More Unsettled Weather

June has continued with some localised heavy rain , although the temperature has risen, which at least gives the impression of a summer month, and the trout fishing, although intermittant at times, has benefitted from these changes, influenced by the general direction of the wind, with some warmer southerlies and westerlies in attendance at times, and a mix of both, which has assissted in producing some nice fish when water conditions allowed.

There has also been an increase in the amount of double figure Salmon spotted on the river, with several being caught on the usual beats, and the lower river will almost certainly benefit from the present conditions over the next few days as the water continues to fall away and clear, with further catches imminent.

I was away from the Eden over the weekend of the 18th & 19th, representing AAPGAI as part of the demonstration team at the British Fly Fair International, which was moved from it's usual November slot at Tretham Gardens, to it's new venue in June at Bingley Hall (The Staffordshire Show Ground). I was also away this weekend, attending an AAPGAI Continued Professional Development weekend, (CPD) which gives members the chance to look at new products on the market and try them out, as well as taking in some of the excellent fly dressing demonstrations given by the members (as seen above). "It was a great weekend".

Off to the Irish International Fly Fair in Killyleagh this weekend to do a bit of demonstrating and teaching, so will probably miss some good Salmon fishing as the water at the moment is looking very promising, but I have managed to do plenty of teaching and a bit of trout fishing in the interim, with some good results once again. "Let's see what July throws up".

Unusual weather for June

Here we are in June, and the weather up to now gives you the impression that it is still March, "what's going on". Never mind, once the river decided to drop in again we did manage to get amongst the fish at times, although during the periods when we encountered very cold East winds it also proved very difficult.

Sasha with a nice Brown Trout

For me, June began with some Salmon casting tuition with a couple of people on the mid river, but I found once again this month that most people were interested in learning how to cast a trout rod and then put it into practice with some positive results. One particular youngster who came along with her family did very well, whilst using a small six foot split cane fly rod which she proceeded to catch a few small trout with and a very nice fish (pictured here) "Well Done".

I also managed to get out and do a bit of trout fishing with some successful catches on the dry fly and a nice Sea Trout of 3lb just to top it off, (pictured below) which I must admit, went home for the pot on this occasion, as I am partial to a tasty Sea Trout.

Lots of youth days with Borderlines again in the first half of June which saw us taking youngsters out on both rivers and Stillwaters, covering, Entomology, Fishing and Environmental issues, and last weekend I got together with a good friend of mine, Jim Fearn, from Guide Fly Fishing to put on an informal (free) day for the Carlisle Angling Association members (held in Rickerby Park Carlisle) on the river Eden. The day was designed as an opportunity for anglers to come along and try out different products that are on the market and also to receive tuition covering the latest casting techniques etc. The feedback was very good and we will be arranging another day in 2012.

This weekend saw Andrew and Ian Wiper coming along again for some Salmon tuition and fishing, but the fish were not obliging, nor were the trout I might add, as we were plagued once again by an East wind all day, although the last two times they have been here, they have caught some nice Salmon. As from the 16th June (yesterday) anglers on the river are allowed to take two Salmon per day (beat rules allowing) and although many anglers these days do return many of their fish, it is nice to be able to take one home for the pot, and I think we will now see many more Salmon anglers out on the river (water conditions permitting).

And The Rain Came

As we moved into May the rain held off for a while, with just the odd shower here and there, which to be honest, did suit me, as I had quite a few people coming to do some trout fishing, and apart from the times when the odd top up of fresh water does often prove productive, I tend to find that low water conditions (not too low) can be just as good for targeting trout if you look in the right places, which once again proved to be the case as you can see from the pictures. We did have a few cold North Westerly winds at times, which chilled the surface, and put fish down refusing a dry fly, but when the South Westerlies kicked in we had some cracking catches (some doing better than others) and with a lot more insect life appearing in the form of, Olive Uprights, Iron Blues, Yellow May's, Large Brook Duns and a variety of Sedges and Gnats, to name but a few, fishing was good, with trout to 2 and a half pounds on our outings, and up to 3lbs reported elsewhere on the river. Excellent!

We did get a small rise in water as the weather forecast dictated on the weekend of the 13th and 14th which produced a few Salmon, with one angler taking 5 to his own rod on the Warwick Hall beat of the river, but fish were also caught on other beats. This was good news for those salmon anglers amongst us, and also, during a tuition and fishing session for trout on the lower Eden, with John Priest, he managed to hook a nice Sea Trout of around 3lb, which unfortunately parted company after a few acrobatic crashes on the surface of the water, but we know they are there.

