Devon School of Fly Fishing Team blog

We’re through the Grannom and most of the Large Dark Olives for the time being but other hatches are starting to occur now but these are just getting going and are more of a trickle right now. From day one of the season there have been plenty of midges on the water but I have not seen signs of fish showing interest in them right now. Last year the fish only seemed to care for them once mayfly were out of the way. It will be interesting to see if this is the case again this season.

Talking of mayfly I was on the river on Sunday and thought I saw a lone one come off. I mentioned this to Dave who was guiding further upstream and he’d seen one too. Looks like these boys are bit early and given that everything seems to be a couple of weeks behind schedule they were jumping the gun by a long way.

We ran our first course of the season over the weekend which, I think, went really well. Having two days meant that we were able to cover everything in depth, from the set ups, casting and approaches to moving water. It was great fun with everyone catching fish in what were  tricky conditions. Hopefully it showed the topics we covered in the course worked in some small way!

The team!

Ira was new to fly fishing and her friends thought she wasn’t going to catch anything. A day and a half with us proved them wrong on both our lake and on the river too!!

First fish for Ira!

I had the pleasure of teaching David and Rachel for the day. They had never held a fly rod before but I was amazed and during the day we covered all aspects of fishing and casting. They were even double hauling at the end of the day which is highly unusual for two novices on a day course. Well done guys!!

Superstars in the making- Rachel and David

If you would like guided fly fishing on private beats or fly fishing tuition on a private trout lake feel free to contact us, we’d be happy to help!

www.devonschoolofflyfishing.com Fly Fishing in Devon Fly Fishing Guiding and tuition

Well, I’ve covered a fair few miles over the last few days but there will be more of that in slightly later blogs. One of the trips I made was to Wales to our fly fishing instructor’s get together. I was lucky enough to meet up with a few people making their first steps into becoming fly fishing instructors and I was amazed by the high quality of people I met as casters, fishermen and as nice guys too. I guess our Association’s (AAPGAI) standards are high and having this sort of benchmark that makes it such a challenge to pass and such a reward when you have passed it. I was only there a short time as I had to shoot off  and whilst writing this blog have just had a call from Jim saying that sorry we didn’t get much chance to catch up…I hope we can get to fish soon fella!

I was back Monday meeting up with Chris and Joan for some fly fishing tuition who were over from the Isle of Man to learn how to fly fish. Chris had tried it once before but Joan was a newcomer. They are lucky enough to have both lakes and streams on the island so I gave them a good idea of how to approach both so that they can tackle anything the fish over there want  and we did a bit of fishing too.

It is great when people are learning together as you can show them what to spot so that if they are out and something doesn’t go to plan they can help each other out.

It was great to see Joan land her first fish! At the end of the day it started to get cool so we headed back in for a cup of coffee and in Joan’s case a hot chocolate and rum and reflect on a job well done!

It is typical we now get some rain and I guess I’ll be watching the salmon making their way further upstream.

Although the river season is over on the River Taw our fly fishing school  still has it’s doors widely open. I met up with Keith yesterday who has never really held a fly rod before, bar a short stint on a river in Germany over 20 years ago, so he was pretty much coming at it as a newcomer.

He was keen to learn to fly cast and how to approach river, lake, pike and bass fishing. This was a really interesting proposition for me as with these forms of fishing listed there is a need to be able to cast at short and long ranges and to be able to land your fly accurately,overcome drag and to be able to turn over heavy flies. I was also keen that Keith went home with not only a good understanding of how the casts worked but also how to put them right if they didn’t go to plan.

I love this sort of stuff and was really looking forward to meeting up with Keith and to get him going. As ever, I was early knowing that Keith had booked himself in for one of the Fox and Hound’s ”Full Devon” breakfasts. I met him as he tucked in and I sipped a coffee!

We headed off with a chat about safety and how the tackle works and I got him roll casting. Within a few casts I could see he was a natural. He immeadiately understood the use of a controlled wrist and letting the rod do the work. This was going to be fun!

