Long dry summers and In Praise of Coarse fish

This year has been long dry , hot and certainly has made fishing for trout on my wonderful north Yorkshire streams challenging and to be honest with low levels and doubtful oxygen levels really i think they are better left alone . So after a little bit of activity on the spring fed chalk stream and really struggling to raise much interest from the trout which are in low numbers mainly because of the black plague that has descended on my part of the world. I reckoned its time to explore other avenues.  I have been persevering with my local chalk stream .  Much as it is a stunning place with fantastic wildlife the fishing for the last couple of months has been to say the least " challenging " The guests I have had on the river have found things difficult as I have.  Other anglers including those who have skills beyond my own have stated how spooky the fish are and how difficult the fishing is ,  Yesterday I did have another trip there as it was sort of on my route between meeting someone and coming home . Well it was nearly on that route but it was enough of an excuse.  

The stream is very very low but still fishable and most of the fish I saw were at distance and swimming away rapidly .   I did however manage to get tucked away using a bush behind me and reeds in front where i got within casting range of a few fish .   I could see a couple of fish rising and after watching them for a while I reckoned they were taking something that was sat in the surface film.   They certainly ignored my usual selection of hackled and cdc flies and emergers i even tried unweighted nymphs . I had reduced my tippet down to 6x and was stumped .  I couldn`t see at all what they could be taking and sort inspiration from my fly box.  I spied an ant pattern and remembering that on my allotment and under my driveway this week the annual winged ant explosion had happened I thought what is to lose. Despite not seeing a single ant on the day .   Second drift down the ant was taken . Now Mr Trout could have been tripped up by a masterful deduction by yours truly or it could have been the ant was a good impersonation of something else .  But yesterday after struggling for a couple of hours I took the small victory with some pride . Not a huge fish but was happy to get it to hand ,  and have another follow it slightly later on the same fly..

One of my two sons was keen to have a day fishing with me but due to the pitiful state of our usual rivers which are largely spate or freestone streams . Both the fly fishing clubs we have membership of are both suffering from low water .  So it was time to dust of the coarse fishing tackle that has been lying idle in the garage for some years , new mono lines were purchased and after  sorting out all the stuff and  remembering that coarse fishing can be an exercise in logistics compared to a rod reel and waistcoat for fly fishing .

Ollie has never coarse fished in his life and fixed spool reels are new to him so it would be interesting . I had planned a return to a local lake I probably haven`t fishing for 25 years . We arrived mid afternoon with a planned session into the evening . we were armed with chairs , rods assorted gear . Cool boxes with beer , cold chicken , pies and assorted hot drinks .  If I was going to Introduce Number 2 son into the dark arts of float fishing and fixed spool reels we needed sustenance .  As it turned out the afternoon was a huge success soon to be repeated , Rudd , Roach and Tench all appeared for both us .  Tangles were few and soon sorted .  Down side was me losing the best fish of the evening trying to keep it of the weeds .  He got the hang of it very quickly and had got several fish before this old bloke got himself tackled up...

As a social afternoon it was a success that I want to repeat looking forward to the next trip..  Nice to be able to sit have a drink and chat whilst fishing...

Early Season days

 

Strange part of the year . It starts of with unbridled enthusiasm for the first day .  Then that is usually followed by shitty weather , overflowing rivers freezing winds ,  this year we had things the other way around although the enthusiasm was still there but strangely tempered . We had very low rivers bright sunshine and cold days.  Truth is its been hard .  My fishing mojo has changed, strange thing but the need to destress from work that drove me to the river bank.so many times has gone now .  I will always fish and will always want too .  But the drivers are different now.  The urgency has gone . Strange thing this retirement how your priorities change .  

My early season usually heads the same way ,  desperation to catch on a dry fly which eventually downgrades to not blanking and accepting that early season fish tend to be looking down still and not looking up.  The Hawthorn hatches and midges do stimulate some activity but nymphs remain the backstop.  The hawthorn flies have been a bit enigmatic this year .  Although seeing plenty on the wing on my various streams  the fish seem to have not really switched on to them . One day on the bank I was cursing how they had all vanished and the following day I was back home and went round to my allotment garden which is 100 m from another stream and the air was full of hawthorns , They were everywhere Some were even keeping warm in the polytunnel   I have never seen to many. So  before I left I had a wander along the bank.  Not a hawthorn to be seen and the river was quiet.  Strange old world .  

