The Pursuit of Wild Trout

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pursuit-Wild-Trout-Mike-Weaver/dp/1873674007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282823359&sr=8-1

It seems that fishing is in two halves at the moment. Black gnats are the main item on the menu in the morning and caddis in the afternoon. We have had great fun on the river skating caddis at both trout and sea trout and I was on the water with Peter the other day where we saw a nice sea trout move. I really like to get the fly moving to provoke an aggressive response and we managed to get one but not the hook up. We stuck with the large G & H sedge and cast it upstream and worked it back with short sharp strips. It was great to see that we managed to get responses for even the smallest of fish and if you are on the water give the stripped fly a go. It might just bring something up!

Peter had fished stillwaters here and further afield he had searched for salmon in Alaska and Canada but was a newcomer to small stream fishing for trout. He soon picked up that you don’t need to throw a long line and was catching fish on both dries and nymphs.

Peter and a Taw trout

It was great to have Mike back down again this year. Although it was a whistlestop visit with the family he managed to get out on to the water. As time was short we managed to hit a few pools and catch some fish too. I am ashamed of some of the things we threw into the deeper pools and I hope you’ll keep it our secret Mike!

Mike having cast one of my nasty flies!

Ian and his wife Mandy wanted to learn how to fish a river and so we were happy to oblige! Ian was a former Pro Golfer and it came as little surprise how quickly he picked up casting a fly rod.

Ian ready to strike

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Trefor ready to strike!

We sat by one of my favourite pools chatting whilst scanning the water as darkness fell. There wasn’t much going on despite it being a time when fish often show themselves on the Taw. We headed upstream a bit and I popped a few casts into another pool called Junction. It felt like I’d had a small pull but I wasn’t sure if it was from a trout or not.

Having fished it out we walked back down to my favourite pool and I popped a few casts out. There is a nice spot where a non fisher can watch everything happen and that is where Emma perched. I fished the pool and we saw a really good fish move and despite covering it I didn’t get a pull. Just as I was considering changing flies I heard a yell from Emma. I wasn’t sure what it was about but she’d seen one of the early meteors that the news said would be happening. It was almost perfect timing as the  clouds had lifted giving us a perfect view of the night sky.

I thought this is one of those chances not to miss, so with both of us laying on our backs watching what was just an amazing sight as we saw our first meteor shower. It was just one of those rare times where fish had to take a back seat but being next to the river with a rod strung up and ready I was well placed just in case anything did happen in my favourite pool!

Derrick on a 1/2 day casting course

The fish are still biting but the cooler temps have meant that early fishing has been not as productive. But as the sun climbs then it just switches on. The set up has generally been a small black klink early on and then caddis patterns as the afternoon gets under way. As we move into late afternoon and early evening time I have been switching to bigger stimulator patterms to try and tempt and early sea trout to slash at the fly!

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Anyway, the reason for the title is in honour of Hannibal Brooks and his merry band of mercinaries. There are also times when something does just about go to plan. Last Monday was a great example. I was guiding regulars Ian and Phil who have been great supporters of our little fishing school and they were back for a few days of guided fly fishing.

Bass were on the list so with a late low tide we decided to split the day into a morning of river fishing and then to meet up late afternoon for the bass. As they rigged up I suggested that perhaps we went looking for some day time sea trout despite the fact that it was a cloudless bright, hot day.  They are both fine, accomplished anglers and I was keen to raise the bar for them and I guess myself.

We fished a few pools as a warm up where they picked up a few trout and then I took them to where I thought and hoped there might be some sea trout that were hunkered down for the day. I dropped Phil into a pool and talked him through it and took Ian upstream to a similar pool to try his hand. Having left Ian I headed down to Phil and saw a great big grinning face. He had picked up a sea trout, his first on a fly, and was over the moon. Ian wasn’t quite so lucky this time but has managed the feat on a few other occassions.

I met the guys later on and we headed for the coast. There had been a bit of wind but as we headed to our mark the wind just stopped for a few minutes and the bass started showing. It didn’t take them long to connect and Ian was on to his first fly caught bass.  The fishing started coming thick and fast but as the tide gathered momentum the bites eased off. It really was a great day of fishing and a few milestones achieved.  I guess Phil achieved some sort of Grand Slam which is do-able even when more traditional ways of getting one might have been easier but it was much more fun this way!

Phil has sent me some photos which I am having problems uploading so Phil if you are reading can you send them again please?!

