Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i Trout & Salmon

Three cheers for Aberdeen and District Angling Association which is offering free fishing to under-18s this season. Club president Robert Dey said, “This initiative by the Association will, along with junior days in the summer and our Angling Buddies scheme [where youngers rods are accompanied by experienced members] encourage more juniors to take up the sport. The future of not only the club but game-angling depends on it.” You do not have to be a local resident to join the club. ADAA was formed in 1946 and has 1,000 members. It has access to more than 30 miles of the rivers Dee, Feugh, Don and Ythan as well as two stocked lochs. Web: adaa.org.uk If your club offers free fishing for youngsters, please let us know. E-mail: troutandsalmon@bauermedia.co.uk…

The winner of the 2018 Charles Farlow Trophy is Thomas Chamberlain of Brecon, who landed a 28lb cock fish from Piles pool on the Spreadeagle beat of the River Wye on April 22, 2018. The trophy is awarded annually to the captor of the largest fly-caught salmon released in an English or Welsh river. Thomas’s name will be inscribed on the Sophie D’Souza-designed stained-glass trophy. He also receives a Goliath bottle of Foxdenton Estate gin and a £500 Farlows or Sportfish voucher. Thomas hooked the fish in a clearing river at 1.30pm and it was tailed 100m downstream. The fish was 41.5in long with a 23in girth. It took a home-tied tungsten Black Frances tube with a size 10 double hook on an Airflo Scandi 540 floater, Airflo intermediate polyleader…

Practical Angling Hints And Recipes (1939) In dust-wrapper: £15. Without: £5. Border River Angling (1939) In dust-wrapper: £20. Without: £10. The Book Of The Rough Stream Nymph (1947) In dust-wrapper: £30. Without: £20. All-Fur Flies And How To Dress Them (1967) In dust-wrapper: £35. Without: £20. Angler’s Quiz (1952) In dust-wrapper: £20. Without: £10. Big Trout (1955) In dust-wrapper: £10. Without: £5. The Truth About Trout Fishing (1951) (Written under the pen-name “Arnold B. Scott.”) In dust-wrapper: £15. Without: £5. English And Welsh Trout Flies (1967) In dust-wrapper: £35. Without: £20. A Reference Book Of English Trout Flies (1967) In dust-wrapper: £35. Without: £20. International Trout Flies (1969) In dust-wrapper:…

LIKE SO MANY ANGLERS WHO share a passion for nature that extends far beyond the riverbank, I love to explore my surroundings, whether taking off for an afternoon to look at ospreys, or diverting from a trip to Sutherland, as I did last year, to search for the chequered skipper butterfly in Argyll. I plan my year not just around the fishing seasons, but also around the flight times of butterflies. Each species has its own season when you’ll find it on the wing, and in its own habitat, even down to a specific tree. Dutch elm disease was not only a disaster for the elms but also for the white-letter hairstreaks that colonise elms. In late summer when I visit the Dee, I can find small coppers dancing among…

GREAT BEAR LAKE is the world’s fourth biggest lake – a massive freshwater reservoir with a surface area of 31,153km2 and depths up to 446m. It is in the central part of Canada’s vast Northwest Territories, which border the Arctic Ocean to the North. Fifteen different species of fish inhabit the lake including lake char, grayling, pike and whitefish. Plummer’s Arctic Lodges manage the fishing, which over the years has produced one record-breaking lake char after the other: among them the world record of 72lb. There are three lodges (Trophy, Great Bear, and Arctic Circle), all run by Plummer’s staff with different fishing options. Visit: plummerslodges.com E-mail: fish@plummerslodges.com.…

1 Run the tying thread on at the hook eye then wind it in close turns well round the bend. Catch in a length of medium-width red holographic tinsel. 2 Secure the waste end of the holographic tinsel along the hook shank with close thread turns then apply a pinch of black seal’s fur to the thread. 3 Using a simple finger-and-thumb twist, dub the seal’s fur roughly on to the thread. Starting at the end of the tinsel, wind the dubbed fur along the shank. 4 Wind the dubbed fur until it has covered two-thirds of the thread base and then apply turns of the holographic tinsel. 5 Carry on winding the tinsel, ensuring the turns are evenly spaced. When the front of the body has been reached, secure…