This year things worked out the same old way way.  The glorious unpredictability of the ridiculous sport  is I guess is one of its main attractions.   Thomas McGuanes bug puppets analogy sums it up nicely  when you analyse the facts of what we do its ridiculous whilst also being damn addictive .  its certainly never the same . A couple of seasons ago the first day of the season was warm and rising fish were everywhere ,  trouble was the fish were all out of season grayling .  This year trout were hard to find , but they are there .  So far this year  I have scared plenty and caught a few .  For a few minutes I was attached to a very good fish but the heavy pressure i needed to keep it from tree roots was to much for the hook hold.  Warmer evenings last week generated a bit of an evening rise soo things are heading the right way . 

 

Hawthorn Flies and a Wet Arse

It was my birthday the other day and tbh as birthdays go it was pretty good .  The morning was fishing on a local stream .  Evening was dinner out at a local . I had the river to myself , the river keeper was the only other person I spoke too. It was a typical conversation , the river the fish , the fly life and his ever growing number of dogs . 

As for the fishing it was slow .  As usual for me I spent to long on a few fish ,  two things influenced me , number one was the Hawthorn flies which have hatched in abundance .  But as the day unfolded it became clear the fish weren’t on them yet .  The second thing was one of the rivers large brown trout .  I reckon it was 5 lbs plus .  I had managed to get into position by a red indian approach and positioned my self sitting on the bank where I could drop a nymph onto it as it worked the faster run.  Probably an hour was spent with the only things to show from crouching and sitting was a dead leg and a wet arse .  

Such is early season river fishing though , balmy evenings and freely rising fish are some time of yet . I did manage one on a dry fly though .  More luck than good management though .  I do feel that the season is at least up and running . 

Starting again , retirement , fly fishing, planning and being prepared

I retired just over a month ago .  After working full time for precisely 52 years and 6 months .  Also it  is now 55 years and 8 months since I caught my first brown trout on a fly . The working life time is more than enough .  The fishing time period is most certainly not enough.

First trout on a dry fly this season from just under that tree .

 In the last year or two many have said to me when I retire will I  fish a lot more .  I suppose that was inevitable given my life long obsession but strangely this may not be the case . My love of  Fishing has always been not only the simple pleasure but also about getting a de stress from life , read that as mostly work related .  But now , well my working life is finished and I can go fishing whenever I feel like it .  and yet a couple of days ago was my first deliberate trout fishing trip of the new season .  I can’t remember the last time I waited this long before having the first trip.  Granted that the weather this year hasn’t been the most encouraging but in previous years I would fish hell or high water on the day the season started  . But it is a strange new life with the 9 to 5 gone.  It’s a bit surreal knowing I can just go fishing whenever I want now .  

One thing I would say is, as well as planning your finances for retirement start planning your fishing and chiefly where you will fish . Or if it’s golf or anything else start planning and building up to it for years before. For many years I ran a small stream fly fishing club .  I lost count of the number of times I was contacted by folks , Usually along the lines of , “ hello , we have recently retired to the town and I would like to join the club for next year “ ,  my response certainly if you can provide a proposer I will add you to the waiting list .  Currently 7 years .   Generally my experience of river fly fishing is that if you can join a club straight away it means one of two things ,  first well it ain’t that good . Or second it’s bloody expensive/ overpriced .  Many of the best fishing clubs don’t have a website ,  and are definitely below the radar .  Or they are in rivers and streams .  Certainly that’s been my experience. 

For me , The last 25 or 30 years have been an ongoing process of joining and in many cases leaving clubs , to end up with the current pretty much perfect mix,  a couple of my current clubs had time for me on the waiting list of ten years .  

I suppose what this ramble is saying ,  when you plan your retirement I think it’s equally important to plan what you will do with your retirement rather than how you will finance it.  Financial advisors are useful , mine certainly has given good advise ,  perhaps we should also have retirement lifestyle advisors .  A good friend a colleague of mine , he is slightly age wise my senior and already quite a few years past retirement age is till working .  I asked him why not retire as he is financially very secure .  He confessed he feared he would be bored .  He has no recreation occupations .  

The rod is the Luke Bannister built Garrison 201 I awarded myself as a retirement present from my business that I wrapped up a couple of years ago.  Seemed appropriate to use it ..

