More Crazy Weather

Andrew with a Rainbow

June and July have continued to be mainly a washout with persistant high waters making the fishing very difficult, especially the trout fishing, with very little insect life in attendance, however there have been a few days when the salmon fishing has been good with several fish being caught, mainly on the middle and upper beats of the river, but not with any consistency as the water is just not getting time to settle at all, and as soon as it looks as though it is going to drop in nicely, the rain returns yet again to scupper our chances. There is an up side to this unnatural summer though, as salmon are pushing well up the system which will hopefully bode well for their future progeny, so lets hope the winter months don't produce too many formidable floods that could potentially damage the redds, and if not I think we will see a further upturn in returning fish in the future, which we have already seen with the spring runs this year.

Doug Playing a trout

Plenty of tuition sessions though as the water conditions do not effect this whatsoever, but not much to report on the trout fishing front over the periods of high water, as conditions have often caused us to be off the river all together, however, during the few days when we could fish, a couple of the guys I have had out did get some trout, and we even spent a little time on a local stillwater as I took Andrew out (Pictured Top left) to do a bit of casting tuition whilst fishing for Rainbow trout, where he caught a couple of nice fish and missed a few chances too, so not all was lost.

Doug Douglass came back again this year after an earlier cancellation due to high water, so we did a little bit of casting tuition on the river whilst fishing for trout, and he did manage a couple of small trout, but not up to his usual standard as he has had some exceptional days in the past for both Salmon and trout. However as always we had an enjoyable day.

CAA (Guide Fly Fishing Event)

In the interim, as well as delivering the usual Borderlines youth days for schools and for Carlisle Angling Association (which once again saw another good turn out this year) I was also involved in a few open days for Guide Fly Fishing  with my friend and fellow instructor Jim Fearn. The days were aimed at local angling clubs and consisted of free tuition, whilst giving the members who attended an insight into some of the new fly fishing products available on the market today, and more importantly giving people the opportunity to try them out on the river. We still have a couple of these days to deliver this weekend.

AAPGAI & Borderlines Stall

I returned to the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) again this year, (held at the Staffordshire Show Ground in June) as part of the AAPGAI (Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors) demonstration team, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I was also asked to be part of the demonstration team for the West Cumbria Game Fair with another friend and fellow instructor Neil Barcock, this was held at Armathwaite Hall in Cumbria and was the shows inagural event. I think the show is now poised to become an even bigger event next year which will hopefully see the expansion of the fishing area. Well worth a visit.

Whilst water conditions on the Eden were unfriendly, to say the least, I took a trip down to Wales to stay with a very good friend and collegue. We fished the river Wye for salmon on day one, to no avail, but we then had a night on the River Dovey for Sea trout, which I am very fortunate to have been invited to do for several years now, which is one of my favourite indulgences, and once again we managed to encounter a few fish, (sea trout) up to around the 11lb plus range. If you have never experienced this type of fishing or this quality of sea trout before, then I suggest you book onto one of Illtyd Griffiths's courses and at least give it a go.

Lowther Show

This year will see my return to The Lowther Show, which is now called the Lowther Game & Country Show. This is a venue I have not attended since 2008 as the 2009 show was cancelled and saw the end of the show as we knew it. This year however, AAPGAI has been asked to run the fishing area, casting clinics and demonstrations, so I am happy to return to the event in this role with several other AAPGAI members. Let's hope it will be a great event and I hope to see many of you there over the weekend of the 11th & 12th August.

A Turnaround in the Weather

A Hammered Klink

Since we last spoke conditions took a total U Turn toward the end of May, from cold days and a river holding it's water well, to a heatwave and the water dropping fast to much lower levels, making both trout and salmon fishing difficult once again. Despite these conditions though, there were evenings when we experienced good results with the trout fishing and the Klinkhammer became the go to fly, but the salmon slowed down significantly, as you would expect. Following this Mediterranean spell things did cool down again but weather patterns continued to be unpredictable for June and we are now experiencing high water again following heavy rain on Thursday and Friday and into the early hours of Saturday morning, which made the river unfishable on Saturday, especially the lower river which will now be out of order for a couple of days.



Male Adult Mayfly

Through the latter part of May and now into early June, there have been some good hatches of flies on the river, and a wide variety too, from sedges of all sizes, to olive uprights, Large Brook Duns, Yellow May duns, pale wateries and even the odd true (Danica) Mayfly. I did manage to get some good pictures with the macro lens on my digital camera of one or two of them, and just recently I witnessed a persistent hatch of Blue Winged Olives, spanning most of the afternoon and into evening affording us some good sport yet again.



