Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Trout & Salmon

I’M PACKING FOR A LONG-OVERDUE FAMILY holiday in Northumberland. The cottage was originally booked for Easter 2020 as a gift for my father’s 80th. The first lockdown put paid to that. Lockdown two put paid to Easter 2021’s attempt and my mother’s 80th. But here we are, finally, able to share precious time together. Thankfully we’re all safe, fully-vaccinated and at the stage when decisions about who will take what are being made. Mum’s on breakfasts, sister Flo’s on brunches and Sarah and I are on suppers. It’s the first time we’ve “properly” holidayed together since our children were born 20-odd years ago. We’ll have great fun as always — fishing is to play a part — once we’ve accepted our individual and quirky ways in a confined space. We…

GET THE PARTY STARTED Rory Parker has been determined to catch a salmon since his older brother was featured in T&S with his first fish in June 2017. Rory lost a fish two years ago, which only made him more determined to bank this fish, a 13-pounder caught on an Alistair fly from Beat Four of the River Helmsdale. On day one of his trip, Rory, aged 12, joined his brother, grandparents and fellow rod Adam Twidell on the bottom beat with gillie Jean Bain, while his parents fished the beat above. Fishing Dempster’s, the third pool of the morning, Rory was soon into the first fish of the week, successfully landing it to the delight of the whole party. His father Tom said, “He was a worthy winner of…

Bob and Roger have a love of fishing with good tackle and from their own experiences say it’s never a good idea to “make do” with ancient, secondhand gear, which is often not properly balanced. Good stuff lasts and, if properly maintained, will always perform when needed. “Besides which, it looks good,” said Bob (ck), who has a passion for Hardy and Abel reels, and the complex beauties made by Ari T Hart. Some of his collection has yet to see water, but, as he told me, that simply isn’t the point.…

Run thread down the shank until it’s opposite the hook point. Catch in a tail of cow elk hair so the tips just reach the bend. Secure the waste along the shank and catch in the gold wire. Secure the length of gold wire along the shank, keeping it on the far side of the hook. Once the thread has reached the tail-base, dub on a pinch of fox fur and wind it along the shank. Add further turns of fox fur to create a tapered abdomen. With the fur covering two-thirds of the shank, catch in a Whiting barred ginger saddle hackle and wind it over the abdomen. Apply five evenly-spaced turns of the hackle. When it has reached the base of the tail, secure it with five evenly-spaced…

JAY BARTLETT IS AN ENGLISH ROCK musician, promoter and manager who has guided, hosted and organised many fishing parties in pursuit of Swedish salmon. I talked to him about what he has learned from his extended immersion in the Swedish salmon scene. What works over there that we might try over here? JIM When did your fishing story begin? JAY I would have been eight or nine when I caught my first salmon, a family affair on the Deveron in Scotland. Dad was the driving force, and when I was growing up it was a greatly anticipated family fixture — it was such a long wait between trips. But that’s how I fell in love with fishing and salmon. As my music career developed and touring began, I could no…

A box to match most of a trout’s diet. The simplest dry-flies are the best fish-catchers, if presented correctly (though the Crippled Midge is tricky to tie). Don’t fish too big — a size 12 will nearly always outfish a size 10. Stick to sizes 12-18 (you’ll be amazed how big they appear on the water). Have Bob’s Bits (1) and Shipman’s Buzzers (2) in dark claret, red, fiery brown, ginger, olive, amber and black. Hoppers (3) in claret and ginger. Crippled Midge (4) in claret, ginger and fiery brown. Add orange, claret, olive and hare’s ear Shuttlecocks (5) and hare’s ear Sugarcubes (6). Big Reds are good, too.…

Reduced opening times A zipped chest wader is definitely convenient. No more climbing in and out or having to strip off layers of clothing every time nature calls. Unfortunately, reliability has been an issue in the past with the zip often proving the Achilles’ heel. With the addition of the TI-Zip Masterseal waterproof zip, which has been tested for more than 200 days in the water, Orvis believes its Pro Zipper stockingfoot wader should give long-term reliability and performance. It said, “The PRO wader is the most durable, abrasion-resistant, and feature-rich wader we’ve ever built.” This top-of-the-range wader features four layers of 100 per cent waterproof cordura fabric in the uppers and five layers in the lower half. It is built for comfort with adjustable elasticated shoulder straps and buckles…

