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Nicholas S

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  1. 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!
  2. Nicholas S
    A weekend back in my home town fishing with friends. Saturday was spent on the punt with Alan and his Dad (Trevor). The river was slightly up and coloured and Alan decided to go for the Barbel straight away, usually a slightly hit and miss affair during the day. However, within 10 minutes he had had a confident bite and was into what turned out to be a small Barbel around 2lb. We spent the rest of the day catching small stuff with a sleeper rod left out in the hope of a bonus Barbel or Chub. As it turned out the Barbel and Chub were proving elusive but we did catch plenty of Dace, Bleak (too many!) and the odd Roach. After popping home for dinner I returned with another fishing pal (Michael) and we met Trevor by the river with the plan to fish off an island into the night. I had heard plenty of stories about this stretch of the Thames from Alan and Trevor and was eager to see what all the fuss was about! The setting certainly didn’t disappoint; it was a stunning stretch of the Thames with plenty of features and a seemingly endless number of ‘fishy’ spots that I was eying up for future visits! The fishing itself was slightly patchy – a few hours into the night we had had only two small Chub to show between the four of us and were wondering whether it was going to be a quiet night when Michael had a run on his rod. This was obviously a much better fish and after initially weeding him, seemed to swim straight towards us. Unfortunately that was the end of the excitement, for some inexplicable reason Michael’s line went slack and after reeling in the line was clean cut above the feeder. It was very mysterious and frustrating, for all of us! We spent the rest of the night fishless deliberating what could have happened and what the fish could have been. Pike attacking the feeder, line cut on the gravel, I guess we’ll never know but it seemed like a good fish and goes down as another story of the one that got away...
     
    On Sunday we opted for a change of scenery and went towards Newbury to fish Wylies Lake hoping for a Tench. This was my first time specifically targeting Tench so I wasn’t too confident but was looking forward to hopefully getting some fizzing around my float. Unfortunately despite baiting up a few likely looking spots only Trevor could get the Tench fizzing in earnest in his swim and he did well to land a lovely fish around 4lb losing another late in the day. It’s a lovely lake in the most improbable location (next to a bowling alley) but it certainly has some good Tench and I think I will have to have another crack at it in the spring when the Tench are perhaps a little more willing to feed.
     
  3. Nicholas S
    Firstly I must apologise for being so behind in blog entries - I have been quite busy and was also away for the past month. I'm determined to catch up however so here's the start of many more to come...!
     
    This weekend had been allocated towards a fishing trip in Wales which I had been looking forward to all week. Sadly and annoyingly, the deluge that we had towards the end of the week put an end to that plan as most of the rivers in the area were rising quite rapidly. Instead I decided to have a repeat of the fishing weekend I spend with my fishing pal Alan back in July (see 03-04/07/2010).
     
    Saturday was spent on the LRA and turned out to be my most productive day yet – 10 WBT and 7 Grayling. What made the day exceptional was that 4 of the WBT were over 1lb! I count myself lucky to get one over 1lb in a day’s fishing so to get 4 from only 7 fish was quite exceptional. The Grayling were mostly small with the odd one to near a pound. Every time I fish this river I get to know it that bit better and that is certainly reflected in my catch return.
     
    Sunday on the Wylye was both enjoyable and frustrating. Enjoyable to be able to fish this lovely stretch and have it all to myself. Frustrating because my flies were visibly ignored by so many Grayling which for some reason were being very fussy. Even the one’s I targeted on the dry fly seemed to miss the fly (at least that’s my excuse, in reality I probably wasn’t quick enough to strike)! Even more frustrating was losing two really good fish, one a large BT which shocked me when it charged away from me taking line of the reel before I attempted to slow it down and the hook pulled. The second was a very good Grayling, it stayed deep but allowed me to catch a glimpse of it looking like a large dark mini submarine before once again the hook pulled! Oh well, it was just one of those days, my final tally was 8 BT and 4 Grayling. The BT were of an excellent size with 6 over a pound in weight.
  4. Nicholas S

