bored and decided to try the edges of the lake on a couple of hot evenings. With the water cooling a little, the predators come to the edges to hunt. Bingo! some Zander at last, to small pike flies and lures!
The other fun of the tube is the looks you get from locals; you know that not quite convinced smile that says "you're really quite fucking mad aren't you?" to which I doff my hat and speak in broken Finnish.

The only other remarkable fish spotted was at the "Ripleys Believe it or Not" museum in Copenhagen. Above is a strange, fur covered trout. It was thought these cold lake fish had developed little coats to keep warm. The original freak trout generated so much interest that later on tourists spotted one Scot putting a little fluffy jacket on a trout! Weirdness seems to follow me out here though- including a nutty Swedish lady convinced that nuclear subs are hiding all over Europe, releasing brain washing chemicals into the atmosphere. If that's true, then I'm a Viking.
Well, on that bizarre note I should sign off before the data roaming charges leave me broke. Later on I will have the unfamiliar pleasure of eating a Zander that I kept for the table. Feels weird for a Brit, but so very different out here with some 180 000 lakes and no shortage of fish! Still, I'm not about to fish like a Tiverton laborer and swap my landing net for a Tescos bag and a blunt object.

From chewing on flies, to flies on Chew

2011-07-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Boundaries continue to blur in recent fishing, with more coarse fish on fly tackle. One thing's for sure- the fish don't give a piscatory toss which category the tackle falls into. Rudd and roach continue to inspire, and it has been a great thrill not only to keep catching them but to see others also testing the waters with success. From my older brother the salmon fanatic to regular fishing mates Norbert Darby, Ian Nadin and Steve Moore, everyone seems to be enjoying some exciting fly fishing for coarse species.

I like this sharing of fishing and ideas (and usually friendly insults). Definitely what fishing should be about, rather than secretive spots, meaningless figures and clashing egos. You learn so much more by being relaxed and sharing info- and certainly, the hotter it gets the more active the roach and rudd seem to be (unlike trout!).

I've also been linking up with film maker and fellow writer Steve Lockett to capture the action in both still and moving pictures. More on this later, but it has been productive fishing with wet flies singling out some delightfully chunky rudd. Spiders seem to work best- either a black and peacock or a red bodied spider in sizes 12-14 especially useful. For the Tiverton or Taunton to Bridgwater canals, I would recommend a long walk with a light rod, but also a long handled landing net to reach over the reeds and other obstructions. Parts of the Amazon probably offer easier water access! The roach and rudd can be tricky to hit, but the bigger mouthed and better sized fish are less rapid biting, hence somewhat easier to hook:

For a very different experience I also headed out for a day in the company of Steve Moore to Chew. We began in search of trout, but with warm, dry weather very little seemed prepared to feed. We needed little invitation to switch to pike, a sensible move. Whilst not exactly hectic, we enjoyed some good sport and stonking battles on fly tackle.

Pike are sometimes strange creatures. You hook the jacks and they go ballistic, making you think you've hooked a monster. And then you hook a fish that feels lacklustre- before it suddenly remembers it's a brute and says "sod this, I'm off!" I was connected to something big just before lunchtime, which not only gave me a near heart attack beside the boat but then proceeded to put twenty yards between us and stick it's gruesome chops out of the water.... before ridding itself of the fly with a shake of the head. I couldn't help but keep playing it over in my head with those fatal words- "if only." We both managed to boat pike later on though, topped by this nice double. For Chew, nothing to necessitate a change of underwear- by any normal angler's standards, a bloody nice fish.

Steve enjoyed his day too, until developing casting-related cramp in his hand next day. Compared to trout fishing it is hard work slinging big flies around I guess, but glad to report Steve was on the mend when I ran into him on the Exe. I had hoped for bream, but basically came nearer to swans on a slow Saturday evening in the town. When you've been fly fishing it can seem a bit dull to sit behind rods. The fly fever is catching with others too and my other half Jo also did herself proud with a rainbow trout on a Kennick "learn to fly fish" day. Learning to cast is a bit like learning to drive I guess- not best done with a lecture from your partner! So much for gender stereotypes then- she caught it, I cooked it in mustard sauce.
In other news, I'm about to embark on a well earned holiday- just as soon as I've killed off the 101 jobs on my "to do" list. Expect a short break then, with possibly some random updates from Sweden and Finland to follow on my travels.

Wandering the Wye

2011-07-02T01:05:00.000-07:00

Britain may be a small island in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes you forget just how fantastically diverse our waters are. The River Wye couldn't be a more grand contrast to my favourite little streams of the Westcountry. It's also home to some phenomenal shoals of chub and barbel. I had been itching to return, in particular to try with a fly rod for the barbel. If anyone could put me on the right trail- or indeed explain the timeless fascination of this great Welsh river- it was Bob James.

Bob has fished here as long as I've been alive- and while modern specimen type tactics work, he's an even bigger fan of more intimate methods. Clear water and a pair of waders make anything possible- trotting, touch legering, free lining or you've guessed it, a fly rod. In fact the early season is ideal for a moving bait or fly, as the barbel are still highly active. What really surprised me was Bob's talk of just how aggressive these fish are- not only will they literally barge chub off a bed of feed, they will actively predate on minnows. Needless to say, with a good dose of loose feed it didn't take long to connect with some solid fish.

With the river looking beautifully sunny and wild, I knew this was going to be as good an opportunity as I'd get to tempt a barbel on a fly rod. The sheer size and pace of such a big river can be a challenge- and I found even heavy patterns needed an extra pinch of tungsten putty to trundle the depths. When you finally managed to hook one, you might be forgiven for wondering what's going on. These barbel are downright stubborn fighters- hugging the bottom one moment like an immovable object, powering off the next! It really is hair raising stuff, not to mention a long term ambition fulfilled to land one of these Wye barbel.

Treading Waters

2011-06-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Fishing is the greatest pastime of all when it comes to following up a million mysterious leads. There simply aren't enough days in the year to follow up on every hunch you have or water you'd like to explore. However, I like to have a bloody good go! There is so much more fishing out there than you ever read about. If anything, the growth of blogging and web articles have heralded a more varied and open version of the sport, rather than mainstream articles which often confuse catching big fish with interesting fishing. In the midst of the copy I provide magazines, my own blog represents possibly my least polished writing- but you will find some of the more interesting subplots and smaller stones turned over.

This week I got back to some bass in the esteemed company of David Pilkington and Ben Garnett. For David it was a welcome day off from his guiding- for Ben it seemed like something of a field trip. For those who don't know my brother, Ben is very much a "wild fish in wild places" angler and is a dedicated natural scientist. A fanatic. This is the reprobate who culled the brighter coloured goldfish in my folks' pond because they "weren't natural enough". You couldn't say the same about bass in a million years.
With dodgy weather ruling out the open coast, we headed for an estuary mark. David has been increasingly drawn to bass for the past few seasons, which provide another angle to his guiding. Conditions were wretchedly windy, but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm and several gutsy school bass came our way- some of them more like Kindergarten than school bass! Just to get the line out and catch something seemed like a result on a day better suited to kite surfing. Nevertheless, for anyone looking to explore bass on the fly I wouldn't hesitate to give Dave a call (see the Arundell Arms link on my site, or google it). I can't give away our specific location, but if anyone can put you on the bass, it's Dave.

In the meantime I continue to be fascinated by our canals. Bigger adventures are all well and good, but I just love the diversity of species and methods on these little waters. Joining me for a very early Sunday service on the Taunton to Bridgwater canal was Seb Nowosiad. We fished flies, lures and baits at different times to enjoy a really varied day of sport. I also like these places simply because they are so beautiful. With rows of tall trees and pretty, lily dotted water you could easily think you were in rural France- until the bloody rain sets in.

Not easy fishing on this occasion, but a different possibility at every turn. I had roach and rudd on the fly, Seb had perch, pike and a terrific 3lb plus chub on a lure. We saw several others, which were amazingly spooky- nevertheless, they are clearly catchable provided you don't scare them first.

Gathering Flies

2011-06-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

I always love a quiet hour or two at the vice tying some flies. Lately it has felt more like a week or two of solid work however, with some 60 or more patterns on the go for both a book project and also material for an American magazine feature on "The Perfect 10 British Trout Flies"- a great honour if something of a nightmare narrowing down centuries of great flies into a mere ten classics! So where do we start? Those who have never tied a fly of any kind might take heart from the Black & Peacock- which consists of thread, peacock herl and black hen... and that's it! Bloody good for trout but also useful for coarse fish:

I also have a liking for traditional stalwarts, and for anyone suspicious of passing angling fads, the March Brown has been catching trout for some 500 years!

Turning out flies to a publishable standard is always a great challenge. With a quality macro lens (Nikons are used for micro surgery, such is their quality!) every little fault shows up. The messier results fill my fly boxes- only the best go to the publishers! It's a bit like a ruthless modelling audition- you pick and preen the best little buggers to look spot on... and the slightly fat or scruffy ones are asked to leave. After several attempts, here is my version of Richard Walker's classic Hanningfield Lure- it was designed for trout, but Walker found it even deadlier for perch, the jointed effect giving it extra wiggle:

The range of flies and materials is truly vast. This week I've used everything from partridge feathers to strips cut from a Doritos packet in this little buzzer:

The fussy flies can drive you to madness, which is why I always welcome some meaty predator patterns into the mix. And who says pike flies can't be pretty (before they get bitten, obviously!). Here are a pair of poppers, I paint the bodies by hand:

June has thus been a mixed blessing with all the rain I guess- at least you don't feel like you're missing much by spending hours tying up flies when outdoors looks less than appetising. For those less than keen on tying their own flies I am always willing to consider any requirements you may have too. And unlike the shops with their imports I can always produce patterns for less fashonable species- from roach and rudd, to perch and zander.

Rudd rising

2011-06-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

What brilliant summer fish rudd are. Sadly less widespread these days, in part due to fisheries and clubs that insist on chopping back all forms of vegetation, their pursuit is always an adventure. In the past weeks I've walked many miles in search of visible fish, skirting little ponds and walking the banks of rural canals. And worth every step. These fish will gamely take a fly and the warmer the weather gets, the more they seem willing to rise to dry flies. Part of the thrill is the sheer lack of any track record- the few anglers with any interest fish with bait for them.

If anything, fly fishing seems more selective than maggots or bread, which get clobbered by the tiddlers before that chunky mother has even taken notice. Finding clear water in which you can target specific fish is often the real battle. Boat traffic is bad news and with the better fish seeming quite spread out I'm getting used to making early starts and really covering the banks. It's a bit like cooking a special dish; several key ingredients have to be in place, but when it all comes together it's a right bloody treat. Forget muddy water and bite indicators- nothing beats tricking visible fish in clear water. Roach have been active too, and the real surprise is just how aggressive the fish have been of late. The same creatures that were cagey buggers in the cooler months will now really hammer a fly. A little while back I was catching on tiny, size 16 and 18 buzzers and spiders. Yesterday a size 10 seemed better, with the fish chasing and hitting a dark nymph with an almost predatory verve. Best fish of a thrilling session was this 1lb 9oz roach- or is it a roach/rudd hybrid? Perhaps somebody can tell me- internet research tends to yield a pretty haywire bag of truths, half truths and pure fiction!

The other great aspect of the week has been fishing in good company. I was due to fish for tench with Ian Nadin, but with these fish spawning we quickly switched to silver fish and he managed roach, rudd, perch and even a skimmer, all on his first fly rod session for silver fish. Also travelling light with me has been Russ Hilton. On a piece of breadflake he took the shock catch of the week with a cracking chub of 3lb 7oz! We'd seen little chublets before on the Taunton to Bridgwater canal but this was a genuine surprise. The grin was even wider because I managed to miss it two hours before on the fly, a hasty strike pulling my hopper straight out of its gob!

Dirty Towns & Wild Browns

2011-05-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

The search for exciting, interesting fishing takes us to some wild, unspoiled places. It also takes us to some crusty, bizarre locations. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that unlikely fishing is often good fishing. The trout in and around the Exe and Lowman in Tiverton are a prime example. Grubby surroundings, yes. But even the shadow of recent pollution doesn't seem to have killed a surprisingly rich environment. Visiting angling scribe Theo Pike has a particular interest in these urban gems, having taken an active role in restoring the River Wandle close to his own home in London. Visiting family in Devon, it seemed the perfect opportunity to have a crack at some similarly townie trout. It was nice not to be the only nutter walking about town with a fly rod anyway. Judging by a few kick samples, you could hardly call these urban waters infertile:

We found the trout highly receptive. The only bother they usually get here is an occasional misplaced clearance from the football pitches, or the odd rusty spinner or beer bottle. Appearances can be so deceptive though. Reminds me of some advise my dad once gave me- "never pick a fight with an ugly person..?." No, it was something about judging books by covers. And this particular book, is such a world away from its rather shoddy cover. Amidst the usual debris and a staggering four shopping trolleys and a drowning flat screen TV we picked our way through a series of curious little pools and runs. Theo opted for miniature sedge patterns in 16s to extract some lovely brown trout, looking every inch wild. Most were in the small but pretty stamp, although one or two really took us by surprise.

Are urban trout any different to those of more idyllic places? It seems that they are well used to the odd passer by, so perhaps spook less easily- or at least take less time to settle again after a misplaced cast. It was a week of urban fishing in fact, with some rudd, bleak, chub, a skimmer and even a lost tench on the Bridgwater stretch of canal.

All good fun then. Not the most peaceful fishing exactly, but there's always a curious excitement about catching fish from places where it doesn't look possible. I even managed to produce a trout simultaneously as a passing chav issued the classic "you won't catch nothing in there" line. I was about to point out that this was grammatically incorrect, but didn't want a punch in the face and the fish seemed a decent enough reply. I guess that the moral of the tale is not to judge the fishing by the scenery then. In fact, a strange setting only adds to interesting fishing. My favourite snap shot from a few erm, "vibrant", urban locations has to be this one however, Theo Pike trying to spot rising fish beneath the hulking mechanical arm of a neighbouring scrapyard. It's fly fishing Jim, but not as we know it:

A Week of Carp

2011-05-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Perhaps due to their sheer popularity there is an anti-carp current within some fishing circles. I love the species- it's the methods and condition of the fish that don't always inspire. Hence a big push this week to explore some different venues with methods high on excitement this week, from fly fishing to free-lining baits in the margins.

Abbrook Pond (above), run by Exeter Angling Association, is definitely what you'd call a classic, "old school" carp lake. Once visited by Dick Walker, it might be noisier these days with a local quarry and even the racket of a punk band's rehearsal at one point- but when all settles down, what a beautiful place. As per usual, I tried both old and new methods but found free lined or float fished baits by far the most effective. Sometimes I wonder if the modern era has gone bite alarm and static fishing mad. Each to their own, but it's so much more effective as well as more fun to use lighter tackle and be mobile. I lost a decent something on an overnighter, only to grab a beautiful common on float fished bread paste next morning. Nothing to write home about at eleven pounds? Not in my book- perfectly conditioned and ridiculously strong on a float rod.

The weeks other kicks have been on a fly rod, with the added pressure of fellow angling writer and film maker Steve Lockett on camera at Stafford Moor. The fish needed some coaxing, but eventually got going in the sun and gave a pulverising display on a fly rod. With the exception of one mirror taken on a terrestrial, the key on the day was regular loose feed in the right spot.

To cap off a fun week of carp I also took an evening ticket at Creedy lakes for some further action. Fewer but bigger fish here- and after seeing several good sized cruising fish on the top pond, I tempted a solid common on a good sized dry fly. Not a "bait" fly this time, but a nice bushy stimulator presented by overhanging cover. A fly that looks a little big and clumsy- until you see the size of a decent carp's laughing gear close on it! On an seven weight outfit the fight was nothing short of sensational another good reason to give this enthralling method a try.

The Mild West

2011-05-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Throw together a four weight fly rod, sunny water and even the odd mayfly and you might guess I'd been on a trout stream this week. Not by a long chalk- but in their own strange way, the canals around Tiverton and Bridgwater can be just as cute. No trout here of course, but plenty of pretty rudd and roach to divert an angler torn between fly and coarse schools. The Taunton to Bridgwater fished in fits and starts, between boat traffic which sadly robbed the water of its clarity. I had called Somerset Angling to see how the cut was fishing and when I asked if the water was clear, the response was classic- "no mate, it's always dirty. This is Bridgwater."

