Bring On The Rain

One of the better fish

With River levels continuing to fall and water temperatures warm enough to take a bath in, you can imagine how difficult it has been lately to tempt some of the better fish to take the fly. Plenty of small fish at the moment, but in these conditions, to connect with some proper Eden Browns, you need to be targeting these fish very late in the evening, as the light fades into darkness, which at the present time is a very small window of opportunity. However, as any angler will tell you, because we are dealing with wild creatures, you can never say never, and from time to time, even in these difficult conditions, we have managed to tempt one or two decent fish to the net, as you can see from the picture above, taken on the lower river.

A Short Clip of one we Returned

Sea Trout are still in attendance on the river too, although they have slowed down a little since my last post, but if you are prepared to go out in what has been very pleasant night time conditions, as temperatures do cool down somewhat following the heat of the day, there is still a very good chance of a fish or two. Unlike Salmon, Sea Trout are very active at night and will often move upstream (and take!) in very low water.

However, Salmon anglers continue their frustration, as the present conditions have made it almost impossible to tempt these powerful fish to take, and we are all waiting patiently for the rain we have been promised over the next few days, to both freshen up the water, and to lower temperatures to a more comfortable level, thus encouraging fish to run the river and hopefully take our offerings. This fresh water (if we get it!) will also improve the trout and Grayling fishing too. "Bring it on".

Tuition at the West Cumbria Game Fair

I attended the West Cumbria Game Fair again this year on the weekend of the 13th & 14th of July as part of the AAPGAI team delivering the demonstrations down on the water in the fishing area, and this year I was also given a slot in the main arena on both days. The very hot conditions continued throughout the weekend which certainly made it much more suitable for demonstrating than it did for fishing.

A good fish in difficult conditions.

I have been out with people on the river again over the past few days, with limited success, although whilst employing some of the low water techniques we have managed to prove that it does still work to a degree, (as you can see from the picture on the right) but results are still very slow. Yes it's nice weather to be out on the river, but it is also nice to have the opportunity of catching a few fish too, and to help with this we desperately need some water, "so here's hoping".

Low Flows and Shows

With low flows set to continue on the river for at least another two weeks or so, the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) was a welcome distraction, as AAPGAI members once again took on the task of delivering the fly casting demonstrations at the Staffordshire show ground over the weekend of 22nd - 23rd June. The show was well received again and hopefully we will continue to do our bit in the future.

David to the rescue

It was nice to get back to the Eden valley though, where life is one paced, "and quite rightly so", but, with the persistent low flows on the rivers, the focus turned to a spot of Stillwater fishing on a local lake whilst introducing nine newcomers to the therapy that is fly fishing. Well in all fairness that's not entirely true, as one of the guys (David Pinner) was a previous client of mine who has now really got to grips with the art of fly fishing and left to his own devices he caught a couple of nice rainbows. That left eight total beginners to introduce to the mechanics of casting and some of the fishing techniques required to ultimately catch a fish or two. I shared this job with fellow AAPGAI instructor and good friend Geoff Johnston, and although conditions weren't ideal, the outcome was a good one with a couple of fish caught by the group and a few missed opportunities to boot.

One of several good Browns

Back on the river, conditions have been difficult at times as the low flows continue, despite the odd heavy showers we have had, however there are methods we can adopt that will often winkle out a trout or two in these difficult situations, and if all else fails, then early morning and late evening can often be the key, especially if during the day we have experienced periods of bright sunshine and high temperatures, which has recently been the case. Despite these far from ideal conditions, when we have put these tactics to good use, we have enjoyed some fantastic sport with some exceptional Brown Trout, with some evenings producing several good fish up to 2 1/2 lb.

Ken Whelan & Illtyd Griffiths

No sooner was I back home in Cumbria, delivering tuition and fishing sessions to a variety of people on the river, than I was off on my travels yet again, but this time to Northern Ireland for the Killyleagh Irish International Fly Fair. This is another event attended annually by AAPGAI, working closely with APGAI Ireland to deliver the casting demonstrations and individual tuition sessions at the show. The casting takes place in the castle grounds in the village of Killyleagh, a beautiful venue, overlooking Strangford Lough at the other end of the village. This is an excellent social event with fly dressers and demonstrators attending from around the world with all proceeds going direct to the Dibney River Conservation Trust. "A Great Show".

