Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i Trout & Salmon

I’M PICTURING BOXING DAY — WOOD-BURNER on, feet up, glass in hand and my favourite Quality Street with the nut in it. I’ve yet to find a use for its vivid purple wrapper — a thorax shellback on a grayling nymph, maybe? Purple seems all the rage. Despite wanting to share Christmas with my parents, they are a vulnerable age, and with the vaccine so close, we’ll be playing safe, saving our reunion for Easter and a cottage with trout fishing in the Cheviots. This means I may have some festive time on my hands. Hopefully, my feet will soon be thawing out after an afternoon’s grayling fishing. There aren’t many in these parts, finding them is a challenge I ponder every winter, but if lockdown has taught me anything,…

FRONTLINE FISHER Registered nurse Rachel Leyshon, from Middlesbrough, was trying for a salmon on the Blue Lion beat of the River Ure when this 4lb-plus wild brown trout took her Black Frances fly. “I was fishing close to the beat’s salmon hatchery when the trout took. At first I thought it was a salmon but soon realised something wasn’t quite right. It was a shock to see such a large trout,” she said. Rachel, who works at James Cook University Hospital, only started fishing this year to improve her mental health following the first lockdown. After an unlucky start she has successfully landed two salmon, a 3lb grilse from the River Tay and a 7lb fish from the Annan. “I met T&S fishery reporter Phil Ellis of yorkshiresalmonguide and he…

FISHING Booking is essential. A gillie can be hired through the hotel for fishing on Naver and Hope. Boat hire on Naver, Loyal, Meadie, Staing and Plantation, £35 per day. Outboard hire, £25 per day plus fuel. Boat hire on Hope, £85. Middle Bay (outboard, £25 plus fuel), South End (electric motor only, £20). BEST TIMES Loch Naver can produce salmon from March onwards with sea-trout tending to turn up later. Loch Hope will fish best from June onwards. Trout fishing throughout the season, April-September. TACKLE For trout, use a 9ft-10ft, 4wt-6wt rod. Floating lines and traditional flies work a treat. Don’t be without black and claret flies, Bibio, Kate McLaren, skinny hoppers, dabblers, crunchers, daddies and a selection of lure point flies. Dry-flies accounted for a lot of trout,…

ONE OF THE MARVELLOUS things about being a fly-fisher is that it can take you anywhere in the world. Some of us with more comfortable horizons are content to fish our local river or lake for the whole of our lives, happy for the change in season to provide variety. Others, more adventurous, can easily fall under the spell of wanderlust. For them it creates a desire to fish unfamiliar waters in far-flung places and even to chase species other than trout and salmon. This could well explain the motivation for Alberto Salvini, one half of the globetrotting couple known affectionately as “The Italians”. Alberto and his wife Marica fish and film in places some of us would need an atlas to find. Alberto is an incredibly keen fly-fisher and…

IN MAGNIFICENT COUNTRYSIDE that attracts many holidaymakers, the lakes at Swanswater Trout Fishery are located close to the Battle of Bannockburn visitor centre, which commemorates that seismic clash of 1314, a date seared into Scotland’s soul. They were built to serve a substantial grain mill but found a new lease of life as a thriving fishery under Alasdair and Morna Lahoar. Their son Ian is now in charge, a young man who greeted me with genuine warmth, explaining. “This has been my home for a long time. I intend to keep developing it as a venue that appeals to all levels of skill.” A key part of Swanswater’s success is its on-site rearing ponds that enable Ian to select which fish go into the lakes. He’s able to trickle-stock to…

ROB EDMUNDS Highly successful competition angler, reservoir bank and boat specialist. RONNIE GLASS Former Scottish champion on rivers and stillwaters. Curator of Tweed Salmon Fishing Museum. STEVE CULLEN Guide, instructor and all-round game angler with a wealth of knowledge. PETER GATHERCOLE Photographer, expert tyer and chairman of the Fly Dressers' Guild. PAUL PROCTER Cumbrian-based AAPGAI instructor. Prefers the imitative approach. GARETH JONES Welsh international and stillwater expert. Has fished all over the world. PETER COCKWILL Small water expert with more than 60 years’ fly-fishing experience.…

