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THE VOICE OF GAME

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FISHING SINCE 1955

North Country collection

Six stunning rivers,
rivers one extraordinary
exttraordinary club

Healthy
Glow
Teeming hatches
on a hidden Fife
trout loch

CAST
AT THE
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Explore a model
Royal Deeside
salmon beat “I catch the
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trout that eat

your trout”
Andrew Ryan’s guide to streamer fishing
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 The voice of game-fishing since 1955

I
’VE JUST WALKED CHARLIE THE PATTERDALE.
She’s getting quite particular in her old age, so much
so that I often let her take me where she wants to go.
Remote working means no more daily commute and
more time for such things. For reasons unbeknown to
man, she’s recently taken a liking to Tesco, which means going
all the way into town. She doesn’t try to go inside — we just stop
and watch the electric door open, at which point she’s happy
and we’re on our merry way. We can’t go straight home, though.
Oh no, we must go via Irwell Close (all my local roads are
named after rivers) to the house with the artiûcial grass. She
dives headûrst on to it and writhes and rolls in ecstasy.
While she was rolling around on her giant scratchy loofah,
my mind was on üy-boxes. I’ve been tying profusely and have a batch of 200 üies to
house. They’re trout and grayling nymphs and bugs. I’ve always been short of the heavy
stuf — especially those tied with jig hooks and tungsten — so I thought it was time
to make amends. But what nymphs should a die-hard dry-üy man tie? While I’ve tied
nymphs and beaded thingy-ma-bobs before, they’ve never passed muster beside patterns
tied by some of the great nymph-ûshers I know.
So, I’ve picked patterns with ironclad reputations — Duracells, Red Tags and such like. I
even attempted a few Perdigons, until I realised how ûddly it was to get the resin coating
to a reasonable standard — I’m a sucker for consistency, verging on compulsive, though
I’m sure the ûsh won’t care one jot.
When attempting to create a workable box from scratch and with limited time for such
pleasures, I’ve learnt it’s best to reduce the ûeld and tie a few patterns in diferent sizes
and weights. Better that than the scattergun, experimental approach. And let’s face it: in
all types of üy-ûshing, the size and weight of a üy is more important than the pattern.
The ûsh don’t care if it’s missing a leg or two, as long as it looks edible and is presented
the way they expect their food to be served. Suggestive patterns with a trigger are where
it’s at — Paul Procter alludes to this on p59, though his patterns are undoubtedly more
imitative than mine.
My new üy collection may be a little late for winter grayling, but that’s the fault of all
the rain we’ve had. Nonetheless, I will never have been as prepared for the start of the
river trout season.
As for what’s next, Charlie’s tan feathers from her winter coat are almost ready
to make another batch of Alistair tubes. If the wife asks, I’ll say they were chopped
of in Tesco’s door.

Andrew Flitcroft, Editor

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3
COV E R I M AG E : R I V E R E A M O N T BY R I C H A R D FAU L K S

Contents
MARCH 2023

52

42

28

INSPIRATION COMMENT

12 Rob Hardy explores the Crathes 54 Seven top dry-üy lessons from river 3 Editor’s welcome
Castle beat on Royal Deeside specialist Paul Procter
22 A season in the North Country
28 Wild trout of outstanding quality 70 Jim Coates in conversation with Matt Eastham
and beauty draw Finlay Wilson to with gifted artist and üy-dresser
Loch Borralaidh Gary Weir 24 Letters to the editor

40 England international Simon 94 Loch Glow bailif Gerry McGirr 37 Trout Talk with Simon Cooper
Kidd’s memorable ûshing items shares his love for this moody
reservoir in the Cleish Hills 39 Dani Morey’s View from the hut
42 Don Stazicker discovers a club with
extensive ûshing on some of the 130 Last Cast goes to Giles Catchpole
best waters in the North of England

4
 54

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12

94

62

THE KNOWLEDGE TACKLE & FLY-TYING REGULARS

79 Quick ûx: üy-line loading point 52 Author John Roberts chooses three 8 First Cast
üies for trout and grayling
80 Waterside wisdom from our team 10 Gallery with Sharpe’s of Aberdeen
of expert üy-ûshers 62 Scandi-style trout patterns from
Swedish tyer Håkan Karsnäser 109 Fishing reports and news
84 Rob Denson looks at tail materials
104 New season tackle reviewed 124 Troutmasters badge winners
86 Andrew Ryan shares his strategies
for streamer ûshing 108 The latest üy-tying products 126 Reader ofer: half-price Greys rod
91 Simon Sinclair on spring salmon 127 Crossword competition
92 Tie a March Brown Spider

5
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6
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First cast
What’s happening in the world of game-fishing

EVEN IF NO FISH
IS CAUGHT
Actor Burn Gorman, who has appeared in Game of Thrones and The Dark Knight Rises,
opened the Tay salmon season in January with an inspiring speech about hope.
Accompanying Burn (pictured centre) at the Tay District Salmon Fishery
Board ceremony at Meikleour Fishings were David Profumo (right),
author of The Lightning Thread, Perth & Kinross Provost Xander McDade,
and Claire Mercer Nairne, owner of Meikleour.
Burn stressed the important role that angling can have in supporting
good mental health, explaining how fishing is “one of the most hopeful pastimes…
The hope that the weather holds, the hope you’ve the right tackle and bait,
the hope you get the best spot on the beat, and finally the hope that
today perhaps might yield the biggest catch of a lifetime.
“Even if no fish is caught…being together outside in nature… is beneficial in so many ways.”
David Profumo explained the profound importance of water and whisky and salmon to the
history of Scotland, while Claire Mercer Nairne looked forward to Scottish Government’s
imminent Plan to Save Wild Salmon and the ongoing work of the Tay hatchery.
The party were led to the riverside by the Perth & District Pipe Band and following
speeches, The John Moses Trophy was awarded to the angler who had caught the biggest
fish on fly at Meikleour in 2022 — which just happened to be Claire Mercer Nairne.
Then the Provost and Burn Gorman blessed the river with Glenturret
whisky and David Profumo made the first cast.
More than 90 anglers fished the beat on opening day, raising money
for Angling for Youth Development and the Tay Rivers Trust.

RESERVOIR RAYS OF LIGHT

While game-fishing is not immune from the gloomy effects of high inflation,
Anglian Water (AW)’s plans for the new season at Rutland (pictured), Grafham,
Pitsford and Ravensthorpe give reason for optimism.
The price of hatchery brown and rainbow trout has risen by 26 per cent and to
offset this cost, AW will reduce the size of stocked fish from 900g (2lb) to 750g
(1⅔lb). However, stocking numbers will remain the same as 2022. AW has also
signed a ten-year stocking agreement with four trout farms, which it says is a sign
of its ongoing commitment to angling.
Season ticket prices are to rise, 7%-10%, from the Gold package (500 fish, eight
per day) at £1,200 to the Starter deal (65 fish) at £360. But boat hire prices stay the
same as 2022. Other changes include a new online booking system, five new boats,
a longer predator season, and an all-season catch-and-release policy for brown trout.

8
 START A CLUB
Who’d have thought it? There are still rivers in Scotland whose salmon-fishing
rights are unknown. It’s an anomaly being investigated by the Forth District Salmon
Fisheries Board and Crown Estate Scotland, who hope to open reaches of rivers
and burns that are not currently managed and which are vulnerable to poaching.
Where “vacant” fisheries are identified, they plan to “open up a legal way to fish”
and invite communities to take on their management. The first among these is the
Bannock Burn (pictured), near Stirling, after which the famous 1314 battle between
the English and Scots was named. The burn is home to salmon, sea-trout and
brown trout. It is hoped the forming of a local angling club could create pride in the
burn, boost the local economy, prevent wildlife crime and improve wild habitats.
Forth DSFB would like to hear from anglers who may be interested in setting up a
club on other vacant rivers, some of which are recovering from past industrial
pressures and urbanisation. Write to: [email protected] HOW MANY HAVE
YOU FISHED?
Frank Ward’s The Lakes of Wales has been the Welsh
angler’s bible for the best part of a century, but now
there is a worthy successor. Wild Lakes of Wales, a
new book by Ceri Thomas and Alan Parfitt, does not

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS PLANK/RICHARD FAULKS/FISHING AROUND THE FORTH/MICHAEL BOYD/COCH-Y-BONDDU BOOKS

pretend to be as comprehensive, but this is no bad
GOVERNMENT LISTENS thing. While Frank Ward listed more than 600 lakes,

TO ANGLERS from Aber-Hirnant (“This lake has now practically

disappeared”) to Ystwlan — including the Kerry Pool
(“at present there is no pool”), Thomas and Parfitt
Many salmon-fishers will be relieved
give the reader a splendid selection of 50 lakes, all of
that Scottish Government now says it
which have a population of wild trout — although
has “no plans” to impose mandatory
some share the water with stocked browns and
catch-and-release of salmon on all
rainbows. They range from waters with a few dour
waters, despite initially signalling its
— possibly legendary — specimens to lakes teeming
intention to do so. The change of
with small, eager trout. And from lowland pools with
heart follows a consultation with
parking and boats to high mountain lakes at the far
anglers, river boards, trusts and
end of a long climb.
businesses in which 46% of 211
Each lake has a double-page spread featuring a
respondents supported a 100%
large photo which captures the character of the lake
catch-and-release policy in some
and its surroundings. Beneath this is an example of a
form, but only a minority (18%)
wild trout from that water — a wonderful idea to
supported the use of mandatory
demonstrate the variety of form and colouration to be
measures.
found in the lakes of Wales. On the opposite page is a
In 2021, 95% of rod-caught salmon
banner with the location and elevation of the place,
were returned (99% of spring fish), so it’s thought making C&R mandatory would have a
the size of the lake, the walking time from the nearest
limited effect, although Government says there is a need to improve fish care (keeping
road and where tickets can be got. And below that is a
them in the water and minimising handling).
description of the place, getting there, its fish and
Instead of imposing mandatory catch-and-release, some 53% of respondents wanted
various valuable nuggets of advice or caution. Which
steps taken to stop the predation of salmon, and 41% sought action against fish farms.
is pretty much all you need to know to fish these
Some 39% believe total catch-and-release will deter anglers from the sport — and hence
wonderful waters. — Jon Beer
may damage local businesses.
£25. Coch-y-Bonddu Books. Web: anglebooks.com

9
Gallery
Caught a memorable fish? Send your pictures to: [email protected]

A LATE
REWARD
Thirty-one-year-old Jack Evans
caught this double-figure back-end
salmon on a trip to the Cardrona
beat on the Upper River Tweed.
Jack9s grandfather Tony
arranged the weekend trip for Jack
and his dad Robert, and with the
river in good condition the trio9s
hopes were running high.
Unfortunately, nothing showed
interest in their flies on the Friday,
and it wasn9t until nearly lunchtime
on the Saturday that Jack hooked a fish on the Nutwood beat. It initially resisted all his
efforts to move it, but after a stubborn fight the fish eventually conceded ground and
was successfully landed and returned.

COLOURFUL CATCH
Well-known lady competition angler FISH OF THE MONTH
Joan Russell, from Northamptonshire,
proudly displays a 16lb 14oz rainbow
trout caught from Dever Springs
TEAMWORK,
Fishery, Hampshire.
Joan told us; <It was not a
DREAM WORK
particularly easy day, but I fished a
Ellie Evans, 14, shows the result of a successful day9s fishing with her
Snowbee buzzer-tip line with a
dad Iestyn at Papermill Fishery in Fforest-fach, Swansea.
gold-head Daddy, catching two
Ellie, who has autism, loves to go fishing and she regularly
decent fish before the takes slowed.=
visits local waters with her dad, whatever the weather. 
After she swapped the Daddy for a
The impressive haul of rainbow trout were caught on an Airflo 40-plus
small pink gold-head lure, a big fish
line and a gold UV Humungous, which they had tied together.
follow it right to the bank before
<It9s a real 8Bert and Ernie9 (Muppet Show characters) partnership.=
taking as Joan lifted to re-cast.
said Iestyn. <I do the casting, she retrieves, we share playing
<Pink is a favourite colour of mine
the fish and the netting. Basically, we gillie for each other.=
— and the trout, apparently. The fish
Ellie also enjoys eating her catch and when she wants to
was in perfect condition and made a
go fishing, she says <Fishy fishy= to her dad and the pair head
great end to my 300-mile round trip
off around South Wales with their fly-rod.
to what is such a well-run fishery,=
she added.

SHARPE’S FISH OF THE MONTH

10
 HAPPY ENDING
Des Palmer from Nottinghamshire made it a double finale to the year
by landing his biggest-ever brown trout from Withern Mill Fishery in
Lincolnshire. Des had landed his biggest rainbow trout with a fish of 10½lb
from Llyn Clywedog in the autumn, but with a last-minute change of plans,
he left it until New Year9s Eve to capture the 12lb brownie and complete
the double double.
<Our New Year was supposed to have been spent in our motorhome
among old boating friends in Norfolk, but our plans were thrown into
disarray at the last possible moment when the venue had to cancel due to
staff illness,= said Des.
Not wanting to miss out on seeing New Year in on the bank, Des set
about finding another campsite in Norfolk or Lincolnshire. Finally, a call to
Withern Mill paid off in more ways than one. <We were the only people staying at the site and for two days I had the lakes to myself,= he said.
With the celebrations approaching, Des9s size 10 green and black Woolly Bugger, fished on a 5wt Snowbee floating line was taken by the brown trout.
<I just held on for 20 minutes as it covered most of the lake. Eventually it stared to tire, and I was able to get it to the waiting net,= said a very happy Des. 

EARNING HIS STRIPES

A cold and showery winter9s morning didn9t stop Jim Rigby landing
this super 9lb 9oz tiger trout from Llandegla Fishery, near Wrexham.
Jim chose to fish a slow glass line with a 12 ft leader, a Sunburst Blob on
the point and a black Diawl Bach on the dropper.
He enjoyed a productive morning with eight rainbow trout
coming to a slow figure-of-eight retrieve before the big tiger took
a liking to his dropper fly.
<Luckily, I9d just upped my leader strength from 7.5lb to 11lb,
because it gave me the right run around. I9d only brought my small
landing net and it proved a real problem fitting the trout in it.
Luckily, my girlfriend Emma was on hand,= said Jim.
After a couple of photographs, the tiger was safely returned
to fight another day.
Jim said, <It was a great morning for me. Unfortunately, Emma
blanked, but I couldn9t have managed the fish or the pictures
without her help.=

GETTING THE
GRAYLING BUG
Liverpool angler Barry Gurn was part of a group of three
friends who fished one of the fishery board9s annual grayling
days on the River Annan for the first time. On a very
successful day, the three anglers caught 33 grayling between
them, the best being this beauty of 2lb 4oz. It fell to a pink
bead-head bug, tied by Barry9s friend Paul White, and fished
on the Dryfeholm beat of the river.
It was obviously the fly of the day as the majority of the
trio9s grayling also fell to the same jig-hook CDC pattern
and nymphing tactics.

Caught a memorable fish? Send a picture and brief story to [email protected]

Each picture published (p10-11) will receive a Sharpe9s of Aberdeen cap. The captor of the Fish of the Month will receive a Sharpe9s Ajax rod of their choice.
Our winner may have recently landed a big fish, first fish or unusual fish. They may simply have told a wonderful tale. The editor9s decision is final.
For terms and conditions, visit: bauerlegal.co.uk/competition-terms.html For our Privacy Policy: bauerdatapromise.co.uk

11
 Auld Kiln. The Black
Pennell fish came in
the tail of the pool,
to the left of the
mid-river rocks.

12
 CLOSE AT
KASHENTROCH
Rob Hardy finally completes the full set of classic salmon rivers
with a cast on the Crathes Castle beat on Royal Deeside

13
 T HAD JUST PASSED FIVE O’CLOCK
on a Sunday evening as my train pulled
into Aberdeen railway station, the ûnal
leg of what had been an eventful journey.
I’d jostled for space with throngs
of football supporters all the way to
Newcastle. Then stopped at what seemed
like every small coastal town up the east coast of
Scotland. Despite it all I was delighted to ûnally be
on my way north and able to take up the invitation
from Al Peake of TwinPeakes Fly-Fishing to ûsh the
Crathes Castle beat of Aberdeenshire’s River Dee.
His original invitation had come in 2020, when I
mentioned that the Dee was the only one of the big
four Scottish salmon rivers (Tay, Tweed, Spey and
Dee) I was yet to ûsh.
<Great timing,= he said, as Loop Tackle, a major
partner, had just agreed a ûve-year lease on this
prime 2½-mile left-bank four-rod beat of the lower
Dee, perfectly situated beside the twin brothers’ üy-
ûshing centre, and which they would be managing.
<Come and have a cast.=
As it transpired my timing wasn’t great, as we
headed into the pandemic and travel restrictions for
the following 15 months and it wouldn’t be until the
spring of 2022 that I’d get the okay to head to the
town of Banchory on Royal Deeside and the Tor Na
Coille Hotel, my base for the next three nights.
The hotel’s tranquil surroundings were a stark
contrast to the hustle and bustle of my train journey.
This 25-room Victorian mansion, built in 1873,
sits in manicured grounds only ten minutes’ stroll
from the heart of Banchory and less than three
miles from the Crathes Castle beat. Owned by keen
“The hotel’s tranquil
üy-ûsherman, Scottish Chef of the Year 2013/14
and Masterchef of Great Britain David Littlewood surroundings were a stark
and his wife Sophie, the Tor Na Coille efortlessly
mixes old-school charm and service with modern contrast to the hustle and
bustle of my train journey”

Kashentroch
with its many
fish-holding
features.