Never mind. The rudd were still rising and the canal showed the sort of mad, burgeoning insect life that would have David Bellamy himself frothing at the mouth- although I wouldn't advise any "wummaging through the undergrowth" around the wrong end of Bridgwater. Swarms of black gnats were everywhere- and the rudd were sipping at the top. Most of my success came to small emerger buzzers in size 16's and 18's. I like these "no hackle" flies because they're easily sucked in- stiffer hackled traditionals can simply bounce off the lips of Mr Rudd.
It was an afternoon of fleeting spells of pleasure- interrupted by churning boats and grey clouds. And yet when it was good it was very good. When the sun remerged and the water settled, it was like someone turning a light on- suddenly visible rudd everywhere. On two occasions I got a double shot of rudd on a single cast by fishing 2-3 little buzzers- like these two beauties:

I couldn't resist a stop on the Grand Western on the way home either- which was clearer, but the roach were trickier to tempt in spite of being miles easier to spot. A small f-fly accounted for a couple of solid roach though, and it still seems to me that whilst pike are now par for the course on a fly rod there is a great deal of totally unexploited fishing for roach, rudd and other species. What beautiful fish and beautiful places these are too, the banks already awash with summer growth and life of all kinds. The flag iris with its brilliant yellow flowers is always a summer favourite:

Scales, Spots & Sunshine

2011-05-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

If fishing were about beauty rather than size, we'd all be having very different debates about the "perfect" fish. But would your vote go to a stocked or wild fish? Fishing for carp at Angler's Paradise I found my usual assumptions turned upside down after catching some stunning looking fish- not big, but the most incredible pearl gold coloured mirrors. The name "Fatboys" lake perhaps does a disservice to these perfectly proportioned carp which fairly glow in the sun.

The Angler's Nirvana section of the complex was as quiet as a mouse for our visit- a dead mouse perhaps, judging by the evidence we found on the bank! Last spring I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of a circling barn owl on the lush, grassy banks here- this time no owl, but plenty of evidence in the form of owl pellets:

Aside from some fun fishing, we had curry and a glass or three of wine at Zyg Gregorek's famous bar. It was also a good chance to bring my other half, Jo, back on the bank after a long absence. Predictably she caught the best fish- and lost a much bigger one too. Check out the links on my site for more on Angler's Paradise.

As for Devon's wild trout, the fishing has been surprisingly tricky on the streams. A bone dry April meant low river levels and not a great deal hatching on a visit to the South Yeo, part of the Westcountry Angling Passport scheme.

It proved to be a real hands and knees job. Beetles were the only creatures notable by their abundance, with occasional splashy rises telling their own story under the gnarled branches and undercut banks.

Having lost a decent fish, I managed a few smaller ones to diminutive traditional flies such as the Beacon Beige (see the site for last season's Total Flyfisher article on this fly)- but wished I'd tied a few more Coch-y-bonddu flies in small sizes to match the hatch. Never mind, it is great to be back on the streams- beautiful fish and beautiful places. I'll let you decide whether a brown trout or a golden mirror carp wins this week's beauty contest. Not entirely sure I can decide!

Ugly Ducklings & B-Movie Monsters

2011-04-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

This week has seen the culmination of a covert, barking mad plan I've had for some time now. I've always enjoyed making my own lures and flies- ducklings have been a logical next step into further madness. But just like imitation frogs, mice and the like they work- and pretty well once the weed really kicks back in the spring.

It's irresistably bloody good fun. Not ultra efficient, and you seem to miss takes just like with other surface lures- but when you do get a pike to batter your twitched creation it's always ludicrously exciting. Takes me back to summers past when I used to use home made mice to catch pike, complete with shoe laces for tails. I still have the picture of a mouse caught 17 pounder, although I look pretty indecent as I had to lose my trousers to get into the water and wrestle the thing into the net! The bigger fish tend to like lures that make a commotion- and I have to say I've had far more success on shaggier, messier creations than ultra realistics- which draws a parallell with fly tying.

If you are going to do this weedy, manic style of fishing, strong tackle is a definite must therefore- and I would recommend waders or even swim shorts so as to remove the fish from the water for as little time as possible. As for the other grisly details of this barmy method, have a peek at the Angling Times this week- after keeping the lures and story strictly under wraps for some time, the whole gruesome tale of "The Ugly Duckling" can now be seen!

The madness hasn't been confined to fresh water fish either- or indeed just fish. Torquay is awash with weird visitors currently. No, not Northerners, squid. Catching these freaks makes fishing with a duckling seem like a regular day out frankly. These odd creatures are attracted close in at night by the lights of the harbour. Usual lures are useless however- and you need special luminous things. The sort of lures you probably look at in the tackle shop and announce "what in the Devil's name is that for?"

Now I have my answer. Fished under a float, or like a lure, these luminous jigs are grabbed by the squid, which you then have to haul steadily in. Not as straightforward as it sounds- and I lost two, firstly landing just a piece of torn off tentacle, before managing my first squid! Looks like the sort of creature you'd find attacking Captain Nemo's submarine, never mind buggering about on Torquay sea front!:

Bloody weird. Also quite tasty. A word of warning though- don't be in too much of a hurry to handle one straight away unless you like getting squirted with ink! All in all it was a fascinating evening- with a few bonus mackerel also thrown in. I'm also keen to try float fishing for squid. One of Greys battery powered "nite floats" would work brilliantly I'm sure, seeing as these b-movie style freaks are attracted by light? Next stop the lunatic asylum...

Tea on the Test

2011-04-22T00:21:00.000-07:00

Having already seen the quality of winter coarse fishing on the Test, I was just as excited to make a return visit with Bob James and Chris Tarrant to see this famous river in all its spring glory. A little fishing hut beside one of the rivers many pools is a pleasure in itself. Exclusive or otherwise, water as tasty as this quickly turns grown men into excited kids- and you can be sure many of the best, worst and most optimistic plans are hatched over a brew in these surroundings.

Fishing goes back to the 1300's on the estate where we visited, but the management and use of the water stretches back to the Romans- who can't have failed to make use of the ridiculously clean, rich water which was later also used to produce crisp new bank notes. And the salmon were once so plentiful that the gentry used them to build fences (ok, that last bit is bollocks):

The Test also produces crisp, classic looking fish of course- and in these more enlightened times, coarse fish have been allowed to thrive besides the trout and salmon. Still, there's something quite amusing about watching anglers on the most hallowed trout stream in the world commenting "cor, that looks like a cracking place to trot for roach!" And why not? It all adds variety- not to mention some more affordable fishing later in the year. For the coming months however, it is the trout which provide the obsession.

The day was so hot it was better for pictures than fishing however, although James and Tarrant had a few casts in the course of their recce. The air was thick with grannom sedge in places- almost so that the fish had too much choice! Still- the Test is one of those places which is so beautiful it would be difficult not to come away feeling the better for it.

Big Perch on the Fly

2011-04-07T03:02:00.000-07:00

The same old cliches tend to persist about fly fishing-especially in unfamiliar territory such as a canal. "Elaborate", "fussy" and the classic "aren't you just making things more difficult for yourself?" Er, no. I love the elegance of the method, yes- but I'm no fan of rarified but useless methods. On its day, the fly is a match for any approach.
My latest session was a point in case- in total contrast to a recent joyless five hours using specimen tactics for perch, casting a fly feels quite liberating. You can tease a fly slower than any lure and it's great fun to feel every nip and pluck through your fingers. After an inevitable early pike, I thought I'd hooked another- before a slower, thumping fight said otherwise. I nearly had a heart attack as it neared the net- and then another when the scales showed 3lbs 2oz minus the net! I've been after a canal perch like this for a long time- the usual customer closer to three ounces.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the perch fly fisher is the lack of flies or info. It's true, big perch fall to pike flies or trout lures sometimes- but the former tend to be too big, the latter rather small. I also like a well weighted pattern when the fish are holding deep, and for this reason I like a fly with dumbell eyes designed to stay deep and fish hook point up to avoid snagging, much like a jig or the classic Clouser Minnow. My versions are simple enough- a tail of EP fibres or arctic runner mixed with Krystal flash or similar, a body of fritz or sparkly dubbing, a grizzle hackled collar and a dumbell head to "flip" the fly over to fish point upwards. White and yellow are favourite colours:

Wild Tales at the Court of King Gregorek

2011-04-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Some days a writer's lot is a joy, on others it is a test. Sometimes it is both. How, for example, do you sum up a character as vivid as Zyg Gregorek in the space of a short article? After a close shave in Karachi where he was within an hour or two of becoming a hostage, Angling Times were keen to get a sketch of this grand angling eccentric.
Far from being a freak event, Zyg's latest adventure seems hardly out of place in a lifetime of strange twists and colourful tangents. And yet there lies the paradox- an undeniably zany character and self-proclaimed hedonist, yet also a businessman with lazer sharp focus. One time refugee, adventure fishing nut, wine brewer, obsessive collector, fish breeder, thrill seeker.. the list goes on and little elaboration seems necessary in charting the life of the Angler's Paradise boss. It was an interview to raise more eyebrows than a streaker at the Conservative Party Conference... but for more you'll just have to get the Angling Times on Tuesday!

In my own madder moments when I imagine a future Britain as some kind of angling Utopia, I picture Zyg as its president. The economy would be based entirely on fishing tackle. The currency wouldn't be pounds or Euros but flies. Fishing would be free and participation compulsory. State meetings would be attended in waders. All roads would be replaced by canals. Because of a fish heavy diet we would all live to the age of 107 and be geniuses. Strange how a glass or two of Zyg's wine tends to give you ideas...
Talking of wine, the bar at Angler's Paradise itself is also well worth a visit for the sheer spectacle of the curiosities on display: where else can you see cased eels and golden rudd, fish on tables and posts, marlin and swordfish jutting from the walls?

Back in the less colourful outside world my concern over hydropower continues. The scope for damage to rivers both in the Westcountry and nationwide is simply too glaring to ignore and so I was quick to agree when BBC Devon wanted an angling spokesman for a midweek programme. The archimedes screw we saw was perhaps the best of several less than ideal options for fish. Even so, there is no such thing as "free" energy- and our rivers could pay a high price should they be used as a simple commodity to generate power for the government and easy money for land owners.

From Pins to Pike

2011-03-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

Bored by some slow specimen hunting, this week spelled a welcome return to fishing with fun and action in mind. And why not indeed? It beats sitting there so deadened that parts of you start to fall off. Stafford Moor is one of those rare places worthy of the name "mixed fishery" to the very letter- loads of variety, stacks of suprises and a perfect place to go for a mixed bag with a few genuine question marks over what you might catch.
I love nothing better than using a long rod, centrepin reel and sensitive pole style set up for varied waters such as Woody's Lake. You get finesse for shy biting fish, but also terrific versatility and with the flex of a 5m blank and the free running control of the pin you can land even large bonuses on light line. But if that sounds rather technical, my real reasoning is that it's bloody good fun and the rattle of a centrepin reel is surely one of the greatest sounds in fishing.

By feeding three close in lines with different baits in each, I hoped to get a real mix of species and so it proved. Chopped worm and groundbait drew skimmers and a tench, corn tamed half a dozen lovely crucians, while bigger pellets came in later for bonus carp. I love this game! We get so specialised in our approach, but it's so refreshing when you just don't know what will bite next.

A massive thumbs up to ever helpful fishery boss Andy Seery here, as well as photographer James Callison who was at the fishery to capture a beautifully sunny spring afternoon. This place is well worth a visit, however you like to fish.

Equally good fun however was meeting up with the PAC members and non members alike for a cracking little lure fishing day on the Grand Western Canal (above). All of our intrepid anglers present caught fish and got into the spirit of the day- lots of banter, but no bitching; an element of competition but also great sportsmanship. Lewis Palk, for example, had his winning fourth pike netted by the angler he was neck and neck with for the lead! Not that Ian Woodason had much to worry about, having scooped the prize for best fish on the day with a pretty Tivvy pike not far off four pounds (yes, that is Ian- despite his current beard disguise!).

Everyone caught then, but it was Ian's brightly coloured jerkbait that dominated early on, before action slowed in the sun and smaller jigs took most of the fish. Crazily enough, in spite of the many hundreds of casts on the day Ian's fish came with virtually the first shot in the entire match! It nicely closed an enjoyable if testing season for the Pike Angler's Club- but do watch this space for updates and a new venue and events next year. The Region 13/Devon PAC Blog is the place to look- and should have some more pics from today's friendly match: http://devonpac.blogspot.com/

The Lure of the Little

2011-03-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

The strange midway point between end of the coarse season and the slow waking up on trout streams is definitely a time to take stock and kill off a few of those jobs you should have done ages ago, from tying flies to fending off paperwork. After a fair old slog in the winter however, I can't wait to do some more light hearted fishing and get lost on a sunny little stream somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
And with cute, small waters in mind I've very much been enjoying American author Ron Swegman's terrific book "Small Fry: The Lure of the Little".
Some opening words sum up his position- "Catch BIGGER fish!... I have lost count of the number of times I have read this alluring phrase in fishing magazines. But what I am willing and ready to debate is the sport's obsession with sheer, or may I submit mere, size.... The highlights of my own fishing life have always involved a little more finesse and occured almost exclusively along small streams, glacial lakes or farm ponds." The book cuts an intriguing dash through hidden, intimate waters and a range of smaller but no less fascinating species from bass and bluegills on the fly to fishes more familiar to Brits such as perch and chub.

Truly a writer after my own heart, the book is great fun and in a way I wish we had more reference points such as this in UK writing. The yanks are miles ahead on this score with a real passion for fishing material that stands up as literature. Take a look at Ron's site for some great samples of his work and more info: www.ronpswegman.com
Strangely enough though, I got in touch with Ron initially on the subject of fishing in Central Park, New York- a subject to be featured in next month's "Fish & Tips", which behind the lads mag format boasts some refreshingly different and original content.
Back on small waters, I keep returning to the Tiverton Canal, for little reason other than the fact it is a perfect place to waste a sunny afternoon. It's cracking on a fly rod for silver fish too- although I'm still trying in vain for a tench here. At the risk of becoming an anorak, I'm quite fascinated by canals and my other current reading material is a history of the GW Canal, for the massive charity shop sum of 20p, some way short of the £220 000 cost of the canal- and that was some 200 years ago!

I should also add that the PAC has a friendly lure fishing meet up, 7 30am in Sampford Peverell (car park just after Spars on the right). This should be a lot of fun- non members are also welcome and there is a pub grub buffet. More on this at: http://devonpac.blogspot.com/
In the meantime however, I may sneak back out and see if I can tempt one of those tench. They don't seem to spook easily, but I'm sure their poor eyesight doesn't help them find a fly. It's a big challenge, but I've caught the species before on game tackle and some suitably big and unmissable treats are currently being cooked up at the vise:

Spring Reeling

2011-03-15T02:55:00.000-07:00

As we hit that in between stage in the season, everything has been rather up in the air for a while. Whether confused by perplexing ups and downs of frost and sun, the fish have been playing hardball. Spring is coming however- you can feel it. On a sunny afternoon on Tiverton canal all the signs were there: everything from frogs and toads to neighbourhood dogs getting frisky. Blossom and sunshine. The ability of non-northerners to sit in a pub beer garden without shivering.
It was one of thus one of those days to make hay in the sun and grab some pictures therefore, in the absence of any great drama. With some fair results too I hope- although the more adventurous the shot, the more fuss it always takes. I've even been experimenting with some underwater snaps:

A few jack pike have been looking interested in flies or bait- but just as often giving up. Apart from the odd little pike, a toad was also banked which had bizarrely decided to cuddle a smelt, perhaps trying to initiate some kind of strange criss species relations.

Who can blame the fish for being temperamental really? After a winter of fishing, they must be close to spawning by now and it will soon be time to do something else. There's a trout stream with my name on it somewhere...
Also worth a quick mention is the launch of new magazine "Fish'n'Tips", in which you'll find my own ramblings on class divide in the sport and the risky business of fishing a wild, overgrown stream. Don't be put off by the dolly birds and lads mag appearance of the magazine- the content so far looks great, with the emphasis on entertaining stories rather than the "how to" angle so well covered just about everywhere else you care to look.

On Catching and Crashing

2011-02-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

Bad luck, as the saying goes, comes in threes. I was hoping for a decent days fishing for my birthday. To be fair I got the first bit right; a car crash down one of Devon's shittier, twistier country roads plus a hospital visit were a less brilliant Birthday present.
But to return to the first, Stafford Moor was a very welcome day out. I've written before about the pros and cons of predators on commercial fisheries. But then again, this complex is anything but typical and I for one salute the owner's brave decision to include pike and catfish. Indeed, as our rivers continue to decline they could have a big part to play in the future and thankfully some forward thinking owners recognise that we want more than simply carp fishing.

One good point about predator fishing such venues is that you can successfully mix tactics, with loose feeding for roach, skimmers and other species always liable to draw in predators at some point in the day. I decided to fish chopped worm on pole rig and running line, expecting decent perch whilst also adding a deadbait rod into the mix for a bonus or two. This worked well. When I wasn't catching skimmers and perch it was often because of pike presence and I landed two fish, both doubles, perhaps the highlight of the day a sudden surge on the surface, roach catapulted in all directions. Within seconds I had a tell tale run on the second rod. The pike haven't been here for many seasons, but with all the food present this could be a fishery to keep an eye on- although future success will also depend on how careful visitors are with these pike.

The real highlight was a late flurry with perch however. I had tried a small live rudd to sort out a better perch or two, but the killing tactic in the end was simply a worm over plenty of "chop", the better of two chunky fish at 2lbs 9oz. Specimen tactics are fine, but nothing beats light tackle and the rattle of centrepin against a lively fish is surely one of the greatest sounds in fishing. Perhaps a small live or deadbait might also work for these perch- but for obvious reasons a wire trace is a necessity here and I'm convinced this puts the perch off.
My crash came the day after, and about the only good thing I can say is thank goodness I wasn't badly hurt. But even a purely precautionary stretcher ride to hospital is a sobering experience. Even more delightfully, I had gone less than three miles in the hire car provided by my insurers next day when quite inexplicably the windscreen started to crack from the bottom up. More bullshit paperwork. More tedious phonecalls, elevator music and "your call is important to us". More parasites ready to bill you. In my darker moments I start to think life is simply a permanent wrestling match between trying to make enough money to live and having it sucked away again. Maybe this is why we go fishing?

