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"

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