Bewl Water is fishing well with big fish being caught, if you know how!!!

Rob teaching at Bewl

I managed to get down to Bewl Water to enjoy I some top of the water autumnal action. Rob Barden (who fishes for England) was manning the Fishing Lodge so I did not hesitate to ask his advice on the where and how. He recommended drifting either side of the fish cages in terms of the where and fishing a booby on the point and a couple of small naturals on the dropper. He said the knack that makes the difference at this time of year is to fish the booby static, and if on the drift not retrieving any more than is necessary to keep the fly line straight between the rod tip and the fly. So fully briefed I went to work.  The weather was ideal, mainly overcast with a good ripple on the water.  As I was motoring to the cages I saw a circle of smooth water and was tempted to stop and cast to it as it was probably caused by fish circling just under the surface. I should have paused but the call of the cages was too strong!   

A selection of boobies

Now I am use to retrieving boobies fast on warm summer evenings when the trout will provide a brilliant chase, but that is totally wrong in the autumn. So I had to force myself to keep the booby as static as possible and it worked.  In the end I gave up drifting, I got lazy and moored to a buoy, with fish moving all around.  The weather was bright and there was a quiet time early afternoon but there were fish showing most of the time.  Just before I was leaving the clouds opened and it poured. I managed to wrap the leader round the top of the rod and thought of leaving, but I decided I liked extreme fishing so I tied a new leader on put an fresh minkie booby on the point and was swiftly rewarded by a cracking take and another 3 lb fish.

It was worth getting wet as I filleted the fish and my wife cooked my favourite trout recipe "Pan fried citrus trout with basil". The recipe is in the book "50 Classic Trout Recipes" by Jane Bamforth at the amazing cost of £4.99.  I got it for Christmas last year so if you want to get a fly fisherman a lovely present this year there is my suggestion.

   

Crucial protection when teaching a grandson to fly fish.

A few days ago I had the pleasure and privilege of giving Sam, my 15 year old grandson his first boat fly fishing experience.  He lives at Milton Keynes so that gave us the excuse of going to Grafham Water, around an hours drive away.  Grafham is a well run fishery, where they even provide drogues and landing nets (for reasons I wont go into here).  They have a superb tackle shop and allowed my grandson and I to fish on the same 6 fish ticket.  I had not fished the water for several years so asked where we should concentrate.  The weather was a bit contrary blowing a gale with bright sun.  Eventually we found the fish down by the dam, but it was tricky fishing as the wind was blowing us onto the dam.  I insisted on Sam wearing eye protection, he had forgotten to bring his sunglasses but fortunately so I gave him an expensive pair my son Stuart had left in my car.  Sam then forgot to bring those in the boat, fortunately I had got another spare pair in my fishing bag!  A hat is a good idea too Sam!

To cut a long story short Sam cast well, fished well and was rewarded with a brace of cracking rainbows caught on blood worm flies.  Here is the first one.

I am sad when I see people fishing without eye protection, having buried a hook in my own face a couple of times, I don't think it is worth the risk of getting one in the eye!

Fun sailing in Dubrovnik at Uvala Lapad

I am glad so many of you, from all over the world, enjoy my posts, I get pleasure out of writing them because I remind myself of things that have happened (usually good) and I like to share experiences with others. I have one more thing to share from our sojourn in Croatia. Walking from the Hotel More along the footpath just above the sea on our way to the bus stop we passed this lovely lady. Stopping for a chat (as you do) I inquired about hiring a yacht for a sail. 

The net result was that we had an evening sail, with a very friendly and competent captain, who told us about the area and what was going on.  He kindly kept us in calm waters.

This is the boat we sailed in as seen from the hotel restaurant.

 As you can see I was quite relaxed!

This island use to be all rock but ages ago, when the Austrians conquered the area, they shipped soil to cover it and now it has trees. 

If you are out there and fancy a sail their web site is http://www.dubrovnik-sailing.com

An evening sail cost us around £90 which I thought was good value.  The customer service was brilliant!  Life is short and you have to enjoy the journey!!!

Just occasionally we Brits do something really well!

Having seen the news coverage and having friends tell us what a wonderful sight it was my wife and I decided to jump the bus and train and take a look at the major art installation "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" at the Tower of London.  This artistic display marked one hundred years since the first full day of Britain's involvement in the First World War. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, with setting by stage designer Tom Piper, 888,246 ceramic poppies progressively filled the Tower's famous moat over the summer. Each poppy represents a British and Commonwealth military fatality during the First World War.

The poppies encircle the iconic landmark, the castle, known as the Tower of London creating not only a spectacular display visible from all around the Tower but also a location for personal reflection. The scale of the installation intends to reflect the magnitude of such an important centenary creating a powerful visual commemoration.

On the conclusion of the display, the poppies are to be sold raising millions of pounds which will be shared equally amongst six service charities.

 We went there on a Friday around 11.00 am and it was solid with people from all over the UK and the World.  It has been like that for weeks and weeks.

 Here is an artistic touch showing the poppies appearing to pour out of the castle.  Just like blood pouring out of some poor soul's body.

 The crowds were quiet and reverent, quietly shuffling along all a bit overwhelmed aware that each poppy represented one of the 888,246 who died protecting our freedom.

We came away quiet, reflective and thankful.  It made me proud to be British.

Magic in Montenegro!

The border with Montenegro is only an hours drive from Dubrovnik and my brother had said it was well worth a visit.  We signed up with a tour operator near the hotel and were told we would be collected from the hotel at 7.55 am.  We hadn't asked so we were not sure whether a car, taxi or minibus would turn up to take us, so we were surprised when a forty-seater coach arrived on time.  There were already some people on board and as it drove through Dubrovnik stopping at other hotels it soon filled up.  As we left Dubrovnik heading south along the mountainous roads I soon realised we were in the hands of a very professional team.  The driver was confident and careful and the two tour guides a lady, who sat at the back translating for the french and Ratka a male comedian who performed up the front giving the commentary in english.  Ratka gave us a geography lesson and a history lesson and made it funny and interesting.  Helpfully he briefed us on how to behave with the officials when we reached the border crossings, warning us that some holiday makers who ignored his advice are still guests of the government!

As the pictures will show we were blessed with beautiful weather.  The coast of Montenegro has fjords like Norway and they are very deep which means that large cruise liners can sail deep into the country like this one at Kotor.

Ratka told us how several hundred years ago a fisherman had discovered an icon (a small religious picture) lying on a rock in the middle of a fjord and had taken it to his village where it was placed in the church.  The next morning the icon was gone, presumably stolen and everyone was sad.  A few days later another fisherman found the icon back on the rock so he took it back to the church.  Then it went missing and was found back on the rock again!  The villagers decided that this was a sign and the icon needed to be on the rock so they built a church on the rock to house the icon in!  The picture below shows the church they built.

Here is Ratka in full flow suggesting where we might eat.  I included this picture because it reminds me that there is some serious fishing to be had in the area.

Having driven round the fjord we then took the ferry to cross it giving rise to some lovely photo opportunities.

We kept having to pinch ourselves to remind us it was mid October.