Whilst in Ireland I got talking to my good friend and recent AAPGAI colleague Professor Ken Whelan, (AST’s Director of Research) about all things Sea Trout, the conversation was inspired by one of Ken's many excellent presentations on this enigmatic fish. Add to that a conversation with our Chairman Illtyd Griffiths who has lived his life around Sea Trout fishing on the Welsh rivers, to discuss my pending trip to the Dovey, well you can imagine, boy did those dialogues put me in the mood for some nocturnal fishing on my return to the river Eden, and I was not disappointed either, as over the last

An Eden Sea Trout

couple of trips out I have managed to hook into four very good fish, landing only two of them I'm afraid, "must try harder". Although there are not many Sea Trout showing on the Eden at the moment, they are definitely in attendance and whilst searching the water for these fantastic fish there have been some cracking Browns coming to the net too. "Off out again tonight".

Recent Happenings

Sam Playing a trout

Out again for trout over the weekend of the 7th - 9th June with a great bunch of guys on the middle Eden. The weather continued to warm up, with bright sunshine and ever decreasing water conditions making the trout fishing a little more difficult than it should have been, although the group did very well, all things considered, and managed to catch a few fish. Yes many of them on the smaller side, but they did get a couple of decent fish too and lost a couple of good fish in the process, however the friendly banter more than compensated for this. "Well done guys".

Marwan into a Brownie

Following the weekend, the weather continued in this same vein, once again making the fishing a little more difficult than normal, so whilst I was out with Doug Douglass through the week, an alternative approach was required if we were going to avoid catching those small to medium sized fish he had been getting in the morning whilst fishing the tails of the pools (good fun though!). So change tactics we did, and as expected, the latter part of the day produced some better quality fish to the nymph whilst targeting the more streamy, oxygenated areas at the top of the runs (the necks of the pools) where fish often become more concentrated and active during these low water periods.

One of Doug's fish on the Nymph 

Doug was poised like a heron in these areas and he was clearly enjoying the experience, in fact I think a heron would have struggled to keep up with him at one point as his success rate continued to soar, not to mention a couple of exceptional fish that parted company with him during the process, however, he has since taken his revenge whilst on another trip to the Eden putting his newly discovered technique into practise. "Nice One!

A youngsters first rainbow

Since Doug's trip, temperatures cooled down again continuing the inconsistencies we have now become used to in Cumbria and the UK in general. "I'm sure it's supposed to be June, isn't it" ???. We thought we might escape this trend whilst delivering another Borderlines day in SW Scotland, on the very picturesque Drum Loch in Dumfriesshire for a group of youngsters from a local school, but conditions were much the same, although following a safety talk, an entomology session and a casting lesson they did manage to get some fish (Rainbow and Blue trout) and a good time was had by all.

Guide Fly Fishing Day

On Sunday 16th June, following two very successful years in both 2011 and 2012, I was once again pleased to be able to play my part in organising another Guide Fly Fishing day for the members of Carlisle Angling Association with my good friend and colleague Jim Fearn (AAPGAI).. The day kicked off at 11am as I got things underway with a Spey casting demonstration on how to get the best from your casting. This was designed to highlight some of the things that often go wrong during Spey casting and how to address these problems in a fishing situation. This opening demo was also designed to improve the have a go session when CAA members later took the opportunity to try out a few rods and lines with some free tuition thrown in too, to revisit some of the points covered in the demo. The event finished at 3pm with some great feedback as members commented on how they had really enjoyed the session and were looking forward to hopefully running another day next year. With around 20 people attending the event I think a follow up will be a distinct possibility.

