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Nicholas S

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  1. Nicholas S
    Well this is the start of my fishing blog. I must admit I never saw myself writing one of these but after being inspired a bit by some of the other excellent blogs on AN I thought I would start one myself. Even if no one pays any interest to it (quite likely) it will be a good record of the trials and tribulations of my fishing escapades!
     
    Right seeing as the first entry in is the close season I got my fly fishing underway on Chew Valley Reservoir. It was my first time fishing there for the trout (I had a particularly unsuccessful but nonetheless enjoyable day there after the pike back in Feb 2010) and it is a particularly daunting and large water to start on. Anyway, after misreading the start of the fishing times in the fisheries magazine I turned up all eager and excited at 7am on a beautiful and unseasonably warm spring day only to find that boat fishing wasn't allowed until around 0930!! Initially I was pretty annoyed (I didn’t'[t get much sleep the night before) but decided to glean as much information as possible off the bank fisherman, get my tackle ready and just enjoy the delightful morning that I was lucky enough to be awake for.
     
    The next few hours passed very quickly and after enjoying a nice cup of tea in the cafe I paid for my boat, spent FAR too much in the tackle shop (not for the first time!) and got as much information as possible of the shop assistant. Soon I was out on the water and heading over to an area that had been recommended. It was sheer delight to be on what is really a stunning reservoir. You really can’t beat the sensation and excitement of boat fishing.
     
    I actually anchored up slightly North of the exact spot that was recommended partly because it was a beautifully tranquil and quiet area and I figured if I didn’t catch there I could always drift down the suggested area. I set up 2 small black lures on an intermediate line and after some initial rusty casts I was soon getting into the swing of things and starting to really enjoy myself. After approximately half an hour I hooked a good fish near to the boat, fish on! I was over the moon when I eventually managed to get the fish over the net (they do fight hard) and let out a little yelp of joy. I had told myself that morning that if I didn't blank I would consider it a good day. The fish was a lovely Rainbow just under 2lb I would guess and was duly dispatched for dinner that week. Incredibly about 10 minutes later I hooked a second fish which turned out to be a similar sized Rainbow. Now I really was over the moon, never in my wildest dreams did I expect this sort of start! At this point I had a good look around and suddenly noticed that a few boats had crept up on me possibly after noticing the success I was having! It seemed like no one else was catching which I must admit made me feel rather smug! This feeling was enhanced when another boat pulled up beside me and asked what fly I had been catching on. Seeing as I am usually the one asking this question I felt very pleased with myself. I still hadn't cast out since catching that second fish and with a few boats quite near to me I cast back out and started to slowly figure of eight the line back. Hold on, was that a knock, yes, another! This was getting ridiculous now, a third fish caught on the same fly and with everyone else watching with what seemed like a tinge of envy! I was delighted, three fish caught on the same fly in my first hour on chew, a perfect start.
     
    I stuck it out there for another hour at least but caught no more, neither did anyone else surprisingly. In the afternoon my friend James joined me and despite my initial luck it seemed like the fish just weren’t interested. However, after switching to a Booby I managed to tempt one more slightly smaller Rainbow and lose two more later in the evening. James was a bit unlucky and lost 2 fish including a lovely Brownie that shot up and took a Diawl Bach but threw the hook all too quickly.
     
    It had been a fantastic day, 4 trout caught (equalling most I've ever caught in a day from a large reservoir) and on my first time trying too. I went to bed that night a happy man reminiscing on what had been a perfect start to the fly season.
     
    N
  2. Nicholas S
    Three days Salmon fishing with family on the River Alness in the Scottish Highlands. Salmon have proved to be a bit of an enigma for me. Unfortunately I don’t get the opportunity to fish for them very often but when I do it seems like I have been beset by bad lack with only tales of lost fish to take away with me. Usually the fishing is very hard due to low water and on a spate river like the Alness having enough water on the gauge is everything. This year however was different, for the first time there was water, a lot of water in fact, and to improve things further, plenty of Salmon had been caught in the couple of days before we arrived. As such I was positively brimming with excitement and felt that surely this was going to be the time I would finally break my Salmon duck!
     
    Day one was difficult. Rain the night before had put the river in spate and although a surprising number of fish were caught during the day, none came to my rod.
     

     

     
     
    Day two and the river was beginning to drop to what I had been promised was a perfect level.
     

     
    By lunch I was still fishless but after some barbequed sustenance I fished one of the most productive pools on the beat. As I made my way down to the tail of the pool I had a confident pull and was soon playing and netting my first Salmon! Ok it was pretty small, coloured and probably a Kelt (around the 3lb mark) but it didn’t matter, I was over the moon and after a quick pic, slipped her back to continue her amazing journey. Remarkably the fishing just got better and better with another slightly larger fish falling to my rod in the next pool I fished, talk about a change in fortunes!
     

