The more settled weather has meant fly fishers are getting ready for the season and are looking for some casting tips to get their flies just a little further or to get them to land a little more gently and with no drag.

I met with Chris on Friday who wanted to add some distance and learn to spey cast. We had a 1/2 day to do this and we started with the basic overhead cast and then worked up to the double haul from there. If the basics are right (which they were!) then it is simply a case of adding elements to this. As it was a full on casting session I made sure there were plenty of breaks and a chance for us to peak an eye at the river. It is looking really, really sweet. I am off today to try and trim a few more branches to make it look even better still!

Once Chris had mastered the rhythm of the double haul it all slotted into place and after a quick break we headed to the casting pond for some single handed spey work. We looked at the basic roll cast and from there introduced the Forward Spey and worked on a consistant anchor placement. Chris picked this up really quickly and from there went naturally into the Single Spey. We also worked on the Circle Spey too which is a really useful addition.

He is back in a few weeks time and I reckon he will have mastered what we covered and we’ll add the Snake Roll and Double Spey too.

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I still have some light bank maintainance to sort out and loaded the truck with various loppers and a bow saw and headed off to the river. There is a section that is really pretty and popular with anglers and I was keen to make sure that there was going to be nothing stopping a fly getting to a good lie.

I popped on my waders, unloaded the truck and headed down to the river. It looked really, really good and I am afraid that I made an executive decision. I had a rod in the truck and thought it would be right that I had a cast and a quick go at the pool before commencing the pruning.

I got into the flow a bit too much and decided to have a crack at another 3  pools just for good measure. Having felt I did a good job I popped the rod down and got back to work. Wouldn’t you?!

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I met with Andy on Saturday for some fly casting tuition. We covered plenty and he was throwing a really, really nice line by the time we had finished. As he is a reservoir angler he was looking to add a few yards to his cast which he was doing with ease. The fish better watch out!

The weather has started fine here this morning and my hope is that we have some settled weather, it has been a long winter and I can’t wait to be out on the river again.

I got a nice message from Kevin who I had taught last week…he was slammed by a fish first cast he made with a fly on and I am not sure who was more surprised!

Kevin

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After writing this blog I plan to try and trim a few trees and start getting ready for the season. I was on the river yesterday with a great fishing club I belong to. As always there was a good turnout and a chance to catch up with, or meet, members you might not get to see through the season. It is also a good to re-aquaint yourself with the river and see a spot you might have struggled with during the previous season become just that bit more accessible after some careful pruning.

Saturday was a case of from the fire straight to the freezer. I’d left behind tailing permit (photos to follow) and 92 degree heat for snow and low lying rainbows. Not that I am complaining, I’d enjoyed both immensely and it was great to help a newcomer, Kevin, on the road to becoming a trout fisher. He had done plenty of sea fishing and wanted to try his hand with a fly rod. Once he had mastered the idea of a climbing backcast the world was his oyster and he was up and running.

We are lucky being located with a lake and river so that we could cover all aspects of approaches to both still and moving water but I have a sneaking suspicion that he’ll be heading to a river some time soon. The trout better watch out!

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I am pretty sure I have everything and am generally pretty well prepared. I have decided I don’t need too many clothes which means I have more room for gear…just in case!

The really funny thing is flies. This is especially the case with bonefish. I have hundreds that I will be taking but all I actually use is 6 or so that sit in my shirt pocket along with some nippers and spare tippet but its a good feeling to have the others with you just in case , right?

I was told that a particular pattern is working really well on permit right now but you can’t buy it in the UK at all. I’ve looked and it isn’t available but you can bet I’d have had a dozen of them just to be on the safe side. I wonder if the fish know?

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I often worry I am going to lose the truck in the river when I drive over a bridge and try that tricky move of driving and watching the river. I have been know to stop on a bridge and get out for a quick look which, although tends to happen on quieter roads has made me unpopular with other road users. I think they just don’t get it or perhaps they have fallen out of love with fishing.

I am often asked if it is difficult turning your favourite pastime into a business and after a fair time now I can say no. If it is ever the case this changes then it is time to move on but how could you tire of seeing a stunning caddis hatch or watch one of your pupils make a cast that brings the big boy up for the fly?

If you are under the illusion that as a guide you go fishing every day or you are aching to grab the rod from your guest and make the cast then it could probably be the worst job in the world!

I met with Darren, Nick and Lance yesterday for a 1/2 day of  flycasting tuition. Nick and Darren are relatively new to fly fishing but had a really good grounding and along with Lance an insatiable thrist for knowledge. It is great when you have people so keen and they picked things up really quickly. This meant we could cover lots of topics and go into mechanics a little more deeply. I was amazed how controlled they were given the amount of rising fish there were on the lake!

They stayed on for a fish for the rest of the day and I hope the things we covered helped just a little bit. I found out it was Darrens birthday so a very happy one Darren, I hope you caught a big one!

