malevans

I tend not to prefer writers, but specific books, Trout and Fly, In wild waters plus a few others. As I personally do not read any of the angling papers or mags (sometimes dip into my wifes copy of FF &FT) no comment. Years ago when I did buy the odd angling paper to read on the train whilst I commuted to London, one thing struck me, as I prepared myself for the crush on the tube. Non stop preaching about size does not matter, don't take it too seriously, pursuit of big fish is flawed etc etc. I was younger then and all I thought was "well how the hell did you get the job you have then, and do you want to swap for mine." The thing that finally did me in as a customer of the angling press was an article by DT which slagged pike off as "why spend hours after a fish that does not fight when you hook it", the sub text was I am well known for some big pike but I only go couple of times a year, catch big ones, aren't I clever. Very much do as I say not as I do. I tend to find most fishing books cover the same ground over and over, usually playing upon nuances in approach, which if considered fully are of dubious benefit, may be coincidental other factor(s), or specific to a particular venue. If there is one thing one the cover of a periodic publication that ensures I leave it on the shelf, it is "new tactics for......." or "Killing tactics for........." Oh yeah..

Between us my son and I have tried a few over the years, inc Diawa, and Silstar. For me Shimano everytime. Okuma stuff is very good value, my two beach reels are Okuma as are my saltwater and Pike fly reels. These fly reels are a class above the usual low end Magnums, yet cheaper. I have not tried their freespool reels my self.

Hi john, in europe they obviously eat them and you see them with carp in the supermarket. I have eaten the odd jack myself. Was looking at a scandinavian holiday site recently which showed a lodge with mounted Pike heads on the wall ala the trend in some countries for Siluras heads. Mind you its not so long ago that we killed them, some of the old photographs in piking books are quite shocking by todays standards. Plus most decent pike a while back ended up in glass cases. Cheers

PS. Just chatting to the missus, who pointed out that the use of maggots, slugs, Lob, Rag and Lug worms, plus any live fish bait could be problematic.

No doubt many are aware already, and those of you with more get up and go than I will have already found doucments etc on the web relating to the matter. However based upon just watching the breakfast news I gather. a) Animal protection laws are being tighened up. Around cruelty, injury etc Protection is being extended to insects and other invertebrates. c) Fines up to 20K UKP and possible jail for offenders. With typical journalistic flair one news paper, the Times is carrying an article "Kill a snail and go to Jail". Now in the TV studio fish were not referred to and neither was angling. But they did highlight the risk to gardeners and putting down slug pellets. Even if fish are explicity excluded how long can an argument for leaving a gap in the evolutionary pyramid in terms of the protection afforded hold out under challenge ? Has anyone any more information on this in regards to angling implications ? Should I get a solicitor on a retainer ready for the first test case by petra ? We have heard warm noises from government regarding angling, are we being shafted by the back door ( ) either intentionally or due to incompetance by our legislators ? Off to commit a crime very soon Cheers

Salar, it is interesting as the recommended way for filling fs reels was to hold the spool static as you describe. However when the powerrollers came out the specific instructions (I upgraded my baitrunners) where to switch to the rotating spool method. I apply these rules accordingly in terms of what reel I am spooling and have not had any problems. Overfilling is definately a candidate.

Hi I use both 50% deet and 100% deet repellents not noticed any issues. Need to be careful with your clothing however as it can ruin waterproofs and other synthetics. Gortex does not have an issue with Deet however. There are others around like Crocodile and other naturals based upon bog myrtle. I have tried many of the alternatives as my wading jacket is not gortex, but non are as effective as deet based repellents. That said Avon skin so soft definately works for midges but I am not sure about mosquitos or horseflies, it definately attracts bumble bees. I use the Avon in the highlands but thus far have lacked the back bone to try it on my local carp lake, due to the risk of a severe beating....

It can be a challenge, but not as bad as teaching wife or daughter to drive......then again I always take newbies to a river rather than still water as the cast does not have to be perfect to swing a spider or similar around and that first elusive trout to appear. Neither are they psychologically defeated as they compare their first few casts with the expanse of water before them. The other thing I have found very useful is after a day or so with the trout rod, give them a 12 or 13ft double hander. They find it easier as they can push and pull on the handle and everything is a bit more relaxed and they tend to stop the back cast in right place. Then once they have that cracked say 1 to 2 hours(this worked really well with my wife and my her friends husband) i put them back on the trout rod and tell them to get the same snap into it. Seems to work really well.

Sounds sound to me Alan

Hi Alan, element of personal preference here. I would say between 7ft and 9ft if fishing wet flies. I sometimes go to 12ft, even on my 7.5ft rod, if fishing dries over deeper water where the trouts window is bigger. My standard length on my 9ft, 8.25ft and 7.5ft rods is 9ft. cheers

Lived near Mevagissey for a while as a kid and we go to St Ives every October half term, always smuggle the beach rods along. Would go with all the above. Roche Rock (which has been in a couple movies (one famous Omen III the other not so famous, the Green Knight) can be a great place for a picnic, and stories of the hermit keep the kids amused. Need a bit of sun for that admittedly. Between Bugle and Roche. Further south towards the lizard then Kynance Cove is great in blistering sun, and spectacular when the weather is "throwing one". The poldark mine is good and there is a Tin mine we have on our list for this october. Further afield is polperro and Looe, Boscastle is also great as is clovelly, and restormal castle. Bedruthan steps also great when the weather is having one. Depends what you want from the weather, Cornwall is at its best when a force 8 is blowing, and the sky is magnificent and moody, thats why I personally go in the autumn and not the summer. Kids love it...

Good luck and tight lines

Well done Norrie. I noted that such an order was now applying to clunes bay (maybe more) of loch lochy, the the signs(posters) are to be believed.