14
 Gillie John Fyfe
(front) and
Edward Fane at
Floating Bank.
The Tilquhillie
hut is on the
opposite side.

Below, John
with a February
springer from
Kashentroch.

kindly ofered to take me to the beat the following

morning, I resisted the temptations of the hotel’s
ûne-dining restaurant and whisky selection —
another of David’s passions — and settled instead
for a light supper in the relaxed bar, before retiring
ready for an early start.
By 8.30am, we were turning of the A93 from
Banchory to Crathes down the short track to the
Castle’s ûshing hut, overlooking Boat pool, roughly
central to the beat. There I was greeted by John Fyfe,
who gillies the beat with Graeme Simpson, the pair
alternating weeks.
John is a gently spoken man, who imparts his
knowledge with a softly, softly approach. A great
performer with the üy and the Devon Minnow,
he’s gained a reputation for catching ûsh in most
situations and with more than 2,500 salmon under
his belt, the bulk from association water on the
rivers Dee and Don, you can see why.
He showed me around the beat, which is split in
two. The top starts with Sawmill pool, then comes
Pantoch, Auld Kiln, Corner pool, Floating Bank and

15
 “Rainfall had been unusually low in spring and
the river was already at summer level”

16
 GOING THE
EXTRA MILE
Based at Milton of Crathes, a picturesque
collection of craft shops and cafes, with its
own tumbling stream for maximum
aesthetic appeal, TwinPeakes Fly-Fishing
Centre is only a mile further down the A93
from the Crathes Castle beat and Banchory.
Owned by twin brothers Alastair and Will
Peake, it is a Loop distributor for the UK and
a Loop travel office offering guided trips to
destinations in Scotland, Norway, Iceland
and Chile. It also stocks leading brands such
as Airflo lines, Patagonia clothing, Yeti
coolboxes and drinkware, Franc N Snaelda
fly-tying materials and Dr Slick tools, as well
as flies by internationally renowned tyers
John’s constant companions, Tiggy and Willow. like Ross Macdonald.
The onsite Game Fishing School, with
access to 400m of the River Dee, offers
certified casting instruction from the
brothers and their team in all aspects of
single- and double-handed casting, from
picking up a rod for the first time to
Island Stream. The bottom begins above the hut at advanced techniques and problem solving.
Birkenbaud, followed by Boat pool, Kashentroch, There’s also a Disinfection Station offering a
Burn pool and a shallow, gravelly stretch opposite free service for anglers arriving and leaving
Scotland. It’s an important aspect of
Milton of Crathes used by TwinPeakes for their rod- destination fishing they hope will gain more
testing and casting tuition. recognition; six anglers who used the
Rainfall had been unusually low in spring and the service were recently accepted into Iceland,
one of the strictest bio-secure countries in
river was already at summer level, so Al lent me a the world.
light 7wt switch outût consisting of a Loop 7X rod, TwinPeakes has a strong online presence
Opti reel and üoating line, to which I added a 10ft but a visit to the Fly-Fishing Centre is highly
recommended to properly experience the
slow-sink tip and small Editor double. outstanding service they provide.
John suggested I start in Auld Kiln, as he’d seen
ûsh in there the day before. It turned out to be a
baptism of ûre as this is the trickiest pool to wade
and ûsh on the entire beat. Rocky and deep even
close in, it requires a careful approach and is best
ûshed from the bank towards the tail. Numerous
rock piles make it an excellent holding pool, one
that produces ûsh, although not for me.
In comparison, Sawmill and Pantoch were
easy wading. I could relax and concentrate on
methodically covering the water, varying my angle
of cast and speed of swing. It proved tempting to
the salmon smolts, which I caught on almost every
other cast. The pools were teeming with them
and I gently returned each one like the precious
jewels they are. Unfortunately, that was the limit
of the morning’s action and we returned to the
hut for lunch.
Still replete from the Tor Na Coille’s full Scottish
breakfast, I took the opportunity to explore the
home comforts and panoramic views of the beat’s
impressive ûshing hut while my fellow rods enjoyed
their lunch. Rebuilt in 2016 after the old one
collapsed under the weight of üood water following
Storm Frank in December 2015, it has a full kitchen,
WC, decking and BBQ overlooking the river, a log-
burner and cosy seating for colder days. It even
has a glass-topped cofee table, displaying antique

17
 “Kashentroch is full of features,
my favourite on the beat, although Pantoch
would come a close second.”

A plaque
marks the
water height
after Storm
Frank.

Comfrey is tackle collected from the castle and is one of the

a common
riverside plant. best-appointed huts on the river. A plaque on the
outside marks the astonishing water level following
the storm.
A keen historian and naturalist, John explained
over a cuppa that the beat is still owned by the
Burnett of Leys family, who were given the land
on which the present castle stands by Robert the
Bruce in 1323 for their support during the wars of
independence.
John’s thirst for knowledge kept him busy during
lockdown. He said, <Lawrence Ross, joint owner of
opposite beat, Invery and Tilquhillie and present
Chairman of the Dee Fisheries Board, wanted the
plant species on the beat studied and recorded,
The Crathes
which sounded really interesting to me.=
Castle’s With little ûshing taking place, John ofered
comfortable to help with the project, recording 85 diferent
and well-
appointed hut. species of wildüower on the beat over the next three
months. These were then described with facts and
pictures and published as a guide.
John said, <I’ve always picked a few common
bankside üowers whenever I’m ûshing and sent
them down the river in remembrance of my dad, but
I never really knew their names or anything about
them. I thought this would give me an opportunity
to learn more about the subject and pass it on to
people who were interested.=
After lunch, we switched beats. All Crathes Castle’s
pools are easily accessible by vehicle, with only
a short walk required to reach the water’s edge. I
decided to take the neat bankside track and stroll
the 500 yards downstream to Kashentroch, while
The beat is rich
in wild plants taking in the beautiful highland scenery.
including broom, Kashentroch is full of features, my favourite on
red campion, ferns
and bluebells.
18
 Pantoch is an easy wade and a beautiful pool to fish.

the beat, although Pantoch would come a close

second. A string of large boulders one third of the
way across means you must ensure your üy covers
all the seams, creases and slacks — ûsh holding
spots — around and between them, before extending
your line to mid-river. As you work towards the tail,
a series of four croys ofers more potential taking
spots. It’s a pool that keeps you thinking and makes
you earn your ûsh.
John arrived as I ûnished my second run through
the pool and he suggested we return to the hut
and ûsh the bottom of the Island, down through
upper and lower Birkenbaud and into the head of
Boat, a 400-yard chain of pools that would take the
remainder of the afternoon. As we walked upriver
and across the shingle banks towards the island, he
stopped to show me an oystercatcher’s nest where
the birds had already üedged.
<Tomorrow, on the top beat, I’ll show you where
there’s a nesting sandpiper,= he promised.
I diligently ûshed my way through the pools as
they twisted back and forth down to the top of Boat,
where the river straightens again, but only the
relentless smolts attacked my üy. The air was thick
with hatching olives, black gnats and yellow may
duns. Clearly, the river is healthy and producing all
the raw materials, so after 25 years of mandatory Edward Fane with his sea-trout from lower Birkenbaud.

19
 Looking upriver to Clachnaben, known locally as the “Devil’s Nipple”.

catch-and-release and the eforts of hardworking

gillies up and down the Dee, why are the many
üedgling ûsh not returning as adults in
“The big fly fished
increasing numbers?
As I worked my way into the head of Boat, a ûsh beautifully as I went through
showed in the fast water on the far side. Having
covered it initially, I backed up 20 yards in the hope the pool once more”
of putting my üy on its nose, but it didn’t show again.
I retired to the nearby hut for a cup of tea and to
consider my options.
<If they’re running, it might be worth ûshing
higher and faster in the water to stop them in their
tracks,= said John. I agreed and we set up a 14ft,
9wt rod and line and one of his special Sunrays.
John prefers to tie his Sunrays on large single
irons, as big as 2/0, which he feels sweep smoothly
when stripped, the single hook acting like the keel
of a yacht. It’s also less likely the wing will wrap
compared to a double.
The big üy ûshed beautifully as I went through the
pool once more and although it didn’t produce the
desired results, it was something I would deûnitely
try again tomorrow.
After a good night’s sleep and a bowl of the Tor Na
Coille’s porridge with double cream — the breakfast
of champions — I quickly donned my waders
because John was keen to ûsh Kashentroch before
the sun rose too high. He felt sure it would hold
taking ûsh. He was proved partly right when a ûsh
A cast in the head of the Boat Pool.
showed in the current on the far side of some rocks,
but as much as I tried, it wasn’t in a taking mood. I
felt a solid pull opposite the third croy, which also

20
came to nothing, but at least I was close to the ûsh.
It turned out that one of the rods on the top beat
had come much closer.
This inexperienced salmon angler, who regularly
ûshes for trout, had shown us the dangers of dogma.
His fresh ûsh of around 6lb had taken a size 8 Black
Pennell single in the tail of Auld Kiln, an excellent
piece of ûshing, and to his credit, desperate to
quickly return the ûsh, he hadn’t even stopped to
take its picture. We were of the mark.
At lunchtime, retired gillie Karl Revel stopped
by, John having told him that I shared his passion
for old ûshing books. Karl gillied on the Invery and
Tilquhillie beat for 15 years and after discussing
his impressive collection, I spent a fascinating
afternoon with him and John, whose combined
knowledge of both beats is immense. I learned,
for example, that Floating Bank was named after
the logs that were stored in rafts in the pool before
being üoated downriver.
Karl has a wicked sense of humour and looking
upstream from Sawmill pool, he pointed out
Clachnaben, a distant hill with a striking 95ft high
volcanic plug at its summit.
<Legend has it…= he started in his best narrator’s
John’s Sunrays tied on large single irons.
voice, <…that the devil and his wife were having a
terrible argument. Lucifer, furious that his wife
was winning the feud, grabbed a huge rock and
smashed it down upon her, trapping her underneath
for all eternity. People still say that the bride of sin
lies below.=
Pausing for dramatic efect and then with perfect Factfile
comic timing, Karl added, <Although I’ve had a few SEASON February 1 to October 15.
rods that say she deûnitely escaped because they’re
BOOKING £85-£132 per rod, per day. For information about
married to her!= the Crathes Castle beat, recommended tackle and tuition,
As promised, I got to see the sandpiper on her contact TwinPeakes Fly-Fishing.
nest that afternoon but not a single salmon and I Tel: 07766 548 708.
Email: info@twinpeakesflyfishing
would have to wait until the following day to see a Web: twinpeakesflyfishing.com
ûsh in the net.
ACCOMMODATION Tor Na Coille Hotel, Inchmarlo Road,
I spent Wednesday morning visiting TwinPeakes’ Banchory. Rooms from £90 per night. The hotel offers
excellent facilities at Milton of Crathes, returning to exclusive fishing packages on the River Dee and, with its
the beat for a ûnal cast before it was time to leave. sister hotel, The Kildrummy Inn, on the River Don.
Contact: Tor Na Coille Hotel.
From the hut I could see fellow rod Edward Fane Tel: 01330 822 242.
rounding the bend into lower Birkenbaud. Edward Web: tornacoille.com
had travelled from London with a friend to ûsh the
Dee for three days and had rotated to the bottom
beat after lunch. The cry went up he was into a ûsh,
and we all hurried over to watch him land a lovely
fresh sea-trout of around 3lb. It was a ûtting end
to my trip to the beautiful Crathes Castle beat. I’d
ûnally got to ûsh the Dee and fulûl a childhood
dream, but a Dee salmon still eludes me and that’s a
score I must settle soon. n

P H OTO G R A P H Y: R O B H A R DY

The Tor Na Coille Hotel’s entrance.

21
 A season in the
North Country
Matt Eastham begins his year seeking elusive
giants and savouring a dram

Water droplets
frozen on the
leader. Coffee and
breakfast in the hut.
A nice grayling
for Richard.

A
S COLIN MACLEOD’S There are many venues where a decent day’s sport
captivating Hebridean Diary reaches can be had, and a few places with good populations
the end of its tenure, it gives me great of smaller ûsh where on the right day a cricket
pleasure to take the reins and guide score can be racked up. Further north and into the
you through a ûshing year in the Scottish Borders, the ûshing tends to be mercurial,
north of England. Eagle-eyed readers might have but there is the chance of a truly memorable ûsh,
spied my writing in these pages before, usually so my friends and I occasionally head that way too
waxing lyrical about some northern river or upland — a drive long enough to feel like a mini road trip
lake. I’ll make no excuse for that — I count myself allows plenty of time for a chinwag, before a tiring
extremely lucky to hail from Lancashire, and as well day of fruitlessly searching long pools in search of a
as some ûne ûshing right on my doorstep, a short four-pounder gradually milks our enthusiasm dry.
drive puts me within easy reach of the Yorkshire It’s a self-üagellatory approach that seems to ût the
Dales and Cumbrian Lakes. I love a trip as much sombre mood of the season.
as anyone, but with such riches so close at hand I’ll I ûshed in the Borders with my friend Richard
admit to harbouring a deep love of my local area, an Park recently. It was bitterly cold and down the
attachment which keeps me anchored ûrmly within edge of one pool, ice pancakes had formed just of
spitting distance of where I grew up. I’m looking the current. We ûshed hard for two hours as water
forward to sharing the changing faces of the North droplets froze on our leaders, creating delicate ice-
Country and its game ûshing with you over the bead necklaces, and eventually Rich went one better
coming months. than me and actually caught a grayling — only a
Trouting is my passion, but with the solstice just baby for the river, but hard-won all the same.
behind us and several inches of damp leaf litter Meanwhile, I blanked miserably, but acquired a
accumulated down the side of the house, it must rather splendid carving of an otter, which we found
be grayling ûshing for now — a pastime that I washed up among üood debris and later bundled
enjoy, in the same way that walking the dog across into the boot of my car. There are plans to convert
a mucky ûeld in the rain is at times preferable Tarka into a trophy, perhaps for whoever in our
to sitting indoors watching endless Come Dine group returns the season’s biggest trout … or slips
with Me repeats. and falls in the most times.
The north of England ofers ûne grayling ûshing. The bulk of my üy-tying is done in winter and the

22
 “We fished hard for two hours
as water droplets froze on our
leaders, creating delicate
ice-bead necklaces”

Richard enjoying a
well-earned break.
The prize otter.
Disco shrimp.

last few weeks have been no exception. I have long

since passed the point of believing I could magically
concoct a world-beating fly and tend to concentrate
on churning out large numbers of old patterns I’ve
SMELLS
come to rely on over the years, while adding an LIKE
occasional newbie that grabs my attention. One SOCKS
such is the Disco Shrimp. It’s been around a while,
I think, but as usual I’m late to the party. The blend It’s hard to think
of a more
of two shades of UV ice dubbing — callibaetis and appropriate
shrimp pink — lends a curious dull violet-green glow beverage for the
once submerged, which speaks of something very cold-weather
angler than good
much alive, and it’s already caught me plenty of fish. old malt whisky. I
Fly-tying is a poor second to being out there fishing, rarely touch it
but with a bitter chill in the air and fieldfares still during the
summer months
crowding the sodden pastures around my home, it’s but as soon as
a small pleasure to be indoors, warm and dreaming the frosts return,
of the trout that might win me custody of that so too does the
urge to wrap my
magnificent otter at the end of next season. n hands around a
heavy glass filled
with uisge
beatha. We all
have our The stinky Glen Scotia.
favourites — and
PHOTOGRAPHY: MATT EASTHAM

in truth I’d be hard pushed to turn down any decent

dram — but my own preference is for the oily,
maritime and slightly aggressive malts of
Matt Eastham is an experienced Campbeltown. This bottle is from the Glen Scotia
angler and fly-tyer who has spent distillery and comes from a single cask bottled by the
the last 25 years in enthusiastic Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It reeks of seaweed,
pursuit of the wild trout and musty socks and slightly turned milk — yum!
grayling of northern Britain.

23
 LETTERS
Your comments and opinion on game-fishing matters

REMEMBERING PUD
I was saddened to hear that Pud Murray,
gillie on the Junction beat, River Tweed, has
passed away. The obituary (November) by
John Taylor and the Junction team was very
accurate. To confirm this, I enclose a
photograph that shows his fun side.
What you didn’t mention was that Pud
kept a good garden. While fishing, we
compared notes on the merits of various
tatties etc. We both preferred Arran Pilots.
I enjoy sea-fishing but not to Pud’s
standard. His various tactics and ideas
have been helpful. However, I am still
unsure whether his suggestion to spray
WD40 on the bait is valid or whether he
was “lifting my leg”.
A couple of years ago, Pud presented
me with a wading stick fashioned out of
hazel and deer antler and finished with a
clear varnish. Something I treasure.
A good friend. He will be missed.

BOB HESKETH
Bob Hesketh, Hereford. Work and play: Pud on the Junction beat.

Existential salmon So it is with salmon ûshing and I spent many hours in the tackle-shop
For the last six years I have ûshed a we seem to enjoy the existential buying my modest needs, learning a
beat on the Tweed for a week in the experience.  great deal from Joe and his wife.
autumn without catching a salmon. I Robert Campbell, Oxon A nearby lodge was reputed to contain
enjoy it suociently to want to go back trout but seemingly never ûshed. One
the next year. What is the attraction? day I found a metal stake stuck in the
I could walk to my local River Thame First trout water attached to a spring with a length
in Oxfordshire with my salmon rod I read with pleasure the My Fishing of nylon hooks and worms. In the
knowing that I shall not catch a salmon Life memories of Daniel Calderbank early morning, I went with my coarse-
but this holds no attraction. (February) as they revived many happy ûshing tackle and lobworms. I cast out
Perhaps Jean-Paul Sartre ofered the memories of my early days ûshing in and the bait was promptly taken by a
explanation. He used a joke to illustrate the Horwich area (Lancashire) and, in brown trout of about three quarters of a
his philosophy of existentialism. When particular, the tackle-shop run by Joe pound, which I dragged out and killed,
he ordered cofee with sugar but no Rutter and his wife. before making a hasty exit. Later, I
cream at his favourite Parisian café I lived there in the 1950s and early rushed to the tackle-shop and proudly
the waiter said he had no cream but 1960s. My interest then was in coarse displayed the ûsh to Mrs Rutter, who
perhaps he would like it without milk ûshing, albeit I had ambitions to catch congratulated me profusely.
instead. For Sartre an absence of a trout. I had permission to ûsh Star Happy days, indeed.
something is still something. Lodge at the bottom of Crown Lane and Malcolm Dutchman Smith, Cheshire 

24
 Size 10 double with
earring back. Size 12 and simply cannot have any bearing on
DAVID HOLDEN

treble with plastic

electrical insulation. our independence. The Environment
Agency is a huge organisation and
their Fisheries Team funded by
ûshing licence income is only a tiny
part of what it does. Anglers need
Safer tying Better Fisheries Enforcement is a voice in holding the government
By chance, I came across silicone something that anglers, quite rightly, and its regulators to account and the
earring backs as a way to stop are keen to see. Twelve years of cuts Angling Trust is that voice. Would our
ûngers being impaled on exposed in central government funding has, membership expand massively should
hookpoints when tying üies. Cheap sadly, hollowed out much of the we oppose a long overdue increase in
and very efective. Environment Agency’s ability to <put rod licence or chose not to deliver these
Larger earring backs are better on boots on the ground=. Fortunately, our contracts? I very much doubt it. But
larger-gape hooks and ûne plastic successful recruitment of more than hopefully reading this will encourage
insulation from electrical cable is 500 volunteer bailifs has created an your readers to consider actively
better on smaller hooks with a narrow invaluable cohort of activists who know supporting the work that the Angling
gape. This helps preserve <gape space= the pinch points, understand the risk Trust and Fish Legal do for ûsh, ûshing
when tying. areas on their local waters and have a and the environment.
I would love to see these simple passionate interest in protecting our Jamie Cook, CEO, Angling Trust & Fish Legal
ideas passed on. ûsh and ûsheries.
David Holden, Cheshire  I’m afraid Simon’s argument
that our delivery of these contracts Mystery bug
inhibits our ability to act efectively The unidentiûed beetle mentioned
We are independent or independently falls üat on its face in Chris McCully’s article on Hury
I’m writing to put the record straight in time and again when you look at Reservoir (January) in Co Durham
response to Simon Cooper’s article <He our record for taking the EA and the could well be the cabbage stem üea
who pays…= in your February edition. government to court. In 1948 the ACA beetle (Psylliodes chrysocephala). It’s
While I appreciate Simon’s positive was formed and in 2023 that work a serious crop pest, has robust leg
words about me personally, and the continues through the Angling Trust’s muscles to enable it to jump and in
work the Angling Trust did to keep us campaigning work and Fish Legal’s information provided by Larissa
all ûshing during the Covid lockdown, I incredible record of making polluters Collins from agriculture researchers
have to take issue with him questioning pay by using the law to protect ûsh Fera Science Ltd it’s described as
our independence. This is based on the and ûsheries. <a pretty beetle=.
fact we have won and delivered three I could cite numerous cases we A popular pattern with Upper
open tender contracts allocated by have taken against government and Teesdale rods and a match for
the Environment Agency from ûshing the Environment Agency, but let’s the beetle is Harry Vallack’s Black
licence income. just pick a couple of recent examples Bug, which he describes in his
These three contracts cover of robust and efective independent invaluable little booklet Fishing
Participation, Fisheries Enforcement, advocacy. On the River Eden we are Flies for Upper Teesdale.
and Club and Fishery Support. Quite campaigning to force the removal of Mike Collins, Tyne and Wear
clearly getting more people ûshing what we and the local club consider
(38,000 new anglers in 2022) and an illegal weir, constructed by the EA,
delivering help and funding to clubs which is signiûcantly impacting ûsh
and ûsheries on things like predation, passage on an iconic salmon river. At
otter fencing, invasive species, ûshery Hoveton Great Broad in Norfolk the
management, sharing good practice, Angling Trust successfully took the EA
organising regional forums, engaging to judicial review over their decision
volunteers and a host of other things to allow Natural England to erect
is not only important but entirely ûsh barriers across vital coarse ûsh
RICHARD FAULKS

appropriate for the national governing spawning grounds. Those barriers will
body for angling. Without the rod not now be installed.
licence income these services would The fact we deliver contract services
cease to exist, irrespective of who wins that align directly with our stated goals
the contracts. as a not-for-proût organisation do not The beetle eaten by Hury trout.

