A Little Place I Call Heaven

Today ( bank holiday Monday ) i made sure i had booked a day off work so that i could get a good few hours out on the stream as i haven't fished it for a few weeks due to practicing with the french leader ready for the winter grayling.  Anyways the day started off with me giving Mostyn a ring to see if he was going fishing today and he was more than happy to say yes :)  We got onto the stream and it was still very low and crystal clear even though we had a good bit of rain for a few days during last week and the weekend :-/ but we ploded along fishing some nice runs with fast water and picked up a few nice trout which were very very fast striking the fly but not very big neither only a few inches but nice to see none the less :)
As we moved on up stream we noticed that there was a very good hatch of olives, brook duns and the odd mayfly plus the sherry spinners flying about everywhere.  There was fish rising everywhere in the fast water, glides and calm water :) myself and Mostyn put our flies in separate pool and both of use were into a fish straight away :) the fast strikes and kept on for around 2 hours and missing them too, but it wouldnt be called fishing if we could catch them all ;) As i rested down for a drink and something to eat Mostyn fished a nice pool which normally has a good head of fish and i just knew that he was going to have a few so i got the camera out and he was straight into a fish and 2 more straight afterwards ;)


As it got a bit on in the day and the air temperature got a bit colder there wasn't as much fly life left on the water and a lot more area's where shaded so there wasn't so many splashy rises but we hit a pool which just screamed out fish so i was first to give it a try :) first few casts i had a rise but didn't strike into it as Mostyn was talking to me and i wasn't concentrating :P but now that i knew where the fish was lying i casted it across the other sections of the pool and give that one a rest.  I cast above about 4/5 feet from where the fish is laying and wait in anticipation as the fly passes it..................... and nothing .  So i cast it again and again and still nothing.  So myself and Mostyn decided to call it a day so i cast the length of my line out to reel my line in and then BANG i wasn't expecting it :-o i struck and as soon as i knew it the fish was hooked and jumping like crazy and then it happened it snapped and Mostyn was laughing :(  But it was nice to be back on the stream with my little 6ft 3# and if i died and if i died and went to heaven  this would be it :)

here are a few more pictures of the day :)

River & Stream

STREAM 
It was Saturday and had the weekend off and i was determined to get out onto the stream to get out and persuade a few wild trout to the dry fly.  I phoned my trusted companion for the day and asked where are we going and he said that he has a surprise for me today as he was going to take me onto a stream which is hasn't been fished for years  :-D  So we get to the untouched stream and it looked as beautiful as i imagined it in my head, over hanging tree's, large boulders, fast runs, nice glides, riffles and pockets.  I couldnt wait to jump in and wet a line :-D

Mostyn let me take the first pool, it had a bit of slow water with a fast run down the middle and sides at the top of the pool.  I fished the fast and slow water making dozens of casts, kneeling down all the way not to spook the fish but still didn't entice anything to the dry fly.  It was like that for a few more pools and runs up the stream until i came to a nice side pool which had lots of channels of fast water coming into the main pool.  I placed my fly at the ends of the fast runs first just encase there was anything lying there before i put my fly into the much faster water, and straight away i had a rise to my fly but these wild brown trout are very very fast and i mist the take but i was determined to get one from this pool ;-) a few more cast and a few more mist takes and i actually hooked one, a nice little perfect wild brown trout.
But it was the same all the way through the stream, a bit of hit and miss for myself unlike my good mate Mostyn who was picking them up rite left and center but mainly dropping them off but a nice day and i shall definatly visit this wild small stream again :-)

Mostyn fishing a nice pool.


RIVER
The next day ( Sunday ) my brother phoned me up asking me to teach him a few things about fly fishing as he has been nagging me for ages so i could not say no :-/  I set him up on a team of nymphs as where i was taking him it was ideal as it had some shallow fast runs and some deep pools with a bit of flowing water in it.  I was first up in a run which i like to call mine and only mine pool :-p
I was set up with a klink & dink, i stood a fair bit off the fast water to start off with just showing my brother a few things on casting etc etc and then started fishing the faster water where i know usually there is a good head of fish :-) I placed my flies up against the fast water and directly in the fast water itself where there normally lies a few nice fish but nothing today.  So i decided to put on a heavier nymph and sort of czech nymph it with a short line keeping the klinkhammer out of the water as an indicator and using a heavier nymph.  as soon as i was drifting the nymph down in the fast water next to the wall i felt a tug on my line but i didn't strike for some reason and didn't hook into the fish so i decided ( obviously ) to put it past it again, but this time i struck and was into a fish.  Then all of a sudden it shot off up river and down river, i knew i was into a good fish so i let it run some line off the reel and tire itself out whilst placing a bit of pressure on it to keep the line tight.  It was jumping and splashing about like a wild horse and finally after about 5 minutes managed to calm the beast down enough to get it into the net.  A nice 3 1/2 lber  give or take :-)

