Hot day at Tavistock Fishery

 Hot Trout.

With the bulk of the fishing season ruined by Corvid, I have endeavoured to make up time on the lifting of restriction.

Mid August, high pressure, and hot, everything was against this being a good day. However I had promised to take Nic so she could enjoy the tranquility of the place.

It proved surprising with two fish landed three lost while playing in. A long Cast and steady retrieve with a white gold head fished a foot or so down was the killer method today.

Puffer Fish

Puffer Fish.

A quiet hour in work gave me the opportunity to do a little fishing.  Cast in inch pieces of finger mullet and lost a lot to crabs, but having a good pull, struck and reeled in this monster! A Puffer Fish.  I was quite surprised by the amount of spines on its little body, and was relieved when another fisherman came across with gloves to remove the hook and return it to the sea. 

A lot of the fish here seem to be armoured with spines so I have now invested in a pair of gloves.  Though trying my best to keep fishing gear to a minimum, it is starting to expand! 

Norfolk Naval Base Fishing

Not the usual view from a fishing pier.

Mighty USA ships in the back ground.

Hot Friday afternoon on the fishing pier.  Good to see so many out attempting to catch fish.  Everyone from lads with spinning rods, trying for half and hour, to a couple of lads who had enough kit to fill a fishing store.  I caught one small shad, and lost two more.  Lots were trying to catch crabs as well; dropping baskets baited with chicken legs.

Norfolk Naval Base Skate

Norfolk Naval Base Fishing Pier.

Started fishing at 0615 after looking up the fishing tides for Norfolk.  This web site gives you tides and more and suggests the best fishing times.  As I have no clue as to the right time to fish over here I have stuck to its suggestions.

The weather was slightly overcast with enough wind to make casting difficult.  I cast out two pieces on squid with my pier rod and then set about trying out my new bait caster reel on my spinning rod.

Predictably second cast in resulted in a a bird nest of line, which I was thankfully able to sort out without too much trouble.  After resetting the reel drag and casting more carefully I soon got the hang of it.  And very nice to use it was too.

After an hour I tried the pier rod to find a fighting fish on the end.  After a good fight I was able to land a nice male skate.  15 minutes later I caught a fine female skate which I landed on the rocks as my rod and line were protesting at the weight.

Frosty Fishing

A cold morning fishing at Rose River Farm. I wondered why my casting was getting harder and harder. 

Ice freezing up the rings. 

Still managed to land two nice trout. Slow retreats with small orange blob. 

Rose River Farm

As a Christmas treat my wife booked a fishing lodge on Rose River Farm, the idea was she could enjoy the peace and quiet in a lovely cabin and I could fish.

Rose River has a lovely stretch of river which is well manged but still challenging.  However I first fished the three ponds on the farm.  In the small pond outside my cabin on the first evening I caught 9 rainbow trout, running to a pound and a half.

The next morning I drove over to the main farm and fished the main pond.  I had numerous bites on a TQ blob and finally landed a couple of Bass

Great fun, they gave a hard short fight.  My fly rod was way too heavy and I should have brought a light 4 weight, nevertheless these were great to catch.

The next morning I had the opportunity fish the river.  I do not think I have ever had such good fishing on a river.  The fish were fight fit and I lost a lot more than I caught including a three pound monster who rolled of the hook when I got my net tangled.  Ahh the ones that get away.

This is definitely a place I will be returning to again.

The evening saw me trying to catch Blue Gills in the small pond.  I have never caught these or Bass before so it was a new challenge.  From my reading before hand the trick apparently was to present the fly and then leave it with as little movement as possible.  This technique seemed to work and I brought this neat little fish to hand.

Lovely marking but no real fight.

A wonderful time in a wonderful part of the world.

Rose River Farms Web Site can be found here: http://www.roseriverfarm.com/

Which pier rod?

New Pier Fishing Rod

Having moved to Norfolk VA I am surrounded by sea, and I am told some great fishing.  My good wife and I went over to Virginia Beech to have a look at the fishing pier there.  It was packed with people, not the sort of thing I enjoy.  Fishing has always been as much about the time to reflect as the catching, one or two good friends fishing with you is alright as long as it is understood that this is not a knees up, but on the whole I like fishing on my own.