And Away……

Strange thing about time and planning , when I was wandering back to the car the other day looking hot weary and content I met a couple wandering along and the usual pleasantries were exchanged ,  the gent enquired after the rod as it is clearly a bamboo ,  an enquiry that was phrased in such a way that it was obvious he was an angler .  He commented that he rarely saw an angler on the bank but he did say that he had enquired about membership some years ago and was told it’s a long waiting list so didn’t bother .  I asked how long ago was the enquiry he did say probably at least 7 or 8 years ago .  Now I waited 9 years and I know the wait is less now as the list was closed for some years .  So if he had been patient he could have been a member now .  

I guess what I am saying is that to get the best out of life we should play the long game and try not to prioritise short term goals .  Putting aside for a pension was something I only focussed on once the immediate pressure of getting a house / career / kids / kids education was on track . But  I guess the fishing and leisure planning just took care of itself .  But for those less obsessed by it they should consider that when you reach that time in life don’t just have the money sorted but have the recreational stuff sorted as well. 

2026 and it starts with the BFFI

 

To say the least, It will be interesting to see what this year brings .  This year will bring full retirement and apart from the obvious lifestyle change it brings more leisure time ( or so I am hoping )  .  from the blogs perspective I intend to change things too.  I`ve had the blog a long time and I have become sort of fond of it.  Granted the days of blogs being the must have in the online world have long gone. But I look at the internet these days and it appears to me to be largely rubbish or worst AI generated drivel.  Perhaps people will start to hunt down something real. You readers will have noted that for me fishing is more than just something that you do in your spare time it is part of who I am .  

One thing I do most years is trek the 150 miles across country to the  BFFI that’s the British Fly Fair International which has always been primarily about fly tying ,  but yesterday I noted a further shift and seeing more manufacturers exhibiting luggage,  packs and also it seemed more mainstream rod makers as well as some independent .  For me it’s a few hours nosying around the fly tying stands .  For various odds and ends .  Rods , reels and major stuff I have plenty and could probably stage my own fair .  

As usual I met old some friends and made a few new ones .  One friend had a bad back and was putting a brave face on whilst signing books, ( keep smiling Dave the rivers will soon be back between their banks again and the back will soon unknot ) .  There was long conversations around rods getting lighter and blanks getting thinner .  I cast an envious glance at the lovely piece of burr on the Fortidude rods stand , would love to get that on my lathe.  If that’s an example of their starting materials it’s no wonder their reel seats look so nice. 

I had a quick chat to the guys in the Grayling Society stand .  There was a quick hello to The Trout and Salmon stand and a quick conversation about the deterioration of social media and the rise of AI rubbish . I hope the new format works out for both the magazine and for Pete the new editor ,  it would be nice to see the circulation up and maybe the price to come down .  I guess advertising revenue departing to the internet is a huge problem .  

I travelled across with Duncan a friend who despite his fly fishing interest and despite my encouragement declined to open his wallet apart from a few furled leaders from Luke Bannister who built me the nice Garrison 201 a year or so back .  My friend declined to commit to splurge on a new rod for the very sensible reason he really wasn’t convinced of what he needs .  “Need “  is a ghastly word , “ Want ” and “ Fancy “ are much more interesting and joyful words ……I must try and educate him…

The fly tiers row is brilliant with an amazing amount of talent in show .  I am always fascinated but strangely this year I didn’t seem to spend as much time there .  Too much time chatting to friend’s probably. 

Also this year there was definitely more bamboo rods on display.  Let’s hope that is a reflection of more people wanting to try them . 

The quality of the Coq de Leon feathers on Ed Madrigals was superb and I snagged a nice snowshoe hare foot there as well , Thanks for the heads up Pom … as usual the coach y bondhu books stand was excellent . Apologies Paul if I spelt it wrong again . Sadly I have a self imposed ban on new books .  Until I can thin out some of the existing titles I am out of space . 

Only criticism on an otherwise fantastic show was why have everyone queuing together  , there seems no adavantage on prebooking online if everyone just queues in the rain the same , but again a brilliant show .  Now that all the game fairs seem to have become country clothing and dog bed shows , a bit like Orvis shops . The BFFI has become a rare pearl that needs to be supported . Probably see you again next year . In fact I may will make a two day trip next year and catch more of the lectures and Demos ….

