~Wading the flats in search of Bonefish~

Heading for the Sun:

A bunch of us are flying out Mexico for the next couple of weeks, heading down to Ascension Bay in search of all kinds of exotic fish. Although bonefish, tarpon, snook and the elusive permit will be our main quarry, hopefully we'll encounter other species like barracuda and even sharks. Updates will be posted from early December.

Paul~

~Jim Fearn demonstrates the finer points with a double hander~

Busy Fly Fair:

The BFFi took place last weekend in Stoke. With the weather almost behaving itself, record crowds attended, making this a successful event. AAPGAI instructors passed on invaluable knowledge during demonstrations on the casting pond. The line up included Jim Fearn, Gary Coxon, Karl Humphries, Gary Champion, Lee Cummings, Tony Riley and myself. Indoors the Fly Tiers Row proved as popular as ever where it was possible to watch World class demonstrators. Not surprisingly, AAPGAI Maters Paul Little wowed the crowd with a stunning display of Spey style flies. I based myself on the Wild Trout Trust stand were it was encouraging to see a positive response from the public.

Paul~

~WTT Director Shaun Leonard manning the stand~

~Marc Petitjean and John Glynn share a joke on the banks of the Wye~

Wye Comes Good:

With many other rivers bursting their banks, John Glynn, Marc Petitjean and myself steal a day in deepest Derbyshire. Although the Wye was slightly tinged, grayling responded well to a modest hatch of Large Dark Olives. A size 16 olive Paradun cast upstream and left to drift, tempted a number of fish. Of course, the day didn't pass without the heavens opening. By 2pm fairly persistent rain set in, concluding the hatch. A switch to small nymphs allowed us to connect with more grayling. However, having enjoyed success with dry flies throughout the morning, it didn't quite have the same appeal.

Paul~

~A nice Wye grayling taken on dry fly~

~Marc Petitjean tying another killing fly~

An evening with Marc Petitjean:

Prior to the BFFi, Marc Petitjean agreed to visit the South Cumbria branch of the FDG. He gave a detailed demonstration on the history of CdC flies and included many of his ground breaking flies. It's always fascinating to get another fisherman's slat on flies, especially someone like Marc who successfully travels throughout Europe. Primarily, his tyings trade on sparseness with some intriguing ways of incorporating CdC fibres.

Paul~

~Howard Taylor demonstrating knots for a keen group~

Great Grayling Day:

The weather held for our first Grayling Day this winter. The rivers too were in fine fettle, albeit it low and gin clear, which certainly made grayling that bit more edgy. Despite being flighty, plenty of grayling were caught and some impressive fish at that. Small nymphs were the order of the day and pitched delicately upstream they accounted for most of the catch. Those brave enough to try a dry fly tempted a handful of fish too. A hearty lunch set us up for the afternoon when most people explored the upper Test in search of grayling shoals.

Paul~

~Discussing fly life and the graylings' environment~