Dads

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It is Father's day on Sunday. There, that is the public service element of Adventure Fly Fishing UK, a reminder for you to buy the card or to book the table at the local carvery, we are so much more than a fly fishing instruction and guiding service...!

I have never been very good at remembering Father's Day, I tend to recoil at the commercialisation of something that should be said far more often than once a year - thank you. The main thing I have to thank my Dad for is getting me interested in fish and fishing.

My Dad has always been a keen fisherman, when fatherhood struck in the form of my brother and I it threatened to seriously curtail his sport. In order to continue he took us with him. Some of my earliest memories are being on the riverbank with my Dad, watching as he fished for sewin (that’s the welsh word for sea-trout) with spinners or worm. I remember my Dad cutting me a hazel stick and teaching me to catch eels when the river was in raging spate by trotting earthworms into the slack water in and around tree roots. I soon progressed onto a real fishing rod and remember catching my first trout, again on worm, I struck the bite so hard that the fish left the water like a polaris missile and flew over my head, becoming detached from the hook mid air. I remember excitedly telling my Dad that I was sure it was a trout because I saw something silver streaking passed. It was some time later that we tracked that fish down in the hedge behind. To me it was the most beautiful fish; it had the biggest, reddest spots I have seen on a trout, ever.

It must have been hard work for my Dad, just getting me to the river bank couldn’t have been easy, I remember riding the bus, sitting amongst the shoppers and commuters trying not to accidentally hit anybody with my fishing rod, whilst trying to check on the well being of my tub full of earthworms (again) without anybody noticing. I remember countless journeys to the river and the estuary on the back of Dad’s bicycle including a close encounter with an angry wasp’s nest on one particular journey. And then once he got me there it couldn’t have been easy to educate, enthuse and entertain an 8 year old whilst trying to winkle a sewin, a tricky character at the best of times, out of the overgrown, snag infested river.

No, it certainly couldn’t have been easy, but my Dad managed it and by doing so he gave me the key to an amazing sport that in turn has given me so much. This is why I am so excited about establishing Aff-UK, this opportunity to help people discover flyfishing for the first time or to open up new areas of the sport that have so far been closed to them, like my Dad did for me (but without the bike rides, bus journeys and piggy backs). So Dad if you read this blog - thank you.

Having said that, my Dad reading this blog would more than likely be a first for him, one which would probably require the assistance of my 12 year old nephew to log on for him. I think I may have inherited my distrust of technology from him as well…

Me with my Dad learning his 'unique' hat wearing style.

The Five Ps

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Have you heard of the 5 Ps? Preparation prevents P**s Poor Performance? I have heard this banded about in all sorts of different environments, the sports field, the office and on the riverbank. Whilst I largely agree with this there are times when all of the preparation in the world will not give you the results you need or deserve. These last couple of days are a perfect example. The fishing has been strangely tough.

In terms of preparation it was done, we had the right flies, the tactics proven, the venues sorted and yet nothing. Sure the fish were there, we saw stacks, mullet feeding hard, bass streaming passed our feet on the front of the tide and yet nothing more than a few tweaks and one small bass. At these times as a guide I can trail out the clichéd excuses for the lack of fish, too windy, too bright, water too clear / too murky etc but at times like this there is only one thing for it - Perseverance. I don't mean continuing to flog the water regardless, I mean knuckling down to a long period of concentration, working the changes and ensuring that the fly stays in the water for the maximum amount of time.

This is something I learnt as a competition angler. The best competition anglers, and I have been lucky to fish with some very good ones, know all about this. Sure they have all of the Ps sorted, the preparation that goes into an international fly fishing competition would have to be seen to be believed, but when the fishing starts it is all about maximising your chances. That means perseverance, maximising fishing time and generally working damn hard.

When things aren't going well Perseverance is what it is all about. This is what we did this week, perseverance and a little bit of adaptation, when the original plan quite simply isn't working, work hard and adapt. When people are willing to do this the rewards can be awesome.

Luke with a personal best.

Adventure fly fishing - defined.

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Somebody asked me recently 'what is Adventure Fly Fishing?' I think at the time I waffled around a bit and kind of half answered him but it certainly got me thinking. That is until last week. Last week was a bit of a busman's holiday which I think captured exactly what I have in mind when I talk about adventure fly fishing.

First of all, the location, it has to be wild.

How's this location?

This is Snowdonia in Wales, not the bit with steam trains, mountain top cafes and inappropriately dressed tourists, this is the part that most people don't know exists (or for that matter know how to pronounce). Here you can expect to see nobody, sheep (of course), red kites and amazing scenery.

Secondly there has to be some water

Like this.

The whole area was criss-crossed with tiny mountain streams, crystal clear, cold, fast flowing and full of beautiful, wild brown trout.

Thirdly, the fishing has to be testing and interesting.

Fish under the rod tip in crystal clear water.

Finally although not strictly a necessity sometimes a little bit of adversity can be added to the mix. The whole week was plagued with gale force winds - again. That is a gale force wind at sea level. So a lake at 750m above sea level provided the perfect venue for a little bit of adversity.