After hooking that monster i gave my fly rod and same set up to my brother and showed him what to do and where to place the flies and low and behold a few flicks to get used to the rod and how to flick the rod he was into a fish around 1lb.  As the day got on myself and my brother hooked into a few nice fish and lost a few nice fish too.  But i will definatly take my brother fly fishing again as it was a good laugh and we also caught a few nice fish too.  What more can you ask for ;-)

Here are a few pictures of the day.


my brother with his first fish on the fly

A rare photo of myself ;-)

Mid Summer Magic

It was the end of the weekend and i hadnt been fishing all week so when it came to Sunday and my better half could see me looking out of the window looking at the rays of sunshine coming through the clouds from the rain the night before she felt pitty on me and let me get out on the river for a few hours :-)

as i got onto the stream there was a slight down stream wind and very little life on the water but after 5 minutes the sun made an appearance and i was on my way.  I started off in  pool which i always start off in under a bridge slow and fast water which normally holds a few nice fish but even though i was putting my fly in the rite places and not creating any drag on my line there was nothing there to greet my fly.

So i moved on into the next few pools which was very fast water which with the river low there had to be fish lying off the fast runs waiting for nymphs and flies to pass their way to snatch up :-) and low and behold my first cast into the side of the fast water a nice little fish snatched up my fly and then after that one there were about 3 more to follow it :-)

after fishing a good   few more pools with fast and slow water and fishing glides too picking up the odd few fish i noticed that the flies had stopped hatching completely and the only thing on top of the water was midges and i didnt have a single rise for a few hours and thought to myself is there something which im doing wrong, im kneeling down out of the shadows, presenting my fly rite, fishing the faster water so what am i doing wrong.  Then the sun came out for half an hour and woke things up a little with mayfly, olives, sedges etc coming off the water and noticed a few splashy rises a couple of pools above me and after fishing the pools below the ones which fish are rising in and having a few splashy rises but not hooking anything as you can imagine i was ready to pull my hair out :/ but after a few casts under a little tree and in close to the banks i soon picked a few up :) and then after around 4/5 hours on the stream and about 20 fish after i had a phone call saying to make my way home as dinner was ready and i had a sad face as i didnt want to leave my surroundings high up in the mountains listening to the mountain streams running through the lush valley.   But mark my words, I WILL be back ;)

you have to pick a pocket or two ;)




My company for the evening whilst sitting down taking in my surrounding eating my lunch

And the inhabitants of the lush small stream which i call home :)

Another great day :D

Fished the river again today as i had a good day Tuesday and have been told to have the rest of the week off work with pay :D  Anyways i hit the river a nice little wind and warm weather brung on a hatch and the fish were rising freely so i decided to fish a single dry fly, after a couple of casts i hit into my first fish a nice little fish around half a pound and stunning red spots.  After i put it back to the wild to swim freely i noticed some nice fish rising in the same pool which i was fishing and they lookied like some reaaly nice fish too as they were doing what big fish do while rising they only sup at the water ot just poke thier nose out while gauging at flies coming down river.  I put my hares ear klinkhammer about 4/5 foot infront of one of the rising fish and nothing happened...........  So i tried it again and waited all tensed up waiting for a little sup or rise to my fly, and then it happened the most gentlest of rises.  I struck softly as iv been told that i strike too hard and all hell broke loose.  The fish ran me up and down side to side leaping 3/4 foot out of the water trying its best to snap me off but i kept myself calm and didnt rush the fish and as soon as i tried to bring it to hand it made one more run for it and leaped high into the air and spat the hook out.......... But i would say that the fish was around 4lb.  I was not amused :(

