Trout & Grayling Strong, Salmon Won't be Long!

Our stall at the Galloway Show

As indicated in my last post I attended the Galloway Country Fair over the weekend of the 17th & 18th August representing both Borderlines and AAPGAI, along with my good friend and colleague Glyn Freeman as one of the demonstrators at the show. The weather was a bit kinder to us on the Sunday than it was on the Saturday, which helped to draw in the crowds on day two, and in addition to delivering eight demonstrations between us over the duration of the weekend, we also offered a casting clinic for those wishing to indulge in tuition sessions throughout each day. We shared the marquee with the Nith District Salmon Fishery Board and the Nith Catchment Fishery Trust. (See the Website: Here) as Jim Henderson of the NDSFB is one of the directors for Borderlines.

Fly Tying on the Stall

As expected, the Eden rose again throughout that weekend, which ensured that we did not miss out too much on the fishing front, however, reports of good runs of Grilse entering the system continued to reach me via my mobile, which I witnessed first hand upon my return. There has also been one or two Grilse caught over the last couple of weeks, along with some better fish too, but for the amount of fish we have seen passing through the lower beats, the numbers caught still remain quite low in comparison. 

Ralph & Uschi

Up to now most of the salmon anglers I have taken out on the river have been more interested in the casting tuition side of things in preparation for the latter part of the season, although during a tuition and fishing session with John Dunn on the lower river, whilst putting his much improved skills into practise, he did have two chances throughout the day, one of them offering him a really good draw to his fly, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. That said, it is good to have further confirmation that they are definitely in attendance, especially as we are now rapidly approaching the most productive time of the year on the Eden for the salmon angler. "Watch this space".

Ralph with a small Brown Trout

Just over a week ago now, I had the good fortune to spend some time with a really nice couple from Germany, Ralph and Uschi, on their first trip to the lake district. Following a fly casting session, with the single handed rods, we spent the day on a local Stillwater fishing for Rainbow and blue trout, whilst the river was still a little too high for brown trout fishing, and in a joint effort, Ralph played and landed a nice Blue Trout (Rainbow Trout variant) for their tea. We did however manage to spend the last day on the river, and although conditions were still not ideal, Ralph managed to catch a couple of small trout on a weighted nymph.

Sam's First Fish

I was also out with Sam Rickett, who came along with his wife to be, to learn how to cast a fly for the first time, and at the end of the session I put on one of my favourite dry flies, the Klinkhammer, and following two near misses his new found skills came to fruition as he managed to hook and land his first ever fish which turned out to be a cracking grayling of around one and a half pounds. "Nice one Sam"!!!

As water levels recede, the trout and grayling fishing is also improving, but due to a distinct lack of any prolonged surface activity, despite the heavy fall of black gnats on the water we have seen over the past few days, the majority of the fish are still coming to sub surface offerings, and only yesterday we had some great results whilst adopting this approach.

Another to the nymph

Although we continue to fish for trout throughout September and grayling throughout the winter months, over the next few weeks I have some serious salmon anglers coming out with me for some prime time fishing, so water permitting, we should hopefully have an interesting tale or two to tell over this period, and if it is anything like last year when we had salmon up to 25lb (22lb and 25lb to the same rod) it could be very interesting. "Here's hoping".

From Warm & Low to all Systems Go!

Harry making a Circle Spey cast

Since my last post conditions continued to take a downward spiral with the low warm water trends persisting, often making it very difficult to produce good results, in fact with very little insect life in attendance during the day, and following a couple of youth days with Borderlines, including the annual Carlisle youth Angling event for the C.A.A. I actually took a few days away from the river to take advantage of the warm weather. If you can't beat it join it!

One of a few to the dry fly

Upon my return though, at the beginning of August, we had a rise in water, making the fishing difficult once again, but for very different reasons this time, (i.e. water colour) as the river was then carrying a lot of sediment, which unfortunately did not suit the needs of the guys I had out for Salmon at that time, as Tim, Gaetan and Harry, only really had one days good water from the three days they were with me, however this did give them plenty of time to take a look at the mechanics of their casting and therefore get a good rhythm going for when conditions do improve, but despite the difficult conditions they all agreed that they enjoyed their trip to the river Eden.

