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!



Low Water Prevailed

Low water conditions prevailed

Unfortunately the last few days of the salmon season (which finished on the Eden on the 14th Oct) didn't benefit from any fresh water whatsoever, (as was the case on many other rivers too) and although there were salmon in most of the pools, the low flows that dominated the latter part of the season made fishing for salmon very difficult. It is interesting though that there now seems to be a trend towards improving catches of spring fish over the past few years and this year was no exception, with good catches of salmon (for those who were out fishing for them) throughout the earlier months of the season and right into August when water flows were much better.

Given these apparent changes, a salmon fishing foray during these earlier months is well worth considering, with April / May historically seeing some very good trout fishing, therefore this always offers something to fall back on if water flows are low and the salmon fishing is suffering as a result of this.

Christian about to let go!

One that didn't escape (until returned)

However, we did have some good casting sessions too and an extraordinary spell when Brown Trout were taking a large Cascade during Christian Woolfenden and John Schofield return trip in October for some further salmon fishing. They had a dozen trout between them to around 3lb and lost a few too as you can see in the video above. That said, the Browns do often become very aggressive at this time of year as they prepare for spawning and the bigger they are the more likely they will get first crack at anything that enters their territory. Oh well at least something was pulling.

John putting out a nice line

Since the Salmon season ended on the Eden I have been involved with the AAPGAI assessments again, this time at a new venue on the river Test at Broadlands down in Hampshire. Those of you who know the river down there will also know that this is one of the widest areas of the Test, offering plenty of space and distance for both single handed and double handed assessments, and the uniformed wading is ideal for this too. A great event with a 50% success rate for candidates taking their assessments and an excellent turn out from the membership for the new members day event held on Saturday 17th Oct. To top this off I even got the chance to fish both the Test and The Avon whilst I was down there, and managed to catch a couple of Grayling too, very different fishing to our usual northern pursuits I can assure you.

AAPGAI Open day on the Test

Anyway not much more to report I'm afraid, but I will be out again at the weekend following the recent freshet of water, (typical now the salmon season is over). However the water is now falling away again and the advantage of this low water is that the Grayling fishing should be very good, especially after the influx of young fish we were seeing earlier in the year. Don't worry though, if they are on I haven't forgotten my promise to several of you to give you the heads up for a Grayling session, which can be great fun. "I will be in touch!

September Masquerades as Summer

Malcolm Roberts on the Eden

Not great salmon fishing weather for September, with hot bright Summer conditions and hardly a drop of rain where we needed it, and although we did get some rain, it was very localised, only raising the river briefly overnight before dropping off again almost as quickly as it had risen, the total opposite to August I'm afraid!

Needless to say, the salmon fishing has suffered as a result of these unseasonable conditions, with no water to encourage fresh fish to enter the river, and those fish that are in the system becoming stale and difficult to catch, although whilst trying to target them we have been seeing fish in the pools, as Malcolm, who came for some tuition and fishing (pictured above fishing one of these pools) will testify to.

Phil into a trout

However, during this unfriendly salmon fishing weather, whilst the sun has been high in the sky, we have regularly used the time to focus on some casting sessions, and as well as those of you who have specifically come for guided salmon fishing and tuition, many of you have also come along for prearranged casting sessions, which as it has turned out has been a good time to do so whilst these low water and hot weather continues have persisted.

Henry on the dry

With most people targeting salmon at this time of year the trout fishing was a little neglected and on numerous occasions we have been seeing some good fish rising to the fly, however, I have had a few people out on the river with me who were keen to have a go for them, with some success. 

Henry and Phil (pictured above and right) were just two of them, although I wish they had been with me on a few other occasions when the surface has erupted into the evening just as the sun  began to lower in the sky, prior to the temperature dropping, which did serve as a reminder that it was actually September. 

David Pinner with a lower Eden trout

Also David Pinner and David Bateman, who came individually for salmon tuition and fishing, both had a go for the trout, (as you can see from the pictures) and whilst the salmon fishing was slow this was a welcome opportunity for something to pull their string and at least give them some welcome sport on what would otherwise be difficult conditions for salmon fishing.

David Bateman in again

With the trout season now over today (30th September) our focus must be firmly set on the remainder of the salmon season, regardless of the conditions, so out again tomorrow with Jeff Jones to do exactly that and try to outwit one of these fish. Here's hoping!

Going into October I am praying for rain to lift river levels and encourage some action over the remaining two weeks of the season, but regardless of what may happen, nothing will stop us from setting up the Grayling rods the moment the salmon season ends in preparation for some pending winter sport.