WRITE TO THE EDITOR Trout & Salmon, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. Or e-mail: [email protected]
Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers. Letters may be edited for clarity. Please do not exceed 200 words.

25
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 DRAMA IN
DURNESS
A day on fickle Borralaidh is like a play in five acts, writes
Finlay Wilson. You never know what will happen next
 This southern bay is pretty uniform in depth with
easy wading on ûrm sand and can be productive,
especially in the evening when larger trout move
into the shallower water to feed. Further north,
along both western and eastern üanks towards
Borralaidh’s island, the lie of the land gets a whole
Halfhog. lot more interesting. The drop-ofs are obvious
as they are immediate but be warned: such is
the clarity of the water here, it is impossible to
fathom the depth between sand and marled
stone and without careful wading a quick swim
is on the cards.  
N APRIL LAST YEAR, I WROTE OF Expect ûsh or, equally, don’t, all round the loch.
Caladail, its crystal-clear waters, ever- Expect them because they will hit your üy with
changing light and exceptional wild unbelievable speed out of seemingly nowhere. Don’t
trout. It is undoubtedly one of the ûnest expect them, an understandable state of afairs if
lochs in the land. So, too, is Borralaidh, you’ve been ûshing for hours with no return, and
just a stone’s throw or two to the west.   you’ll likely miss them, quick as they are. This is
They share many similarities, just one of many ûne conundrums Borralaidh is
alongside Croispol and Lanlish, which collectively likely to throw at you.
make up the fabled limestone lochs of Durness. The It will ûsh well from boat and bank, and although
unique habitats provided by these high-alkaline, it’s obviously possible to cover more water from the
nutrient-rich waters produce trout of outstanding boat, I do love to ûsh it from the bank. I’ve tended
beauty and quality and, if I could, I’d ûsh them as to do well picking away along the shoreline over
often as possible until the day I die.     the years and it can be a more immersive way to
Borralaidh has a character all of its own: self- experience the loch’s many quirks and features
contained, implacable and as ûckle as the weather — up close and personal with the many bays,
FINLAY round these parts; warm and welcoming one weedbeds, drop-ofs and incredible, ever-changing
WILS ON
minute, cold and indiferent the next. In turns it colour schemes.
is an experienced
guide and will appear as a trout nirvana with limitless
instructor who potential, or as a ûshless void. It never, however,
runs the Dawyck
Estate beat on the fails to intrigue and there is nowhere else quite
upper Tweed. like it. The fact it has two remarkably deep troughs
where arctic char and, reputedly, gargantuan trout
swim, certainly adds to its mystery.  
It sits in a hollow only 14m above sea level, over
the brow of a small incline just up from where the
ferry crosses the Kyle of Durness. Make your way
down the hill to where the boats are moored in the
southern bay and you’ll suddenly ûnd yourself in
another world. There is deûnitely an extraordinary
feel to Borralaidh, a sense of theatre, the sensation
that something dramatic is about to unfold.  
The grassy slopes that fringe the wide southern
basin are an incredibly vivid green and contrast
starkly with the sandy bottom and turquoise green
of the shallower water before it deepens to a dark,
impenetrable blue.  

“In turns it will appear as a trout nirvana

with limitless potential, or as a fishless void”

30
The trout fight
incredibly hard.

A typically marked
Borralaidh brownie
graces the net.

The view from above

highlights Borralaidh’s
dramatic setting, with
Croispol and Lanlish to
the north.

31
 Just north of the boat moorings on the eastern
bank, a stanedyke comes down and enters the
loch, marking the transition to a steeper, rockier
shoreline, and this area has proven particularly
productive over the years. It looks ûshy as hell,
though this could apply to large swathes of
Borralaidh’s 120 acres. On one of my earlier
experiences here, I was looking after a very nice
lady from San Francisco. I had her ûshing a single
emerger dry-üy, which was sitting pretty just over
the deeper water a couple of rod lengths out when
a big-shouldered trout smashed it and took of like
an express train back to wherever it had come from.
Instead of letting it run, she clamped the line and
there was a very rapid parting of ways. I can still
vividly see that rod bucking wildly as the tension
built before the inevitable break-of. 
This whole shoreline deserves serious
examination and, as is often the case on waters
where food is both varied and abundant, the
margins should be covered methodically and
carefully before wetting a toe and casting further
out. I’ve enjoyed catching plenty of decent ûsh just a
rod-length out all along this bank, and especially in

the later evening as the light fades.  

“It’s worth remembering the water Further from the stanedyke, the bank becomes
steeper and the drop-of more immediate. So inky
clarity. Fish will see the smallest dark is the water, it looks bottomless. But there is a
weedbed tight to the shore, too, and this area can
morsel from a great distance” produce. On several occasions I’ve witnessed small
black sedge hatching along this eastern shore, and
when they appear, so do the ûsh. A well-presented,
black-claret Halfhog or Deershucker drifted in the
surface ûlm can work a treat when they do.  
Between here and the island the loch opens up
and there is seriously deep water, one of the areas
where arctic char and very large trout presumably
lurk. A friend of mine was speculating here one
summer evening with a huge dry-üy after several
fruitless hours trying other methods. He was
chatting to his son, took his eye of the ball and
only heard the ûsh that erupted on his üy and
crashed back in, like a breezeblock, unconnected,
though he saw the amount of water it shifted.
The mind boggles! 
The eastern shoreline then pushes back into
the loch to form the narrows with the island.
This is another stretch worthy of attention,
particularly drifting in a boat from the deeper
Pete Aston
and Fin discuss water into the shallows.  
a change of
tactics.

32
 There is a small peninsula that juts out towards
the narrow, most north-easterly tip of the island and
here again it’s like looking into the void. This black
hole to the north of the island reputedly goes down
100ft or more and it certainly looks like it. We’ve
cast from here with Di7 lines and counted down big
tungsten-beaded lures in the hope of summoning
a monster, yet we felt as though we were barely
sinking to any depth at all.  
So, back to the leap of faith often required
at Borralaidh. I’ve had by far the most success
ûshing a single dry-üy, or small imitative patterns
tweaked through the upper tiers of water. It’s worth
remembering the water clarity. Fish will see the
smallest morsel from a great distance, especially if
it’s suspended in the surface ûlm. 
You can ûsh all around the western shoreline, A better stamp of
comfortably covering the drop-of and the sporadic Borralaidh trout, caught
by Pete from the bank.
weedbeds from the bank. I’ve picked up ûsh
throughout its length, and although I’ve never Another feisty trout
caught any biggies, they will undoubtedly be there, comes to the boat,
scrapping all the way.
and in any case picking away at silver torpedoes in
the ½lb to 1½lb bracket is exciting sport. The beauty, No matter the size,
Borralaidh trout are as
speed and ûghting qualities of Borralaidh trout are pretty as they come.
as good as it gets. 
Deershucker fly.
This approach applies to the northern shoreline,

33
 too, and all the way round the north-eastern shore
to where the void reappears, and where a better
stamp of trout may show. 
On last year’s pilgrimage, in September, I arrived
a few days later than my ûshing mates Euan Myles
and Pete Aston. The day before, they’d enjoyed
sublime conditions on Caladail, a red-letter day,
the boat session to end all boat sessions. I didn’t
want to hear. By the time I caught up with them
at Borralaidh the following afternoon, they were
already coming back in on the boat, frozen to the
core by a biting easterly. The weather had turned,
but not before they’d managed a Borralaidh belter
each. I didn’t want to hear. Drifting of the north
side of the island, towards the black hole, an
intermediate line and team of sparsely dressed
Hoppers had produced ûsh of 2½lb and 2¾lb, out
of nowhere. They hadn’t seen or touched anything
at all until then, nor since. Good for them, but I still
didn’t really want to hear. 
It’s a strange thing but up to this point I’d never
blanked at Borralaidh, though I’ve come close a few
times. One miserable May day, in 6 deg C, persistent
drizzle and a hellishly cold north-easterly, I ûshed
until my ûngers were numb and I was chilled to
my core. But just as I was about to accept defeat,
an aggressive trout hit my Pottinger Palmer on the

Working the drop-off along the

eastern shoreline toward the island.
The water clarity is astonishing.

A wild day on Lanlish. A “tank” from Croispol taken on

the dry-fly. Drop-offs in sharp relief from above.

CROISPOL
AND LANLISH
Just north of Borralaidh lie Croispol and Lanlish.
Croispol is smaller than both Caladail and Borralaidh
but shares the same characteristics and also has a deep
drop-off, by the steep cliff on its eastern flank. The last
time I fished Croispol from the bank I hooked a solid
trout on the dry-fly that bore straight down into deeper
water. It hadn’t looked particularly big, but in the net its
depth was remarkable and explained why this 2½lb
tank had pulled so hard. I’ve witnessed a huge number
of snails floating in the surface here, yet another high
protein food for Croispol trout.  
Lanlish is the smallest of the four and sits
incongruously within Durness golf course. It has
produced huge trout over the years but isn’t self-
sustaining. Trout are probably unable to spawn here so
need introducing. High numbers of stickleback may
help facilitate rapid growth. I’ve fished it twice at dusk
and in wild weather but never seen or touched a fish.
They may be present, but there’s no doubt re-stocking
would improve the prospects. 

34
top dropper and saved the day.  
With this in mind I decided to ûsh into the
“No fish for hours and then three took
September dusk in the vague hope that a ûsh would
come on the take. My plan was to cover as much quickly pulled flies, kamikaze style”
of the southern bay as possible, wading out and
covering the gradual drop-of. It was cold with a
changeable wind and little chance of a hatch, so
I decided to pull wet-üies — a beaded Invicta on It is numerous experiences like these that keep us
the point, skinny Bibio Hopper on the middle and coming back to Borralaidh. It is unique, an enigma
a Gorgeous George on the top dropper. An hour and astonishingly beautiful, as are the trout it
and a half of hard ûshing produced nothing. The produces. I’ll never tire of catching its more modest
light faded and the temperature dipped, then out residents, no matter the weather. The knowledge
of nowhere a trout smashed the point üy. It turned that a specimen trout, even the ûsh of a lifetime,
out to be only 1lb, but fat, feisty and a joy to behold. could be the next one to take my üy, only serves to
Another two quickly followed, each to the other push already heightened expectation levels into
two üies. Another Borralaidh quirk — no ûsh for overdrive. As for the black hole, the abyss, home
hours and then three took quickly pulled üies, to arctic char and the fabled gargantuan trout that
kamikaze style and seemingly none too fussy prey on them and about which so little is really
about size or colour.  known, well, it merely adds further weight to the
In June last year, another friend had been here enduring mystery of this very special water. n
with one of his ûshing mates. They were by the
boats in the evening, about to retire after a tough
session. All of a sudden, sedge started hatching P H OTO G R AP H Y: EUA N M Y LE S

and ûsh began to move. Then a big trout smashed

a sedge just beyond the boats, in 3ft-4ft of water.
It came up a second time. One of them quickly tied
on a sedge imitation and put it out there. A ûsh
they reckoned to be more than 5lb erupted on
the üy, thrashed, surged and then jumped, Factfile
throwing the hook.
TICKETS Fishing is controlled by Keoldale Sheepstock
Club. Borralaidh, as on all four of the limestone lochs, is
strictly fly-only and catch-and-release is strongly encouraged. 
PRICES Bank fishing, £30 per rod. Boat hire, £60 for two
fishermen. Electric motors only. 
For bookings and permits contact Martin Mackay. Email: martin@
durnesslimestonelochs.co.uk. 
Tel: 01971 511 255
Web: durnesslimestonelochs.co.uk 
SEASON April to September.
Borralaidh can fish well right through the season and success is
much more likely to be dictated by the conditions on any given
day. Warm, settled summer evenings fishing into the dark are likely
to present the best chances of catching the bigger residents. 
TACKLE Standard loch outfits, 9ft-10-ft rods, 4wt-7wt. Floating
lines should suffice for the vast majority of situations, though
intermediate and fast-sinking lines are well worth experimenting
with in the deeps. 
FLIES As well as corixa, shrimp and stickleback, olives, midge,
sedge and a range of terrestrials feature in the trout9s diet. Small
and black can work well, Black Spiders and Greenwell9s Glory in
small sizes, and Buzzers. Dry-fly can work very well with sedge
and midge imitations. Try Deershuckers, Halfhogs, Balloon
Caddis, Shipman9s Buzzer and CDC emerger patterns in a range
of sizes (12-18). Fishing a single Halfhog/emerger pattern with a
red/orange or dark claret thorax over the drop-offs and around
weedbeds can be deadly. 
Weighted nymphs or stickleback imitations on a long leader will
also produce, as will sparsely dressed Hoppers, Snatchers and
traditional patterns in smaller sizes. Hoppers with a hot spot of
orange or red, and Peach Muddlers or similar will work well on the
top dropper, as will a Gorgeous George. 

35
 Ridge 2.0 Floating Clear Tip
Stealth in the salt is a clear advantage

Ridge 2.0 Ridge 2.0

Universal Taper Tactical Taper
9ft Clear Tip 12ft Clear Tip
Trout talk

IN HOT
WATER
Simon Cooper learns of a grim outlook
for chalkstream salmonids

I
’VE TAKEN ONE FOR THE TEAM THIS diferences. The chalk streams of the north-east in
month in reading, so that you don’t have to, Lincolnshire and the Yorkshire Wolds will see the
the report from the Environment Agency Chief lowest increases whilst those in the vicinity of London,
Scientist’s Group titled <River water temperature such as the Colne, Lee and Wandle, are projected to
projections for English Chalk Streams= that see the highest — the amount of urban land in a river
was published in November. Let me warn you at the catchment drives water temperatures higher. Here is
outset, the conclusions are bleak and, if accurate, this the critical section, reproduced verbatim:
magazine will cease to be. <An important temperature threshold for salmonid
I’m usually pretty good at dissecting these reports but egg survival during the winter spawning period of
this one is in a dioculty class of its own if it was meant 12 deg C will likely be exceeded at over 85 per cent of
for public consumption and understanding. It runs to sites by 2080 and adult brown trout will continue to be
54 pages, 26 of which are taken up with the References, under threat from high summer temperatures with all
List of abbreviations and Appendix. Here’s a typical sites exceeding that species’ upper critical temperature
acronym: GAMM Generalized Additive Mixed efect range of 19.5 deg C by 2080.=
Model. Yes, I’ve no idea either. But to be fair, like all If you are anything like me, you’ll have to read
important reports, it deserves proper presentation, so the above section two or three times to comprehend
it is usually the Executive Summary to which scientiûc the sheer awfulness of the prediction. It efectively
dummies like me turn. Let me precis from that what portends the end of successful reproduction for the
Dr Robert Bradburne, Chief Scientist and his team trout, salmon and grayling species in most rivers and
concluded. As I say, it is bad. a possible summer death for those who manage to
Firstly, this report is required because though we reproduce elsewhere.
have national projections for river water volumes Is there any hope that Dr Bradburne and his team
and üows in England based on climate change are wrong? Well, this projection is based on a <high
data, we have no such equivalent for river water emissions scenario= which implies a rise in average
temperatures. So, to rectify this the Group examined global temperature of 3.5 deg C by 2080, which could
water temperature records from 92 sites across the be wrong for a whole variety of reasons. However, in
English chalk streams, our groundwater-fed streams the ûnal paragraph of the Executive Summary Dr
selected as the pilot for all rivers because they have a Bradburne says that because rivers are the bellwethers
similar nature wherever located, are unique, important of climate change, if anything, their temperature
for water supply and the conclusions should support a predictions are an underestimate.
national efort to protect these important habitats. I wish, to ûnish this piece, I could ûnd something
The result of crunching the data is a monthly mean upbeat or hopeful to say. I simply cannot.
daytime water temperature model that, when rolled out
to 2080 based on existing climate change predictions, Simon Cooper is managing director of Fishing Breaks, the
will tell us how warm our chalk streams, and by leading chalkstream fishing specialists. He is author of Life of a
implication all other rivers, will be in 58 years’ time. Chalkstream and The Otters’ Tale. Follow his fortnightly blog on
I’ll cut to the chase. Yes, there are regional saving our rivers at fishingbreaks.co.uk

37
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View from the hut

BEING
NOSEY
Our four-legged friends can’t
help joining in, writes Dani Morey

T
HERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THE I don’t think more than a few weeks pass without
company of a dog on the river, the having to remove a üy from a guest’s ûnger when
idealistic thought of ûshing down a pool a loose dog has entangled itself in the line as the
watched adoringly by our pet from the unwitting angler (or gillie!) is trying to change a üy.
bank. But while some exhibit exemplary I’ve also seen several dogs hook themselves by straying
behaviour, others can be, well, a bit wayward. I’m sure into the line of the üy on land and water. So far, the
we’ve all witnessed a hound diving in and swimming most sporting ûght has come from a collie, but it’s been
circuits around a ûsh as it’s being played and silently a close-run contest.
given thanks that, this time at least, it’s not ours. The Most gillies have dogs and even ours are not without
sight of his master wrestling with a bent rod and a fault. I recall ûshing down a pool above a friend; I
ûsh thrashing about in the water can prove too much had my spaniel and he his two sprockers. The dogs
for even the best-trained canine. I remember being were bumbling about on the bank when my friend
shown a video by a proud guest of his dog retrieving a hooked a ûsh. I picked up the net, giving him the usual
trout that he’d hooked. Unfortunately, when the same stick about losing ûshing time to net his ûsh, albeit a
guest hooked a salmon later that week he realised too gleaming fresh springer. Dipping the net as the ûsh
late that what might work with stocked rainbows or came close, I went to lift it, but couldn’t. The water was
on gentle southern chalkstreams doesn’t apply to wild heavy, but I’ve netted bigger ûsh in worse conditions.
salmon in the fast currents of the Spey. The ûsh was Looking up, I saw the three spaniels hanging over the
lost courtesy of the labrador’s exuberance. handle in their excitement. No wonder I couldn’t lift it!
Many a pet lurks innocently in the back of guest A 15lb springer is one thing, a 15lb salmon and three
vehicles, but some add more in the entertainment spaniels proved too much. Thankfully, the ûsh was
stakes than others. One regular guest has an safely netted on the second attempt while the spaniels
adventurous dog that every Monday morning can be sat watching from a safe distance.
seen plodding across the footbridge into the village No matter how terribly behaved the dog, they’re still
opposite, reappearing gleefully a few minutes later among the best companions on the riverbank. They
with a bone from the butcher’s shop between his jaws. might roll their eyes skywards unseen at our bad casts
Thankfully, this is a well-rehearsed and pre-arranged or lost ûsh, but they’re quick to forgive and the more
ploy and not an opportunist thief. time you spend on the river, the more they appreciate
I’ve lost count of the lunches that have disappeared you, which, let’s be honest, isn’t always the case with
out of vehicles or of tables without witness, the only other family members. n
clue to the culprit being the bulging belly of the dog
lying resplendent like a post-banquet Henry the Dani Morey is a salmon-fishing guide on the River Spey where she
Eighth on the verandah, unable to move. I could also runs Ladyfisher (ladyfisher.co.uk). She has more than 30 years of
share tales of the guest’s dog that took a search party experience and enjoys sharing her passion for the river and the
and night vision goggles to locate, or the one with a art of spey-casting in a professional, fun and relaxed manner.
pathological hatred of swans, but some things are
best left unsaid.