Miloud with a very good Grayling

Following this rise in water and therefore subsequently cooler temperatures leading up to the pending Lowther Show, where AAPGAI were asked once again to run the demonstrations and the fly casting clinics on 10th & 11th August, the trout fishing exploded again for a spell, with fish mainly coming to the nymph as water conditions settled, but more importantly cooled down somewhat, although a few did come to the dry fly like the nice specimen shown above right. The guys that were out with me during this period, and just after, had some great sport as you can see from the pictures, and whilst out with Sean Henney on the middle river, following a slow start in the morning, he hooked into five very good hard fighting browns and several smaller fish too. The Grayling fishing also improved with several good fish coming to the net like the one caught by Miloud above left. Well done guys!

Sean playing a good Brownie

I have also been keeping an eye on the salmon fishing, given the fresh water we had recently, and whilst out on the lower river with John Dunn, (who has been for a few sessions with me in the past, which included some very successful spider and nymph fishing sessions for trout and Grayling) the water began to fall away nicely and John's improving skills almost bagged him a fish when his line drew away, as one of the many fish we saw that day decided to take his fly, but almost immediately parted company with it again. John then managed to get a second take later in the day, but the fish won yet again. It's just a matter of time John!

Another Brown for Sean

It's now good to see plenty of Grilse beginning to show (almost every day) on the lower river, (all fresh too) and it is just a matter of time now before these new fish join the others throughout the system, increasing the numbers in all the beats along the river and offering anglers the opportunity of some exceptional sport as we are now rapidly approaching the prime salmon fishing period on the Eden. However, whilst the order of the day, when salmon fishing, (especially on larger waters with cooler temperatures) often warrants the use of sink tips and medium to large flies, (e.g. large doubles and large tubes at times) it is definitely worth considering down sizeing to 10's and 12's (or even smaller) whilst these Grilse are in attendance, and it is also worth considering a floating line too, as these running fish are more often than not in the upper columns of the water. Give it a try!

Some good Grayling appearing

I am off to the Galloway Country Fair tomorrow for the duration of the weekend where I will be delivering some of the fly casting demonstrations in the main arena. The timing of this show could not have been better as the river Eden has just risen yet again following the latest downpour, so fingers crossed, as the river should hopefully be coming back into good order again for Monday, which is when I return. "Tight Lines".

Bring On The Rain

One of the better fish

With River levels continuing to fall and water temperatures warm enough to take a bath in, you can imagine how difficult it has been lately to tempt some of the better fish to take the fly. Plenty of small fish at the moment, but in these conditions, to connect with some proper Eden Browns, you need to be targeting these fish very late in the evening, as the light fades into darkness, which at the present time is a very small window of opportunity. However, as any angler will tell you, because we are dealing with wild creatures, you can never say never, and from time to time, even in these difficult conditions, we have managed to tempt one or two decent fish to the net, as you can see from the picture above, taken on the lower river.

A Short Clip of one we Returned

Sea Trout are still in attendance on the river too, although they have slowed down a little since my last post, but if you are prepared to go out in what has been very pleasant night time conditions, as temperatures do cool down somewhat following the heat of the day, there is still a very good chance of a fish or two. Unlike Salmon, Sea Trout are very active at night and will often move upstream (and take!) in very low water.

However, Salmon anglers continue their frustration, as the present conditions have made it almost impossible to tempt these powerful fish to take, and we are all waiting patiently for the rain we have been promised over the next few days, to both freshen up the water, and to lower temperatures to a more comfortable level, thus encouraging fish to run the river and hopefully take our offerings. This fresh water (if we get it!) will also improve the trout and Grayling fishing too. "Bring it on".

Tuition at the West Cumbria Game Fair

I attended the West Cumbria Game Fair again this year on the weekend of the 13th & 14th of July as part of the AAPGAI team delivering the demonstrations down on the water in the fishing area, and this year I was also given a slot in the main arena on both days. The very hot conditions continued throughout the weekend which certainly made it much more suitable for demonstrating than it did for fishing.