 

Happy Christmas ..

Happy Christmas Everybody 

I am wishing you all tight lines , big fish , pristine waters , serenity ,and the magic of the season .

 "May your lines be tight, your flies be magic, 

End of a weird but actually ok season .

I know I am letting the blog drift but i thought an end of season update was in order. Also to show that I do also listen to those kind readers who emailed me and said don`t give up writing the blog .  So the plan is I will do that but I plan along the way to change what I put up .  I hope I can convey and  reflect more on why I fish , especially why I visit the places I do.  Also as I am now semi retired and soon to be fully retired I will be including some of the other things I waste my time doing . 

On the face of it it’s been an awful season ,  the mid season few months have seen desperately low levels due to the lack of rain following a almost dry winter of 24/25 .  The chalk stream is the lowest it’s been for 60 years the first few months of the season fished well until the aquifers finally emptied .  The rain fed streams that run of the North York moors have been pitifully low all season they barely got going at the season start and then quickly ran almost dry.  So by all practical measures it’s been a miserable season .  But in terms of catches it has had some real highlights,   Early season I managed a new personal best fly rod caught chub .  At just over 5lb it was a real highlight ,  but in the few weeks before that I had managed several nice chub and a couple of notable grayling , I have always enjoyed chub on the fly .  They take dries and on their day they rise  as well as trout .  I have always been fond of them, a chub was the first fish I saw caught on a dry fly , I watched a teacher at my first boarding school catch some chub in the Whiske a little tributary of the Swale a river which then was the perfect image of a small stream clear water , full of streamer weed and shoals of fish, Sadly years later I foolishly re visited and found it destroyed and polluted . 

Driffield Beck Chub 

A few weeks later I very nearly didn’t bother going on a planned trip ,  I had a bad back and really wasn’t feeling like it but after giving myself a virtual slap I took an old Sharpe’s featherweight bamboo and ended up with two cracking fish , one over 4lb and the other 3 1/2 lb .  The bigger fish I had targeted before but that day approached its regular holding spot red  Indian style on all fours which for a gentleman of my years with buggered knees is not something to be done on a whim .  Spotting it just up stream of where I was expecting it to be and after watching it through the bankside grasses and stuff and seeing it was feeding, the nymph was cast upstream and second drift down the fish moved to the side and took it comfortably.  The river was carrying heavy weed growth and I am convinced  the bamboo rod and silk line made a difference to holding it as it clearly wasn`t impressed by the idea that an overweight old bloke on all fours had managed to deceive it .  The silk line has zero stretch but the bamboo absorbs the sudden lunges of a big fish well that’s my thoughts .  I certainly seem to be able to apply a lot of pressure.

Driffield Beck Brown trout 

An hour later and nearly back to the hut I noticed a large shape drop down in the water at the base of a large willow .  I decided it was worth a speculative cast .  Almost as soon as the nymph hit the water the tippet darted away .  Another dogged fight meant fish two in the net .  

That really was the end of the good fishing for the season . there was a few early trips after grayling but between catching a few decent fish and a lot of not so decent fish the one real highlight was seeing the big numbers of tiny grayling which meant that this years spawning had yielded good success .  After catching a few on tiny dries I had to leave several stretches to avoid catching the little darlings . I hope they they will be about in a year or two when they are bigger. 

Later in the year we had a cottage booked in Northumberland .  The cottage came with fishing on the Coquet well as you might expect the river was on its bones and unfishable .  I did manage a couple of tiny browns on dry flies early morning.  it’s a pretty river though and have it marked down as a future destination.  

The Bamboo obsession still rumbles on .  The little Garrison that Luke Bannister built for me was given its first outing of the year small trout were out in numbers and it proved to be as delightful to fish with as I had hoped.

I also picked up an unusual action rod it was a somewhat impulsive bid on that auction site . Well when I say unusual it is truly a faster action rod than my other bamboo. It is built on a Dickerson 7612 taper , By Rick Cunningham an American builder. When it arrived I discovered that it had a few defects that weren`t described at all. But after negotiating a very handsome deal with the seller I retained the rod and have returned it to 100 percent  .  It has recently been christened and it is indeed a very nice rod ,  just a bit quicker than most of my other bamboo.

