Milder Weather

Riverbank Snowdrops

As we now approach the end of February, the Snowdrops are showing solidarity  along the riverbank , which is always nice to see, not only for their beauty, but because this also creates a little anticipation toward the Spring, which we all know as anglers  will bring with it some eagerly awaited brown trout fishing, which I must say, has been exceptional over the last few seasons, with April & May seeing some phenomenal sport whilst producing some good quality fish along the way. "Bring it on".

Fly caught Grayling

February has also been reasonably mild this year, when compared to previous years, especially last year with its exceptionally cold weather, although the wind chill factor (when present) definitely brings the temperature down reminding us all it is still winter. This was particularly noticeable last Saturday during a double handed tuition session on the lower Eden. It is always a good idea to be well wrapped up (and layer your clothing) when spending a day on the river, especially at this time of year.



Another Successful Youth Day.

Whilst awaiting the brown trout season to kick in, we are still picking up a few Grayling on the fly, (see picture above) but as I mentioned in my last post, they continue to prove difficult, and unless you are familiar with the general hot spots on your particular beats and the methods required to entice those bottom hugging Grayling, (which is exactly what they are doing at the moment) then I am convinced that it would, at times, be almost impossible to catch them.

Nevertheless, as you can see from the picture, (above right) there is no stopping the youngsters, as they continue their success with Grayling on the swim feeders, which we had the pleasure to witness once again last week, whilst running a school fishing session as part of the Borderlines educational programme. "Brilliant".

Where did January go?

Forgive the woolly hat it was cold

All of a sudden we are into February 2012, "Where does the time go"? Fortunately There has not been much missed in the latter part of January with fluctuating water conditions again which are not conducive to good results, especially for Grayling on the fly. That said, they are definitely there, and in good numbers too. I know this because we experimented with swim feeders on Saturday 28th January at Warwick Hall during a Borderlines session and encountered a dozen or so good sized fish that had been hugging the bottom and playing hard to get, which often happens with Grayling when the water is constantly unsettled. "So not all bad news".

Borderlines Day

I have been out again this month with Russell Williamson who was looking to catch his first ever Grayling on the fly, and although the Grayling continue to prove difficult to catch, he did have a couple of chances early in the day and lost a very good fish that dug deep in the water as the day drew to a close "very unlucky", but he will have his day.

Russell on the River

There are now reports of the first few Spring Salmon being landed on the river Eden, which as I mentioned last month was just a matter of time as the Salmon season gets underway, and they most certainly won't be the last fish caught.

So with the season in it's infancy, all the signs are positive and I am very optimistic with regard to what the Eden has to offer us again this year. "It may be unpredictable, but it never let's us down".

New Season

With the arrival of Sunday 15th January the Salmon season on the river Eden was once again upon us, and I did venture out on opening day, albeit just to blow the cobwebs away. Although the water conditions were good (at last) the East wind certainly didn't help our cause and subsequently we did not see any fish or Kelts in attendance (early days yet). I haven't heard of any reports (as yet) of fish being caught in the first few days of the season, but it's just a matter of time before one of the usual die hards makes an exciting encounter.

The East wind continued into Monday, but the sun did get out and temperatures weren't bad at all for January (especially in the sheltered areas) as I spent the day with a friend higher up the river fishing for Grayling, which I might add are still playing hard to get.

So unfortunately there's not much to report in these early stages I'm afraid, but speaking from experience it won't be long before things begin to happen on the Eden. "Watch This Space".

Washout in December

Unfortunately, the river Eden has been persistently high throughout the month of December making Grayling on the fly almost impossible and with more heavy rain forecast for the rest of this week there is no sign of improvement in the short term. We have certainly had more than our fair share of wind and water in 2011.

So not much to report I'm afraid, but as soon as the rain stops and the water drops I will be out with people once again, targeting those elusive Grayling. It may also help if the temperature drops a little too, which it may still do, as the temperature over the Christmas period has been uncommonly high for the time of year. This usually encourages Grayling to move into the deeper, slower moving areas of the river, away from the chilled surface area, thus giving you much more of an advantage when sight fishing, as any slight movement of your fly line will give you an indication of a tentative take as these subtle takes can often go unnoticed in faster water. That said, if temperatures do remain as mild as they have been recently then spider fishing in the faster flowing water will still be very effective, and worth taking advantage of.