    Blagdon - 05/09/2010

    By Nicholas S,

    The following day after my bumper session on the LRA I had a relaxed days fishing on Blagdon Reservoir with my flatmate and fishing partner James. It was my first time on a still water for a while but I was looking forward to a change of scenery. We had agreed that we would have a friendly match between the two of us but the day started slowly with neither of us registering so much as a pull for the first hour or so. However a change of location reaped instant rewards with both of us into a fish virtually at the same time! It appeared that we were over a large shoal of fish as the fishing was at times almost too easy with fish after fish coming to the boat. However as quickly as it started it stopped with the shoal seemingly moved on. The rest of the day was a case of motoring around and having a few casts to see if you were covering a shoal. However, after that initial bonanza the fishing was slightly patchy but nonetheless very enjoyable and more challenging than earlier in the day. Eventually the match ended at 6 all, probably a fair result! It was one of the best days fishing either of us had had on Blagdon and was a very enjoyable end to my season on the still waters.
  5. Nicholas S

    LRA - 04/09/2010

    By Nicholas S,

    An afternoons fishing on the LRA turned out to be my best ever session there and one of the best days fly fishing that I have ever had. It was just one of those days when everything seemed to click into place and to help matters the fish seemed more than willing to cooperate! I ended up with 22 Grayling, 10 WBT, 1 Roach and a Minnow.
     

     
    The Grayling were noticeably feeding harder now the Summer was coming to an end. I usually struggle in the slower sections of the river but I found that if I sped up the nymphs you could often ‘induce’ a take. It was really exhilarating to watch the Grayling come up and take the fly very aggressively.
     

     
    The final fish of the day was the most special. The light had begun to drop and I hoping to get one more fish before calling it a day I made my way up river to a productive spot. Sure enough there was a fish confidently rising. After creeping up on him practically on all fours I managed to entice him to take the fly on my second cast. A short but spirited fight ensued before I slipped the net under my second largest LRA WBT, 1.5lbs. It was a brilliant days fishing capped off by a superb fish.
     

     
  6. Nicholas S

    Box Brook - 01/09/2010

    By Nicholas S,

    A very pleasant evening spent on the Box Brook. This was my first visit to the BB for a few months but after the recent rain I decided that now was the perfect time to reacquaint myself with the place. I decided initially to explore slightly further downstream from where I usually fish but despite some lovely looking runs and pools I only managed one small WBT. As the light began to fade I ventured back up to fish the stretch I am familiar with and managed three more lovely WBT with a few more nearly hooked after changing to a dry fly.
  7. Nicholas S
    A week’s holiday with family in the north of Scotland near Ullapool. Unsurprisingly I managed to fit in some fishing where I could! The scenery, wildlife and fishing were fantastic, the weather unfortunately less so but it didn’t really dampen spirits.
     
    On the long drive North I stopped off at Pitlochry to have a punt at fishing the Tummel, something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. The river is lovely but I was woefully unprepared with my small brook rod and no wading staff. The Tummel is extremely powerful, scarily so, and wading without a wading staff (and probably a life jacket) is plain stupid. In this instance I managed to fashion an impromptu one of a large stick I found on the bank but it wasn’t ideal. This was my first experience fly fishing such a large river for Trout and Grayling and apart from numerous Salmon Parr my few hours fishing was very unsuccessful. The water there seemed ideal for Czech Nymphing and on my next visit I will certainly be trying this with a much longer rod this time!
     
    During the week I managed to fit in a couple of fishing sessions, usually when the weather was poor and people didn’t fancy venturing out (except me!). The following pics were all take on the most spectacular walk into the Mountains on a day that started out with the most miserable weather. Thankfully the weather improved as the day wore on but everytime I tried to have a cast in the one of the myriad of Lochs on offer I was virtually eaten alive by midges and had to retreat! Blissfully a wind picked up and standing right in the face of it I was finally able to have a few casts and much to my surprise caught some beautiful hard fighting little wild brownies. It was fantastic fun and I could have stayed there all day but I cleverly managed to forget all my food and drink and by the time the evening had arrived I was famished! I should mention I spotted the most stunning Black Throated Diver on the Loch I was fishing, a very rare bird which I have always wanted to see, that really made my day.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    My second fishing trip was spent on the River Garvie; a small spate river which connects a large Loch to the sea. It used to be famous for its Sea Trout but sadly now (thanks to Salmon Farming) is better known for its Grilse but still has a moderate run of Sea Trout. I arrived on Wednesday evening in the most atrocious weather, driving rain and gusting wind didn’t make for enjoyable fishing conditions but I was pretty certain from the fishes perspective this was pretty good weather! I stayed out until about 11pm and was very pleased to catch two lovely small Sea Trout (of about a pound) with a couple more lost. They were only the second and third Sea Trout I had ever caught (first and second on the fly) and I was over the moon that I had managed to catch at all! I also lost a couple more – they were pretty adept at shedding the hook in the rushes! Returned early the next morning and managed one more Sea Trout of a similar size quite quickly but then struggled for bites right through until the afternoon whereupon my Dad arrived and promptly lost what we think was a small Grilse on his second cast! Much to my annoyance I also think I lost a small Grilse just before I was about to pack up, what an end to the day that would have been but sadly the wait for a Salmon goes on!
     
