Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i Trout & Salmon

“My pupils were determined, engrossed and refreshingly optimistic. Among other seasoned rods, their thirst for information was infectious” WE WERE SITTING at the bar of the Cross Keys Hotel in Canonbie. Kip, my neighbour, who I’d introduced to the rollercoaster world of salmon fishing a year ago, had yet to catch his first salmon. He had discovered what a take feels like, on the Lower North Wark beat of the Tweed in May, but it had been a short acquaintance. Kip’s mate Chris was on his maiden trip. He’s a trout-fisher and bore all the hallmarks when wielding a double-hander for the first time. I gave him lessons as well as I could, but it’s one thing being able to cast and quite another to explain how to rectify faults.…

TICKETS, FOOD AND TACKLE The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust (www.watervillelakes.com) manages the fishing on the Inny, the Cummeragh (another spate river) and local salmon and sea-trout loughs, including Currane. Ticketing is via the Mace store in Waterville and can be booked in advance. Tel. +353 (0)66 947 4253. This also sells small items of tackle and can provide sandwiches and coffee (flask filling). The local pharmacy sells a limited range of tackle and equipment (life jackets, Kelly kettles, spare rods). Fishing can also be arranged via Currane Lodge (see below). You’ll need a Salmon Licence, available from the same sources or online (www.salmonlicences.ie). Fishing on the Inny is with a single barbless fly only. Further information about fishing in the Waterville region can be found via www.fishinginireland.info/salmon/southwest/waterville.htm An Ordnance…

OST SALMON ANGLERS dream of catching a truly vast salmon. Who hasn’t spent a few minutes imagining that moment when your fly is snatched away by a true leviathan? A monster. A fish to show your grandchildren. That dream is one that few will realise. The huge Atlantic salmon of yesteryear are all but a memory in most of our home rivers, and the true titans - fish of 40lb and more - are now extremely rare anywhere apart from Norway’s legendary Alta. Yet there is a place. A place where big, chrome-silver fish of 30lb barely raise an eyebrow. A place where fish of 40lb, 50lb, even 60lb are eminently catchable on fly. Before you get too excited, there is one big caveat. The fish I’m talking about are…

In a recent BBC Costing the Earth programme, presenter Tom Heap broadcast from an old aircraft hanger in which a Norwegian entrepreneur had set up a massive tank to farm salmon. The tank was miles away from the sea, so that nothing was pumped out of or into the ocean – no lice to eat wild salmon and sea-trout, or waste products to foul the seabed, or chemical treatments to kill local shellfish. The premise was that technological advances now mean you can grow salmon wherever you like, provided you have a decent supply of water for a recirculation system. In other words, closed containment fish farming is fast becoming a reality, and will soon be more economically viable than open nets in the North Atlantic, with their susceptibility to…

HISTORY RUNS IN the family when it comes to Hardy fishing tackle, and it is a history of innovation and technological advancement. Its new range of fly-lines perfectly embodies this tradition. The Rocket shooting-head series uses a phased-density construction that combines with a large selection of tips to deliver total depth control for your salmon fishing. New single-handed lines have carefully designed tapers to suit every application whether in freshwater or salt. Tapered running lines improve shooting and line control, while copolymer and flurocarbon leaders and tippet are strong with an impressively low diameter that is perfect for all types of presentation, Finally, new dacron and gel-spun backing provides the ultimate insurance for powerful, fast-running fish. SALMON SHOOTING-HEAD SYSTEM A unique two-part shooting-head system that allows fine tuning of sink…

WITH THE CLOSED season upon us, it’s time to check rods and lines for signs of wear and tear. They take more of a bashing during a hard season than you might think. It’s worth inspecting the rod rings. Look along the individual sections and you’ll quickly identify a ring that’s out of alignment. This is easily corrected by applying gentle pressure on the ring in the appropriate direction. Also check each ring’s internal surface for signs of grooving. Grooves are caused by the fly-line’s contact with the rings when it’s retrieved before re-casting and when shooting line on the forward delivery. Although snake intermediate rings can suffer, the main victim is the tip ring. Ring abrasion will also reduce the lifespan of a fly-line by stripping its slick coating.…

“The Wine Dabbler was off the mark with a beautiful hen fish of a shade over 5lb” UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES I’d wait three or four years at least, and have caught a sizeable tally of fish, before considering waxing lyrical about a pattern on this page. But I fear guilt will consume me whole if I keep this one from you much longer. Don’t get me wrong, this fly, like all flies, has its off days, but they have been few and far between - usually when nothing much else works - and the evidence after just two seasons tells me it’s a keeper. One of those “night-before specials” tied past bedtime on the eve of a trip to Malham Tarn, the Wine Dabbler showed promise a couple of casts…