39
 MY
FISHING 1

LIFE
England international Simon Kidd
shares fond memories

1. BORN TO FISH
Of the many objects that have inspired my life in
ûshing, one remains above all others. It’s a Christian
book called The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C Douglas
that my mother was reading in hospital as she
waited for me to be born. She told me that is how
she decided upon my name, and when she sadly
passed, well before her time, I found the book near 3
her bedside. Browsing, I came across a page (158)
she must have later marked with a four-leafed clover
and on it is the name of Simon the <giant ûsherman
from Galilee who towered above all others=. So, even
before I was born, I have felt there was probably
some destiny for me to become a ûsherman of note. 

2. MR CRABTREE
As I grew up, I was inspired, like many of my
generation, by Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing, which my
dad encouraged me to read. Years later, on my 40th
birthday, I remember ûshing on Chew Reservoir
with my friend John Horsey when we recalled the
many scenes from this book that had inspired us,
including the classic text, <Strike, Peter! Strike!=

3. MILWARD REEL
As a boy I enjoyed coarse-ûshing, but one day my dad
took me to Fernworthy Reservoir on Dartmoor. I was
5

40
 barely strong enough to hold his cane Allcock rod and
Milward reel, but I persevered, thrashing the water,
but with no hope of catching anything. A year later,
after much practice in a ûeld on the farm where we
lived, I took the reel to the River Barle on Exmoor
and my dad helped me to present a Greenwell’s Glory
to a rising trout. To my amazement, the üy ûnally
landed near where I intended and this obliging ûsh
sucked it under — my destiny was sealed. 

4. COTHI BRIDGE
For a time, ûshing took second place to athletics
and cricket. But one day I visited Charles Jardine in
Kent and admired a picture he’d made to illustrate
Welsh sea-trout. It looked like a bridge I knew on
the River Cothi and he framed it for me. It was close
2 to the place where I had proposed to my wife in an
ambulance, under blue lights, on the way to hospital
in Carmarthen following a serious head-on car
accident. Everybody survived and while sadly my
wife and I are no longer together, it was a turning
point in our lives, and we went on to be blessed with
two wonderful children, with whom I have spent
many hours by the waterside.

5. BILLY THE KID

I picked up this Sami hat at my ûrst World
Championships in Lapland in 2001. The indigenous
Sami wore traditional costume for the ceremonies,
including these hats. Somebody put one on my head
and I was assigned the nickname <Billy the Kid=.
It seemed ûtting at the time. The nickname has
remained a term of endearment among my many
close friends ever since. 

4 6. NATIONAL CHAMPION
This is the replica trophy from the National Rivers
Final I won in 1998. When I stopped playing cricket
I decided to return to üy-ûshing but hadn’t really
considered competitions. Having surprised myself
by qualifying, before the ûnal my wife and I planned
a family holiday in the Lake District where I could
practise. I was üabbergasted when I won and we had
to transport this huge trophy home on my wife’s lap.
I’ve been in one England team or another virtually
every year since. However, the Commonwealths in
Islay this summer will, I’ve decided, be my last. n

TALES TO TELL?
We would love to read about your treasured angling possessions
and the memories they evoke. Six stories and pictures. Please
6 write to: [email protected]

41
42
 CLUB FISHING

FRIENDS IN THE
NORTH COUNTRY
Yorkshire Fly Fishers is one of our most august clubs,
ofering superb fishing on six rivers. Don Stazicker joined its
welcoming members on the River Eamont

43
 FIRST MET TONY BELL AND THE allows you to ûsh for salmon and sea-trout costs
members of the Yorkshire Fly Fishers £1,100-£1,670, there will be a sharp intake of breath
Club at the 2022 British Fly Fair. They from more than a few folks.
were hoping to attract new members To use a Yorkshire phrase, <Ow much?=
by making their club, whose waters But cost is not the same as value. You need to
lie across Northern England from know what you are getting for your money before
Cumbria to Yorkshire, known to a you can decide for yourself whether it’s good value.
wider üy-ûshing audience. So, what do you get for your money?
I was impressed by their enthusiasm and the The Yorkshire Fly Fishers’ Club ofers a
range of waters the club controlled and I was comprehensive package. Members may ûsh for
delighted to accept their ofer to visit and see what salmon, sea-trout, brown trout and grayling on some
was on ofer. of the best rivers in the North of England. There are
Later, when I asked my friends what they knew four Cumbrian rivers, the Eden, Eamont, Lyvennet
about the club, several said, <It’s expensive=. and Lune. There’s a beat on the Ribble in Lancashire
It’s fascinating how we view what we pay for and ûshing on the Ure in North Yorkshire.
our üy-ûshing. We accept that ûshing on the It’s not just the length of ûshing that’s on ofer, it’s
southern chalkstreams and on Scottish salmon the quality of that ûshing.
beats will be expensive. The Eden and its major tributary, the Eamont,
Of course, not all chalkstreams are expensive have a great reputation for regularly producing big
to ûsh and there are some real bargain beats wild brown trout. The lower Eden and the Ribble
available on Scottish salmon rivers, but the can produce large salmon, while the beat on the
general perception is that the North and South are Lune is one of the best on the river for sea-trout. The
expensive, which implies there’s a large part of Lyvennet and Ure are excellent trout ûsheries, and
the British Isles where we expect our ûshing to be the Ure is renowned for its grayling ûshing and is
relatively cheap. experiencing a real recovery in salmon stocks.
So, when I tell you that a trout-ûshing membership With a membership limited to 200 members on
of the YFFC costs £650 and a membership that 35 miles of river, the YFFC can rightly boast that its

Don fishes a shaded run where, with bright skies and low water, the better fish were to be found.
 BANKSIDE VIEW

“The club provides a

selection of lovely waters,
lightly fished and
well maintained by the
river keepers.”
Tony Graham joined the club in 2000 and
Decision time, spent five years on the club council. 
Stuart Minnikin
chooses his fly.
waters are lightly ûshed, and, in this small, densely Mark Strong,
Don and Tony
populated island, that’s something well worth Bell are deep in
paying for. thought...
This club, with its excellent ûshing, is not cheap,
but it provides real value for money. The very best
value the club ofers is for junior members aged
from 8 to 18, who can ûsh for trout on the club’s
waters for free.
In September, I travelled north to the Eamont,
near Penrith, to meet Mark Strong, a keen salmon
angler and the club keeper responsible for the “I have been a member
Eden, and Tony Bell, a sea-trout specialist, who for 13 years and have
regularly hosts evening sessions on the Lune to thoroughly enjoyed
introduce members to the joys of night ûshing.
Stuart Minnikin, an ex-England international and
fishing the varied well-kept
a member of the Hardy ProTeam, had made the trip water in stunning locations.”
over from Yorkshire to share his trout and grayling Dave Eccleston
expertise.
Both Tony and Stuart are members of the club’s
council, a forward-thinking body who are keen to

“I have been a member

for 18 years, great fishing,
very welcoming club and
I’ve made some good friends,
Tout est fantastique!”
Nico Chieze
Tony and Mark discuss sea-trout patterns. Some of Tony’s long hairwing flies.

45
 “Churchgoers were obviously willing to
go the extra mile in the past”

promote YFFC as a welcoming club active in the

provision and conservation of game angling in the
north of England.
We met in the club’s car park at Brougham, a
short, easy walk from the Eamont and a mile or so
The quality of the wild fish is outstanding.
upstream from its conüuence with the Eden. Mark
and Tony showed me some of their favourite üies
for salmon and sea-trout. Tony’s sea-trout patterns
ranged from sparsely dressed singles in the Hugh distant from the A66. Churchgoers were obviously
Falkus Medicine style to long black hair winged willing to go the extra mile in the past.
üies with üexible bodies and tail-end trebles. Their Tony and Mark indicated some of the better
salmon patterns favoured shrimps, with orange and salmon lies, although the low üow wasn’t really
red üies predominant. suitable for ûshing them. In the right conditions,
The Brougham beat lies in lush farmland, where the salmon ûshing can be excellent, with a high
the river, although at summer levels, still sustained proportion of the Eden salmon run entering the
an ample üow through a series of long smooth pools Eamont at the conüuence below Brougham. As
interspersed with faster, rined water. is often the case with English salmon rivers, the
The 2022 summer heatwave that drastically resident trout have never been overshadowed by
afected river levels across the country had less migratory ûsh, and the excellent trout ûshing on
efect on the Eamont, a river that beneûts from the this river has always been valued.
stabilising efect of Ullswater, the second largest The beat has substantial tree cover, which proved
lake in the Lake District, from which it üows. invaluable on a bright autumn day, which despite
The isolated and beautiful Ninekirks Church, partial cloud cover, didn’t bode well for ûshing the
built in the austere Puritan style of 17th Century more exposed, smoother pools.
Cromwellian England by Lady Anne Cliford of A hatch of small olives trickled of throughout the
Brougham Castle, lies on the far bank, a mile day and, as expected, the best ûshing opportunities
YFFC

At a demonstration day run by TwinPeakes Fly-Fishing, club members watch Loop rods being put through their paces.
 1 2

5
YFFC

4 6

From the club archives: 1. Members at Frenchfield Farm, 1892. T.E. Pritt is fifth from left. 2. Into a good fish, Col. Turnbull piles on the pressure.
3. Col. Turnbull’s 18lb Eden salmon safely in the net. 4. The auction catalogue for the Sawley beat in 1964. 5. A 1922 watercolour of the Boat
Pool, on the Eden at Wetheral. 6. Tony Graham’s excellent club history.

A POTTED HISTORY
In 1884, Yorkshire anglers gathered at the Queen’s The club grew steadily up to the 1930s, but during
Hotel in Leeds. They were addressed by Thomas Evan the Depression, there was a shortfall in all membership
Pritt, the well-known angling editor of the Yorkshire and loans from members supported the club.
Weekly Post. The reason for the meeting was Pritt’s By 1937, things had improved, full membership was
vision of a grand Association of Yorkshire Anglers, restored and the loans repaid.
uniting the many angling clubs in the county. On January 1, 1938, the Yorkshire Angler’s
Pritt’s union of angling clubs never came about. Association changed its name to the Yorkshire
Instead, a new club was created. Fly-Fishers’ Club.
The Yorkshire Angler’s Association held its first Club accounts for 1940 show an income of £316
meeting on July 7, 1885. Pritt was elected as honorary from the sale of salmon caught in traps at Wetheral,
secretary. The association rented its first water on the which operated when the salmon run was large
River Eden below Langwathby Bridge, lost it after a enough to justify their use. In the ’40s, the club stocked
season, but immediately obtained water on the rivers the Eden and Lyvennet with huge numbers of salmon
Eamont and Lowther. Why an association of Yorkshire fry, raising money for the scheme from riparian owners,
anglers sought fishing in Cumbria was not recorded. lessees, netsmen, and the Eden Board of Conservators.
Towards the turn of the 19th century, the association By 1953, the club controlled more trout and salmon
appointed its first keeper and obtained further water fishing than any other British club.
on the rivers Eamont, Eden, and on the Aire. In the ’60s, the opportunity arose for the club to
In 1905, membership, including an entrance fee, cost purchase fishing. They formed a limited company that
£7-10s-0d and there was a waiting list of 45. On used share and debenture schemes to fund purchases.
producing their membership cards and fishing tackle Since then, the club has gone from strength to
at the booking office, members received discounted strength and now has fishing on some of the finest
Midland Railway fares from Leeds to the club’s waters, rivers in the North of England.

47
FORMER FAMOUS
MEMBERS
These read like a Who’s Who? of
northern fly-fishing.
 
Harfield H. Edmonds (1883-1956)
Elected club secretary in 1935, he
restored the club’s finances after the
Depression. He co-authored, with
Norman Lee, the classic Brook and
River Trouting.
 
L. R. Hardy (1884-1958)
Managing Director of the Hardy tackle
firm, and a champion caster. In 1942
he caught a salmon of 37lb from the
Eden at Wetheral.
 
J.W. Hills (1867-1938)
An MP who fought river pollution, he
is remembered for his books, My
Sporting Life, A History of Fly Fishing
YFFC

for Trout and A Summer on the Test.

 
The Eamont fishing hut, relocated in 2021.
A.H. Illingworth (1865-1942)
Inventor of the fixed-spool reel.
 
Stephen Johnson (1912-1997)
Author of Fishing from Afar, a book he
began writing while imprisoned as a
POW in Stalag Luft III, the location of
The Great Escape.
  occurred in the shade of the bankside trees and
T.E. Pritt (1848-1895)
Founding father of the YFFC. Born a when clouds obscured the sun. We caught trout
Lancastrian, he edited the angling and grayling from the more exposed sections and
section of the Yorkshire Weekly Post. noticed several larger trout rising under the trees.
Pritt wrote Yorkshire Trout Flies, a
volume covering the dressing of 62 I took a good brown from a lie in a tree-shaded
North Country Spider patterns and back eddy, that required a very long cast to get an
The Book of the Grayling, a classic adequate drift, but the best fish of the day fell to
text and one of the first to extol
the grayling. Stuart. Fifteen years of experience as a professional
  guide combined with local knowledge is a potent
F.M. Walbran (1852-1919) combination, as Stuart proved when a splendid
Wrote British Angling Flies and
Grayling and How to Catch Them. thick-shouldered wild brownie rose to his CDC dun.
The following day, Mark showed me the Eden at
Langwathby, where we were greeted with a steady
hatch of small olives that didn’t mind emerging into
the bright sunlight. While the hatch lasted, we took
some lovely grayling and brown trout on dry-flies

Mark Strong
targets trout
taking emerging
olives on the Eden
at Langwathby
Bridge.

48
 MEMORABLE
FISH

Billy Grant returns a cracking brown

trout to the Eamont.