Some fresh air was definitely called for and I had the pleasure of taking fly fishers Lance Downes and Darren Hunt for a crack at some Tiverton pike. In spite of a lack of bigger fish, we had some fun along the way with outrageously clear water and cat and mouse style fun with the jacks, some titchy (like the little critter below), but all of them cute and endlessly intriguing to watch.

Crazy catch of the month definitely goes to Lance, who managed to catch a half pound roach on a small pike fly! Strange but true and it just goes to show that anything is possible in fishing.

Pit Fighters

2011-02-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

In the midst of the hectic business of earning a living (if only it was as simple as just going fishing!), I start to really treasure my fishing trips. Piking pole Seb Nowosiad is always good company for the longer haul- always well prepared with lures and baits, plus a nip of brandy to stave off the cold. He's also got perhaps the itchiest feet of anybody I've ever fished with- no bad thing when you have many acres of cold gravel pit to search.

We had perhaps the best start possible with bites from the off and Seb's usual battle cry of "fishhh-oooonnnn!" connecting with several beautifully conditioned pike in the space of a mad half hour. To our relief, these previously hard to contact predators seemed to have moved into shallower water. Seb had the greater numbers to his trademark jigs, whilst I picked out the slightly larger pike using sink & draw tactics- this one probably not far off double figures.

Night fishing for pike is not something you read much about, but we were also keen to give this a try. Hunkering down in a likely, craggy corner we set up baits for the night. With deep hooking a risk when you may have to scramble out of a tent to make contact we went for big baits, whole sea fish, to ensure nothing would be swallowed too quickly. The plan worked, if not emphatically, then at least to the tune of another three fish to the nine pound mark.

It got pretty cold in the night and the rain was utterly relentless. Hence a bright sunny morning and a fried breakfast were heaven sent! Never have black pudding, bacon and strong coffee tasted so damned fine. So- an adventure of hard fighting pike, good banter and high calorie foods. In fact all we were really lacking was a great big beast of a pit pike. But you can't have everything eh?
On a more serious note, I'm also drumming up further info and momentum against the current hydro power proposals, which could see already threatened fish populations nationwide in serious danger. Anyone with a spare five minutes could do a lot worse than give the EA an earful on this- or indeed email the minister for rural affairs who recently apologised publicly for massively unpopular deforestation plans. Don't let them do the same to our rivers! Emails should go to: caroline@carolinespelman.com

We want a careful approach and proper consultation- not botched schemes, rushed through for the sake of targets and easy cash for landowners.

From Wet to Wetter

2011-02-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

In fishing, there are things we can influence- but also things we have no control over whatsoever. And on that score, this weeks tale is one of foul weather. On a bright, still day the River Wye is like heaven on earth; on the wrong day, purgatory. And while I try to remain ever philosophical about fishing, it's hard not to feel disappointed when you've travelled a hundred and fifty miles with high hopes only to find gale force winds and a river rapidly turning ugly.

One pike was all I managed near Hereford on the first day and worse was to come, the Wye shooting up some four feet overnight. A rapid change of plan was called for in the shape of the Oxbow Lake at Letton Court (above). If nothing else it was scenic. A beautiful place to drift a float fished bait and at least keep the idea of a hungry pike in mind. No joy sadly, although there is a small irony in the fact that after this long haul trip, I had a decent pike in only two hours fishing just five miles from my front door!

A day of float fishing for roach usually shifts the blues after the tougher task of monster hunting- but Shobrooke lake near Crediton was scarcely less wet or dreary today. The roach here are pretty, well conditioned fish. No big ones, but plenty of sport for Russ Hilton and myself to bread flake and maggots. I also put out another rod with a small boilie, which belted off just before dark. I immediately knew this was either a world record roach... or, you guessed it, a runaway carp. Not exactly planned then, but a strong and immaculately scaled double figure common. Not the biggest, but possibly one of the most beautiful (and undeserved) carp I've ever caught.

Notes from the Riverbank with Tarrant & James

2011-02-03T01:54:00.000-08:00

This weeks highlight has been a very surreal trip indeed. Going fishing with not only Bob James but Chris Tarrant is hardly your average day out. In fact, throw in the Nelson Mandela and the Irish Football team and you might have the start of a very strange gag. But there they both were, brewing tea and discussing rivers and roach, baits and methods. In actual fact though, fishing is a great leveller and once you forget the screen presence of these two characters they are simply a pair of enthusiasts who enjoy a day out. Well, almost!

The River Test looked wonderfully inviting as always, but for me this was a day when words and pictures were the priority, rather than casting a stick float or swim feeder. Both these chaps have fished a vast array of waters, but the Test still takes some beating. "It's so beautiful you almost feel like a poacher" confesses Chris.
At the start of the day had wondered whether the two would act like perfect gentlemen or whether the air would be full of banter and gamesmanship. It quickly poved to be the latter. "I taught that Bob James everything he knows" was Mr Tarrant's opening shot. Funny that, because I'm sure Bob swore exactly the same.

The day was a relaxed one for our anglers, a quietly frantic one for a writer aiming to capture everything from Bob's insights on river fishing to Tarrant's own love of the sport, from winter pike to far flung adventures overseas. Like me, he also spent a while as an English teacher, discovering that fishing was one of the few things to interest disaffected school boys. Talking of school boys, perhaps my abiding memory of the day will be these two trying to prod their hapless photographer with rod tips and grinning like they should know better:

The Test and it's carriers are full of history and this day was no exception. By one of the Test's many beautiful riverside houses we saw a great eel trap, where in better days for the species men would work well into the night knee deep in the creatures. More strange still, we found a communal outdoor toilet with three neighbourly seats all in one little room. I thought this sort of thing was mainly confined to the Westcountry? Fairly disturbing!

And amisdst all these distractions were beautiful dace and grayling, fine chub and some beautiful if accidental trout. I must say, Chris Tarrant held his own pretty capably on a day of many species and it was perhaps only Bob's late catch that won the day in the shape of a beautiful roach of well over two pounds. So, two stars, some truly idyllic waters and a fantastic catch; how's that for a day's fishing?

"Enigmatic Bastards"

2011-01-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest things of all about fishing is the friendships you make and the unscripted adventures that begin with pints of beer and shared enthusiasm. Having been made very welcome on the Severn in the past by Worcester anglers Jim Smith and Dicky Fisk, it was time to return the favour with a weekend of Westcountry pike fishing. The duo had certainly earned it after giving a cracking talk on Zander to the PAC boys rather deftly titled "Enigmatic Bastards".
I was especially keen to show the lads the Somerset Levels- if only for a view of the massive, beautiful open spaces and criss crossing, pike infested looking drains. Sadly much of the water was iced and the fishing was tough. We managed to winkle out a couple of jacks on slowly fished soft lures, but it was Dick Fisk who found the best method on the day, drifting roach deadbaits to land three nice pike including this fierce, finely marked double:

Truth be told though, this bitterly cold winter is beginning to grate a little. Exeter Canal has been typically tough, with yet another blank to add to the list. In fact, the main entertainment has come from the graffiti on view- or from the antics of that most splendidly enigmatic of all bastards, Mr Norbert Darby, skating his usual and perpetually thin line between genius and certified insanity. Who else, I ask you, could arrive on the bank with no lead weights but a couple of handy door stops in his tackle bag? Anyone who knows what use they might be, please do let me know:

Touting for Trout

2011-01-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

The rainbow trout of small lakes are easy fodder in the winter aren't they? Erm, no. Not always at least- throw in some ice, fluctuating temperatures and the reality of less frequent stock turnover and you suddenly get more challenging fishing. Not that there's anything wrong with a little more difficulty- and in fact this is preferable to the polar opposite scenario with stockies that jump on any fly in the box.
Bratton Water near Barnstaple is one of the more natural fisheries in any case- some fairly wily browns besides rainbows, plus a catch and release ticket available in winter spicing things up. Today was really a case of going through the card to find the right tactic. Mini lures are a real favourite when the going is tricky, for several reasons. The trout can easily take them whole, unlike the larger variants they're partial to nipping at rather than engulfing. Equally, the smaller fare can be presented slower, and in combination with a nymph if neccesary.
With half the lake still iced, options were limited. But after an initially poor spell, a move paid off with the sighting of a few cruising fish that soon followed small bright lures. Along with another caster, I enjoyed a hectic spell of hits and two nice rainbows landed and quickly released before the going slowed. Trout can be aggressive, yes but they're not plain stupid.

The ice began to recede slowly and the occasional rise was evident by lunch time and a balmy 8 degrees. The fish weren't chasing as hard, but were picking off something. A subtler approach worked, with buzzers or daiwl bachs working in tandem to pick off another few fish. Stand out pattern? Leon Guthrie's Satanic Buzzer, comfortably- time and again this is a fantastic little stillwater catcher, with just that extra something and worthy of far wider recognition- do either check out my "links" on the site, or google Leon Guthrie for more on this brilliant fly.

I'm also indebted to up and coming photographer James Callison for some excellent shots on a dour day. A good session then, but now I am feeling the effects of combining a week of early starts, late finishes, cold days and way too much activity: I feel as sick as a dog. Head ache, sore throat, a little feverish... in fact I'd best sign off before I drop off!

Shivering near Tiverton

2011-01-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Somewhere between biblical style flooding and hell freezing over, the hunt for further pike continues this odd winter. After a muddy blank on Exeter Canal, it was time to return to Tiverton Canal if only because I am an impatient so and so and this little water is more pikey than Bridgwater Services. I had hoped to grab a photographer too- but with a no show it was the plan B of self takes. Even so, with a brilliantly frosty, blue and hazy pink winter sky reflected on the water it was difficult not to make the place look appetising.

Sadly the pike didn't fancy the combination of murky water and freezing temperatures. Whilst there's no shame in struggling then, I do start to get fidgety and swear by a few tricks. The most obvious is to keep moving; when the pike aren't patrolling or active, new swims and frequent recasts definitely help. I also like to keep fresh baits however and chopping used offerings into a bloody mash helps to put down some scent and stave off despair and pnuemonia.

It's also well worth presenting baits differently here: even after a bitter winter, the place is still weed choked and I like to pop up a deadbait on one rod, whilst setting another bait shallow on a second outfit to gently drift (hopefully) into view of a pike or two. This way I can also watch one set up, whilst the neccessary evil of an alarm will warn me about any interest on the other rod.

Ian Nadin joined me later in the morning- and persuaded me to take a decent walk to another area after three biteless hours. A bloody good idea. In a lovely reeded length the indicator finally dropped and the line crept away. A welcome pike of around eight pounds was the culprit- and to prove our hunch that the fish were dormant the beast was festooned with leeches! Five minutes later, a pike that was almost identical save a little less fat also followed from the exact same area. Thank you pike!

Perching in the Rain

2011-01-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

A soggy Upton lakes on a sodden afternoon formed the setting for this weeks adventure. Hardly romantic, but this place has that definite perch aesthetic- shadowy corners, sunken snags and branches sticking out of the water. Russ Hilton joined me as we compared notes and tried very different tactics in the hope that between us we might contact something solid.

Russ kicked off with maggots and pole tactics, a reliable way to get bites from skimmers and roach as well as chunky perch here, whilst I fished larger worms on float tackle and set up a second rod to present small live or dead roach. "Compare and contrast" may have been the theme, but in actual fact match and specimen tactics can be combined nicely for perch and I always swear by plenty of "chop". It's free, it's easy to use and by heck does it draw in perch.

Perhaps the only drawback of worm is that it isn't so selective- even lobs catch small fish. Hence after a lukewarm start with just the odd skimmer I was keen to snaffle a couple of little roach to try. Casting these close to cover in a reasonable depth of water was the answer- three decent runs and two nice perch, one over the two pound mark which fought surprisingly well on light tackle.

I love big perch, even the real bruisers. They always have that look about them- like ageing heavyweight boxers, heads big enough to swallow kittens. Impressive more than pretty perhaps. Meanwhile Russell snared several perch and a couple of handsome pound plus samples on light tackle and I still believe that the light approach has its day too. Russ has had several two pounders here on maggots- and doubtless there is an even bigger monster waiting somewhere.

On a darker note, the worst part of my week was saying farewell to Hiram Garton (who most of you will simply know as "H") from Exeter Angling Centre, who passed away recently. All I can say is that we have lost a one off and a real gentleman in Hiram- a kind, ever helpful presence in the shop and it will be strange after all these years not to see him there and discuss flies and fishing tackle. Most of all I think I'll miss his anecdotes and lovely, dry wit and humour. Farewell H, you were one of a kind and we'll all miss you very much.

On the Test with Bob James

2011-01-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

This week's relentlessly wet weather could do little to take the gloss off an outing featuring one of Britain's most distinguished anglers on the banks of the celebrated River Test. It's a far cry from Tiverton Canal, that's for damned sure. Although better known for its outrageously fine (and bloody expensive) trout fishing, this historic river and its carrier streams are also home to some cracking coarse fish, with roach a real passion for Bob.

Besides my own presence on the bank, Mr James was also being filmed for part of a new series which sees him tackle a succession of idyllic locations. So much for pressure though- in spite of the dreary, tricky conditions his experience and humour shone through the drizzle.

Inevitably for the Test, trout crashed the party at times. But eventually Bob connected with some flawless grayling, as well as fit dace and chub. But where were those roach? It wasn't for any lack of technique. Bob is in his element trotting a stick float, putting a new Hardy Marksman rod and 4" Centrepin through their paces (well, you didn't expect Bob to get his tackle from Argos did you?).

I certainly learned a great simply by observing. In fact, I believe that if I can impart even half of my own lesson here into some forthcoming material, I'm sure it'll be a gem for river anglers. In between shooting I even managed to do some trotting myself; the fish here are beautiful and a juicy chub was perhaps the highlight from the sort of swim I usually only dream about.

Back to centre stage however, the roach were playing hard to get. A move to the main River Test saw greater success with Bob's target species, simply beautiful roach of bright silver and impossibly red fins. And as for the finer points, well you'll just have to wait for the feature!

In several hours of rain I got the devils own soaking but still enjoyed every minute in Bob's company on a river that stirs the heart even in the doldrums of winter. Something to fill my daydreams perhaps next time I'm stuck in traffic on the "as seen in Crimestoppers" side of Exeter.

Minus Severn

2010-12-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

As I type this the last of the snow is melting tonight, the crisp white giving way to that greying, mushy hangover snow. What a few weeks it has been; forget "extreme fishing" on TV, Bridgwater recently resembled Siberia. And yet we ("we" meaning probably just a handful of fishing masochists) continue to fish. Most lately the Severn has been calling, but quite incredibly even this great river was largely frozen solid.

Regardless of the bitter cold, Norbert Darby still managed to get a bite and land a fit ten pounder. Otherwise the highlight was not the fishing by a long chalk, but celebrating Jim Smith's 40th with beer, curry and good company.

The Somerset Levels (above) have also provided passable fishing on all but the bitterest of days however with several stretches of the Tone offering at least the possibility of pike. Certainly beautiful in the snow, and trotting small deadbaits is a lovely way to fish. If nothing else though, winter fishing makes you remember the fundamentals of fishing and that on some days to catch anything at all is an achievement.

Hope all new and old blog followers had a good Christmas break and have a great 2011. Mine is looking stupidly busy, but I am already excited. Do also take a look for this weeks Angling Times where you'll find my musings on the crusty gem which is Tiverton and its beautiful canal. Proper writing and not my usual rushed blog. No 20lb pike here but a walk down the towpath of small town madness, count your fingers, lock up your daughters and avoid anything on the hot food counter of that strange little garage at the end of town...

The Good, the Bad and the PAC

2010-12-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

Some good news and bad news this week. But I'm afraid I must start with the bad. Whether anglers like it or not, the places we love best and the fish populations we take so much care to maintain are never left alone for long. Two current threats are very much to the fore at present in Devon- but also nation wide.
So what has a picture of the Exe in its summer prime (above) got to do with this? Well, perhaps it illustrates exactly what we must fight to protect. Hydro Power is the biggest menace to our rivers for many years in my opinion. Without consulting anglers at grass roots level, the EA is busy pushing through new plans via the back door. Bad news, because case studies show clearly that even the most carefully implemented hydro plants alter habitats significantly- they reduce flows in key areas, damage fish and ruin key angling areas such as weir pools. In fact, what is rolled out as "Green Energy" is actually nothing of the sort. The threat is ominous- "No salmon in the Exe within ten years" according to one expert. But coarse fish are equally threatened. I am currently gathering facts for the national press on this, but all of us can act in several ways: 1. contact the EA and let them know how you feel ( email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk) 2.Back the Angling Trust (www.anglingtrust.net)
3. Write to your MP (Ben Bradshaw for Exeter), local wildlife groups and any other interested parties. This is a fight where we have many allies if we get off our backsides!

