The weekend was best on Saturday and thankfully the weather held for Sunday. Saturday was a morning casting session with Andy who is really starting to throw some micro loops and put his new rod through it’s paces.

I met up with Ed after lunch and we headed a little further up the river in search of fish. We found some too and even had one take a dry which was a pleasant shock. We focused on the edges or seams of faster water and slacker areas in general. It seemed to work pretty well.

Ed puts a cast into just the right spot

Sunday and we met with the Crediton Fly Fishing Club for our 4th annual casting morning. We held it at the hotel and rather than just rehashing what we did the years before we have tried to constantly evolve things so that it is hopefully interesting and with plenty of content for the members.  On the food front we did the same as last year and included a carvery in the price which is a great time for members to get to know each other and to swap fishing stories over some excellent food.

I went fishing myself in the afternoon with Ray (The Dude) as he was down to have a quick fish on Sunday and Monday. He is moving abroad in the summer and so we have a sort of a leaving the UK tour which means we have to fish as many venues as we can in the UK before he goes and we are just putting the finishing touches to the overseas one too which I am hugely excited about. Anyway, this is the first leg of the tour and to be honest it wasn’t the easiest of conditions but Ray had a few fish including a small sea trout which was great fun. Next leg is Wales in a months time!

One for the Dude!

Before we left to pick up the Chinese I took Ray to one of our new beats as I wanted him to fish a couple of pools that I thought might hold a fish or two. As it is a new beat I have learnt it over the winter but only from walking from the bottom to the top and only in the water. The two pools I wanted to take him to were at the very top and so it involved some off road walking to the pools. Having got to the right spot I led the way and sort of slid down a high bank where I was hoping to land on a large log that was poking out of the water. The only downside of this was the part I wanted to land on was a bit rotten and gave way as I landed on it. I lost balance and it felt like I was going to go head first into the river. I had sort of resigned myself to the fact of a soaking but grabbed hold of a branch of the log that was actually not rotten and stayed dry. I heard shouts from Ray who I think was probably a little saddened I didn’t immerse myself but having not taken a dunking for 3 years I am just about due one!

I had a long chat with my good pal Jim Williams yesterday which I always enjoy. He is a great guy and an excellent instructor and guide and the other string to his bow is web design. He has just completed our new AAPGAI website which is most excellent. Good work fella!

New water....

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It has been great to see fishermen at the hotel again now the season has started and it has been great to be in the bar hearing fishy chatter!

This time of year I am hoping for some good hatches of Large Dark Olives but it looks and feels that due to the cold winter things have been pushed back a little. As ever, lunchtime has been a hot time to be casting a fly but we have been catching fish as late as 4.30 so even if it is cool stick at it.

The daffodils are also a bit late which backs up the delayed start story but I spoke to a good friend in Cumbria who was saying that Thursday felt as though things were more spring like up there and the fish agreed too.

Mikes first time on a river

Alan has a fish for his birthday!

Rob swings one of my nasty flies!

Peter is back on beat 2 chasing trout

Simon works slack water as the river starts to rise

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Water temps were low and there wasn’t much hatching apart from the odd Large Dark Olive but it was just great to be back on the water and in the company of friends.

"so what are you tying on?"

Toby had the first nice fish of 10 inches but Mo topped it with a 14 incher which I missed but Mike was on hand to measure it and help pop it back.

Mo fishing a likely spot

Howard throws a heavy nymph into the depths

Mike works up a pool

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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 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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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’m told I am a nightmare to buy for but as long as it is fly fishing related it will be a good choice. There are some really good DVD’s around this year and my fingers are crossed that they might feature. There is nothing better than sitting down with a mince pie  (told you I was getting in the spirit of things) and watching some fishing.

I have already treated myself to a little present and bought a new Hydros fly rod. It is a pretty sweet piece of kit and I am looking to try and catch a grayling or two with it soon.

I was talking to Alan today and we both admitted that we really like sorting out flies and getting them organised for the coming season or sometimes even just a fishing trip. After all of the unfishable weather we have had I can’t say how many flies I have tied but it is a lot. I have thought about and refined a few things and churned out the ever faithfuls. There is something for everyone in there and I hope the fish feel the same. This means the fly boxes are pretty well replenished already and are primed, ready for action. I am just about to commence on some bonefish patterns.

The weather has settled now but I was down casting where I work and the river was still carrying some colour but the height is dropping right out. A few pics of the “office” below.

Winter beard watch- We seem to have bonded and got used to living together. Not sure this will be a long term relationship though.

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I had told Ray about the excellent steak sandwiches that The Hotel had made me during the season were something he should try along with a cup of their coffee. Steak sandwiches weren’t strictly on the menu it was a peri peri version (also excellent) that you would find but poking my head in the kitchen and asking head chef Al nicely has often worked. It did and we both enjoyed them. The chips were pretty good too and it is nice to see that they are not the oven variety.

So we enjoyed those and headed back where the guys told us that they were getting married in a couple of weeks time and wondered if we would be the witnesses. We were so pleased and also touched and there were a couple of thoughts that immediately leapt into my mind. Firstly it would mean that I would need to dress up and I don’t really do smart these days and those last remnants of my smart wardrobe would be more fitting for a Dynasty/ Miami Vice themed party but secondly and more importantly we needed to celebrate this momentous occassion with some fishing. We quickly arranged a date and before we knew we were meeting to wet a line.

As ever I was early and was already fishing when Ray pulled up. “Fish biting?”  The answer was a resounding yes. We were fishing on a chalkstream and the lack of water meant the fish were bunched. A buddy and I had hit one pod and thought it best that we left them after taking what felt just about the right side of being greedy.