As for the the rest of the season it was really a no show ,  As I type it is on the back of a week or two of nice wet weather even a few inches of early snow  ,The rivers were and still are in need of a good period of rain to flush them out . Also it will replenish the groundwater .  So for now the fishing is buggered but if it replenishes the groundwater and aquifers under the chalk stream then I aren`t going to complain .  So i will leave this here and say have a happy Christmas and lets hope for a prosperous new year , Which given the current state of the world seems highly unlikely . 

Gone Fishing

Over the last couple of years the whole social media thing Has lost its shine for me so apart from the odd grip and grin on FB and the silly sense of humour posts that`s it .  I might in the future shake of the cobwebs of the blog ,  but somehow doubt it .  So for now the post title says it all. 

Tight Lines everyone.

First signs of summer and first on a dry

Last season this upland stream was new to me ,  it was great to fish during those first few weeks when the high waters everywhere meant that this little stream was still fishable due to its pocket water nature and you could always find fish ,  moving on twelve months we have the opposite ,  following the driest march for 60 years the rivers are low , the ground is dry but the pocket water nature of the stream keeps things interesting 

It was a frustrating day to start with its a fair trek down to the river. deep valley through a couple of fields and conifer plantation .   which is not a problem normally and indeed is part of the charm but when you start fishing and realise that the very old silk line that you have used for years and passed the out of season checks is actually past it best and passed failed the giving it a tug test which meant a trek back to the car for a spare reel.  Which is even more frustrating given that usually I have a spare line and reel in the backpack but due to closed season cleaning I had taken the spares out.

Anyway here is my first brown trout of the season ,  small I grant you but very very welcome especially as it took a dry fly . There is no better way to start a season 

There were some clear signs from the huge winter floods the rock below that has been broken in half has the area of a ford focus and the slab is about 450 mm thick , had to imagine just done by water it isn`t me in the picture above. it is an older friend . I was having a breather and watching and learning , 

A couple of days after this I had my first trip of the year to my local chalk stream.  The river was as low as I have seen it and considering it should be bank high from the winter rains it is a worrying state. The stream is of course spring fed and even very heavy rain now would be lost in the ground and not make it into the aquifer.

On the day I took two rods , not something I normally do but the bamboo rod is a winter build on a set of blanks that were made by Barry Grantham and I wanted to try a line on it, Barry said it was based upon the Hardy CC d France taper  , I got it from him some time ago. It was nice to christen it in style .  I didn`t get the line choice quite right so after that fish I put it away and went back to my old faithful Streamflex plus ,

The fish were very fit wildies and this one tail walked up the river like a rainbow . I have had this rod for many years and I still think it is one of the finest longer river rods out there.

The fish  were in beautiful condition 

I couldn`t help taking this picture seemed like spring encapsulated 

Then on Saturday we had a work party on another local stream and afterwards myself and a friend walked the river to discover that the hawthorn flies have decided to show their face early this year. 

Its a pretty little stream and it has become an old friend ,  on the day i would have caught many more on a nymph but while there was a chance of a fish on a dry I was going to persevere , 

I think you can see the fly stuck in his jaw and that by the time I caught this fella the fly had already lost his legs ,  The first few I caught were , well lets just say well smaller ,,,,I don`t like fishing the hawthorn on very fine tippets so never go below 5 x ,  The wing and the legs make it a bugger for twisting the tippet. 

That day I used a new rod and for me a new material .  its glass. well S glass which i think is just glass but a bit faster.  When I was fishing the upland stream I was stumbling about due to me not being very fit after hardly fishing since before Christmas also my balance seems to be not getting any better due to a duff knee and ears that have being in the wars and have affected my balance ,  so I reflected that wafting a four figure value bamboo rod about isn`t the best idea on rough upland streams , Also  I here much chatter these days about the new glass rods so have got this one to try.  its a 7ft 3 wt and has an action very much like cane and not unlike the old Hardy featherweight carbon ,  Watch this space to see it it grown on me , but first impressions are good . 

Arthur Ransome had it right...Opening day

. . "Perhaps the greatest satisfaction on the first day of the season is the knowledge in the evening that the whole of the rest of the season is to come."