Fishing at Exton Manor Farm – April 3 to September 30 – is offered by Fishing Breaks (fishingbreaks.co.uk/chalkstream/meon.htm). There is one beat of around 600 yards. The weed is cut every month but do check before your visit. Chris and Richard stayed at the Bugle Inn, Twyford (bugleinntwyford.co.uk), which lies close to the Meon and the Itchen (where they also fished). This has twin and double rooms (called The Meon, The Test and The Itchen) and offers excellent food. The Shoe Inn (facebook.com/theshoeinnstagram) is within easy reach of the beat. The Meon Valley Partnership has worked with local landowners and the Wild Trout Trust on a number of projects aimed at habitat restoration. See: meonvalleypartnership.org.uk .…

AS YOUR FLIES SINK through the water column, further into the realm of trout, it becomes harder to know what’s going on. With dry patterns it is simpler – you can see them, after all – but when your flies are under the water you must make educated guesses. It is this lack of knowing that makes many anglers neglect nymphs. Yet those who understand the techniques have access to trout in their preferred feeding area and they can enjoy great success. To fish nymphs effectively you need to establish the influencing factors. Firstly, and most obviously, what creature are you trying to imitate? Where and how does it appear in the water? Baetis (swimming olives) will appear mid-water and they will be swimming across currents; gammarus (shrimp) will be…

We fished as guests of the Leckford Estate, Stockbridge, Hampshire. Longstock Park Lake and Testside lakes are open all-year round and the lake fishing costs £80 for a full day and £40 for half a day. There’s a six-rod maximum on one lake, eight rods on the other, and booking ahead is advised, tel: 07860 541 933. The Leckford stretch of the Test, with 11 miles of fishable bank, is open to bookings. Visit leckfordfishing.co.uk The estate also has a farm shop, café (remember to order your hamper in advance), water garden and nursery. The makings of a fine day out with your “partner”, family or friends.…

Fishing on Loch Fern is only available to residents of the Boathouse beside the loch. For details and availability contact Stuart Martin on 01387 711 767 or email: stuartmartin@lochfern.com – and keep an eye on the T&S Property pages in the next month or so. Loch Skeen is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. Fishing is fly only and free. Vendace were filmed for the first time in the wild in January 2017 in Derwent Water by Ian Winfield of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Catch a glimpse at www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/blogs/brief-encounter-vendace-film Cloudberries do not take kindly to cultivation: almost all are gathered wild and are much sought-after. You can buy Cloudberry – Hjortron – jam at IKEA.…

Q One of the benefits of my high-pressure job is access to a private beat on a lovely river. It gives me a chance to unwind. Unfortunately, I get frustrated at my lack of success. How can I increase the number of trout I hook? Marcus Fisher, London A During the winter I was a guest speaker at an angling association dinner. I talked about my diaries and how they had developed from simply containing basic facts to being a full report of my day. I was then asked if they contained my emotions. And they do. The entries between the years when I was content to be catching anything to those when I felt I could catch any surface-feeding trout are full of “not happy” and “frustrated”. My pressure…

I began fly-fishing for trout and salmon in Scotland 50 years ago. Then, magic and romance suffused the sport and there was much less science. Or that is how it seems to me now. The fishing world has moved on. The vocabulary and equipment – even the styles of casting and fishing – have changed, diminishing the aura surrounding fly-fishing and its spell on me since youth. The tackle is now more efficient and reliable but less fun. Is this nostalgia just a part of growing older or has the sport become more focused on technology and results? Alan Finn, Hampshire…