Well here we are again at the end of another year and I hope you all had a great Christmas, with (I am sure) a few additions to your fishing armoury arriving on Christmas day. I look forward to seeing many familiar faces again in 2012 along with a few new ones, and may I wish you all "Tight Lines" for the New Year.

Wet & Windy

The Grayling fishing was slowly building up into the third week of November, and although we haven't encountered exceptional amounts of fish, we have caught some good quality fish, mainly around the 2lb mark, but also one or two bigger than that, as we did previously.

In between a couple of casting sessions with people, I had a keen Grayling angler out on the river with me for three days tuition and fishing, whilst experiencing some unbelievably warm weather for the time of year. We had a few nice fish though, until that is, the weather took a turn for the worst again. "Thought it was too good to be true". Never mind we did get some good fishing in before the river rose again.

Yes, Unfortunately, from late in the day on Tuesday 22nd, the river began to rise and it has been consistently high ever since, never settling, scuppering the chances of any decent Grayling fishing on the fly, and to add to that, the strong winds we have been plagued with over the past few days are certainly not helping matters in any way whatsoever, making conditions ever more difficult. Oh well, we will just have to hold back a little longer. "Let's see what December brings".

End of Season Deluge

A good Eden Grayling being returned

Persistent rain created the worst possible scenario to the end of the Salmon season on the river Eden. The last few days were a wash out, especially for the fly, apart from a couple of fish taken on a spinner on the last day as the water slightly cleared, but still very difficult conditions.

We are now turning our attention to the winter Grayling fishing to which we have already had some success, albeit in small numbers, but some quality fish up to 2lb, and the results have improved with further visits.

The Grayling fishing was put on hold though, with the intervention of the AAPGAI autumn assessment event for potential new instructors, as well as those instructors who were taking the next step on the ladder. The event was held, once again, in Builth Wells, in Wales, one of two biannual events held at either end of the country to allow people from all over the UK to attend, although several international instructors also attended as usual. The event also included a very successful open day which was aimed at those thinking of taking the instructor route with AAPGAI, or those who simply came along to enjoy the many and varied demonstrations delivered by professional AAPGAI instructors, as well as the one to one tuition that followed. You can read more about these events on the AAPGAI website or Blog.

One of the Demo's by AAPGAI instructor Paul Arden

But home again now and back to thoughts of Grayling fishing on the Eden, but I don't have to think about it too long, as I will be out on the river again tomorrow to put it into practice, especially whilst this period of good weather persists, although I do have a sneaky feeling that when the temperatures do begin to fall significantly we will see some good shoaling up of these magnificent fish in the deeper slower moving areas of the river. "Give it a try".

Not Long Now!

We are once again heading towards the end of the Salmon season on the Eden, and like much of the season the water has continued it's unsettled trend. As I write this, there is more heavy rain forecast for tonight and throughout the early hours of tomorrow morning, which will inevitably raise the river level yet again, putting Wednesday out of commission with only two more days to go, "Grim". Click here to view the river level at Warwick on Eden.

John's Favourite Corner

Since my last post I have been out on the Border Esk with the Borderlines team again, introducing more schools from the surrounding areas to angling and the environment. We were quite lucky with the conditions as the Border Esk has also been prone to high waters of late, but we managed to get out and the kids had a great time. 

Chris with his specimen

All is not doom and gloom though, as the short spells of settled water in between the rising water did produce several Salmon up and down the river, which included a few for Border Game Angling visitors too, as well as some good trout before the trout season closed on the 30th of September.

One visitor did get a pleasant surprise when he encountered a very nice fish of over 20lb on the fly, a coloured cock fish which he returned to the water after an epic battle on an Ally's Shrimp. "Nice One".

Russell with one of four Browns

Had to cancel the last two days due to high water, with today not looking much better, but nevertheless if the conditions continue to keep us off the water until the end of the Salmon season, (Friday) there's still the Grayling fishing to keep us going over the winter months, which I am looking forward to immensely, and I already have a few bookings lined up. "It's a really good way to extend your fly fishing season".