Chalk Stream Fly Fishing Masterclass

Yours truely on the chalk

Because I do so many different kinds of fly fishing I tend to be a "Jack of all and master of none".  Now I am retired I am keen to improve my chalk stream performance because being a member of the Salisbury and District Angling Club (SADAC) I have, for a reasonable annual subscription, access to a lot of lovely water and beautiful fish.  Acknowledging that local knowledge is king and having not fished the club waters for several months I decided to pay a visit to the office and seek the guidance of the Fishery Manager, Andreas.  After we had swapped a few stories and discussed ways of avoiding backache while fishing he advised me where to fish adding that he would be there later himself.  

 

Andreas focused

So later that afternoon I got to fish with Andreas and it turned out to be a master class on how to outwit the fish and catch.  Here is a summary of the key things I learnt:-

• I am reasonably good at spotting fish but Andreas was better.  I think the fact that his Polaroid sun glasses had side shades gave him an advantage.  I have never bothered to fit mine side shades but I will now.  
• He knew the river far better than me and where the fish's favourite feeding locations were.
• He prioritised the nearest fish, crouched forward and really focused on them and what they were doing.
• If fish were not seen to be actively feeding he left them after a few casts and moved on.
• He used a longer leader than I, say around 12 feet.
• He used smaller flies than I, sixteens and eighteens.
• He was constantly watching the fly life around, both above and on the water.
• If there was no top of the water activity he switched to nymphing.
• When the sedge were hatching he used F- flies, little V shaped CDC flies in brown or black.
• As the evening drew to a close and activity on the deeper water slowed down he moved us to the faster riffles where there was lots of surface activity.

It was a privilege to have fished with an expert who so willingly shared his knowledge.

The reward a pretty brown

Salmon parr

Searching for bigger fish under the trees

Supper!

A stripped and twisted willow twig makes a handy fish carrying handle!

 

 

Beginners learning to fly fish at Coltsfold Mill Fishery, Oxted, Surrey, UK

 

Well the weather has improved (that is it has stopped raining) and I have been able to get to the waters edge at last.  The occasion was an outing for Niel, Bryant and Malcolm, the three chaps I have been teaching to cast on grass.  Today was the big test, had they been listening, had they understood, had they remembered and if the answer to all those questions was YES, then could their brains make their muscles do the right thing!  Well the answer was both YES and NO!  Sometimes they got it right and the line went out reasonable well and sometimes the timing was wrong, too much effort was used, the wrist was broken and the result was dumping and knitting.  However, we had fun, enjoyed the venue and three large rainbow trout were caught.

 

The venue was Coltsfold Mill, near Oxted, Surrey, UK, a well managed trout fishery.  The bailiffs Neil and Paul were most friendly and helpful. 

 

The pictures can speak for themselves.

 

 Mill lake

 Niel with the biggest fish

 Malcolm with one of his two

 Bryant fishing the lower cascade

 Neil the helpful Fishery Manager

 

The gold headed daddy longlegs (complete with rubber legs) that proved very effective.



Fly Fishing Action at Boringwheel Trout Fishery

A few days ago me and my pal Chris managed to slip away from our voluntary duties at the LDS Temple at Lingfield and visit Boringwheel Trout Fishery.  I had not been there for some 20 years.  It was a dull dreary wet morning (not like the picture below) but during our 3 hours there we both caught a brace of beautiful fish.

 

I pinched the picture and the following blurb from their web site.

Situated in the heart of the Ashdown Forest, just off the A22 at Nutley, this 400-year-old spring-fed lake offers 6 1/2 acres of peace and tranquility for the discerning trout fisherman.

Situated in the heart of the Ashdown Forest, just off the A22 at Nutley, this 400-year-old spring-fed lake offers 6 1/2 acres of peace and tranquility for the discerning trout fisherman.

Boringwheel offers first-class hard-fighting fish on a water that once used to power a mill producing the guns for England's medieval fleet of warships. The lake takes its name from the historic mill, and to the discerning fisherman it's anything but boring!

You can fish from the bank, from the well-maintained wooden fishing stages, or you can use our boats free of charge. Our resources include two holiday cottages, a mini golf course, corporate entertainment facilities, refreshment provisions, and toilet/washroom.

All fish must be taken as Boringwheel does not allow catch and release.

Following the heavy rains the water was a little coloured so we used cats whiskers. The trout were in top fighting form.  We will be back and might see you there!!!