     
    On the final day I woke up early and got to the river soon after first light. After making my way down a large pool I was feeling quietly confident but was still shocked when a fish aggressively took my fly almost the instant it landed in the water. It was again slightly larger than the other two, probably nearly 5lb and also quite coloured, normal given that it was the end of the season. The day turned out to be bright and sunny and I suspected that the fishing would get harder. Not that I was fussed, three fish in such a short space of time was unprecedented and I was in seventh heaven!
     

     
    However, there was one final surprise left in store. I was making my way down a long and deep pool beneath a road bridge. There were plenty of fish moving but as I neared the tail of the pool nothing had taken an interest in my fly. Having covered what looked like the prime bit of water I was tempted to head back for lunch mindful of the fact I was running late (as usual)! Luckily I decided to fish it right to the end and after placing my fly under overhanging trees as close to the far bank as I dared I had a strong pull and was playing what felt like a better fish. It was really fighting hard in the fast current and I was struggling to get much control on it. Instead of pulling the fish upstream against the current I waded down so I was parallel with it. The fish wasn’t far from me at this point and it was both exhilarating and frightening being able to see fish swimming just out of reach of my net. This fish was clearly much fresher and was fighting like you would expect a Salmon to. After what seemed like an eternity I eventually managed to net the fish much to my relief, I will admit I let out quite a large whoop of excitement! It was my final fish and was quite fresh run and silvery weighing just over 5lb. It was a special moment holding it in the water whilst it regained its strength, one of many special moments in what had turned out to be an extraordinary few days salmon fishing.
     

     

  3. Nicholas S
    After receiving the all clear from my girlfriend I set about organising a fishing weekend that I was really looking forward to. Saturday was to be spent on the Little River Avon (LRA) in search of Grayling and the icing on the cake was Sunday where I had been invited down to fish the hallowed waters of the Test. I would be trotting the main river (the last time I fished one of the carriers - see 09/09/2010) in the hope of some of the large Grayling that this stretch (and indeed the whole river) is renowned for.
     
    Saturday’s trip was slightly delayed after a few too many drinks on Friday evening and a sore head the next day! However, I was determined to get out especially as I hadn’t even wet a line for over a month. As soon as I left it was obvious from the gale force winds that despite the mild weather, the fishing was going to be especially difficult. Fly fishing in even a moderate wind is challenging but it seemed that the weather gods had handed me a cruel twist of fate spoiling the lovely mild weather with a relentless gale. Unperturbed I set up and short nymphed my way upstream avoiding the occasional branch falling overhead. After a fishless and frustrating initial 2 hours I was all but ready to give up but decided instead to move upstream to a popular section that I generally avoid – the rationale being that the inclement conditions had probably allowed it to have a rest. It turned out to be a wise choice – soon after wading in to the river I was bringing my first Grayling of the day to hand. Nothing big but thankfully I had at least caught something! In contrast to the first 2 hours, the next 2 were actually quite fruitful. I’m not sure whether it was that the grayling suddenly switched on for a short feeding spell as is often the case at this time of year, or that I had simply found the fish. Probably a bit of both. In the end I managed about 6/7 Grayling and a nice out of season WBT. I went home pleased that I had stuck with it and felt that it was a good result given the conditions.
     
    Sunday dawned very early, 5am to be precise! I don’t get many chances to fish the Test and when I do I make sure that I make the most of the day. Thankfully it seemed that the wind had died down (a little) and I embarked on the long drive down south eager and excited about the days fishing ahead of me. After driving down the long windy estate road I finally crossed the river and as all fisherman have a longing to do, got out of the car and peered down into the clear water. In the early morning light it was hard to see much but it looked perfect, slightly higher than the last time I was here and carrying a tinge of colour as was expected at this time of year. In my experience the morning is usually the least successful time of the day when it comes to winter Grayling so by showing a great deal of self restraint I resisted the urge to set up straight away and decided the time would be better spend wondering the banks and exploring. As the saying goes, time spent in reconnaissance is seldom time wasted and I as made my downstream I was noting good spots to visit later. I was also treated to the lovely sight of a Barn Owl flying low to the fields and crossing the river right in front of me.
     
     

     
     
    After setting up and fishing a likely run I noticed a fish rising repeatedly in a slack on the opposite bank opposite me. Thinking that at this time of year it could only be a Grayling I made my way to the other bank and slowly crept up on the fish which by now had stopped rising. It didn’t take long for the float to dip but unfortunately the culprit was not a large Grayling as I was hoping but a very large BT! Thankfully it was not in a energetic mood and thumped around heavily on the end of the line for a few minutes before I managed to net it. I don’t like catching BT out of season and try to return this as quickly as possible but I had to spend a second admiring this beauty – he was in superb condition and must have been 4lb+. It was a start of sorts!
     