Cameras don't always tell the truth, this lake was being blasted by a howling wind. In case that wasn't enough the rod in use here is my stream 8ft 2 weight - nice.

So Adventure Fly Fishing - Amazing locations, water preferably wild, testing fishing and the occasional twist. Simple really.

Always Learning.

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The thing with fishing is that you can never, ever be completely on top of your game. There is always some cast that you haven't quite mastered, some tactic that you are not quite satisfied with or some species that you have never quite got to grips with. I will be honest with you there are loads of things I want to learn. If anybody says they have nothing left to learn about this subject they are either lying or not looking hard enough.

One of the things that has been bothering me for a while is lure fishing. From time to time I have people ask me if in addition to saltwater fly fishing I offer lure fishing in the salt. Now I have the marks sorted, I can find the fish, which is sometimes the hardest part of fishing in the sea and sure I have done plenty of lure fishing for bass with plugs, spoons and the like but I don't mind admitting that my approach is not particularly sophisticated. My tactics generally revolve around casting and retrieving various items of metalwork, covering the water methodically, whilst not unsuccessful it can become quite mechanical. I have felt for some time that there has to be a better way.

And so some time ago I began researching what else is out there. Wherever I looked the same phrases and names kept popping up HRF, LRF, and JBG. My research ultimately took me to Keith White and Jersey Bass Guides website (www.jerseybassguides.com). Photographs of big bass and wrasse caught over the roughest ground on light, sensitive tackle. Interesting...

And so this last weekend saw me on Jersey to meet up with Keith White for an intensive introduction to HRF - Heavy Rock Fishing. Firstly I must say what a beautiful place to visit, I elected to take the ferry from Weymouth and cycle the Island as a way to get a feel for the place and I certainly didn't regret it, the place is stunning. The coast is a mix of golden sandy beaches, dramatic cliffs and in the southeast an amazing jumble of rocky outcrops and crags, all surrounded by crystal clear water. The cycling is relatively easy with quite roads and tracks and not too many hills.

The two days fishing were a bit of a revelation to be honest with you. The conditions were extremely tough with high winds and a lot of swell but Keith worked extremely hard to overcome the conditions and meet my aims which were very much all about learning as much about these tactics as possible. Despite the weather we caught fish on light tackle, close in and more importantly I left the island with a whole host of new tactics and theories which I am just dying to try out here in North Devon. It was a real pleasure to learn from somebody who is obviously an expert in this form of fishing but also is extremely enthusiastic about passing on the knowledge and helping people to learn that there is another way to catch these fish without resorting to heavy gear. I couldn't recommend more highly Keith's website and his guiding services. I will certainly be heading out there again to fish with Keith and his brother Kevin.

I will of course keep you posted on how I get on with these tactics here, I am off now to the tackle shop to look at a new HRF rod!

Derrick

Fancy trying something different?

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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

The Story so Far.

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So the trout season is more than one month old here already. It has been a strange one so far. It hasn't felt like the start of the season it feels a bit like the high summer, dog days. Low river levels, flat calm lakes, suncream and seeking out the shade, this doesn't feel like April!

early April on the top of Bodmin Moor, more usually the scene for waterproofs and general grimness...

Nevertheless, unperturbed by the difficult fishing conditions we have been out and about on the hunt for the local trout and some early exploration on the coast for bass and mullet. 'It's a tough job, but...'! And we have had some success with nice wild brown trout from our reservoirs and plenty of hungry little fellas from what are left of our streams. These difficult conditions have meant that we have also had to be a little more imaginative in our pursuit of sport with some 'unconventional' fly fishing targets - more on that in a later blog.

In between fishing, sun bathing and ice creams we have been doing some fly casting tuition and some fly fishing guiding. The weather has been perfect for teaching with very little breeze to think about and warm water around the toes. When it has come to catching fish though a little perseverance has been required at times.

A nice fish, about to be returned to it's warm bath.

Any way that's it for now. Don't forget we have some courses coming up, a beginners day in June and a casting workshop in July, details on the courses page, if you want to know more just drop me a line.

Derrick

WE'RE BACK!!!

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Did you miss us???!

I know it has been a while since you heard from us but we haven't been idle at Adventure Fly Fishing UK. For a start we have a brand new website, please take a look and let us know what you think. We have some new fishing venues for this season including exclusive access for guiding and teaching on a beautiful private lake on the edge of Exmoor, stocked with hard fighting rainbows, it is perfect for casting instruction and introducing newcomers to stillwater flyfishing. There are a couple of other exciting new venues as well, I will be writing about them in the very near future.

We have just published dates for Adventure Fly Fishing UK courses that are coming very soon. We have a beginners course planned for the 5th June, these courses were popular last year and we are back at Wistlandpound this year. Also as a result of some feedback last year from more experienced anglers, looking for an opportunity to sharpen their skills or to learn some new casts, this year we are holding casting workshops with the first one planned for the 9th July. You will find more details on the Courses page, should you want to find out more just drop me a line. We will be publishing dates for our popular saltwater fly fishing courses soon.

So I finally think we are ready for a fantastic season, teaching, guiding and FISHING. Bring it on!