Things are hotting up on the fishing front

Temperature wise things are already scorching here, however there is still snow melting on the mountains so there is water in the rivers and fish as well. I caught some parr this morning and a large white fish just 20 minutes from the house on the Snoqualmie. I was practising for tomorrow when Lonnie and I are on the Sky.  I want to be able to hold my own so I popped over to Lake Forrest Park to see my old pal Ryan Smith owner of the Avid Angler Fly Shop.

Ben recommended some large dries so I am hoping to out fish Lonnie (for the first time).

It was great to see Ryan again although he was more handsome when clean shaven and I remember Britta's advice when I first met her about eight years ago that on large lakes the browns tend to occupy the margins and the bows the open water!

Later in the week I am going to fish the salt (Puget Sound) with Ryan so I am really looking forward to hooking up with some sea run cuts and maybe a salmon.

Fly Fisherman's Struggle with Tramp!

Well I have wet a line on the Snoqualmie River above the falls for a couple of hours.  I had a couple of little fellers on the nymph fished under a dry.  It is so different fishing these large rivers compared to fishing upstream dries on the chalk streams.  Also the fish facing upstream were looking into a very bright sun and I was starting to cook!  So after I had my brief fishing fix it was back to the house and the next project which was to erect a "Springfree" trampoline.  See the white rods in the picture below, getting them located in the pockets in the edge of the mat took the combined strength of Dan and I.

I must report that the tramp was an excellent project and the grandchildren took to it immediately.  Because it has no perimeter metal springs to fall on it is a lot safer than the more common tramps.  After the initial bouncing stuff and shooting baskets the children decided that the best game was granddad throwing balls at them from the house balcony. Sadly I don't think that is an Olympic event!

The good news is that now I am no longer committed to a summer school taxi run each day I should be able to get some serious fishing in.  Forever the optimist (you have to enjoy the journey)!

FLY FISHER SENDS FOR REINFORCEMENTS & GETS THE GOAT!

When we get to my son's home in Redmond, WA, USA there are always plenty of projects to get on with and we don't mind that working on the principle that if you stay busy you stay young!  However, when it comes to yard work (what we in the UK call gardening) and the property is surrounded by several acres, it can be (to put it mildly) a bit of a challenge, especially as the temperature is in the eighties.  So it was a great relief when we heard that two hundred reinforcements had been sent for.  

They were very hungry goats and they cleared the land of vegetation by eating everything in sight.  We had to keep the young children on the outside of the portable electric fence so they did not become desert!  It was amazing to watch them strip brambles and even try to climb trees.  You hire the goats by the day, they arrive in a special truck complete with a goat man and a couple of goat dogs.  Watching the goats munch their way through jungle is a bit of a spectator sport, so the neighbours appear and passing cars slow down and enjoy.

 



Having eaten everything in sight they were quite keen to load up and head off to their next meal.  Well done goats!

Fly Fisher's Success With a Robot

You will be familiar with the challenge!  You have been invited to stay with someone and you have to think of an appropriate gift to take to then.  Then multiply that by six (mum, dad, three daughters and an eight year old son) and you realise the size of the problem!  The situation is further compounded because they live on the other side of the world and you only see them once each year.  The Dad (Dan) is easy, he misses Cadburys chocolate.  A bunch of hair bands, hair slides and clips, Alice bands etc sorts the girls. The Mum (Holly
the Vet) is bit more challenging but then you spot a book on the intelligence of dogs, and hope it will help her communicate with her patients!  But what do you buy an eight year old boy who has a shed load of toys?  Well whilst walking around "Toys are Us" and resisting the temptation to buy something for myself, I spotted a "science" toy that looked fun.  It was a kit called "Tin Can Robot" for turning an empty drinks can into a moving "Robot"!  It was produced by a company called "Green Science" and cost just under ten pounds (say $15).  This ticked all the boxes as it was clever, vaguely scientific  (which pleases parents) looked fun and was something that grandad probably could help assembling. Harrison really liked it, so few hours after touch down, a somewhat jet lagged grandad was being told which bits went where.

Harrison liked the idea of it having really long arms!

Now I have figured out how to get pictures off of my tablet and onto the blog you will be hearing more of my current US baby sitting and fishing trip!!!

GOOD NEWS: FLY FISHING HAS NO AGE LIMIT!

One of my American friends shared this picture with me.  It reminded me that I am 68 and very blessed to still be pretty mobile. 

This week I am off to the States on holiday and "have rod will travel" I will try to keep you posted on my adventures.

Bewl Water: Good news, the bubbles are on!