Cheers for the info. It is a bronzy grey, certainly not the grey of the Leeda models I have from the early 90s. I remembered where I got it from, it was in a wicker creel, that I still sit on during my rare maggot drowning trips, that I purchased from a friend 11 years ago. The basket and reel were his dad's and his dad died in 1978, I am certain of this because we were at school together at the time. My friend sold me the stuff as he had never and did not fish. I also got a fly rod with it, card tag tied to the bag says East Anglian Rod company, a heavy glass rod with rings lined with a white material. I was surprised that with no adjustable check that it has a quick release spool. On the back in the centre is the head of a large normal screw, still shining brightly, also an area on the back plate is raised. Cheers

Peter, I think its because some tackle becomes like close friends for life. It does its job, you have pics of it say in spain with you, or scotland or whereever. I am not a retro freak, but when I buy something good I buy it for life. As they say a rod or reel is for life, not just xmas. I hope to be fishing with the same Hardy's when I am 70 or more. With an album of picys of the weeks and weekends we spent away together.

Chesters, we have been reviewing our fly reel stocks and identifying some spares. Have given a Leeda Rimfly to the friend who ahs just started up. I also discovered that I have an Intrepid Rimfly Regular, a shock as they have always been BFR or Leeda since I started fly fishing. Cannot even remember where I got it from. Given your affection for Intrepids its yours if you would like it. Just tell me where to post it to. Sadly all the intrepid fix spools I used as a kid have long gone. Cheers

I use back lead on my marker rod. The comments about back leads and avoiding spooking fish are spot on. For me however I back lead most often when in a confined swim, that way I can play and net a fish without tangling the other rods. Saves picking the other rodes up and sinking them whilst trying to play your fish.

I fished shatterford once. Great if you like to fish in a small concrete tank. Take a normal brolly as a titan or oval will not fit on the bank and pegs into concrete are a challenge. There is a bit of earth you can get a brolly spike into. My viper actually had to hang over the waters edge. Cheers

On my last trip to Scotland I took the husband of my wifes best friend. He had only fished once before which was a shorefishing session we had during a shared family holiday in cornwall where he caught his only fish to date, a small pollock. Well it was excellent he had to learn to fly cast from scratch, but despite early frustrations I have a photo of his first ever trout on the fly, a wee wee brownie. He finished the week in style when on the friday, using a olive nymph my wife had tied for him, he caught a cracking wild brownie of just on the 1lb mark, put a nice bend in his rod and a very big smile on his face. He caught 12 trout over three days of trout fishing. The only tricky bit about teaching family and friends, and I have survived teaching my wife, is one actually needs to be a bit of a task master and nag bag for their own good.

Me too Greg. Had another week in Scotland. Trout fishing went very well, numbers very good, all taken with upstream dryfly as at the end of May. Had an excellent day off the river up in glen garry fishing the streams. Lots crawling around on my belly as the water was gin clear. Could not see what the trout were rising to, so I tied on something I could not see either, a size 24 Halfords gnat, and hey presto. Great fun on a 7.5 ft #4. Salmon were in the river but I had only one take and that was lure fishing with a devon. Lost it Also had the beach rods out on the sunday for a few doggies and gurnards. Once back home my wife headed of to her usual still water and stalked a brown in the margins, she got it and it was a lovely 53 cms long, but she forgot to transfer the camera to her bag, oops.

I think there are a few people who are targeting bass on the fly. There is a guy in Cornwall who offers guided trips. I have not tried it my self but I have had codling and coalfish from the shore on the fly, nothing big though, but fun all the same between takes on the beachcasters. Mind you it does strike me that if you are going to bait up as described above then why fly fish for them ? May as well bait fish or spin. If its to do with the fun of light tackle then use a coarse match rod with bait on it. Fly fish with bait on the hook ? Errm....why ? Its not fly fishing....its bait fishing using a fly rod, probably one for the sea forum. The essence of fly fishing is using an artificial. Flies I have used are crazy charlie variants and also surf candys, my wife ties for me. She got the pattern for the surfcandies out of Flyfishing and Fly tying. The crazies are based upon disection of a fly we purchased. Most successful colour is light green so far. I am planning to try for Bass this autumn in cornwall. Bought some crab flies ready for this

Hi Leon, I have been practising catch and release in Germany for several years, in fact the permits I purchase have minimum taking sizes thus forcing return of undersize fish. My friends who are German born and bred also practises catch and release also. They live in Wurzberg and we tend to fish the saale, and others over in the former east germany. The state laws are interesting I could not purchase a junior rod visitors licence for my son on my last trip, so we gave our staying address, with the gentleman concerneds permission as that of one of my friends clients who is resident in a different state that would issue a junior visitors licence, which is valid in all states. A Bailif, with aid of translation from my friend, insisted that I could not have two fly rods made up at once at the waterside, even though I was only fishing one at time. Great Grayling and trout over there and beautiful rivers. Prices extremely reasonable.

Fish in Germany and if you do not produce the rod licence then the day ticket is not issued. The day ticket records details from the rod licence and then the carbon copy of the day ticket is collected centrally. I have not fished any private lakes over there, only rivers.

Well done on the PB. Here is to many more

Thanks Norrie. I would love to take the credit but I am hopeless at stillwater trouting, probably all in the mind, but never the less hopeless I am. I can still cane him on a river, for now, but he is getting closer every trip. He is 15 and going through the comptetive stage, I got grief after day one up in scotland last week when he was on 15 and I only had 10, having spent half the day salmon fishing. Following day I switched to a large upstream dry fly in an attempt to match the hatch and had 24 at 8 inches or better whilst he had 4 There is life in the old dog yet