In mid May (Monday 16th) I was involved in the Cumbria Fishing Festival, which is held annually on the river Eden and surrounding areas in Cumbria. It is aimed at anglers of all abilities and offers something for everyone from the beginner to the more advanced angler. My job this year was to introduce anglers to some of the more intricate casts, which included the slack line casts for delaying drag when fishing a dry fly on flowing water, and showing some techniques to use to reach those awkward places on the river. The sessions went better than expected, as they were just really aimed at casting and fishing techniques, but I encouraged the anglers attending to put flies on whilst they were practicing and the outcome was fantastic, with 7 Brown Trout being caught over the two sessions, up to around a pound and a half (all returned at the individuals request) but we did get some excellent pictures to remember the day, one of which is shown above right.

Last week I was delivering a series of school sessions with my colleagues from Borderlines. This is one of the ongoing projects I am presently involved with, known as "The Fishing for Knowledge Project". It takes the youngsters on a progressive journey which gives them an insight into both angling and the environment. This particular stage was aimed at Entomology (the life cycles of the insects that the fish feed upon). It is also a very rewarding, and enjoyable journey for me too.

This weekend saw another big change in the weather system, (in Cumbria) which has brought in more rain and very strong winds up to 80mph, putting the rivers up to unfishable levels, and keeping us all away from the fishing. So I sit peering out of the window at even more rain as I am writing this, and although we did need some water for the Salmon fishing, (and the flora) I can't help wondering if it is going to forget to stop again, as it often does, although the rivers are dropping again at the moment and the forecast does look promising. "I think April and May have swapped places this year".

Persistant Low Water Conditions

The river has continued to shrink throughout the month as we have just endured the hottest April on record. Great sunbathing weather, but not the best of conditions for fishing. This was not entirely down to the glaring sunshine though, but the easterly winds that have accompanied it.

Despite this, we have at times, encountered some very good trout to 2lb, continuing the trend from last month. We have often had to fish a little deeper with a gold head or two, as the spiders have not been the force they can be at this time of year (yet), although if you were prepared to persevere with a dry fly on very baron looking surface water, you could bring up a good fish or two, as Doug Douglass, who was having a session with me on the lower river will tell you, as will Simon Harris with a nice trout shown in the picture above taken on his mobile phone, as my camera decided to pack up on me, and Fay Larkins who has landed a couple of good fish recently on the middle river of around 1 1/2lb and 1 3/4lb (pictured left).

Adams Dry

When having the patience to persist with the dry fly, the adams was once again top fly and has been quite a consistent fish catcher as there has not been a great deal of fly life in attendance, although we have had some good grannom hatches which did not seem to inspire the fish in any numbers to take the adult fly.

The dedicated Salmon anglers are pulling their hair out at the moment with very low water and generally poor conditions for this type of fishing, but that said, there seems to be a possibility of light at the end of the tunnel, with rain forecast as we move into May toward the end of this week, but the long term forecast seems to predict more of the same dry conditions, we will soon find out. It hasn't stopped anglers coming along to brush up on their casting though, which is what I will be helping people with over the next few days. It makes sense to do it now before the rain does eventually come, because believe me it will, and when it does it usually forgets to stop. Anyway very busy in May, so hopefully there should be a lot more to report. See you next time!

March Update

A series of youth days took us into March, which included some Grayling fishing events that did produce a few fish, although continuing with the recent trend, not in the numbers we usually encounter. A few spring salmon have also been taken on the fly, mainly on the lower river, and tuition sessions have begun to increase as the weather begins to improve and people are brushing up their skills preparing for their salmon and trout fishing trips this year.

 

Mid March saw high water on the Eden, which soon gave way to some good trout fishing that provided some excellent sport with fish to around 2lb coming to a selection of dry flies. This usually followed some reasonable hatches of Large Dark Olives during the warmer parts of the day. The successful flies we used included greenwell's glory and Adams in size 14's.

I also got together again with the editor of the Trout & Salmon magazine, Andrew Flitcroft, to do a follow up test of the new 9ft #5 weight rods on the market today. If you read the T&S magazine you may remember the test we did last year on the #5 weight models at that time, well this time we tested the new rods against the winners of the previous test to see how they compared. The results will be in the May issue of the T&S magazine. "Take a look".