The fishing continued on a similar vein throughout the day and a light hatch at lunch gave me a chance to throw on some 24’s that I had tied up that even caught a few fish. We had decided to fish for as long as possible so it meant that we had barbecued burgers for lunch and a tailgate chinese for dinner. I called the Chinese through and picked it up. I have passed any sort of worry of people seeing me wander down a high street in waders ( a favourite pastime of Ray and I) and this was no exception as I couldn’t get parked anywhere near the Take Away. I was really impressed though when I walked into a supermarket and asked for some paper plates and the girl serving pointed me to where they might be without even blinking. We don’t usually go for plates but I though as there were 3 of us and it were a special occassion that we should at least try and do things properly. I think part of this is that I am still shamed by Champo who pulled out a stove and cooked vension steaks at exactly the same spot when we fished a year ago. I’ll always remember that for the food but also as we fished the biggest BWO hatch either of us had ever seen.

We had the chinese lined up on the tailgate of my pickup and it was a vaguely civilised free for all. We talked about the day and fishing in general. The light was going and any warmth had gone. The guys thought about quitting but it was 2 days before Ray got married and I thought it might be cool for him to catch one last fish as a single man. It was a nice landmark. I even bought some new clothes for the wedding.

I was up in Bristol a week or so ago for my fix of sushi. We popped into the Asda ( it might even be called WalMart). It is worth a visit for the price of the petrol but also that you have to go through a drive through to pay. We don’t have one of these in Devon and I still haven’t figured out if it is good idea or not, or what the thinking behind it is but it is amusing to use anyway and I wonder if it is a little touch of America.

The reason I mention this is that when we were in the store I looked at the magazine section there which was pretty extensive and had just about base covered.This included fishing but there wasn’t any fly fishing mags there. Now I know we don’t have many but I thought there might be a chance of one but sadly not. Fly fishing is the centre of my world and a lot of my friends but I guess it just doesn’t register in the minds of Asda. I have been keeping an eye out recently to see if this is the case in other shops too and thankfully there are the odd one poking out but not the “full house” of all 4. I’m hoping that a lot of them are ordered on subsciption and that is the reason. I haven’t paid much attention to this sort of thing in the past and guess it has always been the way but it did strike a chord with me. I wonder what circulation numbers are like these days?…My hope is that they are on the up….

Hopefully fishing with pals on Tues…I’ve been tying like a madman!

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I don’t think anything would get between Paul and his fishing and this was certainly the case when I met up with him the other day. I picked him up from his house and as we were on our way to the A303 we, as usual, swapped fishy stories and he happened to mention that he had taken a nasty fall during the trout season and his shoulder was playing him up a bit. I asked him if he were OK and he had fished Kennick a week before and it hadn’t been too bad.

We got to our venue, set up and headed down to the river where I realised I was standing the wrong side of Paul as he was casting left handed. Now, I know which hand Paul casts with as I had taught him as a beginner and I could only stand back in admiration and watch him cast his fly out to a spot we thought might hold a grayling.

It turned out that the shoulder was more sore than he had let on and so he had spent the last week teaching himself to cast left handed. You know what? It worked and really well at that. He was soon into the fish and I don’t think you would have known the fact that left hand wasn’t his dominant one.

Paul thinks about his fishing agreat deal and is like a sponge. After a couple of casts I asked him to lift his rod as the flies drifted over a likely spot. He was straight on to the plan and said ” Ahh, so you want me to induce them”  I can’t remember if it was the case or not but I think it did catch a fish on the first attempt. As soon as Paul had seen it happen he was on to it straight away as he picked off a pod of grayling.

We even had a surpise visitor…

All in all it was a great day and I have massive respect for Paul and I hope the shoulder is sorted soon!

Taw Salmon

I was lucky enough to have Alan and Pam back with me for 3 days of guided fishing and they were keen to take another look at some chalkstream fishing . We had met up in June to do something similar and I decided to show them some other venues. I think they worked out pretty well and we were lucky enough to hit some really, really good fishing. There were even a few Mayfly making a late appearance that the fish took advantage of along with some Blue Winged Olives and more Caddis than you could shake a stick at. With low water levels we were able to bring fish up to have a look at dries and depending on tempratures and the amount of bugs hatching we varied sizes of flies from 24 up to 12.

The thing I really like about guiding on the chalkstreams is that you can spot the fish and we had great fun stalking our targeting fish and landing a fly in just the right spot to see if we got the desired response. Pam is an amazing spotter of fish and it was great seeing her spot a pod of grayling and expertly pick them off one by one!

We had a great 3 days with lots of laughs (usually at my expense!) and caught a few fish along the way. Alan has a great target in that he likes to try and learn something new each day he is on the water and I think we managed to make that happen.

We have had plenty of visitors of late and we are always touched when we recieve a mail back from guests telling us that they have had a good time with us. It is things like this that spur us on even more to provide the best fly fishing experience we can . On that front keep an eye out for what we have planned for the 2010 season as we have some really exciting things already arranged, but never wanting to rest on our laurels we are just tying up the last few extra things to ensure you have great, new and interesting options available to you for fly fishing tuition and guiding in Devon. We will unveil everything in due course but needless to say we are hugely excited!

A few comments from our guests

Pete,
wanted to say thank you for the time that you spent with us on Tuesday and for your

continued help thru the rest of this week. Whilst we tried our best to prize a salmon

out of the Taw without any success, I know that everyone had a cracking time.

Thanks again for everything.
All the best
Mike

Pete
A note to thank you for Sunday. I had an excellent day and look forward to
our next meeting.
Nick

Pete,

Just to thank you again for all you did for me and Roger in introducing us to both the Taw and to night fishing for sea trout.
You could not have been more helpful, informative or enthusiastic and it was all most enjoyable and greatly appreciated.

Very best wishes,

Guy