I brought to America my fly fishing gear but nothing for sea, so my first task was to buy a new rod. Who does not enjoy buying rods! I searched the Internet for advice, but the Internet is so packed with conflicting advice that it makes this type of research long and laborious.  After asking around fishermen I met, including two coloured gentlemen who fish under the bridge by my apartment (not sure about the legality of fishing there, but it looks a good place) I went to Dick's Sporting Shop armed with their advice.

In the end I went for a Shakespeare Ugly Stick.  These reasonably prices ($45) fishing rods have stood the test of time, they are rugged, which I need as I am clumsy with rods, and they have good practical features like sold stainless steel rings, so they wont break when you accidentally wind through the metal swivels on your line!  The graphite, fiberglass blank is almost unbreakable.  I say almost because I have found myriad ways of breaking rods. Closing the Trunk Hatch on them is a favorite.

I have now found a quiet fishing pier as well, so things are looking up.  I hope its quiet because its hard to get to rather than quiet because there are no fish there.

Mackerel Fishing

While picnicking on Budleigh beach we noticed shoals of mackerel chasing small bait fish. We went back early the next morning just before high tide  Llinos was using feathers and casting when the shoals went by. She pulled them in four at a time. I was using a spinning rod which obviously caught fewer but significantly bigger fish.
This is the only time I have ever seen fish shoal in this way.

Senility at Sunny View

For a change Evan and I decided to go course fishing.  We found that Sunny Ridge Fishery was close by and that was really the main deciding factor, plus the excellent fishing shop at Exmoth had recommended it.

It was sunny when we arrived, and in March this is a good thing.  However I fancied a place over by the inflow, which was in the shade.  First mistake of the day.  Old bones need warmth.  Evan and I set up two rods float and one rod method feeder.

 Then horror of horrors I noticed that we did not have the net with us.  As we were pondering the onset of mind loss in the ol man, My float firmly went under and I hooked into a 10-14lb Carp.  Up it came through the murk and rolled on the surface,  I sent Evan to borrow a net, but this proved unnecessary as the Carp took off,  and I failed to hold her and she broke my line.

For the rest of the session we caught rudd and Dace, which was better than nothing but not the Carp we were hoping for. But there again we could not land them anyway.  Getting back to the car, there was the net on the floor.  Ahhhh!

Fishing Shops

Choice and Stress

I suppose like most red blooded men I have a deep abiding loathing for shopping, but there is one kind of shop I am happy to go to; the fishing tackle shop.  In Exmouth we have the wonderful Exmouth Bait and Tackle shop right on the strand.  The other day I called in to buy bait for Carp fishing, and ended up buying a load of other stuff I didnt know I needed till I went in.  It got me thinking: What makes a good tackle shop?

First on the list must come range of tackle available.  There is a fine line here between having a good choice for your inclination and pocket and being overwhelmed with choice to the point where it leads to anxiety. Having the choice between 4 or 5 different baits is nice having to choose between 20 that all look the same and promise the same thing (to catch the biggest carp of your life) is fraught with stress. Its one of the secrets to life too!  More choice is not always good,  learning to put self imposed limits on yourself leads to a drop in stress.

A good tackle shop must be place where you feel welcome.  A few fishing stores I have been in have been so sterile and scientific I felt embarrassed at my ignorance of the latest developments in piscian detainment and hurried out as soon as possible.  To be fair these shops are usually the factory shops of a particular fishing manufacturer and rank amateurs such as my self should not visit.  I tend to find the reception the same in Starbucks or Costa when I go in and ask for a large coffee.  There's that slight sneer in the spotty teenagers voice as he, slows his voice to speak to the old duffer, and informs me that perhaps what I wants is an Americano with milk.  We are back to more choice more stress.

The good tackle shop does the exact opposite and welcomes you in as a friend among friends and has time to discuss life the universe and everything before worrying about choice of kit.  I like this approach.  It can't be faked and those who own shops like these not only love fishing they love people.  I am sure marketing gurus have tried for years to teach sincerity but, thankfully it can't be taught and its easy to spot when its faked.  Exmouth Bait and tackle has this warth of welcome in spades and even has a resident cat, and animal about in a shop always makes me feel at home and I am much more likely to stay and peruse and find things I didn't know I needed till I saw them.  Camouflage bait buckets!  How have I ever lived without them?  Now then Real Tree, Oak Wood or Reed, more choice again.

Exe Valley Fishery

A wonderful day at the Exe Fishery. My son and I arrived by 1030 and between us we caught six really good hard fighting rainbows.