Male Adult Olive Upright

I can't help thinking that if we hadn't been plagued by the persistant east winds we have experienced up to now this year, which have certainly contributed to lower temperatures at times, that hatches of insects would have been much heavier and more diverse, although that will hopefully change, and yesterday there were indicators that this will be the case as there was a large amount of June Bugs in attendance (Coch-y-bonddu beetles) on the mid river, which are generally seen on warmer days, (see picture, below right) but unfortunately as the water was high and coloured from the rain we had the night before, the trout were not paying much attention to these substantial mouthfuls of food as they were blown onto the surface, most likely due to the lack of visibility in the heavily stained water. 

Eden Coch-y-bonddu

In the interim period between the exceptionally hot weather we experienced toward the end of May, and the high water we have now, conditions improved yet again for the trout fisher, with last weekend being overcast and dull (despite the return of the east wind) the river was again fishing phenomenally well for brown trout. However, the high water we have at the moment is also good news for the salmon angler, as today the upper river is coming back into good condition, and if the water continues to drop, the lower river should fish much better for salmon around mid week, and we can then hopefully continue to enjoy the exceptional salmon season that the Eden has provided for many anglers already this season.



Eden Seat Trout

We have also had a few sea trout too, which are definitely in attendance, although there's not a great deal of angling pressure on them at the moment, as the evenings are still a little on the cool side to produce the kind of results that bring people out in numbers, having said that, it was warming up before this high water came, and the jungle telegraph will soon be kicking in along the river. In all fairness though, those that do venture out are the usual die hards that put the time in from year to year and they do deserve a fish or two, as they know what they are doing, but be aware, they are a secretive breed. A bit more sea trout fishing (late evening, early morning) is definitely high on the agenda, but this will have to be put on hold for a while until the river drops in again. I will keep you informed!

 

Playing a Tiger Trout

Continuing our work with youngsters, we delivered a couple of youth days again for Borderlines toward the end of last week, on a Loch in SW Scotland, with the few rainbow trout we caught coming to dries and suspender buzzers, and one of the youngsters even managed to land and return a tiger trout. This is a hybrid fish that is often artificially bred for fisheries, it is created by adding the milt of a brook trout to the eggs of a brown trout. It does occur in the wild where brook trout exist, (North America) but it is not that common. We have more youth days lined up for next week on the rivers.

Much of the Same (with a bit more rain)

Andrew playing a Brown Trout

As discussed in my last post (May 2nd) I intended to indulge in a little more trout fishing with my good friend Tony before the weather changed, and as luck would have it the day was quite a nice one, although to continue the trend the conditions were changeable throughout the day with warm spells when we caught a few fish, and cold snaps when we didn't. However during the day we did have some good sport and reports were also coming in of several Salmon being caught up an down the river.



A nice little Eden trout on the dry

The conditions over the following two days were very similar, but this time I was providing tuition and guiding for salmon and trout for a couple who were travelling up to the river Tweed the next day and then on to the river Tay to fish for salmon. We did see a couple of salmon as we arrived on the lower Eden, and following a tuition session they covered the water very well, but unfortunately to no avail as the fish had other ideas. Nevertheless they did drop me an email later in the week to inform me of their success in Scotland, with salmon of 7lb and 12lb as well as a successful trip to the river Dun back in England with a bag of seven nice trout. "Excellent News".

A Quick Photo I'm Afraid

However, not long after their departure from the Eden, things did take a turn for the better in the afternoon, as I decided to return to the river following a mid day tide, and managed to have a fantastic afternoon, with a Salmon of around 14lb on a size 10 double Cascade, and several very healthy and hard fighting brown trout on a dry Klinkhammer as the sun shone through and encouraged a hatch of olives, and in turn a prolific rise of fish, making the latter part of the day much more enjoyable.

We had a group of youngsters out again with Borderlines, this time on a local fishery for rainbow trout and they managed to catch a few too as you can see from the picture below, a really enjoyable evening session.

Another successful youth Day

The river rose again on the evening of May the 9th and continued to do so as the rain persisted, keeping us off the river from a fishing perspective, but it hasn't prevented a few casting tuition sessions with several people over the last few days, covering both trout and salmon techniques, during which time the water has been continually dropping to a fishable level again, mainly on the upper river at the moment as levels do drop off quicker in these areas.

The river is still holding extra water at the moment, but it is still fishing well at times, mainly in the slightly warmer spells, although it is taking some warming up of late, and both salmon and trout are being caught as we speak, unfortunately also as we speak the rain has returned and persisted all day today, so not sure yet what tomorrow will bring . Time will tell.

Good Catches "At Times"

A brief Glance before Freedom

The trout fishing has continued in good form, but only when the air temperatures have been kind to us. Let me explain! Throughout April (apart from a few intermittent days) the cold easterly winds we have experienced have persistently chilled the surface of the water, causing the temperatures to take a dive, which in turn contributes to the insect life switching off, making it difficult to target those fish that have been quite happily, and visually, picking off those Large Dark Olives that have been in attendance, almost looking as if they are trying to hide in amongst some prolific hatches of Grannom Sedge (caddis flies). However, as soon as the clouds part, the wind drops, and you can feel the heat in the air from the sun, the trout have become instantly active again, picking off these Large Dark Olives voraciously, with almost clinical precision, offering up some great sport once again, on both spiders and dries.

