Rain, Rain & More Rain

A familiar sight on the river this year

I obviously tempted providence at the end of my last blog, when I said, "things were looking good as long as the rain stayed away", because ever since then, apart from a short spell of very good fishing, the rain has returned with a vengeance and the river is in the trees yet again, (as you can see from the above picture) something we are encountering more and more here in the UK, especially this year.

Chris from Borderlines on the Pike day

However all was not lost as I was busy again with Borderlines introducing another keen group of youngsters, from one of the schools we are currently working with, to Pike fishing, with some success too, although we did find ourselves having to abandon the day half way through due to more persistent torrential rain (now there's a surprise). Nevertheless the youngsters involved had a great time and managed to catch three Pike in the morning, one of which can be seen here in the picture as Chris helps one youngster hold her quarry up to the camera before returning it to the water.

So not much else to report I'm afraid, but as soon as the water recedes (if it ever does) I will be back out on the river chasing some quality Grayling with the guys who have had to cancel and re-arrange their days due to the present conditions. I will keep you all informed!

More Grayling About

A successful Smile

I was out on the Eden with a group of youngsters last weekend in my role as one of the Borderlines instructor team along with Glyn and Chris, and although we did have a bit of extra water to contend with, it didn't seem to effect us too much at all, as we experienced our fair share of success with the Grayling throughout the day.

Following the weekend I had a session higher up the river with John Dunn who wanted some casting tuition with his new salmon rod and skagit line in preparation for next season, but he also wanted to try his hand at the Grayling fishing too, and why not, as there definitely seems to be an upturn in fish repopulating the areas that fished very well a couple of years ago, and they certainly seem to have found there way back to these areas, "this is excellent news", as we often have to do a bit of searching further afield to find them.

John into yet another fish

John certainly found them ok, and after we wasted a little time trying to tempt them to the spiders, (which have been working recently) we eventually found them in the time served areas you might expect to find Grayling, hugging the bottom, and John then managed to catch a few, not to mention the several near misses he encountered too as some of the Grayling were being very touchy feely, as they often are, lightly investigating the flies as apposed to hitting them with any meaning, however, we had a good day regardless.

Unfortunately, the session I had booked in today had to be cancelled, as the river rose again yesterday, making conditions very difficult, especially as the guys were total beginners to Grayling fishing. Never mind, hopefully we can re-arrange, as it would be a shame to miss out on the good fishing we are presently enjoying.

One of several for John

I am looking forward to getting out on the river again as soon as possible, all the signs for this winters Grayling fishing on the Eden are looking very positive, which is great news. All we need now is the rain to stay away as much as possible and the river to behave itself for a while. "Here's hoping"! 

Time for Grayling

One I managed to land

Back from Wales last weekend, and as promised I have been indulging in a bit of Grayling fishing, albeit only for a couple of days, although my intention is to do a lot more when I have the time. I ventured out on to the middle Eden with my good friend Geoff Johnston over the course of this weekend, and although we had to search for them we did eventually find fish, and when we did we had some good sport and encountered some decent sized fish too. Both days produced some serious interest from the Grayling about two hours before dark, however, they were not fully convinced about our offerings and they were being very cautious in their interest. We both encountered and lost quite a few fish and good fish at that, and I remember commenting to Geoff that I couldn't remember the last time I lost as many fish in one session. Some takes simply tightened the line as if they were just investigating the flies and although the first contact was solid and the fish were on, they were often not on for long.

Geoff on the Bugs

Many of you out there that fish regularly for Grayling will have encountered this before, I know I have, several times, although my success rate is usually higher when this happens, and even when the rod tip was raised as the flies traversed the stream to allow for better hooking, it was still difficult to keep them on.

As we have discussed before, Grayling can be much more accommodating after long periods of settled conditions and Sunday saw an early morning frost which can often be very welcome when Grayling fishing as they are certainly not uncomfortable with low temperatures, however as Geoff pointed out when we first arrived, this was the first frost for a while and therefore outside of the norm (so to speak) and until it becomes the norm it could make the fishing difficult, he was right.