COSTA HAS BEEN leading the way in technologically advanced polarized sunglasses for years and now it is investing even more in the UK fly-fishing industry with the development of its “stores within stores”. For the first time, visitors to the Glasgow Angling Centre and other select locations will be able to see the full range of Costa sunglasses. “There has been an incredible response to Costa’s store within a store at the Glasgow Angling Centre, the first of its kind in Europe,” said Steve Chance, Costa’s UK distributor. “It allows our customers to see the entire Costa range. The display ( see below ) will be rolled out at other select locations throughout the UK as the brand continues its phenomenal growth in the UK fishing and shooting markets.” Costa’s…

FLEXIBLE TUNGSTEN CONES, BEADS AND BODIES £4.80-£7.40 Made from tungsten-impregnated rubber, these beads, cones, shrimp bodies and tubes from Chevron Hackles are flexible enough to fit around any hook bend, while the beads and cones can slip over a hook eye – even that of a double salmon hook (pictured). You can also use the beads and cones with, or instead of, dubbing balls on salmon flies, including Intruders, where they will not only “kick up” hackles but also add weight. They can also be used for trout bugs, nymphs and lures. They’re not as heavy as solid tungsten beads, cones and Bidoz bodies, but that could be an advantage in some situations (where solid tungsten is too heavy). They can also be trimmed and take varnish but you’ll need…

England & Wales BORDER ESK THE RIVER at Canonbie was mainly high, with several big spates – especially between Oct 12-14. Persistent rises prevented the fish from settling in the pools. To date the Burnfoot beat has produced 118 salmon and 66 sea-trout. The Willow Pool and Cauldron beats have produced 53 salmon and 43 sea-trout. Canonbie AA has produced 26 salmon and 109 sea-trout. Langholm AA has had two salmon and 32 sea-trout. Gilnockie Tower has had five salmon and nine sea-trout. Lower Irvine House has had 14 salmon and 14 sea-trout. Catches in late September and October have been lighter than anticipated. Fishing the Willow Pool, David Laidler caught a 12 lb salmon on spinner, and Richard Owen had fish of 11 lb 8 oz and 12 lb…

BOOKING: Be warned. The fishing at Austral Kings can be very tough. Excellent anglers have gone away empty handed. That said, some of those same anglers are returning in 2018, inspired by this unique river. I’m convinced that hooking one of the really huge chrome Chinook salmon that swim this river is potentially one of the most exhilarating experiences available anywhere in the world with a double-handed rod in your hand. I will be returning to Austral Kings Camp in January 2018. If you are interested in joining me, or in discussing the fishing at Austral Kings, contact me at mattharris@mattharris.com You can also book the fishing by contacting Kim Jorgensen at Getaway Tours via australkings.com Getaway represents the Trochine brothers, whose tented camp is the original operation on the…

THE WORLD’S LONGEST-RUNNING sitcom takes place in a small town in West Yorkshire. In this oasis of northern nostalgia three of the older sort of bloke enjoy a carefree second childhood. For most of the episodes the three characters were Compo, Clegg and Foggy. Foggy Dewhurst, the driving force, the man of ideas; Norman Clegg, the voice of moderation and restraint; Compo Simmonite, the unrepentant clown. At one time, in the long distant past, Clegg and Compo had been classmates in the local school. Now they are retired and, for the best part of three decades, pass the time in unlikely misadventure in the lanes of the surrounding moors, in the café, pubs and ginnels of the small town and in the little river that once powered the town’s mills.…

“My eyes were opened to a blinding truth – wilderness exists despite us” THEY SAY IT is better to travel hopefully than to arrive. And there is little doubt that the trail to Dalnaha cottage will fill the heart with hope and anticipation. However, arrival at this sublime outpost contains its own joys and the balm of spiritual healing. In this age of technology and materialism, the human soul is, for the majority, denied peace. Our requirement for the tranquillity inherent in wilderness grows as the opportunity diminishes. Life was designed to be simpler. Our need for interaction between ourselves and nature, while being actively denied by those environmentalists who, in their hearts, should know better, is a real and living thing. Fishing in the wild or trekking the moorland…