As usual at the Exe the fish were holding in the deep water at the bottom of the lake.  As it warmed up they rose in the water and a floating line with a gold head seemed to do the trick today.  We caught on Cats Whisker, and orange goldhead.

I find that a long shank hook with a tungsten bead gets the lure moving fast down through the water, the orange fritz body provides plenty of movement and sparkle, the orange marabou tail again gives plenty of movement.

We fished the lures with foot long steady pulls.  Takes were very soft and Evan and I missed a good few because of this.

  My 4 and half pound fish, Evans 3 ib fish and Evan playing him in.

Llyngwyn Fishing

I was Gilly for the day to Evan and Llinos when we went to Llyngwyn in Midwales
to fish.

Llyngwyn is near the town of Rhayader and is owned by Rhayader Angling
Association, tickets are available from shops in Rhayader.
The lake is a naturally spring fed water and is one of the most peaceful places
I fish. Even when the fish aren't biting you can sit back and enjoy the antics
of the Red Kites and other bird life which is in abundance there.

We took a boat out (There are three to hire) on oars or electric motors allowed. No noise to wreck to piece and quiet) moving to the bottom of the lake we
anchored half way along, tied on a green and black nomad and a orange fritz on
the other rod. No fish were showing on the surface so we started with
intermediate lines and began.

After and hour of nips and losing fish Llinos hooked into a hard fighting fish
and played it out with my Orvis Western rod. Woohoo first fish to Llinos.
An hour later Evan was in to another hard fighting fish and with a light 4
weight Snowbee Diamond he had quite a fight on his hands. We finally net a nice
pound and a half rainbow. We could not believe it wasn't a heavier fish.

 
There has to be a few perks for the Gilly apart from an excellent upper body
workout rowing. So I was allowed to have a few casts and hooked into a very nice
2 pound rainbow. Which we netted up quickly.

The beauty of Llyngwyn is you do have have to fish hard to catch. This is no
stocky bashing water. They seem to quickly adapt to feeding of the prolific
insect life. This makes buzzers a must have for fishing here.

Mullet

Walking the dogs along the estuary this morning I noticed odd ripples on the water, ripples which moved about randomly, upon closer inspection I could see Mullet moving in shoals feeding right on the edge of the water.

I have always found mullet hard to catch.  They feed on tiny particles and are very suspicious of anything that looks remotely like a hook.

Seeing these this morning reminded me of the time my son and I went down to Radford Park lake in Plymouth.  At high tide this lake is inundated and the mullet go in but get trapped as soon as the tide starts to go down.  So over a few weeks more and more fish arrive.  As it is a favourite place to feed ducks the mullet soon learn to watch for thrown bread to feed on.

We went with light course fishing rods and very fine line.  with tiny hooks locked in bread pellets we found that we could fool the mullet into taking the bait.  It was great fun as you have seconds to strike before the hook is ejected. We returned the fish as mullet taste terrible. They also hang around sewage outlet pipes which always puts me off eating them.

Sub Zero Fishing

Evan and I called in for a half term fish at Exe Fishery.  The car thermometer showed 2C but when we got to the lake the wind was cutting across from the East driving the temperature well below freezing. And the fish to the bottom of the lake.

We started in the bottom corner with a light #4 rod but the wind was so strong we switched to #8 which is so heavy it copes with windy days really well.  We tried orange tadpoles,  black and green tadpoles, White Minkies, but the only thing we had were a few follows.

However it was the cold which made the fishing difficult.

In these conditions it is difficult to keep warm, while a full set of warm wind proof over clothes are good, it is difficult to keep to fingers warm, as the line is continually moving back and forth through them.

I finally caught the only fish we had that day a two and half pound rainbow which took an olive green nymph fished quickly on an intermediate line.

Winter Fishing

Is spring in the air? I felt the need to go fishing which usually  occurs in spring, perhaps the fact that I had been unable to hunt during the Christmas period had something to do with it.  On a cold blustery morning I threw the fishing tackle in the back of the car and wound my way up to Exe fishery.  I  have found this small fishery rather hit and miss, many like it because it is fairly easy to catch but that can be a draw back if fish will take at everything that lands on the water.  Today there were very few fishing, the weather having taken its toll, but I quite like these challenging conditions.

I started in the bottom corner  of the main large lake where the wind was driving all the flotsam,  I have found these areas to be good places to start as fish tend to pick at the edges and always seem to take well.  I was using a 4 weight rod and floating line as I like the fight with this light rod and nowhere on the lake is too deep so no need for any other lines.  I attached an orange nymph and cast in retrieving with sort jerks, nothing happened.  Often in cold and murky water I think the fish will wait for something slow moving and so having slowed my retrieve right down I had my first take, but as I got the net ready I let the line go slack and the fish came off.

