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Chalk - River Meon

Managing to swing a last minute day off work I figured why not try one of the beats offered by Simon Cooper at Fishing Breaks. Having worked in Fareham for a few months I crossed the River Meon near Exton on the way to work and back. On a few occasions I stopped to have a look at the river and was instantly captivated. After scouring the web for information regarding this stretch of water I found the beats running near Exton on Manor Farm property as administered through Fishing Breaks: http://www.fishingbreaks.co.uk/chalkstream/meon.htm. Booking was very straightforward, received a confirmation email including three pdf's offering advise on flies, tactics etc for the time of year which was very useful. The website described the beat as follows: "This is an all wild trout, all catch and release beat that rewards delicate presentation and careful fly selection. It is best fished with speculative casting in the riffles alongside the weed beds or waiting for a fish to peck the surface. Dry fly accounts for 95% of the fish caught or risen." Just my kind of fishing !

Weather forecast for hot and sunny weather - not ideal trout fishing weather but being of South African extraction I'm not one to complain about having sunshine - especially after the winter we've just had.
I got to Exton at about 09h00, parked up and walked a short stretch of the beat which included a small fishing hut. I couldn't see anything rising but noticed a few flashes as fish darted for cover.

Manor Farm - Exton

Small fishing hut

Waders on, trusty Hardy 2wt tackled up I was on the river figuring I'd try a speculative dry fly despite not seeing anything rising. Having only fished two small sections of a chalkstream in the past I needed to get my head right and game on - the water is gin clear and as a result the fish are long gone by the time you spot them. For the most part they hide beneath the Ranunculus weedbeds that are synonymous with chalkstreams in the UK, only to dart out when you are literally on top of them. Needless to say my first hour or so produced nothing other than a fear of being skunked and completing my entry on the fishing record book with a fat 0 !  

Tea break (including a read of the comments in the fishing record book in the hut in a somewhat desperate attempt to garner a few tips), a rethink and a short stroll down to the lower section of the beat that starts next to the "The Shoe Inn" pub beer garden. Another hour with nothing to show - not even so much as a knock. Several flies on and off and finally decided on a small (18) parachute adams. As I approached the upper beat boundary with thoughts of that 0 and lunch, something smashed the fly about 10 feet from me and a steam train took off sideways producing a very impressive bow wave !! After what felt like an eternity I managed to land a solid size brownie which must be nudging 12oz. Thank goodness !!! Feeling a sense of relief I figured it a good time to grab a bit to eat.

Back on the water half an hour later and it was like a switch had been flicked - a lot more trout visible and a number of rises, some of which aggressively so. The next two hours I'd have to put down to some of the most exciting fishing I've ever done - watching fish rising through the gin clear water to smash into the small blue wing olive on my line only to tear off under the nearest bank of weed. 

One notable fish I spotted about 10 feet in front of me skirting along a bank of weed running parallel with the river bank casually sipping small emergers off the surface. I watched bemusedly for a few minutes before having a stab at landing him. First cast was a touch off target - second cast landed a few inches to his right - he nonchalantly swam over, inhaled the fly and the game was on !! I had him on for about a minute or so when he shook loose - I guess another in the region of 12oz or so. Simply awesome !

I'd estimate the biggest fish to be in the region of 14oz - overall I managed to land seven beautiful chalkstream brownies - I lost probably double that number though as they are feisty little numbers (some not so little)  ! 

My fishing companions for the day - a few hairy encounters with hissing parents !!

Gate to the bridge near the beer garden

One of the seven I managed to hold onto...

Managed to snap this one taking a breather after an almighty tussle !

Fly of choice

Little guys !

One of the smaller but no less impressive trout

No zeros (thank goodness !)

I cannot recommend this small stretch of chalkstream enough - an emerald gem in the Hampshire countryside - wild brown trout, some of the biggest I've caught to date - I'll most definitely be back... but for now I need another chalkstream fix !

The Wye & Usk to close with ...

Having not fished in South Wales for several years now I felt it as good a time as any to make a quick foray down the M4 for one final hurrah before the 2016 trout season comes to a close. My wife made the trip with me which made for a great weekend.

Starting with the Maes-y-Beran Beat on the Honddu and ending the the Escley Beat 4 which is a high gradient, fast-flowing upland trout stream that flows off the eastern edge of the Black Mountains into the Monnow at Longtown. Really tricky conditions (cold, windy, low water - am I sounding like a fisherman !?) made for only a single brownie of approximately six inches. Nevertheless great to be up there again and the opportunity to stumble across a kingfisher nest and have them flit about us for several hours on the Escley made it even more worthwhile.

A few photo's below ...

Looking North...

Another summer, another holiday fishing trip! Discussions surrounding potential destinations always start early season - a ritualistic shaking off of the winter cobwebs (blues) - an agitation or rather excitement at the anticipation of the coming season after the long dark haul that is the British winter. The likely choice of venue for any persons foolish enough to go camping for a prolonged period of time in the British Isles, would be to point your car in a southerly direction and drive until you reach the Atlantic Ocean hereby increasing your chances of reasonable weather (note the word "reasonable"). Injudiciously, we pointed the car northwards for our 2016 foray into the great outdoors - the Yorkshire Dales being the venue for this years outing.

