A huge thanks to Val & EJ for a great evening on the Wey - here's to the next outing
Sunday, 19 June 2016
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
A huge thanks to Val & EJ for a great evening on the Wey - here's to the next outing
Monday, 21 September 2015
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 ...
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
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.
The rest of the morning was whiled away, picking off small fin perfect little trout ...
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 ...
Catch of the day !
Fly of choice
It's a kind of magic !
Those colours ...
Tools of the trade
Yet another cracking day out !
Sunday, 13 September 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Rother
It was with some apprehension that I returned to the stretch of the Rother I've written about previously (see post "Fishing the Improbable") - I guess because you never know what you'll find after not having set foot in that area for a few years. My initial fears were realized when I saw the state of the river when dropping into the water in my usual entry point. A plethora of plastic, tin and other trash people have without conscious dumped into the river. A few yards up I stumbled across a dumping site for garden refuse including old plant pots, plastic bags - you name it ! In the past this was a near definite run and pool in which a fish could be extracted however this was not too be. I pushed on nervous as to what was underfoot as the going was dicey to say the least. Eventually I entered into a "cleaner" stretch which seemed to hold a bit more promise. A small rise up ahead elicited a stab of excitement and anticipation - fears of the river having been stripped of fish slowly abating. A gentle roll cast saw the parachute adams in the right vicinity - a few seconds followed a sip of the surface and we were in.
Relief ! Not bad at all for the first trout of the day.
I continued for another two hours, missing more than I landed but the fish that came to hand were of great quality. What a testament to these little fish that surviving the murk and waste that is this stretch of the Rother is in fact achievable. What a shame to those sociopathic individuals who see no issue in tipping all manner of waste into a small stream with so much as an iota of consideration for the environment or others trying to enjoy it.
Relief ! Not bad at all for the first trout of the day.
I continued for another two hours, missing more than I landed but the fish that came to hand were of great quality. What a testament to these little fish that surviving the murk and waste that is this stretch of the Rother is in fact achievable. What a shame to those sociopathic individuals who see no issue in tipping all manner of waste into a small stream with so much as an iota of consideration for the environment or others trying to enjoy it.
Thursday, 3 September 2015
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Pilgrimage
A trip to Dartmoor and it's myriad network of sublime streams I feel is set to become an annual pilgrimage for me, my own piece of Nirvana revitalizing the soul. Even the deluge which ensued over the two and a half days there did nothing to detract from the areas captivating beauty.
Langstone Manor Campsite was as welcoming as always and it was great to catch up with the staff and hear about and see all the improvements to the site made over the winter months. Saturday saw torrential downpours which scuppered fishing plans, however a walk to the atmospheric Wistman's Wood was a great albeit very wet outing.
Sunday dawned bright and partly cloudy resulting in a hasty move to Bellever Forest and the East Dart via Princetown for a permit.
Unsurprisingly the Dart was flowing strongly in comparison to this time last year, thigh deep waters in places where only ankles were covered. Clear waters flowed however, tainted with a brown hue caused by wash off from the surrounding moorland. The tell tale sign of a fish rising assuaged fears that the rain and high waters had put paid to any dry fly action. To my surprise a hatch of small olive upwings kicked off - on went a #20 olive paradun and several small browns came to hand.
A solid four hours of fishing ensued before the weather once more closed in. Twenty minutes saw me at the car and heading back toward the campsite during which time the weather lifted. Driving past the Upper Cherrybrook at 14h30 was too much to bear - waders back on and a fly tied onto the line followed by a few more precious hours on a Dartmoor classic.
All good things must come to an end as the saying goes and the move back to the campsite was made, avoiding any other potential fishing distractions - not without one final stop however - there's only one way to finish off a day like today :
Langstone Manor Campsite was as welcoming as always and it was great to catch up with the staff and hear about and see all the improvements to the site made over the winter months. Saturday saw torrential downpours which scuppered fishing plans, however a walk to the atmospheric Wistman's Wood was a great albeit very wet outing.
Sunday dawned bright and partly cloudy resulting in a hasty move to Bellever Forest and the East Dart via Princetown for a permit.
Unsurprisingly the Dart was flowing strongly in comparison to this time last year, thigh deep waters in places where only ankles were covered. Clear waters flowed however, tainted with a brown hue caused by wash off from the surrounding moorland. The tell tale sign of a fish rising assuaged fears that the rain and high waters had put paid to any dry fly action. To my surprise a hatch of small olive upwings kicked off - on went a #20 olive paradun and several small browns came to hand.
A solid four hours of fishing ensued before the weather once more closed in. Twenty minutes saw me at the car and heading back toward the campsite during which time the weather lifted. Driving past the Upper Cherrybrook at 14h30 was too much to bear - waders back on and a fly tied onto the line followed by a few more precious hours on a Dartmoor classic.
All good things must come to an end as the saying goes and the move back to the campsite was made, avoiding any other potential fishing distractions - not without one final stop however - there's only one way to finish off a day like today :
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