So after that dissapointment i gave the pool a few minutes to quit down and wait untill i could see more fish rising again before i put any line out.  I saw a few more rising fish after 10 minutes wait sitting in the overgrowth getting eaten by the midges and dodging the spiders :/  again i put my fly about 3/4 foot above the rising fish closest to me but this time it stuck straight away and run straight down river leaping absolutly everywhere twisting and turning but this time i was not letting it go so easilly, i waited untill i knew it was properly ready to bring to hand.  Not as big as the one that got away but a ncie 2 1/2lb fish and stunningly beautiful red and black spots which put a really big smile on my face :D

After that fish i moved on to other spots on the river and caught some nice fish around the 1lb mark and smaller but this time in deeper water i used klink & dink method which always works ;)  but the one thing i will say about the day is that ill need to tie up a few more nymphs from loosing them on fish and tree's etc ;) and will definatly be fishing the main river a fe more times before the season is out :D

Here a few pictures of the beautiful fish today :D





A true monster :)

a day for the big ones :)

Today saw me having ANOTHER day off and doing some chores around town for the better half and whilst down there i couldnt resist having a quick sneak peak into the local river after a big spate all last week and over the weekend.  As i was walking up the river i saw a lot of fish rising to olives, mayflies, brook dunns etc as they flutter down stream so peacefully while the trout chomp on them and thought to myself  "i gotta have me some of that "  So i quickly rush off  home drop the chores off and said to her quickly that i was going fishing for a few hours before she could ask me to do anything else hehe, and off i went. 


I got onto the river around 3:30pm and the sun was high in the sky and a strong downstream wind and all the fish that i saw rising an hour before had all stopped, so i resorted to something which i dont do very often klink & dink as i like to think as myself as a purist and fish on a single dry fly onlny ;)  I put my flies into the fast water running off big boulders and calm water and nothing was bitting so i decided to have a break for five and wait untill the wind calms down a little and see if anything starts to rise again.  After about 2 minutes of me having a rest a large hatch of olives and brook dunns came on and all of a suden there were fish rising all around me and though way hay :D  After a few false casts and working out where the fish were and how far to place my flies above them so that they would take my fly more easilly i set my flies down and after a few mist takes i finally hooked into my first fish of the evening, a nice 2lb brown trout and stunnign spots on him too and the next cast i caught one a little bit smaller and thought to myself hold on if these big ones are in here could there be a monster in here somewhere!!!!!!!!!!  So i kept on with the klink & dink and then it happened i hooked into something which i can only explain as a true monster and took me for a ride up stream and took nearlly all of my line out to its backing and jumping out of the water at every chance it got trying to snapp my leader. Which after around 5 minutes fight and a lot of line reeled back in it did :(


But i am glad that i ventured off onto the main river again after a very long absence and will definatly do it again before the season ends ;)

Here are a few pictures of the fish of the day










 And a safe release

Fathers day Special :)

Sunday saw the rains of the following week go away and replaced with some clouds and sunshine :D  I havnt been able to go fishing for most of the week due to the rivers and stream being in spate so when the better half could see me sulking on the sofa she kindly said to me " oh go on then go bloody fishing " you can imagine my response :D   i quickly shot up with a big smile on my face and got my gear on and off i went.  I hit the stream and was expecting a it of colour and high water but it was none of these things.  It was gin clear and a few inches of water in it so it must have dropped quite a lot over night as it was in spate the day before.  Anyways  i could see fish rising all around for as long as i could see up stream and that got the heart racing a little and thought to myself bloody hell if things go rite this is going to be one hell of a day :)  first cast first fish :D a nice 10 inch browny with stunning gold colour with bright red spots and i had another 3 out of the pool too.


As the day got on and the sun high in the sky, every glide pocket and run i put my fly into there was a nice little wildy brown trout there to great my fly and i was more than happy to let thyem have it :) and then it happened at around 3 o'clock the fish switched off, there was still a lot of fly on the water Mayfly, BWO's, large brook dunns etc but the fish just wasnt interested so i decided to have a rest and wait for them to rise again and take some nice photo's.

The home stream :)



Then they came back on the feed and all hell broke loose, fish after fish they came to hand big and small same as before.  Then the better half phoned me ( i know i know never take your phone fishing with you ) and said you do know you have a home to come back to ( hehe ) so i had to retire on the river at around 7 o'clock and make the 6 mile hike back down the valley to get home.  But one awsome day, one hell of a fathers day presentand i cant wait to greet the home stream again :D

Fin perfection and spots hand painted by God himself.