Shelagh lands a Brown Trout

A further tuition and fishing session on Tuesday 18th June with Shelagh Leyland and her son Matt saw temperatures climbing again, becoming very bright and muggy, forcing us to work hard for results, however they did mange to get a few very small trout, and although not ideal, managed to save what could have been a blank day.

I also managed to fit in a bit of trout fishing myself yesterday with a friend, and although the bright conditions persisted along with low tepid water conditions, we did manage to catch a few browns to about 1lb, as well as three small herling (young sea trout) "all returned". But the icing on the cake was a nice Sea Trout of almost 2lb "caught by my good friend Raymond on a small goldhead", it's always nice to see these fantastic fish in attendance.

Off to the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) tomorrow as part of the demonstration team for AAPGAI so I will update you on proceedings when I return. "Watch this space".

Top Sport with the Browns

Brian on holiday from Australia

We did have a good rise of water in mid May which influenced a few more Salmon catches up and down the river, however, the Salmon fishing in general on the Eden this year continues it's slow trend, although there are fish in the system, and some good fish at that. Unfortunately the chances of encountering many of these fish, at the moment, are very slim due to the low water conditions we are presently experiencing, and many Salmon anglers will be praying for water as the 16th June approaches. This is the date from which anglers can take a Salmon home for the pot.

David into a good fish

However, one mans loss is another mans gain, as they say, and these low water conditions have produced some great sport for the Brown Trout angler, which has again proved phenomenal at times, with some sessions still producing catches into double figures, on all methods, as well as producing some very good quality fish too. Even on the most difficult days we have still managed to catch a few fish, not to mention the ones that got away.

The result of a good battle 

The latter part of May was very reluctant to let go of those North Westerly winds which were a little cool at times too, but during the lulls the days have continued to have a much warmer feel to them (as mentioned in my previous blog). This in turn has encouraged a few more insects to appear (although not in great numbers) and with olive upright hatches improving, along with a few more Large Brook Duns and Iron blues appearing, (amongst others) the dry fly has been producing some great results during these periods. Spiders continue to do well too, especially the partridge family (not the musical group) and when those cold snaps (which are still hanging on a bit) rear their ugly heads, then the upstream nymph has been producing the goods.

Bluebells on the Eden in June

Nature is still two or three weeks behind, and this has certainly influenced the insect life, although this may also extend certain hatches into later months as temperatures warm up (here's hoping) and for those of you fishing in the vicinity of wooded areas there is an added bonus, as you will have probably noticed some beautiful carpets of bluebells still reluctant to relinquish their hold on the world. Here is an example of such a spread on the middle Eden. "Enjoy".

Charles with a trout in mid air

Although we do still have Easterly, North Easterly and North Westerly winds forecast for the rest of the week, which will keep temperatures a little lower than normal for this time of year, they are quite light winds, and conditions in general are still feeling much more comfortable than they have been, and the fish seem to agree with this too. Mind you, the forecasters may have got it wrong again, as they often do and at the moment it is very warm outside. "This is Cumbria after all".

A successful outcome

I am out with another group of keen anglers over the next three days, most of whom are fishing the Eden for the first time and all being well they should soon be experiencing some of those hard fighting wild Brown trout, whilst enjoying some of the most fantastic fishing available on the river Eden. "You can't beat it"

.

Improving Conditions

A great day on the river with David.

Since my last post, almost a month ago, conditions have still been quite changeable, however, apart from a few relatively cold and windy days, temperatures in general (although a long time coming) continue to improve, along with the results of our trout fishing sessions, which have certainly had a much warmer feel to them, adding further enjoyment to the experience for all involved. These changes have also been highlighted by the increase in insect life we are now seeing on the river, and along side the remaining few Large Dark Olives there has been enormous hatches of Grannom sedges, which although a little late, are still appearing in these large numbers as I write, probably encouraged by the slower than normal temperature rises for this time of year which has held everything back a little. There has also been an increase in large stoneflies recently, but the scattering of March Browns we have seen on the river this year have now petered out.