Extreme Fly Fishing: Rainbow Trout on New Years Day 2014

Not having had the chance to fish for several weeks I decided to get 2014 off to a good start by going fishing on New Year's Day.  The weather forecast predicted heavy rain and strong winds all day, but I followed Boyd K Packer's maxim of "Do it in spite of the weather". My main concern was finding somewhere where the water clarity was clear enough to let the fish see the fly.  Muddy brown water does not suit fly fishing!  So I went on the Albury Estates Fishery web site, noted that the info had been updated the day before and that it mentioned that the large lake at Vale End had been isolated from the Tillingbourne (river) to safeguard clarity during the recent floods.  The drive was exciting as there were various flooded sections but eventually I arrived there and found a new closed gate.  The instructions said swipe your membership card and I did.  To my surprise (my membership card is very old) the gate opened.  

This access gate is a relatively new feature and is there I imagine to inhibit poaching.  Having got through the gate I parked up as near to the fishing hut as I could as I wanted to set up in the dry.  Another couple of brave individuals turn up and we swapped ideas as we got ready.  The rain did not ease off and the wind experimented with all points of the compass.  I did't mind, I was in the fresh air with a rod in my hand and water in front of me.  I fished a small cats whisker on an intermediate line counting it down to explore different depths.  Eventually I was reward with a sustained pull and lifting the rod found myself connected to a good fish.  Knowing it, if landed, was destined for the dinner table I played it carefully as it's performance told me it was on tip top condition!  As I was on a two fish ticket I decided to make things a bit more challenging by moving location and changing the fly.  Guess what, I fished for another couple of hours working my way right round the lake and I didn't get another pull.  As the rain was getting heavier and the wind more contrary I decided to head for home knowing that I could use the ticket for the second trout on another visit.  I thoughly enjoyed my fishing at Albury.  I regard it as a well run fishery for the following reasons:-

• The fish are raised in their own fish farm and are in excellent condition.
• Careful records are kept of catch returns so stocking can be appropriate
• The waters are well maintained and pretty
• Access and parking is good
• The ticket system seems fair and works well
• Tony Hern, the manager is a splendid fellow and his team are always friendly and helpful
• It is a good place to teach fly fishing and novices have a good chance of getting a fish
• The internet site is informative and kept up to date

At nearly 2lb 8oz it was a nice fish, you can see how wet I got fortunately underneath I was dry!

Some tips on boat fly fishing for trout at Bewl Water, Kent, UK, and success with a magic Booby!

Let me start off by saying the best thing you can do is to join the Bewl Bridge Fly Fishers Club (see link at side of page) where you will get loads of help especially via their bi-monthly magazine the “Bewl Angle”.  As you will see if you stagger to the end of this post it was through reading the magazine that my trip yesterday went from failure to success.

On the practical front here are some suggestions you may already be aware of or you might like to try.  Firstly the whole object of having a boat is to have the ability to be mobile (like the fish) and to be able to cover the whole water (except the bird sanctuary where the really big fish hang out)?  If you’re not seeing fish, and catching, then move.

So you have hired a boat and been given a boat number, before you set off, check it out.  The staff are very good but they often get to clean and check the boats just as it is getting dark. 

Look for an anchor (it is attached to a red buoy so that if you get it caught on the bottom you can untie the anchor rope and leave the buoy marking the spot where the anchor and rope are.  The rangers can then try to recover it.  Oars are a useful plan B, although most of us have the fishing lodge number in our phone which is a better plan B.  Many years ago as dusk was falling at Rosemary’s Lane I foolishly let a beginner operate the engine to take us back to the lodge.  John tried the other way of stopping and sheered the pin that holds the prop on, then he announced that he couldn’t row.  Exhausted, I slept well that night!

 Note the small G clamp I have attached to the edge of the front seat, with the drogue rope attached to it (more about drogues shortly).   Note the landing net with the long handle, I got that idea from the competition boys.  If I am on my own in a boat I usually set up two rods (you are only allowed to fish one at a time).  I will set them up with different lines (say a floater and an intermediate) so I can quickly change my method if required.

 

The drogue is an underwater parachute enabling the boat to drift down wind slowly.  It is called loch style fishing and it means that you are covering fresh water all the time and hopefully another pod of fish.  If you don’t have a drogue then you have to anchor, tie up to a buoy (if it’s allowed) or drift free (a problem in strong winds).