Tony Bell casts

to a favourite
salmon lie that
fishes best in
and emerger patterns. A couple of signiûcantly higher water.
bigger ûsh, feeding sporadically along the seams
where fast and slower water met, successfully Last cast of the evening for Nico
Chieze, an Eden trout topping the
resisted my oferings. scales at 4lb 4oz.
Lying in a broad üood plain, the river is wide with
an even üow over a rocky bottom. The tree-lined
banks ofer plenty of shade and there were enticing
faster rines.
Access was simple from the club car park and the
banks were easy to walk. Wading is straightforward,
but the presence of larger rocks means a wading
staf would be a good idea.
Because of the diversity of ûshing on ofer and
its wide geographical distribution, this isn’t quite
your normal club, with the usual social interaction
and riverbank meetings that commonly occur. First salmon of the season for Tony
The relatively small number of members and the Bell from the Eden.
fact they come from all over the country means
that, while there are local pockets of anglers who
ûsh together, more commonly you’ll have a beat
to yourself.
You will, however, be in the company of past
greats. This is one of the oldest ûshing clubs in
England, whose membership has included many
well-known üy ûshers (see panel left). It is always a

“A steady hatch of small olives didn’t mind Tony Graham looking chuffed with
this beauty off the Eden in June.
emerging into the bright sunlight”
49
 Stuart Minnikin caught
MEMBERS’ grayling from this
beautiful broad pool
FLIES where the depth was
perfect for the dry-fly.

great pleasure ûshing a beat that has featured in

üy-ûshing literature, following in the tracks of
famous anglers, and the waters of the YFFC
provide this in spades.
Tronach Shrimp.  You may ûnd solitude when you ûsh, but that
doesn’t mean there’s no one to talk to. The club
has an excellent online presence, with a highly
informative website, pages on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram, and monthly Zoom presentations
by well-known speakers throughout the winter. The
website contains full details of the waters and the
Cascade Tube.
üexible membership options available.
 A well-managed, proactive club that has a good
relationship with local river trusts and riparian
owners, it runs tuition days and introductory
sea-trout night-ûshing sessions. Invertebrate
monitoring and habitat improvement are high
priorities for the keepers who maintain the beats
Stuart Minnikin’s Foam Dun.
A first-choice pattern for matching and provide valuable ûshing advice. The rivers
any of the smaller upwinged duns. are wild ûsheries, with no stocking and the great
majority of members practice catch-and-release.
There is water to suit all methods, from dry-

Bosnian CDC Dun. A great pattern

for blue-winged olive and iron blue “There is water to suit all methods,
dun hatches.

from dry-flies to streamers”

Stuart took this superb brown trout, the best of the day, on a small CDC dun.
üies to streamers, with open reaches ofering easy
casting and intimate tree-lined beats requiring Factfile
a deft delivery. Many beats are perfect for North
THE FISHING Thirty-five miles discounted fees for all
Country Spider ûshing. of fishing for salmon, sea-trout, membership categories.
Spinning for salmon is occasionally permitted, brown trout and grayling on the
Eden, Eamont, Lune, Lyvenett, Core members have six guest
but, as the beats respond well to üy-ûshing, the use tickets, Salmon members have
Ribble and Ure.
of spinners is a rarity. nine guest tickets.
YFFC provides ûshing on superb beats set in some MEMBERSHIP No day tickets.
No joining fee and currently no A full explanation of membership
of England’s ûnest landscapes. There are few clubs waiting list. rates is available on the website.
that ofer such a diverse range of yearlong ûshing Contact: David Viehoff.
Core Membership (trout and
opportunities. Membership options are üexible – grayling on all club waters), £650. Mob: 07771 805267.
there’s something for everyone. An outstanding Email: contact form on club
General Salmon, includes Core website.
club that should merit your serious consideration. membership (excludes lower Eden Web: yorkshireflyfishers.co.uk
There is no waiting list, something that amazed me, beats), £1,100.
STUART MINNIKIN Stuart no
considering what’s on ofer. There would be one less General Salmon Plus, includes Core longer guides, but he has a website
membership available if I lived a little closer. n membership (includes lower Eden with helpful guidance on fishing in
beats), £1,670. Northern England and where flies,
including excellent Spider patterns,
Aged 9-18: Free Core Membership. can be purchased. Web: yorkshire-
P H O T O G R A P H Y: R I C H A R D FA U L K S dales-flyfishing.com/index.htm
Aged 19-40: Sliding scale of

51
 WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX?
Author John Roberts chooses three flies for trout and grayling in streams he
habitually fishes in North Yorkshire — and further afield
P H O T O G R A P H Y : R I C H A R D F A U L K S & P E T E R G AT H E R C O L E

KLINKHÅMER SUPERPUPA COPPER SQUIRREL

Hook Size 14 Daiichi 1160 or Partridge Hook Down-eyed, size 14 or 16, Hook Size 12-14 jig hook
Extreme Thread Tan or black 8/0 (size 16 favoured for grayling) Thread Black 8/0 Tail (optional)
Abdomen Fly-Rite light tan Thread Black 8/0 Abdomen Fly-Rite Brown partridge Body Grey squirrel
poly dubbing Thorax Three strands cream poly dubbing, tied slim fur, tied in a dubbing loop Rib Gold
of peacock herl Wing post Pink poly Thorax Fly-Rite chocolate brown wire Hackle Brown partridge
yarn Hackle Natural red cock poly dubbing, tied slim Bead 3mm slotted copper tungsten
Hackle Light brown cock, trimmed
above and below the shank.
The Klinkhåmer is in the “Caddis The past 30 years have seen
pupae” section of John’s latest Designed to be presented flush remarkable innovation in deeply
book, Grayling on the Fly, which is in the film, this pattern was sunk “flies”. Many of you will
appropriate since the Klink, whose created by the Swedish fly-dresser remember fiddling with the strips
use John helped to popularise in Lennard Bergqvist in the 1970s. of wine-bottle foil for Richard
the UK in the 1980s, began life as John happened on the pattern Walker’s leaded shrimp. John also
the representation of an emerging during travels to Scandinavia made a valuable contribution to
insect. John notes that flies to fish for grayling in the 1990s, the genre in the 80s with his Dove
designed to be presented in “the and the fly made a spectacular Bug, a heavily weighted shrimp-
critical inch” (in or just under the transition back home in North suggesting pattern. Then came
surface) have been around since Yorkshire and elsewhere in the gold, copper and tungsten beads
the 17th century. UK. Essentially it is a modified and most recently, slotted beads,
What lies on and above the film palmer, with the hackle fibres jig hooks and Perdigon nymphs.
can be sighted by the trout via cut away above and below the When pressed to select just one
refraction, so the Klink’s upright shank so that the fly is supported bug, John chose this fly, a generic
wing-post is visible as it drifts by the remaining, horizontally- caddis larvae, shrimp and hoglouse
into the fish’s field of vision; the projecting fibres. imitation. He often ties a version
hackle and thorax dimple the film, John says the Superpupa has one with a tail as it looks more “buggy”.
signifying something edible; the drawback: because it’s unribbed, The soft partridge hackle may also
abdomen hangs below, providing a it is vulnerable to trout’s teeth. resemble nymphs of the March
“hatching insect” profile. Tie big to The success of the fly makes up for brown and autumn dun too. The
small to represent insects from a that fragility, but it’s wise to carry bead and jig hook helps the fly fish
mayfly to a midge. plenty of examples. point-up to minimise snagging.

53
HATCHES IN THE
CLASSROOM
Paul Procter shares seven dry-fly lessons from his trips to the
pure rivers of the Balkans and New Zealand
 LY-FISHERS ARE A
sentimental bunch. Put two
in a room and they’ll soon be
reminiscing about past glories and
times of plenty. I frequently think
back to my formative years when
üy hatches were something to
behold. With the exuberance of youth, I’d climb into
a pool and cast at any disturbance without a second
thought. With a never-ending procession of insects,
not once did I pause to marvel at the enormity of
those hatches.
I wish I could travel back in time so that I could
approach things with more maturity and patience.
If experience has taught me one thing, it is to slow
down and observe the river and its surroundings.
While the days of magical hatches are now thin on
the ground in the UK, I occasionally ûnd untouched
pockets elsewhere in the world where the mucky
hand of man has yet to leave its mark.
When we get to the river and dry-üy is on the
cards, there can be a tendency to shift into autopilot
and rely on tried-and-tested üies or techniques.
This can work, but it allows little room to adapt to
the speciûcs of the day and the nuanced responses
required — never mind when more challenging
conditions present themselves and things become
tricky. What can be learned then is immeasurable
and it’s the reason I keep returning to countries
where insect life remains intact due to traditional
farming methods rather than the more intensive
practices employed at home.
The Balkans are a known stronghold for insects,
a prime location for heavy hatches. I’ve been
returning to rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina
for the past 15 years and on a good day it’s a place
where üy will be emerging from 10am to 5pm and if
cold mountain air doesn’t crash the party, returning
spinners are the icing on the cake. Roughly
translated, you can ûll your boots, and during the
ûrst day or two nearly everyone does exactly that. By
the third day, most folks take their foot of the gas
and take the opportunity to study üy hatches and
their speciûc stages.
The River Ribnik’s hatches of blue-winged olives,
medium olives and pale wateries have to be seen
to be believed. While B-WOs are most prevalent,
it’s not unusual to see all three species emerging
at once, which gives us priceless insight into the
selective feeding of ûsh. It is the perfect classroom.
This all-you-can-eat bufet enables us to ûne-tune

A dense hatch
provides a useful
insight into trout
feeding habits.

55
 not only our üy patterns, but also how to approach
individual ûsh and why a ûsh might single out one
species or hatch stage in preference to another. With
ûsh feeding on station for long periods, you can
observe and experiment, and the lessons learned
(I’ve described seven here) will serve you at home or
anywhere else in the world.  

1 HOW FAR FISH ARE

PREPARED TO MOVE
In the early stages of a üy hatch, ûsh will move a fair
distance (often 3ft or more) to intercept food items
below and at the surface. Yet, as the abundance
of food increases, their willingness to move far
decreases — with more insects on tap, why waste
valuable energy?
I always arrive at the party early to be in position
before any üy life begins to stir. I’ll target prowling
ûsh because the üy needn’t drift directly over their
heads, giving me leeway with regards to accuracy.
As a hatch wanes, satiated ûsh are less prone to
move far. I’ve watched countless duns and emergers
drift over the heads of full trout and they will only
pick of the odd üy. At this point in the hatch, ûsh
are much more diocult to tempt. 

2
1

2 WATER TYPES
Fast water and the pocket water found in the
neck of a pool concentrate surface food into distinct
lanes and currents, bringing prey to ûsh like a
conveyor belt. These feeding lanes are often narrow,
requiring pinpoint accuracy to ensure your üy is
ûltered towards your target.
Conversely, in the slack üows in the main body
of a pool, or to a lesser degree in the tail of a pool,
the ûsh are more likely to wander in search of food.
They expend far less energy in these more amenable
üows and position themselves deeper in slack water,
thereby increasing their window of vision. Here,
longer, drag-free drifts are needed, as well as a
A shallow tail on the Ribnik in Bosnia, where drag-free drifts are essential. slack-line cast (see lesson 7).

56
 3

Hatching is not always straightforward.

3 NYMPHS, EMERGERS
OR DUNS?
With weather conditions, water types, changing
surface tensions and difering hatch densities, there
are countless variables for us to observe and adjust
to. However, we are able to generalise. That ûsh
initially move to ascending nymphs is no surprise.
However, once üy emerge in earnest, ûsh are more
willing to switch their focus to the surface. Few
sights equal that of a ûsh’s jaws clamping down on
a fully emerged dun as it rides undulating currents,
Early in the hatch fish and yet, how often does this happen? Winged adults
feed confidently and (duns) can take üight at any moment. Imagine a
can be more easily
approached. ûsh lifting to a dun only for the üy to üutter away,
forcing the ûsh to abort. If it occurs several times on
the trot, that ûsh is wasting a lot of energy.
Fish soon twig that emerging üies and those stuck
at the surface are easier pickings. Emergers are
high on the menu and the ûsh intercepting them
“As a hatch wanes, often do so with a blipping rise. Rise forms to what
may seem like fresh air are likely to be ûsh nobbling
emergers, too.
satiated fish are less The densest üy hatches result in higher üy
mortality. By my observations, as many as 40 per
prone to move far” cent of emerging üies don’t make it. Fish quickly
home in on dishevelled and struggling insects and
their every rise to the surface will be rewarded
with a titbit. This is the perfect invitation to serve
up a wispy Spider dressing, which is at its deadliest
loitering close to the surface.

57
 4
4 FISH MISSING
NATURALS
I bet we’ve all tightened into a rising ûsh only to
curse as nothing is felt except fresh air. Yes, the
cause may be a üufed strike and poor timing on
our part, but there are many occasions when a
ûsh simply misses our üy. Part of this is due to
our üy being tethered, but often it is a misjudgment
on their part.
I remember an instance in New Zealand’s South
Island a few years ago when ûlming with Nick
Reygaert of Gin Clear Media. With the camera
rolling, a brute of a trout lifted to my dry-üy. It was a
double-ûgure brownie, but its gnarly snout failed to
clamp down on my cicada pattern. From 20ft away,
I saw the leviathan clearly miss my üy. Fifty yards
away behind the camera, Nick yelled, <He’s eaten it…
Strike for **** sake!= Playing the footage back in slow
motion clearly revealed the ûsh had missed my üy.
The same happens with natural üies, too. Fish will
miss a surprising percentage at the surface. Several
times on camera I’ve documented ûsh failing to
connect with adults at the surface.
Having missed a rise, and as long as the ûsh
hasn’t felt any resistance, there’s every chance of
tempting it again. But I will always change my üy,
as ûsh have an uncanny ability to recognise the
footprint of a üy that didn’t seem quite right the
ûrst time round. 

A grayling
lifting to, and
missing, a blue-
winged olive.

“Fish will miss a surprising percentage of flies at the surface”

58
 5 TOO EXACT
Study an insect closely and you will realise
there’s plenty of margin for error regarding your
imitation. In fact, our creations are often too
exact. A typical example would be natural üies
that fail to free themselves from their nymphal
shucks. With a partially discarded husk, they
appear longer and their wings are a crumpled
mess. We all like to show of our üy-dressing
prowess, but there’s truth in the saying <scrufy
üies work best=. 

B-WO spinners carpet the surface of a Cumbrian river — a rare opportunity to see that footprints vary considerably.

6 LEFT- OR RIGHT-HANDED?
I habitually place my dry-üy on my side of a
ûsh because this lessens the likelihood of lining
it (Diagram 1). This is usually suocient to tempt a
ûsh to move over and inhale my ofering. However, Flow 2. Placing your first
cast on the farside of
there are times when a ûsh will prefer to rise to a fish increases the
one side or the other. Usually this is because of risk of “lining“ it.
subtle üows ûltering food along a current that
1. Placing your first cast
might be to the right or left of the ûsh. Be mindful on the nearside of a fish
of this: before switching patterns, pass your üy means you won’t line it.
down both üanks of the ûsh.  

59
 A slack line cast puts slack into the fly’s delivery, thus prolonging its drag-free drift. A Grey Duster Paradun, effective only if it drifts freely.

7 WIGGLE AND SLACK

Presenting an artiûcial üy in a manner that a
ûsh expects it to behave overrides all else, including
the pattern itself. You might have the most exact
imitation upwing dry-üy, boasting split wings, six
legs and perfectly separated tail ûlaments, but
this matters little if the üy skates or drags in an
unnatural fashion — your eforts will be totally
snubbed. Conversely, a generic <scrufy= pattern, like
a Grey Duster, that conforms with surface currents
PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL PROCTER/ROD CALBRADE.

will get snapped up.

Strive to perfect drag-free drifts at all times. One
of the best ways to add slack line into your delivery
and avoid drag is the wiggle cast. Aim your ûnal
forward cast a little higher than normal, buying
yourself time to gently wiggle the rod tip from side
to side. This movement causes a series of <S= wiggles
to form in the üy-line before it alights. Do so gently, “A generic ‘scruffy’ pattern,
as imparting fast or aggressive movements merely
energises the üy-line, resulting in it <bouncing= like a Grey Duster, will
back towards you. n
get snapped up”

60
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 THE W
OF

OR
S
FLIE

LD
SCANDI
STYLE
Swedish tyer Håkan Karsnäser showcases
six of his favourite trout patterns

LL FLY-FISHERS HAVE don’t always üoat as they should that makes his
their preferences. For some it’s blood boil. As he explains, <I don’t ûsh dry-üies a lot
for a delicate dry-üy or nymph, and the main reason is that I hate, just hate, when
a bias that is even taken to the they start to sink. So, to prevent this I tie dry-üies
point of showing disdain for that are almost unsinkable using materials such as
those who use a large, üufy CDC, deer hair and foam.=
lure. However, it’s rare to ûnd A prime example is Håkan’s Grandis, a lively
someone who is a highly skilled üy-ûsher and concoction of CDC, deer hair and partridge feathers.
üy-tyer, adept at a wide range of techniques, yet <It has worked really well since I ûrst tied it,=
professes an intense dislike of dry-üies. said Håkan. <It is an excellent imitation of the big
In Swedish angler Håkan Karsnäser’s case that’s caddisüy species Phryganea grandis, or great red
perhaps an exaggeration as it’s more that dry-üies sedge, which is very common on the lakes I ûsh.

62
 GRANDIS SEDGE
Hook Size 6-10 Ahrex FW570 Thread Veevus GSP black,
50 denier Body Natural brown CDC feathers
Underwing Natural brown CDC feather
Wings Two partridge wing feathers, varnished and shaped
Thorax/legs Natural brown deer hair

behave like wild fish. In the area, there are over 20

lakes to choose from, which is perhaps why I visit
them close to 100 times a year. It’s fair to say I’ve got
“Håkan’s tying style is to know them pretty well,” he said.
“For six years, running waters were my home.
I have also done a lot of pike fishing and fish the
eminently practical” coastline in Sweden and Denmark for sea-trout.
When I get the chance I like to fish for new species
and learn how to tie new flies using new materials.”
The subtly-hued Pond Olive Flymph was initially
And even when there’s no hatch, few fish can refuse tied to imitate the hatching pond olives in the lakes.
such a big appetising snack.” With its deer hair head With its brown partridge hackle and tail and dubbed
and collar the Grandis also works well as a fish- fur body, the Flymph makes the perfect hybrid
finder, provoking trout to take as it’s skated across between wet-fly and nymph. It is often Håkan’s first
the lake’s surface. choice when fishing for rising rainbow trout. Even if
Håkan lives in Mullsjo, a small locality close to it’s slightly bigger than the real thing, the fish take
the southern end of Sweden’s Lake Vättern. He came the Flymph eagerly, and although initially tied as
to fly-fishing and tying flies aged 14. He’s now been a lake fly, it is excellent in running water, for wild
fishing and tying flies for 37 years and having spent brown trout and grayling.
time living further north in Jämtland, in the middle The big Vulgata Emerger, which imitates a
of Sweden, he’s returned to fish his home waters. hatching mayfly, is for when the rainbows are going
The patterns he first tied were mainly for rainbow for big mayflies, such as Ephemera vulgata, on the
trout, and he soon began supplying flies to a few lakes. “My experience is that trout are keener on
local stores. That continued when he moved north, taking the emerging insect than the fully developed
with his skills focused on patterns for grayling and dun and this pattern is also useful when other
trout. However, after years of productional tying, mayfly species are hatching. It’s just a matter of
he now ties only for himself and a few friends. changing the coloration and hook size,”
Håkan’s tying style is eminently practical, though explained Håkan.
for light relief he’s no slouch at tying fully dressed “I also fish a lot with Boobies and foam flies
salmon flies, which interestingly are often reverse using a variety of sinking lines to get them to the
engineered from simpler hairwing patterns. right depth. I don’t necessarily just fish with big
Although a keen river angler, pursuing brown and brightly coloured Boobies, but I try to use the
trout and grayling, much of Håkan’s recent fishing technique to imitate real insects and the way they
takes place around Hökensås, a beautiful area with move. For example, a buoyant corixa fished on
many lakes, stocked with rainbow trout and char.
“The company that runs the location has been
in business since 1958 and has been stocking the
lakes with their own bred fish. The lakes are stocked
with the most beautiful rainbows, raised to look and

POND OLIVE FLYMPH

Hook Size 12-14 Ahrex FW560
Thread Brown 8/0 Tail Brown partridge hackle fibres
Body Hare’s ear fur Rib Fine flat gold tinsel
Hackle Brown partridge

63
HOW TO TIE THE GRANDIS SEDGE
1 2

Run on the tying thread then lace three or four Spin the thread loop so that the CDC fibres VULGATA
large grey CDC plumes together with their tips
level. Trim off the stems then insert the CDC
spread evenly around the thread loop to form
a dense brush. Wind the CDC along the shank, EMERGER
fibres into a loop formed with the thread. stroking the fibres back as each turn is made. Hook Size 8 Ahrex FW530
Thread Brown 8/0
3 4 Tail Pheasant tail fibres
Abdomen Light hare’s fur
Rib Brown Uni-Flexx
Wingcase Natural CDC feather
tied over the thorax
Thorax One sand-coloured and one light
brown CDC feather in a thread loop
Hackle Natural or golden-brown
partridge hackle

Continue to wind on turns of the CDC rope until Select a large CDC plume and position it over
it has covered three-quarters of the shank. At the top of the body with a couple of thread
this point trim the fibres short, working with turns. Pull it so the tip extends half the body
repeated small cuts to create a dense body. length past the bend. Secure it in place.