    On a separate day we all had a very enjoyable day on a boat visiting the Summer Isles with some boat fishing thrown in for good measure between islands – it was mainly Mackerel bashing but the odd Pollack also made an appearance.
     
    Final day was spent on a lovely Loch boat fishing. It was fantastic to be able to practise traditional ‘Loch Style’ but despite the Loch apparently being stuffed full of small brownies, I wasn’t that successful. I think between me and my Dad we managed around 9 beautifully marked brownies. It didn’t really matter that we didn’t catch much; just being in that environment is enjoyment enough. On the drive back to the house we saw two Golden Eagles (separately)! It was a lovely end to the day. I really can’t wait to return here, it really is an amazing place and a fisherman’s paradise.
  8. Nicholas S
    New stretch of the Bristol Avon fly fishing for Chub. Wasn’t a great session really. Despite the fact I could see lots of Chub the deluge which greeted me soon after I arrived seemed to put them down and they just weren’t interested. Eventually tempted a nice fish but stupidly tried to hand land it in the water. It spooked and the hook pulled! Oh well, lesson learnt
  9. Nicholas S
    Couldn’t make my mind up where to fish so I decided to be lazy and fish the reservoir for the Rainbows. To be honest my heart wasn’t really in it and it didn’t come as a great surprise that I blanked.
  10. Nicholas S
    After spending so much time fishing rivers recently I decided for a change of scenery and another crack at Chew Magna Reservoir for its Rainbow Trout. The last time I had fished there had been spring before the first leaves had appeared on the trees. This time the place was positively bursting with life and looked magnificent on what was a lovely balmy evening. Despite the fact that there were fish rising in front of me straight away I struggled to catch. After three missed takes I eventually managed to get it right after switching to a single Buzzer and fishing it almost static. The fish put up a good fight but eventually came to the net and probably weighed about 1 3/4lb. I decided to call it a night after that pleased that I had managed to break my duck on the venue.
  11. Nicholas S
    Well this was my first visit back to Lough Ree in 5 years and I was looking forward to it immensely. Unlike previous years I actually had some decent fishing equipment this time and also managed to borrow my friend’s echo sounder which I felt would prove to be invaluable given the size of the Lough. As this was a family holiday my fishing times were primarily restricted to the afternoons and early evenings although I did manage one early morning start as well. Surprisingly I was joined for the most part by my Sister and Girlfriend who actually seemed to quite enjoy themselves! It certainly helped that they were catching many more fish than me!
    Most of the fishing was done trolling behind the boat attempting to stay to a relatively even depth. The echo sounder really came into its own here allowing us to follow the depth contours around the many islands and the mainland as well as helping to build up a picture of the bathymetry of the Lough. We caught fish most days although nothing too spectacular: usually a number of small perch and the odd reasonable Pike (largest was probably around 7lb) although certainly not large in comparison to the monsters that undoubtedly lie in the Loughs mysterious depths. I was hoping to connect with some of the Loughs increasing trout population but sadly despite seeing a number of fish jumping clear out of the water we didn’t connect with any.
     
    Interestingly most of our fish came in quite deep water, around 15-20ft and thinking about it I would imagine that trolling the really deep water with deep diving lures would prove successful, possibly better for the larger fish. Surprisingly when I tried to cast from the boat when drifting I didn't manage to catch anything which was a shame as I prefer lure fishing like this. I feel sure that dead baiting would be far superior to trolling so that is definitely something I will be trying on the next visit. Still, it was a lovely relaxing week and I'm looking forward to returning and hopefully putting the knowledge learnt from this trip to good use!
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
     
     