Geoff returns a fish of 15 inches

However we were blessed with our fair share of sunshine throughout the day too, which helped to make the fishing very pleasant. Unfortunately we are now getting rain again, which will influence the conditions, but hopefully not too much for now as I have a group out this coming weekend. Time will tell.

Salmon Season ends on the Eden

Jeff's Success

Yesterday saw the end of the 2012 Salmon season on the river Eden. However, not before we encountered a few more big fish coming to the fly along the way, as water conditions semi behaved themselves, at least on the higher beats, as the lower beats showed little relief from high water levels yet again. For all we have had quite a difficult season due to the persistent fluctuations in water levels, many of the anglers I have had out over the course of the season have come up trumps on several occasions, and as you can see from the pictures the last few days have been no exception as they show a few more success stories.

OK, A Joint Effort

I must mention my good friend Jeff who came up from Wales for three days tuition and fishing with me early last month, in what was proving to be rather difficult conditions, but I am glad to say that this did not phase him at all and the tuition we managed to get in during his visit came to fruition as he returned to the river with me just a few days ago to put it into practise and landed not one, but two fish of a lifetime. The first of which he insisted was a joint effort (although he did all the hard work whilst playing the fish) and the second was all Jeff, and a good job he did too considering these were his first ever salmon. "I think he is now hooked for life".

A big improvement in Jeff's casting

Another successful story was a day on the river with Bill, who came along with John Schofield who is a regular visitor of mine on the river. Bill hooked and landed his first ever Salmon and also lost a nice fresh fish close to the bank. A bit of bad luck though for Andrew Wiper, another regular visitor of mine, who has had a few fish with me in the past, as he hooked and unfortunately lost a good fish after an epic battle with what turned out to be a worthy advisory. As you can see we have certainly had a good spell of action over the last few days. "All of the fish in the pictures were carefully returned to the water.

Bill's first Salmon

I am off to Wales on Friday for the next assessment weekend for potential new AAPGAI instructors which will also take in the AAPGAI AGM and open day, this is an event worth coming to, especially if you have not been to an AAPGAI open day before. There will be plenty going on, including demonstrations and one to one tuition throughout the day, why not come along and see for yourself. Here are the details of the day: AAPGAI Open Day.

When I return from Wales I will be focusing on the Grayling fishing (if the water behaves) as I already have one or two people booked in for that, but when I am free I'll be indulging in a bit of that myself, it's great fun.

And the Deluge goes On

An Icelandic View

Since my last blog I have now returned from Iceland where the fishing was unusually difficult for that part of the world, and for 9 shared rods over a 4 day period we only managed 19 Salmon with six Sea Trout over 3lb. Although this may sound reasonable by UK river standards, it is actually quite poor as Icelandic rivers go, considering we had around 115 salmon for only six shared rods last year, and 22 Sea Trout over 3lb. However, fishing is not alI about catching fish or we would simply call it "catching" and once again I really enjoyed the trip and I am considering a rematch again next year. The highlight of the trip for me (apart from the good company and excellent food) was my first encounter with Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights) which I had the good fortune to gaze upon over two consecutive evenings "Fantastic".

Piaras playing a Nice Rainbow

Unfortunately upon returning home the weather was much the same as it was when we left, with the rain relentlessly returning time after time constantly contributing to unsettled river conditions yet again, preventing us from getting that spell of settled water we so desperately needed and still do. So with Piaras and Rab  arriving from Northern Ireland for three days Salmon fishing with me conditions were difficult and on the third day we had to fish a local stillwater for Browns and Rainbows as the river had swollen once more. However they did have some success with eight fish coming to Daddies and nymphs, a timely reminder of what a tight line felt like. Fortunately Piaras has been a couple of times before and has previously encountered our river Eden Salmon, but this was Rab's first visit, although he did seem keen to come again.