Gareth’s basic strategies for finding fish rarely change, but there are variables throughout the season that affect his approach. • Water quality — trout are primarily sight-feeders, so stay clear of turbid water and fish areas where the fish can see your flies. However, don’t rule out fishing the outside edge of coloured water as fish are often found concentrated there in huge numbers. • Temperature — this can have a big impact on fly-line choice, especially in high summer when the warm surface layer is above the comfort zone of feeding trout. In summer, the undertow can have a big impact as cooler water is pulled at depth towards the upwind shore, which becomes more comfortable for the fish than at the bottom of the wind. • Light conditions…

Derbyshire fly-fishing lost one of its genuine characters on October 16 this year. Alisdair was a much loved and respected fishing adviser at the Orvis Bakewell store, where his generously shared knowledge and wicked sense of humour made him a favourite with customers. Known affectionately as The Gov, a reference to his highly successful career in the South Yorkshire Police Force, Alisdair was a keen shot and an angler who enjoyed every aspect of fishing, especially his trips to Scotland to fish for salmon. Never happier than when showing you a piece of antique tackle he’d acquired online, time spent in his company was always a pleasure, and he never failed to go the extra mile in every area of business and friendship. First and foremost, Gov was a dedicated…

The demise of my dearest friend, Geoffrey Palmer, affectionally known as GP, has left a void in my life that cannot be replaced. As a young man he decided he wanted to be an actor, a path he followed to fame on stage, screen, television and radio; his facial features and distinctive voice were instantly recognisable. It was, however, as a passionate salmon and trout fly-fisher that I have known him for almost 30 years. We first met at Tillmouth Park on the Tweed where we fished for many years. In those days, many fish were caught, but more especially he enjoyed the après fishing and the company of other anglers. On the Tweed we fished numerous beats from Tweedswood down to Coldstream at different times throughout the season. Often,…

Junior ENGLAND • ALBURY ESTATE FISHERIES, Guildford, 07976 810737 1 Michael Ewing, Godalming, 3lb 10oz sparctic, Orange Daddy. • LOYNTON TROUT FISHERY, Stafford, 01785 284261 1 Matthew Edgerton, Coldfield, 8lb 2oz rainbow, Orange Lure. • TENTERDEN TROUT WATERS, Tenterden, 01580 763201 1 Benjamin Middleton, Bishop's Stortford, 2lb 4oz rainbow, Black Leech. • WOOLASTON COURT TROUT LAKES, Lydney, 07979 761123 1 Finley Roberts, Ledbury, 3lb rainbow, on fly. 1 Jay Brice, Lydney, 3lb rainbow, on fly. SCOTLAND • ALDERNEUK FISHERY, Dumfries, 07901 602020 1 Amy Riding, Dumfries, 4lb 8oz rainbow, Blob. • BORLAND RESERVOIR, Cumnock, 01290 420981 1 Hannah Mair, Cumnock, 14lb 10oz brown, on fly. • KINROSS TROUT FISHERY, Kinross, 07376 762057 1 Danny Johnston, Lochgelly, 5lb 8oz rainbow, Egg Fly. 2 Sam Harrison, Fife, 3lb sparctic, Pink Mini Snake.…

I DON’T KNOW IF YOU HAVE EVER DRILLED down towards the cold hard facts but if your or my true love should do things by the book, we would end up with a dozen partridges, twenty-two turtle doves, three dozen calling birds — and the same of dancing girls, which probably sounds better than it looks or perhaps looks better than it sounds? — forty gold rings, fine; ditto milk maids, less fine, I think; forty-two each of swans a-swimming and geese a-laying.; thirty lords, twenty-two pipers and two dozen drummers. Not forgetting a small grove of pear trees. All of which makes for tricky social distancing in a modestly proportioned home. You may now be thinking your correspondent has lost his marbles. And you’d be right. Which, I’m fairly…

In the event of it being difficult to buy a print copy of Trout & Salmon in a newsagents, your favourite magazine is available on digital platforms. So, if you can’t find us in stores, or if you’re stuck inside, please consider: • Downloading our Trout & Salmon app from the iOS or Android app stores. We have superb one-off subscription offers. You can also purchase single-copy issues if you wish. If you’re a Kindle Fire user, you can download our magazines from Amazon Newsstand. • If you are a print subscriber and we cannot deliver issues to you owing to the Covid-19 situation, please visit: greatmagazines.co.uk where clear updates will be given. We appreciate your support and readership during this period of uncertainty.…