    Moving back around to the other bank I made my way further downstream and fished a nice deep run close into the bank. First cast and the float just dipped. A quick strike brought my first Grayling to the net. Unfortunately the hook pulled at the last second but I was pleased to have hooked one and not too fussed that he got off seeing as it was quite a small fish. After a chat and a tip off from the chap who runs the fishing I made my way to a superb swim that had Grayling written all over it. It was downstream of a large Island and the flow around the Island had concentrated to form a deep pool with a fast tongue of water and a very large slack on the far side. I decided to initially fish a small slack behind a groyne on my bank and after letting the float mooch around for a bit a very subtle bite resulted in a nice Chub of a couple of pounds:
     
     

     
     

     
     
    By now the wind had picked up and although braid was helping to minimise the effects, I was still struggling to control the float. Despite trotting the inviting main tongue of water numerous times, I hadn’t had a bite. After chatting with the keeper who was out walking his dogs I decided to readdress the situation and switch over to a much heavier float. It turned out to be a good move; first cast was slightly upstream and the float was obviously anchored better in the strong flow. Surprisingly almost straight away I had an obvious bite that was clearly a good fish. After a spirited fight I netted a large Grayling which after being quickly weighed in the net went 2lb exactly – my first 2lb Grayling!
     
     

     
     
    Very pleased and slightly relieved that I had caught a nice Grayling I continued to trot that pool catching a few other good sized but smaller Grayling. The wind which had been a menace previously was now blowing upstream quite steadily and I discovered it was possible to use it to my advantage with some unorthodox trotting which has a lot in common with upstream nymphing. My method was to cast up and across the current and immediately lift the rod high allowing the wind to blow the line in an arc above the float like a sail. This slowed the float right down and by retrieving line with the pin I was able to keep in constant contact. Once the float drifted past me I could continue to trot downstream normally. The method proved to be very effective. As I lifted the rod the first time I tried it, the wind bowed the line and the float slowed right down to a speed that just felt right and I felt certain that a bite was surely imminent. In a wonderfully prescient moment, the float almost immediately pulled under and I was into a good fish. Keeping downstream of the fish I managed to coax him up towards the net. However, it took a number of aborted netting attempts before I eventually netted him much to my relief! This fish was clearly my largest and once weighed went 2lb06oz, I was over the moon!
     
     

     
     
    The rest of the day was spent exploring the rest of the venue catching a few more Grayling and Chub in lots of different swims.
     
     

     
     
    My penultimate fish really capped the day off. As the light was fading I decided to head back and have another go at the special pool that had resulted in my two largest Grayling. This time I crossed a bridge and fished it from the far bank along a very inviting crease. After a couple of small Grayling my float slightly dipped once again and I struck only to meet a solid resistance. Thinking that I had snagged the bottom I pulled harder with the rod in order to free it. However, it was met by an obvious heavy thump at the end of the line. My heart was racing, this was obviously significantly bigger than any of the fish I had hooked in the day. Thankfully I could play the fish out of the main current as there was a large slack bay directly in front of me. After a nerve wrecking fight where the fish mainly stayed deep I managed to coax it to the surface to see the brassy flank of a very large Chub. He was quite obliging and instead of snagging me in the near bank vegetation, slipped over my net at the first time of asking. At 5lb2oz it was by far the biggest Chub that I have caught trotting and certainly the one I am most proud of. A fitting end to a magical days fishing.
     
     

     
     
    Final tally was 12-14 Grayling (largest 3 - 1lb14oz,2lb,2lb06oz), 2 BT, 3 Chub to 5lb02oz and a few Parr and Minnows.
  4. Nicholas S
    Unsurprisingly it wasn’t long before James and I returned to the Wellow Brook. The glorious weather and hatching Mayflies meant that we spent three wonderful evenings on the river in a row! On the first evening we decided to try slightly further downstream than we had on the first visit. The fishing started well with James missing a good rise to his dry fly straight away! Despite the fact that there were fish rising along the whole stretch catching them proved to be tricky due to the low clear water and their spooky nature. This was despite practically crawling along the riverbed to avoid scaring them! A lovely deep pool yielded four Trout which I was delighted with and from then as the light dropped the fishing only got better. We stayed until it was practically dark and I think I ended up with around 8 Trout much to James’ surprise (he only caught a few!). Not only was the fishing spectacular, the wildlife on show was equally special. On one particular large pool we were treated to the sight of a set of Badgers which casually traipsed past us much to our amazement. That was followed by the fleeting sight of a female Roe Dear and her fawn running past just metres from where I stood. Finally as darkness fell a Tawny Owl silently flew into the tree opposite me and just sat there staring for a while before quietly flying off. It was a great evening.
     
