flyboy5

I think getting a comptent presenter is important an angler with all round experience not too much in aw of his own reputation might be a good start. Avoid special or private waters, fish where ordinary anglers fish. Put the enfersis on river craft, preperation and how smart anglers think. Try and give that special feeling for being in the wild / country but not in a green welly "o I have a season ticket on the test" - try come a bit North. Pick a venue to demonstrate techniques for different spieces. Trent for roach, Severn for Barbel, Dee and Ure for Greyling. North wales for Sea Trout, the Wey for Dace etc etc. Look at your target ordiance, and make sure your editior is an Angler. I remember well the head of Fisheris for the Severn Trent water authority spent a lot of time at Draycot water - not fishing sailling- the guy had no credibility what so ever.

For many years my father and I fished the Welsh borders and some times Northwales. As you say March and April can be tough. We found that trying to match the hatch in a hail storm was not very sucessful so we would use a leaded nymph on the point, grenwell, GRHE or PT with a mach brown and silver on the dropper. Forget rising fish as they tend to be small and few and far between. Fish either a floating or floating with sink tip with one small shot 10" above the top dropper. Seek out the deeper swims and let the main current pull the fly under and out. If there is deep water on the inside of your bank a slow lift will often be picked up on the last flick round of the fly. Don't waste time flogging the same hole walk the beat. Don't start too early fish 11am to dark.

Traditional loch style fishing was perfected on the large lochs like leven in Scotland and the big loughs of Southern Ireland. Normally it involves three anglers in a fair sized rowing boat working in rotation - one rowing and two fishing. The boat moves on a drift -usually parrelle with the shore - pushed by the wind. The anglers one at each end cast short floating lines mending the line and picking up the excess as the boat moves towards the fly. The rod is held high and the line controled so that the fly rises and falls in the top layers - usually a 9 to 10ft rod is best.There are may traditional patterns that are used - some of them excellent sedge imitators like- Dunkeld, Invicta,Mallard and Claret.Alexander, Teal and Silver, Geen Peter, Gold Ribbed hears Ear (Hackled and Winged). If you want to try it out then Lake Vrynwy is a great venue. The difference between simple slow drift and anchored fishing is you fish witth the speed of the wind - its not easy but can be very affective! If there are only two of you then a Drouge over the upwind side of the boat may help slow you down a bit - its the boundary where shallow shore meets a deeper drop off that is a classic Loch style target.

I have not written anything for some time but I wrote under my own name Chris Goldsmith - I did quite a number of articles for Crawford little when he was editor of Country Sport

How about Country sport, Trout Fisherman,Severn trent angling guide, angling times , angling mail - shall I go on? ask John Wilshaw if he knows my work - I started writing in the 80's. So I've fished the Glaslyn, the Swale, the Dee at Corwen, the Ettrick water, the Teme, the Onny, the Lugg, the Artro the Seiont, the upper Severn, the Frome, Usk the Taff, the Dovey etxc - I'm 56 and i've been fishing for 48 years - I think I might now have an idea as how one can catch fish.

When I was 10 my dad taught me to swim a worm on fast flowing rivers like the Glaslyn and swale - when I was 13 he taught me to fly fish - now I doo both depending on the rivers condition and clarity - remain flexible - I have written many articles about taking a flexible rather than rightious approach. For a river 4 lb line - 14 hook - two bb 10 to 12 inches form the hook- heavy enough for the bait to sink near the bottom and light enough for the flw to pull the line off - rod tip up and stop the line every 3 or 4 feet and alow the bait to rise for a second- bang ! all it takes is practice and thought. regards flyboy 5

I have just booked a two week holiday on the River Tech in the Pyrenees and would like to do some fly fishing for Trout on the Tech does nay body have any info