HOW TO ENTER Visit a Troutmasters water and catch a fish. Fill in the form (Senior, Youth or Junior) available at each fishery, and post it to T&S. Captors of the three biggest fish from each fishery each month will win a Troutmasters badge. At the end of the season, badge winners will be invited to a fish-off at their fishery. Winners of the fish-offs are then invited to compete in the Grand Finals. We will also award a Gold badge to anglers who win Troutmasters badges from five different venues. Find out more at: www.troutandsalmon.com/troutmasters SENIOR BADGE WINNERS England ■ ALBURY ESTATE FISHERIES, Guildford, 07976 810737 1 Brian Hilsdon, Guildford, 5lb 8oz rainbow, Damsel. ■ ALDIN GRANGE LAKES, Durham, 0191 384 6090 1 Paul Snaith, Newcastle upon Tyne, 6lb…

I FELL INTO CONVERSATION, THE OTHER day, with a fellow angler who told me, quite categorically, that he wouldn’t fish a beat on a salmon river where he wasn’t allowed to take a fish away with him. He didn’t want to kill all his fish, but he wanted the option. He particularly disliked, he said, the idea of returning a fish that was unlikely to thrive once released, which he said was irresponsibly wasteful and went against his sporting ethic. This, I’m bound to say, is not a topic to which I have given much consideration over the years that I have been in pursuit of salmon. Not least because the rarity of actually catching a salmon means that the question doesn’t arise that often. And when it does these…

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.…

Jonathan Chesworth, from Wandsworth, London, made the long trip north to catch this stunning wild brown trout from an Orkney loch. A headteacher, he used half-term to finally fulfil a dream that had been four years in the planning. After some ferry issues he managed four days’ fishing, catching eight trout that averaged an amazing 6lb, topped by this 8lb leviathan. Jonathan said, “It was hard fishing, battling rough weather, but it was definitely worth it. Two friends and I caught 15 fish with almost every one beating our previous personal bests.” The team found a drop-off in clear water 30m-40m into the loch and waded out to target the area with floating lines and black, gold and green Humungous patterns with Palmers on the droppers as attractor flies. “The…

CONDITIONS HAVE CONTINUED TO be less than ideal lately, blazing sunshine and unbroken blue skies are more akin to catching the sun than a salmon. The wild roses and geraniums are providing a lively splash of colour along the banks and the cacophony of crickets hiding in the grass seems louder than ever. Nature seems to have a renewed vibrancy this year. It’s heartening to see. Driving down to one beat I came across a family of shelducks with nine fluffy grey ducklings waddling down the middle of the road. Reaching another beat a few days later, I was greeted by the sight of a resident gaggle of barnacle geese with a strong clutch of young. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done it, nor whether it’s 20 paces…

TICKETS All day sporting £20; all day, four fish, £32; eight hours, three fish, £28; six hours, two fish, £24. Kill the first fish of your limit and then catch-and-release. Barbless hooks only. CONTACT Tel: 07740 257585 or 07860 299342. E-mail: enquiries@ ellerdinelakes.co.uk or edwardupton820@ btinternet.com Web: ellerdine-lakes-troutfishery.myshopify.com DIRECTIONS Ellerdine Lakes Trout Fisheries, Ellerdine Hall Farm, Ellerdine, Telford, Shropshire TF6 6QR. From the M54, take the A442 north for Whitchurch. Approximately six miles from Wellington, take the first left after Hatton Court Nursing Home. Follow the road for one mile. Take the third turning on the left. Ellerdine Lakes is signposted on this road.…

MICHAEL GULA TAKES his retirement very seriously. Having ended his career as a public school administrator, rather than devoting his life to watercolours or pottering about in the garden, he is often to be found somewhere along the banks of a mountain river from when spring starts in April right through to November when the leaves are piling high on the ground. His usual fishing companion and “better half”, as Michael calls her, is his partner Terri Mauk, an accomplished angler in her own right. As his fishing is often a family affair, it comes as little surprise that his grandson also tags along, when school breaks allow. A correction — Michael does also paint, tend his garden, take photos and cook — but only when there’s time after all…

TICKETS A large portion of the Mawddach is controlled by Prince Albert Angling Society, whose water can only be accessed through season tickets: www.paas.co.uk For the Lower Mawddach, including the junction pool, and the best of the Wnion, Dolgellau AA (www.dolgellauanglingassociation.co.uk)shouldbe your port of call. It offers day (£20) and season (£95) tickets. Ticket outlets are as follows: Siop y Cymro (newsagents in Dolgellau): 01341 422 814. Stop Ty Ni (petshop in Dolgellau): 01341 421 060. Mile End Garage (petrol station on the edge of Dolgellau): 01341 422 828. GUIDE Get in touch with Rob Redman at robert.redman@yahoo.com or call 07399 621 910. PLACE TO STAY To hire a fishing-friendly cottage from which to explore the area, try www.coedybrenincottages.com…