THE 10FT SEVEN-WEIGHT IS THE most popular size of rod for anglers who fish big stillwaters. It can be used off the bank or on the boat. Its length makes it ideal for loch-style drifts and hanging flies. Ideally, it will have the backbone to fight powerful grown-on trout and haul deep-sinking lines with lures. A rod with all-round capability will also be able to deliver dry-flies and nymphs quickly and accurately to moving fish. From short-lining with teams of three or four wet-flies to punching out long laser-like casts, much is expected of this versatile tool. As you become a more discerning fisher, or simply one who prefers a particular style of fishing, you can select rods to perform a specific task, eg dry-fly. In this test, however, we…

24 NEW IRISH MAYFLY PATTERNS Make sure you are armed and ready 10 EASY MISTAKES TO MAKE ON A TROUT POOL THE TROUT-FISHER’S GUIDE TO THE PEAK DISTRICT Our pick of the rivers and stillwaters – not forgetting hotels, pubs and tackle-shops and instructors SLIM AND SIMPLE Tie a clever new sea-trout tube THE ICELAND FISHING DIARY OF DONALD LENEY Turning the pages of a 1920s salmon-fishing adventure RESERVOIR YOUNG GUNS The tactics, flies and teamwork of two loyal fishing partners MAYFLY ON THE CLEAR STREAMS Classic sport on the Test’s Kanara beat…

CHRIS MCCULLY Contributor Chris is looking forward to a trip in late spring to the Pyrenees with photographer Richard Faulks, and to the Eden in early summer, as well as resuming his visits to the Yorkshire Dales. His fly-boxes are filled with novelties. By September he’ll be using the same patterns he’s used for 50 years. MIKE WEAVER Fly-tying demonstrations at the South West Fly Fair and the Snowbee Open Day will provide plenty of new flies for the opening of the trout season for Devon reporter Mike. He plans to start on the Yeo at Crediton with a Klinkhamer on the dropper and a beadhead Pheasant Tail or Hare’s Ear Nymph on the point. RONNIE GLASS Trout Surgery author Ronnie agrees when they say time passes faster as you…

A sound once heard in most fishing huts, the unmistakeable metallic click of a Zippo lighter has been registered as a trademark. Some 550 million Zippos, bearing different designs, have been made since the mechanism was patented 75 years ago. In 1987, Trout & Salmon sold Zippo lighters with the T&S logo for £10.95. They are now collectable. We spotted one recently selling for nearly 60 dollars on a US website. In game-fishing the Zippo has uses other than smoking: singeing tubing on salmon flies; lighting stoves, Kelly kettles and handwarmers; or melting off-cuts of nylon. Incidentally, in 1987, T&S also offered pipe-smoker’s tobacco pouches. How times have changed.…

The grannom (Brachycentrus subnubilus) is one of the earliest caddisflies to emerge in the year. Adults are on the wing from late March to early May. They typically emerge from shallow water from noon through to late afternoon. The flight period lasts for between a week to ten days, during which time huge numbers can emerge Hatches are often sudden – one minute the river can appear lifeless, and the next the surface is alive with flies flitting backwards and forwards. This is a time when trout gorge themselves, rising freely to splash at the adult flies. However, nine out of ten insects are taken as they rise from the riverbed and pause just below surface before breaking free of their watery existence. Grannom larvae are found in moderate to…

Caught a memorable fish? Send your pictures to: troutandsalmon@bauermedia.co.cuk CALLING ALL JUNIORS! Catch a salmon, or trout and send us a picture of you and your fish, including details of its capture.…

By Steve Woit. £60. Hardback. 348 pages. Coch-y-Bonddu Books. Tel: 01654 702 837. Web: anglebooks.com A sumptuous book, seven years in the making. Author Steve Woit invites you to enter the world of serious antique tackle collecting. A simple format: 30 interviews, often in the homes – the inner sanctums – of the most knowledgeable, discerning and obsessive hoarders of old rods, reels, books, flies and angling ephemera in the UK and USA. It is not a practical guide to collecting, although there is advice and wisdom on every page. What interests Woit is each collector’s motivation, their drive. For some it is the thrill of the chase, many are inspired by the tackle they used in childhood, others are fascinated by tackle evolution, changing technology. Some want…

