Winter Wanderings

Now its the time of year when the Salmon fishing has well and truly stopped I am drawn to dipping in and out of various interesting old Game Fishing books. This maybe alright in the short term but its no substitute for getting out there- Now is the time to go shooting!

End of season action

After what could only be described as a slow season at best hopes were high for the end of season trip up to South West Scotland. As this was a family trip i had to be a bit careful not to over do things. Having a six month old daughter one has to compromise! so, with the car packed with fishing tackle, outdoor clothes, guns and Dog (and a few baby things) we set off for Auchencairn, our base for the next week. I had spoken to a friend near Dumfries and he had booked the fishing on the middle Nith.

A day on the middle Taw

I was lucky enough to be invited by Pete Tyjas from the Devon School of Fly Fishing to fish the Middle Taw. The Taw is a lovely river and I try to fish it at least a couple of times each season. As I had not managed to fish it in 2011 I was really pleased to be visiting this lovely river once again.

End of the Season for the Frome

The last weekend of the Salmon fishing season is always met with mixed feelings by myself and a few of my friends who fish the river. It seems very early in the year year for the season to end as the main runs don't really get underway until mid May. Historically the river had a good spring run with fish being caught from March onwards. Like many rivers the Frome has seen a change in both the type of fish and also the times of year that they run.

A fresh run of fish -The Curse of the Hut Pool

Preparation for yesterdays trip was well planned with a number of new flies tied and tackle checked and packed. I find the routines leading up to a days fishing rather satisfying. As I was away last weekend I hadn't fished to 2 weeks so hopes were very high. I planned on getting to the river before 5am in order to fish for the Sea Trout.

Looking down the Armchair Pool

Atlantic Salmon Magic - Topher Browne

As a self confessed book worm i guess it was only a matter of time before my ramblings focused on my ever growing collection of game fishing books.

One of my Book cases of books mainly about Salmon and Sea Trout fishing

As the nights grow shorter I'll be delving deeper into the shelves picking out many old favourites but for now, i thought I'd write something about one of the newer books in my collection, Atlantic Salmon Magic by Topher Browne

Illness boredom!

Having been rather ill lately i have spent a fair amount of time sitting around with not much to do other than feel sorry for myself. In fact, I've felt so bad that i haven't even felt like sitting at the tying bench!

I did, however, manage an excursion to the shops and bought a DVD. 'A Passion called Salmon'

Christchurch Angling Club open day

Christchurch angling club will be holding an open day on Sunday the 5th of August. With ample free fly casting tuition (single and double handed) from the club's AAPGAI instructors along with coarse fishing tuition. It promises to be a great day for anyone attending. See the link below for details.
Somerley open day
This is a lovely part of the country and the club have some great fishing!

More great blogs on Fishtec's favourite fly fishing blog list

Recently fly fishing tackle retailer, Fishtec have been on the lookout for quality, informative and interesting fishing blogs to be listed within their favourite fly fishing blog list.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been following Paul at Chasing Salmon and all the office staff found his material informative and entertaining, a blog which keeps the read interested and wanting to read more.

We’ve recently reviewed Pauls blog here - - http://www.fishtec.co.uk/blog/more-great-fishing-blogs

alongside some of the top UK fly fishing blogs – take a look and see what you think for yourself.       

The Grilse have arrived!

After last weeks despair about my broken rod, leaking waders and lost reel part i was hoping for better fortunes on the river this weekend as the water is looking better by the day and was sitting at 1.11 on the gauge and was running nice and clear and surprisingly cool for this time of the year.

Disaster strikes!

Having arrived at the river early on Sunday hopes were high after Fridays success. I started fishing at 5.30 and it looked absolutely perfect. I tackled up with a small Snaelda cone head and proceeded to fish my way down through the beat.

Falling water success

With the river continuing to fall, albeit slowly, hopes were high for my morning trip to the river yesterday. It was a perfect height  at 1.35m to fish the fly without any weed issues. I tackled up with a 13# 8 weight and a medium sinking head on the multi tip line. The fly of choice was a small Snaelda tube with a tungsten cone head. Amazingly as I lifted off to re cast after my first cast a fish swirled at my feet.