The orange bailer is essential for fellers fishing as it enables you to discretely urinate whereas the ladies have to grit their teeth or motor back to the lodge.   The red cord is the “kill cord”, solo anglers are encouraged to attach the end of it to themselves so that in the event of them falling overboard the engine is killed and they a) don’t get chewed up by the prop and b) have a chance of swimming to the boat and hanging on.  I don't have a fancy armchair type boat seat.  What I do have is a foam one that velcros to the wood seat.  An occasional boat fisher could use an old cushion from home in a strong plastic bag.

The bilge pump (black handle on the left) is useful especially after a heavy downpour. You can also see the second G clamp for the drogue in the left hand corner.

So yesterday, having had a chat with Janet in the lodge, paid my dues and been assigned my boat I had a helpful chat with James, one of the fishery rangers.  He suggested I drift from Beaumans to the cages and used very small flies.  He said the fish were on the top swimming around in small shoals and that I should watch for any disturbance of the ripples and cast to them.  I thought that given the time of year the fish would be on hoppers and daddies so I spent the first few hours fishing them to no avail.  Eventually I gave up on what James had suggested as it got quite wet and windy.  I motored over to the corner of Chingley Wood to get out of the wind.  Within a few casts I had my first pluck on the daddy or hopper but did not hook up.  I tried a number of different drifts and even the corner of the damn, where I saw the odd fish.  Eventually as the weather improved I decided to try round the fish cages.  Whilst drifting between the cages and the grass at Ward’s Lane, right in front of me half a dozen fry leapt out of the water followed by a big rainbow and I realised the fish were on the fry!.

It was then that I remembered that Ray French had written in the latest edition of the Bewl Angle that competition anglers were having good success using tiny booby flies.  I also remembered I had tied 2 the night before.  So out they came and on they went and I came away with three nice 2lb rainbows.    Thanks Ray!

 

If you look closely you can see the tiny Booby in the corner of the fish's mouth. Now I am going to try and tie some more.

 

Lovely company and dragon boats, but frustrating fishing at Bewl Water.

My internet access at home is down and I am trying to post this from the local library pc. They have just up dated their systems and now I can add pictures.

Tony Hern of Fishability and Ian Thomas of Telereal Trillium



Last Saturday I had an interesting but frustrating day at Bewl Water.  I was supporting a “Fishability” event organised by Tony Hern, the Fishery Manager from Albury Estates (a splendid fellow).  Fishability is an organisation that supports people from the military services who have suffered trauma resulting in mental or physical challenges.  Tony had a dozen or so military or ex-military folk sharing boats with an equal number of experienced guides. 

I drew the long straw having Martha, a charming military nurse, assigned to my boat.  (This was a far more attractive proposition than sharing the boat with some tough and rugged squaddie!) 

 

Having had a bacon bap for breakfast we loaded up the boat and set off, conditions looked perfect, overcast, reasonable breeze rippling the water the temperature of which had dropped to 17 C.  However, Rob Dixon, one of the Bewl staff had warned me that the fishing would be hard.  Apparently, there was a tremendous amount of aquatic insect life in the water and the fish were stuffing themselves with naturals and avoiding anything suspicious!   This was confirmed by the number of house martins working the water.  Rob recommended drifting between the cages and the dam, so that’s what we did.  The good news was that, in spite of it only being her second go at fly fishing, Martha, who was bursting with enthusiasm, could cast quite well, certainly well enough to cover fish on the drift.

Well Martha maintained her enthusiasm and we fished our socks off and all to no avail.  At one point Martha spotted a pike on the top of the water right in front of her, when she moved her rod it spotted her and did an impressive “crash dive”.  We saw fish but in spite of changing flies, lines, locations and speed of retrieve we didn’t even get a touch.  The trout definitely had other things to distract them.

 

However, entertainment was provided by the dragon boat races down by the dam.  We must have heard the Hawaii Five O theme tune five hundred times!  Lunch was excellent, and the whole event was kindly financed by Telereal Trillium, with Ian Thomas signing the cheque and him and Richard Becksmith both from TT also acting as fishing guides.

 

Desperate to provide some excitement for Martha I asked her if she would like to drive the boat.  Well she jumped at the chance and we did a grand tour of the lake at full speed.  She even brought us into the jetty with finesse!   I was sad I had failed to deliver the goods, and get Martha hooked up with bar of pink or blue silver, but she did not complain once.  She has a bright future as a fly fisher.