The above quote by Arthur Ransome sums it up very nicely .  Even as a boy I can remember the same excitement .  I mean Christmas is just a day that ends all to soon.  Whereas the first day of the season opens the window to a whole new year . with fresh hopes and ambitions , new places to visit or even better visiting those places that have become home to see what changes the winter floods have brought about . Or more simply just to enjoy the fact that summer is starting.  I still have the same sense of excitement that I had as a kid .  Despite the fact that at my age I should know better ,  but actually at my age I should be more excited as now semi retired and free to come and go .  Sons and Daughter grown up and after many years of trial the rivers I fish have matured nicely down to a select group. I have all the rods and reels I need , which is not to say I could always want something new and shiny ,  

So on opening day I have already decided where I will fish.  Its a favourite small stream . One that appears on the blog and I am particularly fond of .  There is something particularly satisfying about familiar surroundings . 

On the subject of Ransome it reminds me that Swallows and Amazons was one of my favourite reads as a child. Books that I suspect have past by modern youngsters and are probably deemed inappropriate as they freely use jolly nicknames like fatty and Skinny and girls are not expected to act like boys . The books did portray a very wholesome worldly innocence that I suspect is pretty unfashionable now ,   

As for books generally I enjoy and  tend to read Angling literature rather more than how too books.  The modern how too books are interesting and they there have been some very good ones published in the last few years.  But I feel however good they are to dip into, they are not what I would call a good read ,  They are inevitably more like text books,  something that I have always been somewhat averse too. Where as the classic authors books are much more readable.  My leavers report of the Boarding school I attended had the heads comment I would have been a admirable student if I had put as much effort into my Scholastic studies as trying to catch the trout in the river leven,  To this day I am very proud of that report.  and particularly of that comment .  

New Season anticipation . Rod Action bollocks and marketing

As is usual in the darkest bit of winter one spends more time on t inter web  , In  this last few weeks of winter  shitty wet days and dark nights I have spent many an hour mindlessly scrolling through various forums and I marvel at the nonsense spouted by the add men selling stuff  and folks on forums . There are a couple of words and phrases  that seem to be in vogue at the moment .  I always thought that I knew what they meant but it would appear I don’t .  Either that or the ad men are making stuff up to get us ordinary folk to part with our hard earned cash .  

The first word to grumble about is medium as part of the phrase medium action fly rod .  Now for  most of this century and the last 20 years of the last one . Yes I am old and remember the 60s and 70s it seems to me that all the big guns in the carbon rods game have been making things faster and faster .  Most rods are still pretty fast but they have cottoned on to the fact that actually for rivers that really can be the wrong approach and  are now  trying to sell the idea that for rivers medium action is best ,  Well I for one know it is but what they appear to sell as medium action , well really just isn`t . Bamboo rods are slow / medium action ,  Fibreglass rods are often medium action and a few carbon rods are IMO medium action .  Things like the the Hardy Classic series , The Orvis Superfine series ,  The vision Cult . The Sage Circa.  Rod that are actually more a medium action . The rest well just aren`t .  But apparently and according to one online article I read .  "A medium action rod is what is needed for technical small stream fishing" well no shit sherlock which brings me on to my next marketing word grumble..

The second marketing bollox word that makes me giggle is technical . A quick google on line found the following examples as well as the classic technical fly fishing... I have found Technical fly line.  Technical fly fishing Socks and my favourite , "technical undercrackers" underwear to you and me,  I wish someone could explain to me how socks and underwear can be technical . I find the only technical thing about them is these days  keeping my balance whilst putting them on.

As for the new season well club AGMs are happening , Events that always remind me that the season is nearly upon us .  It is good to catch up with friends and its very good to see the days lengthening and the rivers waking up. In my own mind I know which rivers I will be concentrating on fishing first and which I will be waiting a little for them to wake up.  The current spell of settled weather could mean a nice early start to the trout season .  Or as is often the case will opening day follow two weeks of perfect weather and on the day be gale force winds and torrential rain.  That is the joy of English weather ,  I say weather because referring to it as a climate hints at predictability ,  Whereas we all know  March and April in particular are months when all four seasons can occur on the same day .  

