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Well, that's the end of the brown trout season for us for another year. All in all, it's been a very successful season. We have had plenty of high and lows like most seasons bring. Good fish landed and lost. Good company and guests who have enjoyed their experiences with us. Fingers crossed for another top season next year. So what now? Well the trout seem to know that they are safe again! Typically, as a few of us went out for a cast last night the river was bubbling with fish. Where were they when we wanted them? They were rising and grabbing the bits of wool as we were casting. The week before, they wouldn't even look at anything unless it resembled an actual fly!
There is still plenty of good fishing ahead of us, and this is my time of the year, so I can't wait. Gone are the lazy day's of summer, now it's time to pull the hood up, face the weather and give it your all. Looking out of the window, autumn is defiantly here. Wind, rain and a drop in air temperature. Bit like summer then! We've got a few days planned for the coming week. I'm off up the M5 to meet up with good mate Toby from ' Funky fly tying products' to see what the grayling are up to in his local rivers. I think he said we were going to fish river Tone in Somerset. I've not fished it before so it will make a nice change. Talking with him on the phone, he tells me that fly selection is pretty much the same as on the rest of the graying rivers down here. So I will take the usual selection of dries, spiders, and bugs.
A few bugs which will hopefully get chomped in the river Tone........
...... or better still a few dries, if they want to rise!
I ought to get around to tying a few more flies really, some of the boxes are looking a bit thin after the trout season. I have just received a good selection of Varivas hooks, so there is no excuse really. The British fly fair is only round the corner as well. So I think I will make the trip back home and spend the weekend at the show. It's good to go and catch up with mates and see what's going on in the world of quality fly tying. Jim, Lee and Tony will be making the trip down, so I'm sure there will be a bit of casting going on. AAPGAI usually have a good presence at the show, so for anyone who is interested in this kind of thing, or is new to the sport it is defiantly worth a visit.
At the moment we are planning a few new 'adventures' for next year. We are thinking along the lines of the Three Peaks Challenge, where you climb the three highest mountains in the UK. First is the drive up to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis, then to England to climb Scafell Pike, then over to Wales to finish off with Snowdon. But instead of climbing mountains, we are thinking of fish. I'm sure it's been done before. But just thinking aloud, perhaps a salmon in Scotland, a brown trout or pike from England, then a sewin (sea trout) from Wales. We might even finish off back in Devon or Cornwall with a bass from the coast and a BBQ on the beach for tea. Like the original three peaks challenge it will be a non-stop journey, driving and fishing, and aiming to finish in a certain time. Or is that trying to be a bit ambitious? I suppose a bit of planning will be needed. Making sure we have enough munchies for the trip will be critical! It would be nice to think that we could do this event for charity. So I will get my thinking cap on, and see if anybody would be interested in sponsoring us and how we could arrange it.
From here in Scotland..........
.....to here in Cornwall, fishing all the way!
Along similar lines, I think there will be a few grand slams thrown in from time to time. Again nothing new, but were thinking of a few twists. One of the aims in mind is to fish various locations throughout the SW in a day and catch coarse, game and saltwater fish on the fly. At the moment we are working out routes, rivers, still water locations, tide times, and the species of fish which we would like to target. I've got my fish in mind, but a couple of the other guys have got their own ideas to make it more interesting and challenging. I hope they don't come back with a 'one' fly rule! Saying that, I'm pretty confident that we could catch a few fish using the same fly. Certainly bass, pike and pearch would hit the same fly, and if we opted to fish a still water for trout, maybe we could tempt a big brown on the same pattern. But when it comes to catching the river fish, then things would be a bit more tricky. I've never caught a grayling or wild river brown on a size 2/0 bait fish fly before. You never know! But I've got a hunch!
I will keep you updated with the events and dates, just in case anybody wishes to join us on our 'fishing bum's road trip', or fancy the challange of the grand slam. I can see it turning into a Natinal lampoons fishing trip! But that's the fun of it.
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