New Season Aspirations

This winters Grayling fishing has been pretty kind to me with some superb days fishing mainly down to the warmer than usual temperatures. Last weekend on the River Ithon in Mid Wales wasn't exactly one of the better weekends but it did produce a couple of nice end of season Grayling and also my first 'official' brownie to kick off the new trout season.

Pair of Red Kites flying low over the River Ithon

My best from last weekend

So what's this new season going to offer? Well that's a question that non of us can answer with any degree of certainty, but on a personal level I have some definite targets set out for this year which include the following:

Firstly, I aim to visit some 'new' waters that I have not previously fished and have a list of some nice looking rivers and streams which hopefully will appear in this blog in due course.

Secondly, for me the ultimate pleasure from fly fishing is casting a dry fly upstream on a small stream in the middle of nowhere to a trout sipping flies off the surface undercover of some overhanging branches, then getting in the perfect cast and watching it take a recently tied pattern...glorious!!! But as this is a rare occurrence I intend to further explore other styles of fly fishing. One style that I am getting to grips with is the recent development of the 'European long rod/leader' approach to fishing which can really prove deadly in the right conditions.

Fishing the 'long leader' with my 10' #3 Greys Streamflex

Thirdly, Since starting fly tying some three years ago I cannot now imagine not tying my own flies anymore so this year I hope to further my tying abilities and share some of the patterns on this blog.

A major concern and one of the biggest problems likely to be encountered this year will be the lack of rain which is already causing rivers to run well below normal and with little foreseeable rain I can only imagine some areas of the UK will suffer even more so.

The Molten Mono Method

Whilst watching a recent Davie McPhail tying video I picked up what I thought was a great way to attach a bead to the top of the shank of a hook as in the style of a Polyfitus Nymph.

Polyfitus Peeping Caddis

The idea that Davie uses on one of his many outstanding YouTube videos is oulined below:

1. Double up a piece of strong breaking strain monofilament line (I've used 10lb line on a 4.5mm diameter tungsten bead) then thread it through the non-chamfered side of the bead.

2. Whilst holding the tag ends in your fingers get a lighter and proceed to slowly heat the ends.

3. Proceed to heat the mono so that it starts to melt in a ball towards the chamfered side of the bead.

4. When there is a large enough molten ball and when it has cooled down to a tacky state (this step comes easy with a little practice) use the back of your thumb nail and press the tacky ball of mono into the bead filling up the recess.                 

5. When the mono solidifies you end up with the bead firmly attached with a couple of tag ends ready to tie onto the top of the hook.

This method of attaching the tungsten bead on top of the hook naturally makes the fly sit in an upside down position on the river bed and allows the bend of the hook to face upward.

It's Not All About Catching Fish...!!!

My first trip out fishing after a couple of weeks of bad weather was a visit to the River Ithon in Mid-Wales on Sunday.

On arriving at our chosen beat on the river myself and fishing buddy Nick was greeted by a couple of coarse fishing anglers just heading off down the beat with their trotting gear...not what we wanted to see as this beat was barely enough for two angler.

So it was back in the car and a short drive further downstream to a beat I had only fished a couple of times before early last summer so we had no idea what the winter grayling fishing would be like.

                     River as it looked on Sunday

                     Photo of the same bit of water taken last May

The river looked totally different from when I'd last seen it with more than a lot more water running through it, so the set up included a couple of fairly heavyweight tungsten flies to get down quick.

Although conditions weren't perfect there were pools on this beat that looked like they should have grayling queueing up for our flies...but not so! After an almost fruitless search through the whole length we had only managed to connect with a couple of proper fish which both threw the hook, other than that it was a couple of small grayling which Nick found in a deep pool.

Before we headed back home we dropped back into our starting pool where Nick was rewarded with two nice grayling within the space of five minutes, me...I was rewarded with my first blank for quite a while!

Clothing To Keep The Cold Out

One thing that makes fly fishing enjoyable is being able to go out in the elements and withstand anything mother nature has to throw at you and still enjoy your days fishing.

The correct thermal layering is essential when deep water wading in winter!

A good set of waterproofs and a well layered construction underneath can keep you warm throughout the day, often leading to you being called everything under the sun as your the last one off the water!

By layering up I don't mean throwing everything you own on and setting out fishing. Less layers with a good technical performance are more equipt at keeping you warm than 6 layers of t-shirts or 3 pairs of socks. A 3 layer system is the most effective. Base, Middle and Outer depending on the conditions your experiencing. Below is the perfect way to insulate your body to protect you against anything thrown at you.

Base Layer

Your base layer is the first layer of your winter protection and is the layer next to your skin. Getting your base layer correct is the key to retaining heat in any weather conditions. A quick moisture wicking material is ideal for keeping your garment from holding moisture such as sweat. This is vital for keeping you warm. It means if you sweat while fishing or walking your base layer will remain dry allowing you to stay warm.

The ideal base layer materials are merino wool, silk, polypropylene and other various synthetic fibres. If there is one rule to follow - never, ever use cotton as a base layer. It will not matter what you put over the top in an effort to keep warm, you will remain wet and cold.

You may wear light-weight, mid-weight, or heavy-weight base layers depending on the outside conditions. Use light-weight base layers for mild conditions and heavy-weight base layers for extremely cold weather conditions.

Mid Layer

The main purpose of the mid-layer is to provide your body with insulation. Its aim is to trap the warmth coming from your body, by trapping the warm air around your body. So make sure all your items fit correctly or your warm air will escape.