WHEN I READ IN THE FISHING Reports that there was an angler who had probably caught more salmon from the Wye with rod and line than anyone else alive, I just had to talk to him. Plans were made and on an early morning in January, I found myself in the picturesque Gloucestershire village of St Briavels, admiring the 12th-century castle to my right and panoramic views of the Wye valley below to my left. The muddy Volkswagen estate that I had been told to look out for duly appeared and out stepped Maurice Hudson. The wellington boots, chunky jersey, wax waistcoat and bobble hat instantly told me that I had the right man - every inch a fisherman. After introductions I was invited to follow him - easier said…

WHEN I STARTED FLY-FISHING I imagined that every day would be sunny with blue skies and that the surface of the river would be covered in upwinged duns and the ebbing rings of trout rising to them. Sound familiar? I was surprised to find that most of the good hatches happened on days when the weather did not fit this pattern at all. Some of the very best hatches took place in truly atrocious weather. Why should this be the case? Is there any way we can predict hatches using weather conditions as clues? Many factors affect emergence and while there is no infallible method of prediction it is possible to make sure you are on the stream at a time when hatches are likely. The weather has both long-…

AT THE END OF last month’s piece on Arthur Wood - widely described as the father of greased (floating) line fishing for salmon - I suggested we should revisit the tackle and technique he employed, if only to sort the wheat from the chaff while gaining a better understanding of what he was about. Certainly, when Wood talked about “dry flies” or “avoiding drag” it was not as most others would have understood them. There were a lot of salmon books written in the 50 years following Wood’s death in 1934 - some of the authors trimming or tacking extra bits to Wood’s ideas, to the point of misleading the reader. For example, Wood was wrongly credited with introducing that little calculator into which you dialled the water height, temperature,…

1 Slide the bead over the hook point then fix the hook in the vice. Push the bead up to the eye and apply close thread turns before catching in a length of red stretch tubing. 2 Lock the end of the tubing with tight thread turns then stretch it to reduce its diameter. At the same time secure the tubing along the shank with the tying thread. 3 Maintaining tension on the tubing take the thread well around the curve of the hook. At this point catch in a length of silver holographic tinsel. 4 Inset: take the thread up to the back of the bead to give space to wind the tinsel. Main picture: apply touching turns of the tinsel to cover half of the thread base then…

Farmers in denial The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation’s (SSPO) recently appointed chief spin-doctor Hamish Macdonell has wasted little time before regurgitating the tired and discredited fiction that there is no evidence linking salmon farms to declining wild-fish stocks (Letters, March, “Where’s your evidence?”). Mr Macdonell purports to be an angler. If that is the case, he should speak to those on the ground in the west Highlands and Islands who remember the abundance of mature sea-trout that returned annually to freshwater in the 1960s and ’70s before the total collapse in their numbers, coinciding with the advent and relentless growth of salmon farming. He should explain, if salmon farms are not responsible, why, since then, almost all sea-trout in the aquaculture zone fail to grow beyond the finnock stage. What…

Buying barbless? If you’re a river-trout fisher, you must try these new Partridge Patriots. The Grub Straight-Eye (K4AY-SE) is a cracker for shrimp and grub patterns, as well as stillwater Buzzers. It is strong, has wonderful proportions and a good-sized eye, which is straight rather than downturned. This accentuates the gape and makes it easier to tie up to the head, especially when using slippery shellback materials, which thread can slide off and over the eye. The shank is almost straight initially, progressively curving into a rounded sweep, its deep gape allowing ample room for teased-out shrimp bodies without hindering hooking potential. The inward (claw or beak) point curves towards the shank, closer to the line of the pull of the leader for better hooking. Even more impressive, the Straight-Eye…