The AAPGAI open day and spring assessments event for potential new instructors, was held at the Trout Hotel in Cockermouth, which was a fantastic success once again, with no less than 25 people attending the open day and watching the many demonstrations presented by some of the current AAPGAI instructors. This is a biannual event with the next dates being set for 27th - 29th October which will be held in Builth Wells in Wales. "Well worth a visit". See the AAPGAI website for details on the following link http://www.aapgai.co.uk/home.html

Season Getting Underway

Despite the cold weather there are early signs of Spring in the air, with Snowdrops appearing, and Daffodils beginning to push through in places, but despite some really good catches of quality fish in recent years, the Grayling fishing has continued in its trend to prove difficult this winter, most certainly on the mid to lower river anyway.

There have been many reports of Salmon still spawning into February this year, which is probably due to the extremely low temperatures we have experienced through the winter months, as low as minus 17 degrees at times. I think that would slow me down a bit too if I were a Salmon. There has also been a few baggots reported, caught and returned, but the good news is that there has already been a handful of spring fish caught too, which is always a good sign.

Still relatively quiet though at the moment, apart from Salmon Kelts, which at least tells us that many fish have already spawned, despite those noticably late spawners. If you do catch a really "well mended" Kelt on your travels, and you are not sure how to distinguish it from a clean fish, (which can be difficult at times, especially if you are new to the game) look out for some of those tell tale giveaways displayed by many Kelts, such as Gill Maggots, (a small parasite living in the fishes gills) or an extended vent, denoting spawning activity, (see pictures) they are also generally narrow in feature with a distinct level belly, and although clean looking, they will not display the lustrous sheen that you will see in a Spring fish.

One or two people are now beginning to venture out though, even if it is only to get in some casting practice, ready for the new season, which I might add, did start (for Salmon) on January 15th on the Eden. Let's hope it's a good one!

High Waters Contribute to Difficult Conditions

As if we have not had enough to contend with when taking into account the poor Grayling fishing we have encountered on the middle and lower beats of the Eden over the winter period, we are now having to contend with high and coloured water conditions at what is the start of our Salmon season which opened on 15th January. With early spring fish being few and far between these days and with a shortage of anglers out on the river at this time of year, (which does not always help with true catch figures) which is down to a multitude of reasons, such as the catch and release laws that are now in place until June 16th as some anglers used to like to take a Spring fish for the pot, whether right or wrong, as they were once a great prize, and with some anglers not wanting to stress these magnificent fish if they are to be returned anyway. There are also the anglers who do not like to hook Kelt's that are making their way back to sea after spawning. You will find there are many differing opinions on all of these aspects of Salmon fishing which makes for interesting debate at times.

Personally I do not think it is rocket science and I have been in the frame of mind for the last 15 years now that a good gill tagging system (administered correctly) would solve many of the problems we are faced with in both fishing and conserving stocks. If every Salmon angler was given "say" 6 tags (just as a ball park figure) 5 red and 1 blue for instance, then the angler has a choice. He/she can use their 5 red tags for keeping fish throughout the main season and their blue tag can be reserved for a spring fish if desired. This would do away with the need for silly by-laws regarding hen fish etc. and at the same time definitely help to prevent the illegal sale of Salmon and also go some way towards the prevention of poaching as any fish caught by rod and line "if killed" would have to display one of the anglers tags (similar to the tags shown on this Irish Salmon in the picture above). The angler may even choose not to use his/her tags at all if they so wish. If we are all really honest with ourselves, three Salmon is more than enough in a season for any angler to consume and I personally make a point of only keeping up to 3 Salmon in a season anyway and the rest go carefully back.

If the tagging system was adopted by all, there would be no need for restrictions on numbers of fish caught in any one day on any one beat as once your quota for the season has been taken then that's the end of it. The choice would then be in your hands and rather than be forced to put a fish back that has a slim chance of recovering e.g. a bleeding hen fish, you could add it to your quota by using one of your tags (no waste). There are a few other benefits too, but I won't prattle on as I think you get my drift.

So anyway back to the river! I was out fishing over the winter albeit not much due to some severe weather conditions, but the few times we were out the Grayling fishing was unfortunately still very dour even in places that have fished well in the past. I had Jim and Silas out on the river last week and although the water was up a little it was in relatively good condition but the Grayling were being their recent stubborn selves once again and not giving much away, although Jim did get into what was most definitely a very good fish but it unfortunately parted company after giving a good initial account of itself. I am just waiting for the water levels to drop again now before venturing forth once again to do some early season tuition and fishing sessions. The forecast seems to be improving. Finger crossed!