Prospecting in May

Charles returning a good Brown

May has been an interesting month with river levels the lowest we have seen them for some time, even lower than the last dry spell we had in October 2015, a total reversal of the Cumbria we experienced not so long ago. That said, we have still been catching some good trout in these low water conditions, but we have had to go prospecting for them for this to pay dividends, this was because the usual hot spots where we would expect to be catching trout at this time of year, have not been producing the amount of fish to make it viable for us to be staying in the same place for too long.

An underwater shot

The air temperatures did improve throughout May, (mainly towards the latter half of the month) but by no means were they consistent, and with persistent east winds in attendance at times, and water temperatures struggling to rise, we were forced to search for taking fish. Our main weapons during these periods were weighted nymphs, as any activity tended to be sub surface with little or no insect life around during these colder spells. However when the wind was in the South, or the West, the insect life and the fishing definitely improved, affording us several very enjoyable sessions on the dry fly, with several people, including David (pictured below) benefiting from this turn around.

David landing a fish on the Dry

The insect life did continue to improve as the Month went on, (as expected) but in the main hatches have remained relatively sparse and brief, although, on the beats we have been fishing, we have encountered some good hatches of Iron Blues which often triggered a good rise of fish, (albeit for short periods) and once again we were very successful on the dry fly at these times.

Eden Iron Blue

Iron blues have continued to draw some good trout to the surface right to the end of the month and there has also been some reasonable hatches of Grannom sedges in places too, but nothing like the amount we often encounter at this time of year, that said, even when they have been in attendance, the trout have not been that interested in them, (either above or below the surface) although the nymph has been the better option on these occasions. This has also been the case when there has been concentrated groups of Large Brook spinners in attendance, during which times the Pheasant Tailed Nymph (PTN) has saved the day.

Eden Large Brook Spinner

Despite the low water conditions there has been a good number of salmon caught this month, on a variety of beats up and down the river, and given that the majority of the sessions we have been doing have mainly covered casting tuition and trout fishing, the small number of people I have had out with me for salmon have been seeing fish rolling in the pools in front of them, (not always obliging I might add) however, this is always encouraging, and in the few salmon sessions we did do, one fish was lost and one caught, both on small flies. Jeff Jones (pictured below).had a very nice fresh little fish quite high up the river on low clear water, and it certainly gave a good account of itself.

Jeff Jones with a fresh little salmon

Towards the end of the Month we held two junior days under the Borderlines banner. Day one for a local youth station, (coarse fishing) to give the youngsters an insight into a different aspect of angling, which I must admit they got to grips with quite quickly as they proceeded to catch around one hundred fish throughout the session.

A young prize winner

Day two was a youth fly fishing day organised by Penrith Angling Association and run by Borderlines. The day included a range of activities such as: Safety, Fish Biology, Entomology, Knots, Casting, Fishing and a quiz at the end of the day to determine how much the youngsters had learned. The objective of this particular day was to give the youngsters a brief taste of the many things attached to going fishing, including environmental issues, conservation and the fact that its not just all about catching fish. At the end of the day all the youngsters received certificates of attendance, fishing magazines and local angling information in the form of handouts.

The Coarse fishing event

30 youngsters in all attended the two days and a great time was had by everyone involved. There are more days in the planning for Borderlines in 2016 as the Borderlines team continue in their to attempt to introduce as many youngsters to the benefits of angling as possible. The young man in the picture (below left) celebrated the day with his first ever fish.

15 Switch Rods on Test

We rounded up the Month with another rod test for the Trout & Salmon magazine, this time we tested the merits of 15 switch rods, and given the quality of many of the rods on test it certainly turned out to be a very difficult, but interesting and enjoyable test, held on the lower Eden, the results of which can be seen in the August edition of the magazine. If you get the chance to read it, I hope you all find it interesting and informative.

All Weather Fishing

John with one on the Dry

I can honestly say that not only did April throw just about everything at us it could, in the weather spectrum, it also did it on a regular basis and often all in one day too. Just when you thought it was about to warm up it turned extremely cold again, with hail stones, snow, rain, and a bit of sunshine thrown in for good measure. These constantly fluctuating temperatures really contributed to slowing the trout fishing down, encouraging the very sparse hatches we experienced in March to continue into April, a month that has historically seen some very good trout fishing on the Eden.

