Devon School of Fly Fishing Team blog

I hit the river last week looking to catch a few grayling. The weather in Devon hadn’t been great but there was a break forecast in the rain and so I hit the A303. the thing I forgot to mention was that there was a bit of wind due instead.

Wind doesn’t bother me too much, despite fishing a 2wt rod and I had decided to fish a beat that was a little sheltered anyway. You might think it a wise move (perhaps not) but it did turn out to make things just a little more interesting as the wind was doing one of the many jobs it does. One of those at this time of the year is clearing the trees of their leaves.

The lovely flow lines that bring the grayling food and oxygen were also carrying the leaves off. To be honest, it was a little bit of a pain as both my dry and nymph did a pretty good job of clearing the river of leaves. Most of the leaves come off with a brisk false cast but others try and hang around a bit longer and can make an interesting mess of your leader!

I decided to fish the edge of the flow lines and the fish had similar ideas and it appeared they were staying clear of the debris too. I found a spot that was just above a deeper pot that I could see a few grayling in and had some great fun casting a double tungsten beaded nymph just in front of them and then gently lifting the rod when it was in front of them. I’d fish a few casts with one nymph then change it for another mixing the bead colours too. I fished a gold bead and had a couple and orange one and had a couple more and then a fly with a couple of pink beads on and had four fish. With the pink bead the fish didn’t even need the induced move and just hit it. I even had a couple of chub too that I can’t seem to remember catching on this river in all the years I’ve fished there.

After lunch I rigged up a French Leader and fished a couple of small nymphs. It worked well and I had a good number of fish and had on briefly a real hog that came off. It was good fun though and nice to be back up there again.

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I had to drive over the Moor today to get to Plymouth for a meeting. This is the route I like to take rather than working my way over to get to the A38. It is probably a longer route but there aren’t many routes in the U.K. that are more beautiful. The other good thing is that I get to drive over a number of the rivers I like to fish when the season is on. These days I slow down and have a good look and sometimes park up rather than trying to multitask and trying to drive and look at a nice stretch of water. In the past Emma has asked me to pull over and let her drive as I try and cop a look at a nice stretch of water.

Today was a stunner. The sun was out and the water was pushing a bit but was crystal clear and I was imagining casting a dry into a few of the runs and dropping an nymph into some of the deeper pockets. At Two Bridges I took a left to Plymouth and looked back at the West Dart as it snaked its way behind me before heading up to see the pocket water of Blackabrook on my left. It looked stunning. No, not stunning, just too beautiful for words. It was the sort of day that you’d say “it’s too nice to be writing a blog I should be out there”. Sadly it couldn’t be as the season is over.

It got me thinking how bad I wanted to fish there, as I am only usually up that way to guide or fish myself and being there and not jumping out of the truck to fish felt a little strange. It also got me wanting to fish there all that more knowing I wasn’t able to. I guess this is a bit of closed seasonitis but these are the little things that get you through the winter I guess, along of course with the grayling fishing.

Talking of which I got out with my good friend Toby for a few grayling the other day. This was just before we had the recent rain and the water was low and clear. As ever, we just fished together, laughed and caught a few fish. To me, this is what it is all about.

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Emma and I popped out for our first trip to have a look at how the salmon were getting on now that we have at last had some serious rain. I know I am not the greatest (or even near) photographer in the world but I tried to capture a couple of photos of what we saw. Don’t think there is the need for any more words really….

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I have been giving some thought to the whole “being cool” thing after a few amusing phone calls and emails after the last blog. It is funny that in our little world of fly fishing, what we consider what looks good might to others look ridiculous. I have also come to the conclusion that I am not too bothered either way. I like to wear brighter colours when fishing and in most situations I am fishing I am approaching the fish from behind so it doesn’t really matter that much but in my little mind it is nicer to wear clothes other than green or khaki.