    If the first day was good the next surpassed all expectations! The fish seemed to be ravenous and were taking anything that was put in front of them with gusto! We fished the same stretch as the night before and both caught around 12 fish each providing us with some of the best fly fishing we has ever experienced. Again, the wildlife on show was spectacular with abundant insect life, fish life (obviously) and one of the most magical experiences I have ever had whilst fishing. This occurred when I was knelt down in about 6 inches of water fishing into a productive deep pool. As I was casting something shot past me at great speed heading directly into the pool, probably not more than 2 metres from where I knelt. My casting obviously spooked it and in a one smooth motion it turned and shot back from the direction it came from causing a small disturbance to the water and frightening me in the process! The creature was far larger than anything I had seen swimming in the river and although my initial thoughts were of large Pike it seemed improbably large for such a small river. I turned my head in the direction it swam off and much to my amazement a large brown head was looking back at me around 20 yards downstream. An Otter, I couldn’t believe it! We stared at each other (probably both in shock) for what seemed like eternity before it dipped its head and swam off. It was an amazing experience and a fantastic evenings fishing, one that I will never forget.
     
    The next day we chatted to another fisherman who lives in the village and whose house in on the river (lucky guy). He informed us that he had only seen the Otter three times in the past four years. Evidently I had been exceptionally lucky to have seen in the day before! The fishing was not as good as the previous two evenings and I think I managed about 2 trout with plenty more lost. In the first pool I fished a small rustle behind me drew my attention and as I turned I was amazed to see something brown and furry swimming in the water! However, this was not Otter but rather a very tame American Mink which had a small bird in its mouth. Not quite such a welcome sight but still interesting to see one so close. As we left were treated to the lovely sight of a Barn Owl hunting over the adjacent field. It had been three wonderful evenings fishing.
     
  5. Nicholas S

    Monnow - 12/09/2010

    By Nicholas S,

    The following day I made a slightly mad and last minute decision to drive over to Wales and fish the Monnow for the day. I had been mulling over a trip across the border to sample Wale’s delightful river fishing for a while and finally decided that today was the day. Two hours of driving later (it should have been considerably less but I took a ridiculous countryside ‘short-cut’ which turned out to be a huge mistake) and I had arrived at the Monnow and boy was I excited!
     

     
    The river looked slightly high with a tinge of colour but still fishable. Without having any prior knowledge on the fishing I decided to take a gamble and start right in front of where I had parked and work my way upstream. The Monnow is a lovely river and considerably larger than the small streams that I frequent around Bath. This made it harder to deduce where the fish were likely to be lying and with no obvious surface activity I plumped for a couple of nymphs. It took me a while to get off the mark but soon enough I was into my first Monnow fish, a lovely Grayling probably just under half a pound. I continued making my way upstream picking off the odd fish here and there until I came across a long riffled section of deep powerful water that just screamed Grayling. Working my way up the far bank and fishing into the deeper water I was finding it difficult to get a bite. However, after changing one fly to a very heavy pink shrimp I had a ferocious bite and it was into a fish and that was really pulling hard in the fast water. The only way I could get a semblance of control was by lowering my rod tip into the water and attempting to gently ease the fish upstream and into the slower paced margins. Eventually I was beginning to gain the upper hand and slipped my net under a pristine Grayling that was just over 1.5lb. It wasn’t as large as I was anticipating but it had put up a magnificent fight in the fast water and I was really pleased to have got it in to the net.
     

     
     
     
    By now the day was getting on so with miles of river still un-fished I decided to wonder upstream until I came across a nice looking stretch and then hopefully fish the evening rise. Well, the evening rise did happen but it was almost dark by that time and despite numerous Grayling rising repeatedly I couldn’t connect with a single one! It was a slightly frustrating end to the day but I had had an fantastic time on a new river learning a lot along the way.
  6. Nicholas S
    After getting a taster for fishing in Wales the previous weekend (See September 12) I decided to make a weekend of it and invite my friend Alan over to join me on a trip that I had been excitedly looking forward to all week. Early Saturday morning I picked up Alan from the train station and before long we were making our way to the river. I decided that we should try a stretch upstream of where I had fished the week before and one that I had heard was particularly nice. The river here is especially varied with deep slower sections interspersed with fast riffled water. Conditions were ideal and with a few fish rising Alan stuck to fishing the dry fly for most of the day and doing very well catching some lovely WBT steadily throughout the day. The Grayling proved a little harder to trick into taking a dry and repeatedly left us very frustrated! I was trying out a new rod which is too long for the small streams I fish around Bath and I was looking forward to putting it through its paces on a larger river. It’s suited to fishing with heavy nymphs so whilst Alan scoured the top of the water for rising fish I explored the deeper faster water. With so much water to go out two fisherman can comfortably fish side by side without interfering with each other or spooking the fish. The fishing was once again quite challenging but we caught relatively steadily throughout the day thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to fish a prime stretch of this lovely River. The final fish of the day was the most special – I had casually cast into a particularly non-descript piece of water only to get an immediate bite from what turned out to be a cracking Grayling of 1lb11oz, equal pb! Final tally for the day was 9 Grayling and 4 WBT. I’m still getting familiar with the Monnow and particularly with fishing on a large river. However it’s exciting stuff with the constant thought that your next fish could be something really special.
     

