Devon School of Fly Fishing Team blog

It has been an interesting time and I have had to fit work around when the river has been fishable. Although I have lost a bunch of days there have been a few opportunities and the fishing has been good when the windows appeared. The river might be fishable for a bit and then more rain on Dartmoor would see the it rise and colour. It is easy to get sucked into the old wives sort of stuff about things being delayed by a number of weeks but nature marches to its own beat and to those not on the river it might look like things might be late. On Friday I saw a few yellow mays and yesterday the mayfly (danicas) got going. I saw a few sail down the river and they were unmolested but it will only take a couple of the days for the fish to get zeroed in on them. At the very worst these are two days late.

I was guiding John. It was one of the windows I was talking about and the river was just about fishable but we had to venture further upstream. In the truck he asked me about hawthorn fly and I said they don’t really feautre that much as the river I guide on is heavily tree lines which stops a lot of the poor flying terrestrial fly from getting blown on to the water. It was a tough morning and although we’d had a few fish we’d worked really hard for them. I had though, noticed a couple of hawthorn float by. After lunch I took John to a pool I really like. There were a couple of fish rising and after they refused the usual suspects I found a couple of hawthorn patterns lurking in the back of the fly box. John went on to catch 6 fish from the pool and it made what was a good day into a really good one.

I was also guiding Brian and a similar thing happened. This time though they were splashy aggressive rises that left us little doubt they were on hawthorn. I’d tied a few more the night before but when Brian covered the fish there were no takes. The fish were hitting the flies upstream of us before I could see them but we changed a few patterns just in case I’d got suckered in to thinking it was hawthorn. We tried quite a few different flies but nothing. I noticed a mating pair of hawthorns that were on the water. Were the fish getting two flies for the price of one? I don’t know but the rises eased a little which made me think we were in with a chance. I tied the hawthorn back on and we were in business. Perhaps there weren’t as many coming down and the fish decided one fly is better than none.

I also have to admit that I had a slight stumble and shipped a little water. I haven’t done that for a few years and knew I was due one. It was the sort that you tell your guiding pals about as it wasn’t a head first, fully submerged fall but thought I should come clean.

So it looks like things are starting to really get going on the mayfly front and we are exactly on track, hopefully, some great fishing!

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With just under a month until the trout season kicks off here the countdown is now underway. I have been out walking the river beats checking out what needs snipping and trimming. I really enjoy this and love getting into the river for the first time in a while and know that when I am working I’ll be pleased that the low hanging branch that I snipped off will make my clients’ casts a little bit easier.

I’m not one of those who goes in with the chainsaw blazing as cutting things back a little keeps everything looking the right side of natural and also means there are some nice spots for the sea trout to hang out during the day. Keeping on top of things on a yearly basis ensures the start of each season is as I described, just a bit of trimming.

As I mentioned in the last blog I have been doing a little tying. I plan the tying around the order of the hatches so when the season ended I tied some grayling flies but also tied up flies for Large Dark Olives, both dry and nymph, and then Grannom. I have been playing with the emerger stage as this is the bit that interests the trout the most. Next up Mayflies. I have plenty of duns and spinners but again have been thinking about what will trigger the fish to hit the emerging dun. Caddis really starts to get going after the Mays so it has been balloon caddis and bullet heads. Then it is the midges. This is where I am up to and have been tying some tiny size 24s that I am really pleased with. I’ve a few terrestrials to do but having sorted the boxes this morn everything looks in good shape.

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I was due to pop out with Toby for a few Westcountry grayling and was heading over to meet him when the phone went. It turned out that  his car had been broken into and some gear stolen. He was understandably pretty upset and had some stuff to sort out as a result of it.

I always try and look for the best in people but I can’t for the life of me understand what motivates people to feel they are entitled to take other people’s property. They were probably opportunist thieves and possibly had little idea of what they had taken. I know a couple of the rods that were taken had sentimental value and I am sure people who steal don’t think about things like this, or even care. I think that if these sorts of people are caught they should be made to confront their victims just to see what effect their actions have had. It is easy to steal something when you can’t see the rightful owner but how would they feel when they have to look their victims in the eye?

I was half way to the river and didn’t think I’d be of any help to Toby so I went on ahead. It was the first time I had fished this river without him and it felt a little strange.