I changed to an orange bodied goldhead and tried again.  After a few casts I hooked into a nice 3lb fish which fought very well on the light rod finally diving for the back to get rid of the hook, thankfully I was able to get the net under quickly.

After catching in one place I like to move on,  I always think it takes time for a patch of water to settle after a good fighting fish, and I like to work a large area search for fish rather than chuck and hope which so many seem to indulge in.  I fished quickly round the top of the lake which was quite shallow so I did not give it hat much attention and half way down the far  side.  Having not had a bite. I cast out and reeled in to move on, but of course this proved irresistible to a small rainbow who took the nymph with a real thump, having exhausted himself with the chase he came quickly to net.

I finished where I started and a nice 2lb rainbow took the slowly retrieved nymph and it was time for a pint in the local and home.

Clatworthy Lake

Summer was making an attempt on Wednesday morning as Andrew and I wandered our way across the levels and up towards Exmoor.  Our fishing trip was to Clatworthy, a beautiful setting with the dam over flowing and the water high up the banks. On arrival we saw a pair of Crested Grebe but no chicks with them, I suppose most of the water fowl have suffered from the high water levels flooding their nests this year.

As my fishing buddy had a gammy leg we hired a boat, and after loading him and the tackle we set of for the northern arm which is usually shallow and usually held fish, which feed on the abundance of aquatic life there.

Andrew was into his first fish quickly and bought onboard a fish with lovely markings and a full tail fin.  I caught next on an Orange blob which was taken savagely, this was the third strike I had in an hour but the two others I had lost playing them in.  I had allowed the line to go slack and the barbless hook had been thrown.  This third fish fought well, and pulled enough for me to worry about the quality of my knots. When Andrew finally netted the fish we could see it was not a monster as assumed from the fight, but still a very respectable 3lb.  Later that morning Andrew hooked into a wonderful fish that took his line off nearly to the backing and again  it took a good while to play out until I could slip the net under. (after accidentally hitting the fish on the head first! Thank goodness he didn't get off the hook, I would have never heard the last of it.

Sorry about the quality, rain water in my phone.

We also had a top class fishing guide with us, who only needed the odd bit of bread to keep her happy.

As you can see phone had dried out by this stage.

The afternoon was difficult and we only added one other fish to our day.  But between us we caught seven wonderful rainbow trout, each one fought magnificently.  We will be going back to Clatworthy.

Flies which caught: Orange Blob, Black and Green Nymph.

Learning Humility

Had my son of thirteen years staying with me this weekend and took him fishing on Sutton Bingham.  It was a near perfect day; cloudy sky but settled with enough wind to provide a ripple on the water.  We elected to fish from a boat as my son does not have that much experience with casting and I find that this aspect of fly  fishing really demoralises youngsters who are trying to learn.  If you spend half your time with your line hitting the grass banks behind or getting tangled in trees it is not much fun, neither is was your line collapse in a heap 10 yards of shore where few fish hold.


From a boat the only thing you will hit behind id the water and you do not need the greatest casting in the world.  Most fly fisherman can tell the story of dropping the leader and fly over the edge of the boat while sorting out something else in the craft to find a fish has come right by the boat and taken the fly.


We started to fish along the south side of the lake into a nice bay, my first fish came quickly to an orange blob.  Having forgot the net I had to play him out completely until I could hand him into the boat.  A few minutes later my son was into a fish and seemed to be making a meal of it, but when he finally got the fish to the surface we could see it was a good but bigger than the two pounder I had caught.


As well as being large it was also a strong fighting fish and took my son 15 minutes to bring to the side of the boat.  I had of course forgotten the net so he had to play it out; we had a few heart stopping moments when he got it to the edge of the boat and I reached down only to find the fish had considerable more energy and would take a dive for the bottom again.


As you can see from the photograph he is a very happy fisherman.  His fish weighed four and a half pounds; better than the two I caught put together.

Sutton Bingham

First trip this year to Sutton Bingham, I was surprised how low the water was, but we have not had rain in weeks so I suppose it is hardly surprising.  The sky was over cast when I arrived and the wind was blowing towards the dam wall and onto the south bank.  A number of fishermen were lined out in front of the lodge and most were catching so all the indicators were good.