THE BACK-END OF THE SEASON CAN be a bit touch-and-go with high winds, relentless rain and the dreaded leaf soup. Thankfully, this year we only experienced a couple of bad days when one or more of the above tried to spoil the fun. Compared with 2019, the colour change of the leaves was slower than usual and we didn’t have a proper frost before the season ended, something that usually brings the leaves down, but which can have a positive impact on the salmon fishing. A small lift in the water level helps, too, encouraging the fish to move about and get competitive over spawning grounds. As a result, you’ll often find cock and hen fish in the same pool at the back-end. It’s been a good year for Ure…

Slide the bead over the hookpoint up to the eye. Fix hook in the vice. Run the thread down to the bend and catch in fibres of brown cock hackle. Add further touching thread turns to lock the tail fibres in place and form a short tag. Catch in a length of fine gold wire in front of the tag. Take a small pinch of hare’s fur and dub it on to the thread to form a thin rope. Wind the dubbed fur along the shank to form a tapering body. Stop the fur a short distance from the bead to leave room for the hackle and collar. Wind three evenly-spaced turns of the wire over the body. Secure the end of the wire then remove the waste. Select a…

TICKETS There’s a variety of tickets from two hours (two fish) for £15, or catch-and-release for £12, up to eight hours (five fish) for £28, or catch-and-release for £18. Boats are £5. Float-tubes by arrangement. DIRECTIONS Swanswater Fishery, Sauchieburn, Stirling FK7 9QB. Five minutes from Stirling Services roundabout on the A9/M9/ M80 junction. Take exit signed “Bannockburn Heritage Centre” and “Whins of Milton” (A872). After a mile turn left at Tourist Board sign for Swanswater Fishery. Cross motorway to a Y-junction, take right-hand fork and after 50 yards turn right on to track leading to fishery. CONTACT Web: swanswaterfishery.co.uk Tel: 01786 814805 E-mail: swanswater @aol.com…

BIBIO LOOP-WING Hook Size 12-14 Ahrex FW511 curved dry-fly Thread Veevus black, 10/0 Butt Mirage tinsel Body Rear two-thirds: black micro-straggle. Front third: Bibio-red Micro-straggle Legs Knotted red cock pheasant tail fibres Wing Four or five black CDC plumes, tied as a loop Head Troutline Thorax Nymph Dubbing, dark A great back-end pattern for the hill lochs around East Lothian and the Central Belt. The hook is a great shape and strong enough to land powerful trout — it has picked up quite a few. The buggy profile represents the many terrestrials that get blown from the hillside, although this fly will pull fish up even when they’re not showing. For spooky fish, I often use it on the point, 6ft from a small herl buzzer on the dropper. On…

WHILE THOUSANDS of books have been written about trout fishing, there are probably fewer than 50 on fishing for grayling. So if you are new to grayling, you’ll probably have some questions about them... LOCATING GRAYLING How do I tell if it’s a trout or a grayling? If there are many fish holding in a shoal, they are probably grayling. Their tails are more forked than those of trout and their big dorsal fins are often visible. Trout often hold just under the surface, grayling usually lie deeper, often on the bottom. Do grayling occupy the same water as trout? Grayling usually hold in the middle of the river, rather than close to cover like trout. Trout prefer faster water, grayling a steadier flow. If you continually catch trout and…

CORMORANT FAILURE The UK Government has rejected anglers’ pleas to add cormorants to the general licence. The number of birds that can be killed in England each year will remain at 3,000. The Angling Trust had earlier sent a comprehensive dossier to ministers, who have ignored evidence showing how various human interventions in natural habitats and the birds’ increasing abundance have made some fish species vulnerable to excessive predation. Martin Salter, head of policy at the Angling Trust and a long-time campaigner for cormorant controls, said: “It’s a matter of extreme frustration for us that governments of all persuasions seem reluctant to acknowledge the damage these invasive birds can do to vulnerable native fish species. The cormorant is an apex predator, unmatched in nature, and is a major threat to…

PERFECT FOR A TREASURE HUNT The wife of Colonel David Williams of the East India Company, who owned Hennlys Manor from 1788 to 1815, is said to have buried her jewels in the grounds. They have yet to be found. The estate, at Cilycwm in Carmarthenshire, was split up in 2015 and the house, with fishing on the River Towy, is for sale. Llandovery is two miles away. Listed Grade II, the house is Georgian, dating from 1825-30, and in need of upgrading. It has two reception rooms, six bedrooms and a bathroom. Three attic rooms are currently used for storage. Outside there is a detached two-bedroom Bailiff’s Cottage, also listed Grade II, an enclosed courtyard, gardens and grounds of just under 3½ acres. Fishing rights on the river, extending…

