Devon School of Fly Fishing Team blog

We’re now into the last month of the season and I have to say it is a time I really love. The weather might not always be with us but if we do get rain then there is a chance of a salmon taking a look at our fly. On that matter we had some rain at last but the Taw seemed to take it in its stride and came up a little and coloured a bit and by last Friday afternoon was back to normal. This meant the window for salmon was a small one but it sounds like the Exe had a lot more rain to bring both the levels and the fish up to anglers which is great news.

Chris working down a pool

I managed to get out for a quick fish and managed to have a salmon pluck at the nasty big fly I had cast at it and then took to the air to show me just what might have been. I went back and Charlie joined me in the afternoon and the river was a different place and a lot lower. I cast through the pool hoping the fish was still obliging and felt the line go tight and lifted into a fish. It wasn’t the salmon but a sea trout was just as welcome!

I lost a couple of trout days due to the weather but did some casting with Carolynne and Patrick who are off to Montana today and yesterday I was guiding Chris. He was keen to learn everything he possibly could about fishing streams and everything that goes with it. We even had a go at a likely looking salmon pool and despite hooking a nice trout we didn’t get lucky….this time!

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I was lucky enough to be on the water with Mike Weaver recently. For me, he is Mr Devon when it comes to fly fishing. He wrote the book that I just keep coming back to and it is the book that has inspired so many of my fishing adventures. It is a little hard to come by these days but if you ever get a chance to buy it don’t miss it as it is a great read!

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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It has been great to have Emma along on my last couple of sea trout forays. The last was on Thursday as I had got in from guiding Trefor and we had seen a really nice sea trout take to the air towards the end of the day. It was one of those fish that gets under your skin a bit and eating dinner I was still sort of thinking about it when Emma asked if I fancied popping out for a few hours. That clinched it and I knew exactly where we were heading!

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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We still haven’t had any real rain to speak of but the fish have still been biting and the best of the fishing has been towards the late afternoon when we have had great caddis hatches at 3.30pm or so. It has been good to see fish devouring caddis pupae as they try and make a dash for the surface of the water. I was guiding Henry, John and Mark last Thursday and it looked like the omens were good  but the wind got up and we experienced micro hatches when ever the wind stopped. I was with Henry when this happened and we saw three really nice fish come on the feed for just a very short time. This was time enough for Henry to land a nice 11incher!

I have really been trying hard with CDC flies of late. There is little doubt of their fish catching abilities and I like that they fit in with the simple-to-tie family of flies. The downside of their effectiveness is that one fish is enough to put them out of action for a bit so I have had 3 lined up on the fly patch and make a quick change after a fly has weaved its magic on a fish. At the moment a green dubbed body on a Varivas 2200BL hook has been the winning combo for me.

Superfast and South Creek

I met up with Richard (RFH) last week and we had a day fishing. He is on a wating list of a club I belong to and I thought it would be nice for him to have a fish there and also he has been asking me about one of Luke Bannister’s excellent superfast bamboo rods. I am lucky enough to have a couple of his rods and even luckier to have No2 in the production line of the Superfast series. When I spoke to Richard I said I’d bring my rod along which he could fish and I would fish my treasured South Creek rod. We decided it should be a bamboo and dry fly day.

RFH and fish!

The fish were obliging and we caught plenty. RFH provided a most excellent bbq and the pork and apple burgers were outstanding!

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I had a call from Barry who was keen to take his team of Nina and Tony out to try fly fishing for the first time. I was only to happy to help and asked where he was coming from. It turned out they were from Chichester. He had a plane and had checked out that we were only a few minutes away from Eggesford Airfield so they could pop down do some fly fishing and also have a team lunch at the hotel.

They all picked fly casting and fly fishing up quickly and really got into it. It is unusual and great to see 3 people all pick it up so quickly. As they were a team we also had a bit of fun with who could cast the furthest and accuracy competitions. I seem to remember Nina won the distance but think it might have been Barry who was most accurate. It didn’t really matter as it was just for a bit of fun.

Tony, Nina and Barry

The weather on Friday was a little murky and Barry had been keeping an eye out on the low cloud (apparently not good news for flying but good for fishing!) but as we ended the gloom lifted a little and I gave them a lift back to the airfield as it was on the way home.

The plane...how cool?!

As we walked to where the planes were parked ( I hope that is the right phrase) I saw what looked like a vintage plane and I was even more excited when Barry told me it was his plane. Being a child of the 70’s I had grown up building Airfix models and can still remember a lot of the planes I had built and seeing a real one up close was pretty cool. It turned out it was a German training plane built by Focke-Wulf. This thing looked great and sounded even better as it took off taking the guys back to Sussex.

Heading for home!