Saltwater fly fishing report for Solent, Southern UK

I have taken the liberty of reproducing Justin Anwyl's August report here because it has some very useful info.  I have beach fished with Justin but I think now he mainly drift fishes (loch style) with his clients. During the season they manage to catch thousands of sea bass!
When it comes to fishing he is a "top gun!"


"August is here as is the sun. This season has been a complete tail of 2 halves as in May when we last wrote a note, I was in the Solent in a ski jacket trying to keep warm. Water temps were 12 degrees and Bass were still spawning! which is at least 2 months later than normal. Since then, the water temperatures have rocketed to 20 degrees and the sun has come out big time. Over the last couple of months we have experienced some of the best catches in ten seasons and some of the worst - my feeling is with the lack of blanket cloud and very high visibility a lot of fish have moved into deeper ground as it's the first time ever I've seen not only lobster pots from beneath the boat but lobsters in them - I can't imagine what the reflection is like when looking at the hull! - whatever you are tempted to do, i would suggest getting down deep and put on a larger than average pattern aswell as venture out as early as you can before the light is up - many times this season we have been on the boat for 4.30am and had 50-60 Bass by 8.00am, after that, you'll start to dredge the depths as the fish mover lower against the light..

The website has some larger 4/0 deceivers in white, red and cockroach - try drowning them and you will get pulled! http://www.bass-fishing.co.uk/en/all/c-accessories/f/

Red Cockroach Deceiver 4/0

I've just had delivered the new Seawolf 8/10 "S" series of reels which are based off the original design with the addition of a closed face drag, this makes them even more robust and easier to maintain - they will all be going to Connecticut this year for a good work out as well as Christmas Island to hunt down big Bonefish and GT's. http://www.bass-fishing.co.uk/en/seawolfslargearborsaltwaterflyfishingreel-p-9001.html

New Seawolf 8/10 "S" in Gunmetal Grey

Re the fishery, it is obvious to me that there is pressure on the brood stock as we are hooking up to mid gauge Bass and there seems to be a lack of quality in the usual areas in the early part of the season, as well as a lack of the smaller Bass showing in the harbours - I would be interested in your thoughts to see what your experiences have been like to date this year.
One thing which I have noticed, especially when traveling east is the amount of food in the water, tonnes of bait, either sandeel or mullet fry and this has only just started to attract large shoals of mackerel and Bass - this is the latest I have know this to happen, so maybe if we have a very clement summer/autumn our lines may be graced with a pull into November - fingers crossed. .

This is Good!

This is better! (J McGill)

I have since the last newsletter put up a Facebook page, which you can access via the link on the homepage - a good way to ask questions and keep track of daily catches and experiences.... if you have a question, i'd be happy to help.

For now, the season is in full swing and hopefully we can fish into latter part of the season if the summer extends as we expect it to. Pray for heat, cloud and low wind - not too much to ask!

Tip down and hold!"

Justin
Kind Regards

Justin Anwyl
IGFA Captain/Guide UK/USA
Email info@bass-fishing.co.uk
Tel: 07767 820268 or Tel: 01243 785496 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01243 785496 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting

www.bass-fishing.co.uk

STEELHEAD ACTION ON THE SKYKOMISH

With the decorating nearly complete and already two thirds of the way through my six weeks here in WA, USA I was starting to get desperate to catch something worth boasting about, so I decided to have a go for summer steelhead.  Lonnie had shown me the car park by (the) Big Eddy just up the Reiter Road Junction on State Route 2.  So I paid a visit on the 2^nd July with my fly rod.  Near the road bridge the water was ripping through and the Big Eddy was in full swing.  I followed Lonnie’s advice and walked up river pass the following sign and along the bolder-strewn beach, close to the water.

I think I had read somewhere that if you were in the water you weren’t trespassing!

 

 

 There was a lot of water coming down and I wished I had checked the river flows web site before I drove the forty miles!  So I moved upstream and when I got above the white water I waded out and had a few casts.  It immediately became clear that:-

1.       My nine foot eight weight rod was not really man enough for the job of launching a sink tip and a steelhead fly as far as I wanted it to go.

2.       I really needed a wading stick.

3.       I should probably have a pfd (personal floatation device) on.

4.       I had forgotten anything I ever knew about spey casting (and all the American derivatives, snap T, circle C etc).

I was also concerned that I was not getting the fly deep enough, but I had no idea of what deep enough was.   Anyway after an hour or so I chickened out and went exploring.

I decided to try and find the steelhead hatchery which I had been told was just upstream of where I was fishing (and confirmed the night before using good old Goggle Earth).