The Altnaharra came under new management when Alan Berwick and Cami Cozma took over the reins in 2019. They are committed to providing the perfect mix of traditional style and relaxed comfort. A warm welcome, good-quality food and first-class service are guaranteed. There are plenty of seated areas for relaxing with drinks, including a fine reading room where catch records and old fishing logs can be pored over. Specimen trout, sea-trout and salmon in glass cases interspersed with great old photos add to the allure. The rod and games room at the back of the hotel has heaps of space for drying equipment and has racks of spare dapping rods. There are 14 en-suite rooms, each named after lochs or flies. Single occupancy is from £75. Twins and doubles start…

1. GROUNDBREAKING REEL At the EFFTEX trade angling show in Paris in 1984 or 1985, I was shown a revolutionary fly reel. From first experience I could tell it was something special. A large-arbor reel on roller bearings, the Danielsson Traditional fly reel was the precursor of all the large-arbor fly reels we have today. I now own a number of Danielssons and they have never let me down. The one featured is a LW 4-7 that I purchased in 2000. It’s sporting a few dents and scrapes, the scars from a lot of use, but it’s a favourite. 2. TREASURED ROD This Ivens Ravensthorpe rod was a present for my 21st birthday from my late wife. A few days later I caught my limit while fishing the Hensborough bank…

Q My father always said, “It’s always better to fish one fly well, than two badly”. But I see people fishing three, even four flies. What are your thoughts? Dougie Beck I would certainly agree with your father’s statement when teaching newcomers or youngsters as it helps to eliminate the frustrating tangles that can be highly off-putting to beginners. One fly is also preferable in some situations, such as stalking with a nymph on a small stillwater or fishing a dry-fly in a flat calm. However, there are many stillwater tactics where three flies work as a team in tempting a fish to take. A fish-attracting lure on the point or top dropper may be enough to catch the fish, but in many cases, the fish, once attracted, will take…

Flexible friend The Thunderhead chest pack from luggage specialists Fishpond is one of the most versatile on the market. This neat and compact five-litre pack will take all the essentials for a day’s fishing without the bulk. The main compartment is waterproof, made from Fishpond’s tough, coated recycled nylon with a heavy-gauge waterproof zip. The zip seals so tightly that Fishpond has fitted laminated finger loops on either side of the pack to help with opening and closing. These loops can double up as anchor points for zingers or carabiners. Inside is a separate clear pocket for smaller items with a zipped area for keys or a phone. Outside, a front mesh pocket with a vertical zip is ideal for spools of tippet and coiled leaders. Alternatively, you could add…

TROUT MASTERS Plus this month’s badge winners from Europe’s largest fly-fishing competition See page 122 England & Wales BORDER ESK THE Burnfoot Beat below Longtown was again by far the top Esk beat; finishing the season with an impressive 487 salmon and 125 sea-trout. Salmon catches were more than double the previous season with the sea-trout total slightly down. Angling pressure was lighter this year due to Covid and accommodation and associated travelling problems. Older anglers were also not keen to travel. On the Willow Pool and Cauldron beats there were a few late season salmon. Fishing the Cauldron, Colin Hudson caught a 15lb salmon spinning. Fishing the Willow Pool, Drew Murray caught a 12lb salmon. Up on the Gilnockie Tower beat, Mark Critchley caught a 20lb salmon in a…

All you have to do is visit a registered Troutmasters water and catch a fish. Fill in the official form, which you will find at the fishery, and then post the form to T&S. Senior, Youth and Junior forms are available. Captors of the three biggest fish from each fishery each month win an exclusive Troutmasters badge. For a full list of entry details and rules go to: www.troutandsalmon.com/troutmasters SENIOR BADGE WINNERS England ■ ALDIN GRANGE LAKES, Durham, 0191 384 6090 1 Gordon Swain, Co Durham, 5lb 11oz rainbow, Devine Dancer. ■ AMPORT FISHERY, Andover, 07775 953273 1 Gwyn Price, Andover, 4lb 12oz rainbow, Goldhead. 2 Gwyn Price, Andover, 3lb 12oz rainbow, Goldhead. ■ AVINGTON TROUT FISHERY, Winchester, 01962 779312 1 James Glasspool, Eastleigh, 11lb brown, Fry. ■ BESSY BECK…