One of the things that I notice as a fly fishing instructor is that people try and hang on to everything that you are explaining and can quite often suffer from information overload so I make sure that I explain everything as simply as possible and break things down into digestable chunks. It is easy to “get all technical” but I really believe that keeping it simple is best and as long as my guest has a good understanding then they will hopefully enjoy many hours on the water!

With Keith I wanted to make sure that as we were going to cover so much  I didn’t give him too much to analyse as he was a natural caster. As a result when he picked up the concept and mechanics of the overhead cast I tilted the casting plane over to the side to let him see what was going on with the line and rod. This often allows the guest to visualise how everything is working making the overhead cast a whole lot easier and also gets the caster “false casting” really quickly and naturally without me having to explain until after they have learnt it. It also helps with timing, rhythm and casting planes although I try and introduce this during the roll cast as it shows there is nowhere you can’t get your fly to.

Needless to say Keith was a star and we covered just about everything including how to cast a tailing loop, slack line casts, drift, creep and he was double hauling with no problems at all. The fish better watch out!!

I checked my computer this morning and recieved a message from Keith

Hi Pete

 

What a great day.  I reallly enjoyed it and I came home confident that your tuition has given me the confidence to perform on the water.

 

Your relaxed style of teaching was great.  You answered my questions and explained the mechanics of casting so well that I understood it and you also gave me lots of prompts to remind me of how and what is going wrong and also what it feels and looks like when I get it right and how to analise if things get out of synch.  Great.  I will certainly be keeping in contact and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone who wanted to learn to cast and enjoy it.

 

Thanks

Keith

 

I wanted to wish every single fisherman on the Devon rivers that has an extension good luck. Sadly we don’t have it on the Taw but I took my video down to the river after the rain we had on Tuesday. There wasn’t quite enough water but it didn’t stop the fish from wanting to move on. 

Click HERE to see a few Taw salmon.

I often say to newcomers to fly fishing rivers that if you can catch one of our brownies you’ll be able to catch them pretty much anywhere. Our fish are all wild, cunning and have been to the school of hard knocks and, when hooked, know how to play dirty.

This makes my job both challenging and interesting and has been tough but hugely rewarding of late as the river has been pretty low . It is this sort of thing that makes me keep coming back for more every time and being on the water most days lets me see the constant changes and moods of the river as conditions continually alter.

I was with Richard on Monday and he continued his excellent tally of fish and is now a light line convert. I think he left exhausted but happy and he had an extra 1/2 day tacked onto the 2 days we had spent together and as I was teaching a 1/2 day of that afternoon with Steve and Noleen we arranged to meet him for a bit of lunch. It turned out that we had a bit of a fisherman’s corner over lunchtime as Faure had come back to fly solo on the river and Peter who I was guiding Wednesday and Thursday had just arrived so we all sat down and talked fishing along with Steve and Noleen who had also just arrived. I know Faure was here with his girlfriend this time for a couple of days but sadly I don’t think Vicky got to see him much as he was out on the river just about every second he could!

Steve and Noleen were keen to learn to cast and have a try on the river. We had a great time and even had a few fish which was a great testament to how quickly they picked things up.

Wednesday I was out with Peter. Peter has fly fished lakes and wanted to try his hand at river fishing. He also wanted me to take a look at his casting but that didn’t take long. He had been taught by his father and was a really nice caster. As the weather was about to turn we hit the water and he was soon into fish. His adjustment from still to moving water was remarkable and we were soon into fish. After lunch the rain got heavier and then rained some more. The river was starting to colour and rise so at 4.30 he thought that would be it for the day. No way! I headed to a beat that is a little shallower and actually needed a bit of water to make it more comfortable for the trout. We decided to pop a larger dry on as I find this can make it stand out and encourage trout to hit it. I also find that trout seem to be aware that the river is rising and colouring which will mean that feeding opportunities might be  lesser than normal conditions so they are more keen to take  advantage. There was also a small break in the rain that meant air pressure had risen a small amount and brought on a modest hatch of Blue Winged Olives.