The second worring issue is poaching- with pike in particular at threat. And again, non-action is not an option. Nightlines are cropping up again and information is key- take down details of any dodgy individuals with times, facts and even vehicle reg's. Don't grumble, act: The EA have a 24hr hotline on: EA 24hr Hotline number = 0800807060 It only needs one or two convictions and the message will quickly get out to these criminals (and there's no other word for them).
On a lighter note however, everyone is welcome to the Xmas PAC meet this Friday at The Barge, Halberton for 7 30pm. Not only do we have a cracking film screening (Dean Burman's seminal pike film "Lair of the Waterwolf" and a signed copy to win) there is also the lure of our monthly prize draw and a Christmas tackle sale- sure to include some tasty pike gear as well as other excellent kit. A buffet and the pubs usual selection of top tipples should ensure a great evening! See the Devon PAC blog for more info: http://devonpac.blogspot.com/

A Lucky 13th

2010-12-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

Does it ever get too cold to catch pike? In the Westcountry at least, I'm beginning to suspect the answer is a big fat no. It began as a day of bleak weather and fairly slim expectations for a crack at the Somerset Levels with Seb Nowosiad- but to our delight, the pessimism was misplaced. After a painfully slow start fishing between ice patches on the Bridgwater-Taunton Canal, we took a bit of a mystery tour to locate some more likely and less ice-covered water in the heart of the Levels.
A sound move as it turned out- sick of watching a motionless float, I switched to the fly rod and quickly received a pulverising bite. And it was no flash in the pan either. In spite of the freezing fog and -3C temperature, the fish seemed to be feeding well. Indeed, the next jack even coughed up a little roach as evidence! The pike responded best to bright patterns however-in particular those with weighted heads which I could present just off the bottom.

But what of the deadbaiting? Well, Seb got quality rather than quantity here, just one bite but a terrific, beautifully conditioned pike of 16lbs 4oz for sticking at it. A suspended smelt did the trick gently drifted under a float, a very underrated method on so much of the Levels.

I'm starting to think the text book should be thrown away entirely for winter piking. The fish took fly patterns and lures with gusto on our sub zero adventure today, and far from being sleepy in the cold they all fought excellently well on light tackle. Seb eventually switched to lures to catch another three jacks and by the end of play we had a dozen pike between us. By around three we'd had our fill- it had got to the balmy heaights of 0.5C and still so foggy it looked more like seven in the morning. Worth every chilly minute though.

Sunday Service

2010-12-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

When ice strikes just about everywhere, the only real option is flowing water. And where better than the River Culm on a misty morning? I should visit this pretty river more often. The pike aren't big, but they're beautifully wild here, just like the river itself. And in the midst of grabbing more feature material it's always a real pleasure to go purely in search of some fun- just one rod, a few basics and a lengthy stroll along a quiet bank with a couple of friends.

Sadly the stirring beauty of the Culm wasn't matched by any dramatic fishing. One tentative bite was the sum total of our efforts, a lean four pounder briefly breaking the stillness of the river. No need for overkill with tackle here and I am very much enjoying Greys 11' Prowla deadbait rod- finally, a blank geared not towards shark taming but simply getting a good bend on "fun sized" pike waters!

As the mist cleared and the Culm produced no further bites we then decided the Exe was worth a look, heading for the town. A dead pike in the margins provided a sorry sight to greet our arrival- and further evidence perhaps of why I continue to bailiff for Exeter AA. Good to see therefore that those we met on the day were well geared up with unhooking mats to deal with this dodgy, concrete environment.
On some days you have to remind yourself there's actually life in these waters- and today it took several moves to buy a bite, Russ Hilton connecting with a lazy bite to tame a nice city pike of just under seven pounds.

On a final note I'm also delighted to announce the next T-shirt design destined for sale very soon. Some of you will recognise the inspiration- a real stiff upper lip type statement for the recession angler! Do have a peek at the site for more options, plus some other late additions (www.dgfishing.co.uk)

Flies and Ice on the Severn

2010-11-29T02:46:00.000-08:00

The temperature having turned from "brrr it's a bit cold" to "sodding freezing", the classic advise usually suggests that fishing is a bad idea. But is it really so? Admittedly, you might have to change plans- and in my case, a trip to Rutland quickly became an impossibility. Cue a hastily planned gamble on the River Severn.
Desperately cold, yes, but the river still looked tempting and clear enough to fly fish, a fact soon confirmed by one or two pulls on a deeply worked baitfish pattern. Pike were first to arrive- followed by perch and zander. Not hectic fishing, but rewarding enough and perhaps fly fishing is not so mad on a freezing river after all?

The slow, subtle presentation of a fly proved especially useful for the pike, with one slack area producing an almighty "thunk" on the fly line. Curious fighters these winter pike- slow, heavy pressure at first, before a real surge of power as they wake up and really take offence.

The fish was immensely long for its weight- and another of similar size came adrift the next day. All the fish were tempted on a fast intermediate line, using flies tied with dumbell eyes to fish point upwards best to search deep, snaggy areas. With the temperature ducking right down to -4C it was necessary to keep clearing the ice from rod rings- credit also to Russ Hilton who soldiered on too, catching his first ever zander in the process. Local knowledge was also important however- and we owe a big thanks to Jim Smith, a real gentleman, not to mention a passionate and highly knowledgable predator angler. By the by, Jim will also be at our monthly Pike Anglers Club meet in January to give a talk.

The Fens on a Fly Rod

2010-11-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

A visit to the Fens is something of a pilgrimage to anyone who fishes for pike and zander: miles of reedy channels, wild waters and bumpy roads. A region not unlike Somerset in fact- buckets of fishy looking drains, heavily rustic and "flat as piss on a plate" as Ian Nadin would put it. Fishing heaven.
After more than two hundred mile on the road, five star food and accomodation were definitely not on the cards. In fact, where better to begin than by stoking the fires with a cholesterol heavy breakfast at notorious Green Welly Cafe- a place as likely to win a healthy eating award as George W Bush is to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.

My host for a roving adventure was Nigel Savage, Rutland warden and a real predator fly fishing fanatic to boot. Also enjoying the fresh air was his faithful terrier Bonnie- who carried out her own hunt nosing into the bank for voles. Hopping from drain to drain, we were quickly met by panicking roach and several snappy, lairy pike. Whilst the zander didn't show, the jacks gave some real kamikaze hits on the fly and a chance for me to capture some of the action on camera.

It's always interesting to compare notes with another keen angler- but especially someone who puts a good deal of thought into their fishing. Nigel believes in retrieving a good sized fly fairly slowly, whilst really shaking the rod tip to make his fly literally dance like a thing possessed at the end of each retrieve.

As on most drains, the key area seemed to be the shelf on each bank, a fly allowed to drop and flutter across the slope liable to be smashed. The pike simply couldn't resist and whilst no monsters showed up a good few fish came our way, to around the six pound mark.

At nightfall we then retreated to a country Inn for a beer in one of those old buildings where walls, floors and the rest have shifted so much over time that you wonder exactly what you've been drinking. You also couldn't fail to notice the Fen monster above the fire place- a goulish, stretch-your-arms-really-sodding-wide, 36 pound beast from yesteryear.

Back on the prowl the following morning we searched high and low for zander to no avail, although it was a fascinating crash course in presenting a fly for this elusive species. Nigel has caught some cracking fish on his own patterns, including some landed well into darkness. This time they just wouldn't comply though and I got the feeling that if he couldn't contact one, nobody would. It was a long drive back to Devon, a little heavy hearted to be leaving such a wonderful place. Effort doesn't always equal rewards however- such are life and fishing I guess.

On a brighter note though, we had some fun at the Devon PAC match. It was a low turnout with a measly five of us on a cold and clear Tiverton Canal. I had rather fancied lure maniac and LAS man Paul Honey aka "Shrek" (below) to grab the honours with his wiggling, wobbling and diving collection of artificials.

His single hard won jack (plus a mysterious scale on another cast!) was enough to claim second place. I was the one feeling smug however, as my smallish colourful flies tamed three pike for just over four pounds. Whilst some days the vibration of lures helps, it seems that the fly can be just the ticket when its cold and the pike are tricky. Small fish then, but very welcome.

ZAP! -Trout on the Tazer

2010-11-17T04:34:00.000-08:00

Fly tyers truly will try anything to make a deadlier fly pattern, but how exactly does a tazer gun figure in all of this? It's possibly not what you think (ie passing a current through the lake!). The true answer lies with tying instructor and guide Chris Reeves, who spotted the potential in the colourful wire discarded in Police training exercises from the guns. The plan is a little stroke of genius. Not only do you have an attractive fly material, it also recycles waste and all the proceeds from sales will be going to the "Fishing for Heroes" charity."

Autumn colours were still in the trees on our session at the ever cute Bellbrook Valley Fishery. A real cold snap did little for the fishing however and it was a struggle to get bites for much of the day, rainwater having added colour into the bargain. Nevertheless, the trout did manage to pick out a tazer bug- I had fancied the louder, more "elecrifying" finishes (the reflectiveness gives neat effects with different thread colours and the wire also comes in blue), but Chris caught on the smallish, dark bugs. As per usual, these Bellbrook fish were a cracking quality, full tailed and well marked. A sure sign that they've adjusted well to life in these pretty, matured lakes- not just flooded in to be hoiked out next day. More challenging, but worth the effort I'd say.

For a fuller account of this interesting material (which also makes neat Grayling bugs I'm told) you'll just have to wait for the feature in Total Flyfisher. But in the meantime- Chris has a site where you can buy the wire and also support "Fishing for Heroes": www.fishingclass.co.uk

November Highs, November Lows

2010-11-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

I once might have laughed at the idea, but it's now a reality. I have become a sponsored angler. A difficult decision? Well, yes and no. An easy decision because Hardy Greys make tackle I already use, abuse and love. But perhaps the thornier concern for me was simply the need to continue freely as a writer, not a sales hack. Hence it was even more important to be with a more traditional company, in the case of Hardy Greys an organisation who actively shun the in your face approach to sales.
So what does all this mean? Am I about to get rich? No. Am I proud to be associated with the company? Yes, very. Does this change what I write? Not much. Do I want to become a celebrity angler? Well, the concept itself is about as daft as a celebrity gardener, like a kind of showbusiness for people with grubby finger nails. And besides, angling needs writers, not egos. It needs people who can conjure up stories about the sport, not just their own ambition. People to put into fresh words that happy madness called fishing.
This is what fires me on- not simply the "how to" of the matter but those thousand and one mysterious corners nobody casts a line into. Like the Devon park ranger using roadkill as catfish bait. Like Mr Leon Guthrie, the world's maddest fly tying genius, born with six fingers on each hand. Like Dean Burman, the filmmaker who swims with pike. Like Mr Norbert Darby, fishing muse and once owner of Britain's shabbiest white fishing van. When the sport is this rich, do we really need another hundred articles on branded carp rigs?
Of course, the simple pleasure and learning process of going fishing are often enough and there are plenty of less leftfield stories also to be written. Pike are a current winter focus for material- but the going has been slow to desperate of late on the Cotswold Water Park. Properly cold last night. Freeze your landing net solid cold. Wake up so cold your face doesn't work cold. After lures failed to trigger a response, deadbaits presented in deeper holes proved equally slow. So much for the big time eh? A long, biteless night- although there's really something to be said for a fried breakfast on the bank. One of those cold, bright phases though- better for pictures than for pike! A beautiful, stirring place nonetheless.

Another place to dispel any notions of glamour was Tiverton AC's annual meeting. In the upstairs of the local Tory club we debated the latest issues with Maggie Thatcher's evil portrait gazing down on us. We tried anyway- there was loud karaoke on downstairs and some idiot was busy murdering the Sinatra songbook ("He aint gonna make the x-factor, izzem?" was the local verdict). On a positive note though, Ian Nadin and myself are proud to have introduced the first ever set of pike rules for the club, insisting on proper kit and safe handling.

Murder on the Cut

2010-11-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

Since getting hold of some eye catching materials at the fly fair, tying up and testing some fresh fly patterns has been the weekend challenge. Perch and pike have been on my mind, a fist full of loud, scaled up lures a must to try for predators on the Taunton to Bridgwater Canal.
Exactly how important is colour? It's hard to say, but on slow days I do like some bright or unusual choices, which I'm convinced can provoke an aggressive reaction from pike even when they're not on the feed. Smaller, subtler designs certainly didn't seem very productive on a cold Sunday morning and with the perch were conspicuous by their absence I switched to bold, provocative pike flies. A wise (or lucky) move it proved, as a good fish soon lunged wildly from the depths to intercept the offending fly:

The fish plunged away hard on an eight weight set up, an angry, rolling and thrashing performance. She was scarcely better behaved on the mat, still unwilling to give up the argument as the barbless hook came out. A lovely low double, fit and fiery.
Aside from the odd follow however, little else materialised for myself or indeed Seb Nowosiad fishing his trademark Polish jigs- just a couple of little jacks and a greedy perch taken from the locks. Hard work then, but worth a long walk for those few moments of adrenaline.

Boldly Does it

2010-11-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

With wetter autumn and winter weather, the aquarium clear water loved by trout fishers can quickly become muddier. In fact, with virtually all of our small stillwaters stream fed, this is not so much a possibility as inevitable. So what can you do, other than give it up as a bad deal?

The obvious answer is to give the fish something they can't miss. And with this end in mind, I've been field testing patterns with plenty of colour and disturbance value at Goodiford Mill- a venue which is often a little coloured hence a fair testing ground. At least the fish have been cruising the upper layers, where I always feel your chances are better than deeper down in the murk. Some tricky fishing was anticipated, but in actual fact the going proved pretty hectic with large lures- a good pull and a healthy dose of colour too much for the rainbows to resist.

For the sake of experimentation I also tried duller hues and even small nymphs. The results spoke for themselves; still the odd touch, yes, but nothing like the frequency or sheer violence of hits on those larger, altogether uglier flies. Motion comes into it too though, I'm sure, with materials like rabbit strip or rubber legs greatly aiding the trout in locating the fly. Finding the clearer corners of the lake also helped- but perhaps some extra muddiness in the water isn't such a crisis after all?

Meanwhile, I've also been chasing perch at Luccombes, with mixed results. Something like forty perch came my way to chopped worm, but absolutely nothing over about half a pound. Even whole lobs and even small deadbaits didn't gain a bigger surprise- but such is perch fishing. Amazing how the better fish can disappear, even in the smallest pond. Hopefully the best is to come and at least when it cools down properly you know pretty damn well they'll be slap bang in the deepest water.

Fair of a Thousand Flies

2010-10-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

Is there any event which shows the brilliant, diverse creativity of the art of fly tying as well as the British Fly Fair International? I very much doubt it. So much for this being a "niche" hobby- the fair has everything from rare traditional materials to modern synthetics, magnum to micro sized flies, not to mention a fantastic cast of international tyers.

What strikes you is the unique vision of each tyer and yet this is very much an event about sharing ideas, of being surprised and feeling inspired. And from a writer's angle there are countless strange and fascinating tangents to be explored here.

Perhaps we should begin with a tip of the hat to tradition however- I'm always staggered by the craftsmanship and beauty of the work on display such as Jörg Schuft's classic salmon fly pictured above. Just as fishing is about far more than catching fish the same can be said of fly tying- in this case elevated to pure art. In truth though the lines of practicality and aesthetics often blur- and an event like the BFFI is all about originality- sometimes useful, sometimes audacious. Here is Bulgarian tyer Stoyan Filipov's imaginative take on the life cycle of the frog- cute:

In my opinion, fly tying has never been a broader church. Definitely something to be celebrated whilst other branches of fishing become more and more predictable and coldly efficient. To take two ends of the fly fishing spectrum, we have hulking great pike flies and the tiniest trout flies- both are beautifully made, both have their place. Riny Sluiter of the Netherlands provides the "kingsize" snack below,
In the "fun size" category right at the other end however, small is most definitely beautiful for Andrew Baird with some delectable, tiny flies (his blog www.smallflyfunk.blogspot.com is also well worth a look):

Of course, besides the tyers themselves, the fly fair is also an unrivalled place for new and rare materials. Cookshill (check my links) are first choice for rarities and I couldn't resist taking notes on some of their weirder requests. How do you fancy polar bear fibres or condor? Parakeet is another current special- these birds are pests in London currently and some individuals have been using green fairy liquid bottles as decoys to lure them in! On the stall itself I rather liked the look of these rare Argus Pheasant wings- but at £50 maybe not eh?:

Perhaps the real surprise material for this year however was the Taser wire Caroline Emmet was using to make some cute bugs. No, I'm not losing it- the wire really does come from Taser gun wire used in training exercises. Better still, if you buy some all the proceeds go to the "Fishing for Heroes" charity to aid our ex-services people in need. With different plastic coatings this produces some interesting effects and attractive finishes ( see www.fishingclass.co.uk / www.fishingforheroes.net):

Another place of surprises, Chris Sandford's angling collectibles and antiques are always worth a look and another welcome surprise was meeting Bob James. Whilst some folks need a dodgy joke to get them grinning, these chaps were jovial enough already:

I always have a daft question or two for Chris regarding his curiosities- among which were various bugs and creature style flies and lures made from cork, fur and goodness knows what else, along with more traditional classics. Curiously, unlike the flies bought loose in todays tackle shops, patterns were once commonly sold in lots already tied to gut:

After a long day and a real tour around all the corners of the show, I just about had time to get those items of tackle on my list- odds and ends I hope will spice up my winter predator flies as well trout patterns. In the nick of time really- closing time sounded and I was absolutely knackered. Spare a thought for Keith Passant however (below), who will have (just about) completed a 24 hour tie-a-thon by the time this blog reaches you. Except that he forgot about the changing clocks and so it becomes a 25 hour session! All in the aid of another excellent cause- "Casting for Recovery" which reaches out to breast cancer sufferers and really demonstrates both the generosity as well as the theraputic value of our sport (www.castingforrecovery.org.uk).

