Persistant High Waters

Having a go on Monday

With the exception of the odd day here and there, high waters have consistently prevented the fly fisherman venturing out over the last couple of weeks, although there have been a few salmon taken on the spinners, all decent sized fish too, as we see yet another year where the Grilse are later than normal. Every time it looks like the water is going to come good it rises again, with localised heavy rainfall, and today was no exception. On Monday the higher beats on the river were looking very good, and fining down nicely, and I couldn't help give it a try, but to no avail, although now I know why as the river lifted once more, but there is an up side, and once the rain stays off we are in for a treat, with the river having been flushed through ready for the main back end runs. "I can't wait".

Some of the members attending the course

I have been on the river Nith over the last two weekends with a colleague, running a series of fly casting courses arranged by The Dumfries and Galloway Angling Association. The first weekend saw low water, but the second weekend saw a big lift in water, with several large salmon running the edges of the river on their way upstream, especially on the Sunday when fishing for migratory fish is not allowed under Scottish law, but hopefully all those attending the course will now be able to put their new found casting skills to use, in the near future, and target a few of these fish.

Post code directions for SAT/NAV is DG3 4AQ

I'm at the Galloway Country Fair this Saturday. It takes place at Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate over the weekend of the 20th - 21st August, it should be a great event. Click here for details  I will be there to help promote Borderlines and to assist with the casting clinic. "Well worth a visit".

The C.L.A. Game Fair and back to the Eden

Something for all the family

Following a couple of tuition sessions, and a very well attended family fishing day on the river Nith, (near Dumfries) I was off to the C.L.A. Game Fair (as planned) over the weekend of the 22nd - 24th July. This year the event was held at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, and apart from the odd shower or two, the weather was fantastic and a good show was had by all. I was working with a great bunch of lads as part of the Guide Fly Fishing team, which I do from time to time, simply because I think their products are very good and I am more than happy to use many of them in my everyday fishing activities.

If you have never been to a C.L.A. Game Fair (Country Landowners Association) it is well worth a visit in the future as there is something there for everyone. Next years show is to be held at Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Leicestershire over the weekend of the 20th - 22nd July 2012. For further information visit the C.L.A. Website

Fay with a cracking Grayling

On my return I had a couple of tuition and fishing sessions booked in on the Eden for trout and grayling, which as it turned out were well timed, because when I left for the Game Fair on Thursday evening (21st July) the river rose again due to localised heavy rain, and it was now in good condition, with, I might add, several good sized salmon running the river, and a few being caught.

One of Sam's fish from the lower river

These sessions produced some very good fish, a couple of which are pictured here, and it was nice to see several good grayling coming to the net again, as they have been few and far between on the mid and lower river, both over the winter period, and of late, but they are now turning up again. Grayling are a very nomadic fish and can migrate long distances within a river system, fish that migrate within fresh water only, are classified as Potamodromous fish.



One of the events for C.A.A.

Flying the Borderlines flag again we organised and ran the annual youth day event, in partnership with Carlisle Angling Association. The day was a great success once again  with around 80 youngsters taking part. Activities included: Fly Casting, Fly Tying, Fishing and Entomology, culminating in a raffle and prize giving session. "A good day was had by all".



The Best of the Weather in Ireland and Wales



Killyleagh Castle

I flew over to N. Ireland on the 1st July for the Irish International Fly Fair, held in Killyleagh. This is an annual event, now in it's 4th Year, which is going from strength to Strength, attracting interested parties from all over the world. The show has a fantastic setting with the beautiful Strangford Lough at the bottom of the hill and the casting demonstrations and teaching sessions delivered within the fairytale style castle walls, where we were staying for the three nights, and to top it off the weather for the show was fantastic, which always helps.

On my return I took some time out in the Scottish highlands, where the weather was a bit changeable, but the scenery was awesome, although this was just a stop gap before travelling to Wales in the heart of sea trout country, where I stayed with my good friend Illtyd Griffiths in preparation to spend two nights on the river Dovey. Illtyd's knowledge of sea trout fishing is vast, although he will not put any emphasis on that, but believe me if there are fish about he will put you on to them, and this trip was no exception.

The first night I hooked and lost what felt like a very big fish, and believe me there are some big fish in the Dovey, and just when I thought I had blown my big opportunity, Illtyd took me further down stream and put me straight onto another one, but this time I landed it, a cracking cock fish of 7lb 2oz. "What a night". Anyone thinking of doing some guided sea trout fishing in Wales I recommend you contact Illtyd. His website details are as follows: http://www.sewincaster.co.uk/

Following some exceptionally warm and sunny day time weather, the second night just got better, and when I eventually entered the water, (on dusk) the fun began, and between three of us, we managed to hook around a dozen fish, not all of which were landed, but I did manage to land three of them. Two around the 4lb mark and one about 5lb and that's not to mention the quick grabs and nips that we encountered down the pool. The final outcome was eight fish and the sport was phenomenal.

I returned to the Eden on Saturday to do some casting tuition on the middle river where I saw a couple of nice Salmon showing, and a good sea trout, and my intention was to fish the lower river yesterday, but the water began to rise and colour badly which unfortunately scuppered my plans for a while.

A few casting tuition and fishing sessions lined up for the rest of the week with people coming to learn both trout and Salmon techniques and then I am off to the C.L.A. Game Fair at the weekend. http://www.gamefair.co.uk/ Speak again when I get back.

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!