I got up yesterday morning fearing the worst and drove to a few spots looking to see if there was some fishable water before heading to the Hotel. It wasn’t to be, but Peter and I had talked about the possibility of bass instead so I had gear ready and when I met up with him we decided to have a look. I think we both knew that the wind was going to be a factor but we were determined to see just in case. As we saw the Taw estuary though our worst fears were confirmed and the white horses told us everything we thought might happen. We turned round and headed back. It was a real shame but I am sure there will be other times!

Good to see President Obama is a fly fisherman and I am really pleased he decided not to go for the Putin look when fishing (topless and airbrushed!) It would be interesting to see if our leader would opt for a go but I suspect he has just a little too much on his plate right now and I wonder with his current popularity that it might put some sort of jinx on fly fishing!

You might have thought our fly fishing school might have been quiet given all the weather we have had of late but luckily I was able to get guests out on the water and even better, into a fish or two. I met up with Chris last Friday who had some fishing lessons a number of years ago and was after a refresher on casting and watercraft. Despite not holding a rod in anger for such a long time it was great to see that muscle memory was still intact and his body remembered how to cast a fly. He even had his own gear that he had bought a few years back that had been unused. It was great to see it getting a good work out!

Gavin was down for the weekend and is a really keen river angler. Despite the weather and unfishable water at the Hotel we headed higher up the Taw and found somewhere to cast a fly and caught a few. We did the same on Sunday and managed to fish the Hotel waters in the afternoon.

Above you’ll see Gavin with the last fish of the day on Saturday. This is one he had spotted rising, made a cast to and caught. It’s nice when it all happens like that!  You might notice the background and how wet it had been. I stupidly believed the weathermen and on Sunday after lunch I headed down to the beat out back of the Hotel with just a shirt. Big mistake, it poured down on me!

On Monday the water was clearing down on the Hotel water but still pushing a bit. Having done a bit of casting with Ray there was little doubt he needed much help and having shown him some casts for the river (his background is lake fishing) we hit the river. Ray was like a sponge taking in every little word or tip and put it all into practice. The picture below shows Ray into his first fish a nice 10 incher!

When Gavin came down he brought his girlfriend Andrea too. There was lots for her to do. She popped into Exeter for a look round but on Sunday we found her relaxing with papers and a pot of coffee when we met up for lunch. That is one of the nice things about where we are located that there is plenty for the non fly fisher to do or they can just kick back and relax! The Hotel now boasts an in house beauty therapist, Georgeana, who offers a wide range of holisitic treatments.

If the weather people are to be believed then we have some good stuff coming so fingers crossed. I have Geoff tomorrow and he is in to light lines and small streams…..perfect!

I’ve actually been away from giving fly fishing lessons for a couple of days as I was in Athens with the family for some cultural stuff. Thankfully my daughter Charlie takes after her mother and is pretty smart and is into studying Classics. This meant a trip to Greece was a good idea to see stuff up close and personal. We did various tours and the thing that struck me the most was how civilised the ancient Greeks were. Several hundred years BC and they invented democracy and understood what grown up behaviour is all about. I think many, including our politicians could learn a bit about this. Even their plays didn’t involve murder or violence. They might have alluded to it but nothing violent was ever shown. Perhaps another lesson could be learnt?  The other thing that stuck in my mind was that the Greeks were fighting the Ottoman Empire who were holed up high at the Acropolis. Apparently the Turks were getting low on ammo and were taking whatever metals they could from the ancient site to make bullets. The Greeks got wind of this and rather than have their treasured site ransacked they waved a white flag, met with the opposition and agreed to give the Turks ammunition on the basis that they took nothing more from the site! I think that was probably a step too far but I guess you can see what I am getting at?