The weather was a bit murky and the river had a very slight tinge of colour to it but it was perfectly fishable. I rigged up and tied on a dry and nymph duo style and cracked on. I had a couple of small fish nudge the dry pretty quickly but things went quiet for a bit. I worked my way up the river, focussing on the slacker areas of water and the slightly slower flows. The water wasn’t clear enough to stalk the fish so I worked on instinct and the fish started to come.

I picked up fish as I worked my way upstream. I didn’t knock the cover off of the ball or anything but picked up fish here and there. I spoke to Toby to see how things were going and he had found some of his gear down an alleyway so there was even some good news. He even talked about popping along if he could make his old waders waterproof in time.

It was past lunch and I fished up to where I normally get out but thought I’d try for one more and head back, working on the basis that if Toby did turn up it would be a shorter walk for him. I managed to get caught up in a tree in a really overgrown bit so hopped out and got in further upstream. There was a nice gentle curve in the river and I cast my fly upstream.

The dry dipped and I set the hook. I thought I had hooked a big out of season trout that first headed upstream and then down. There wasn’t much I could do with the fish but managed to keep it out of a couple of nasty snags and netted a beautiful grayling. I managed a couple of pics and slipped the fish back.

The weather was on the turn and any fish I caught after this one wouldn’t have done it justice so I snipped my flies off and headed home. I only wish Toby was there to have seen the fish.

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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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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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Last weekend was my birthday. It is the sort of occassion that I get as excited about as I used to but I think this one was one of the best. Getting up early to a beautiful sunny morning I opened some great presents from Emma and Charlie and then sat down to a magnificent breakfast and some chill out time in the garden. We had some birthday cake for lunch and Emma suggested I hit the river to catch a few birthday trout. It sounded like a great idea and so I did just that.

The Taw

The river, although low, was looking good and I knew that grannom had been coming off just around lunchtime so I knew I was on the water at the right time.

Perfect timing!

I rigged up some bamboo and headed down stream to a favourite pool. It is really nice when you get there and the fish are just starting to rise.

A vintage Bannister rod

Judging by the rises they were at the early stage of the hatch and were taking the emerging pupa. I tied on one of my easy-tie balloon caddis and a really simple grannom pupa. I stuffed the first take but managed to get a few more out of the pool.

A Taw trout

I fished for a few hours and caught a few and had what was just about the perfect birthday!

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It is always nice to get to fish or guide on a new water. I was down on the south side of the Moor to meet up with David who has over 1 1/2 miles of some really nice water and wanted to see how we would approach and fish it for migratory fish. It was a really nice piece of water with a mixture of deep, shaded, slow pools that looked the ideal spot for sea trout and some classic salmon pools too. David covered it and fished it really well. It was one of those bits of water that, despite the water being low, you are always in with a chance.

David fished his stretch of water!

Yesterday I hit a new piece of chalkstream. Small, overgrown, low, clear and intimate. The sort of water where you have to spot the fish and creep up on them. We fished light with a one weight and worked hard on the stealth stuff. You know what? It worked pretty well. Despite the fish up there not having fully woken up we looked for the shallower water where fish were lying and offered them a CDC emerger. The only downside of this simple, but hugely deadly fly is that once they have had a fish you need to nip them off and tie on another. I had at least three of them being rotated on my fly patch during the day.

The grannom have really been flooding off of the Taw and the fish have been on them. We have a new section of water for our fishing school which is about 1 1/2 miles long. It is lower down the Taw and has some nice salmon pools and spots for sea trout along with brown trout. I have walked it a few times now and reckon it is longer than that as the river twists and turns but there is a great amount of water for our guests to fish, be it migratory or non migratory fishing they are after. This is along with all the great water that the hotel has so I reckon we have nearly 8 miles of private water to show anglers now.

I was guiding further down the Taw with Richard the other day. He has a cottage right by the river and wanted to learn how to fish the water for salmon. I was happy to help and showed him the pools and how best to approach them and how to fish them under differing water levels. It was one of the first bright, sunny days but we had a good go and it was nice walking back to Richard’s cottage for a pizza and sit in the garden before hitting the river again. Things weren’t to be but I’d mentioned that on the bright days it is worth heading down early to the river. I had done this a bit last year and it is really nice being there as the sun comes up. Anyway, Richard did just this and I had a call early the next day saying that he had landed his first salmon. He thinks it was a really well mended kelt but it is a great start to the second day of his salmon fishing career. My advice to him when I left him was to listen to everything anyone tells him about salmon fishing but don’t be afraid to do something from the left field. That is what he did and it turned out well for him. Well done Richard!