I also remember when Ray (The Dude) and I were sorting out our trip to NZ and we got all hot and bothered about not having the right drab coloured lines that are mostly required down there. It is funny how these things permeate down and we suddenly find that these are the only things that will work, although I did speak to a guide down there before we went who told me he fished a bright orange line that he reckoned had no impact on his catches. It is that sort of thinking I always like. The long shot stuff that you just can’t help but want to prove wrong. Not to ram home a point or anything but just to see if it will work for your own satisfaction. This isn’t the best example though as Dude and I went for the drab lines just in case but if we go back I’ll give it a go with an orange line.

Jo in action

An example of a case nearer to home is Roadford. Roadford is a 700 odd acre lake that is brown trout only. It opened some time in the ’80s and is a place I used to love to fish. Somehow, some perch got in there and they did rather well. Now, it is seen as a bit of a shadow of its former self and whenever Roadford is mentioned in fishing circles the word perch will be in the same sentence or not far behind. As a result of the perch the fishermen are not fishing there like they used to. To me this is a a real shame as it is such a great place and the trout are still there but not so many fishermen. I was told that it had been fishing well of late so I hope it gets the benefit of the doubt next year. To me though this is another case of how things are percieved and so it is taken as how it is.

Anyway, back to bright stuff. My new orange fishing jacket ( a drab orange of course) was packed in the truck as I had been invited to fish the Exe with my friend Jo. It has been a long standing invite but work had meant I hadn’t had the chance but the water was low and clear and the sun was shining. Coming back to Roadford for a second Jo told me he had gone up there to catch some perch as he likes to eat them but he couldn’t stop catching bloody trout!

I had set up with a 10ft 3wt and my new favourite 8ft 4″ 2wt. It turned out that I left the long rod back by the truck as we ended up fishing dries to rising fish for a large part of the day. Jo had mentioned that the grayling could be tricky and he was right. A lot of them would try and drown the dry as it came past them. I thought I would be clever and downsize the fly but the same thing was happening and when I went even smaller they ignored it completely. It is these sorts of things I really enjoy trying to work out and a size 18 sparkle dun with a long trailing shuck was the right fly. We shared a rod and took it in turns catching a few fish. Towards the end of the day Jo took me to one of his favourite pools where there were some good fish rising. I covered one and missed it and then hooked what felt like a hefty fish. It came off. Funnily enough we both said the same word at the same time.

I don’t get to fish the Exe much these days. It is a great river and one I hope to get to fish again soon.

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Now that the main part of the season is over one of my main priorities is to try and not to over winter too well. From walking miles a day when I am guiding to not doing as much has an impact on the wader size and I do my best to try and keep it under control. Usually I do some running but after years of wicket keeping the knees aren’t as flexible as they once were.

On that front I have been thinking of dusting the gloves down again and have been thinking of joining a local team and playing the odd game and have been delighted to hear that in my forties I can qualify for the local veterans team. I always thought there was a chance to play again at a sensible level as there were professionals still playing the game like Graham Hick and Teddy Sheringham in the Premiership who are both a similar age but now they have sadly retired. I listen to sport now and see that guys now playing at the best levels are the sons of people I used to watch. I am sure in my mind that I can still dive across first slip to take the thick edge but I think in “real life” that I’ll let the guy in the slips have a go for it!

The other thing I’d be thinking of trying was cycling but I just think it is so uncool. I have to admit it is nice to see a bunch of people getting out and doing some excercise but when they are riding 4 abreast and holding up the traffic thinking they are doing a good speed it can be annoying especially when I am in the truck and have trout to catch.

Emma and I recently walked to a nearby village where the Tour of Britain cycle race was passing. It was all very exciting but we had walked 4 miles to see something that passed us in about 1 minute but as least we had a lovely walk.

Fernworthy

There were a couple of guys standing there in their cycling regalia which looked in my mind ridiculous and then another one of them turned up and I listened while they talked in a technical language that sounded like gibberish. Emma and I talked about it on the walk back and we came to the conclusion that people would have probably said the same if I had stood there in my waders and had started speaking to another fly angler. That is the great thing about hobbies and pastimes. There are so many some might be of interest to some people but not to others and once you get into them they are great no matter how silly we might think as an outsider. That having been said my new Simms jacket is rather stylish….well, at least I think so!