5 6

Trim off the waste CDC then prepare a pair of Repeat the process with the second partridge
brown partridge shoulder feathers. Apply a feather to create a pair of slim wings. When the BOOBY
drop of clear varnish to one feather (on the
right) and shape it between finger and thumb.
varnish has dried, attach the plumes, one either
side of the body, to form a roof-shape. DAMSEL
Hook Size 12-14 Ahrex FW510
7 8 Thread Black 8/0
Tail/abdomen Light-olive pine
squirrel micro zonker strip
Thorax cover Peacock braid
Thorax Fur cut from the zonker strip
Hackle Dyed-olive partridge
Eyes Black 4mm foam cylinder

Form a loop with the thread and insert a bunch Apply the hair in closely butted turns, pushing
of natural deer hair three-quarters of the length the fibres back as each turn is made so they
of the wing. Spin the deer hair to create a very sweep over the wing. As the eye is reached,
dense brush with the fibres evenly spread. cast off the thread with a secure whip finish.

64
“Pine squirrel has the benefits of being
both beautifully mobile and robust”

a sinking line has a more natural action than a

sinking imitation ûshed on a üoating line. For this
reason, I tie a Booby Damsel, which is ûshed on an
intermediate sinker. The combination allows me to
imitate the wiggling nymph swimming just above
any submerged weedbeds.=
It’s an easy pattern to tie using few materials,
though perhaps the most interesting is Håkan’s
choice for the body. He uses a slim strip of olive
pine squirrel, which is shaved for most of its length,
BIBIO
Hook Size 16 Ahrex FW527
leaving just a small tuft of hair at its tip to suggest Thread Black 8/0
the nymph’s gills. It has the beneûts of being both Abdomen Black foam strip
beautifully mobile and robust. Wingcase Black foam
Wing White fluoro fibre
Another trout favourite is the red-legged Bibio, a Thorax Black CDC
buoyant imitation of the heather üy. <It has saved Legs Dyed-red deer hair
my day more than a few times over the last couple
of seasons,= said Håkan. <In the spring I’ve noticed
that the natural bibio has been more abundant on
the lakes I’m ûshing. Also, the ûsh are sometimes
more eager to take the bibio than the hatching
vulgata mayüy.= Håkan’s Bibio imitation is easy to
tie and with its foam body and thorax plus red deer-
hair legs it üoats really well. To make the üy look
even more natural he compresses the foam strip
with a pair of forceps to create a segmented efect.
When targeting brown trout on big rivers Håkan
turns to the Ljungan Special, a üy he invented while
living further north, close to the River Ljungan.
The river is large, üowing 322km from its source
at Trondheim in Norway and is renowned for its
brown trout and grayling. <Near to my house there
were some rapids that I knew held nice brown
trout, but frustratingly I hadn’t had much success.
On one occasion I watched two young guys having
some great ûshing and they were kind enough to
show me the pattern they were using. It was a very
simple streamer with a black wing and gold body. LJUNGAN
I copied that üy but added more colours to suit the SPECIAL
river’s sometimes coloured water — and the Ljungan Hook Size 4 Ahrex XO720
Special was born. Ever since it has become a Thread Black 8/0
Tail Black squirrel
favourite of mine for big trout in the area. I think it’s Body Gold holographic tinsel
the coloration plus the heavy hook that makes the üy Rib Copper wire
move nicely in the fast-moving water.= n Hackle Orange guinea fowl
Wing Black squirrel and a few strands
of red Crystal Flash

W O R D S A N D P I C T U R E S : P E T E R G AT H E R C O L E

65
E+OE Prices subject to change. Goods subject to availability
Gary Weir
at his tying
bench.

THE CONVERSATION JIM

COATES

SHARP
fishes on the Dee,
Spey, Tay and
Tweed. He takes a
keen interest in
conservation

DRESSER
and fundraising.

Jim Coates picks the brains of Gary Weir, one of the nice
guys in fishing. He’s a gifted artist, dresser of classic and
modern salmon patterns and a great catcher of fish

J
IM I’VE BEEN TYING SALMON FLIES Another legacy is the colour combinations and the
for a long time. I’d describe myself as reûnement of what really works. Think about the
decent, but I honestly wouldn’t know where Jock Scott, that classic contrast of black and yellow
to start tying a classic. How did you begin?  at the heart of the üy, and how many of today’s
patterns feature the same theme.
GARY I had tried when I was younger but never There are a lot of classic patterns that are less
really developed the patience for it.  Nowadays, we well known because they are not artistic patterns to
have great inspiration from the many great tyers hang on a wall. They were relatively drab and most
that show up on social media. Online resources had a purpose for particular ûshing conditions —
like classicüytying.net and Facebook groups join for example, the Jackass. 
up the dots when you start taking a serious interest
in tying classics. There’s a lot of help and advice
available. In particular, Richard Jones, Stuart Foxall,
Robert Verkerk and Dave Carne all helped and
guided me when I needed it. I think the diferent
techniques in all forms of üy-tying begin to cross
over and make you better — you certainly learn a
lot making a classic. At times people interested in
classics can appear hyper-critical, but I don’t mind
that at all. It’s part of the fun and the challenge. The
critique is what helps you to learn and quickly get
better and better. It’s important not to mistake that
for unfriendliness or misunderstand the sentiment. 

JIM Victorian-era üies can look a bit silly to

The Jock Scott.
modern eyes. Why do you think they were so
complicated? A kind of reverence for the ûsh? Or
was it a status thing? 

GARY I suspect it was the same as today with lots

of üies made to catch an angler ûrst, and then a
salmon. The complexity might be partly to do with
that. But I would also say that many materials
had a purpose. This was a time before üash and
synthetics. I think many of the exotic feathers had
the role of shine and translucence. Golden pheasant
tippet and crest survive as staples to this day.
The Jackass.

71
 Clockwise
from far left:
Blue Doctor,
Champion and
Nicholson.

“Unless I need to go really

small, I like the flexibility and
options that tubes give me”

A simple
Phatakorva
tube-fly.

Gary’s Gold-bodied Willie Gunn variant.

JIM What’s your take on the current fashion for

big Scandi-style tubes? Some seem to be heading
towards the grandeur of classics. 

GARY They’re beautiful things, for sure, and fun

to tie, but in terms of UK use, I think the Scandi
inüuence has led to üy sizes creeping up and
perhaps contributed to them getting more blingy.
Many big Scandi rivers are running high and cold
when these tubes are at their best. We don’t have as
much of that. I have found myself using more tubes
these days, and you might also say that’s a very
Scandi preference. Unless I need to go really small,
I like the üexibility and options that tubes give me,
particularly in terms of quick depth adjustment.

JIM I’m with you on the bling. And I like the

sound of that Jackass. I’m making more of my üies
without üash, a touch here and there but often
nothing for clear water. I feel I’ve a good chance of
catching fresh ûsh without the help of üash, and
perhaps resident ûsh learn to avoid bigger and
üashier oferings, especially as the season develops.

72
Patterns like the Willie Gunn, Alastair, Phatakorva
and Durris Shrimp all have a way of blending into
the river. 

GARY Yes, the Phata is a great üy. I especially like

them in slightly peaty water.  

JIM Do you like speciûc patterns for diferent

rivers, or do you just have overall favourites? 

GARY A bright Gold-bodied Willie Gunn is my ûrst

choice for the spring. But my üies evolve and these
days I like a dash of blue in my springtime GBWGs.

JIM How do you add the blue? 

GARY Sometimes a blue section of tinsel on the

body, or just a few strands of blue bucktail over the
wing at the end. I feel super-conûdent using them
and tend to stick with them for the early season, A February springer of 20lb from the River Tay at Stobhall.
except on the Orchy. I tend to use a Phatakorva there
— they just feel right somehow. Funnily enough, I
don’t seem to use them in other places in the spring. 

JIM What’s the best pattern you have that I won’t

have heard of?  GARY You can’t expect me to tell you about a thing
like that (laughing). It’s probably more of a theme
than a pattern, but I like copper, black, orange
and sometimes simple üies with brown or ginger
through them, but the black, orange and copper
combinations seem to work well for me.

JIM Can you share a bit of advice or a tip to help

someone improve their tying?

GARY A key skill is thread control — tension and

wax are a big help. Tying classics teaches you that.
Many people want to really secure each material,
but we need to remember that it’s cumulative. Each
step in the process involves more turns and secures
the previous materials, so the grip from wax and
plenty of steady tension is
a good thing to focus on and
Wax helps with
will reduce bulk. thread control.

 JIM What about a bit of superglue?

Where do you stand on that?

GARY Well, that’s not allowed with classic

dressing — that would be cheating —
but I’m all for a drop when I’m making
ûshing üies — why not?  

73
 GARY Not really. I was steered away from art
school. I guess the thinking at the time was that
it might not have been a solid career. I studied
music technology at university, which had a strong
engineering connection. When I left, I got a job
working on the railway, a stop gap before a career in
art or music. I’m still there (laughing). It’s been good,
though; I’ve rarely been out of work, and it helped
me raise a family. 

JIM Do you think the üy-tying and drawing are

signs of that art school ambition bubbling up? 

GARY I hadn’t thought about it like that, but there

might be something in it. Although in terms of
creativity, compared to when I was younger, I’ve
A selection of Gary’s favourite orange, black and copper flies.
perhaps gone the other way. Then it was all about
writing new music or creative art. Tying classics
is very prescriptive. The challenge is to replicate a
pattern from back in the day. It’s similar with my
JIM What about the ûshing? How did that start?  drawings. I’m challenging myself to produce the
best possible likeness. 
GARY I just asked my parents for a rod one
Christmas and it escalated from there. Local burns, JIM What about idiosyncrasies, given how neat and
then pike, and then the Leven and Endrick at night precise your work is? I get very picky about hooks.
for sea-trout. Nowadays, I really enjoy the social I wonder if you can relate to that as a üy-tyer? For
aspects of salmon ûshing.  example, within a particular brand and model of
hook I like some sizes, but not others. Somehow,
JIM The drawings you do are fantastic. How did the wire gauge doesn’t seem right, the proportions
that start?  look good in some sizes but ugly in others. And then
there’s sharpness, which seems to vary from batch
GARY I have a friend called Stephen Dryden. to batch. 
He’s one of those mates who has everything. His
40th was coming up, so what to do? The previous GARY I know what you mean about variable quality.
summer we had been ûshing in Torridon and I It does seem to change from season to season. I’ve
had a nice photo of that, so I had it made into a noticed some packs are not as sharp as others. That
nice canvas. I thought I’d have a go at a picture for
him, too, and sketched a sea-trout along with his
favourite sea-trout üy. He seemed pleased and that
gave me the impetus to continue sketching when
time allowed. I had the idea to use drawings as a
background for framing classic üies. 

JIM And now you get requests. 

GARY Yes, people have seen my drawings and

get in contact. I think the farthest away was a guy
from Australia. 

JIM Do you take commissions?  

GARY I’m always happy to have a talk about it  

JIM You’ve clearly got an artistic streak. Did you

train as an artist? 
A box of “Classics” for fishing with...

74
 <I9m challenging
myself to produce
the best possible
likeness= 

Gary’s intricate
sketches of Keith
Webster with a North
Esk springer (left)
and a salmon.

75
 “I love the social aspect and the sense of living around the river”

must be to do with quality control. I think there can last really good session I had was on the Teith. I’d
be similar problems with the tempering. If a hook ûshed a few pools with a small Sunray Shadow and
from a batch lets me down, I’ll bin the other hooks touched nothing. I went on to a full üoater and a size
or üies from that batch. When a style of hook gets 14 Executioner and almost immediately started to
popular, do they make them too quickly?  get action. I think there was a mixed run of large
sea-trout and grilse. I must have lost about a dozen,
JIM I’m not imagining it, then. What about types of but I landed some super sea-trout around 5lb and a
hooks for patterns? To my eye a Park Shrimp on the few nice grilse. I don’t think I ûsh the full üoater as
discontinued Partridge Salar size 13 was perfect. often as I should. Is it out of fashion? Or is it a habit
The size of the gape, the gauge of the wire, the to put on a poly leader? I’m going to ûsh more with a
curve, it all just worked. It’s a pattern I love, but it’s straight üoater. 
somehow not the same on a diferent hook. Another
one is the size 10 Guideline double — I love that for JIM We have poly leaders, so we use them. But I
Executioners and Editors.   think you’re right. There does seem to be something
magical about the very top layer of water. I suspect
GARY I’ve lots of hooks in many diferent styles and it has something to do with reüection and refraction
what happens with me is that I’ll pick one up and and the way the üy appears to the ûsh when it’s
think, yes, that’s ideal for a such and such. The hook closer to the surface ûlm. 
has a big impact on the style of the ûnal üy.  
GARY Falkus spoke about a handspan of depth. 
JIM Over the winter I began wondering why I don’t
use Waddingtons anymore. I honestly can’t recall JIM Looking back, I think there was a period where
when or why I stopped using them. I made up a I often made that mistake. Given what you know
batch with a bit of lead foil at the front of the shank now, what things do you look back on and feel were
to balance them. I think they will swim nicely mistakes or faults? 

GARY Why did we stop? I don’t know either. GARY One thing was not listening enough. The ûsh
They do swim beautifully. My old pal Tom Walker haven’t changed, other than being fewer in number.
used to ûsh with them a lot. I’ve a big box of them Things that work are well known. Was I too quick to
somewhere.  experiment, trying to force things? I think I might
have been.
JIM Have you any ambitions or things you’re
thinking about trying this season?    JIM Just to play devil’s advocate, isn’t
experimentation a large part of the fun? 
GARY For the last few seasons I seem to have been
busy at sea-trout time. It’s passed me by. I’d love a GARY Absolutely, but I guess my point is that there
PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL BOYD/GARY WEIR/ERNEST DUFF/JIM COATES

few good evenings at them. I’m also craving time are a lot of tried-and-tested things to experiment
in the Western Isles or the West Coast, to hit good
conditions and have one of those magic sessions.
That might be wishful thinking this year though.
It’s always hard ûnding time to do it all.
I will take my annual Norway trip. I love the social A couple of
aspect and the sense of living around the river, Waddingtons.
coming and going as you feel, and ûshing early and
late if you fancy. I go with my great friend Mark
Paterson and we have fantastic ûshing friends
there now. It’s always a highlight even when
the ûshing isn’t great.

 JIM Any techniques you can share? 

GARY Going back to the sea-trout. The

76
 Looking upstream to
the Little Colonel’s Pool
from the Big Colonel’s
Pool on the River Orchy.

JIM what else? 

GARY Somewhat related to what we’ve been saying,

and particularly as the climate changes, is to ûsh
the conditions. I remember a time when I did just
that on the Clyde. It was October and I took a ûsh on
a size 16. My pal Ian Hogg said to me <Why on earth
did you think to ûsh with that in October?= Because
An Orchy springer successfully landed. it was low, clear and it had been unseasonably warm
for ages.  
Going back to trying diferent things. Something I
do on the Tay, but perhaps not enough elsewhere, is
to go down to the ûsh, if they’re not coming up.  
with. I could probably have got the order a bit better,
rather than a more random <see what works=.  JIM That’s a great point. I’m the same. I don’t
hesitate to try a sinking line in the summer on the
JIM I think that playbook is one of those Tay, if nothing is happening at the surface, but I’m
milestones. You get that with many seasons under reluctant elsewhere.
your belt. Like you say, listening ûlls in the gaps.  It’s been a pleasure chatting, Gary. Thanks for
the advice. I’m looking forward to meeting up for
GARY So, if I could have a word with my younger a cast soon.
self, I’d say something like, <Don’t try to re-invent
the wheel. Try what should work properly, ûrst.=  n You can contact Gary at [email protected]

77
Helping you land the best deal.
Advice you can trust.
For more information and advice on the acquisition or sale of landed estates,
farms, sporting rights and country houses please get in touch today.

Philip Buchan WS
Director of Rural Land and Business
40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh
T 07885 804379
E [email protected]

Aberdeen Dundee Edinburgh Glasgow Perth

 THE
KNOWLEDGEExpert advice and seasonal solutions for better game fishing

QUICK FIX

SWEET
SPOT
Many fly-lines have a colour change that signifies the line’s loading
point. When the change is just outside the rod tip, this is the point
at which the manufacturer believes the extended line will load the
rod best. But anglers have different casting strokes and use rods
with different actions, and while the manufacturer’s colour change
may work for its testers and rods, it may not work perfectly for you
and your preferred rod. However, there is a simple way to identify
your ideal loading point.
Next time you’re on the bank, take a black permanent marker
pen and when you’ve found the loading point at which you cast
best, mark the line where you grip it to recast. This is especially
useful when spey casting because you can’t feel the line’s weight
as well as you can when false-casting with a single-hander.
It makes sense to mark the line where your hand grips it, rather
than outside the rod tip, because you will see the black mark as
you retrieve in time to manage and prepare loose loops of running
line before the next cast.
We all lose our casting rhythm from time to time — knowing
a proven loading point will give you greater confidence and
consistency.

79
 WATERSIDE MEET THE TEAM

WISDOM
Our panel of expert anglers offers advice for
ROB
EDMUNDS
RONNIE
GLASS
Highly successful Former Scottish
better fishing this month competition angler, champion on rivers and
reservoir bank and stillwaters and curator
boat specialist. of the Tweed Salmon
Fishing Museum.

NOW YOU
SEE IT…
When I started fly-fishing in the 1960s
there were only two brands of nylon
monofilament in my local tackle-shop. I
did not like Bell's, it was thick, stiff and an
unnatural vivid green. Racine Tortue, on
the other hand, was a much softer, more
natural green material. Green was
favoured by most fly-fishers because
it matched the colours of the underwater
world. My choice, however, was the
natural watery-grey version.
Maxima then introduced dark brown
Chameleon, claiming it was <invisible to
fish=. It was certainly visible to me, and I
had no faith that my size 14 Buzzer would
be taken. Most new brands remained
green — Maxima9s Ultragreen, Drennan9s
Sub Surface Green and, my choice,
Orvis Superstrong, which was a lovely
watery-green when first introduced. Maxima Chameleon is favoured
It is much darker now. by many for peaty water. Ronnie
Fluorocarbon leader material arrived and enjoyed instant success. My conversion was prefers fluorocarbon (below).
reinforced by a water tank containing leader samples, from the obviously visible Chameleon
to a few green brands and milky white <clear= nylon to the <I don't believe it's there at all=
fluorocarbon. I was therefore amazed at the amount of Chameleon I was selling when I started
working in a tackle-shop. It was mostly to salmon anglers but also to anglers heading to
peaty Highland lochs. Does Chameleon really match peat-stained water best? I can believe
it9s better than green — but surely it9s not better than perfectly clear fluoro?
Ronnie Glass

80
 STEVE ALASTAIR & PAUL PETER PETER STAN
CULLEN WILLIAM PEAKE PROCTER GATHERCOLE COCKWILL HEADLEY
Guide, instructor Brothers Al and Will Cumbrian-based Photographer, Small-water expert Author of Trout
and all-round game (AKA TwinPeakes) have a AAPGAI instructor. expert tyer and with more than & Salmon Flies of
angler with a wealth casting school and tackle Prefers the imitative chairman of the 60 years’ fly-fishing Scotland, The Loch
of knowledge. shop in Crathes on the approach. Fly Dressers’ Guild. experience. Fisher’s Bible and
Aberdeenshire Dee. Reflections on the Loch.