Winners of the annual Wild Trout Trust Conservation Awards, sponsored by Thames Water, were announced in October at the Savile Club in London. The awards recognise excellence in the management of wild trout habitat, celebrating the efforts, skills and ingenuity of projects that are carried out by professionals and volunteers. Find out more about the winners’ projects at the Wild Trout Trust website: www.wildtrout.org MEDIUM-SCALE HABITAT ENHANCEMENT SCHEME AWARD Winner: Bringing Back the Bulbourne, Environment Agency with Box Moor Trust. Where: Bulbourne chalkstream, near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. JUDGES’ COMMENDATION Winner: Mill River Nature Reserve, Shingay-cum-Wendy Wildlife Committee with the South Cambridgeshire Conservation Consultants Partnership Where: Royston, Cambridgeshire. CONTRIBUTION TO WILD TROUT CONSERVATION AWARD Winner: Botany Bay Conservancy Restoration Project, Botany Bay Community Interest Group. Where: A tributary of the River…

CURRANE IN CRISIS? I first fished Currane in 1972, courtesy of my late uncle, who had a house on the shore. Back then, the fishing could best be described as wonderful, with sea-trout and salmon in abundance. Even an inexperienced boy like me was successful and the sight of the daily catch displayed in the foyer of the Butler Arms was etched into my young mind. I recall a fresh 21lb springer with a local fly (the Claret & Blue) still in its jaws. After a long absence, I returned to Kerry and made annual trips from 2006. While the fishing was, unsurprisingly, not as good as it had been 40 years ago, we had good times. Waterville is a happy place and Currane remains one of Ireland’s most beautiful…

Q EACH SUMMER, my friends and I fish a medium-sized river. Normally, it is running quite low when we visit, but this year it was high and we were faced with the problem of deciding where to fish. The beat is let without a gillie. Can you suggest where you would fish in high water conditions? Connor Laverty, by email A: I THINK it was Chaytor who suggested fishing all those places that had previously been too “thin” to hold a fish. But what other possibilities are there when the river begins to fall and clear, and the salmon are thinking about moving upstream and might just take a well-presented fly? It is very rare for a river to be so high that you cannot see such features as where…

PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT HARDY ULTRALITE 3000 FWDD £189.99 Made for river trout fishing, Hardy’s striking new Ultralite FWDD feels like a finely engineered pocket watch. It is extremely light and unlike most other reels of this size, it has a disc drag. The size of the shaft has been reduced to save weight and the disc drag is very small but effective. It is adjusted by a colour-coded drag knob. The range of adjustment is excellent for such a light reel, particularly when compared to the simpler click-and-pawl style, though it is inevitably not as powerful as a full-size drag on a heavier reel. The spool is removed by simply pushing it from the back with your thumbs until it “pops” off – this design reduces the number of…

BE MASTER OF ALL YOU SURVEY Following the placing on the market of Golden Grove on the Towy in Carmarthenshire by Sir Francis Dashwood (T&S, September 2017), the nearby Edwinsford Estate in the Cothi valley is to be sold by James Phillips. Regarded as one of South Wales’s finest sporting estates, it was bought by Mr Phillips six years ago following the sale of his Suffolk estate. “I have enjoyed my years here, but as I am getting older I would like to be closer to family back in Newmarket,” he says. Situated two miles from Talley, ten from Llandeilo and 14 from Llandovery, the estate extends to 540 acres of freehold land with sporting rights in perpetuity over a further 316 acres. There are five miles of double-bank fishing…

“There is a chance that you will do something foolish to try to rescue it and then you end up beyond the bridge and you ‘Die the dee!’” FLUSHED WITH SUCCESS then, here I am standing on the banks of the Spey beneath the Bridge o’ Doom, which has not been either grim or foreboding this morning whatever, but has just, on the contrary, yielded a vigorous enough salmon that was probably double figures. That would be its weight, I should point out, not its position on the scoreboard for the week. Indeed its position on the scoreboard for the week was No.1. El Supremo. Primus inter pares. And not just in my week but in all our weeks. Along with a sea-trout, it must be said, which are fish…

“Is [the fly] working smoothly? Hanging in a lovely flare of fibres and feathers?” IT WAS ON the Inny, a wonderful little spate river that bisects Co Kerry on its way to Waterville and the sea, that we almost invented a new salmon angling magazine. I was fishing down a long holding pool for the umpteenth time. The mind - what was left of it - was beginning to wander. What should we call it, this novel and mighty angling organ? Bright Scales? Pretentious and absurd - no. Wild Angling? Three out of ten for self-regarding ambiguity - no. Total… Something? Maybe. The Total Fly-Rod? A bit 1990s, a bit Top Gear, so - no. Then I had it. “Total Gonads,” I called over my shoulder to Gardiner, who was…