Fernworthy Brown

I met up with Howard the other day to fish Fernworthy. The wind was pretty similar to what I had exeprienced at Colliford the week before. I used the same set up, a 6wt rod with intermediate line and black tadpole and it worked really well. I caught quite a few fish and once Howard tied on a tadpole so did he. I fished the lee side again and the fish were pretty well bunched and liked the fly with really short, brisk strips. I did have a couple on a fry pattern too but tadpole was the fly of the day.

I am just back from a couple of days fishing the chalkstreams and they have some seriously low water. It meant that the grayling were bunched in big pods and we also saw a few pike on the edges of the pods just keeping an eye on things. I’ll be writing more about this soon.

Westcountry grayling are back on the menu this week so with temps dropping I’ll be sure to keep the knees warm.

My good friend Jim Williams has a new version of his site up which is worth a look with agreat blog too.

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There is nothing like the company of a good friend when you are fishing. Sharing the highs, lows and adventures makes having a buddy along to share it that bit more special. As the river season for trout is over I have a little bit more time for some fishing myself. Last week I headed down the A30 to Colliford with my good friend Dave. Dave runs The Dartmoor School of Fly Fishing. I don’t think anyone knows Kennick as well or spends as much time there (although Jan might give him a run for his money!). Both he and Lee are real experts on fishing Dartmoor too but he hadn’t been down to Colliford for a few years so we thought it might be worth a look.

Colliford is one of my favourite stillwater destinations and at just under 1000 acres is always an interesting proposition with plenty of water to cover and as there are no boats you get to have a good walk too.

We pulled up and two things struck me. Firstly, the low water. This was no big surprise but the second was the white horses that the wind was whipping up that were crashing into the bank at the far side of the car park. We thought the wind would be a little lively but with the lake being perched up on Bodmin Moor it was always going to be a little worse.

Anyway, it was a day’s fishing and wind wasn’t going to get in the way. We both rigged up our 6 weights, Dave with a floater and me with an intermediate line. Floating lines are usually the norm but I like to fish a black tadpole and move it a bit and the intermediate keeps my fly a little lower in the water.

When I fish Colliford I like to get myself on the lee side of the wind as I often find fish there. I remember guiding there in conditions only slightly less windy and fishing the lee where the wind hadn’t rippled the water. The unbroken water was only a small area but it was like a bonefish flat as we walked along shin deep casting to rising fish with a dry fly

That was the plan. We fished the carpark bank frst though as the wind was on our backs here. Dave had a fish swirl at his fly almost immediately. I had a lively take from a stone and lost my fly and that was about it. We decided to head over to one of the bays and try where there might be a bit more shelter. The wind was a bit like the stuff that can blow up in NZ and Dave had to hang on to his cap as it was blown off a few times.

After a walk and a few M & M’s (they seem to have taken over from Hobnobs as they are easier to transport) we hit the new bay. It was a bit more sheltered but still a little lively. We split about 50 yards apart and had a go. Distance isn’t really an issue on the brown trout lakes as the fish can often be close in but  I like to alternate and cast one straight out and then one parallel to the bank. I did notice that there was a drop off and and so made sure that I fished my fly right in case I got a fish following right in.

I kept working the water but was watching Dave. He was having some fun spey casting his line out and firing it a good long distance. It was a pleasure to watch. I whacked one out and felt just the slightest touch and struck. The fish shook and then decided it didn’t like what was happening. I managed to get it in, get a quick photo (not a very good one) and then slipped it back.

It was that sort of day. We had to work hard for fish but felt we did ourselves justice. Dave had brought some excellent pasties and we sat on some rocks, had a breather, chatted and enjoyed it all. I guess that is what it is all about.

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Dartmoor School of Fly Fishing Fly Fishing Kennick Lake and Guiding on Dartmoor

The Taw has shut for the year now. I could get all teary eyed and reflect on a season that has passed but there is no need, I’d much rather do that in December. There are still bass, pike and grayling to catch. I am having a quick breather before I get going again and there are things like cutting the grass that has got a bit long and trimming the hedges which we knew needed doing. We did the hedges today and I am really pleased that that one has been ticked off.