Oh and one final gripe I was away for a few days recently and picked up a Trout and Salmon at the newspaper stand in WH Smith .  I had a quick flick through it and glanced at the price and replaced it rapidly ,  Fearing store security would come over and catch me stealing a read. Are they having a laugh  , How fecking much ????.  Same with fly fishing and fly Tying . for years I bought it when it was less than half current prices , then I bought the version for my ipad .  read it for a while I even had a few things published in it.  Then binned it Really though when will they wake up and actually do something decent online . I cant understand why they aren`t embracing the internet,  There have been some excellent fishing books published this last couple of years,  Peter Hayes Fly fishing outside the box. Dave Southall Long Rods Light lines John Roberts new book Grayling on the fly .  You look at those and think cost / content and compare to about Four months trout and salmon . I mean really ? Someone is technically taking the proverbial . 

Anyway that`s it for now ,  I feel better for getting that of my chest...

2025 Hopes and Plans

 

Blimey 2025! .  A quarter of a century since the Millennium .  Which seems like 5 or 10 years ago.  But there again I am one of those who says 30 years ago is the 1970s ,  Retirement heading my way fast at the moment my weeks have more days of than working .  So more time for fishing and other stuff,  But what about this year what do I want to see ?

For me there will be more fishing with bamboo.  I really have a taste for it especially for on the smaller streams where I spend so much of my fishing time ,  As for fishing time I am hoping that there will be more fishing time with friends and family ,  I have one Son who fishes although age related other interests have deflected him this last year.  But he will be joining a favourite club of mine this year so I am hoping that will reinvigorate him.  

So for the year in general  I am  hoping that we have :

• A proper Summer and by a proper Spring and Summer I mean So march cold and clear with a modicum of rain and some snow is acceptable.  April showers means showers and no more of those biblical floods ,  May means a little rain but progressively warmer ,  June, July  and August is mid summer with long warm days and just enough rain to top up my Streams .  September should start with at least two weeks of decent weather , I relish September it is like the summers last hurrah and is often the best month of the year ,  October will need some rains to restore the rivers for the Grayling fishing through until Christmas .  January and February well wet and cold please .
• Fly life Please let us have a return to a year when the hawthorn flies crash land on to the chalk stream. The BWO delight us for the evening rise , The mayfly dance and Sedges skitter. Can we see daddy longlegs in abundance and even have the midges annoy the hell out of me on those warm evenings . Surface activity to encourage rising fish would be nice .  
• Can we have sensible water levels please ,  something like a Goldilocks and the three bears analogy . Not to high and not to low but just right.
• Also this year could someone arrange for the trees to stop reaching out and grabbing my fly and tippet .  

2024 That was the year that was

 Well that`s it them , 2024 done and dusted .  A year to be remembered only for its  miserable surface hatches and for having too much water at first and then not enough . for a lack of a summer and a lack of notable fish .

For sure   I have hooked several notable fish this season sadly they all did not quite make it to the net .  There was the large trout that engulfed the Martins minnow only then to knit my tippet around the bank side wooden piles ,  then there was the one that inexplicably escaped as I drew it over the landing net ,   then an hour later an even larger brownie escaped when the same landing net frame collapsed ,  demonstrating to me at the same time that the landing net frame had cracked earlier and , I am sure was what cut the line on the other good trout of the day The reality is that that day should have been my day of the season it should have seen me land two 4lb plus brown trout , Instead it ended up being memorable for all the wrong reasons .   

Early in the season the new ( to me ) upland stream was a delight ,  The fish are eager to come to the surface , the surroundings are stunning and geography of the river means it rises and falls pretty sharpish it was often fish able where others weren’t . It one of the few seasons highlights . 

Anyway 

Monday saw me back on ( in ) a favourite stream that has a good head of grayling .  Although the last couple of visits has  seen tougher fishing than usual it’s a lovely place to be . I was fishing with friend Richard who runs a successful company selling Barbless flies you can join the dots to work out who he is . I have been pestering him for months as to why he doesn’t fish more , so when he suggested it how could I turn it down .

Above is the upland stream that brought much pleasure in the spring , it has a good head of free rising wild brown trout . It will be in my radar for April 2025 .

Below was my last fish of 2024 .  A nice grayling but by no means large for the river .  That small stream produces 1 1/2 lb fish regularly and the 2 lb target occasionally .  Also the rod reveals that my last trip was one of the first where I wasn’t fishing bamboo.  The old 8ft Scott G gives me more reach and less weight for holding the fly line of the water .  I have to say that the older scotts are a delightful way to fish with loads of feel .  Anyway readers have a great new year . For those of you who do fish then I wish you tightlines. 

