Flants:

According to national radio, folks are calling flying ants “flants” these days...  Now, we’ve already had these little beggars swarming over Cumbria and given recent weather trends, I thought that was the last of them for 2102.  However, despite frequent dollops of rain, humidity levels remained high which suits these winged armies.  Consequently they seem to have found their second wind.  Admittedly, I failed to connect with one of those biblical events, but enough adults landed on water for me to dig out an ant pattern of sorts-namely my NDT (next Fly of the Month).  Whatever fly you choose, be sure its backside penetrates the surface film, just like the swamped natural below.  Paul~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~With their bulbous abdomen, ants tumbling to the water quickly become swamped.  With little chance of escape now, they’re sitting ducks for watchful trout.  Obviously, our imitations should mimic this posture~

Sept Fly Fishing Courses:

River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey on Sat 22^nd Sept 2012

Join A.A.P.G.A.I. instructor Tony Riley and Myself for a day on the River Wharfe, covering all aspects of river trout fishing. The morning session will be spent discussing watercraft, basic entomology, tackle selection, leader set up, knots and casting techniques. Following lunch, participants will disperse for fishing with one-to-one tuition concentrating on tactics of your choice.

Cost: £135.00 per person (includes: lunch, refreshments and fishing permit)

Tackle available on request

Bigland Hall Trout Fishery on Sunday 23^rd Sept 2012

Tony Riley and myself will address stillwater trout tactics at Bigland Hall with an emphasis on imitative fishing. The morning session will be spent discussing; basic entomology, tackle selection, leader set up, knots, casting techniques and the trout’s habitat. Following lunch, participants will disperse for fishing with one-to-one tuition concentrating on tactics of your choice.

Cost: £110.00 per person (includes: lunch, refreshments and fishing permit). Tackle available on request

For details and bookings email paulprocter@btinternet.com or call: 0786 665 4091

Gripping Stuff:

All this damn rain has kept me off running water for almost a week now.  Aside from a spot of fly tying the only thing keeping me sane are regular casting jaunts.  Funny, when you take rising trout out of the equation your focus shifts to the sheer sensation of fly casting.  One thing which really stood out was the grip on a fly rod, or more precisely, how gentle this should be!  Now feeling is both subjective and unique to every single one of us.  However, something we can all relate to is toothpaste (bear with me here).  A great analogy to adhere to when holding a rod is imagine you’re grasping a tube of toothpaste minus its lid.  Your grip should be snug, yet relaxed enough to prevent toothpaste oozing from its nozzle.

 

 

~Toothpaste tubes might might not throw dynamic loops… but they’re great for teaching a relaxed grip~ 

From a Land Down Under:

Visiting the Land of the Long White Cloud for the past three seasons, I became very good friends with top New Zealand guide and fishing addict Ian Cole.  Hoping to avoid the NZ winter, Ian planned a visit to the UK for three months, yet all it’s done since he arrived is rain …“talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire”…  Despite high water, Ian was more than up for exploring a few rivers.  Granted, we were pushed to headwaters or tiny side streams, but thankfully the trout showed willing. 

 

 

Aside form the obvious factor of modest sized specimens our fishing is very different from Down Under.  Ian couldn’t believe the huge number of trout which responded to a his dry fly.  I too was flabbergasted, as he seemed determined to throw huge, bushy Wulff patterns which the Dales trout went bonkers for. 

 

 

 

 

 

~Some way short of the NZ apes we encounter though a perfectly formed fish nonetheless and according to my Kiwi friend “trout are trout wherever you are”…a sound maxim to live by.

 

 

~Ian: www.fly-fishing-guide-wanaka-new-zealand.co.nz reckons our waters are much more intimate than the brawling rivers of NZ and given free reign he’d happily wander for mile upon mile, annoying the local trout population with that damn Wulff or Humpy pattern of his~ 

Bela Bank High:

Hailing from deepest Somerset, Toby Merigan of Funky Fly Tying was up doing the rounds and I was keen to show him what we had to offer here in Cumbria.  As is always the case when guests visit, our rivers fail to behave themselves…  With rising water on the Eden and other places, we found refuge on the Bela catchment.  Clarity might well have been good but levels remained high.  Amazingly, a good few trout seemed prepared to poke their noses out and meet our dry flies.  No whoppers today, but at least I fulfilled the promise of showing Toby rising fish, something he’s been deprived of further south.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Toby reaches out to claim another Bela Brown~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…By his own admission, built like a wrestler, trout never look big next to Toby…