     
    After a hearty pub dinner we camped the night and woke up at the crack of dawn to have a go at a tributary of the Monnow; the River Honddu.
     

     
    I had heard great reports about the recent fishing on this picturesque mountain stream and waking up so early was for once not arduous in the slightest. The river is situated in the most spectacular surroundings right on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is an archetypal mountain stream running fast of the Beacons tumbling and gurgling its way all the way into the Monnow – not something either of us were used to but with so many ‘fishy’ holes it was difficult to show restraint as we walked down river to the downstream extent of the fishing rights. The day turned out to be surprisingly tough with the odd deeper bend yielding a couple of fish but with large sections of faster water producing nothing despite there obviously being fish in residence. Fishing very fast riffled shallower water is difficult and I have subsequently learn that success lies in being very selective in your casting, only picking out the minute areas where the flow is reduced and as such a fish is likely to be holding station. However, it was a brilliant days fishing in truly spectacular surroundings and on a river that changes its character constantly. I think I ended the day with around 15WBT to around 12 inches.
  7. Nicholas S
    A great weekend spent fishing the Thames with Alan and his dad Trevor. Saturday was spent at Trevor’s secret location, a beautiful spot that gave us an appetiser for the sort of fish it can turn up on my last visit (see 29-30/08/2010) but sadly that time we were left empty handed. This time we had decided to adopt a more relaxed approach and feeder fish through the day hoping to build the swim up for Bream and possibly Chub and Barbel later in the day/night. The feeder fishing was excellent with both of us catching plenty of silver fish to a good size including a bonus Rudd for me which I was particularly chuffed with, haven’t caught a Rudd for ages! As night fell the Bream moved in and although we weren’t catching the numbers that you might associate with the Thames I was more than happy to finish the night with 5. Surprisingly Trevor and Alan both blanked claiming that I had the best swim! Not sure about that but it’s always satisfying when a plan comes to fruition.
     
    Sunday turned out to be a pretty miserable day with rain and strong winds making the thought of staying warm and toasty indoors seem very appealing! We eventually decided to brave it and to use up the leftover bait feeder fishing opposite where Trevor was moored up. Similar to Saturday we were catching plenty of silver fish with some excellent Dace thrown in. The final excitement of the day came right at the end when we managed to catch a cheeky Pike that had repeatedly snatched our fish as we were reeling them in! A trotted live bait quickly grabbed his attention and after a spirited fight we netted a nice fish of around 7lbs. I seem to have a habit of attracting Pike whenever I fish on the Thames, I think the next time I might have to try to target them specifically!
  8. Nicholas S
    Popped out for a few hours mainly to explore a new section of river (the Upper River Chew) which belongs to Knowle Angling. I took my rod along just in case obviously! To be honest I was a little disappointed, the river seemed very small (too small to be stocked with Rainbow Trout which apparently it was although I didn’t see a single one!), quite silted up and very overgrown. Wading was virtually impossible due to the deep silt/mud and casting was a nightmare. In the end I managed to tempt a couple of small Wild Brown Trout I had spotted rising by creeping up and practically dropping a small black gnat on their head! Mixed feelings about the place, really feel that the money spent on stocking Rainbows would be better spent on improving the habitat and some bank clearance!
  9. Nicholas S
    A very enjoyable evening on the Bristol Avon spent in the company of newly acquainted fishing pal Graham who also enjoys fly fishing the river for Coarse fish. We were fishing a new stretch (for me) and had numerous Chub. Graham let me use one of his latest creations (basically a large foam beetle) which worked wonders for the Chub who seemed to find it irresistible. Graham mainly fished a popper hoping for a Pike or Perch but they all seemed to be a bit shy that day! Still, I learnt a lot fishing with Graham who is far more experienced than I at fly fishing for Coarse fish and I can’t wait to try out the new deadly fly somewhere else!
  10. Nicholas S
    Decided to finally have a go for the Barbel that I spotted on the Bristol Avon (see Aug 3rd). After the recent rain the river was a bit coloured and looked spot on so I was quietly confident. Took me a while to find the spot as it’s not a ‘known’ swim. Eventually recognised it (I was on the other bank before so it wasn’t obvious) and after scaling the barbed wire fence and making my way through the shrubbery I was gobsmacked to find someone else fishing there!! Couldn’t believe it. Disgruntled I made my way back to a swim which I had seen a nice fish come out of a while back. Not really too hopeful I cast a few bait droppers, rested the swim and cast out. An hour or so later and it was getting dark. I was starting to think about packing up but decided to recast my bait further downstream, I wasn't too confident in the spot I initially cast out in anyway, plus I figured my pellets would have almost certainly washed downstream. Sitting and waiting for a bite is not really my style of fishing and I was just wondering why I had bothered to go fishing that day when my rod wrapped round and almost got pulled in! Amazed I grabbed the rod to feel a heavy resistance which immediately took off! My heart was pumping the whole time. I find it quite unnerving playing a big fish in the dark and constantly worry about where the fish is in front of me. Thankfully the moon was bright and I could see reasonably well. After what seemed like eternity I slid the net under a glistening Barbel. Stupidly I forgot my scales AND camera so sadly no pics. Being conservative I would have estimated it around 9lb. It was a great end to the evening and I was very pleased to catch my first ever Bristol Avon Barbel!
  11. Nicholas S
    Going fishing on Boxing Day when the thermometer is registering -10C really makes you question your sanity. That was exactly the case when Alan and I ventured off in the half light early on Boxing Day. Despite the Siberian conditions we were both very excited. A day Grayling fishing on the Test is always special and although the weather was doing its best to force us indoors, nothing was going to get in the way of us getting to the river! I must admit, when we arrived and got out of the warm car I was seriously wondering whether this was going to be a wasted trip. Fishing in these conditions is extreme and to try and catch Grayling on the fly was not going to be easy. However, we had the whole venue to ourselves and after being shown around by the keeper we eagerly started to get kitted out.
     