Anyway, back to fishing, it looks like we have had some rain in the 3 days I have been away. It sort of started Sunday when I took out David and Jan for a casting tune up. This went really well and previously Jan had been lacking confidence when it came to the casts and approaches for various fishing situations she had previously faced. By the end of it she was grabbing the rod wanting to try the next thing I had shown her! David is a good fisherman but hopefully picked up a few tips to help him catch a few extra fish. I am due to meet them tonight for some sea trouting but I have left 100 degree heat in Athens for rain and thunder back here. We’ll see how it goes!

Good luck to Jo and Lyn who are hoping to make their first solo trip on the river having spent time with us. We’re waiting to hear all of the details!

I have added some new bits to the Latest News page.

Previous Fly Fishing Lessons blogs.

A few messages from happy guests of our fly fishing school

Hi Pete

thanks again for a truly wonderful day’s fishing. You taught me so much that I had to write it all down as soon as I got home so that I would not forget it !  I hope that we will be fishing together soon.

 

Best wishes

 

Neil

 Thanks so much Pete.
Thoroughly enjoyed my 3 days on the Taw even if the fish are not quite so big as those in New Zealand!  Still lots of fun.
.
Take care.
regards,
Nick

Pete, thank you for helping us through and replacing flies when needed.  Your expertise was much appreciated and it was good to learn from a master of his trade.

 Best wishes and thank you again.

 John

 

 

 

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for a bit but for some reason I haven’t got around to it yet.  I guess that the old memory isn’t as good as it used to be!

It was the end of June and I had a realised that despite being on the river every day I hadn’t actually been fishing myself for trout for over a month. I though I’d better do something about it and had a 1/2 day of fly fishing tuition but I was free in the afternoon.

I’d decided to head to a bit of the Taw I hadn’t fished for a bit and rigged up. The water was low and clear and it is always nice to quietly step into the river and see a fish rise. As ever I had the two fly set up of a dry and bead head nymph hung just below. I picked up a few fish and continued to head upstream.

I headed to a spot that I figured might hold some fish as it was a nice run carrying oxygenated water to any fish that might be holding there. I hooked into a small one pretty quickly and then saw what I initially thought was a rock move and have a pop at the little fella as I brought him in. I thought this might have caused the “rock” to shoot off but as I released my fish I watched him resume his position. I was a little surpised to see him hold where he was as it was in 8 inches of water, in an open lie and bright sunshine!

I watched him for a bit and he was just happily sitting there. It didn’t look like he was feeding so I was going to have to get my fly right in front of him and make it worth his while. The first cast was too far to the right and he didn’t even give it the time of day. Next cast was right on the money and I watched the nymph go right over him and the dry slowly slid down. As I lifted I felt my little 2 weight bend over and he was on. The fish headed upstream but I managed to horse him down towards me. We both got a good, close look at each other and seeing him let me know I was attached to a trout and not a sea trout. Seeing me was enough for him to surge downstream and he tried to head for the safety of an undercut bank. Applying as much side pressure as I dared I kept him out and thought he was heading my way when out of the blue the hook hold came loose and he was gone.

I stood silently for a few moments, I would have loved a closer look at him and the chance of a photo but it was not to be. I remembered something I said to a guest the other day that there was no point mourning a lost fish too much as it ends up eating away at you. I know we all have one lost fish story and this might just be my one as it was up there with the biggest fish I have caught from the river Taw but I just reeled in, smiled and headed off home.

Read about a fly fishing away from Devon

My good friend Ray, AKA the Dude, took his daughter Mia for her first fly fishing lesson and it looks like she is taking after her Dad.

Ray has written about it all below..

 My six year old daughter Mia had a day off school this week.  As her mother was working, I asked her if she wanted to spend the day fishing with her father.  She eagerly said yes, much to my delight, and we set off to Manningford Fishery.

Now I’m a wild trout, catch and release, upstream dry fly type of angler, and like most fishing fathers I fantasize about watching my daughter growing up fishing alongside me.  Today was that all important first day to expose her to fly fishing.  Most of all Iwanted Mia to have a fun day, but I knew that the only thing that would matter to her would be to catch a fish.  I was quietly desparate for everything to go well.