Careful Planning:

Planning a visit to the river has been more of a science rather than good judgement lately.  Monitoring countless weather forecasts then praying levels have dropped to something like a reasonable height, it was a case of striking when the iron’s hot.  With the Yorkshire Ure in good fettle I nipped over to meet Neil Whitehead and Paul Cowan to point them in the right direction.  Dry fly was the order of the day and the pair quickly got their eye in.  Neil was first to score when a solid 16” trout sipped down a tiny black Klink. Paul got in on the action too though he found a size 16 olive F fly worked a treat.  Despite a nagging downstream breeze coupled with fairly persistent rain a respectable number of trout and grayling were toppled during a modest flush of BWOs.  At least all this high water isn’t preventing fly from hatching.  Paul~

 

 

 

 

 

~Diligently drifting a small olive F fly down foaming current lanes, Paul Cowan hits into another good fish~

 

 

 

 

 

 

~When it comes to rattling out grayling, Crocodile Dundee can’t hold a candle to Neil Whitehead~

Is this River X or Y..?

For a year or so I’ve been visiting a couple of rivers within easy striking distance of home. Granted they might not contain truly enormous trout but they’re feisty beggars and free rising too.  Best of all though they respond well even in high water or during sultry summer afternoons (a rarity I know).  I popped along the other day to enjoy a few hours of what is best described as blistering sport.  Every single fish fell to dry flies with my NDT and a small tan Klinkhamer coming up trumps. It’s nice to have such places up your sleeve though a couple of buddies (Mr Bond and The Silverback) are itching to known their location.  Well this is about as close as they’ll get for now… 

~A trout smacks into my dry fly close to the far bank~

 

…Pretty as a picture and plump too…wild trout like this for a tenner a day is outstanding value, a bargain you won’t find on ebay Mr Bond… 

River Fly Fishing Course:

Sat 25^th Aug 2012

Join A.A.P.G.A.I. Master Instructors Paul Procter and Tony Riley for a day on the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey.  The course will cover all aspects of river trout fishing. The morning session will be spent discussing watercraft, basic entomology, tackle selection, leader set up, knots and casting techniques. Following lunch, participants will disperse for fishing with one-to-one tuition from Paul and Tony concentrating on tactics of your choice.

Cost: £135.00 per person (includes: lunch, refreshments and fishing permit)

For further details and bookings please contact me on: 0786 665 4091 or email: paulprocter@btinternet.com

Somewhere Secluded:

~Scoping the river from up high before dropping in to a likely pool~

 

At last, a brief interlude in the wet weather has allowed our rivers to settle down nicely.  With flows almost back to something like normal levels, I headed out to a little known area in search of trout.  Beneath the canopy trout could be heard sipping down tiny flies.  My NDT (non-descript terrestrial) did the business on smooth glides while a large Klinkhamer came to my rescue in more streamy parts.  Nothing huge today, but fit fish nonetheless that when hooked scooted about all over the pool, putting a decent bend in my 3-weight rod.  It’s nice to be tempting trout at the surface once more.  Paul~

~This plump trout nobbled a size 12 Klinkhamer~

Rising Water…!

Only months ago forecasters were predicting a drought and hosepipe bans affected many areas.  Trying to keep ahead of the game, my column in Trout & Salmon covered low water conditions and how best to tackle them-talk about open the flood gates… Studying river levels reads like a mountain range as the graph is a series of peaks and troughs.  Sadly, conditions have never got back to what you’d term “ideal”.  Sod it, enough was enough and I had to wet a line.  Two days ago the reading came in at 0.36m yet by the time I arrived this had crept to 0.42m (boarder line).  Before the deluge hit proper I managed a brace of trout on dry fly then a rising water carrying silt called for nymphs or streamers to stay in touch with trout.  Thankfully the fish seemed keen to feed.  That was until conditions were totally blown out at 0.69m, a now angry river.  Drying off, I felt chuffed with my efforts, especially against such odds.   Paul~

 

 

 

 

 

~One to the dry fly early on~

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Granted this trout may have snapped up something big, but to connect with such fish in adverse conditions is a bonus I’ll take everyday of the week~

 

 

 

 

 

~Three hours later the reading was 0.68m and our day was done (note the push of water compared to earlier)~