Tucking your layers in will help too! Your mid-layer goes over your moisture wicking base layer. You may need any number of mid-layers depending on the temperature you are experiencing.

A mid-layer should be thicker than a base layer. Again, do not use cotton it simply does not insulate as well as other fabrics. Some good examples of mid layers include a mid weight fleece or polyester.

You will find using several thinner mid-layer articles, like a vest, sweater or jacket, is better than one really thick and heavy garment. It will provide you with more flexibility if the weather change

Top Layer

This should be your thickest insulating layer and your warmest layer. There are many outer layers to choose from. When choosing an outer layer consider the following:

Temperature - Weight  - Style - Purpose

An outer layer maybe a heavy fleece, a down jacket or soft shell. This is the layer that most people will see and will be in most of your photos when you get home.

A shell is your final layer. It is very important as it protects you from perspiration and wind. Essentially it is your water proof, wind proof layer which keeps all of your other layers warm and dry. Again there are many features of shells to be considered - weight, durability, length, warmth and waterproofing.



It can also be a good idea throughout the winter and the start of spring to use an additional 'bib and Brace' thermal underwear, which can be worn on top of your mid layers, putting the fleece and shell outside to retain the heat produced. These add much needed cold protection to your legs whilst wading in icy cold river, sitting still in a boat or on the bank of a still water.

Airflo Thermo Skin Bib and Brace has an effective wicking system which effectively transfers moisture away from the skin. The full body thermal suit retains heat from your ankles to your neck, paired with an effective fleece the cold will be sure to stay outside!

River Monnow

I have to confess the Monnow is a river I seldom get to fish so it was a bit of a treat to get a chance to go and give it a go on Sunday.

All looked good when we arrived and expectations were high...but fishing rarely turns out as you envisage, today was one of those days.

As it turned out the most productive pool of the day was the first one we fished, which just added to the expectation that we had caught the river just right and were in line to catch plenty of grayling.

Running a team of three nymphs hard along the bottom using my Streamflex 10' #3 seemed to be the right line of attack but after our initial success we struggled to find any of the bigger fish and although some of the pools looked like they should hold plenty of big grayling we could only connect with the smaller specimens and the occasional out of season brown trout.

Biggest of the day taken from the first pool

We were left to analyse the day over a couple of pints of Hobgoblin in the friendly surrounds of a nearby Inn and the only conclusion we came to was that Hobgoblin is a damn good pint of real ale!

Little River Avon

It's not often I get a chance to sneak away from work to go fishing but when I had an invite to join Peter Anderson on the Charfield AA waters Little River Avon I just couldn't say no.

The Little River Avon is a small tributary to the River Severn and is situated in South Gloucestershire, we had arranged to meet at 10am but I couldn't resist getting there a little early a taking a quick stroll down to have a look.

This stretch of river is full of bends, riffles, tree roots and deep pockets of water, in places it gets narrow enough to almost jump across and today it was carrying a little extra rain water from the night before and a tinge of colour. It reminded me of the River Clun...a similar sized river I have fished many times in Shropshire.

When my host and guide for the day Peter arrived we chatted for a while then set off downstream where Peter highlighted the potential target areas which were noted for our return upstream.

I had decided to start with a short rod with a duo set up, whilst Peter opted for short line nymphing. We started at a lovely looking pool which I was informed held some grayling, so as I set my rig up Peter dropped his nymphs into the flow and within minutes was into his first fish, unfortunately this slipped the hook and a couple of casts later saw another on the hook and quickly into his hand.

 

This was the sort of start we had hoped for and when I got in and fished up through the pool with my duo rig I was also fortunate to connect quickly with a couple of nice grayling. Early signs were good and we progressed upstream through some nice looking water but finding more feeding fish proved very difficult, a switch to a short line nymph set up brought a few smaller grayling but it became evident that our good start was not going to continue through the day.

We finished around 3.30pm with a few more smaller grayling knowing that today the river had fished hard but nevertheless it was a lovely place to spend a winter's day where temperatures were close to double figures.

A Fair Cop

As we headed through Mid Wales early on Sunday morning I thought my luck was in as I was kindly asked to accompany an attractive young lady to share the front seat of her car!

 It took her no time at all to get down to business and she soon got out her...ballpoint pen and her pad of fixed penalty speeding forms! yep you guessed it...whilst heavy in conversation with travelling/fishing companion Nick I totally failed to keep a check on my speed through a 30mph zone and was duly nabbed by the lady in blue.

Not the best start to the day but I was still looking forward to spending the next few hours in pursuit of some grayling.

The Wye tributary we fished was still running a little high and carrying slightly more colour than we would have like but as long as the last couple of days of heavy frost hadn't shocked them too much we still anticipated finding a few feeding fish.

Well it was certainly a slow start and likely looking spots yielded nothing, but a little further upstream Nick latched into a good fish which certainly tested out his recently built 11' 3wt rod. We had both opted to fish variations of long rod - short line nymphing, switching between heavily/medium weighted tungsten flies to enable us to get down to the riverbed quick in the stronger than normal flows.

The day continued with us both taking the odd fish as we progressed upstream and we finished with a handful a Grayling each but they were all quality fish with most measuring over 35cms.

It seems like this was the first days fishing this winter where the air and water temperatures made me feel glad I'd doubled up on my thermal layers, but fortunately we seem to have so far escaped the Arctic conditions which virtually wiped out last years winter grayling fishing.