Guest Blog for Ghost Pepper Fly Fishing

I was asked if i wanted to write a guest blog post for a site in the US called Ghost Pepper Fly Fishing. Its an interesting site with some good articles about a variety of Fly fishing destinations. It's well worth a look. My Guest blog can be seen here South West Bonanza

Floodwater Salmon

In keeping with the last couple of weeks of despair through continued rain and a nasty case of Flu i was sat on my sofa feeling bored and fed up on Saturday afternoon when i spotted a 'Tweet' (a twitter notification) about the upper river Frome being high but crystal clear and looking very fishable. After a couple of messages Mark from Knighton Countryside Management asked if id like to fish the middle river around Moreton. It was an easy decision as i love exploring new waters and had never fished around here before. Arrangements were made and we met on the following morning at 7.30.

Blue Charm The Movie

Once again boredom has kicked in due to the high water levels. With any luck i will be able have a few casts on Sunday if i can actually get to the river. In the meantime i have been watching some DVD's to pass the time.

This one looks great, i haven't seen it as yet but it looks well worth watching

It has been uploaded by Speycaster11 and is available from the following website: Blue Charm

Water water everywhere!

Well what can i say, its b ring a bizarre few days, after having a few casts on Friday in what looked like perfect water i was shocked on Saturday at the rainfall we had and the effect on the river. The river in My back garden went crazy and i had to rush home from Cornwall to put sandbags around my door as there was a serious risk of flooding. have a look at the level gauge 1 mile up river from my house:

Wessex Chalk Streams and Rivers Trust Newsletter

I thought I'd post this newsletter as anyone who has an interest in the Wessex Rivers will find this a very worthwhile cause and should be thinking about becoming a member
Spring newsletter for the Wessex Chalk Stream and Rivers Trust

Strange summer

I am at a total loss as to what is going on with the weather at the moment. The river has been up and down like a yo yo! I managed to get out for a few hours on the Monday after the heavy water stopped fishing on Sunday. The river was still coloured but dropping.

Article for 'Eat Sleep Fish' - Dorset's hidden treasures

Just thought id post a link to  an article i submitted for 'Eat Sleep Fish' online magazine. hope you enjoy it and maybe it will inspire you to think about the chalk streams of the South when thinking about potential day trips.

Dorset's Hidden Treasures

Quick fish walking the Dog

I stopped off via the River on my way home after work to walk the dog and the river looks absolutely perfect, i had a few casts whilst i walked across the meadow with the dog. Didn't see any Salmon but i did have two follows from Sea Trout and caught one of about 1 1/2lb. Roll on Sunday when i can have a good crack at finding some Salmon. With any luck there will be a few moving in after the recent high water!

Rained off!

In keeping with the rest of the UK we have had a substantial amount of rain here in Dorset. I arrived at the river on Sunday morning at 5.45 am to find it high but not too coloured. There was about 2' of visibility so i was quite optimistic. Within a few minutes the river had risen and was colouring fast! by 7.30am i had given up as the visibility was 2" at best.

2 Sea Trout and a Hat!

I had been watching the river levels over the last few days looking forward to getting on the river for a few hours with my mate Tony. Not surprisingly heavy rain on Thursday brought the river levels up again!

Helpful dog!

I thought id share this clip of Poppy trying to 'Help' me land a fish last week. She normally just watches but this week she had other ideas! Apologies for the quality of the clip!

Fathers day success

I was starting to think my luck was running out as fish seemed to be a bit thin on the ground for me  despite some fish being caught by others. As it was fathers day my Daughter thought i should spend the morning fishing - very considerate as she's only 8 weeks old! I arrived at the river at 5.30am and it looked lovely.

The curse of high water

Its been a pretty disappointing couple of weeks after a promising start to the season. with unseasonal high water being the predominant factor over recent times. The fishing usually picks up substantially from the first spring tides in June which was last Monday.