A good fish in difficult conditions.

I have been out with people on the river again over the past few days, with limited success, although whilst employing some of the low water techniques we have managed to prove that it does still work to a degree, (as you can see from the picture on the right) but results are still very slow. Yes it's nice weather to be out on the river, but it is also nice to have the opportunity of catching a few fish too, and to help with this we desperately need some water, "so here's hoping".

Low Flows and Shows

With low flows set to continue on the river for at least another two weeks or so, the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) was a welcome distraction, as AAPGAI members once again took on the task of delivering the fly casting demonstrations at the Staffordshire show ground over the weekend of 22nd - 23rd June. The show was well received again and hopefully we will continue to do our bit in the future.

David to the rescue

It was nice to get back to the Eden valley though, where life is one paced, "and quite rightly so", but, with the persistent low flows on the rivers, the focus turned to a spot of Stillwater fishing on a local lake whilst introducing nine newcomers to the therapy that is fly fishing. Well in all fairness that's not entirely true, as one of the guys (David Pinner) was a previous client of mine who has now really got to grips with the art of fly fishing and left to his own devices he caught a couple of nice rainbows. That left eight total beginners to introduce to the mechanics of casting and some of the fishing techniques required to ultimately catch a fish or two. I shared this job with fellow AAPGAI instructor and good friend Geoff Johnston, and although conditions weren't ideal, the outcome was a good one with a couple of fish caught by the group and a few missed opportunities to boot.

One of several good Browns

Back on the river, conditions have been difficult at times as the low flows continue, despite the odd heavy showers we have had, however there are methods we can adopt that will often winkle out a trout or two in these difficult situations, and if all else fails, then early morning and late evening can often be the key, especially if during the day we have experienced periods of bright sunshine and high temperatures, which has recently been the case. Despite these far from ideal conditions, when we have put these tactics to good use, we have enjoyed some fantastic sport with some exceptional Brown Trout, with some evenings producing several good fish up to 2 1/2 lb.

Ken Whelan & Illtyd Griffiths

No sooner was I back home in Cumbria, delivering tuition and fishing sessions to a variety of people on the river, than I was off on my travels yet again, but this time to Northern Ireland for the Killyleagh Irish International Fly Fair. This is another event attended annually by AAPGAI, working closely with APGAI Ireland to deliver the casting demonstrations and individual tuition sessions at the show. The casting takes place in the castle grounds in the village of Killyleagh, a beautiful venue, overlooking Strangford Lough at the other end of the village. This is an excellent social event with fly dressers and demonstrators attending from around the world with all proceeds going direct to the Dibney River Conservation Trust. "A Great Show".

Whilst in Ireland I got talking to my good friend and recent AAPGAI colleague Professor Ken Whelan, (AST’s Director of Research) about all things Sea Trout, the conversation was inspired by one of Ken's many excellent presentations on this enigmatic fish. Add to that a conversation with our Chairman Illtyd Griffiths who has lived his life around Sea Trout fishing on the Welsh rivers, to discuss my pending trip to the Dovey, well you can imagine, boy did those dialogues put me in the mood for some nocturnal fishing on my return to the river Eden, and I was not disappointed either, as over the last

An Eden Sea Trout

couple of trips out I have managed to hook into four very good fish, landing only two of them I'm afraid, "must try harder". Although there are not many Sea Trout showing on the Eden at the moment, they are definitely in attendance and whilst searching the water for these fantastic fish there have been some cracking Browns coming to the net too. "Off out again tonight".

Recent Happenings

Sam Playing a trout

Out again for trout over the weekend of the 7th - 9th June with a great bunch of guys on the middle Eden. The weather continued to warm up, with bright sunshine and ever decreasing water conditions making the trout fishing a little more difficult than it should have been, although the group did very well, all things considered, and managed to catch a few fish. Yes many of them on the smaller side, but they did get a couple of decent fish too and lost a couple of good fish in the process, however the friendly banter more than compensated for this. "Well done guys".