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It seems as though we are preparing ourselves for the summer blockbusters at the cinema. I am not a huge cinema goer myself but do go from time to time. The last visit was a few days ago and I was quite excited to see that they have done a remake of the A Team. For anyone my age A Team was required viewing whilst getting ready for a Saturday night on the town and although a little far fetched it was good, camp fun. I hope the new version does the same and hits all the right notes the orginal did.

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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Our new little lake, despite being newly dug in Feb has settled down really nicely. The clarity has been great allowing those we have taken fishing to be able to see and observe the fish and the hatches of buzzers have been fantastic, we have even had caddis the last week or so. I have today off (Sunday) and despite just a touch of rain the grass has shot up and I thought it needed a bit of a trim. It didn’t take long and I’m really pleased with how it looks and how quickly everything has matured.

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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As fly fishermen I am pretty sure we all have a fish that we remember well that we can recall every moment of how it all played out. Often it will be the one that got away that sticks in the memory just as well and kind of haunts you for a while. I still know one that my good pal and fishing buddy Ray lost on the Wye several years ago and I think it still gets to him a bit despite being the most relaxed guy I know.

David and his first fly caught fish

Probably the ones we remember the most though are the landmark first fish and a big one. I have a great story to tell about Tom who works at the Hotel where the Fishing School is based. He is mad keen about fly fishing and has really got into it in a big way this year. It has been really nice to hear his tales of fishing trips to the river and to a still water fishery he likes to frequent over a coffee before I start work.

Alexander into a fish!

He came fishing a few nights ago when I was out looking for sea trout myself. It was nice to spend time on the water with him and to see what a nice little caster and fisherman he is. Sadly there wasn’t much going on and we called it a day but he was out the next night and when I turned up for work it was great to hear how he had got on.

Fishing the same beat we’d hit the night before he had seen a swirl and covered it with a large Hare’s Ear. The fish took without hesitation and he found himself attached to a large sea trout. After a long tussle and a broken net he had landed a sea trout that was weighed at 8 3/4lb. To top it all it was his first sea trout and one I doubt he will ever forget.

Paul into another fish!

It is a really nice story and it could easily end there but there is more. Emma and I were having dinner with some guests and Tom was serving dinner. After we had ordered he placed a folded piece of paper in front of me. I opened up and saw a picture of him holding a trout from a stillwater fishery of 21lb!

Talk about “on fire”! The guy is white hot at the moment and it is so nice to see him telling anglers at the hotel about both his fish. Tom, well done fella!

Despite the lack of water the fishing has been pretty good and we have had some amazing hatches of caddis from about 3.15 pm onwards.  The catch board at the hotel for trout is through 600 and we look to be on target to match last years totals and I have barely had the chance to add anything to the total myself but it is so nice being on the water with anglers and seeing them tempt our beautiful Taw trout.

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I sincerely hope that I am known for my generosity, be it on the river or even at the bar but I always try and ensure that I squeeze the last few drops of life out of my fishing gear. It does get a fair battering and it is usually the case that gear gets put into the truck at the end of the day and is left there until it is used the next day. That having been said I have been really good with my waders of late and I have seen the results of hanging them up somewhere dry when I get home after a days guiding. My boots are more of a problem as they never seem to get dry at all but despite this they are probably the most comfortable pair of shoes that I own. I have made them last a while now but the are starting to get just a little too far gone for even me to use. Gravel gets in the gap between the sole and the upper of the boot where it is coming away and the laces are doing their best to hold everything else together. It was about time I put them out to grass and will probably bring them out every now and again just for old times sake so I am now busy breaking in the new pair and they seem to be perfect for the job!

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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I was guiding Richard the troutslayer a few days this week. As ever it has been a pleasure to watch him come on huge leaps and bounds from when I first met him last year. For me a lot of the deal of river fishing is being able to effectively read the water and then being able to get your fly to the spot you think is your best shot as efficiently as possible. This is second nature to Richard now and it is a real pleasure to be on the water with him. He, as ever, got amongst some nice fish and we thought at one stage that he was attached to his first sea trout which sadly came adrift but we didn’t really get a look but it is one of those moments when you both think he might be attached to something special by looking at how the tip of the rod behaves when you first strike.

RFH and a nice Taw brown

As an aside, I often mention Richard as the troutslayer but I think we are changing the name as he fears that some might feel he may actually be slaying the trout and not putting them back. He loves them as much as me and each one is carefully returned to fight another day and so from this day on he will be known as Richard From Hampshire or RFH as Emma calls him.

A blowy day on Dartmoor with Mike

I had a day up on Dartmoor with Mike. Mike was down in March to try river fishing for the first time and loved every second of it. He likes to fish bamboo and it was good to christen his rod back then but this time we went for a slightly longer rod to make fishing the pools a little easier and to keep as much line as possible off of the water. Once more he did a great job in testing conditions and as ever the ride over there was great fun as Mike has a great view on life and a wit to match his fishing!

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