The other thing is that I have got back is tying a few flies. I haven’t had the time to tie as many as I would have liked and I have relied on a few shop bought patterns and the last few of my “specials” that have lurked at the back of the fly box. I have never carried many patterns as I don’t feel the need and I much prefer to tie one on and make subtle changes rather than going for something completely different. The change up fly will be the same but might be a little smaller, or perhaps even bigger, or just a little darker. Often this will do the job as the river is telling me what is hatching, or not hatching. So the clues are all there.

Geraldine casts for salmon

I have been giving the flies I have been using some thought and in some cases I have tweaked them just a little. I really like this part of fly tying. Sometimes I’ll tie 1/2 dozen identical copies (or as near as I can get) and then sometimes they sort of mutate a bit and I start thinking what if I tie a trailing shuck instead of a normal tail? This can be really good fun to do and  is great when I sit at the vice, look at the flies and think, yup, they look good. It is even nicer when the trout give them the thumbs up. The only downside of this is that when I am experimenting I only tie a few and we all know that the life expectancy of a fly decreases when you only have a few in the box and the trout are biting hard on them. Then there is always that tree that wants to grab them.

I’ll put in a few of the new ones as I am out fishing with a good friend of mine in a few days and I’ll give them a go. It sounds like the good weather we are having is on the turn now but it will be good to be out there. I spoke to Ray (the Dude) who was hot footing it back to Denmark after a trip to Miami and he reminded me that we were wetting a line in Montana this time last year. I think it is OK to get a bit sentimental about that but I tend to let go after a while. Still banging on about a trip like that after a few years means you need to go on a new one and we have one in the planning. That’s the great thing about fly fishing there are so many great adventures you can embark on. Some may be a long way away but some of the best ones can be right on your doorstep.

Paul with a Taw trout

So is it the end? No way. As I said at the beginning there are still a lot of fish to catch if you know where to look and I can’t wait to go after them!

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I think this is my 6th year of travelling up to fish the Deveron in Scotland. It is a wonderful river that is often overshadowed by the “big name” salmon rivers but I like it that way. It is the sort of place that is great if you know about it and you shout a bit about it Not too much that it draws too much attention.

This trip was different for a couple of reasons. Firstly that we decided not to fly. I am a little tired of the stealth costs of flying, especially when you are lugging a lot of gear with you. For this reason it made sense that we took the new fishing truck out to stretch its legs and I have always wanted to drive from the bottom of the country to pretty much the top.

The second reason is a pretty significant, and special one. It was to be Emma’s first fishing trip. I can’t really write how exciting this was to me and all the way up my fingers were crossed that we would have a good one.

We decided to split the upward leg of the journey by leaving on Saturday, staying in Kendal in the Lake District and then heading up to Banff on Sunday. Bar the usual traffic problems on the M6 we checked in to the hotel on Saturday night had a good dinner and excellent breakfast the next morning and headed north. That was, of course, before we made the obligatory stop at John Norris in Penrith. They very smartly open on a Sunday and the place was jammed full of fishermen making the trip up to Scotland who were eager to stock up on a few last minute essentials and even a few I saw who were getting completely kitted out for their fishing trips. It really is a nice store with friendly, helpful staff. It sort of reminded me of a store in Colorado The Dude and I visited a few years back that was the sort of place you wanted to visit before hitting the river.

As we made it just over the border into Scotland we passed over the Clyde as it snaked under the motorway. I think it was the third time we passed over it and looked to the left and it looked just like a stream from Mid West America. I really, really liked it!

When we got to the river on Monday it was just dropping, having come up a little. In my experience what usually happens is that after it has coloured it then goes a really dark peaty colour before clearing completely. As we are pretty much at the bottom of the river it means that the fish will run through pretty quick and so the top of the beats is the place to fish. That is where we started. We did see plenty of fresh fish along with a few coloured ones but no joys.