Footloose Fishing

2010-10-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

Whilst the public cliche of angling is of a dull, static occupation, nothing could be further from the strereotype than lure fishing. Miles of bankside covered, albeit not a lot to show for it of late- or am I being miserly? Perch and jack pike are usually pretty obliging on canals (Grand Western and a return to the Kennet and Avon recently), and what beautiful settings these are in autumn. In truth I'm quite happy walking and casting whatever the outcome- at least this way there's no wrestling with yourself over whether you picked the right spot in several miles of water.

Otherwise, night fishing has been the main option- if only to fit around work. Angling experts always tell us about the best conditions but lets face it, for the vast majority our fishing is dictated by where and when we get the chance. Even if that means at night. In the middle of the city. With creeps. With teen boozers falling down a grass bank. With assorted crud floating past. With a pissed bloke in a gym slip asking "what are you doing here?"- a question he should probably be asking himself. No pike sadly. Just other wild animals, although Rob Darby and myself are convinced that somewhere in these concrete waters lies a big surprise.

Lured to Reading/Monster chub!

2010-10-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

As a bit of a canal fishing addict, I always look forward to trying a new length of cut. A long walk with Seb Nowosiad was the plan, with the aim of fishing ultra light lures and searching as much water as humanly possible along the Kennet and Avon canal not far from Reading. Little did we know the surprise we were in for!

We set off early on Sunday. Very early, eschewing sleep in favour of an early hours drive to our destination. Weird places passed at strange hours in search of a coffee-I wonder if anyone else has noticed that the winding trails of the Newbury McDonalds car park resemble the inner circles of hell itself, complete with spaced out freaks walking about with no shoes on. Makes us look relatively normal.
Blackness covered the water for a while- torch light on the water revealed what allegeddly makes the chub and perch grow big here; crayfish! The canal was beautiful at first light though. Trout streams and estate lakes are always more celebrated, but is there anything more beautifully English than a canal? We cast amongst narrow boats and cover, keeping mobile but all we found early on was a small perch. The beauty of fishing small lures however is that you just never know what you might hook next. What Seb first thought was a reasonable pike suddenly emerged as an incredible, huge headed chub!

It was an ancient looking chub- more awesome than pretty, with one or two old scars. I knew it was big, but never expected an insane 6lb 15oz registering after we had carefully checked the reading! We were both absolutely gobsmacked- it was immensely long, its huge mouth having intercepted Seb's lure (a small Kopyto "Relax" shad) with an almighty bang. An incredible, special capture- lucky perhaps, but there is nothing lucky about the way Seb astutely works a small jig. Man alive what a chub! Perhaps it isn't such a miracle however- the water here is thick with bleak in places.
Bizarrely it was otherwise a tricky days fishing and we couldn't believe the lack of action given just how fishy the water looked. A very cold night and bright, sunny conditions didn't help and it was getting dark by the time I finally managed to connect with a couple of pike:

A Night on the Town

2010-10-09T03:53:00.000-07:00

Traffic hissing, dead leaves drifting. Boozed up yobs braying and the river licking past like black diesel: such are the strange sensations of friday night on the Exe slap bang in the city centre. There's probably a reason few people tend to fish here-and I was glad to be in the company of Rob Darby for a few hours piking.
If nothing else, the town sections are well lit; just as well as we left it late, rushing to the bank as the day gave out. With my last deadbaiting session way back in March, it had been a case of scrambling through various gear to tackle up for the evening. Quickly grabbed were some mackerel, wire traces and a tin of bitter for good measure.
For perhaps two and a half hours nothing happened, save odd twitches which were probably small eels. We avoided eye contact with one or two groups of young boozers and some truly idiotic comments from local neanderthals- but such is fishing in the city centre. Hence the obvious need to keep a low profile. Finally though, my pike float wavered amongst the dead leaves before sneaking under and away. The fish did little until it neared the bank- then suddenly taking offence and making the reel groan. A lovely pike to kick off the season, long and looking well fed:

Safety issues aside, a two man operation also made for much easier handling and a swift release after one or two snaps. A fine result after all those obligatory "you won't catch nuffink there" comments earlier on. The only other encounter of the evening was with a retired gent who told us about his salmon fishing and shooting exploits whilst using more foul language than the townies themselves in the process!
Urban, it might be then, but the Exe proved more productive than my other trip for the week, to Creedy in search of carp. Clear conditions didn't help- but I really did fancy some kind of action by fishing maggots and bread in subtle fashion. I like to go lighter here- the carp are so accustomed to boilies and bolt rigs and yet I always seem to catch more on bread and scaled down tackle.

Paul Hamilton also drew a blank for the carp, unusual for him here, as did the whole lake aside from one very small common. An hour of trying into darkness only yielded an eel to Paul's lobworm. Frustrating stuff- although a good deal safer than tackling the town.

Strange Quarries

2010-10-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Two unlikely recent leads of late. Both a bit of a longshot, if I'm honest. But I do love following up accidental clues- whether it's old cuttings, local rumours or simply that little water you drive past by chance. The first trial has been, quite literally, the pursuit of a strange quarry. A flooded quarry, to be exact, along the backroads of mid Devon. What might you find here? I had only the vaguest idea. With quite imposing depths even close in, I was glad to have brought a 6m float rod- a really useful tool for awkward waters. Typically, with the trout season just over, the first fish to take a maggot hookbait was a brown trout. All head and no finesse this one:

The shady banks looked tempting all around- but the next surprise was the less welcome sight of around two dozen canoeists. Oh Jackson Pollocks! I had to wrestle with myself to keep well mannered as my swim was churned up by flailing paddles and splashing kids. Non anglers just don't get how easily fish are spooked- as I'm sure most of you already know! When things had settled down however, a few more bites arrived and a pair of supremely dozy bream capped off a more peaceful end to the day:

Tenuous lead number two has been the pursuit of barbel in the tributaries of the River Exe. Whilst he adult fish are small in number according to local sources, small barbel are becoming a more frequent capture throughout the system. Russell Hilton joined me on a very muddy River Culm to take up the challenge as we tried meat, worms and other baits in the coloured water. Encouragingly, Russ took two little 6-8oz "barbelettes" not far from here this summer. Are these invaders breeding?

We moved onto the Creedy with a similar lack of any action- not even a dace come to think of it. So where are these Devon barbel? The trail quickly gets as murky as the rain swollen river itself. When the rain stopped however, I was surprised by just how mild the day was and just how many mini beasts were on the banks. An hour or so with a macro lens proved a good deal more entertaining than the fishing in the end. Sort of in my blood this kind of thing- my grandfather ran a microscope company in Manchester many years back and I spent a lot of my childhood looking at bugs and all manner of oddities from blood cells to bee stings at extreme close range. Here's a rather handsome grasshopper from the river bank. What a poser! He was even well behaved enough to let me set up a tripod and get right up to him:

Surprises on a fly rod

2010-09-28T02:44:00.000-07:00

The end of the trout season is very much looming, but there are plenty of other reasons I just can't put down the fly rod currently. Indeed, I'm beginning to think that the fly is a lot more versatile than many would believe. An ultra light session on the Bridgewater to Taunton canal proved a real safari with Seb and two local bailiffs. The lads chose lures, and the initial aim was pike- but with so many other species showing I soon got "distracted". First up were some lovely rudd.

My tackle was rather heavy for these, so after spooking a few I tried a much longer leader with better success. I only had a few small flies, but emergers seem to work very well- if the fish take off the top, fantastic, but if not then it's just a little tweak and you have a sinking fly. And it was this tactic which also snared a real bonus in the form of a tench!

This fish had been spotted cruising around the near side. I still had the emerger on, but again cast well ahead of the fish and gave this a healthy pull to sink it. A little twitch as the fish approached and the tench homed in, before to my surprise he hovered right over the fly and gobbled it up without a second thought. A quick strike and it was on- rather hairy on rudd tackle and just as well it was a small one. A crazy catch then- and I also added roach and a jack pike, and hooked and lost another nice rudd on a small streamer! The lure anglers had no pike, but completed a real A-Z of canal fish with some flawless perch- just look at those autumn colours:

What a crazy day- definitely in the "you couldn't make it up" category! The fish were great, but I think we may have been over optimistic judging by the landing net size- although the head bailiff's daughter made a very cute ghillie:

The trout season also ended on a high at Roadford with a short, breezy session after browns. The margins were a little wind- churned, but just beyond the colour line were plenty of trout, all more than willing to snatch a small dark fly. A zulu or cruncher seemed to work best, whilst some little perch also showed up to small lures.

After all the fun and games however, a day on Chew proved less successful. After several hours with no sign of pike, we switched to trout. It was one of those sessions however- lots of buzzers coming off the water but surprisingly fussy trout. Dries earned a few takes in the end but it was a tale of hooked two lost two. With such a dry summer you can also see just how low our lakes are, and perhaps some decent rain wouldn't hurt (be careful what you wish for Dominic!):

Autumn leaves and ale

2010-09-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

With the T-shirt weather fast disappearing recent fishing has been consistently, erm, inconsistent. It's as if the fish are equally unsure which stage of the year it is. But in the meantime the focus has been on getting material and pictures ready. Behind the finished product you see in the pages of magazines lies a very different story- the care and fuss over a ton of shots taken to bring the stories to life and often to try and make humdrum technical and tackle pictures somewhat sexier, in this case for Julian Chidgey with both carp and pike in mind:

Perhaps the easiest way to get more interesting pictures is with a completely fresh angle, which often means getting up to your armpits in the drink! Soggy elbows aside, the results are usually well worth the bother and I always like pictures of fish being carefully returned as well as the typical catch shots:

My own fishing has been tricky however. I intend to target more zander waters this year- but with none in Devon my latest long haul trip was to the Gloucester Canal with Seb Nowosiad. Tricky one this. Zander like coloured water, but too coloured is crap for fly flinging. Even some prototype rattling flies didn't score- although some cute perch brightened up a very long walk. It was a similar story closer to home on Exeter Canal too- some game perch, not a great deal else. There's always Double Locks pub when the going is slow I guess. Sometimes I wonder whether fellow fishing reprobates Ian Nadin and Rob Darby just use fishing as an alibi to get to the ale:

Time Flies

2010-09-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

If I had to choose just one species of fish on one method... I couldn't do it and would probably just go mad. It's impossible. There simply isn't the time for even half the fishing I would love to try. Given a choice however, I'd say that a fly rod is about as much fun as it gets.

No military preparation or ton of tackle required- just simple kit and a bit of thought. With just a little scrap of summer left I've been back on the coarse species- first of all carp. Yes, they take dog biscuit type flies. But I'm more intrigued by using snails and other natural patterns:

Are they as efficient? Probably not. But the process is somehow more rewarding. Both Millhayes and Padbrook Park have proved good fun in the last few weeks.

Better value still is the canal, where roach and rudd continue to provide great sport on dry flies. Some days the wets work better- but lately little parachute style emergers are even more effective. A light tippet is a must though(2lb or so), for this approach which is surprisingly selective. A small fly landed gently, just in front of but not too close to a moving fish, is often taken without hesitation. The art is in making it look like something edible has just dropped in the drink. Again, it's not brutally efficient but a lovely way to pick off some nice fish:

These leisurely little sessions are great, but bigger excursions have also been calling in the desperate push to get features covered. A bit of a discovery this week too- you would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful small stillwater than Tinhay Lake (below), near the famous Arundell Arms hotel.

The grown on rainbows at this flooded quarry are fantastic fish- stupendously fit and fresh looking. Even better, the way to get them is often with emerger buzzers and dries. Local guide and former angling Editor Tim Smith was a great help in taking some shots and also passing on his intimate knowledge of this cracking water. Long, degreased leaders were a must on a calm day after fussy fish. We managed some smaller but nonetheless stunning rainbows, but my most vivid memory of the day remains a lost fish that sprinted an outrageous thirty yards across the lake, taking me into the backing in jaw dropping style before coming adrift. So much for the cliches of trout fishing as a sedate pastime! The Arundell Arms is well worth a call- the lake is booking only, but well worth a visit (www.arundellarms.com). Look out for the feature this autumn in Total Flyfisher. A big thanks to Tim for taking some pictures and being so helpful- as you can see below, you won't find finer looking rainbows anywhere in the Westcountry:

Less sedate is perhaps my most unlikely recent haunt, the urban River Exe, the subject of my Angling Times story this week. Empty tinnies and concrete... but also leaping salmon and some surprisingly rewarding fishing for a whole range of species. Exeter based reprobates will recognise the spot instantly (and probably steer well clear!):

A Day on the Dart

2010-09-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Besides its meandering tourists and centuries of strange history, Dartmoor is also home to some of the most perfect little streams on the planet. I simply love it here- its beauty isn't the twee, picture book type but a wholly more stark, rough cut variety. Cold, twisting rivers fringed by boulders, bogs and barbed wire. Real country.
Andrew Pym joined me today to capture the mood- although starting out in the fog at Two Bridges, you could scarcely make out the other side of the river let alone any rising fish. Prospecting with a small hares ear or spider was the way forward, several cracking little brownies striking at a wet fly.

Slowly but surely, the mist cleared and we moved on to an even smaller stream, Cherry Brook, also now on the Westcountry Angling Passport scheme:

This is extreme close quarters fishing on a waterway often no wider than a fly rod, a case of creeping as close as you dare and dropping a dry fly into the brook to resemble an insect that just tumbled off the heath. Dynamite! Many splashy takes were hit and missed in what proved to be a fun challenge with these vividly coloured, wilder than wild trout, some very diddy but all stunningly marked.

One more stop was in order before calling time, this time on the East Dart at Post Bridge, where you can pick up a fishing ticket at the post office and get straight into the river. No need for wet flies or fancy tactics here- just more wild browns than you can shake a stick (or fly rod) at. They kick, they jump- they slash at anything small and dark. Indeed, when fishing is this much fun size really isn't everything. Credit also due to Andrew for wading through the boulders with an expensive camera- brave man!

Black Clouds & Rainbows

2010-08-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

Next time you go fishing, just ignore those little symbols on the forecast. Reality check: they can't predict the weather. The Met Office may as well try stroking crystals, consult the dead or go through some tea leaves. A beter solution is just to be prepared and remain philiosophical, as was the case for trip to Hawkridge Reservoir.
Does poor weather make for any fishing better than blistering heat? Often not and high winds make it harder to present flies properly. Even so, amongst the waves there was the occasional sign of activity. Having expected lures and the dreaded (but useful) blob to be the most realistic way of buying a take or two, the reverse proved accurate. No pulls on the bright stuff, so using as long a leader as I dared, on went the buzzers and crunchers. After an initially dead two hours a fish moved within casting range, the fly line quickly drawing away as a cruncher was taken on the drop.

It was real a baptism of fire for Seb Nowosiad- high winds and a choppy boat do not make ideal conditions for a first serious crack at fly fishing. At one point we simply had to get on land and shelter as the rain pelted down. As we soldiered on some signs were positive, however, such as odd rises and grebes working the edges for fry. Bizarely the weather then turned fairly pleasant and in the early evening calm I could finally get away with a 20ft leader and present my nymphs more convincingly to the odd feeding trout.
The shallow far end also looked more alive with a few sporadic insects coming off and two more rainbows arrived, one to a smallish buzzer and the last and best at two and a half pounds on the cruncher. Hard work, but worth persisting.

Otherwise it was my pleasure to take a fellow angler out for a first taste of wild river fishing. Water levels were too high in many places so we resorted to the high ground and clearer conditions of Dartmoor, now fishable on the Westcountry Angling Passport (www.westcountryangling.com) for £10 a day.
The moor is simply beautiful and what a place to cast for trout. Alec Bellington took three wild brownies after a few pointers, each one possessing that raw cut beauty unique to these moorland trout. The areas of stream where the flow is concentrated and rushes through a little "bottleneck" were especially tempting. Did you ever see a trout as dark as this?:

The Lure of River Trout

2010-08-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

A slightly different way to tackle some Culm trout lately, I sometimes like to swap the fly rod for an ultra light lure outfit. I'm certainly not one to get sniffy about methods- indeed, light lure fishing has quite a lot in common with fly fishing: it's just as visual, just as mobile and often just as much fun.
Out came some favourite small lures from Finland for this one- almost immediately a baby sized rapala skitterpop cast under a tree was absolutely battered by a brownie around the 16" mark! Until I saw the gold sides and black spots I could have sworn this one was a pike, such was the ferocity of the lunge. Incidentally, like EA bailiff Nick Maye, I've never encountered a single pike on any of the streamier sections of the Culm.