Allan on the Goldhead

What is encouraging though, is that towards the end of the month we saw the beginnings of a little more interest in the dry fly, not all the time, but on more occasions than we have seen of late, which is always a good indicator of a change on the horizon. So with May looming and temperatures set to rise, (hopefully more consistently) we should be looking forward to a little more insect life and subsequently a bit more surface activity for some of that excellent dry fly and spider fishing we have come to look forward to at this time of year.

Caught on Camera in the Air

As mentioned above, the very sparse hatches we encountered throughout April consisted of: the odd March Brown, a scattering of intermittent Large Dark Olives, a few Large Stoneflies and a small amount of caddis, (which only started to appear around the third week of April). However the significant observation here is that fly numbers were negligible in comparison to what we have experienced in previous years, so lets hope May temperatures trigger an increase in this area.

Despite the slow start to the trout season, it's not all been dour fishing though, as we have been picking away at them day by day, with some of the anglers I have had out with me certainly having some degree of success, and to catch a few fish in these difficult conditions can be very satisfying indeed as you can see from the accompanying pictures.

Tony adjusting the drag (Spiders)

The majority of anglers I have had out thus far have either come along for tuition, trout fishing, or both, but I have to say, the die hard salmon anglers who continue to visit the river annually, for their spring fishing fix, are steadily increasing their catches, with good numbers of fish being caught and returned to the river on many of the beats, both lower down and higher up the system, many of the beat return books are testament to this, with some anglers catching several fish to their own rod and many double figure fish turning up on the return sheets. Good to see!

Safe in the Net

Finally, possibly in anticipation of a better Month, I am set to be very busy in May with only a few remaining available dates in my diary, so here's hoping that May doesn't let us down and therefore continues to be the productive Month we have all become accustomed to in previous years. Let's go fishing!

Working Towards April

A bit of Landscape Gardening

Several casting sessions this month in preparation for the new season, although there has also been several salmon caught on the river too by the few anglers who have braved the elements and ventured out. I have also been busy in preparation for the new season, but not in a fishing capacity, more in a bank side maintenance capacity following the recent flooding events which battered many of the access points along the river. As you can see from the pictures we are eventually getting there at last!

Better Access to the River

The trout season started slow, with small intermittent hatches of Large Dark Olives appearing from time to time on many of the beats along the river, but only for very short periods, which is often the case early in the season. Large Stoneflies have also been hatching out, with very little interest from the trout (again not uncommon). 

Temperatures have generally erred on the cold side throughout March, (apart from the odd day) so the best approach has been weighted nymphs, allowing you to get your offerings down to the fish, however, apart from the odd fish they still haven't been showing a great deal of interest.

A Brave Attempt in Bitter Conditions

This was apparent again on a recent outing, following a casting session on the river with John Dunn, (pictured right) as he also decided to give the fishing a go, in very bitter conditions I might add, and although he did have three offers to the heavier nymphs from his box they were certainly not so keen to nail the fly with any meaning whatsoever, not surprising given the conditions!

So on to April, and apart from the usual casting sessions in the diary, there are also a few of you who have now decided to venture forth and do a bit of tuition and fishing with me, which I am very much looking forward to, as this will also give me the opportunity to catch up with some of you in the new season. See you soon!

River Was in Good Order "Not Now"

Illtyd Griffiths AAPGAI (at the BFFI)

Although at times the weather was bitterly cold, there was still a good turn out in mid February at the British Fly Fair, and with the AAPGAI team on hand to offer a wide variety of demonstrations, and answer a range of questions, a good time was had by all. One of the best turn outs I have seen for a long time, long may it last.

We have had a few more very cold days too during tuition sessions on the river towards the end of this month, but if well wrapped up this has not been a problem and whilst watching the river slowly falling back into good order again I was set to do some serious fishing with people this coming weekend.

Only two weeks to go!