SEASON: The 2017 season ends on January 31, 2018. There are bank and boat restrictions after October 31 (details of the locations are provided at the fishing lodge). Boats are available until January 31, with a reduced fleet of 20 craft after December 1. All brown trout must be released unharmed after October 31. TICKETS: For November-January – four fish, £18; eight fish, £26. Boat-hire options range from £14 (single-manned) to £19 (two anglers) for a full day. Anglers are advised to book boats in advance. In severe weather conditions boats may not be allowed out for safety reasons, so check before making the journey. CONTACT: Rutland Water Fishing Lodge. Tel: 01780 686 441. Web: anglianwater.co.uk…

“Perhaps due to my January birth, I have a strange affiliation with winter grayling fishing” AUTUMN CAN BE the season of changing colours, warm evening sun and the last fly hatches, whereas midwinter is the reverse. The shortening days, unforgiving nature of a hard frost and bracing weather conditions can make sitting in front of the fire a more appealing prospect than going fishing. For some of us, at least. Although the dropping water temperature and receding photoperiod [the response of organisms to the length of day or night] stimulates our native brown trout to breed rather than feed during the lean winter months, there is one species that positively thrives in these conditions - grayling. Although once considered to be a nuisance on the southern chalkstreams of England, the…

• LIKE MANY post-industrial rivers, the waters may now be clear, the water rights can still be murky. Slaithwaite and District Angling Club controls most of the river above Holmfirth, from Holmbridge to Bottoms Dam (see www.slaithwaitedistrictanglingclub.org). Holme Valley Piscatorial Association claims the fishing below Holmfirth to Steps Mill, Honley. The fishing where we fished, in Holmfirth and below Honley to the River Colne, is unclaimed. • RIVER HOLME Connections strives to improve the river for wildlife and residents. Visit www.riverholmeconnections.org…

“Most rules in fishing are derived from common sense. Those in golf, very often, are focused on the self-interest of club members” CHATTING AT THE bar of a hotel in the Lake District after a trip north earlier this year, the conversation turned to fishing. We were two couples, comparing holiday stories. “And what do you do while your husband’s fishing?” said the man to my wife. What did he think she would say? Knitting? Warming his socks? “I’m fishing too,” she said. She could have scored again by telling him she caught the biggest fish, but that’s not her style. His presumptive and somewhat crass approach could be explained. It turned out he was a golfer. Unlike game-fishing, where women hold a number of long-standing records, golf has gone…

WADING WARM, SHALLOW, crystal-clear flats or being poled along in a skiff, straining your eyes to glimpse a shoal of feeding bonefish or a group of majestic permit is without doubt one of fly-fishing’s greatest experiences. The rewards include stunningly beautiful, super-hard-fighting fish and the chance to enjoy the most attractive wilderness areas on the planet. Preparation for your first tropical saltwater fly-fishing adventure can be daunting for even the most experienced freshwater game angler. Here are a few pearls of wisdom to ensure you enjoy this fantastic experience to the full. SEEING IS BELIEVING Flats fishing is all about casting to sighted fish. Until you have learnt to unscramble the confusing melee of surface reflection, movement and subtle colour transitions, you’ll only see the most obvious targets. Practise looking…

QI HAVE BOXES full of river nymphs. One has exact copies of caddis grubs and stone-clinger nymphs. Another has rows of Czech nymphs with modern French nymphs tied on jig hooks and also some Spanish Perdigon nymphs. I also have a small box of simple nymphs such as Sawyer’s Pheasant Tails. How simple do you think dressings can be for river fishing? John Brown, by email A: AS A TEENAGER, I read Frank Sawyer’s and Oliver Kite’s books. Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail formed the basis of my first nymph. Having studied the stomach contents of my trout I felt it was too brown and added a few olive condor herl (sub) fibres “borrowed” from one of my teacher’s fly-tying boxes. I also gave it a darker thorax cover, and this nymph…

“Spring was his favourite time and I enjoyed sharing it with him” IT IS MORE than four years since my father passed away. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I know many readers will have suffered similar losses and it’s not really something that can be put into words. Instead of being gloomy, I thought I would feature one of his flies: the Garrabhudie, named after the famous Lochy pool, the Garrabhudie Stream. Translated from Gaelic, it means “Yellow Garden”. My interest in flies was stimulated by my father. We used to have a grand time playing about with patterns and spent countless happy hours talking about flies. I’m aware that some anglers have strongly held views on the efficacy of different patterns but, frankly, I couldn’t…