  14. Nicholas S

    Itchen - 29/12/2010

    By Nicholas S,

    A sortie to the Itchen for a day’s trotting for the Grayling with three friends; Alan, Mark and Ted. The last time I was here the river was quite swollen and coloured so I was relieved to see the river still quite clear despite the recent snow melt. It was lovely to be back - it is always a special days fishing here no matter what the conditions. The fishing itself was a little harder than I expected; perhaps the cold water temperature and snow melt had put the Grayling down. I think I ended the day with around 15 or 16 Grayling and thankfully only 1 out of season Trout. Alan did well catching a mixed bag of a few Grayling, a first ever Sea Trout, a minnow, a few customary BT and a nice Chub early in the morning. Ted did well to catch his first ever Grayling (although he may have gone over to the dark arts of the maggot feeder to do so – still he waited until last thing before succumbing). Mark had a surprisingly hard day and didn't manage any Grayling but still got a bend in his rod via a few BT including a lovely small wild one. A great day out as ever, looking forward to revisiting on the AN fish-in in March.
  15. Nicholas S
    With the deluge of rain that persistently fell throughout the week my fishing options for the weekend were pretty limited. In the end I decided to pop down to the Wylye for a day Grayling fishing. Wading isn’t allowed after Christmas so I took my trotting rod as well as my fly rod with the intention to fish for a while initially on the fly before trotting. The river was on a couple of inches up and had a tinge of colour, all in all the conditions looked excellent. I started short nymphing and quickly had three small Grayling and a Trout parr. However, without being able to wade the fly fishing was limited so I switched over to my trotting rod and landed a couple of Grayling before the Trout took over ruining the swim. This was a recurring theme throughout the day and despite trying numerous spots I couldn’t catch any Grayling with any consistency. The Trout on the other hand seemed absolutely ravenous and I felt a tad guilty disturbing these wild fish when they should be spawning. In the end I caught around 9 Grayling to about 1lb and 20BT to 1.25lb. It was an enjoyable day but the river is more suited to fly fishing and judging by my morning catch, it seemed to pick out the Grayling a little more effectively so I couldn’t help but feel that I should have stuck to the fly.
  16. Nicholas S
    Another freezing Sunday this time spent on the Hampshire (well strictly speaking the Wiltshire) Avon again in search of the Grayling. Similar to last Sunday the day was a tale of two halves...the morning was spent on the lower end of the fishery and with exceptionally low water we struggled to see let alone catch a single fish.
     
     

     
     
    Vince my fishing partner did well taking a couple of small ones from a pod whilst I was tangled! In the afternoon we explored the upper half which thankfully was a little deeper and slower and looked much more promising. The Grayling were tightly shoaled and after a fishless stretch we spotted a fish rising much to our surprise and excitement. It seemed we had stumbled upon a large shoal of Grayling and whilst it wasn’t exactly a fish a chuck we were finally catching with some regularity including a real beauty that Vince caught probably about 1.5lb.
     
     

     
     

     
     
    By the time the bites began to dry up in that spot the low winter sun was dropping rapidly. Vince headed back to the car to warm himself up with a deserved coffee whilst I decided to used the remaining light to explore a deeper spot the keeper had mentioned at the top end of the fishery. It was a good move and yielded a couple more fish with one lost. After a really hard start it had turned out to be a very enjoyable day, I think I only caught around 5 Grayling but in the conditions we had I was pretty pleased.
     

     
  17. 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.
     
  18. Nicholas S
    Despite slightly cloudy weather and a drop in temperature I decided to have another go at the Bristol Avon with the fly rod but also with the aim of finding some good spots to coarse fish. The river had dropped since my last visit and looked like it could do with a significant amount of rainfall to breathe some life into it. However, the low water meant that fish spotting was a bit easier than usual and for the first time I spotted some Barbel which was very exciting! One shoal in particular were hidden beneath a snag but were visible with Polaroid’s. I just sat and watched them for ages, fascinating to observe their behaviour, not something I’ve seen before. The fishing was a little harder than usual; I think the conditions meant that the Chub were less willing to take a fly off the top. Still, I managed a couple which I was pleased with. Looking forward to my next visit when I will target those Barbel!
  19. Nicholas S
    A weekend that I had been looking forward to for a while. I was fishing the Thames with Alan and his Dad Trevor from their punt. I was excitied for a number of reasons, firstly because I had heard lots of good stories about how well the river was fishing, second because it was my first Coarse fishing session of the season and lastly because we were boat fishing which I absolutely love.
     
    It turned out to be a terrific weekend. Left work early on Friday so that i could get home in time to fish the evening and night with Trevor. Despite Trevor’s claims that he had put me in the best spot it seemed the opposite was true as he seemed to be getting all the bites! Still, it didn’t bother me and I enjoyed seeing some lovely Barbel caught, largest probably around 6lb (all to Trevor – really annoyingly I lost two good Barbel).
     