However on the last day of February the rain returned yet again, (and the forecast also gave the possibility of snow) this recent rain has put the rivers up once more, scuppering any plans for short term fishing, that said, conditions are supposed to improve towards the end of the week, at which time I am hoping for a spot of fishing, either this weekend, or throughout the following week. Looking ahead though, further improvements in the weather is on the cards and March looks very promising, ("bring it on") which bodes very well for the start of the Trout season in two weeks time on March 15th.

Forecast set to improve

Tuition sessions are generally not a problem in high water, as we can usually find somewhere to get in the river, but for those of you who have been waiting to attach some fishing to those sessions it seems as though we have been waiting forever for the river to come back into some kind of order again, anyway no doubt it eventually will, at which time I look forward to getting some of you out with me on the river again very soon. "Tight Lines".

More Wind & High Water!

This month has been another washout I'm afraid, with two storms closely tracking each other through January and into February causing more flooding and wind damage. The rivers in Cumbria and surrounding areas have remained high with periods of very strong winds accompanying the heavy rain, making it very difficult to get people out on the river for either Grayling or Salmon fishing.

Cancellations have continued to be the order of the month, although there were a couple of windows available to us, but just for casting sessions only, not fishing, at least until the gale force winds hit us again putting that on hold too.

See you at the Show!

On a brighter not though, it won't be long until the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) event at the Staffordshire Show Ground on the 13th and 14th February, where I hope to see many of you there for a catch up. There's a full itinerary of casting demonstrations throughout the weekend, provided by members of AAPGAI (the Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors). So if you intend to be there, don't forget to come along to the AAPGAI stall, or demonstration area, for a chat, it would be great to see you there.

This bad weather can't last for ever!

December Abandoned

A Flooded Carlisle Street

In my last post I remained optimistic to hopefully fit in a bit of Grayling fishing for one or two people before Christmas, however as you will all know by now, circumstances took a real turn for the worst here in Cumbria with persistent rain and strong winds, coupled with the already very wet ground conditions from the previous rainfall we had, which brought some devastating flooding to the area.

River height Today (Warwick Bridge)

Although the bulk of the water is now out of peoples homes, the conditions are still volatile with more rain forecast for this week, which must be quite worrying for those already flooded out of their homes and our thoughts are certainly with them at this time.

Rest assured though, things will eventually return to normal and after the festive season we will definitely get out on the Eden to target a few Grayling in the early part of the year, and with the salmon fishing also fast approaching, (season opens here on the Eden on January 15th) we will soon be back in the swing of things as the Spring season has been showing improvement over the past few years.

Hope to See you all Next Season

Anyway whilst we are waiting for all this action to take place, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the very best in health and happiness for the 2016 season. See you soon!

Most of November Washed Out



Even the Tributaries are high

Not much to report I'm afraid, with persistent rain throughout November the Grayling fishing (for the most part) has been a total washout on the Eden. There were a few nice days at the start of the month, but even then the water was still a bit on the high side, the total opposite to October when we needed some water for the salmon fishing. Even the tributaries are too high to fish at the moment!

Avoiding Trout proved difficult

This months early Grayling trips produced a multitude of brown trout, even though we tried to avoid them as we moved from pool to pool in search of Grayling, and although we did catch the odd Grayling, the fluctuating water levels didn't make it easy, whilst at the same time we were trying to avoid the attention of those relentless brown trout, which proved very difficult indeed to say the least, with sessions often running into double figures. A classic argument for barbless hooks!

Ready to go!

Apologies to those of you I have had to cancel due to the poor water conditions, but you would not have benefited whatsoever from a trip in these conditions and we can always re-arrange when circumstances improve and success is more likely. However I will remain optimistic that conditions could still improve and allow us to target Grayling before Christmas, and as you can see I have a few flies to try too, tied for me by a client and good friend of mine John Dunn (Thanks again John). Although realistically we do need the water to behave itself. That said, it is rising yet again as I write this Blog, so fingers crossed!

 

Worst case scenario, I will certainly get those keen Grayling anglers amongst you out on the river in the New Year, it just means waiting that little bit longer if necessary!