Catching on the classics

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

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

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?

Sunday on the Stream

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

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

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

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.