    The morning started remarkably well with me catching a nice Grayling of around 1lb on my second cast (I must admit this was a bit of a fluke)! It was quite unprecedented and we hoped would bode well for the remainder of the day.
     
     

     
     
    Unfortunately after a fishless hour or so we quickly realised that it was not going to be an easy day. However, as the hazy sunlight wore off it began to get easier to spot fish so instead of working our way blindly upstream we decided to change tactics and only cast to spotted fish. The move paid off and by lunch we had both caught a few after working our way up some lovely runs.
     
     

     
     
    A brief and very cold lunch ensued. I can confirm that fishing with the rod rings constantly freezing up is annoying enough but trying to eat frozen sandwiches, bananas, Christmas cake and squash is not much fun! Still, with only our enthusiasm to fuel us on we explored further upstream from our morning sortie and soon realised much to our surprise that a small hatch was beginning and fish were beginning to rise. With boyish excitement I fumbled around trying to change my nymphing outfit to a dry fly set-up but failed to connect with a single Grayling and only hooked one large stocked Trout which came off! As the rises and light began to diminish we decided to explore the rest of the un-fished small carrier on foot only fishing the prime spots. The carrier was a lot more intimate and similar to some of the small streams I tend to frequent. I couldn’t resist a few more casts in a very tempting Grayling hole and was quickly rewarded with three nice Grayling including my best of the day, probably around 1.25lb.Eventually the light thwarted us with seemingly still miles of river un-fished and left for another (hopefully warmer) day. It was a great day out and we were thrilled to both catch in such harsh conditions. I think Alan caught 2 Grayling including a new pb for him of 1lb09oz. I caught a few more (5 in total) but all of a smaller stamp. Can’t wait to go back to this venue in the autumn when the days are both warmer and longer.
     
     

  12. Nicholas S
    Bit behind on blog updates! Starting with a delightful short evening fly fishing in early April spent as a guest of my friend James on the banks of the Midford Brook (a tributary of the Bristol Avon) just outside of Bath. Spring had appeared to arrive and whilst the flora wasn’t in blossom yet, the warm temperature and sweet smell to the air reminded why I love this time of year.
     
    Only spent about an hour fishing, the river was fining down and had recently been stocked with Rainbow Trout (wish that money was spent on improving the habitat for wild Brownies and Grayling but oh well). Managed to catch one small rainbow on a small gold head Hares Ear whilst retrieving it upstream! All in all a very pleasant evening on a water I hope to fish again.
  13. Nicholas S
    Another short evening session after work, this time fishing for carp at Newton Park Lake. The lake itself is lovely; set in Capability Brown’s magnificent landscaped grounds with an old Georgian manor house overlooking it. Rather unfortunately the estate has now become a University who clearly have no regard for keeping to the original architecture of the place and some of the accommodation blocs are a little bit of an eyesore in what was once clearly a majestic setting. Still, the lake is at the bottom of a small valley which provides some seclusion and provided I fish with the accommodation blocs behind me the view across the lake is stunning.
     
    On this particular occasion I was lucky enough to have the lake all to myself, just how I like it! Although ‘standard carp tactics’ dominate here, I find it terribly boring and like to travel as light as possible and stalk the carp off the top with bread usually, a tactic that seems quite productive on this particular lake! After walking most of the way round the lake and not seeing any signs of fish I was beginning to question my judgment in attempting to fish off the top so early in the season. However, I soon stumbled across a large group of fish milling around near the surface much to my excitement! After getting them confident feeding off the top I flicked out a large chunk of freelined bread and waited in anticipation. Sure enough it didn’t take long before a big (estimated mid-double) greedy Mirror Carp was resting in the net. I think 4 more followed, all a good size, capping off a fine evening. On my next trip here I will bring the fly rod and attempt to catch my first carp on the fly!
  14. Nicholas S
    An enjoyable and hot day spent on Sutton Bingham reservoir in Somerset with my friend James and his Dad. It was my first time on this reservoir but I had heard good things from James who had fished it many times in the past. As it was the fishing started brilliantly with both of us catching good trout almost straight away! As the day wore on the fishing got almost too easy and we both had to try to use flies that we thought would reduce our chances of catching! In the end we got our bag limits and due to no catch and release (I hate that rule) we had to call it a day. Managed to up my trout pb to 4.75lb which I was very pleased about.
     