After chatting with the water bailiff I decided to walk to the point along the south bank,  I fished with my favourite fly; the orange gold head tadpole, I used my Orvis ten foot rod which made battling with the stiff breeze a little easier, I had a few bites and hooked a fish but lost it when I played it near the shore.  It then went very quite so I tried a black nomad but no joy either.


I then changed to an orange blob fly tied to Neil Jones' pattern, this has a foam strip along the top of the hook, the foam extends a little beyond the hook bend. This must make the fly waggle or vibrate in some way as fish usually find it irresistible.

Changing to an intermediate line and wading on the point opposite the yacht club I got into a wind lane and cast out into the middle, I found a slow figure of eight retrieve was effective.  The first fish took after I had let the fly drop for 20 seconds, and just started my retrieve.  After a short battle this lovely 2Ib fish was in the net.  







I was on a two fish ticket and the second fish did not take long to come.  A slow figure of eight retrieve induced a terrific take and after striking, the fish took off striping the line off down to the backing, I very seldom have this when fishing stocked rainbows so I new I had on a good fish on, twice more this fish ran of the depths stripping the line out before the snowbee drag reel started to do its job and tire the fish.  I was grateful to run my small net under the fish and feel the weight of the four and a half pound fish in the mesh.





On closer examination I was very lucky to have landed this fish as the hook was only just in the bottom jaw, my Orvis Western rod is really good at gently playing in fish. In the phot below you can also see Neil Jones' pattern for this blob.  Its the first time I have used this type of fly and it will be going in the favourites box from now on.

Bushy Leaze

Bushy Leaze

Middle of March and the first competition of the season,  it was a low key well mannered affair with a good turn out of eighteen at Bushy Leaze.  The twenty two acre lake looked perfect for fishing, with fish rising all over, taking buzzers sub surface.  The sky was overcast and a gentle breeze provided the push for the water to ripple.

One or two characters turned up, one chap in his camper van with a bucket full of cray fish caught in the Thames, another with an incredible multicoloured Peruvian hat, thankfully fish have taste and he failed to catch his four fish that day.

Most caught fish quickly catching them on buzzers, blobs and cats whisker.  The fish here fight well and average two to three pounds, with one or two lumps in there, one lad caught a five pound rainbow in great condition.

I caught my four fish by fourteen hundred so I had a couple of hours to kill, along with a good few others, giving military men a few hours with nothing to do is always dangerous, but we happily filled it by finding team mates and giving them helpful advice, such as change to a brighter coloured fishing line, standing on one leg, removing the hook to be more sporting. As you can see from the photo Neil found our help useful, I am sure he meant to say thank you guys but some how it came out as '**** off'

 Others found amusement in collecting tree flies, the photo is of Tug collecting from a prime fly tree next to the boat deck.

Two guys were fishing from float tubes, this looks great fun and certainly catches fish in some order, I suppose that, in effect it is trolling for trout which always works. 


If you fancy fishing in this excellent fishery their web site is www.lechladetrout.co.uk

Fishing and the Spiritual

Fishing and the Spiritual

Many fly fishers know that the faith that we are going to catch a fish leads to a faith in the possibility of another, more precious catch, namely peace of the soul. So says Turan Tirana in his excellent essays.

Fish have always been seen as spiritual.  In Christianity the fish was used as a type of recognition code; one person drew half of the fish and the other completed.  Fish we eaten on the fast day of Friday because they did not count as meat.

Fish do live in another world, the Celts believed that lakes were the door way to the underworld, hence King Arther's sword being thrown in the lake for the lady to take below.  This in between world was and is where fish dwell.

An Assyrian tablet from 2000 BC reflects that fishing is a spiritual thing and adds this incentive; The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives the time spent fishing.

The migration patterns of fish must have puzzled the ancients.  Why would salmon suddenly appear, or tuna or a myriad of other fish.  For those of us who fish it does seem that fish move in mysterious ways; one day they are feeding on a certain insect in a certain area of a lake at a certain depth.  Even worse why is it one you can have two fishermen in boat using the same gear and one will catch and the other won’t.  If you have ever experienced this, it is most frustrating.

In that way grace in the religious sense plays a role in the religious sense plays a role in fly fishing.  Some anglers are ‘chosen’ others not, and when we are not chosen we pray.  When it works though we are aware that we are blessed.  Dimly we are at harmony with creation and at peace with ourselves.