Christmas Greetings

 

Testament of a Fisherman

"I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape. Because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience. Because I suspect that men are going this way for the last time and I for one don’t want to waste the trip. Because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters. Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. … And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun." — Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman

So lets talk about the past year and the future...

 

It really has been a strange sort of a year . A spring so wet it was biblical .  Followed by a summer that never really matured it was either too hot or too cold and things never really seemed to get going ,  Rising fish seem to have been notably absent and judging by other anglers I speak to that seems to have been a pretty common experience.  The chalk stream has been a constant fascination though. As much for the bird and animal life as for the fishing and it must be said the fishing has been hard for most of the season.  Guys who have fished there for many years have struggled which makes me feel better. I had a few days where all was right in the world , fish were rising and everything slotted in to place .  I had a fine couple of days there with a guest who like me enjoys bamboo rods . The favourite rivers have delivered a few cracking days in what generally has been a below par season . 

Early season getting access to the new upland stream was brilliant as an early season option it is superb. . Cheap too so as a Yorkshireman that`s a big plus. here`s a couple of reminders of the place. 

Otherwise this year I am starting to think more and more about the R word , retirement that is. I am Part time now and in the next year total days not working will outnumber those working .  readers may be thinking that retirement will mean that I just fish all the time .  Well in some ways I feel it could be the opposite. All my life fishing has been partly an escape to de stress from work and I believe when I do pack work in other things will also move in to fill the time .  Although I think fishing is in my very bones ,

I recently received the rod I promised myself as a retirement gift .  The Luke Bannister fly rod it was a tad late for the trout season but anxious to put a line on it I had it out with me on a favourite stream after grayling with hope that I may get a grayling on it without resorting to the heavy stuff .  I also took another favourite carbon rod with me as the new rod is not really intended for slinging bead head nymphs about . So I took along a favourite winter rod for small streams a Scott original G series in a 8ft 3 wt and was catching steadily in the deeper runs . It is a perfect  having a bit extra reach .  Anyway the first few fish came to bead head nymphs in the deeper runs .  But I couldn`t catch a grayling on the new rod with the lighter nymphs ,  the rod solved the problem for me as I approached a small pool I was casting and lengthening line and had a take in the thinner water. It was this lovely OOS trout the rod was saying , look I don`t want a grayling I am for casting s dry fly on a summers evening take me home until the spring.. So that is what I am doing...Apologies for the OOS pic. but the event needed recording. The barbless hook fell out and the fish wasn`t handled 

The other thing that has lost its shine for me , not that I was the greatest fan and to some extent why I have the blog is the dreaded Facebook .  I caught myself some months  ago taking a picture of a fish I caught and thinking how best to put it on Facebook and even wondering if I had taken a picture of the same bit of river before and at that point I thought what the bloody hell am I doing . The reality is that moment made me question my motives for taking the camera . This last few months I have had many good days fishing and come the day when I catch a new PB or something really noteworthy I may well bubble over with joy and stick it on FB .  But at the heart of it is the very reason I fish . It is to relax, enjoy nature and hopefully catch a few.  Also for me fly fishing is an intensely personal pleasure , although I have to say that taking someone as a guest and sharing favourite places with them is a special distraction and I guess gave me some of the most enjoyable days of the season.   But sharing on line is a risky business .  I know that a blog is in itself social media and I am aware that others may say I am more than a little hypocritical. But FB is a very two edged thing . great for the odd political joke and keeping in touch with folks .  But Its a pervasive thing that is just a series of soundbites and snapshots without any real thought and message .  The blog is hopefully about how I feel and spread the joy of fly fishing and the places I fish but it will be less from me in terms of the grip and grin type stuff , 

As for retirement , apart from the downside and  the obvious that it means I am getting older .  It also means that I have more time to enjoy the wonderful fishing in the rivers I am fortunate to have access too.  But as  said above it doesn`t mean that I will fish more .  I also have an allotment garden which I enjoy and the old coronet major in the garage will get more use .  For those that don`t know that is a woodworking machine and not some sort of military band leader .  Truth is like the rivers I fish I am changing . I saw a video recently of the actor Michael Hordern talking about that great writer Arthur Ransome he used the phrase "Gardeners and Fishermen make fine old men" I rather liked that and it seems like a reasonable ambition to move forwards with into retirement. I will keep you informed on how I progress.  

One of the few times this year I have had an Audience...