Be the king of the castle Illieston Castle, overlooking the River Almond at Broxburn in West Lothian, was a hunting lodge for the Kings of Scotland, notably James II and James IV. Edinburgh is 11 miles away. Thought to date from the late 16th century it was acquired by the Brownlee family in the 1950s and has been restored by the current owners. The accommodation includes two reception rooms, master bedroom (The King’s Room), four other bedrooms, nursery and two bathrooms, and a turret room/study on the third floor. Outside are courtyard, coach house, walled garden, East Pavilion and a bothy – The Garden Studio – converted into self-contained accommodation. Grounds of more than 20 acres run down to the river, on which there are single-bank fishing rights. The Lothian…

Cargill This beat with character is perfect for anglers wishing to fish all methods. The top of the beat is the Bridge Stream, a long stream which is ideal for fly-fishing and can be fished in almost all heights of water. As there is deep water close in this stretch is easy to fish. Thereafter the water flattens out and it flows over what might best be described as a shelf of sandstone rock which carries on for nearly half a mile. This is highly deceptive water though because under the apparently placid surface strong tongues of flow have worn deep holes into the ledges of rock producing some of the most attractive lies for salmon on the Tay. Pools such as the Pot Shot, Rumbling Stone, Clocksden and the…

“It is a pity more of our politicians do not drink more claret…” I RECOGNISE THAT, EVEN AS I AM writing this - and you are reading it - we may be bearing down on possibly the greatest constitutional and political upheaval since the Reformation. Or the Civil War. Or the Restoration. Or something. I have heard it described as all of these and more and despite this being principally a magazine about angling - specifically for trout and salmon - I think it behoves us to address the burning issue of the day. I am not talking here about the ethical issues of flies and spinners. I refer not to mandatory catch-and-release. I am not even going to debate the rights and wrongs of resorting to the worm betimes.…

That's how many trout were caught by anglers using the Wye & Usk Foundation’s Fishing Passport scheme in 2018. The number of day-tickets booked through the scheme was 11,400. The Passport offers fishing across Wales and a beat on the River Don in Scotland – 217 fisheries in all. Some 35% of fishing was booked by trout anglers last year, 15% by salmon rods and 5% by grayling fishers. The remainder were coarse-fishers. This season’s digital brochure is available to download at fishingpassport.co.uk…

Well done to Jackie McErlean, the winner of a 1kg bar of silver that was offered to the angler catching and releasing the first salmon of the season at the Drowes Fishery in Co Leitrim, Ireland. The fish weighed an estimated 10lb and took a yellow Flying C on February 5. As reported last month, the bar was awarded by the fishery to highlight the immense value of a fresh salmon – €3,098, according to economic research – to the Irish economy. Jackie’s silver bar, by contrast, is worth about €750.…

MARCH 8-17 Wild Trout Trust Spring Auction wildtrout.org On eBay and by post MARCH 9-10 The Scottish Fly Fair Stirling Court Hotel, Stirling scottishflyfair.org MARCH 22-23 The London Fly Fishing Fair Business Design Centre, London thelondonflyfishingfair.co.uk MARCH 29 Fisheries Management Annual Conference National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh fms.scot/events/annual-conference MAY 11-12 Sportfish Show Theale, Reading sportfish.co.uk JUNE 8-9 The Fishing Show Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate hookedonfishing.co.uk JULY 5-7 The Scottish Game Fair Scone Palace, near Perth scottishfair.com…

NO. 8 W.H. LAWRIE (1911-1974) William Hastie Lawrie, an Edinburgh financier, was influenced by the writing of W.C. Stewart and the proximity of the Scottish Border streams. His earlier works are mostly on “soft-hackle” river fishing, and in later years he became interested in using fur as a substitute for feathers in many fly patterns. The author’s “blurb” on the dust-wrapper of Scottish Trout Flies refers to him thus: “…the inventor of the well-known ‘B.R.A.’ Night-Fly series. He was also the first to introduce a scientific system of nymph fishing in rough rivers.” His series of books on regional fly patterns are a valuable resource on the history and development of the trout fly in the United Kingdom. None of his books are terribly expensive, though you may not find…