Beneath the surface

Boredom has kicked in as i can't go fishing until tomorrow so i thought id post this interesting you tube video uploaded by 'Gunnihel' i saw last week - its amazing what goes on without you feeling anything. next time you think you have fished an 'empty' pool, think again. Maybe its worth a second run through using a different approach.

Long weekend coming

Probably like all of us, I'm looking forward to a few days off with the prospects of some good fishing. The river is continuing to drop but is still at a very good level for fishing.

Great Start to the weekend!

Having been woken up at the usual 4.30am by my 5 week old Daughter I was finding it hard to get back to sleep as a morning trip to the river had been planned with my mate Tony.

I Think i have the mid week blues, the weekend was disappointing as we fished for over six hours and didn't see a single fish which was very surprising considering the conditions. It may be that with the high water fish have pushed further up river. I had a look in the book in the hut and nothing was recorded there either.

I did manage a brief fish on the next beat down on Monday and lost a 10lb fish and had a follow form a 16lb fish. I did get a phone call that evening from a friend who had lost a 20lb fish as he was bringing it towards the net - Gutted, good for the fish though, a bit of fast C&R! roll on the weekend, fingers crossed that it will be better than last week. I will also be trialling an underwater pole cam as i'm really interested in looking at the contours of the deep pools to see what lurks beneath. once i have some footage i'll post it on here!

Roll on Sunday

With the river looking perfect and the weather being a bit more settled i'm looking forward to the weekend and getting back on the river. Met a new rod on our beat yesterday - he hadn't seen anything but that doesn't mean they're not there. Frome fish do not generally show themselves - they will be there and with a bit of look i'll meet one on Sunday.

This is my first fish from last year - typical cracking Frome springer - look at my boot under the fish to get an idea of scale!

Big fish lost

I have just returned form a lunchtime walk down the river with Poppy and bumped into a couple of lads who fish the beat below me. I asked if they'd had anything, spinning started on the river today and it is usually very productive at this time of year. Sadly one of them had lost a fresh fish off about 25lb. He had it in and out of the smallish net on four occasions - the curse of the small net strikes again - Gutted!

It looks perfect and i look forward to getting back there on Sunday!

Off the mark!

Despite the high water conditions over the last few days i kept a close eye on the river levels going that the water may drop and clear enough to make it fishable this morning. I woke early and was pleased to see it had dropped to 1.13m on the gauge at East Stoke.

I arrived at the river at 8 and tackled up in the hut and had a coffee whilst i decided on fly and line options. I went for a fast sinking tip on the Rio Multi tip in combination with a 1 1/2" Cascade brass tube.

Favourite Flies for the Frome

Due to the even higher river levels today i have decided to sort out my fly box and get tying some more flies for the following week.

Here is a selection of the flies i tend to use the most depending on river levels and clarity .

My current favourites

More Rain

After a night of more heavy rain it's not looking good for the weekend. The river was falling nicely but we had a decent lift in the last few hours adding another 30 odd centrmeters to the level and a fair bit of colour. There is a pretty good page on the EA website for checking the levels here

With any luck things may be better by Sunday morning but if nothing else at least it will get the fish moving!!!!

I stopped off for a look after work and saw it was definitely not looking good.

Even Poppy doesn't look too hopeful!

River Frome Salmon Research Report 2011

As i follow with interest the research carried out on the river frome's Salmon i was please to read the findings of the 2011 annual Salmon Report. you can download the document here;  http://www.gwct.org.uk/documents/salmon_research_report_2011_final.pdf

Looking perfect

I took the dog down to the river this morning for a look and i must say it looks very promising for Friday. I think a late start for work would be good as hopes are high to connect with a Frome springer. Fingers crossed!

My Best Salmon

 On a memorable day in late April I arrived at the river with a guest who was intent on fishing for trout and looked at my 13’ double handed fly rod as if I was mad.

Wecome

Welcome to my new blog where i will be sharing my adventures of chasing Salmon around the South West. Operations are primarily focussed of Dorset with further wanderings throughout the year.

As i write the river Frome has had a big spring flood and is just dropping back to a nice height and clearing slowly Its .96 on the gauge today. As we are now seeing the spring tides i'd expect a decent amount of springers to be finding their way up river.