With the water levels quite low it was a case of fish congregating in the pools on this occasion. A little trout coloured countdown was met with hungry jaws on the edges of these deeper sections, once again no subtlety involved whatsoever. Presumably not a great place to be a baby trout round these parts! I added another two trout to around a pound and a half, but strangely no chub, before calling it a wrap. I'm not about to trade in my river fly rods, but this is exciting stuff nonetheless. For anyone who fancies it though, I would strongly advise debarbing trebles- these trout pulverise a small lure.

Stalking the Stour

2010-08-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

It really puzzles me sometimes why fly angling for some species is seen as a method for eccentrics only. Take chub for example- are they naturally feeding on pellets and maggots? In reality they feed on many of the prey items our fly boxes try to cater for. Even so, it was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I approached the Stour yesterday- a maiden voyage to this fine chub river with a tough reputation.
It took a while to find what I was looking for; funny how we look through websites, forums and printed media and then discover that reality is another thing altogether. I found lots of mullet near Davis tackle shop on the Stour, but it was only higher up on the river I started to salivate. I spent a happy couple of hours by the weir on Throop beat 2 admiring some huge chub, one of which took a look at a large dry fly before swimming nonchalantly away. The roach and perch were thankfully more obliging, with several cute fish taking small nymphs.

Moving onto streamier, shallower water though, I soon wished I'd moved earlier- plenty of chub were holding up in the well oxygenated runs. Christ on a bike are they spooky though! The first group of fish located saw me first- but a few yards on and I saw a couple more, this time well upstream where I could cast without being so easily detected. My black hopper was taken in a beefy swirl and I was playing a nice chub, just a scrape under three pounds.

More chances were taken and missed, another fair chub along with it's baby brother, perhaps the smallest specimen ever landed and there was even an exciting but fruitless encounter with some barbel. Under a deep bank further along I saw a pike grab a roach and slink off, little silver scales fluttering behind. Back in the shallows the dace were also there in numbers and provided further distraction on this beautiful and varied river. Besides the lovely chub and dace however, a less sweet reminder of this wild place was a wasp sting on my right ankle, which has now puffed up to comic book proportions. Eeek! Actually, I'd rather think about those chub.

River carp & flying dace

2010-08-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

With the expectation of cooler times just round the corner, August has been a busy month of grabbing a few hours wherever possible on the river. A switch from the canal to the Exe in search of carp was a must, if only to capture the beauty of this mixed rural and urban looking venue in its prime. Julian Chidgey was the man the other side of the lens, no stranger to healthy sized carp on these waters.

No giants came our way on this occasion, but a hard battling common carp took off with my legered tiger nut during an early morning raid. Plenty of other commotion was heard too, albeit not from carp but mainly leaping salmon.

A wholly daintier part of the river system, the little mill stream (above) near the Tally Ho Inn, has been the other story, where I've returned to fish for the many dace and small chub here. A perch was perhaps the least expected surprise on a pheasant tail nymph, besides lots of pretty, fast biting stream fish. Lots of bites also missed- the dace give rapid hits on little dries and wets, a little black f-fly especially good fun for shoals of rising fish. A great way to spend a Sunday morning- and also test the reflexes!

The oppurtunity was also there to gather some little beasties from the stream for pictures. Hard to do whilst wading in a river, so I took a little container with a few critters for some "homework". Disaster nearly struck when my brother drove off with my container still placed on the roof of his car! Oh well- I got them back, a little shaken up perhaps, but the pictures didn't come out too badly. Here's a freshwater shrimp:

Different Cuts

2010-08-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Part of the joy of fishing is the fact that we can take it as seriously or light heartedly as we please. I'm a firm believer in variety, if only for the sake of that element forgotten by too many of todays die hards; simple, straightforward pleasure.
My continuing battle against the carp of Exeter Canal has been anything but straightforward fun however, more a process of mozzie bites, lost sleep and self examination. All the more satisfying to catch another fish therefore, this time a nice solid mirror carp.

Over the course of several sessions I'm finally getting to that stage where things run smoothly- from loading the car to having everything where I want it for the night ahead. Set ups keep improving, if only because I can't bear the thought of leaving baits weeded up or poorly presented all night long. Again, tiger nuts have been my first choice to avoid bream, popped up to stay weed free and well buried inside solid pva bags. Nothing is fool proof however, and after a screaming run at around 4 30am, I was turning the air blue as the fizzing reel got in a right mess and jammed solid with trapped line. Improvisation was needed- and fast- so I played the fish fly rod style, like some kind of demented Bob Church. After some serious heaving about and more expletives the fish was bundled into the net. Phew!

On a lighter note I've been doing short sessions with a fly rod for carp and also rudd, lately on Tiverton Canal. What a sheer joy these beautiful fish are. In contrast to the slog of carping, travelling light with just a rod, net, a few flies and leaders affords a true sense of freedom. It's generally a cast and move operation, trying to carefully cherry pick basking rudd. Little buzzers and hares ear variants have been good so far; sometimes you get a take, sometimes the rudd just turn away or just ignore the fly altogether. Either way, it's all excellent fun and a half pound rudd kicks quite beautifully on an ultra light trout wand.

A Taste of Lyme

2010-08-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Having not boat fished at sea since a very drab day in the Bristol Channel about three years ago, what a refreshing change a trip from Lyme Regis made. Aboard the Ameretto 2 (www.ameretto2.com) , we were hopeful for a good day on local reefs. The bream fishing here can be excellent- as I soon discovered.
Fishing squid and mackerel baits, we were quickly into bites and beautiful, broad sided bream. With my last bream a sample of about one ounce from a pier, I was awe struck with the quality of these cute beasties. For some reason they remind you of perch- whether it's that spiny dorsal fin or the jagging, head shaking fight, or indeed the barred sides. Many of the fish were in the two pound class- as you can see from Seb Nowosiad's beautiful sample here:

Whilst sea bream were a new challenge however, I was in good hands to learn a trick or two with those on board. You're only as good as your skipper and I was impressed by Steve Sweet's set up and willingness to make that extra effort- utilising groundbait was a real bonus, which he released via a weighted mesh bag or a giant bait dropper:

Does this help? You bet it does! About ten minutes after this was dispersed the rod tips got more suspicious taps than a morse code convention, with more chunky bream thumping on the lines.

One man who took a real haul of fish was John Gilmore, who had his set up spot on: the species responds well to colourful beads and I was also interested to note his use of small circle hooks. John doesn't strike, but simply tightened into the fish. And what a gentleman- he happily let others into his productive corner when the rest of us were struggling. His own set up was a fairly light blank- terrific fun:

Besides the bream we also got great variety in the form of mackerel, dogfish, poor cod, a solitary pollack, a scad and even a poor cod. First prize for oddities goes to John's starfish however- for some reason it didn't go for the bait but was just cuddling his lead. Ahhh!

Some uninvited guests also turned up in the form of gulls- multiplying rapidly at the end of the day as we gutted and beheaded the keepers. Talk about a scrum! One old, dead scruffy old gull also kept landing on the cabin roof. He got shooed away several times but the cheeky bugger kept coming back.

So, to cut a long story short, we enjoyed calm seas, rod jolting action, good banter and fish by the bucket load. In fact, for anyone who fancies a bucket load of bream or indeed a crack at autumn bass afloat, Steve is well worth a call: 01279 445949/ 07836 591084.

Baked bream for tea was a further bonus- I did mine with soy, honey and fresh ginger. Delicious! Not to mention an excellent bargaining token with the fairer sex when you get home a little late and tired.

Summer Surprises/ New Flies

2010-08-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Summer is rapidly sailing by and whilst fishing should be about relaxation and escape, there's still so much to do before autumn. I'm my own worst enemy in this regard, with more plans and little schemes and daydreams than I can ever fulfil. Hence this last week has been a case of cramming in plenty of miles and little adventures. Night sessions seemed a good idea in the heat, but in spite of hitting beautiful Bossington in North Devon (above) on a promising evening with Seb Nowosiad, we struggled to capture anything except some scenic pictures.
Curiously fired up by this failure, a day of lure and fly fishing was a must for midweek. I made an early start and a long walk with Ian Nadin at Dawlish after bass as we fished hard and tried to pretend we weren't standing half a mile from shelter in a downpour. Although pickings were slim it was great to see Ian take his first ever bass on a lure- not big, but a beautiful little fish.

It was a day of surprises both good and ill: on a stroll in Dawlish we were amazed to see a healthy head of cracking brown trout slap bang in the middle of the town- not that you can fish for them. Less welcome was a nasty crunch as I got too close to the edge of a country road- hard to describe in clean language what happened to the tyre. With a fresh one on though, we had a couple of hours of frustrating fun on the Exe at Countess Weir and I managed a typical tidal mullet on baited spinner. With so many follows and nips arriving, Ian was unlucky not to grab one himself.

Finally it was then time for a well earned pint closer to the City centre and, naturally, a few casts with lures in the company of Rob Darby. We knew it was a day of unexpected twists when he offered to buy a round of drinks- and so it continued on the distinctly urban Exe where amidst the usual tiddly perch Rob tempted an absolute cracker on a spinner, at least a pound and a half, perhaps two at a guestimate. And to quote the classic man himself- "I think I look quite sexy in a sort of balding 1970's way":

Otherwise, I've been working at one of my other vices- the one I tie flies with. And whilst it can be fiddly, I'm enjoying photographing some favourite patterns too. The real secret weapon for bass has been the "Pony Puncher" (!)a sandeel pattern made with holographic fibres and icelandic pony hair. This stuff is superbly mobile and makes a good sillhoette:

A few alternatives don't hurt however, including brighter colours for different conditions. For some strange reason, chartreuse is another good bass colour:

Finally, we have a couple of favourite stillwater patterns: a Bibio, which works well on the moors, plus a Hotspot Spider- in contrast to its bushy neighbour less is definitely more with these beautifully mobile traditionals.

For those who can't be fussed with tying flies, do keep an eye on the site because I'll be expanding the flies soon and can always tie 'em for you!

Bringing on the Bass

2010-07-30T03:19:00.000-07:00

After two unsuccessful nights after another elusive Canal carp, I was starting to get itchy feet and so with some active fishing in mind I couldn't wait to explore a rocky mark down in the South Hams in search of bass and other sea species. Big tides are always favourable in these parts, an extra high tide bringing the fish really close in. My brother has had good results for mullet in these conditions, which feed ravenously on the many maggots which infest the rotting seaweed high up on the tide line. After witnessing a nice bass tail a streamer fly however, I was only going to fish it one way.
A few casts later and one of my sand eel patterns was grabbed- no nips or cagey pulls here but just sudden, solid resistance. As conditions were calm we were using 7/8 weight floating line set ups, which provide absolutely ballistic action with a bass attached! A fish of a pound and a half was admired before a quick release. Great start. The bass was legally "keeper" size, but at this age this slow growing fish may not even have spawned yet, hence the goal of the B.A.S.S (Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society) to increase minimum size limit to 46cm.

With the tide lapping up we hotfooted it over a fresh set of rocks closer to the shore. Within seconds it was clear that some serious predation was going on, with bait fish leaping clear and boils at the surface. It was Ben who struck next, the fish taking in plain view right under his feet. Again, the power of the bass is sensational on a fly rod. This one was just two ounces under three pounds- nice fish, but a cheeky bugger for catching it on one of my own home rolled flies! This one was also carefully released, as was a one pounder. Good karma, I reckon.

From then on in it was mackerel and pollack all the way, skittish looking shoals of sandeels running under our feet and predators never far behind. The raw speed of mackerel is something else when viewed close up- terrific fun on a fly rod too.

What a difference from carp fishing! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy carp too, but it's such a buzz to see fish hunt in clear water and use imitations of what the fish are actually eating (rather than trying to "train" fish to eat bait they wouldn't ever find in nature!). The key to catching at sea always seems to be exploring as much coast as you can, as there is so much space and the fish are never evenly spread. A fast retrieve is also important- sea predators are quick and fully expect to chase their prey down, so long strips of line are best with streamers.

A Game Weekend

2010-07-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

The CLA Game Fair made for an entertaining trip this weekend, not to mention an excellent place to meet up with old friends and make new ones in the fishing world. The size alone is quite staggering, with everyone from the carp crew to the green welly brigade having a good sniff around. I always love looking at new flies and lures, but how's this for a novel use of a paddling pool to show the killer action of your wares?:

As a sucker for a stylish lure, Bass Lures (www.basslures.co.uk)were right up my street, with plenty of hard to find lures from Japan and America. Perhaps the real eye catchers were Sebile's "Magic Swimmer" lures however- the soft versions are versatile and pretty-damn-near-weedless. These look terrific for either bass or pike where weed soon puts the dampers on a sexy wiggle:

Elsewhere it was good to see the Westcountry Rivers Trust in force with exciting prospects of new water opening for next season. I can hardly wait- but for the kind of mouth watering rivers on offer, Total FLyFisher, also at the show, feature a trip to near virgin water on the Okement this month where I joined Westcountry Angling Passport manager Toby Russell for a trip into the wild. (www.westcountryangling.com)
The Game Fair it might have been, but the coarse side was also out in force. I couldn't resist my chance to pose with the fish of a lifetime- I'm afraid the beautiful common carp below was of the stuffed variety however:

Accidental discoveries of a non angling variety were also welcome at the show though and I loved the birds of prey especially. The African Crowned eagle was one highlight- a massive, beautiful predator which snacks on adult monkeys and wild dogs in its native environment!:

Above all it was a weekend to open up to all sides of fishing. I've joined B.A.S.S (the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society), something I should have done earlier, whilst Sunday was all about the next generation of anglers at the Exeter & District Angling Association's come fishing day.

Two dozen youngsters got a terrific, free introduction to the sport, whilst I helped untangle pole rigs and do the rounds. What a brilliant day- the kids caught roach, crucians, perch and even the odd carp. Watching the simple excitement of youngsters catching fish is always magical- hopefully they'll nag the folks to try again and some of these new recruits have found a hobby that will bring them many happy days by the water.

Camera Tricks

2010-07-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

"There's more to fishing than just catching fish" is a cliche that rings especially true when you spend time with a camera. Capturing the atmosphere and action of fishing in images has become almost as important as capturing the actual fish for me. The trouble is that you can never expect great results if you only stop occasionally to take a snap and that means focussing on camera angles rather than a float.
Features are not always plain sailing, contrary to the finished results you see in magazines. Often you have to go back and shoot or cast again in better conditions. At other times you only have a limited time to shoot. Such was the case with Julian Chidgey on the trail of surface carp at Angler's Paradise, where rain clouds loomed on a sunny morning.

I always like his confidence. Being prepared doesn't hurt either though, and it's his commitment and organisation which makehim so darned consistent: Hey presto, one plump golden carp in the net, yours truly reeling off more shots than a gun club. On manmade fisheries it's usually a case of making the most of whatever natural features and angles you can. Zyg's place is fairly well matured at least, with no shortage of colour.
Next stop was Goodiford Mill, a lake so carp infested it beggars belief. Here we field tested artificial baits for another feature. I've never had major confidence in fake corn etc- but witnessing the response here, perhaps I should give them a fair trial in future?

Back on a sunny Tidal Exe (above), I had another meeting with mullet. This time I left the catching in the capable hands of mullet maniac gent Bert Brockington. How unpredictable are these buggers? You just can't account for their antics. Fiddly bites and fine tackle required, and then the next minute one was following Bert's swimfeeder to the bank like a dog on a lead! Most bizarrely of all, Bert once witnessed a group of mullet butting a large carp with their noses to try and bully it away from their patch. Go figure!
Just as I was wondering if we would be back next week to try again, Bert hit a good fish on bread flake. These mullet are real sprinters- astounding power, sleek and streamlined. He followed this up with another thin lip of 3lbs 2oz for good measure too.

Excellent for pictures these fish- quite beautiful in a strange sort of way. Nice work Bert! I learned a lot about these frustrating fish from simply watching rather than fishing. It's also good to see plenty of young fish in the Exe- it's not known for huge specimens, but numbers are up. Bert and the National Mullet Club have long campaigned against netting and perhaps the future now looks brighter for it.

Canal Carping & Exe Mullet

2010-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Feeling half dead, half happy today after an overnighter and some success to redeem an otherwise very tricky fortnight or so of fishing. To catch a carp from Exeter Canal has long been an unfulfilled plan of mine- and finally I have my fish! Back in my match fishing days I used to get smashed occasionally by these creatures- after several unsuccessful sessions last year it was a great feeling to hook one on tackle that offered a fighting chance.
A welcome pressure change may have had something to do with it, as well as trying in the cooler, more antisocial hours of the day to beat the heat. A tigernut worked in the end (I inevitably get just bream on boilies), buried inside a decent sized PVA bag and on a longish hooklength to try and keep weed free. At 6am the run came and I half jumped, half fell forward to grab the rod. Inevitably, the fish had gone for the weed and a very tense stalemate followed for several minutes, just the occasional tap on the line reminding me we were still connected.
Eventually the fish bolted out again- I had tried slackening off, but in the end steady pressure worked; one of those situations where you're grateful of strong tackle and a barbed hook. I had little idea of size at first, so covered in weed was the fish in the net! 13lbs 12oz is no earth shattering fish, but still a very satisfying first for me, having watched these semi wild fish for many years and wondering what it would be like to catch one. So satisfying- and so different from fishing a stocked pond.