A cracking brownie with Jeff on the lower Eden

The Salmon fishing has been much slower than last year over this period with fewer fish being spotted on most beats, but one or two fish are still getting caught all the same, and whilst I have been out with people on the river, we have certainly seen one or two nice double figure fish running through the lower beats. Despite the fresh water we received in mid April, water levels have still been a little on the low side for good Salmon fishing, but this may be set to change as we now have much wetter conditions arriving with more rain forecast over the next few days.

Tony Strikes Again

For now though, although slightly more intermittent at times, spider patterns continue to produce the goods, with some very nice Brown Trout coming to the net, however, it is also worth trying a couple of small nymphs, or gold headed nymphs, during the slower periods when fish tend to hug the bottom a bit more, especially in the colder snaps. This can also prove to be an exceptional method during those large Grannom hatches, as you will often find it is not the adult they are interested in, but the aquatic stage of this insect, e.g. the Pupae, (at all levels in the water) as they make their way to the surface. The trout often become locked on to this pupal stage and this can be deadly. An emerger type pattern can also be the order of the day in this situation, such as a Klinkhammer or shuttlecock pattern. "Try it" !!!!!

Trout are coming to the dry fly too, although the strong winds we have been experiencing have been making this method less appealing and in my opinion a little less effective than other methods at the moment, but this will inevitably change as conditions improve, encouraging more Upwings to appear. 

Geoff with a nice Lake Trout

Amongst the usual Spey casting lessons and recent tuition and fishing days, I had the good fortune to be invited by my good friend and colleague Geoff Johnston, to join him on his boat in the lake district, targeting wild lake trout (brown trout). We fished a team of wet flies in a steady wave throughout the day with fantastic results, mainly down to Geoff's intimate knowledge of the individual areas around the shoreline, and although conditions were a bit cool at times, I couldn't have wished for a more enjoyable day and good company to boot!

Signs of Spring "At Last"

Russell Jnr with a good Specimen

Literally in the last few days we are now seeing signs of things warming up a little. The East winds have just started to swing around to the South East and are forecast to be South Westerly toward the end of the week. We are also enjoying a few sunny spells at the moment, although the rain is on its way into Cumbria tonight. However this will not do any harm at all as the rivers in this area are very low at the moment and a bit of extra water may encourage a few more Salmon to become more active. It's as if they know it is coming too as I watched a couple of nice fish running on the tide yesterday and also lost a nice Sea Trout on a spider pattern followed up with a small Sea Trout (herling) of around 1lb

Russell Snr was a fish Magnet

The transition from March into April continued its very cold trend with all things in nature struggling to identify with spring, especially the youngsters we had out from a local school on their follow up fishing trip with Borderlines, but I must admit we did get the best of the recent weather on the day. 

From there we were off back up to the river Tay, but this time to work, not to fish, as part of the AAPGAI assessment team, (Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors) assessing potential new instructors for SANA (Scottish Anglers National Association) for their SGAIC qualification (Scottish Game Angling Instructors Certificate) and would you  believe it, considering it was still March, we were greeted by the purest (relatively warm) sunshine I had seen yet. A stolen day by all accounts, but very much appreciated. The outcome was a good one too with three passes from four candidates. (Report).

Beware that tangled Dropper

The first few days into April remained quite cold, but this didn't put the trout off and now that the weather is beginning to warm up a little the trout fishing is also beginning to improve. I have already enjoyed some fantastic fishing both for myself and with people I have had out on the river, with some days producing catches into double figures and fish up to 2lb, not to mention the fish we pricked and lost too. The best method to date though has definitely been the spiders, with nymphs and bugs not doing anywhere near as good at a time when you would expect the cold water conditions to contribute better to those methods.

A good Slab on a Waterhen Bloa

The dry fly has produced intermittently during  times of sparse hatches of Large Dark Olives, but to be honest a Waterhen Bloa in the surface during these periods received a much better response. There has been the odd March Brown spotted too and the odd Stonefly, but they have been few and far between. Spiders remain the order of the day at the moment and this should only get better as conditions improve throughout April and into May. However when using this method in these colder conditions I have found that a lower rod tip than the conventional method of fishing spiders, and a much quicker strike, has produced better results as the takes are by no means convincing at the moment, more investigative.