IN A SPIN
The correct construction of the head on Mini Muddler patterns can make the difference
between success and failure. I have been tying Muddlers since the ’70s and in that time I
have modified my head-construction techniques quite a few times.
Deer hair’s qualities greatly impact on the formation of the head. Standard deer hair
fibre has a base and a point. The base is hollow, but the point is not. The hollow part of the
fibre is easily identifiable — it is a light grey — and its hollow nature allows the
compression and flare that is an integral part of Muddler head construction. The deer hair
points serve as a pseudo-hackle, providing movement when worked through water.
As regards the number of bunches of deer hair required to make a quality head,
Deer hair for use one bunch of fibres with points to create the pseudo-hackle; and one bunch of fibres,
Muddlers: hollow with or without points, to create the head.
at the base, solid The quantity of fibres in each bunch will depend on the size of the hook. Big flies
at the point.
with big heads still only require two bunches, but the size of the bunches will,
of course, differ from those on small hooks.
The best and only deer hair for Muddlers comes from winter roe deer pelts.
Summer roe deer hair has no hollow section.
Stan Headley

NOCTURNAL SNAPS
Photographing a live fish is never easy, but in the dark it becomes a real challenge. Firstly, be as
quick as possible, keep the fish in the net, underwater. This allows you to prepare the camera,
think about composition and recruit help while the fish is recovering and relatively quiet. If you’re using a
mobile phone, it’s point and shoot and you can fire off multiple frames. If you have an SLR, have the camera
ready in your bag with the flash gun attached. You should also have the flash gun pointing up (away
from the fish) with a diffuser attached, or its built-in reflector in position. Avoid light from the flash
hitting the fish straight on as this will blow out all the detail along its flank, especially
if it’s a silvery rainbow trout or fresh sea-trout.
Ideally, shoot the fish in the net or lift it gently, supporting its weight, just clear of the water.
Try to get a part of your rod and reel in the picture to provide a sense of scale and use a
torch or light from a mobile phone to point at the fish to help focus and frame the shot.
The help of a fellow angler is invaluable as in the dark it’s difficult to see exactly
where the edge of the frame ends. You risk cropping off part of the fish. Fortunately,
with digital cameras you can quickly review the image to see if it’s just how you want it.
Peter Gathercole Avoid direct flash on the fish.

81
 ICE-BREAKER
When fishing on a salmon river in very
cold spring weather, water can build up in
the rod rings and freeze, preventing the
line from travelling through them. This
can be frustrating when you are
searching for that elusive springer, and it
may even cost you a fish.
To prevent this happening, we use
Stanley’s Ice Off Paste from USA-based
Loon Outdoors. This is a non-toxic, waxy
paste that you apply to your rings while
dry and before fishing. Available in the
UK, Ice Off prevents water from sticking
to the rod rings, reducing the amount of
freezing. You can also use lip salve and
we have heard that Vaseline works, too.
On really cold days it may not last all
day and the rings may need reproofing,
especially before midday temperatures
start falling again. It’s also worth regularly
A SEARCHING
dipping the tip of your rod in the water
(which is warmer than the air) every two
or three casts. Gently tapping the rod
METHOD
when it is out of the water and between In the absence of rising trout on spring rivers, I turn to Spider patterns (North Country wet-flies)
casts can help prevent excess fished across and down. Spiders are usually presented upstream, but this involves more
water build-up. work and anglers often struggle to cover the water effectively. When fishing flies across
Alastair and Will Peake and down the current does everything, so pools can be searched more thoroughly.
My set-up is a 3ft tapered length with a tippet ring on the end. To this, I attach three 3ft lengths
of 4lb monofilament using a three-turn water knot to form droppers of no more than 4in. I cast
square across the flow, followed by an upstream mend, so the flies and leader have time to
“dig-in” and do not skate across the surface. Angling the rod upwards at 45 degrees creates a
bowing line, which I watch to detect takes (see above). The rod should also track your flies in
tempo with surface currents, allowing leader and flies to slip downstream unfettered
until flows eventually take over and swing the fly-line into your near bank.
Make one or two casts from the same spot, before taking a pace downstream.
By repeating this process, you effectively make a blanket sweep
of the water, leaving no stone unturned.
If you suspect fish are lying a little deeper, the point fly may
be switched for a weighted nymph like a bead-head PTN.
If you see a rise, position yourself approximately 30 degrees upstream of the
disturbance and cast your flies several feet ahead of it. This gives time for your flies
to settle and for you to achieve a slightly tensioned line that helps with take detection.
One common mistake is to lower your rod as line and flies begin to swing across the flows.
This is often costly as a more tensioned (fixed) line will pluck your hooks from the
mouths of fish before they turn down with your flies. Remember to keep the rod
Avoid frozen rod rings by applying
Ice Off paste or lip salve. angled up, in effect giving them “enough rope (slack) to hang themselves”.
Paul Procter

Black Spider, and a

bead-head PTN for
fishing deeper.

82
 THE PERFECT AMBUSH
Extent of surface area where your flies can be seen.
How far in front of a rising fish
do you deliver your fly on
stillwaters? While there is no
straightforward answer, you
may be able to identify a
<general= pattern for the
given day and conditions. A moving fish that’s
In a perfect world you high in the water
has a small window
would see the fish moving of vision.
upwind, rising a couple of
times at distance (head and
tail breaking the surface)
before coming into casting
range. If so, this will allow you A deep-lying moving fish has
to judge the speed at which a big window of vision and
the fish is moving and give more time to see your flies.
the appropriate lead. A lead
of between 6ft-10ft is my
usual distance on stillwaters

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL BOYD/MICK ROUSE/STEVE CULLEN/PETER GATHERCOLE/PAUL PROCTER/GUIDE FLYFISHING/ALASTAIR GOWANS/ANDY STEER
and reservoirs.
However, I appreciate this isn9t always the case. If you think the fish are cruising high in the water (pushing surface water) or
moving at speed (pin-fry feeders, for example) then you need to be very fast and accurate with your cast as the fish9s window of
vision is very small. In these instances, a 2ft-3ft lead and ultra-fast cast is the only way to be successful. For this, I often fish two flies
on an 11ft leader with the dropper 4ft from the point fly. This allows me to make quick accurate casts and keeps both flies in the
correct zone.
Robert Edmunds

Being organised is a definite advantage when fly-fishing,

especially if you are a stillwater boat angler who has many fly-lines
that must be stored on spare cassette spools. These need to be
kept tidily, must be easily identified and quick to hand. The less
time spent looking for the right line and untangling numerous
cassette spools, the quicker you can get your flies in the water. 
Long winter nights are the perfect time to reorganise lines. To
keep my cassette spools and lines in order I make retaining bands
from velcro tape, available from hobbyist and craft outlets. I cut
them to the width of the cassette and wrap them around each
cassette to ensure a tight fit. I ensure there9s no fly-line showing as
it can easily work free. 
I then ID the band with the corresponding line density
and/or type. A marker pen does the job nicely. The writing is
clear and concise, and I can get a long description on each
band if I choose.
Of course, spool bands can be purchased from various fishing
brands. They are good and do a job, but most have no way of
adding the ID, which to me is crucial.
Use velcro tape to enclose lines on spare spools. Steve Cullen

83
 MACHAIR CLARET
FLY ANATOMY The original Machair Claret called for a
jungle cock nail for the tail, but I hadn’t

TAILS
yet invested in jungle cock when I tied
my first one, so I substituted with
French partridge. Thirty years later, I
still haven’t tied one with jungle cock.
The French partridge goes down
perfectly well with the trout. The moral
Rob Denson recommends materials of the story: never let the lack of the
<correct= material stop you devising
and methods for irresistible rears your own variant. 

T
HE TAIL — IF A FLY HAS ONE — IS
usually the ûrst item selected and tied in,
setting the tone for the rest of the üy, but
how much thought do you give to your
choice? More often than not, we slavishly follow
the dressing without a thought to suitability or
durability; a mistake that can seriously compromise
the performance or lifespan of the üy. Even Donald
McLearn’s pièce de résistance, the Dabbler, beneûts
from a wee tweak in the tail department, so don’t
assume a dressing is sacrosanct. As anglers and üy-
tyers, our theories aren’t always on the same page, so
when tying from a dressing, it almost always pays to
consider and reconsider each item in that dressing.
Sometimes these choices are purely aesthetic
üourishes but the little touches can be vitally
important, too: a üy that inspires conûdence in the
angler will likely fool a ûsh. The tail is the foundation
upon which the rest of the üy is built, so we need to
get things of to a good start.

CLAN CHIEF (VARIANT)

There’s nothing so seductive as
a golden pheasant crest (or
topping) tail. It’s satisfying to
tie, too, and occasionally I
simply lose control and tie in
two crests, one on top of the
other, to double my pleasure.
Does it make this Clan Chief
more effective? I’m not sure,
but extra translucency and
transmitted light never did a fly
harm, plus, it looks good and
makes me happy — and happy
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB DENSON

anglers catch fish.

PETER ROSS DABBLER
TYING A GP
One of my favourite tailing
materials is a slim bunch of cock
CREST TAIL
hackle fibres. Light or bright
coloured ones work best as they
are beautifully translucent,
which means that like many ROB
natural invertebrates, they DENS ON
transmit light and colour has fly-fished
with a warm, attractive and for trout for
lifelike glow, giving an extra 25 years, visiting
dimension to your pattern. all four corners
Ginger cock hackle of Britain
sets this Peter Ross and Ireland,
Dabbler off nicely. combining his Golden pheasant toppings
love of fly-tying, should be symmetrical
Simple, cheap,
photography in every way. To reshape
easy and effective. and a rolling twisted toppings, wet them
wave. Web: and place on the narrowest
robdenson.co.uk part of a metal lampshade.
Gentle heat will steam them
back into form.

HARE’S EAR
Place the crest into position
COMPARADUN with your left hand, then with
your right, spin the bobbin
Small, delicate dry-flies
anti-clockwise. This forces
require skinny tails. Fine the thread to hug the tail and
brush bristles often fit the bill, hook as you wind it over the
but are plain, whereas guard tail. If adding a dubbed body,
hairs from pelts such as secure the tail with thread,
squirrel, hare and groundhog trim, then add the rib. 
are the perfect source for a
multi-toned, natural look. I
chose groundhog to match
the tones of the hare’s ear
body and roe deer wing on
this size 16 Hare’s Ear PEARLY DABBLER
Comparadun.
Not the most exciting tip you’ll get this year, or
even on this page, but it might save you a few
tears and help you catch more fish: ignore
dressings that call for pheasant tail and substitute If your body is flat tinsel,
for bronze mallard. Pheasant tail is terribly secure the crest stalk all the
delicate and cracks off at the drop of a hat, way to the eye. This ensures
seldom lasting for more than a fish or two. Bronze a level bed on which to wind
mallard, on the other hand, is nearly always the the tinsel. Return the thread
perfect match and is practically bulletproof.  to the tail end to repeat step
two if adding another tail, or
to attach the rib. 

OLIVE MINI-LURE
This chunky mini-lure has a spun-marabou body
and needs a serious tail to match it for bulk and
movement. Dyed mink fits the bill and is a great If adding a second
favourite of mine on the right fly. The main crest, repeat steps two and
attraction for me (and the fish) is the throbbing, three, then return to the eye
pulsating action of the fur when the retrieve is to start the tinsel body after
paused. Furs with a good proportion of soft adding the rib. If adding a
dubbed body, the tails can be
underfur work best, such as rabbit, hare and mink.  
trimmed after securing with
tight turns of thread.

85
 THE METHOD

STREAMER
FISHING
Andrew Ryan recommends a fast and furious technique
that’s proven hugely successful with big river trout

86
T
ROUT ARE OFTEN PERCEIVED AS ANDREW
RYAN
gentle ûsh that feed exclusively on small
insects. This is deûnitely not the case. “Streamer patterns owner of Clonanav
Fly Fishing,
They are scavengers and opportunists is one of Ireland’s
and will seldom turn down an easy meal. Yes, imitate leeches best-known
fly-fishing
much of their diet may comprise insects, bugs and instructors.
terrestrials, but they are also partial to minnows, or small fish” He’s guided on
the River Suir for
salmon parr, or trout parr. They even consume over 20 years
their own young.
Using streamers to catch predatory Irish trout
has been a passion of mine since the late 1990s
and comes a close second to my ûrst love — dry-üy
ûshing. While nothing beats the thrill of seeing
a trout rise to the surface to eat your dry-üy,
seeing a big trout chase a stripped streamer is
equally exciting.
I ûrst learned the art of streamer ûshing during
my time as a ûshing guide in Argentina in 1999.
I thought it was a crude way of ûshing at ûrst and
being used to dry-üy ûshing with small üies and
delicate presentations I never thought it would work
on the <polite= trout back home in Ireland. It proved
to be the singlemost efective way of catching big
Argentinean trout, so over time I warmed to it and
on my return decided to adopt the method on my
local rivers, the Suir and Nire. It was early spring
and the water was not as clear as in Argentina, but
on my ûrst day I had a dozen Suir trout up to 2lb. 
It is now my preferred technique for big trout and
I look forward to the high water conditions that this
method suits. The aggressive takes, seeing the ûsh
chasing the üy, and the sheer size of the ûsh that
can be caught make it an extremely rewarding and
exciting way of ûshing. My favourite retort to those
that question streamer ûshing is <streamer ûshing
catches the ûsh that eat the trout you catch!= My
biggest streamer-caught wild trout from the river
Suir stands at around 12lb.

When to fish streamers

Streamer patterns imitate leeches or small ûsh
and while some anglers frown upon this style of
ûshing because lures are not insect imitations, it FLIES
does <match the hatch= (the hatch being small ûsh)
better during a üood than any other kind of ûshing.
Woolly Buggers, Zonkers and sculpin patterns
In these conditions, the trout feed on minnows and are my first-choice flies. These are usually in
fry swept from the safety of sheltered banks into the sizes 2-4 and occasionally a size 6 for low water.
main current. It therefore works best early in the In the last few years, commercially tied patterns
have evolved greatly and now there are some
season when rivers are higher, or during and after incredibly well-tied streamers on the market;
üoods in the summer.  however, they need to be heavily weighted.
As a guide and instructor I need to ensure my I like patterns with heavy cones, skullheads
or sculpin heads.
clients have a good chance of catching ûsh in all
weather and river conditions and streamer ûshing
allows us to succeed when the current is moving

87
 too fast and it is impossible to ûsh with a dry-üy or interested. It’s down to river conditions — there will
nymph. During March and April, water levels are be a critical window in the üood, often when water
high and trout are hungry after a long winter. This clarity is improving. In low, summer water, the
is when streamers will outûsh any other ûshing sport can improve at dusk.  
method. The ûsh are feeding but deeper, so a fast-
sinking line is essential. Angles and retrieve
In summer, it is best to use streamers when Streamers are designed to be retrieved quickly. 
levels are dropping after a üood and as the water They are not designed to be ûshed dead drift or
starts to clear.  swung across and down like a wet-üy. I prefer to use
The type of water I target varies. I like the tails short sharp movements on the retrieve, thus giving
of pools, fast currents and shallow glides with the üy more movement in the water.
weed, but I always bear in mind that deeper water It is best to cast slightly upstream and as far
will hold bigger ûsh. It takes a little while to ûnd across the river as you possibly can, therefore
the areas that work best, but when you do and the covering more water and consequently more ûsh.
ûsh respond, you are assured of great sport. On Casting upstream ensures that the üy will sink a
the other hand, there will be days when ûsh aren’t little before you start the retrieve and will get down

THE SIMPLEST OF LEADER SET-UPS

Streamer

9ft 1X or 2X tapered nylon leader

Sinking Tippet is added to replace

fly-line leader lost during fly
(6-7ips) changes

88
 EQUIPMENT

ROD
I use a 9ft-10ft 5/6wt rod. For smaller rivers, a
9ft 6wt is ideal; on larger rivers, use a 9ft 6in or
10ft 5/6wt. The extra length will help you cast a
little further and if you are on a high bank it will
help you avoid snags. The rod I’m currently
using is a Guideline LPX Chrome 9ft 9in 6wt.

FLY-LINE
A crucial part of my kit. It needs to have a short
but very fast sinking head. I use either an Airflo
Streamer Max Short (sinks at 7ips) or a Rio
Streamer Tip (the 6ips version). Both have the
correct taper to handle large streamers, and
they get down quickly. You must use a
dedicated streamer line because putting a tip
on a floating line makes casting large, heavy
flies far too difficult.

LEADER/TIPPET

ANDY STEER.
Stiff tapered leaders are needed to ensure
there’s little hinging while casting. I use a 9ft 1X
or 2X leader. Any longer than 9ft and the fly
becomes difficult to control, but as I change flies
and the leader shortens I add tippet with a
OTHER EQUIPMENT
three-turn Water Knot to compensate for the
loss of length. I tie my flies on with a Eugene Polarised glasses, a stripping glove, a large net
Bend Knot (diagram, right), which I feel is the (always be prepared) and forceps for debarbing
strongest hook knot. and removing flies.

Nearly there: For a streamer outfit and advice call Clonanav Fly Fishing on +353 5261 36765, or visit flyfishingireland.com
Andrew Ryan
battles a big
trout to the net.

“In summer,
it is best to
use streamers
when levels
are dropping”

89
 Heart in the mouth stuff as Andrew Ryan strips
Top: A huge Suir trout a streamer from a high bank on the Suir.
taken on the streamer
by Rick O’Connell
and guided by Martin pull of my retrieving hand instead of lifting the rod
Fennessy (left).
to strike. This gives a better hook-hold and less ûsh
A 9-10ft rod is the are lost. Lifting the rod can pull the üy upwards and
ideal tool for casting
streamers and taming away from the ûsh.
big river trout. When retrieving the üy very quickly, many anglers
Leif Stavmo, from let go of the line when a ûsh hits the streamer
Sweden (left), and ferociously. With practice you will get used to
guide Kevin Shone
with a fine Suir brownie. strip-setting the hook, resulting in many more ûsh
brought to the net.

