Stealing a Day!

With grim weather up North, it was worth staying South after the Game Fair for an extra day. Fellow AAPGAI instructor Jim Williams treated me to a session on the intimate Gloucestershire Coln. Flowing clear this stunning little limestone stream allowed us to observe both trout and grayling going about their daily business. Of course, I was naturally drawn to some impressive grayling holding in the numerous small pockets dotted throughout this stretch. With little in the way of a hatch (not that I'd expect one during the midday heat of July), nymphing was the order of the day. Presented with care, most fish couldn't resist a size 14 shrimp. However, the larger specimens definitely had a liking for a size 16 beaded biot nymph. With some plump grayling under my belt the long haul home was far more bearable. I can strongly recommend the Coln and anyone interested in a days tuition & guiding can contact Jim

Paul ~

CLA Game Fair:

Thankfully, the weather just about held for the duration of the recent CLA Game Fair. It was nice to see many old friends and to make new ones too. Such an event allows fishermen to try all the latest kit, before parting with their hard earned money. Jim Williams, Ben Dixon and I were kept busy on the Orvis stand with customers keen to give the many rods a whirl. Although camping on site can be convenient, it's also tiring, as much of the talk goes on well into the early hours..... Paul~

~Kellie, Charlotte and Jim demonstrating their cooking skills~

~A promising summer evening on the Eden~

Blue Winged Olives in full swing

Despite the recent changeable weather, in between floods the Eden has produced some magical hatches of Blue Winged Olives. Thankfully, this is one species that tends to be quite reliable, when evening after evening of sport can be expected. Just the other night, whilst a hatch of BW-Os wasn't the best, everything came good with a spinner fall in the gathering gloom. I was treated to a good hour of excellent dry fly fishing. Checking my watch, it was 11.22pm when I left the river, so don't be in too much of a hurry to get home, otherwise you chance missing some of the season's high-points.

Paul~

~Vernon Pearce gets amongst them on the Test~

Test in Good Fettle:

The recent unsettled spell isn't all doom and gloom. Whilst my home rivers remain high the Chalkstreams flowed nice and clear. Vernon Pearce was kept busy during the day with a modest hatch of Blue Winged Olives. Fishing the upper reaches of the Test, he was treated to some quality sport with both browns and grayling. A small CdC dry tempted the fish, especially towards evening time, when scores of duns and spinners were on the wing.

Paul~

~An intimate Test carrier, home to some surprisingly large grayling~

Hefty Grayling:

It's usually said that the grayling of our Northern rivers are often slender and light when it comes to length/weight ratio. However, Slovenian grayling (above) are typically fat with small heads, an indication of the rich feeding on offer in many of the unspoilt streams. This chunky fish couldn't resist a carefully presented shrimp and incredibly, several fish of similar stamp followed during a rainy afternoon on the Ohrb. Note the orange tinge to the tail and anal fin which certainly makes the Adriatic grayling an attractive and highly prized quarry amongst game fishers.

Paul~

Sava Bohinjka comes good:

Once more, heavy rain scuppered our plans, we hopped on the train to Bohinjka and found the Sava system hadn't missed those nasty storms either. Despite running high, thankfully the Sava was clear. A healthy push of water restricted much of our fishing to the margins and here we found grayling willing to move to large dries like Klinkhamers and Elk Hair Caddis patterns. During our session water clarity improved further making it possible to actual target fish be sight, which is always an exciting form of fishing. Although little surface fly was evident, grayling were tempted up with carefully presented flies drifted tight against the tree line.

Water encroaching into the trees on the Sava. Paul~

Take the Train:

Towering mountains are part of Slovenia's attraction. However, many of the mountain passes take an age to negotiate by car (not always a good thing when you're going fishing...). Thankfully, a few trains operate, cutting out miles of road. Taking this train to Bohinj meant a 20 minute journey, which would have been 2 hours by car. Obviously then, one can sit back with the knowledge that even more time can be spent sat by a river!

Paul~

Slovenia-Idrijca comes good:

Prolonged spells of rain in Slovenia this year rendered many rivers high and coloured. Despite this the headwaters of a few streams remained fishable. Here, Slovenian ace Iztok Badalic gets amongst some feisty brown trout in the upper reaches of the Idrijca. Cooler than normal temperatures at this time of year certainly spurred on fly hatches and we were treated to evening after evening of Blue-Winged Olive spinner falls. Iztok takes the light line approach to extremes, often preferring a 1-weight outfit, he certainly gets his string pulled when hooking trout of this ilk.

Paul~