Fancy trying something different?

www.adventureflyfishinguk.co.uk

So when are these easterlies finally going to give up? Hot, bright, windy days can make for tough fishing, whether it is drying out rivers or windswept coasts the challenge for a fishing guide is to be able to put their finger on exciting fishing whatever the weather. Here in Devon we are blessed with a plethora of different fishing opportunities and can invariably track down some sport most days. But to find it you must first look and when I am not teaching or guiding I spend a great deal of time searching out new opportunities. And I have found a great one!

Remember that beautiful private lake on the edge of Exmoor I told you about? The one that we use for teaching on? The one stocked with hard fighting rainbow trout? Well we have another one right next to it! This one is small, about an acre I reckon, but beautifully positioned in a woodland clearing and full of cracking carp.

I had the opportunity to spend a few hours there the other evening and had a whale of a time! Sighting big carp cruising under the surface can certainly get the pulse racing. It's not easy though, I found you had to deliver the fly accurately, quickly and often at range to stand any hope of getting a response. I found it even harder to get a hook hold, I was watching the fly disappear into the mouth but when I set the hook - nothing. These fish haven't seen too many fishermen and certainly no fly fishers but they were really skittish. One fluffed chance would result in a huge boil as the fish bolts and every fish in the vicinity ghosts away. It took a little bit of time to realise that I wasn't actually puling the hook out of the mouth of the fish but actually out of the hole in the water that the carp's big old mouth makes as it sucks in the offering. So waiting even longer was the required fix - easier said than done...

But when you get it right, HOLD ON!

These fish gave the best scrap I have had for some time, I was taken to the backing on a couple of occasions, one fish even made it to the refuge under the roots on the opposite bank. My best fish was somewhere around 12lbs in weight, I saw bigger - much bigger.

Not everybody's idea of pretty, but I like them.

A fantastic bit of 'alternative' fly fishing. Adventure Fly Fishing UK offers guided carp fishing on this private lake, why not give it a try? This can be booked as a whole day, half day or incorporated in a day's fly fishing for other species. Just drop me a line to discuss options.

Derrick