    The following day was spent trotting from the boat and mainly catching Bleak! Despite doing everything we could to try to get through the hoards of them it just wasn’t working. It didn’t really matter however, trotting with a pin off the punt is so much fun and a special experience every single time, even if you can only catch Bleak! Spent that evening in the same spot after Barbel again and this time it seemed like I was the one getting all the bites! Frustratingly I lost another good Barbel but eventually managed to catch my first one of the season, a lovely small fish probably not more than 2lb. We both caught a few nice Chub but Trevor had the last laugh landing a gorgeous Barbel just shy of being a double. It was a terrific evenings fishing, exhilarating stuff holding the rod and waiting for the tip to wrench round!
     
    The final day was spent trotting maggots for the small fish and then trotting the silver down as a live bait hoping for a nice Perch. The tactic worked surprisingly well but mainly with the smaller Perch. I did manage to catch two lovely Pike, the largest around 7.5lb which fought really well on relatively light tackle.
     
    A great weekend and looking forward to the next time.
  20. Nicholas S
    Another exploratory trip to the Bristol Avon this time heading upstream from where I started on my first visit. This stretch looked just as tempting, possibly more although it was also popular with the Barbel fisherman! Think I caught 3 Chub and a couple more Dace, another lovely evening. Saw a number of spots that were screaming to be trotted so I’m looking forward to returning with my pin. Perhaps most exciting of all was peering over a ledge and looking down at a shoal of large Chub with the most enormous Roach swimming beneath them! I have never seen Roach of that calibre and at a rough guess I would say it was around the 2lb mark, all the more reason to return!
  21. 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.
     

     

  22. 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.
  23. 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!
  24. Nicholas S
    After another wash-off on the Wye I decided to go through with my planned fishing weekend in Wales and instead fish one of the Wye’s main tributaries, the Irfon, well noted for the quality of its Grayling. With that in mind I set off slightly later than intended on Saturday morning. It took a while to get to the river and by the time I had gone through the formalities of purchasing a ticket and tackling up I only had a few hours left to fish. The conditions looked good but the clear water, gusting wind and masses of leaves made it a little tricky. I think I managed about 6 Grayling and 1 small WBT, nothing big but it was good to get a feel for the river and get used to the rather brutal wading.
     
     

     
     
    Camped on Sat night and had an early start on another beat further up the Irfon the next day. As I walked to the river I was greeted by the glorious site of the Irfon valley in all its glory, the river snaking along the bottom of it and the welsh hills overlooking it, it was absolutely stunning.
     
     

     
     
    Started in the most perfect ‘Short Nymphing’ run and had a small Grayling virtually first cast, a good start! Made my way upstream and as my flies started to rise over a likely looking deep hole it got taken by a significant fish. In the fast water I felt totally powerless and I was gutted when the hook pulled, good fish lost. Virtually next cast and it was deja vu, another big fish and this time dropper went, really dissapointed now! After all that commotion I wasn't expecting another fish but this time in exactly the same scenario I thought I detected the merest hint of a take and struck early to find some resistance. This one didn't feel as big as the others and after a good scrap I netted a very large Grayling (for me)! Quickly weighed in the net the scales were flickering between 2lb and 1lb15z so being conservative I called it 1lb15oz, a new pb, very happy! Hate to think how big the other two I lost were! After releasing that fish (actually it released itself as I tried to take a picture of it!) I had yet another go in the same spot and unbelievably hooked another big Grayling which much to my dismay also came off, oh well, one for next time!
     
     

     
     
    As the day brightened the fishing got harder, final tally was 12 Grayling and 2 out of season WBT. I was also treated to the amazing sight of a large Otter right in front of me. Spotted it on the bank whilst I was standing mid river, it slipped into the water and proceeded to have a little swim in my pool before heading off downriver. I just stood and watched in awe, an amazing sight. Unsurprisingly I didn't catch anything in that pool though!
     
     

  25. Nicholas S
    A very cold day on the middle Kennet trying for the Grayling on the fly. Very cold conditions combined with low and clear river made the fishing tricky and by lunch I had only had 4 small Grayling and one of season BT. After a hearty lunch I decided to adopt a more mobile approach to the morning and walk along the river/carriers until I either spotted fish or came to a particularly good looking spot. The approach allowed me to explore the remainder of the fishery (it was my first time here) and was far more successful. The afternoon yielded 10 more Grayling (mostly small) and a couple of large out of season Rainbow Trout which really fought hard in the cold water.
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