 

David with one of many

Apart from the continued cold snaps and awkward east winds we have been quite lucky with water height (most of the time) on the Eden, as the heavy showers skirted around us for long periods, and although on a couple of occasions the river did become swollen, it was nothing that kept us away from the trout fishing for too long as David and Steve encountered when they were out with me on the mid river. David having a red letter day one Saturday with around 15 fish, and whilst enjoying some good sport the following day on the lower river, he lost a fantastic trout which took off like an express train. This was not the only good spell though as many of us have enjoyed some very good double figure days throughout April. "Lets hope this continues into May"!

Although the Eden is no longer a prolific Spring Salmon river, I have to say that this years Spring run has been one of the best I have seen on the river for many years, with good reports coming in from several anglers of good catches, some recording multiple catches to their own rod. Considering that there are only a small amount of anglers now fishing for Salmon in the Spring, in comparison to pre 1999, when new byelaws were introduced preventing the removal of rod caught Salmon until the 16th June, this is therefore very good news.

A fish on the Dry for Stephen

The weather report for the weekend is for another cold snap, (but not rain) so I am off out again tomorrow with my good friend Tony, to see what the river gods have in store for us before conditions change once again. With more people coming for tuition and fishing over the next few days we will certainly not be letting the weather get in our way, and I will be sure to let you know how we got on in my next post. Goodbye for now!

The Last Six Weeks

Borderlines School Session



Sorry I have not kept you all posted over the last few weeks, but I can assure you that it's not because there's been nothing going on, quite the opposite in fact, I simply haven't had the time to sit down and write about it, So I will attempt to do so now whilst I do have a little free time.

Amongst other things, lot's of people have been coming to get their casting and fishing techniques up to speed ready for the new season (now upon us). In addition to this I have been working with schools for Borderlines introducing youngsters to the final stage of their journey from the classroom into entomology sessions and onward into the joys of angling.

AAPGAI Open Day (Demo)

Lots of work with AAPGAI of late too, first of all an instructor training weekend on the river Eden, aimed at potential new instructors, and then following this, one of our assessment events and open day's which was held at cockermouth on the river Derwent, where members of the public could come along for a small fee and enjoy the many demonstrations, buffet lunch, and one to one tuition that followed.



River Tay Baggot

From there I was off up to the mighty river Tay, a little bit of salmon fishing ensued, although only the capture of kelts and a baggot I'm afraid, but very enjoyable. For those of you just starting out in Salmon fishing, a Kelt is a spent Salmon after laying her eggs or dispensing his milt (to fertilize the females eggs) trying to make it's way back to the sea (only a small percentage succeed) and a baggot is a fish (sometimes caught in the spring) that for whatever reason (stress maybe) has not spawned, or may even spawn very late. As you can see in the picture it looks very much like a back end hen fish in her spawning livery, but notice the flabby belly. Anyway, the main reason for my visit to Scotland was to assist in the assessments of potential new instructors for SANA (Scottish Anglers National Association) which also turned out to be an excellent event and very enjoyable when working with like minded people. So as you can see it's been a bit hectic.



Joe with his first River Eden Trout

Plenty going on back on the Eden though, and a few weeks ago we saw an influx of Spring Salmon entering the system with several fish being caught in the twenties, with the biggest to date weighing in at 27lb, but due to the low water conditions we have experienced since then, the Salmon catches have now slowed down again, but there are definitely fish about and when we get a rise in water again there will no doubt be a few more caught.

However, the low water conditions has not spoiled the trout fishing, as this can often contribute to some good catches at this time of year, especially if the temperatures are reasonable, and this has been the case (at times) I say at times, because we have also had some very cold snaps in between which did make the trout fishing difficult on occasions. That said, although we

Charles Playing a nice Trout

are having to work a little harder on some outings, we are now starting to see an upturn in catches, and we have recently been moving away from the weighted nymphs so that we can now target fish on the surface with north country spiders and a selection of dry flies, which I am sure you will all agree can be much more fun and very visual at times, but don't leave your nymphs at home just yet as we may be in for a drop in temperature once more over the next few days.

Charles with another trout

We are now moving into prime time for our trout fishing on the Eden and the last few days have been producing the right signs too. We are now beginning to make contact with a few more fish as the insect life begins to improve with olive hatches and sedges gaining in numbers and it has been great to see some steady hatches of March Browns returning to the river over the last few weeks too. It is also worth trying those stonefly patterns you are reluctant to remove from their pride of place in your fly box, as we have had some very good large stonefly specimens hatching of late, and the trout will often be tempted by a representation of the egg laying adult on the surface. "Give it a try", I'm off fishing!

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".