A good underwater shot

One of the downsides to spider fishing, especially when a light leader is employed, with two droppers, is the possibility of a tangle when the fish decides to leap and cartwheel in the air (often unavoidable). However these set backs are more than worth it when the trout are locked on to this deadly method. The above picture shows an underwater shot of a Brown trout that took a spider on the middle dropper whilst fishing on the Eden the other day (click picture to enlarge).

In the short video clip above I managed to capture a Brown Trout on underwater video whilst trying to play it at the same time, which wasn't easy. It is on the dropper fly which is a Partridge & Orange and if you look close enough you will be able to see it. A very good fight ensued.

Freeing the point fly to free the fish

Out again tomorrow and Sunday with a friend coming over from Norway for some casting tuition and as long as the rain that is forecast does not swell the river too much then more trout fishing on Monday will be the order of the day, although I am very aware that there is still a bit of snow melt yet to come as the warmer temperatures kick in. We will soon find out!

Wrapping up Warm in March

The cold March weather has been relentless here in Cumbria and many other areas too, with biting East winds and driving snow, I keep having to remind myself I am still in the UK. However, although these cold conditions have curtailed the start of the trout season somewhat (15th March on the Eden) we certainly haven't been idle, and despite these very unfriendly conditions we have still managed to stay active, with a selection of casting tuition sessions for both  Salmon and Trout anglers alike, as they anticipate the new season upon us.

Borderlines Day (measuring the flow)

As part of the team at Borderlines we ran a couple of entomology and river walk sessions for a local Cumbrian School, with planned fishing sessions to follow in the near future, and on the weekend of the 9th and 10th March Glyn Freeman and I, once again, delivered a workshop weekend on the Lazonby Estates beat of the river Eden. Like last year, the workshop was aimed at potential AAPGAI instructors i.e. those wishing to see what the Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors are all about. We had five attendees on the course, a great bunch of guys (shown below) from as far afield as Swansea in Wales and the Gordon Castle estate beat of the river Spey in Scotland, to more locally interested parties from Annan and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. A great weekend was had by 

A good bunch on the Workshop

all, and the feedback was fantastic, despite the intermittent driving snow on day two. We plan to run another event in November if we get enough interest, so if this is something that you may be interested in later in the year then simply click on the following link for further details: AAPGAI on the Eden

More Wintery weather on the Tay

A little bit of free time after the weekend as Glyn and I headed off up to the Tay to meet friends for a spot of fishing for ourselves, although we nearly didn't make it due to heavy snow and icy conditions and when we did get there we spent most of the time chatting in the warm fishing hut where the Gillie, and personal friend, Iain Kirk, kept the kettle on a low light. Eventually we did go fishing and encountered a few Kelt's and one of the guys did loose a good fish. I too lost something substantial on the first day, but because it got away I'm calling it a kelt!!! There were three spring fish caught on the second day, but not by us and just to rub salt into the wound they were taken on the beat we were on the day before, Hey Ho that's fishing. 

All about Anchors

Following this we headed off to Cockermouth for our first AAPGAI assessment events of 2013 where potential new instructors take their first step on the ladder and we hold an open day for those wishing to come along to watch the demonstrations and enjoy the one to one tuition available afterwards. Unfortunately the weather continued in the same vein, although the open day turned out to be reasonably nice and all 25 attendees enjoyed it immensely with some really good feedback.

Finally no sooner had I returned home than I had to take off again the next day, this time to the Wharfe to take part in a rod test for the Trout & Salmon Magazine. Again I encountered snow, however day two of the test was actually quite a nice day and we even saw a hatch of olives in the early afternoon with a spell of about an hour when we watched some really good trout taking advantage of them. Unfortunately the Wharfe at Bolton Abbey, (where we were) doesn't start fishing for trout until April 1st. However, seeing these good fish topping really reminded me of what we are in for on the Eden if and when things warm up at the beginning of April. "The sooner the better".