    The day was soured a bit at the end after I got in an argument with the Neanderthal who runs the place about his rules. Don’t think I will be revisiting in a hurry.
     
  15. Nicholas S
    My first time out on the famous Blagdon reservoir, the home of Stillwater fly fishing apparently. The reservoir itself is stunning, set in the Mendip hills with the lovely village of Blagdon overlooking it. It really is a picture and a real pleasure to fish. The day itself started brilliantly with James and I seemingly anchored up right over a shoal of Rainbow trout: we immediately started getting knocks whilst everyone else seemed to be struggling! By lunch time James had managed 5 compared to only 1 for myself! At that point James had to call it a day so we vacated our good spot and rowed back to the lodge to meet James’ Dad who was coming in the boat in his place.
     
    The afternoon was slightly frustrating. Another boat had anchored in the spot we were in that morning and were catching quite regularly. We, on the other hand were struggling. What made it infinitely more frustrating was the master-class being demonstrated by group of bank anglers who were catching trout with almost robotic regularity whilst we looked on in amazement! In the end I managed to pick up two more trout but that was nothing compared to the numbers that were being caught from the bank. In the end we called it a day but before rowing back I plucked up the courage to ask the bank anglers what fly was doing the damage to which I heard just one word: Damsel! Typically the one fly I didn’t try, oh well, food for thought for next time.
  16. Nicholas S
    Another short session back at Newton Park this time with my friend Jack who hadn’t really done any fishing before so I had promised him we might be able to catch a carp! Typically it was quite hard and the fish were being quite coy when rising and were not easy to hook. Jack pulled out of a good take early on and we had to wait to it was virtually dark to get another opportunity. Luckily this time it resulted it a nice carp of about 6.5lb which slurped up some crust from virtually under out feet. Pleased we managed to catch one in the end, for some reason whenever I take a friend along the fishing is always difficult!
  17. Nicholas S
    Was away in Norfolk for a few days for a work related course and after researching potential fishing opportunities in the area was pleased to find out there was a small trout lake nearby that offered a catch and release evening ticket, perfect! The first day I got there as quickly as possible after having an early dinner and found the place all to myself, bliss! However, despite the fact there were clearly fish everywhere the fishing was hard work, in fact I hadn’t caught anything by the time the light was fading. However, after moving to the other end of the lake the most spectacular rise occurred with fish toping literally everywhere. Much to my annoyance I had a paltry selection of dry flies but in the end managed to hook one on a small black wet fly that I had ginked up. It felt like a poor effort given the rise however.
     
    The next day I got there even earlier to find a couple of other fisherman and the small tackle shop on site open. After arming myself with a selection of dry flies and various bits and bobs in anticipation of another evening rise I felt confident! However, like the day before I struggled again only managing to hook one fish on a buzzer. Annoyingly everyone else couldn’t seem to stop catching! Eventually I got chatting to a really friendly guy who seemed to be having a lot of success and he showed what he was doing. As it turned out, a lot of the stocked fish had ended up in the bottom end of the lake and were so close to the surface you could see their fins sticking out. A dry fly fished static didn’t elicit much of a response but ripping it back as fast as you could made them go crazy! It was fascinating and exciting at the same time, not a method I had ever even tried and to be honest, probably only works only newly stocked (slightly dumb) fish. Still, it was great fun and I must have caught almost 10 pristine Rainbows in a couple of hours. This time I went home feeling very satisfied!
  18. Nicholas S
    My second visit to Blagdon reservoir with James. Despite good fishing conditions (overcast and a bit rainy) the fishing was very difficult for most of the day. James who only fished till the early afternoon caught a cracking Brown trout of about 2lb (released) but apart from that we struggled as did everyone else it seemed. However, in the evening I noticed a proliferation of boats in one area down the bottom end of the reservoir. I set off toward them hoping that this was a good sign. It was. As soon as I got there and started casting I had a pull. What followed was one of the most satisfying experiences I have had fishing. After not catching anything all day I managed to get 7 in the next 2 and half hours or so. I desperately wanted to get my limit (8) and even managed to hook the 8th fish in near darkness but alas it came off. Oh well, I couldn’t complain, it was my best result from a large reservoir and had turned out to be a fantastic finish to a hard day.
  19. Nicholas S
    A lazy days fly fishing spent sampling my new clubs still-waters. Fished three in total, none really in earnest, and ended up with three lost fish. Particularly liked the 5 acre reservoir (Chew Magna) that is the largest still-water the club has. It seems like difficult fishing but it is a pretty reservoir with lovely wooden platforms extending out into the lake. Looking forward to trying to crack that one in the future.
  20. Nicholas S
    A lovely day spent fly fishing on a stretch on the Lambourne that I normally trot in winter with my fishing partner and good friend, Alan (AKA 'Thames Oddity'). We were both looking forward to the day and were buoyed up after meeting and chatting to Matt Hayes at the Sportsfish 10 year anniversary show that morning. Incidentally he’s a thoroughly nice guy who much to our disbelief, happily chatted to both of us for ages!
     