Otherwise I had the daft idea to try and end a frustrating spell by fishing for mullet. Not the brightest idea although Paul Hamilton, who knows the tidal well, did manage four to feeder fished bread.

They fought excellently for a few pictures- and whilst I managed to lose the couple which I hooked it was good to see some on the bank.
The mullet are really contrary creatures I always find: usually I can get a few on baited spinners, but I've often struggled with the feeder and with mullet you never quite know whether the day will be dramatically successful or absolutely bloody useless. Perhaps we should be thankful of the mullet for keeping us guessing.

Talking of Mullet, I also couldn't help noticing one of the kids at work had some world cup 2010 stickers featuring legends of the game: lo and behold Glen Hoddle's 1990 mullet was there in all it's glory, a mullet of majestic proportions from the days when grown men sported these barnets proudly, wore shorts the size of swimming trunks and the England team actually played good football.

From Blank to Blank

2010-07-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Amongst all the articles you read about fishing, there's one common phenomena that seldom gets much detail: the dreaded blank. In fact, I'm still waiting to read the feature honest enough to describe a biteless day of soul searching.
Angling writers blank too; they just don't talk too loudly about it. In actual fact, the real die hards in search of elusive specimens can blank many times along the way. But I can't make that excuse of late. Colliford Lake (above), for example, can usually be relied on for a fish or two. The water level was way down on our arrival- strange to be walking on dry land where we've caught fish in times past. A cooler day amidst the scorchers should have proved better though. Witness once again that maddening gap between theory and a fish in the net. From tiny nymphs to big lures, it was all pretty futile. The only monster spotted was a thick shouldered carp crashing the surface- an unknown quantity here, but some good fish hide here completely off the radar. Perhaps a lead someone who checks this blog could follow up? It's fly only, but the fish look susceptible in the shallow corners when the sun is up.
The sea hasn't proved much easier either, despite the River mouth at Seaton looking perfect for an early morning bass on the fly. The sandeels were there- so where were the buggers? Best blanking excuse I heard this year came from a fellow struggler: "the sea's too choppy today." I didn't have the heart to mock, or point out that sea fish are, erm, perhaps used to a few waves?!
Looking at it philosophically, perhaps the blanks make the good days sweeter. Or do the good days make the blank days blanker? Personally, I blame the fish.

A Sea Change

2010-07-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

After a long stint in wild Finland, Britain hits you a little like the pounding headache and vague sense of despair that follows a great all night party. In fact, the first week back I scarcely wet a line. The sea has been calling for a while however and Torquay harbour was a surprisingly beautiful place on a balmy evening. The fishing was pretty underwhelming- just one decent mackerel to my usual coarse gear tactics and lots of glum faces on the sea wall.
Never mind, the sea is always a welcome calmative and the real spectacle was to arrive later, Frazer McBain the man responsible for capturing the unreal, stunning colours of a muggy sunset on the coast; for once it was him pleading "lets stay another ten minutes- it'll get better, you'll see." Another surpise were many dozens of mullet swimming underneath the elegant old promenade here.

Wanderlust has got the better of me otherwise, and even when the fishing is indifferent a good walk with a few lures is always interesting. Aside from sunbathing carp on the urban River Exe and the odd jack battering a surface lure, the real highlight has been the ever reliable perch. Even in real sunburn weather, these handsome little buggers will give chase and just occasionally your eyes widen as a much chunkier individual shows up. I'm making it my habit to carry smaller lures these days, as these fish are just as interesting as pike in their own way. The canal stripey pictured below took a fair sized Kuusamo and was caught after I'd seen it follow a smaller fish earlier on, seemingly intent on stealing the lure straight from its mate's gob!

A return to work and England's lame exit from the world cup have been less of a kick, but then I guess summer can't be all fishing and cold beer.

A long stay in Lakeland

2010-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

A blog by very definition is something of a quick, diary type format. So how exactly do you fit nearly a month in the land of a thousand lakes into a few paragraphs? The numbers are daunting enough: several thousand kilometres of travel. Around two dozen mosquito bites. Countless casts on a river and perhaps ten different lakes. A few big fish and lots of smaller fish. Bite a chuck fishing and dead tough fishing.

Perhaps I should start with perhaps the real highlight of a trip to Lapland to visit the legendary Kuusamo lure factory, in the town of the same name. It was a long haul across miles of road often empty aside from the odd reindeer. We were lucky enough to be hosted by current director Kimmo Korpua who was proud to give us the grand tour. How refreshing in this age of cheap far east labour and mass produced dross to see a company operating along different lines. We witnessed for ourselves how Kuusamo make the most of experienced staff to cut, polish and paint a terrific array of beautiful spoons such as that classic pike catcher, the "Professor".

Next day saw us try out a selection of spoon designs both old and new in search of pike on a vast, clear water lake. Whilst it feels strange at times to be piking in June, the season starts very late in Lapland, where there was still ice a fortnight before our arrival. Our short session here was truly a lesson in the value of finding the right colour for the day. After a slow start of switching hues, a new orange spattered silver design proved absolutely deadly for pike lying up in shallow water. I was already having fun with some fit, lean, head shaking pike before a bigger sample grabbed hold. Terrific fun on fairly light gear- this one made some awesome runs before shooting straight under the boat before she hit the net.

Talk about a new "confidence" lure! And anyone who thinks all spoons are alike should try a Kuusamo- attractive in steady motion, but I love to break up the retrieve and stop these spoons too. They wobble and flutter beautifully on the way down. Quite often the pike then smash the spoon before you continue reeling. A shame that we have only a limited selection of these spoons in the UK- although Andy Lush's shop The Friendly Fisherman is well worth a visit. A feature should provide more interesting details on Kuusamo in the not too distant future. The notes on the history of these lures and some of the processes involved should make for something juicy I hope. For an early taster, here's a step by step look at the colouring process:

Further south, I took to the waters in a float tube and had a blast with pike, perch and other lake fish. Arriving a little earlier this year, the waters were cooler. Not as comfy on the toes, but better prospects for pike. The key areas seem to be not simply shallows, but those shallow areas close to deeper holes, where pike can lie up in cool water before raiding the margins when hunger strikes.
One rocky island on the Maavesi, a giant lake, provided a real hotspot, albeit requiring a mile of paddling to reach. Whilst I've enjoyed the UK season this was something out of this world. My best fish took in the evening, careering around boulder strewn water with incredible power. It was the kind of fight where, even with strong braid, I feared I may be smashed up. Luckily I had some idea of the worst snags from a previous visit and eventually I got her in. No need for nets or other gear on the tube- scales and a sling would also be excess baggage, not to mention more stress on the fish and so I tend to measure the big ones. This one was 105cm, around 18lbs at a guestimate and yet took a fairly small spoon- a 3" Rasanen. The figures seem a bit of an irrelevance to an absolutely white knuckle fishing experience!

With a distinct lack of cars, people and houses, it really has been a bit of a hangover to return to the UK. Finland is simply more peaceful and unspoiled. Where in England can you fish a virtually untouched lake and not see another human being all day? Perhaps my favourite little Finnish lake is a mere eight acres, but deep. I had always fancied it to hold one or two nice fish and this year it provided a
strange encounter.

I had been getting good hits on surface lures when something bigger churned up the surface by a sunken tree. The fish then powered away from the branches along the margin- out of danger, or so I thought! More branches waited here and it became a stale mate. The fish then surged and I had that sick sensation of slack line- submerged nasties had sheared off my end tackle!
A few days later and I was tackling the same water with a fly rod, when I had the strange sight of a small, light coloured fish following my fly. Next moment the rod was hooped over with a big fish which then let go before I could strike. It quickly dawned on me- the following shape hadn't been a strange coloured roach but my lost lure, still attached to the pike! I just kept casting, praying for another chance. Five minutes later and there was a huge boil at the surface. To say the rod bent would be an understatement- it took a curve like a rod builder's nightmare. Was it the same fish? As soon as I saw the shape of the lost plug I resolved to get her in pronto- but the pike was in no mood to cooperate. When she headed for the open water of the middle I just let her run and paddled out. As soon as she was within arms reach I picked off the offending plug- before she surged off again. At least now I could enjoy the fight, since whether I lost her or not, the fish was now free.
As I got her in I was amazed such a modest if long fish of eight to ten pounds could run so hard. Bizarrely, the plug had been stuck in her shoulder. The fish's head was unmarked, suggesting that it had never been fairly hooked the first time. I think she had surged across the lure, missing but being nicked in the side as I tightened up. What a relief though! The feeling of leaving a fish hooked up was a horrible, lingering one and I was overjoyed to set the pike free again, unhindered by my interference!

So many more stories could be related. I found a lake absolutely stuffed with perch and took a few for a fry up. I caught Ide on small jigs and spoons, and even a whitefish (pollan in English I think?). I also managed to catch a lovely two pound brown trout on some rapids- a feat I failed to manage on a two day trip last summer. A lucky trip overall then- although two previous stays of less success but some homework certainly didn't hurt.

The only real failure was with the zander. Just one small fish in several attempts, despite promising areas found. Then again, there's always next year. Perhaps the only thing I won't miss about Finland is the mozzies.

As for the most surreal experience, this has to be the sight of "The Silent People"- a weird collection of almost 1000 humanoid figures at the roadside on the way to Kuusamo. Really odd- turf for heads, random clothes and I'm not entirely sure what it all means. All the people society forgets? A black joke? Unexpected, a little eerie... but is it art?

Tip Talk

2010-05-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

Whilst in line feeder tactics have really taken off on these shores, our friends on the continent still have a trick or two to learn on the subject. Hence this week I teamed up with Julian Chidgey to capture modern feeder tactics on camera for his current work with French fishing monthly "Info Pêche".
The going was action packed at Goodiford Mill from the off, with virtually every throw towards the main island resulting in not so much a bite as what can only be described as "quiver tip abuse". With a neat quick change rig, Jules switched between maize, maggot and cut down boilies to keep the fish coming- ideal for trigger happy day with a camera.

After a good weight of carp, the crash course proceeded to silvers and an in line maggot feeder rig. Predictably enough, the tip never stopped dancing and what can I say? Sacré merde, look out if he ever takes up match fishing! This second set up is the same kind favoured for specimen roach fishing, Korum components making for a very tidy set up rather like a scaled down helicopter rig- bites are either wrap rounds or decisive drop backs. Either way, short of throwing a bag of lime into the lake you'd struggle to catch more fish:

It has also been a good reminder that I must take a feeder set up to Finland- the lakes are teeming with bream and I'm sure the tip would be dynamite. I'm also keen to experiment with fly tackle more though, and have been tying some more prototype zander flies. Bite sized models with dumbell eyes should fish with the hook point turned upwards, running deep without snagging- so goes the theory at least. I'm also liking the really fishy look of the new "Gator Eyes" made by Deer Creek. Just the job!

These and other ideas have been distracting me from the more mundane task of actually packing sensible things, like clothes and things to keep the mozzies off. Next stop Helsinki!

Catching on the classics

2010-05-18T14:19:00.001-07:00

As Summer kicks in certain fishing traditions just beg to be revisited. In my case it just wouldn't be summer without afternoons spent catching trout on dry flies and roach on hempseed.
Timing a visit to the river with rising fish is perhaps the more fickle exercise of the two, but I liked EA bailiff Nick Maye's confidence as we headed for a stretch of the Culm. A forgotten gem of a trout river, the Culm has made a healthy recovery in recent years, from a state where the water could literally appear in a different colour each week from industrial dyes in the water, to it's present rude health and even the odd salmon and barbel. As well as getting the inside story from Nick though, I was keen to try the classic "Beacon Beige" fly which originates from the Culm itself:

The original is a fairly well hackled affair, as you can see, which uses Plymouth barred Rock hackle and stripped peacock. All very nice- but I was also keen to try one or two more modern twists (or "bastardised beiges" as you might call them!). Mine use beige Turkey Biot for that classic segemented effect with less fuss:

We had some sport on the dry fly at fairly regular intervals through the afternoon, but in spite of my tinkerings I must confess the trout preferred the higher riding and bushier classic pattern this time around. My modern dressings took a couple of small fish then, but sooner or later I had to eat humble pie and pinch a couple of traditionals off Nick, much to his amusement. One juicy rise saw battle drawn with a cracking brownie at one stage which I was gutted to lose after a long fight. Hooking a Culm beast of his own, Nick made no mistake later in the day though and landed this beautiful specimen. Outstanding stuff!:

Above all, the Culm is just a beautiful river and I can't remember the last time I made so many "last casts", the trout deciding to rise again each time I announced "I'd better go... I'm already in enough trouble."
Otherwise my efforts have been for roach on hempseed; another method which truly epitomises the pleasure of summer fishing for me. Milemead lakes proved fruitful with a cracking net of fish, with plenty of skimmers and hybrids also taking a liking to a grain of hemp. The feeding pattern was important on this one- whilst I would usually feed small amounts like clockwork, the fish seemed to be charging about too much and so it was case of bigger helpings a little less often.
The bites are simply classic when you hit a rhythm and give the swim time to settle- slow, deliberate, decisive pulls. It's not strictly a specimen method I guess, just a lovely way to catch a healthy stamp of roach. I didn't find any of the real giants of Milemead, but took a good staple size up to 1lb 2oz. Like with the fly fishing, it was nice to see traditional method still winning out- I had toyed with the idea of fishing pellets for these quality roach, but what would Mr Crabtree say to this sort of blasphemy?

The writing continues to be rewarding, with a real bumper month too- especially proud to be part of Fly Fishing and Fly Tying's 20th Anniversary Edition, although I would urge all those who enjoy Bellbrook Valley to have a look at the Mayfly feature in Total Flyfisher. Sadly I'll be away for the annual Mayfly fest- but very much looking forward to some laid back living and fishing for purer pleasure for a while out in Finland, where I have this daft idea that I';m going to catch zander on a fly rod. But that's another story... here's wishing everyone some great summer fishing.

Small Stream Wonders

2010-05-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Little Dart near Witheridge is a place I try to visit at least once each season. My reasons are simple enough- when life gets too serious, it offers the sort of small stream fly fishing so aesthetically pleasing you could almost stick it in an art gallery.
But whilst the fishing is decidedly pleasing on the eye, the challenge is always engrossing. Scores of perfect little trout here, but not creatures to stick around once they spot a tall bloke in waders waving a stick at them. I began in my usual fashion, with cautious steps and the pragmatism of a New Zealand style set up. I was really hoping for rising fish though. In spite of the dour May weather, there was plenty of activity on the surface, with emerging Olive Upright Duns hatching steadily through the afternoon:

Whilst I lacked a perfectly matched fly pattern, the fish readily accepted a little olive emerger of suitable size (usually a 16) and I managed to add several confident dry fly takers to my tally as the day finally warmed. Not big fish, but so distinctive looking: I've said it before but "brown" trout is such a bland understatement- try gold, bronze, yellow and cream; black, red and even blue markings from tiny freckles to great dashes of colour. When the fish are this varied and beautiful, size truly isn't everything.
A shame I'll be away for the coming Mayfly hatch, but for everyone else, grab some fishing tokens while you can from the excellent folks at the Westcountry Angling Passport scheme (www.westcountryangling.com) who offer miles of superb fly fishing from a mere five quid a day.

Devon PAC Match/ Return to Paradise

2010-05-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

With merely two weeks before heading abroad, my brain is entering meltdown. So much fishing in prospect, so many strange plans for the summer and only so much time to fit it all in. Where exactly do I start?
The Devon Pike Anglers Club match seems a reasonable place to begin. We had a terrific day out on the canal and in spite of less than spectacular results, the whole event was fished in the right spirit, with good banter and excellent sportsmanship. In what other match would you see anglers helping to net and weigh fish for rival teams?

We decided to make the event a pairs match- a good move, I thought, because it added a cooperative spirit as well as a further element of surprise. Everyone had bites, but the fish seemed to be pecking at lures rather than trying to murder them. Top man on the day was Barry Thomson with two jacks like peas in a pod at five and a half pounds each.

Rob Darby took the best pike at over seven pounds on his travels towards Double Locks (nothing to do with the pub being that way?), whilst my own day was brightened up by a lovely perch of two pounds (first picture). One of the lads had mentioned a decent perch falling to a pike lure on one part of the Topsham stretch and in spite of this being a pike event, I couldn't resist trying a little 2" jig. It didn't count of course- but I wasn't complaining.

Otherwise I made it my mission to get back to Anglers Paradise to revisit Zyg's refreshingly different trout lake in the hope of one or two surprises. Once again, it was a challenging but rewarding experience and besides a brace of rainbows and two browns I also took a nice blue trout of about a pound.

With a trace of Deja vu, small green nymphs worked best again- either a Daiwl Bach or a spider did the trick. With scores of tadpoles I had fancied a small, simple black lure- but only managed one taker with this method. The deeper part of the lake seemed the place for the rainbows, whilst some stunning looking but easily spooked browns were marauding the shallow corners. I got to grips with a couple of browns eventually, including a beautifully marked two pounder I'd seen sneaking around the edges, a fish that I took a quick snap of in the water before a quick release. A good days sport then, and with reports of brook trout and even grass carp, who knows what other surprises are lurking in this clear, weedy water?

