Adz

If they'll take lures (which, according to the Ferox85 group, they will) then you can make flies they'll take. Fishing them on a 'traditional' fly fishing set up might be tricky, but there's no reason why a fly couldn't, or shouldn't, be fished on coarse gear with down riggers. Must try harder...

Tsk... he'll be using lead weights before we know it! Not exactly cricket is it?

What fly did it take?

It's worth noting that with a relatively short leader and a cross breeze your flies will fish higher in the water as they're being towed by the fly line moving in the breeze. Arthur Cove recommended a 20+ foot leader with 3 flies at varying 6 foot intervals for fishing Grafham - bit of a PITA to cast unless you're good at it ;-) If you're dead against any sort of sight indicator, including a dry fly on the top dropper, or if you're only allowed one fly on your cast - de-grease the leader up to your required depth and then grease the rest of it up to and including the top of the fly line. The greased section should stop the fly from sinking the whole leader and makes a nice little dimple in the surface film that you can watch for takes - not as easy as it sounds if there's a bit of a ripple though. Cheers,

It's a vibrant lime green/yellow colour ;-) Cheers,

That's the one! Not a million miles from Lancashire I suppose ;-) Cheers for clearing that up MJB,

Hmm... last I heard somewhere in Lancashire was the only population of spawning rainbows in the UK - could well have changed though. Will try to find out the exact spot. Used to be some in the river Chess - but I gather they've all gone now. Small rainbows elsewhere could easily be escapee's from trout farms. Salmon parr are very similar to young rainbows too. Best pictures I can find are: Rainbow Parr: http://missouririvermitigation.usace.army....es/rbtparr4.jpg Atlantic Salmon Parr: http://www.pbmphoto.com/sal-90-44.gif Cheers,

Rainbows are indigenous to the North Americas. The lake Taupo 'bows (and browns come to that) are all stockies or fish descended from stockies. Cheers,

Try Hugh O'Reilly at the Sharpes of Aberdeen shop in Marylebone - 020 7258 1233 He'll almost certainly be able to put you onto something within reach. Cheers,

Definitely practice with something on the end of the leader - otherwise how can you tell your leader will be turning over properly when you try turning practice into fishing? If you're on grass then a fly will be a RPITA as it will keep getting caught up - to imitate something heavy like a clouser try a small tube fly with a coarse fishing swivel tied where the hook would normally be. For lighter flies use a section of zonker strip (rabbit skin, usually dyed) tied to the end of the leader. Cheers, [ 30. April 2005, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: Adz ]

GRHE Nymph Detached body daddy. Realistic damsel nymph Mind you... I'd probably starve, but I'd enjoy it ;-) If I was looking just to slaughter fish - then the following: Small bucktail and white marabou clouser with a fair bit of gold flash in it Yellow and white fritz bunny leech Minkie Would probably be more likely to keep body and soul together - but then I'd probably top myself out of boredom after a week. Cheers,

Hehe - not as much as a couple of bars of soap ;-p

Salmon are a saltwater fish migrating into freshwater - after more than a week or so in freshwater the fish is stale and not considered good eating. The farmed sh1te is taken straight from the tidal area of a loch, i.e. salt water. In fact, the smaller the fish the more the salt will ingress in the same amount of time. Cheers,

Granted, if you leave it in the salt long enough it will kill most bacteria - it will also taste very salty! I'll stick with cooking mine and recomending that people don't eat raw freshwater fish ;-) Cheers,

That one at Higham - was it called Oakleigh Farm? If it's the one I'm thinking of it's got a couple of 40,000 volt power lines running directly over the fishery! Didn't make for a very relaxing time casting. Cheers,

Hehe if you think you end up with more than you need buying them, you should try tying your own! I must have hundreds of PTN's and GHRE nymphs, enough for the next few seasons at least! Cheers,

If you're hot smoking instead of cold smoking a dry cure will probably be a bit salty for most palates. I was once told it's the fat under the skin of freshly stocked pellet fed fish that causes the unpleasant taste - it's certainly a lot less if you fillet the fish and skin the fillet, removing as much fat as you can in the process. I always cut the gills out of fish - since they're the equivalent of lungs in air breathing animals they contain a lot of blood and this is the most likely place for bacteria. Since there's so few bacteria forms which affect humans in salt water you're generally safer with sea fish - since it only takes a few seconds to remove them it's still worth the effort. Re the above - if you're cold smoking freshwater fish, it's always a good idea to cook the smoked fish before eating it for precisely the same reason - freshwater trout sushi isn't really a good idea from a food hygiene point of view. Cheers,

No worries - figured Hugh would be able to sort you out with something ;-) His trips to the Test for grayling, usually from October onward, are excellent value and always a good laugh - see you on one of them with a little luck. Cheers,

What kit do you need and how far are you prepared to travel to get it?

You could always try Hugh O'Reilly at the Sharpes of Aberdeen shop in Marylebone. Tel: 020 7258 1233. If he can't hire you some stuff himself he'll know of someone who can I'd reckon. Cheers,

Looks a nice place Cranfield. I'm not too far away, Rochester in Kent. Favourite places for me nearby are Woodchurch, Stowting, Bewl and Tenterden. Where else do you fish?

Does Mike Stratton still own/run it Mick? Cheers,

Just found this: http://www.denfordfishery.co.uk/ Day ticket is cheaper than I expected - £60 according to the above link. Cheers,

Nailknot is the easiest way to go but if you're expecting to go into the backing regularly (which can be a great way to lose the linings from the stripping rings with a nailknot) then splice the backing to the mainline core and whip finish with silk - looks prettier too and it's something to do when you're not fishing ;-) Cheers,

Stillwater: Pang Valley Lake, on Dark Lane near Pangbourne. Rainbows and Browns with a head of stunted perch, good fly hatches and I reckon one of the best smallwaters there is. Stock size from approx 1.75lb to around 6lb. Tickets available on the bank, don't know this year's prices but last season was in the region of £15 half day (2 fish) and £25 full day (4 fish) NOTE: Catch and kill only - no C&R available. Not to be confused with Haywards Farm at Sportfish in Theale - I think they allow C&R there though if that's what you're after. River: Denford. Beautiful stretches of Kennet carriers at Hungerford for stocked rainbows, browns the occaisional wild brown and plenty of grayling to 2lb+ - NOT a cheap option this, don't know ticket prices but expect to be in excess of £70. Ring Nigel Wilson on 01488 658539. You won't be dissapointed with either of the above - never fished at Haywards myself though so can't comment on it. Cheers,