    Neither of us were/are particularly experienced at river fly fishing and were hoping today would provide a both of us with our first fly caught wild Brown Trout. The river looked magnificent, absolutely gin clear, possibly the clearest I had ever seen it although it was surprising how well the Trout and Grayling conceal themselves even in the clearest water.
     
    Losing a small Brown Trout on my first cast set the tone for the day as we both caught a number of small Brown Trout to a mixture of dry flies and nymphs as well as a few out of season Grayling (also our first caught on the fly). The icing on the cake was catching a gorgeous Grayling of about a pound on a weighted nymph. Even though it was out of season it was a splendid fish that I was delighted to catch on the fly.
  21. Nicholas S
    A spell of nice weather prompted me to have an evening fishing after work. I decided on fishing Publow Lake, one of my new clubs (Knowle Angling) waters and one I was not familiar with. On arriving I could see plenty of fish swimming around in the shallow end of the lake and managed to tempt two on a Damsel and a dry fly. I decided to move down to the other end of the lake to not disturb the fish too much at the shallow end. Although I tempted a few fish to nibble, no positive bites were forthcoming but it was still an enjoyable evening and lovely to be outside at this magical time of year.
  22. Nicholas S
    The fair weather continued and I couldn’t resist two more evenings fishing after work. I had recently got my membership for a stretch of the Box Brook, a lovely limestone river not far from Bath which I was looking forward to fishing. The river was running low and clear and from the road bridge I could see a number of Trout and Grayling. The occasional splashy rise from a small Brown Trout added to the excitement and I couldn’t wait to start. The first evening was not hugely successful; I think I only managed one beautifully marked small Brown Trout but felt that I was beginning to get the hang of how to fish the type of river. It certainly helps to be as stealthy as possible as these fish are very spooky. The next evening I went back feeling more confident and it turned out to be a wonderful evening. I think I caught around 6 feisty small Brown Trout and one of season Grayling with another lost. A number of trout were caught on the dry fly providing exhilarating action, they were all small but they certainly fight hard! The river really is delightful and I couldn’t wait to go back.
  23. Nicholas S
    A very hard day on Blagdon Reservoir. After my success on the previous trip here I felt confident that I would again be able to get a few but the wind made fishing a nightmare! It not only caused all manner of casting problems, but also meant that rowing for me was painfully hard work and most annoying of all, the blooming anchor kept on slipping! A few friends who I recognised eventually took pity on me and offered to tow me (they had an electric motor) up to the top end and into a quiet bay. This was a godsend as I was quite worried about how I would manage to row back to the lodge. After being dropped off and finally anchoring up properly (no slipping this time) I had a chance to fish properly, I should point out it was about 4pm at this point and I had caught nothing! I didn’t feel confident in the bay I was in but persevered fishing a few spots. After a while I noticed the wind dropping and decided to venture out of my calm bay into the maelstrom! Actually the wind had dropped enough to allow me to row and anchor reasonably comfortably so after trying a few spots with no luck I decided that enough was enough and I would row all the way down to where I had had my success from the last time. It turned out to be an inspired decision, I didn’t manage quite the same success but caught three whilst the bank anglers nearby didn’t seem to have a touch (this was quite gratifying after seeing them endlessly catch on my first visit!). Eventually as darkness fell I decided to call it a day and faced the long row back to the lodge. A hard day but in the end perseverance paid.
  24. Nicholas S
    I couldn’t resist another session on the Box Brook after work and headed down as quickly as possible straight after work. The river again looked perfect with the occasional trout rise providing clues as to their presence. Although I wasn’t quite as successful as last time I managed to tempt a few Brown Trout in what was another enjoyable evening on the BB.
  25. Nicholas S
    Some nice weather prompted me to take up my promise to return to Newton Park and attempt to catch a carp on the fly. I brought along James this time as he had never even caught a carp. We only had a few hours to fish and although there were plenty of visible fish basking in the sun, it was hard work getting them to confidently feed. We only had one rod so I offered James the chance to get the first one. As it turned out, one missed take was all we got. However, we were set on returning and settling the score!
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