Circle Spey

On Tuesday we were towards the bottom and again we saw some fish but we didn’t really feel like we were in the game. I did have a trout followed next cast by a small sea trout.

Wednesday we were back at the top and in the afternoon Emma and I had the very top beat and the water was starting to just about clear a little. I was fishing a pool lower to Emma but heard her let out a yell and saw the rod briefly buck before a fish came off. I ran up quickly to help but the moment had passed. That was only before I had got back in and again Emma was briefly attached to a fish. The really nice thing was that she just laughed it off and made another beautiful cast.

Covering the water.....

It looked like the fish were on and not long after my line went tight and I lifted into a fish. I was guiding Paul just before we made the trip and he described the salmon he had caught as being plugged in to the electricity. That sounds just about right. Emma netted the fish, abeautiful hen, perfectly which we admired briefly before letting her continue her journey upstream.

One for me....dig the hat!

Thursday and we were back on the very lowest beats. Again Emma cast and fished beautifully and again was briefly attached to a fish that just didn’t stick. I had another small sea trout but despite covering the water well that was it for us.

Friday and the water looked really good but it felt a good deal cooler. Morning was quiet but after lunch it warmed a little and Emma chose her fly and decided the pool she wanted to fish. You know what? She was dead right as the line went tight and she lifted into a fish. I was standing by the truck putting an intermediate tip on my line as I had done with hers as we had fished fast sinkers all week.

The fish was hooked on the lip at the very tail of a pool and Emma expertly played the fish, keeping it under control. I headed out with a net and after a while the fish was netted. We thought we would keep the fish as it was a cock fish and Emma’s first salmon and so after dispatching, we hugged each other and I don’t mind admitting that I had a tear in my eye. It was the perfect moment and after all of the hard work Emma had put in she had been rewarded.

The reward for all of the hard work!

We had planned to fish the morning of the Saturday but thought that we would make the drive home in one go and so didn’t hit the water.

There were so many highlights of the trip but the main one is looking upstream and seeing Emma smile as she watched her line swing through the pool or being upstream of her and hearing her sing as she sent out another beautiful cast.

I don’t think it could have been a better trip. I think that the spinner outfished the fly that week but we wanted to fish the fly. It isn’t a snobbish, or certainly not an elitist thing – we just enjoyed making a nice cast feeling we were covering the water.

The other thing was that you don’t need a whole load of tackle or gear. As long as you can cover the water efficiently you are in with a chance. All we did was use a variety of differing sink tips and had doubles and various tubes. Emma used a Skagit set up which made life easy when you coupled it with a Circle or Double Spey.

Sometimes we get all hot under the collar with technicalities but there just isn’t always the need. We could easily say the Skagit line can land a little heavy on the water but when Emma had her first two takes it was in shallow, relatively clear water and the fish didn’t seem to mind too much. They are the ones who decide if we have done things correctly or not and they certainly don’t care how nice the loop was on the cast or if you have the latest “must have” fly on!

All in all though the fishing wasn’t the easiest but it was the most enjoyable. The truck was excellent (fishingmobile V.3), the food and accommodation outstanding and Emma, thank you so much for making this such a wonderful trip, I don’t think it could have been more perfect.

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“Call me Ishmael” is the opening line of Herman Melville’s epic story about one man’s search for a fish. I write this for two reasons. Firstly, if you don’t already know this line it will come in handy, especially if you are a quiz fan. I have seen it on a number of occassions and it is worth remembering especially if you are sitting opposite Chris Tarrant and you have only one last question to answer and they ask you what is the first line of Moby Dick. all I ask is that if it is the question don’t forget your friends!

The second is that there is a pool I know well which I work on that gives me a good idea if there are salmon up our neck of the woods. The upper Taw has been hard work for the salmon angler this year, with a majority of the rain seeming to fall on Exmoor and feeding the Taw’s major tributary, the Mole, with plenty of water. Further upstream of the junction we have had to kick our heels a bit and wait things out. I don’t mind and I hear there have been some good catches further down which I am really pleased to hear. It has felt that most of the rain that has fallen has been more localised and we get a small rise of coloured water and then it drops straight back down to low levels within a day.