Marwan into a Brownie

Following the weekend, the weather continued in this same vein, once again making the fishing a little more difficult than normal, so whilst I was out with Doug Douglass through the week, an alternative approach was required if we were going to avoid catching those small to medium sized fish he had been getting in the morning whilst fishing the tails of the pools (good fun though!). So change tactics we did, and as expected, the latter part of the day produced some better quality fish to the nymph whilst targeting the more streamy, oxygenated areas at the top of the runs (the necks of the pools) where fish often become more concentrated and active during these low water periods.

One of Doug's fish on the Nymph 

Doug was poised like a heron in these areas and he was clearly enjoying the experience, in fact I think a heron would have struggled to keep up with him at one point as his success rate continued to soar, not to mention a couple of exceptional fish that parted company with him during the process, however, he has since taken his revenge whilst on another trip to the Eden putting his newly discovered technique into practise. "Nice One!

A youngsters first rainbow

Since Doug's trip, temperatures cooled down again continuing the inconsistencies we have now become used to in Cumbria and the UK in general. "I'm sure it's supposed to be June, isn't it" ???. We thought we might escape this trend whilst delivering another Borderlines day in SW Scotland, on the very picturesque Drum Loch in Dumfriesshire for a group of youngsters from a local school, but conditions were much the same, although following a safety talk, an entomology session and a casting lesson they did manage to get some fish (Rainbow and Blue trout) and a good time was had by all.

Guide Fly Fishing Day

On Sunday 16th June, following two very successful years in both 2011 and 2012, I was once again pleased to be able to play my part in organising another Guide Fly Fishing day for the members of Carlisle Angling Association with my good friend and colleague Jim Fearn (AAPGAI).. The day kicked off at 11am as I got things underway with a Spey casting demonstration on how to get the best from your casting. This was designed to highlight some of the things that often go wrong during Spey casting and how to address these problems in a fishing situation. This opening demo was also designed to improve the have a go session when CAA members later took the opportunity to try out a few rods and lines with some free tuition thrown in too, to revisit some of the points covered in the demo. The event finished at 3pm with some great feedback as members commented on how they had really enjoyed the session and were looking forward to hopefully running another day next year. With around 20 people attending the event I think a follow up will be a distinct possibility.

Shelagh lands a Brown Trout

A further tuition and fishing session on Tuesday 18th June with Shelagh Leyland and her son Matt saw temperatures climbing again, becoming very bright and muggy, forcing us to work hard for results, however they did mange to get a few very small trout, and although not ideal, managed to save what could have been a blank day.

I also managed to fit in a bit of trout fishing myself yesterday with a friend, and although the bright conditions persisted along with low tepid water conditions, we did manage to catch a few browns to about 1lb, as well as three small herling (young sea trout) "all returned". But the icing on the cake was a nice Sea Trout of almost 2lb "caught by my good friend Raymond on a small goldhead", it's always nice to see these fantastic fish in attendance.

Off to the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) tomorrow as part of the demonstration team for AAPGAI so I will update you on proceedings when I return. "Watch this space".

Top Sport with the Browns

Brian on holiday from Australia

We did have a good rise of water in mid May which influenced a few more Salmon catches up and down the river, however, the Salmon fishing in general on the Eden this year continues it's slow trend, although there are fish in the system, and some good fish at that. Unfortunately the chances of encountering many of these fish, at the moment, are very slim due to the low water conditions we are presently experiencing, and many Salmon anglers will be praying for water as the 16th June approaches. This is the date from which anglers can take a Salmon home for the pot.

David into a good fish

However, one mans loss is another mans gain, as they say, and these low water conditions have produced some great sport for the Brown Trout angler, which has again proved phenomenal at times, with some sessions still producing catches into double figures, on all methods, as well as producing some very good quality fish too. Even on the most difficult days we have still managed to catch a few fish, not to mention the ones that got away.