The LAKE CHAR (Salvelinus namaycush) belongs to the char family, which also counts brook trout, arctic char, and bull trout. To thrive, it requires clean, cool and well-oxygenated water in combination with a solid prey biomass. When these conditions are met, it can live for 70 years. Lake char are endemically distributed across the north-eastern USA and all of Canada. In Great Bear Lake there are three sub-species: silverbacks, red fins and butterfly red fins. Silverbacks are pelagic lake char with a silvery grey gleam and a relatively big head and mouth. They primarily feed on prey fish such as grayling, whitefish, pike and even char. As a result, they grow big – up to 100lb. Redfins have olive-green flanks and bright red fins. They don’t grow as big as…

SEVERAL YEARS AGO MY friend Steve Rhodes forwarded a pamphlet - A Dales Fishing Story - which told the story of the Appletreewick, Barden and Burnsall Angling Club between 1873 and 1973. The author of this splendid work, which mixed history with analysis and narrative, was John Baker. It was weeks later that I realised I’d once fished with Mr Baker. It was a Whitsun holiday in 1968 and I’d been invited to the Wharfe with Mr Baker and his grandson. One of the most significant dishes of trout I’ve ever seen was turned into my Mum’s sink that evening - three trout, all around 8oz, which Mr Baker had caught on a Partridge and Orange in a stream below the Hebden footbridge. My reaction to those trout was profound.…

“Tempting to think that a friendly spirit had whispered in my ear” I SUPPOSE ALMOST EVERY sportsman is, to some degree, superstitious. But I sincerely think that superstition features more in the makeup of fly-fishermen than others. I also believe that there is a very good reason for this - to me at least - illogical behaviour. I have a very logical approach to decision-making when I’m fly-fishing, but I make a helluva lot of moves goaded by superstition. So, what is this “very good reason” mentioned above? In all branches of fishing the angler needs the co-operation of his prey, which is quite unique in field sports. But the problem with that feature of fishing is that we don’t have a great understanding of the instincts or motivations that…

PHILIP AND I WERE ON OUR annual pilgrimage to the Highlands. Our first stop, by long tradition, was in Penrith, at a newsagent in King Street, the old A6. A dozen years ago, Nick and I had been on the same journey north. We’d stopped at Penrith: while I popped into John Norris for tippets and tackle, Nick had gone up the street to the newsagent for a paper and sweets. He came back quite giddy with glee. He’d asked for a quarter of Rhubarb & Custard. “Nice call, dude,” said the sweetshop man, “those babies never let you down.” It had tickled Nick. And on every subsequent schlep up to the Highlands I’ve called in at the King Street Newsagents to get a quarter of Rhubarb & Custard sweets…

UNLIKE ME, YOU’RE probably capable of casting your mind back further than last night’s dinner and may recall my May 2014 and January 2017 waxings on the subject of Bob Wyatt’s Deer Hair Emerger (DHE) - or rather two of my interpretations thereof. Such is my faith in this pattern that I’ve decided to treat you to another one. I could write a book about them. Bob wrote two - you should read them. It’s only three years since I first fished the Dirty Filthy Sooty (DFS) and therefore it is a young pattern to bring to these pages. But I’ve decided this one’s a “keeper” and now is as good a time as any to share it with you. The standard DHE (mixed seal and hare’s ear body, natural…

Including NEWS, WATERS TO FISH AND FLIES TO TIE AND TRY THIS MONTH England and Wales BORDER ESK THE Esk and Liddel Angling Club ticket prices remain the same as last season. Their AGM took place on February 23. The club reported a decent season in 2018. All waters tickets for 2019 cost £350 while the Canonbie ticket costs £300. The new 24-hour ticket is available at £38. This covers 24 hours fishing from the time of purchase offering excellent value and giving anglers access in daytime and during the night. The season opens on April 1 with the chance of odd salmon being present in the good holding areas. Sea-trout can be caught from the opening day with the chance of some superb fish. The ticket outlets will be…