So I sort of scout this pool  when I am working in a Captain Ahab sort of way and look for a sign of a salmon. The recent rain looks as though it has given Dartmoor a good soaking and the river has held its level pretty well. It has also really helped the trout fishing in the shallower spots. The beat out back of the hotel has some areas that needed some water and it has really got the fish biting.

Dave learns there is nowhere you can't put your fly!

Anyway, I had a day off and rather than writing from a computer that salmon might be about, I like to keep and eye out when I am working or go try it out myself when I get a chance. I got one of these when I had taken Friday off after a long spell of guiding. Emma has been my constant companion on these trips and I have loved having her along. She has bought a migratory license and has even been making a few nifty spey casts in the pools too.

Friday was about as good as it gets, higher water, cloudy and humid and we felt lucky. I went to my favourite pool. Perhaps we should call it Ahab’s as while we sat down we saw a salmon leap. It looked like it was a running fish and it looked like things might be going our way. I like to fish my switch rod in this pool as it is a good size and it is fun to fish.

Steve on a learn to fly fish day

With salmon angling I sort of think of it like having a baby. You get lots of advice. Some of it is worth hanging on to and some isn’t always. The great thing is that there are no rules. In my humble opinion as long as you A) Don’t spook the fish B) Cover the water C) The salmon are in a taking mood you are in with a chance. I know there are other parameters but if the basics are right you never know.

Anyway, I was fishing this pool and had walked down it  a bit when a good fish rolled about 10ft behind me. Emma had seen it too from where she was sitting on the bank. I don’t advise you do this if you are fishing with someone else but I quietly walked back, covered the spot and the salmon took. This sort of knocked rule A of my humble opinion out of the window but reinforced rule C.

Andrea learns to fly fish

The salmon took off and shot around the pool and leapt several times. We both got a good look and although a coloured fish we reckoned it was about 12lbs. I kept it out of snags that I knew about in the pool and thought I might just have it. The fish had other ideas and in the recent rain it seems a large branch was down in the first deep section of the head of the pool where it wrapped me.

I thought I had done everything but it just wasn’t enough. I don’t think I spoke for a bit. Emma did her best to console me and it just about worked.

If you are out with me and I get that far away look in my eye and mutter something or other you’ll know what I’ll be thinking!

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As much as I love the Taw I do love to jump in the truck and and guide on some other water that I know well. On Tuesday it was with Mike (AKA MFD) He is great company to be with both on the river and in the truck too.

He has a skill I would love. Actually, two skills I would love to have. The first is the ability to come back with a witty reposte. I am the sort of person who thinks I wish I had said that only when the smart reply I could have said pops into my head two days later. Mike just rolls them out with the added glint in the eye and I never tire of hearing his car ordering story. He is a regularly on the F & H water so make sure you ask him.

The second is more fishing related, actually it is fly tying related. The guy ties some seriously nice flies. I’m not saying this to be polite, he really does. They are beautifully tied and in perfect proportions. I always like to try and use my guests’ flies as there is nothing nicer than catching a fish on a fly you have tied yourself. I do have to confess though that 3 of MFD’s flies ended up on my fly patch. I know you’ll be reading Mike, so I promise I’ll get them back to you once they have caught a few more fish!

After a breakfast stop of a sausage sandwich, the food of any serious sportsman, we hit the river. I know Mike likes to fish a dry but it was a little cool and no signs of anything hatching so I tied on something a little bigger and juicier to make it worthwhile for the fish.

The morning was a great one with plenty of fish and a quick pub lunch. The afternoon we fished somewhere different and although the fishing wasn’t as hot Mike had some nice fish, both grayling and trout, before we headed for the drive back and some excellent banter.

I was working next day on the Taw so we stopped by Eggesford Bridge so I could check the water and look for salmon. Speaking of salmon, I’ll be telling you about my very near miss. I think I can just about speak about it now!

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