QUICK FIX FLOATING NET Ever felt you needed more hands when landing, unhooking, photographing and releasing your fish? Using a floating landing net that keeps both hands free has many benefits. It doesn’t sink if dropped: great when wading. If a fish wriggles in your hand, you can let go and it will slip into the net (no squeezing the fish). With the fish safely in the net, it allows you to get your camera ready. You can then take the picture without having to hold the fish at arm’s length or lay it on the bank. Keeping the fish in the water while unhooking and photographing is essential for fish welfare. Before its release, a fish can recover in the net without being held, which reduces its stress. The…

Feather sections. Use the top quarter and far side for throats and tails on smaller flies. The middle section is prime flank and has the best colour, sheen and structure for wet-fly wings, dry-fly wings and dabbler cloaks. Use the bottom quarter for tails and throats. Mallard cloak: cut a 15mm-20mm wide section from the middle of the feather, fold in half, offer up to the fly, then pinch and loop. Two-ply works just fine, but if you want a heavier, more Irish feel, go for a 25mm-wide section and three-ply. Vary the size of your section to suit hook size. Feather slips (top to bottom). Mandarin/wood duck is the best choice for Catskill-style split-wing dry-flies. It's also great for tails on dry-flies; and throats, tails, wispy appendages and rolled…

GONG FOR RIVER CHAMPION Arlin Rickard, founder of the pioneering environmental charity The Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) in 1994 and chief executive of the ensuing Rivers Trust for 15 years, has been awarded an OBE. Rickard, alongside poet Ted Hughes (pictured above) and other anglers, sought charitable status for WRT in the early 1990s, emphasising the need for an ecosystem approach to managing rivers, combining science with “on-the-ground delivery”. He later worked with Ian Gregg, owner of high street bakers Greggs, who was instrumental in the formation of what is now called The Rivers Trust, an organisation of 60 UK and Ireland charities “dedicated to protecting river environments for the benefit of people and wildlife.” It employs more than 400 staff. Mark Lloyd, head of The Rivers Trust, paid tribute,…

Gillie Ally Scott is pictured holding what could be the biggest salmon caught on fly in Scotland so far this year. The fish weighed 28lb and was taken from the Islamouth beat of the River Tay by local angler Arnot McWhinnie. Arnot takes up the story. “It was my first day’s fishing this year, so I decided not to overtax myself and opted to fish my lightweight 13ft Loomis rod. The river was very low, so I used a 5ft sinking tip, 12lb cast and a size 12 Cascade. Midway through the afternoon in Donnets pool, I got a searing take, which resulted in a beautiful silver fish of 16lb.” Arnot and Ally, having seen running salmon, decided they’d be better targeted from the left bank, so Ally got on…

IN EARLY SUMMER, WHEN THE countryside was looking at its absolute best, I made a long-awaited trip to Ellerdine Lakes in Shropshire to meet two of fly-fishing’s most endearing characters, Bob Forsyth and Roger Woodhams. These two pals, who have worked and fished together for almost their entire lives, are more than generous with their time and knowledge. Stalwarts of the now defunct Trout Society, the Nomads Fly Fishing Club and the reservoir competition scene (Bob was Troutmasters champion in 2007 at Grafham Water) they have also been great supporters of the England Ladies Team and England Youth. It’s all a part of their philosophy to enjoy what they do. “Fishing has given me countless opportunities to meet and make friends with people from all walks of life,” said Bob.…

BACK IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS when I rarely used any other density line than a floater, I was convinced that pattern over-ruled presentation. Mind you, I was then, and still am, a lover of flies. If flies didn’t exist, I probably wouldn’t fish at all. Trout fishing is, in my mind, the glorification of flies. The reality that you can create something totally inedible that a fish will attempt to eat excites me greatly. I find it challenging and thought-provoking. But back in the mid-’70s, when rainbow trout fishing started to impact on all forms of fly-fishing, I began to appreciate the importance of proper presentation. That came about through buzzer-fishing techniques that I tried to take from reservoirs and stocked fish to the wild trout lochs of Scotland.…

1. GREAT GRANDFATHER’S REEL I come from a long line of fishermen; my great-grandfather Fergus-Hearne Doyles fished the rivers Baelanabrack and Ballinamallard at the end of the 19th century in Ireland. His battered reel is my most precious possession. It sits on a shelf in my study but occasionally is slipped into my pocket when I go fishing. It is fragile, so it is never used but has become a totem of good luck. Somehow, I feel more assured of a good day’s fishing when it with me — as if Old Fergus is looking out for me. 2. AUGER FIBREGLASS SPINNING ROD My grandfather taught me to fish in the seventies; by then, my family lived on the borders of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. We lived in a house beside…