The result of a good battle 

The latter part of May was very reluctant to let go of those North Westerly winds which were a little cool at times too, but during the lulls the days have continued to have a much warmer feel to them (as mentioned in my previous blog). This in turn has encouraged a few more insects to appear (although not in great numbers) and with olive upright hatches improving, along with a few more Large Brook Duns and Iron blues appearing, (amongst others) the dry fly has been producing some great results during these periods. Spiders continue to do well too, especially the partridge family (not the musical group) and when those cold snaps (which are still hanging on a bit) rear their ugly heads, then the upstream nymph has been producing the goods.

Bluebells on the Eden in June

Nature is still two or three weeks behind, and this has certainly influenced the insect life, although this may also extend certain hatches into later months as temperatures warm up (here's hoping) and for those of you fishing in the vicinity of wooded areas there is an added bonus, as you will have probably noticed some beautiful carpets of bluebells still reluctant to relinquish their hold on the world. Here is an example of such a spread on the middle Eden. "Enjoy".

Charles with a trout in mid air

Although we do still have Easterly, North Easterly and North Westerly winds forecast for the rest of the week, which will keep temperatures a little lower than normal for this time of year, they are quite light winds, and conditions in general are still feeling much more comfortable than they have been, and the fish seem to agree with this too. Mind you, the forecasters may have got it wrong again, as they often do and at the moment it is very warm outside. "This is Cumbria after all".

A successful outcome

I am out with another group of keen anglers over the next three days, most of whom are fishing the Eden for the first time and all being well they should soon be experiencing some of those hard fighting wild Brown trout, whilst enjoying some of the most fantastic fishing available on the river Eden. "You can't beat it"

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Improving Conditions

A great day on the river with David.

Since my last post, almost a month ago, conditions have still been quite changeable, however, apart from a few relatively cold and windy days, temperatures in general (although a long time coming) continue to improve, along with the results of our trout fishing sessions, which have certainly had a much warmer feel to them, adding further enjoyment to the experience for all involved. These changes have also been highlighted by the increase in insect life we are now seeing on the river, and along side the remaining few Large Dark Olives there has been enormous hatches of Grannom sedges, which although a little late, are still appearing in these large numbers as I write, probably encouraged by the slower than normal temperature rises for this time of year which has held everything back a little. There has also been an increase in large stoneflies recently, but the scattering of March Browns we have seen on the river this year have now petered out.

A cracking brownie with Jeff on the lower Eden

The Salmon fishing has been much slower than last year over this period with fewer fish being spotted on most beats, but one or two fish are still getting caught all the same, and whilst I have been out with people on the river, we have certainly seen one or two nice double figure fish running through the lower beats. Despite the fresh water we received in mid April, water levels have still been a little on the low side for good Salmon fishing, but this may be set to change as we now have much wetter conditions arriving with more rain forecast over the next few days.

Tony Strikes Again

For now though, although slightly more intermittent at times, spider patterns continue to produce the goods, with some very nice Brown Trout coming to the net, however, it is also worth trying a couple of small nymphs, or gold headed nymphs, during the slower periods when fish tend to hug the bottom a bit more, especially in the colder snaps. This can also prove to be an exceptional method during those large Grannom hatches, as you will often find it is not the adult they are interested in, but the aquatic stage of this insect, e.g. the Pupae, (at all levels in the water) as they make their way to the surface. The trout often become locked on to this pupal stage and this can be deadly. An emerger type pattern can also be the order of the day in this situation, such as a Klinkhammer or shuttlecock pattern. "Try it" !!!!!

Trout are coming to the dry fly too, although the strong winds we have been experiencing have been making this method less appealing and in my opinion a little less effective than other methods at the moment, but this will inevitably change as conditions improve, encouraging more Upwings to appear. 

Geoff with a nice Lake Trout

Amongst the usual Spey casting lessons and recent tuition and fishing days, I had the good fortune to be invited by my good friend and colleague Geoff Johnston, to join him on his boat in the lake district, targeting wild lake trout (brown trout). We fished a team of wet flies in a steady wave throughout the day with fantastic results, mainly down to Geoff's intimate knowledge of the individual areas around the shoreline, and although conditions were a bit cool at times, I couldn't have wished for a more enjoyable day and good company to boot!