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On that front I was talking to a good friend who is off to NZ in a few days time. I sent him a few local patterns that I had including cicadas, willow grubs and some of Stu Tripneys excellent foam patterns. He asked what I had used most and it turned out it was a klinkhammer. Not because I always tie one one (in fairness it is pretty much at the top of the list) The really interesting part is that I didn’t tie it on due to force of habit. It was for a couple of reasons. Firstly having watched the fish they looked to be on emergers and secondly I thought “I wonder if they have seen this fly much?” I hadn’t read or heard much about them down there and it seemed to work pretty well for me. The other time this happened was in Colorado and it was a similar case. Is it a fly that hasn’t had a lot of exposure away from Europe? I’d be interested to know.

I went out yesterday for a practice and wanted to play with some spey casting. It was a bright morning and I fancied some music and a drive too, so I headed over to Kennick. Kennick is a 50 acre lake right in the middle of Dartmoor and is one of the prettiest places you could fish. It is well managed, has a great club and some nice guys who fish there. I don’t get to go there as often as I should but I always enjoy it. A few friends teach there and it isn’t a bad place to catch your first fish!

Anyway, the lake was almost frozen over but I found a little section of  clear water and played for a bit. I loved it and pretty much had the place to myself .

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The good thing about this weather, if there is one, is that I have pretty much replenished the fly boxes and rows of flies are ready for action. I can’t wait!

Everything is doom gloom and bad weather right now but the good thing is that our fly fishing school is still open! Deespite there being not too many fishing opportunities here right due to everything being frozen there is still room to work on the casting ready for the new season.

Andy came down on Saturday and wanted to work on his casting a bit. He has had an operation on his casting shoulder and has been working on casting with his non dominant arm. You know what? He has done a pretty good job so far and it is all coming together really well. We covered loads and he has lots to play with. I reckon he’ll be a demon with his right arm too (he’s a lefty).

Steve saw us  Christmas week and sent us a really nice mail.

Hi Pete,

Just a quickie to thank you for your time and tuition on Friday. (Bloody cold!!) But much appreciated….. and after a practice on Sunday, the double haul is almost there, the roll cast is mastered and change of line direction is a walk in the park (believe that and you will believe anything!!)

Cheers for now

Steve

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As a result I have been casting and playing with a few things. It is great to go out and throw a few loops and can be good fun to do so with a buddy too. The only downside of this is that all the good intentions tend to go out of the window and the tape measure comes out and and bit of good banter as you take it in turns to see what you are made of!

The tape measure can be sobering for the first-time distance caster as throwing a full line and a 10ft leader doesn’t actually equate to 100ft. It is quite a long way from it. I don’t tend to do this much of late as I find the body doesn’t enjoy it as much as it used to and lets face it there are few, if any, situations you are going to want to see the backing flying out of the tip ring.

I always thought this would be the case when it came to bonefishing but I have been amazed over the last few years how short a distance a bone can be caught. If anything I’d say a well presented 40 to 50ft cast will always put you in with a shout.

Up against the tape- photo by Lee Cummings

This is where the practice comes in, not just for winter trips somewhere exotic but getting you ready for the new season whatever you like chasing with a fly rod.

For me 15 to 20 minutes of good casts pays better dividends than going out for 2 hours and trying too hard to get it right. When I practice I’ll tilt my casting plane over to the side and have a look at my timing and loop control both hauled and unhauled. By throwing everything over to the side it becomes much more visual and allows you to see everything that is going on. I’ll then make a basic overhead cast in the normal casting plane. It is the foundations of all overhead casts and is easily overlooked. It is then I’ll play with a few Roll Casts and Speys. There are now loads of Spey Casts to play with but I’ll work on the ones that are most practical for fishing situations we encounter on the streams in Devon and the ones I teach most. I’ll then add a few mends, hooks and curves and see how it looks and see how it feels from there. If there has been something that has niggled then I’ll go back and give it a bit of work.

At our fly fishing school I’ll teach repetition (with plenty of breaks) as this helps to encourage muscle memory and when my student tries it out for the first time alone their body says “Hey, I remember this”

At the end of the day though the fish decide whether it was a good cast or not and this is what it is all about. It is nice to throw a nice loop in the field but throw in a rising fish in a tricky spot and try telling me that isn’t more exciting.

I’m not advocating to go out for everyday in the months before the seasons start. Life is just too short, but try it now again and you might be surprised the difference it makes and it is really, really good fun!

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The weather was against us, turning cold and wet and the splashes of water on the truck as I headed off to meet a buddy told me there been a fair bit of rain overnight. I never have a doubt in my mind though, if I’m going fishing, I’m going fishing no matter what.

I really enjoy the company on the way up there, it is a couple of hours but I always enjoy chewing the fat and talking fishing. It sort of stops me from having the loud music and my appalling singing that accompanies it. It is lucky I am not self conscious as it probably looks a little strange to other drivers seeing me singing and drumming on the steering wheel although I suspect a fair few of them probably do the same.

We had a unanimous vote not to pull over for a bacon sandwich and coffee in favour of fishing. The thought had crossed my mind as traffic was light and we had made good time.

When we got there we peered over the bridge and the water was a bit lower from the last visit but still pushing. Looked like it was still a case for the heavy stuff.

We fished hard and long and there were times when I couldn’t feel a thing in my hands but didn’t care. As long as I could cast and tie a fly on I was happy!

Darkness came and we left wet and cold but contented and we had a few too.

A very happy new year to everyone and the very best of fishing in 2010 to everyone.

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