So I drove up Reiter Road and just as I was about to give up I came across all these vehicles parked up at the gate of the hatchery.   I walked through the gates and there was one of the amazing phenomena of fishing in the US a sign inviting you to fish at the hatchery where all the returning fish congregate!

 

 

I walked the bank, spoke to a few friendly guys and checked out their techniques.  They were all gear fishermen spinning, float fishing and plunking! I watched for an hour, apparently some fish had been caught earlier but now things seemed to have gone quiet.

 

That night I dug out an old telescopic spinning rod and some spinners and resolved to join them.  So this morning having woken at 6am I hit the road arriving at 7.30 to find fourteen vehicles outside the gate.  As I was walking in a chap called Brian had just wrestled a steelhead on to the bank and he kindly let me take his picture.

 

I found a spot between two nice guys and commenced fishing a rooster spinner under a float.  Avoiding hooking up is a bit challenging as everyone is using different methods and trying to avoid casting across each other.  This is made more difficult because the float men like to let their lines drift as far as possible.  Anyway I only got caught up with others twice and everyone was very amenable.

Then I got to see some action, I had a fish on but he came off so I had to make do with videoing others in action.  In a way it was good preparation for me because the steelhead I saw caught went absolutely ballistic when hooked.  Also the river is a minefield of obstructions and potential snags. The following video clips try to capture the drama of having a fish on!

 

The next clip shows how feisty the fish is when it is netted.

 

And here is the end product and a very happy man with a big fish!

 

 

So now I am convinced they are there I just have to try harder!!!!

Fishing Holiday (Vacation) Helpful Packing List

Tomorrow I am off on a 6 week fishing trip to Washington State, USA, well that's the dream! The reality is that it will also involve babysitting 4 grandchildren and doing projects around my son Daniel and daughter-in-law's home and their land.

 Lonnie one of my fishing pals on the Sky is getting ready to show me the hot spots!

The Tolt River is only a few miles from my son's home.

I am pretty tired packing and sorting out documents etc. but it occurred to me that lots of you will be going on holiday (vacation) soon and so my packing list might be helpful.  In the second column I don't just put a tick sometimes I put a code.  For example HB = hand baggage, W = wear etc.  Sometimes I put the number of items as in 2 tee shirts.  If I don't think I need something I put a X in the box. I use the third column when I am packing to come back, then if I put a X in the box it means I didn't need the item.

Passport
eTicket and brding card
Cash $
Cash £
Token to access Bank acct
Itinerary & contact details
Maps and guides
Driving licence
Travel Insurance docs
Car hire docs
Little blue note book!
Trousers smart
Trousers fishing
Shoes smart
Casual shoes/trainers
Socks, thick & thin
Underwear
Long sleeve shirts
Tee shirts
White shirt
Water proof jacket
Fleece
Jumpers
Nightwear
Hankies
Belts
Slippers
Swimming trunks
Shaving kit, shampoo etc
Tooth brush
Towel
Plastic bags
Sun glasses
Spare glasses
Digital Camera
Pens
Sun protection
Magnifying glass
I phone
I phone charger
Leatherman
Torch
Fishing Log
Family photos
Blog book
Medication

Well you might think that is it, but naturally I had to take some tackle with me!  Fortunately my wife travels light so a lot of it ends up in her case. All the rods taken are travelling rods so they fit diagonally across a suitcase. I can also get 2 of my rods in the one rod tube with a little care.  Here is the list:-

Fishing Tackle
Salmon/Steelhead
Steelhead line on reel
Steelhead sink tips
Steelhead leader spools
Steelhead flies
Vosseler Reel with sink tip line
Landing net (for trout)
Salt water fishing
8 weight Fulling Mill rod
Orvis reel with salt line
Salt Leader spools
Salt water flies
Salt water poppers
Trout Fishing
4 piece Loomis 6wt rod
Orvis spool 7 wt floating
3 piece Airflo 4wt rod
4 wt reels and lines
Compo reel + spools
Leader Material
Polyleaders
American flies
British dries flies
British lures
General Items
Tool necklace
Stripping basket
Sinkant and floatant
Orvis chest waders
Felt wading boots
Fingerless mitts
Waistcoat
Tackle bag
Wading jacket
Landing net
Wader repair kit
Electrical tape
Plastic bags
Water bottle
Orvis rucksac
Hats
Head torch
Fishing Log
First aid kit
Scarf
Towel
Filleting Glove