I’ll post them when I get them but in the meantime I have popped a pic up of a painting that Charlie did for me for Father’s Day, it is one I really love and hope you do too.

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To be honest I thought it might take a fair bit longer but I am really thrilled with the results.  It has already become a place where newcomers have caught their first fish and it has been a great location for fly casting lessons too. I asked the guys with the diggers to cut the promontaries so they are ideal for roll casting and spey casting purposes and the guys dug the lake to 12 ft in depth so in these warm conditions the fish have somewhere comfortable to hide up until the sun is off of the water.

It has been another great little addition to our fly fishing school and being right on the doorstep of the hotel saves our guests having to head for a public fishery.

Emma and I had a quick look at the river and my hope was the rain we have had might bring the water up and a few salmon with it. I was messing about but Em said she thought she saw a fish come into the pool.  There was an angler staying and fishing the hotel waters who said he saw a salmon move which was, to put it politely, rather sizeable. If you bump into me ask me where it was and what size!

Peter was back again this season. He joined us in early March and despite some tough conditions he did a great job and it was nice to show him the river in a nicer light. It is a real pleasure to see his angling come on each time we meet and he was rewarded with a really nice trout, amongst all of the others, on one of the days we were out. Well done Peter!

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Tough as old boots....

I’m just back from guiding Pam and Alan for 3 days on a chalkstream I hadn’t been on before. It is always exciting to visit a new water and even more so as where we were staying was right on the water and it was even more exciting as Emma was invited along too. The days were long and hot which meant we fished in two sessions. We’d start at 9 and fish until 3 or 4pm and then head back to the house and have something to eat and then head out again and fish the evening until 10pm on one night. The mornings were more productive that we thought but it was easy to detect when the fish started to switch off. Evenings were hardly surprisingly the cream of the fishing where we caught some great caddis hatches. It was great to see the guys throw their balloon caddis and elk and cdc’s to rising fish but just as exciting to twitch the fly over a fish sitting near the bottom and watch him hurtle up and slam the fly!

A nice brown for Alan

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The mayfly hatch is now just a small trickle towards the end of the day but you’ll still see me tie on a grey Wulff at the slightest sign of a slashy take at the surface. This has been the case as late as the Sunday just gone and I have still used them to try and drag a sea trout up to take a look.

I had 3 days with Steve last week and it was his first season on moving water. The really nice thing was having plenty of time to go through the casts and approaches to maximise success for him and it was great to net his first wild brown trout. It is great to be a part of landmarks in someone’s fishing career and something I will never tire of!

Steves first wild brown trout

We fished all sorts of places to give him a good chance to experience everything a river could throw at him and to show him how far he had progressed. It is great standing next to someone and see them fire a cast straight into the right spot and a fish leaps on to it and think to your self “my work is done”!!

Fly hits its target first shot

Steve rose to every challenge thrown at him and the trout of Wales and wherever else he ventures better look out!

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I am sneaking off to Wales for a couple of days with Ray (The Dude) to try our luck. It is a birthday present for me and part of Rays” leaving the UK tour”. The plan is to head off early, meet up and have a big breakfast somewhere and fish straight through. I have a feeling this will be the pattern for our trip but that’s fine by me! I have tied up a few “left field” flies that have had a bit of success here but I want to see what the Welsh trout make of them.

Mark had his first time on our rivers in Devon and took to it really, really well. It is always nice to get an email from a convert to our fishing ranks!

Mark into his first Devon trout!

Hi Pete,

I wanted to thank you for an absolutely fantastic days guiding on Friday.  I had a great time and learnt so much!

The following couple of day’s fishing allowed me to put what I had learnt into practice (with success!!) and made our stay in Devon a truly memorable one.

Many thanks to Emma too, for suggesting we stay at the Fox & Hounds. What a great little hotel and lovely food!

Take care

Mark

P.S.  We’ll be back again soon!! (maybe for a spot of sea trout fishing!)

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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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Ian has been a great supporter of our fly fishing school and was down just a few days after the season started to try his luck. We covered some water and I showed him a few spots he had fished before plus a few new ones. First day (weds) was a little slow to get going but he managed to connect with a few fish but the next day, Thursday, has been the pick of the days we have had so far this season and we even had a few look at the dry which was great to see.

First fish from our new water

Large Dark Olive hatches have been pretty light so far but my hope is that more settled weather will see an improvement and more fish starting to look upward.

As is always the case this time of year, lunchtime is a good time to be on the water but so far a lot of fish have been caught between 4pm and 4.30pm so it is worth hanging on just in case!

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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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