One of Christians Fish

Following a couple of casting tuition sessions, (when the river was out of order) and several youth sessions higher up the Border Esk for Borderlines, I returned to the river Eden again with John and Christian, two of my regular annual visitors who always seem to catch fish when they are here, and once again they did not disappoint as they managed to hook 5 Salmon between them, landing four of them. Three hen fish and one cock fish, which were all returned to the river, the biggest fish being around 18 - 20lb and as you can see from the picture below, it probably entered the river in the Spring, but what a magnificent specimen.

Probably Entered in the Spring

However, as I write this, the deluge continues, and the river is rising yet again. I just hope it returns to some kind of normality towards the weekend to offer a few more opportunities before the end of the season, which will soon be upon us. "Surely we deserve some respite from the rain over the next 11 days"! "Here's Hoping".

Continuous Unsettled Water

The water has been so unsettled this year, with river levels rising and falling like an overzealous elevator, giving the salmon entering the system no time whatsoever to populate the pools in any substantial numbers, and therefore becoming well spread out throughout the river. Despite this there have been some good catches in places, with the majority of fish being taken on spinners. However in the interim when conditions have allowed, several fish have also been tempted to the fly, but unfortunately, as I am writing this, the river is rising yet again.

One winkled out by Alex

The constant high waters have also contributed to difficult periods of trout fishing, and at times almost impossible, but we have managed to winkle a few out on those days when the water clarity improved even though the river was generally carrying much more water than was ideal for this pursuit.

Apart from the usual tuition and fishing sessions throughout August, I have also enjoyed my involvement in a couple of additional weekend shows, which not only gave me the opportunity to meet some interesting people and indulge in a bit of socialising, but it also rekindled my passion for demonstrating and answering a few very interesting questions with regards to both casting and fishing techniques. The shows in question were The Lowther Game & Country Fair, (formerly The Lowther Horse Trials) which I have not been involved with since 2008, and The Galloway Country Fair held at Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries & Galloway. I have attended both of these shows previously with Borderlines, but had the opportunity to be much more involved this year. If you have not visited these shows before they are well worth putting on your list of things to do in 2013, it would be great to see you there and have a chat!

The Galloway Show

Another good weekend in Dumfries & Galloway saw my good friend (and colleague) Glyn Freeman and I, running courses over a two day period for the Dumfries & Galloway Angling Association, as we have done for several years now, which has given us the opportunity to meet many of their members and hopefully pass on some techniques that may help them to encounter a few fish along the way during their outings on the river. "Great Guys"!



Guide Fly Fishing arranged another have a go day in August, this time for the local Penrith Angling Association and with a reasonable turn out the feedback from those involved was very positive and a good day was had by all.

Several youth sessions with schools and clubs again recently for Borderlines, introducing youngsters to fishing and the environment which can be very rewarding and enjoyable. Borderlines is a not for profit company formed in 2005 with the aim of removing as many of the

barriers to participation in angling as possible for all groups of the population regardless of age, ability, race, religion or social background, with particular emphasis on the disadvantaged, disabled, and those requiring rehabilitation. Borderlines relies heavily on funding to keep the good work going, and therefore any donations to the company would be very much appreciated in any form whatsoever.

With weather and water conditions constantly fluctuating, the fishing is difficult at the moment as the the last group I have had with me have recently discovered, and they fished the river very well. I was certainly impressed with the pace at which their casting skills have improved since our last session on the river as you can see in the brief video's (above & below) as Andy and Gary (two of the group) put out nice lines.

With reports constantly coming in of fish being caught along the river, and some good ones too, I am more than optimistic for the guys who are coming for some salmon fishing toward the end of the Month, and if the water can just settle for an extended period, then we will hopefully see some good results right through to the end of the season. "I will let you know".

However in the interim I will be off to Iceland to see if I can tempt some Atlantic salmon and sea trout over there, and I hear they are just getting some rain now after a long period of dry weather. Fingers crossed!

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.