Monsters in Paradise

2010-05-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Besides all those "scale perfect" pretty fishes of angling cliches, I tend to have a soft spot for the more unusual, less cute looking monsters. With catfish though I was left pondering my complete inexperience on the way to Anglers Paradise. Who better to learn from therefore than Julian Chidgey, an angler who has probably wrestled with more strange beasts from the depths than Captain Nemo.
I liked his optimism as we steeled ourselves for a cool night in pursuit of a big cat, camera at the ready. In the early dawn I witnessed the awesome power of these giants for myself as Jules' boilie was snaffled up by a mouth big enough to swallow a baby. It started slowly, before suddenly, bloody hell, what a raging beast! And guess who went swimming with it to get some pictures?!!

An "ugly" fish though? Not in my book- a curious yet unique kind of freak, well marked and whiskery. Dare I say the word "beautiful"? The smell wasn't very beautiful admittedly- but what a quirky, contradictory fish: vast length and yet tiny, tiny eyes. A huge sheet of muscle adorned with one of the most pathetically small, limp dorsal fins you could imagine. Forty three pounds of the kind of fantastical monster you have to witness to believe. The beast bent the sodding weighing bar on Julian's scales, such was its size.

More temperate pursuits followed on the next day and it was Julian's turn with a camera as I attempted to get to grips with a few trout on the fly lake: in typical Zyg Gregorek style, this pool contains gold, blue and tiger trout as well as the usual rainbows and browns.

It was tricky going however- a black lure earned one bite from a fish in the margin (which was infested with tadpoles), but I only eventually scored on small bloodworms or Daiwl Bachs- for some reason it had to be a green bach. Weird, I know. Eventually I had two fish, both carefully released without hitting terra firma.

To confirm our taste for the unusual, our final leg was to hit the eels of Somerset. Deranged mind that I am, I decided to try "clotting"- the antiquated practise of using red wool and worms to tempt the slithery creatures. Some insanely positive bites followed where a little drain met the river.

The tricky part was getting the fish to stay on the wool- most simply dropped off! It was fascinating nonetheless and I can imagine the traditional practise far better now- a nearby bucket would be waiting for the "clotter" (or should that be "clot"?) to whip up each eel and shake it smartly into a bucket. Crazy business.

We did also venture to Trinity lakes to try for a bigger beast, along with members from the National Anguila Club- the sort of fellow nutters who find eels fun. But alas, despite Julian's infectious enthusiasm we couldn't get our hands on one and our days spoils fell well short of some of the monstrous eels he's tempted during his Drennan Cup win. Talking of monsters, I'm also looking forward to the meeting my fellow pike anglers for Sundays friendly match on the canal...

Sunday on the Stream

2010-04-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

A welcome return to the stream in search of trout this weekend at Gortleigh, a typically wild, pretty part of the Westcountry Angling Passport scheme. Fishing with my brother, we hoped to find things waking up nicely. No shortage of insects certainly, with some early sedge and odd olives appearing. Rising, active fish were more scarce however and most of the small but beautiful brownies caught were taken on small hares ears or flashback PTN tripped through tempting areas.
Perhaps I get too optimistic with early season trout fishing: I quickly get visions of rising trout taking dry flies, when more often it is a case of fishing smart with nymphs. For much of the day, the best sport was catching flies, not fish- something I intend to do more of for the camera this season. The cliche for our wild streams is of small, delicate insects and corresponding patterns- todays surprise, in total contrast, were a few huge stoneflies.

Little interest to the trout it seemed- but what magnificent beasts these are. More relevant to the fishing though, a few brief samples also revealed tons of olive nymphs- both agile darters and stone clingers-, as well as numerous caddis larvae. No shortage of food then and eventually the trout hit our dry flies in the early afternoon. Some cracking bites came to klinkhamer style sedge patterns with these spirited little battlers, some of which fancied themselves as miniature salmon as they jumped and hurtled about. Excellent fun on a three weight rod and a positive sign of things to come for the coming weeks I hope.

Life on the Pond

2010-04-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

The joy and frustration of fishing in a nutshell is that you never quite know what you're in for. Even when the signs seem clear, a question mark hangs over each day and just like blazing skies in April, you don't always get what you expect.
At Legge Farm, a new water, I thought I'd found a perfect little pool for a sunny morning. "Species: True crucians only" read the description. I just love crucians; when it feels like fishing is getting too serious, perhaps too much like hard work, they put some of the simple magic back into the sport.
It all looked very promising as a swim was baited on the misty pond early in the morning. The first major stumbling block was a proliferation of tiny rudd- snaffling everything you tried initially, before the crucians showed. The Crucian bite is a phenomenon in itself. Little lifts, tiny taps and minute little draws on the tip, as if the canny buggers are sending you a message in some obscure code. The pole was a decent way to suss presentation though, and I did manage a few cute, brilliantly gold crucians. The titchy average size however, along with a lack of predators doesn't suggest a great head of better fish in here. But some fun, flippant fishing all the same.

Otherwise it was a case of switching ponds and methods. Lots of nice rudd and skimmers fell to a pole approach and I also spent an hour or two fishing for carp on the fly- still a little cool at the minute and I managed just one carp on the day. No signs of the venues grass carp either, a species I've never caught. Legge Farm has just changed hands and it will be interesting to see what happens here- with a little thinning of numbers, the crucian pond ("Woodland") could become a real treat.

Light bites at Lakeside

2010-04-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

A photographic assignment this week, trying to capture Ian Nadin's light waggler tactics with the aim of a healthy mixed net. How typical though that after days of terrific sun shine and great light, our trip to Tiverton AA's Lakeside fishery at Exebridge proved a fairly dour, cold affair. Nevertheless, with the aid of little and often feeding and light line, the fish were persuaded to bite. We were hoping for skimmers, crucians and tench from this pleasantly challenging fishery- imagine our amazement when the first fish was a greedy brown trout!

I do like Lakeside. It's not overstocked and you have to work at it, but you just never know what you might catch next. Maggots and casters fished on fine 0.10mm hooklengths were just the ticket for shy biting skimmers, roach and hybrids, with a good sized perch and two nice tench also joining the party.

Its always surprising just how timid decent fish can bite- but by dotting an insert waggler right down, Ian got amongst them. It was a pleasure just snapping away as he worked for bites- his classic old Abu 506 reel screaming nicely with the Tincas, a piece of kit made before I was even born!

I'm tempted to return without the camera for a bash myself at this place, which has all manner of species. Also curiously refreshing to witness NO carp netted! The only thing missing was one of the venues crucians: funny how you can catch several one day and not a single cru on your next visit. A really colourful mixed bag though:

For the record, we had fancied West Pitt Fishery, but the owners have recently tipped a load of small carp into their crucian pond- a really daft situation, which could have a result similar to that at Four Ponds Fishery, where the mixed lake was ruined. Pretty thoughtless and I don't mean to be harsh, but I do wish fishery owners would think before flooding well balanced waters with greedy, small carp. They are literally gobs with fins and the effects can be catastrophic as the shyer species are simply bullied into insignificance. It's not like there's a shortage of carp fishing venues in any case, whereas balanced, sensibly stocked waters with a good range of species are another story. Lakeside is a real gem of a place on that score and whilst there are odd double figure carp the one rod only and no boilies/pellets rules probably keep most carpers away.

From Wet to Dry

2010-04-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

The years first trout on a dry fly is always a hopeful sign. It's also nice to be reminded what a sunny day in spring feels like. The going has proved steadier on still water rather than the rivers this week. At Bratton, a day session provided an encouraging start with a good fish to my dad on a hopper, whilst I got early bites on a buzzer fished just under the surface. Strangley though, the fish then seemed to switch off the naturals and head deeper, although it was a beautifully sunny day to be on the bank. It's hard to be a purist when it's not working and thankfully a switch to lures soon had a procession of rainbows on the attack, an orange fritz or cats whisker the most effective method short of a stick of dynamite.

The fish at Bratton really are mint- full tailed and well marked creatures. Seems almost a shame to keep applying the priest, although with the water getting warmer catch and release is no longer permitted. Someone also got carried away with the priest as you can see from the shot below- one you are unlikely to see in a fishing magazine at any time soon:

A morning on the River Culm was surprisingly slow however on saturday. Strange really: the river had fined down, plenty of dark olives were appearing by mid morning and yet there was not a single rise. Most odd- although I did manage a cheeky little brownie on a hare's ear. Otherwise though, the frustration level was probably on a par with watching Exeter City draw 0-0 with Leighton Orient later in the day, two teams with all the cutting edge of a rusty pair of safety scissors. Never mind though- more sunny, settled days and things are sure to improve and I can't wait to try some of the new water on the Westcountry Angling Passport scheme, including some lovely water on Dartmoor.

A Sink & Draw Score!

2010-04-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Whilst not everyone's cup of tea, I love sink and draw fishing. It's versatile and totally natural. A lolloping, decent sized prey fish always looks great in clear water, to me at least. Having earmarked a few small skimmers in the hope of a decent pike, I spent a biteless hour or two this morning before connecting with something solid. At first I guessed it was a lifeless, hidden snag- until the line began plodding for the centre of the canal! I had a few real heart in mouth moments as she neared the bank only to steam off again, making the reel clutch groan... no sodding jack, but one of those occasional "oh shit" fish! Moments later I netted a lean, big headed pike of 23lbs 10oz.

Absolutelty awesome! The fish looked lean for her length too- perhaps having already spawned. Meanwhile I also checked a few licenses. The usual score really- a few pikers about, but some really skimping on equipment. Pike demand BIG nets and mats- unless you like the idea of battered, scratched pike. Indeed, the sooner we make pike fishing as tight as carp fishing with conservation measures the better, I believe.
I guess a bailiff is never the most popular figure- but someone has to keep an eye out. It's probably more my good fortune that explains why my angling mates want to lob me in the canal. Also very satisfying to take another lovely fish on my own favourite wobbling rig: nothing complicated, but I still absolutely swear by it. For those regular surfers, do also keep your eyes peeled for my new, revamped site- should be ready very soon with some new stuff for everyone.

Net Gains

2010-03-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

A different kind of "social net-working" for me this weekend, meeting up with the lads from Exeter and District AA and the Environment Agency to try to get a rough idea of the fish population on one of the club's Sampford Peverell ponds. It was a real team effort and the group were in good spirits. We were hoping for reason to be optimistic after a tough year for the water, from algal blooms to icy, deoxygenated water denting fish stocks.

Netting itself is quite a fascinating process; far from straightforward in a lake with various snags and other challenges. Any good then? "If we blank doing it like this, we may as well give up fishing!" was a fair verdict I'd say. Our first sweep revealed little more than one or two tiny roach and so we went for another try.
As well as fish, there are all sorts of other obstacles in a deep pond: from logs, sticks and odd bits of fishing line to talk of a mini metro crashed by joy riders.
Top curiosity on the day though, was this strange morse code transmitter thingy:

The second sweep was more successful and as well as several dozen little roach we found skimmers and a little carp- a bigger one was also spotted. Numbers were obviously hit hard by a freakish winter, but fresh stock have already been earmarked and hopefully the fishing at this historic pond has a brighter future.

Credit is also due to Nick Maye and the other EA staff- let's face it, netting a silty old pond isn't the best fun you can have on a Saturday morning. Nick has also issued some sound advise with recent poaching troubles on Tiverton Canal. "Clubs and fishery owners can do a lot to help themselves by publishing their regulations in several languages and erecting multi lingual signs at common access points. It all helps, especially when trying to get someone into court." This is something sadly lacking on the Tiverton Canal which we're keen to redress. Anglers also need to report incidents however, rather than just complaining. "If it's not reported we can't take action," Nick adds, and the more detail the better (ie: note times, locations, group numbers and even nationalities and car registrations). New legislation set for June/July will also help however, making the taking of pike above a set length a criminal activity. The chief message is clear though: we can all lend our eyes and ears to the problem- and the better information we can offer, the more that can be done.

Attack of the Jacks

2010-03-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Canals always have a special place in my heart. They may not always contain monsters but what a beautiful, intimate setting a long, clear water such as the Taunton to Bridgewater Canal makes. Even the less productive parts look dead fishy and whereas I sometimes find my spirits dulled sitting it out on bigger, tougher places, a canal is always full of interest. Each new swim offers fresh promise, every cast another chance.
My weekend escapade was with fellow pike man Seb Nowosiad once again as we enjoyed mile after mile of reedy straights and snaggy corners. We found the fish quickly enough, but with bright light and low water levels you got the feeling they spotted us quickly enough too. In fact, it was a real illustration of just how vital conditions can be. We had struggled in the sunshine, a succesion of pike sulking away as we crept along. A little cloud cover and a healthy ripple on the water, however, and it was a different story as the pike lost their earlier caution and started to give our lures and flies a battering.

And so the pattern continued: many metres of bright skies and slow sport, punctuated by cooler, cloudier spells and some ballistic takes. One purple patch, about three miles from our starting point, saw a dramatic flurry of action. It was terrific fun; good banter, lots of laughter and the odd expletive as we missed takes. Seb took a cracking nine fish to his soft baits, whilst I picked up six on the fly rod, including a perfect little perch which had been butting into Seb's lures before sucking in my little streamer:

Delightful fishing in good company then, with plenty of fairly small but very scrappy pike. I only wish the day had been as positive for fellow PAC RO Ian Nadin on Tiverton Canal, as his was soured by encountering three seperate groups of immigrants poaching the canal. Ian is desperate to do something about this before the water is decimated. It takes more than one angler to challenge these groups however. The simple fact is that we need more bailiffs- or at least people prepared to break the silence with these individuals and that means ALL of us. Nobody puts themself at grave risk for politely checking that others are aware of the rules. And as per usual, the silence of the majority is what allows a minority of rule breakers to go unchecked.

Closing Time

2010-03-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

What a mad week it has been, with plenty of frantic fishing before the closed season puts a large chunk of sport to bed for a healthy rest. Most recently, a ridiculous all day session on both lures and deads covering some four miles on canal and River produced some absolutely silly sport, probably my best session of all time with two twenties in day, this one a beautiful, plump twenty two and a quarter:

These ladies are proper heavy at this time, well fed and probably soon to spawn and require careful handling, even more so when you consider local angling pressure. One of the fish looked incredibly familiar, a clear recapture in fact. Recaptures are a strange feeling sometimes- but at least they demonstrate that with a bit of care these fantastic fish can continue to thrive even after our intrusion.
Could my day get any dafter? It did so with a fifteen pounder from a distinctly urban part of the Exe. It was one of those days where I just couldn't do anything wrong and this one was taken on a two inch long jig I was trying more with big perch than pike in mind:

My winning tactic? Basically I am just a very lucky bastard. By this stage, Ian was threatening to push me in the river and thrilled though I was, it was a pleasure to see him also into a good double. A truly ludicrous day! And we also captured some lovely images on the way. Needless to say, the next trip was a spectacular blank.

More lately though, I've been chasing Levels pike with Polish angler and PAC mate Sebastian Nowosiad. With the Poles getting such negative press it really is refreshing to meet an angler who really bucks the stereotype. We walked for miles between bites on a beautiful day that was probably better for photography than fishing. Even so, Seb found some action with his own special Polish jigs:

As well as being an avid lure angler, Seb is a keen eyed bailiff for Bridgewater AA. Speaking five languages, including Russian, Czech and Latvian, is a massive advantage when dealing with those who sometimes have limited English. His careful catch and release practise would put many British anglers to shame. I believe there's a story to be written here and we definitely need more individuals like Seb, who is as passsionate about conservation as he is about fishing.

I'm also tempted to pinch some of his deadly little jigs, which look just the thing for Levels piking. As well as some cracking pike, Sebastian has also taken good perch and even a surprise ten pound salmon on these Polish specials!

So, a fine end to the traditional season. My legs ache, my hands are muddied and bloodied and, like the fish, I could probably do with a bit of a rest.

Operation Pond

2010-03-12T12:34:00.000-08:00

In the midst of some silly end of season fishing, it was a mucky job today sorting out the folks' garden pond. For me at least, it doesn't matter whether a body of water is as big as half a county or the size of a dinner table, I'm always fascinated. Compared to the land, water is always so incredibly rich with life- and part of the reason I love fishing is simply to get to know this other world better.
Today though, was a case of drastic action for a pond losing water and currently consisting of more silt and muck than water. We decided to go the whole hog and re-line the thing, keeping various creatures in buckets in the process!

As well as some hard graft, it was fun and we found absolutely all sorts: tons of frogs and their spawn, newts and juicy bugs. Catching wriggling and jumping creatures took me right back to my childhood days.
And then of course you have the fish. It baffles me to find perhaps as many as two dozen little goldfish and also one or two crucians in such a tiny space. Extracting the little beauties from a choked pond took quite an effort- but what fantastic colours:

A large butt of rainwater was a handy starter for the newly lined pond later on, with fish, muddy lilly roots and assorted creatures freed from buckets back to nature. Find of the day was lying just by the waters edge however: a brilliantly hued baby slow worm, like a little band of gold. These secretive reptiles are actually endangered, so it's wonderful to find them in the folks' garden again.