Fly fishing in this neck of the woods requires deeper pockets than previous excursions to the likes of Wales, Devon or even the Lake District. An opportunity to cast a line in such picturesque countryside makes it all the worthwhile however. The River Wharfe which, for the majority of its length acts as county boundary between West and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe derives from the Old English weorf or the Old Norse hverfr meaning winding river (thanks Wikipedia) which I can attest to most certainly is the case after having walked, fished sections.

Unfortunately due to me starting a new job and inclement weather (did I mention the weather in England tends to be better the further south you are !?) I only managed a single days fishing on the Wharfe at Bolton Abbey. If you could only have one day's fishing up here - this is where I'd most definitely do it.

Stepping stones at Bolton Abbey

Bolton Abbey

Cavendish Memorial Fountain

Local butterfly - seemed very prolific in the area - not sure of the species...

The Yorkshire Dales - Wharfedale

First few casts resulted in the first few misses - as it turned out this was not going to be an "easy pickings" type of day... the trout up here are by no means opportunistic and were very particular as to what they deemed to be a meal...

First trout of the day - after almost an hour of tying on different patterns (both dries and nymphs) the key was a) increase leader length to about 12 feet b) reduce tippets down to 6x c) add to this Size 26 CDC emergers before any interest was shown.

Biggest river brownie I've caught to date - I'm guessing a touch under 2lbs...

All in I had five fighting fit trout out on that single day - not a lot but definitely a very satisfactory outing. One of the locals I got speaking to said, "You'll certainly enjoy your beer tonight" - he was right except for the use of the singular "beer" ! Hopefully another foray up there again in October when the grayling season comes into play. Watch this space ...

A Late Start...

New job, weather, family commitments all conspired against me this year resulting in June being the first time I managed an opportunity to cast a line this summer... and a great way to open the season it was. Hogsback's finest ale and sandwiches were served on the river bank a few hours in - a treat indeed... I could get used to this type of fishing! (And we managed to catch some of the Wey's residents)

A huge thanks to Val & EJ for a great evening on the Wey - here's to the next outing

The Trout & The Woodcutter

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is the start of some vain attempt at writing a kids story - fear not !

Read on where all will be revealed...

In a bid to capitalize the good weather over the last few weekends of the 2015 trout season another foray on the Wey was called for on Sunday morning. Car boot coffee whilst threading rod eyes and flies in a misty autumnal morning saw us on the water at about 9h30. My main aim was to try and land a particularly large brownie I'd been fortunate enough to catch a few weeks back.

An inauspicious start comprising of a few hookups and other such blunders saw "The Woodcutter" take matters into his own hands by removing obstacles preventing a successful cast ...

Tactical "military style" trout fishing ...

That's better ...

Putting such tomfoolery behind us, we pushed through the undergrowth to the pool where the aforementioned trout was lurking (I'd hoped at any rate !) A few casts towards the head of the pool saw me come up dry. Alwyn on the other hand nailed it and well placed roll cast later saw the below beauty come to fruition

Catch of the day !

Spirits lifted and confidence back at an acceptable level we moved on. A brief interlude was taken which involved "The Woodcutter" attacking an ill placed tree with as much gusto and vigour as pensioner in a brewery ! A valiant effort opened up a significant stretch of water which was otherwise un-fishable. After a cooling dip in the river (hot work this bush clearing !) we forged on.

Fly of choice

The rest of the morning was whiled away, picking off small fin perfect little trout ...

It's a kind of magic !

Those colours ...

Tools of the trade

Yet another cracking day out !

Last of the summer wine ...

Moving on downstream on the River Rother where I left off last weekend, saw myself and mate Alwyn tackling up next to the rugby club early Saturday morning. Not having fished this stretch of river for about three years I wasn't sure what awaited us but memories of fin perfect, fighting fit brown trout spurred us down the overgrown banks of the Rother. Straight away it became evident that roll casting was going to be the order of the day what with fallen trees and all manner of foliage making casting a challenge.
A few hook ups, leader entanglements and an "incident" in the mud which almost prompted a mayday phone call to air rescue saw a small brownie make a stab at my parachute adams only to foul hook itself. Not the start I had envisaged !

Being the keen guys we are we forged our way, careful to avoid the tyres and various lager cans that seemed to litter the river bed (the residents here sure like their beer - pity they can't throw the cans in the bin !!) to the small open pool where dogs enjoy a good dip. Having always had a fish or two out here I felt reasonable confident we'd bring something to hand. And that's exactly what we did ...

Watching my small 2 weight contort itself into a near perfect circle to the point I saw pound signs flashing in the air anticipating the cracking of carbon fiber, the above beauty came to hand. Probably the biggest brown trout I've had from a river. Awesome !

So we pushed on - feeling a lot more confident having landed such a fish. Alwyn being the next recipient of a good sized brown trout.

A few more fish each saw us making a well timed exit from the river to make it home on time for family duty. I've fished this stretch many times in the past and have never landed fish of the size and quality we did today. Most definitely worth negotiating this little piece of river and dealing with the frustrations of fallen trees, brambles, nettles and near lethal hidden mud filled holes threatening to swallow a man whole to be rewarded with such incredible fish.