Richard swings a cascade

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Fly Fishing in Devon is starting to get going. Cooler temps in both air and water has meant things have sometimes been a little slower than normal to get going but if you work at it there are fish to be caught!

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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Heinz and Daniel joined us for a day’s fly fishing down here in Devon. They were over from Austria and the first thing I noticed was that Daniel, at 14, spoke perfect English. I was pleased as my Austrian is a little rusty!

Heinz is a very keen fly fisher who likes to fish small streams at home and after talking for just a short time over a coffee I could see we were in for a good day. Daniel had an aim, which he was hoping to make come true, that he would catch a trout on a fly. I was going to do my best to try and make this happen.

Daniel had not really cast a fly rod before but was a natural and was soon casting a nice loop. Clearly taking after his Dad he was keen to hit the river and that was just what we did. I showed him how to wade safely and a few of my favourite river casts and we started.

Sometimes putting a newcomer in front of moving water can be a little intimidating and I had given this some thought. A week previously my good friend Karl had been down for a couple of days where we had fished long and hard for trout and sea trout. Karl is an amazing fisherman and can tempt fish where you think they won’t be or shouldn’t be! He fishes the Welsh Dee a fair bit and likes to fish spider patterns a fair bit. I have played with them a bit and sat and watched him fish a few pools and picked up some great tips. He is also one of the best tyers around and kindly sent me way too many of his favourite patterns. I happened to have some with me so tied them on for Daniel and explained how we would fish the pool in front of us.

It didn’t take long for Daniel’s dream to come true and a small brownie was on the end of the line. We continued fishing this way with Heinz fishing a dry and nymph upstream. I happened to pop downstream to see him as he was playing a lively 11 incher. I offered to take a photo of the fish for him but he cares a lot for them and wanted to get it back quickly. I like that!

The pattern of picking up fish continued and although it wasn’t a fish a cast it was pretty consistent. As we had moved further up to a new pool I changed Heinz’ rig a little making the dropper a little longer and the flash back pheasant tail a little heavier. The reason for this was that the day before I had been guiding Nick over from NZ and we had picked up a small sea trout on a dry and moved a nicer fish on a nymph.

He expertly made a cast into the right spot and moved a fish straight away but sadly missed it. We waited a bit and made another cast and this time the dry dipped and Heinz was attached to an acrobatic sea trout of around 3lb. He had him on for a while but the fish managed to wrap him around a rock and was gone. It was fun though!

Daniel had been going great guns and picked up another few fish and was really liking this fly fishing thing. Looks like I’ll be using spiders a whole lot more!!

The rivers are shot today and I was due to be out with Dave from Portland, a regular at the school, but sadly it wasn’t to be. I was out guiding Mike for some guided sea trout fishing last night and we had to head back at midnight as the river started to rise and colour up. It means I have been able to see a little bit of the Ashes but I’d rather be on the river!

I’ve been playing with a few new parachute patterns now that we are getting blue winged olive and light olive hatches and even the odd sea trout seem to approve.

Lots happening and keep an eye on the Latest News  page of the main website for an update.

I was guiding Richard yesterday. Richard is an excellent caster and fisherman and had just come back from a very succesful trip to the U.S. He was after some guiding so to try and match up I decided on a two centre trip. We hit the Bray in the moring and the Taw in the afternoon. We had a few in the morning and headed back to the hotel for lunch. Lunch involved the usual ribbing from the guys who work there about what I was having for lunch as most days I have the prawn cocktail sandwich. I thought I’d shock them and ordered a ham sandwich. This clearly threw the kitchen into disarray but the ham matched the prawn for quality. The thing I do like is that when the chefs know it is me they don’t bother with coleslaw or salad it is nicely piled high with crisps. Perfect food for a hungry fisherman!

So there we have one example of going outside the box, the next was after lunch and the weather had closed in and cooled off a fair bit. Richard had picked up a few fish on the nymph but things looked to be slowing.  I wanted to make it worthwhile for the fish to have a look at our dry so I went big and brassy and tied on a size 10 stimulator. Richard looked at me and laughed as we had been fishing size 16′s and 20′s earlier but was amazed to see it worked pretty well and fish were hitting it greedily. We even saw a fish that made the 12 incher he caught earlier look small as we watched it follow the fly down stream and have a go. This was despite the river carrying some colour so I guess it must have been a good one.

As is always the case, the fish don’t read the books and if you make it worthwhile sometimes that long shot does pay off!

Richard with a Taw brownie

Neil's first river fish!

Trevor's first river brownie!