Here is the latest report from Janet at Bewl:-

 

The fish have remained about 25ft - 30ft down in the water and are still fairly difficult to catch. The water temperature has dropped to 18c over the last few days which may mean some improvement and " The Bubble" is now on which will give plenty of good sport in the Main Bowl. Rod average for the week was a very good 3.80.

CATCH AND RELEASE IS SUSPENDED UNTIL THE WATER TEMPERATURE COOLS DOWN FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME.

The Main Bowl is the best area for boat fishing whilst best bank areas are Chingley and the Dam Wall where the water is deeper.

Successful flies have been Buzzers, Minkies, Cormorants, Diawl Bachs and Boobies.

The Bewl heat of the Sierra Pairs Competition took place on Sunday 6 July. Winners were Rob Barden and Adrian Necci with 16 fish for 42lb 15oz including time bonus They had caught their fish by 12.20pm. Conditions were challenging but 8 x 2 man teams caught 97 trout giving an outstanding rod average of 6 fish.

 

Well done Rob and Adrian! 

 

I am pleased to hear that the bubbles have been turned on.  Let me explain.  In the deep part of the main bowl there is a pipe on the bottom of the reservoir through which compressed air can be pumped.  This is allowed to escape into the water at 3 or 4 locations where the air rapidly expands as it bubbles up.  This aerates the water to some degree but more importantly it brings cooler water to the surface together with the food which was down deep and the trout love it.  The currents on the surface are quite strong, almost like a whirlpool in reverse and it is not easy to fish, but when you get a fish on it can be very exciting as you are playing the fish and the currents.  I remember the first time I drifted across the bubbles. I was a bit concerned as to what would happen in the maelestrom of currents!  I need not have worried the boat floated over them and got pushed away.  Now I have to try and remember what techniqes I used for fishing the bubbles and try to get some photos showing the amazing currents.                                              

Close encounter with the EA and a change of trout catching technique resulted in eight trout

I have only ever fished Bewl Water with a "fly"!  Fly in the broad sense i.e. lures, buzzers, blobs, boobys and dries.  But this year I haven't been fly fishing very well, my best bag to date being five fish. Now that coupled with the fact that I don't like fishing in bright sunlight, especially if the water is warming, reminded me of Henry Ford's famous quote:-

 

"If you always do what you have always done, you always get what you have always got!"

 

So that made me decide to have a try at something different.  Originally I was going to try fishing buzzers on a very fast sinking line but when I saw (on the Windguru website) that the wind at Bewl was going to be quite strong and from the south, I gave that idea up.  Even with a drogue deployed if you are drifting too fast you just will not get the buzzers deep enough.  So as well as taking my fly gear I packed two short spinning rods!

 

So for the first time I signed in at the lodge as an "any method" fisher and set off for the deeper water.  Whilst rigging a rod up out on the open water I had a visit from two friendly souls in a green boat.  Having waved a document at me they announced they were from the Environment Agency and would like to see my license!  They came alongside and I was pleased on two counts, firstly I had my license on me and secondly I like to see licenses being checked and I didn't know they can do it afloat.

The EA ambush some happy fishers next to the overflow tower. Bewl 100% full!

 

Having had the excitment with the EA I decided to bait fish.  Now I am not going to tell you what bait I used, but the trout seemed to find it appropriate because as soon as the bait was twenty feet below the boat "bang" the rod went down and I had my first fish on (yes first cast).  As I landed it I thought if it is this easy I will be gone in a couple of hours!  The second fish I hooked was bigger and caught me out as I had forgotten to set the reel drag at all. The fish took off and the 10lb leader snapped at a knot.

 

I boated the next fish but not before it had broken off the tip of my rod. I was not too surprised at that as since I bought the rod nearly 3 years ago in Malta I had broken the tip twice before.  One  for the bin, I think. 

 

So I switched to a Shakespeare "Ugly Stick" rod and fished with that catching several more fish.  Well, things went a bit quiet during the afternoon fishing-wise but not the wind. It got stronger and stronger, and I was bumping up and down which made the drifting and fishing harder.  I tried a few spots away from the main bowl just to get some respite from the wind, but to no avail.  It was seven in the evening before I finally "bagged up" with eight fish.  They weighed in at 16 pounds 10 ounces so quite a nice bag.

 

So what were my feelings about bait fishing Bewl:-

1. I caught my limit, that was positive.
2. I caught in bright sunlight and strong winds, if I had been on the fly I probably would have caught far less.
3. Playing a fish using a short rod and reel with an adjustable clutch (drag) is too easy and not nearly as satisfying as using a fly road and reel.
4. In terms of introducing people, and especially youngsters to the sport of fishing, it is probably a more sure-fire method.  You only get one chance at a first impression!

Let the scales confirm the story!

 

So to sum up I think it is more challenging to fly fish and therefore more satisfying.