CLARET SHIPMAN’S BUZZER Hook Size 14-16 Kamasan B830, de-barbed Thread Claret Semperfli 8/0 Breathers White Tiemco Aero Dry Wing Body Veniard light claret seal’s fur (dubbed) Rib Semperfli copper wire (0.1mm) My take on Dave Shipman’s classic. I’ve just replaced his tinsel rib with fine copper wire. Trout readily accept it when moving to buzzers, but it’s equally good for snail and pin-fry feeders. The same fly in fiery brown is a good option when fish are on shrimp. Tied on a strong Kamasan B830, I’ve every confidence in it when I hook a big fish. The hook is de-barbed at the vice and I use Velcro to tease out the seal’s fur for a scruffy look. Apply only a little gink as it must sit in, not on the…

ROB EDMUNDS Highly successful competition angler, reservoir bank and boat specialist. RONNIE GLASS Former Scottish champion on rivers and stillwaters and curator of the Tweed Salmon Fishing Museum. PETER GATHERCOLE Photographer, expert tyer and chairman of the Fly Dressers' Guild. ALASTAIR & WILLIAM PEAKE Brothers Al and Will (AKA TwinPeakes) have a casting school and tackle shop in Crathes on the Aberdeenshire Dee. 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. SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS If you're being thwarted by trout or stumped by salmon, our knowledgeable panel are here to help. Write to: troutandsalmon@bauermedia.co.uk Q Do drogues scare fish, and would you still…

MANY SMALL STILLWATER AND reservoir anglers lack the confidence to fish with dry-flies, which they typically only use when they see trout rising. However, if you observe closely and fish stealthily, trout will usually be feeding on or close to the surface in some area of a lake and can be tempted to a dry-fly. I started to fish almost exclusively with dry-flies on reservoirs two decades ago. To me there is little more satisfying than targeting and then seeing a trout take my fly off the surface. By concentrating on dry-fly, I may have missed opportunities where other methods would have excelled, but what it has given me is the confidence to fish a fly on the surface in any conditions and at any time of the year. It…

Hook Up-eyed double (Partridge Patriot) Thread White Tag Gold wire Butt Glo-brite floss no.7 (orange) Body Black floss Rib Gold wire Throat A few fibres of yellow, orange and black bucktail tied short Wing Yellow and orange mixed bucktail tied tapered and long with two strands of gold Krystal Flash and a sparse overwing of black bucktail fibres Hackle Black cock Eyes Jungle cock Head Black Run on thread. Tie in the wire before where the bends of the double diverge. Apply five turns to form the tag then draw the loose end forward and secure. Tie in the orange Glo-brite floss leaving a long loose end projecting over the tag. Apply overlapping turns of the floss to create a short but distinct “hot” butt. Draw the loose end of…

England & Wales BORDER ESK THE Burnfoot beat below Longtown produced 13 salmon up to June 21 with a total of 26 for the season so far. Sea-trout catches totalled 16. The Esk has had no rain since May 24 and members of BELAC have struggled. The river has been registering minus on SEPA level gauges for several weeks now. Night fishers have been out but only odd fish have been caught. Dave Wildey caught a few sea-trout at night on the Canonbie Beat. Jackie Allan had a couple of chunky sea-trout over 4lb over several visits. Local rods are dismayed at the sheer lack of fish. Despite low flows, there should be many more fish in the river. In the past, sea-trout would be seen running in numbers even…

HEAVY FINE FOR POLLUTER Welsh Water (WW) has been fined £180,000 for polluting the River Clywedog in North Wales in 2018, causing the death of more than 3,000 fish, including trout and salmon parr. WW, which was also ordered to pay more than £25,000 costs, illegally discharged crude settled sewage from a wastewater treatment plant affecting five miles of the river. Environment regulator Natural Resources Wales, which took the legal action against WW, said, “We hope this fine will send out a clear message that environmental legislation is to be taken seriously and that damaging the environment, whether deliberately, or out of negligence, comes with consequences.” A DAY WITH FEARGAL Salmon & Trout Conservation has announced the dates of its annual auction: September 6 to October 3. Lots include a…

GO TROUTING ON THE BROOK Brook Farm at Lower Whatley, 2½ miles to the west of Frome in Somerset, is a family house with outbuildings, paddocks and woodland through which flows the Nunney Brook, a tributary of the Frome that joins the Avon near Bristol. Bath is 16 miles away. Built in 1967 of local stone, the house has two reception rooms, a large office, main and three further ensuite bedrooms, two other bedrooms and a bathroom. Outside there are four barns that include stables, shower room, extensive garaging and workshops with potential for development subject to planning consent. There are some 16 acres of agricultural land and ten of woodland. As well as trout fishing on the brook, there is an old mill overlooking a weir, and a wild…