As I got the rod set up, she carefully searched through my fly box for the right pattern.  We had discussed a great many fishing related things during the half hour drive to the fishery, including what fish eat.  After much thought, she chose a size 16 bead head ptn.  So far so good.

We agreed that I would cast and she would retrieve.  The nine foot, six weight outfit was ridiculously big for her, but she gamely rested the butt of the rod on her tummy and stripped line with her left hand while holding the rod with her right hand.  She declined my offer of help to support the rod.  Good girl,I thought.

After only a few casts, the fishing gods smiled upon us and she hooked a fish.  After a brief struggle, the fish came off, but she was excited and anxious to “try and catch him again”.  She hooked another, netted it, gave it a few spirited blows with the priest, and played with it in the water before we headed to the pub for lunch. 

The fishing wasn’t as good after lunch, but just before we headed home she hooked another.  It broke her off, and I figured it was a good time to call it quits.  It left her with the feeling of wanting to come back and “try and catch him again”.  We ate the fish that Mia caught for dinner that night, a fitting end to that all important first day.

Thanks Dude and really well done Mia!

I have just had a great bunch of lads down for a spot of fly fishing in Devon. They have all fly fished a fair bit and were looking to learn a few new things that might help up the catch rate a little and make their time on the water  all the more enjoyable. We covered all sorts of casting tips and as usually happens, and indeed it did this time, I get a case of verbal overflow!

As an instructor I feed off of the enthusiasm and keeness to learn and I was amazed by how interested the guys were in learning new casts but also how the mechanics work. It was really great and we spent the morning covering just about everything you could think of. The afternoon was split between trout fishing and having a look for salmon too. One of the guys, Dave, had a good pull from a fish and saw a sea trout take to the air and Les saw a good sized sea trout roll.

It was a great day and as they were staying in the hotel I got to keep in touch with their fishing exploits for the other days they were staying. So here’s to you, Dominic, Paul, Les, Dave, Christian and Peter!

The lads!

My good pal Dave gave me a hand with the lads and a ladies day we held on Sunday and it was a great pleasure to work with you fella!

The catch board at the Hotel is going great guns with over 470 trout now caught and we have now added four sea trout so we are certainly getting into a few fish.

I have had a day off and it was great to chat with my pal Jim Williams who is a full time guide and instructor in Wiltshire. I really like speaking to him as he is so enthusiastic and a great person to bounce ideas off . I’ll also tell you that he is a great fly fishing instructor, I guess this sounds like an advert but if you are heading to Wiltshire and want some top quality fishing or instruction then he is your man!

For more details or information on fly fishing in Devon please feel free to call 01363 82786

Other fly fishing in Devon blogs here and here

There is nothing like wandering into a fishing town. The one I remember the most is Basalt that sits right on the Frying Pan river in Colorado. The Dude and I pulled in for some breakfast and coffee and saw a row of drift boats lined up ready for a day in the water. We popped into the two fly stores there and there were guides busily stocking up on flies and talking their guests through what they were going to be doing on the day. I also remember walking into a restaurant in waders and sitting down at a table without anyone batting an eyelid.

I have just come back from a week of guiding Alan and Pam in Hampshire where we have been fishing a few juicy bits of water. They were based in Stockbridge and I would pick them up each morning. I think Stockbridge qualifies as a fishing town. Well, almost. The two fishing shops open early and there are even a few guides knocking around (me included). The reason is that I am not sure how much of a fishing town it is or not as I am not so sure it is the same once the mayfly have gone. I have been there plenty of times but it does usually coincide with mayfly and there are plenty of anglers around but I am not so sure if this is the case all year round. I will be back later in the year and will let you know.

The fishing itself was really good. The mornings were best with gin clear waters where we stalked and cast our dries to rising fish. The mayfly was OK but not stunning. We fished several different stretches of water and did well on all of them. There is nothing like seeing a fish move towards the fly and take it!

Pam and Alan were new to fly fishing the chalkstreams and are used to casting a fly on spate rivers. You know what? They took to it like they had always done it.