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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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".