A word of caution
to the level of the ûsh. I will often cast across Streamer ûshing is a fun way to catch ûsh, but it is
the river and take a step or two downstream not a technique for beginners because you need to
before starting the retrieve to give the üy more be a competent caster to control the large üies on a
time to sink. sinking line. You must be very careful when casting
I also like to slap the üy on to the water. You’d heavy streamers as they can hit you as you cast
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW RYAN/PETER GATHERCOLE

think this would spook ûsh but it doesn’t, it gets them, especially on windy days. Critically, the lines
their attention, appeals to their aggressive streak I use are designed to be false-casted only once and
and makes them attack the streamer. then released, minimising the amount of time the
If you wear polarised glasses (always üy is in the air and making it much safer.
recommended) you will see some of the trout It is for this reason that I also like to use a
chasing the üy. If you have a number of ûsh chasing longer rod to keep the üy just that little bit further
the üy but not taking it, you need to change to a away from me. A hat and protective sunglasses
smaller üy or one of a diferent colour. are vital. Despite this danger, coupled with other
ûshing techniques, streamer ûshing is a very
Setting the hook useful addition to your armoury and in the right
I prefer to strip strike to set the hook when streamer conditions it will not only prevent a blank, but could
ûshing. This means that I set the hook with a long catch you the river trout of a lifetime. n

90
THE DUFFER’S GUIDE
Simon Sinclair takes a lighthearted look at üy-ûshing with some serious
stuf thrown in. This month: spring salmon ûshing (part two)

L
AST MONTH, THIS romanticism is commendable, catch anything if your üy doesn’t
column skimmed the your tactics need to match catch the eye — so movement
surface of spring salmon today’s situation. gives you chances. Sink tips let
ûshing. This month, Among the cobwebbed axioms you use lithe, lissom üies that
we’re going to tie on the sink-tip that still hold true, however, dance before the ûsh, batting
and dip down into more detail. are <Springers Run Hard= and their eyelashes and wiggling
First — you’ve read all those <A Salmon River Fills From the their tushes. Size matters too —
classics by the salmon writers Top=. According to 21st Century don’t be afraid to experiment at
of yore? Your Falkus and your Salmon Savant, Ian Gordon, 3in or more; make it worth their
Fitzgibbon and your Crawford much depends on weather cycles, while. And colour? Black and
Little? Well, you can forget all water temperature, in-river yellow is a good combo in spring
that. Or most of it. barriers and ûsh behaviour. but also try orange and green.
Not, you understand, that Salmon adapt and change Now, engage your ûsh brain.
those Giants of The River knew constantly. But in his recent Look for natural barriers that
not whereof they spoke. But the experience, the odds of hooking might give a salmon cause to
rivers they Knew Whereof in a Spring Fish in the middle pause — weirs, shallow rapids
those days were stufed with to upper beats are improving. and the like — then cast your eye
Nature’s Bounty; pools so packed On many lower beats, they’re to the next pool downstream.
with ûsh you needed a tin opener ploughing on through and there’s The fresh ûsh, if there, will
to get them out.  slim chance of a take before April. likely be resting halfway down
Nowadays, the ûrst Next, travel light. You’re an the water column. When the
consideration is how to ûnd interceptor — not laying an water temperature is low, your
the slippery blighters. The ambush. There won’t be a pod of üy usually needs to pass within
next is how to get them to Do ûsh in every pool. So, where you 3ft of a ûsh, at eye level, fairly
Something. This is much harder can, constantly cast and move to slowly, to have any chance of
when there are just two salmon meet a passing ûsh, and tackle up a take. Search the pool at this
lying at the bottom of a pool accordingly. Layers, breathable depth, at varying speeds and if
because they don’t have other waders — and no heavy luggage, nothing happens, try a heavier
competing ûsh around as an Dr. Livingstone! You won’t need tip, then heavier still until you’re
incentive to ûght over your neoprenes because you’ll want searching the bottom.
little Shrimp. So while old skool to wade as little as possible. Then head for the next likely
Line-wise, the Compleat Modern spot and repeat the process. If
Angler equips himself with one you feel something — do nothing.
“You’re an of those sexy Scandinavian lines
with interchangeable tips, so you
Honestly. Let the salmon do the
work. Only once you feel the
interceptor — not can search diferent depths.
These lines, believe it or not,
line drawing steadily away do
you tighten up and say a prayer. n
give you more freedom with üy
laying an ambush” choice, because with the line Simon Sinclair has been trying to outwit
doing the heavy work, you’re trout for 40 years. He’s applied all he’s
not dependent on all those learnt on the water to his marketing
ponderous, leaden üies. You won’t business, with mixed success.

91
 FLY OF THE MONTH

MARCH BROWN
SPIDER
Stuart Foxall recommends a soft mouthful that
matches diferent stages of the hatch

hen hackles so that it doesn’t üoat. Instead, the

dubbed body and two soft hackles mean it sits just
beneath the surface. Its generic appearance matches
emerging, crippled, and sinking adults — all of
which are easier targets for a feeding trout than an
adult insect that may take of and escape. If the ûsh
switch their preference within a short-lived hatch,
having a üy that matches diferent hatch stages
prevents precious time being lost changing üies.
Paul’s approach is simple. The Usk can be windy
in March, so he uses a ûve-weight rod with enough
backbone for blustery conditions. To his üoating
line he adds a tapered leader, then a 5X tippet and a
dropper 3ft from the point üy. He is so conûdent in
the pattern that he ties size 10s and 12s on the same
cast to match both large and small naturals.

E
ARLY SPRING BRINGS ONE OF THE By wading upstream he covers ûsh that have
ûnest hatches of the season — the March begun to rise without being seen himself. Don’t
brown — and with it one of the best think that just because you are seeing and hearing
chances to catch a big river trout. There splashy rises that the ûsh are taking fully hatched
are many March brown imitations, tied to look like adult March browns of the surface. Hatches can be
nymphs, emergers, crippled duns or hatched adults. üeeting, so the trout are highly aggressive in their
Most of us have our favourites, but my friend Paul short window of opportunity, moving conûdently to
Slaney’s ûrst choice is the March Brown Spider. It emerging or crippled üies. This feeding can result
works consistently well. in boils and slashes in the surface, even when üies
I feel lucky to call Paul my friend — he is without on the surface are being ignored.
doubt one of the world’s best üy-tyers. Living on Fishing a short cast gives you better control. Try
the River Usk in Wales, he ûshes for brown trout not to cast directly upstream to feeding ûsh. This
that are among the most beautifully spotted in the can spook them because the üy-line may be the ûrst
FLY PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER GATHERCOLE

country, usually with a bluish smudge on their gill thing they see. Cast at a slight angle so your Spiders
plate. The Usk ûshes well all season, but in March drift without drag over the ûsh. Retrieve line at
and early April, during the March brown hatch, its the same pace as the river’s üow to keep in touch
larger ûsh can be slightly easier to catch. with your üies and avoid slack, so that even if you
Paul’s Spider pattern is like another famous don’t see takes or boils, you will feel tugs or bumps.
March brown imitation, The Jingler, but tied with Watch the tip of your üy-line. Deviation, stops of the
drift, or pulls upstream will mean, more often than
not, a ûsh has taken your üy. This is an active and
thrilling way to ûsh.

92
 MATERIALS
Hook Size 10/12 Partridge SUD Thread Yellow
Tag Yellow thread Body Hare’s Ear dubbing Rib Yellow thread or flat gold tinsel
Hackle Brown dun hen hackle followed by partridge Head Yellow thread STUART
FOXALL
n Try different-coloured tags or a gold rib to see if the fish prefer flash to the usual yellow-thread rib.  One of the most
n Also use the Spider to match hatches of the Brook Dun. Welsh trout fixate on them. respected fly-tyers
in the UK, Stuart
has fished for more
than 40 years, on
many UK rivers as
well as in North
America, Norway
and Argentina.

HOW TO TIE THE MARCH BROWN SPIDER

1 2 3

Run on the tying thread a short way back from the Draw the thread’s waste end over the top of the Twist the hare’s fur evenly along the thread, then
eye, taking it down the shank in touching turns. tag, then secure it but don’t trim it off. Apply a little wrap a few touching turns of the dubbing along the
Apply a few turns of the thread’s waste end to form wax to the thread, then dub on a pinch of natural shank to create a short but substantial body.
a small tag. hare’s ear fur to form a rope.

4 5 6

Using Velcro or the tip of a needle, tease out the Tie in a brown dun hen hackle by its tip, then stroke Make a few wraps of the hen hackle tightly against
hare’s ear fibres to add translucency. That done, the fibres so that they all sit on the same side of the the front of the body. This hackle has soft, webby
rib the dubbing in evenly spaced turns with the stem. This helps the turns of hackle to sweep back fibres so two or three turns should be enough.
tag end of thread. over the body

7 8 9

Stroke the hen hackle fibres back over the body, Select a barred grey partridge feather and tie it in, Add a couple of wraps of the partridge hackle, then
then tie off with two or three tight thread wraps. by its tip, immediately in front of the dun hen tie off and remove the waste end of the feather.
Carefully trim off the excess hackle. hackle. Stroke the fibres so that they sit on the same Finally, add a few thread turns for the head and tie
side of the feather’s stem. off with a whip finish.

93
 HEALTHY
GLOW
Passionate conservationist and bailif Gerry McGirr
shares his love for a moody trout loch in the Cleish Hills
 A skein of geese
overhead: Loch
Glow attracts a lot
of wildfowl from the
Tay estuary.

Areas of shallow
water offer
plenty of wading
opportunities.

The author and

Loch Glow bailiff
Gerry McGirr.

IGH ABOVE THE KINGDOM

of Fife is a hidden reservoir.
You may not have heard of
“The Glow”, as it’s known
locally, but on its day its
fly-fishing is a match for any
big loch in the region. It can
be found a short distance from the former mining
town of Kelty, down the narrow B194 and then half a
mile along a track in the forested Cleish Hills.
At Loch Glow, wildlife meets at the water’s edge.
Pine martins, pheasants, roe deer, red squirrels
and otters call this place home. A family of ospreys
returns year after year. From 130ft up, they detect
their underwater prey and plunge, talons open,
often within a short cast of anglers’ boats.
The ecological journey continues in the depths
and shallows of the loch. There is an abundance of
invertebrate life. Dragonflies, sedge, beetles and
leeches are quickly spotted, while experienced
anglers may identify numerous other species.
My life has been driven by a love of fishing from
an early age. In the early 1970s, I fished for salmon
and sea-trout on Loch Lomond, the River Leven
and the River Endrick, as well as the Clyde and its
tributaries. But I didn’t only fish — I would sit back
and observe wildlife. My appreciation of animals
and particularly insects has led me to care deeply
about their welfare. I was given the opportunity

There are
good-sized
rainbows to
be had.

96
to become a bailif on Loch Glow and now, as our local mining families to a homeless existence
climate changes, I feel I must assist its inhabitants and devastating the agricultural community.
to ensure their long-term survival. Thankfully, no lives were lost, but many miles of
At 893ft (272m) above sea level, the Glow presents Fife countryside were inundated.
challenges — which hardy anglers love to meet. In World War Two, the Ministry of Defence laid
Early season can be harsh and that’s probably an steel booms across the loch to prevent Luftwafe
understatement. Locals say that when it’s windy seaplanes landing with German commandos to
down in the valley, on the Glow it’s another world. attack Rosyth dockyard below on the Forth. The
Snow, ice and frost combine with a severe windchill. dockyard was a strategic target in Hitler’s plan
But entering April, the best sport is had. In deeper to upset Royal Navy production and the North
parts, the trout frequent the sides, but most prefer Atlantic convoys’ access to fuel and supplies.
the shallows. By May, their condition is greatly To this day, boat-ûshers report anchors being
improved as they gorge on a hatch of Mayüy before caught on the remains of the sunken booms at
moving into cooler, deeper water. Mid-summer is the bottom of the loch.
diocult ûshing, but in September and October the The Glow has been decommissioned but is
trout feed vigorously before the onset of winter. maintained by Scottish Water. Since 1961 it has
The reservoir dates from 1898 and was built been well managed by Rosyth Civil Service Angling
to supply water to local villages as well as Club on a non-proût basis. It has 160 members, who
Dunfermline and Rosyth. During construction, it also have access to the Black Loch, a natural water
measured more than 120 acres and contained over with wild brown trout, which sits higher up the hill.
254 million gallons of water. On Thursday, March The climb is long and steep with no road access or
2, 1899, the dam embankment breached, subjecting cover from the elements. It can be a tough day out,

“When it’s windy down in the valley, on the Glow it’s another world”
97
 but the views are spectacular, south to the Lothian
“These fish show courage and hills and bridges of the Forth, north to Perth and the
Grampians.
dash. Seldom are two alike” Glow is a stocked loch with rainbow, tiger and
natural brown trout up to 7lb. These ûsh show
courage and dash. Seldom are two alike, their
bodies overlaid with brilliant spots of varying
colour. While their environment has much to do
with these markings, their food supply is also
an important factor. Loch Glow is surrounded
by sustainable vegetation, forest and open
moorland, which helps create an ecological
balance. Ephemeroptera, trichoptera, dragonüies
and damselüies are all found, as well as water
bugs, subsurface bugs and small prey ûsh. My
observations suggest a year-on-year healthy hatch
of caddis üies — Nature’s bioindicator. I take an
interest in these observations as it’s important to
identify the status quo. Any tampering with Nature
sets in train inüuences whose efects may be felt
by a circle of living creatures in unpredictable
ways. I believe that before attempting to improve
conditions in any water, it is necessary to know
the chain of circumstances that has led to the
prevailing conditions — such knowledge on our
loch, or any loch, is invaluable, helping to identify
future signs of pollution.
The bailiong team are the core of this loch and its
success. Conservation is at the heart of everything
we do, including using renewables. Loch Glow
is miles from mains gas and electricity and so
we’ve had to adapt. Wind and solar power run vital
communications — modems for mobile access and
computers — as well as payment machines and
battery charging. Batteries are used to power boat

A Sedgehog, Beetle
and a Hopper address
the terrestrial theme
at Loch Glow.

Ian Wilson and Gerry

take to the anchor
for a rest.
98
 Something bright for “The Glow”.

engines (only electric engines are permitted) and

allow lighting, vital in the darker months.
The bailifs’ day starts on the pontoon pier,
organising the boats. When Trout & Salmon visited
last October, three boats made a start in blustery
conditions. Recent weeks of low pressure had
prevented the boats going out — the Cleish moorland
is very exposed. Although up to 45ft deep, it is in the
loch’s shallows where the ûshing is most exciting.
We headed for the western shore, which is weedy
and sandy in places, with plenty of overgrowth and
heather on the banks.
My set-up was a Hardy Zephrus seven-weight
with a Hardy UDC 7000 reel and Rio Gold üoating
line. I put up an 8lb 0.26mm üuorocarbon leader
with a Sedgehog on the point and a Brown Beetle Rana is a
regular Loch
on the dropper. Wet and dry-üies work well. I Glow visitor.
also recommend you bring intermediate and
sinking lines. Successful üies on which I’ve taken
ûsh include Green Peters and Muddlers, which
accounted for a 5lb brown trout at the start of last
season. Kate McLarens, Cormorants, Sedges, Yellow
Owls, Diawl Bachs, hot-head Damsels and the lethal
Ally McCoist are popular. If you’re still struggling,
try Buzzers.
However, on that tough October morning, it
became evident the ûsh were not moving to üies
and I suspected this was the result of the relentless
bands of low pressure. I ûrmly believe trout sufer
when there are changes in barometric pressure.
Perhaps the best ûshing condition for a trout is a
pressure between 29.70in Hg and 30.40, but in bad
The centre of
operations.
99
 The loch is almost 900ft above sea level and conditions can be challenging. A tree-lined bank provides some shelter.

100
 “As well as fishing from the
boat, fly-fishers can enjoy miles
of accessible bank fishing”

weather, the pressure sits at around 29.60, which

may not seem much of a drop, but the efect on their
swim bladder is like us getting a headache. With less
pressure, the bladder expands uncomfortably. The
ûsh must swim deeper to absorb more gas to feel
more comfortable. During a dramatic change in air
pressure, they stop feeding. I now record barometric
pressure every time I ûsh.
I needed to change tactics and headed for the
shore to try wading and casting a short line with a
Daddy on the point, but again there was no interest.
Lures were tried next — an Ally McCoist and Hot-
headed Damsel — ûshed at varying depths — but
to no avail. However, success was enjoyed by one
of my fellow bailifs, Wullie Young, who landed six
rainbows on bait — in most competitions that would
be enough to lift a trophy.
As the other boats arrived back with little further
to add, I was reminded that <A bad day’s ûshing is
better than a good day at work=.
October on Loch Glow is a diocult time of year
when, due to the altitude, the water temperatures
fall fast. But whenever you visit Glow and no matter
what your ability, this loch will give you food for
thought. As well as ûshing from the boat, üy-ûshers
can enjoy miles of accessible bank ûshing where
they will mingle with bait anglers. Many of the ûsh
can be found 20ft from the bank. There is plenty
of space for a back-cast, yet enough overhang to
encourage insects on to the water.
I don’t think there are any odds more evenly Loch Glow’s dedicated bailiff team.
Gerry with a tiger trout (left) and a
balanced, or sporting in character, than those stunning 5lb wild brownie.
weighing the safety of the trout on one side and
the success of the dry-üy ûsher on the other. Our
ancestors thought so, ûshing this reservoir with
üies plucked from the whiskers of their favourite
tom cat and hair from the tail of a belted Galloway.
I believe that only if Loch Glow’s life cycle is well Factfile
managed will it exist for future generations to LOCH GLOW For tickets and boat hire, contact the
continue rising to the challenge. n bailiffs. Tel: 07803 839 737. It is advisable to book a
boat well in advance. Only electric engines are permitted.
Life jackets are mandatory and can be hired for a deposit.
The access track is rough. The fishery is a little more than an
P H OTO G R A P H Y: M I C H A E L B OY D hour’s drive from Perth and Edinburgh. The loch is closed to
the public on Wednesdays (members only).

101
 Edinburgh ORDER
ONLINE
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
FOR THE MOST
Unit 1 The Point Retail Park, Unit E Granton Retail Park, COMPREHENSIVE
29 Saracen Street, Glasgow, G22 5HT West Harbour Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1PW RANGE OF
FISHING
GLASGOW: 0141 212 8880 EDINBURGH: 0131 202 6351 EQUIPMENT
Visit us on facebook Follow us on Twitter
/glasgowanglingcentre @glasgowangling
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Helmsdale Wading Jacket Helmsdale 20000 Chest Stocking Foot Waders

The Helmsdale Wading jacket is made for the unpredictable The Scierra Helmsdale breathable waders range, are
weather you encounter by the river or fishing along the coastline. produced with focus on movement, comfort and durability.
The 2-layer jacket is 100% waterproof and very breathable, which
makes it easier for temperature to adjust and make you focus • Massive 20.000 Water proof 3 layer material
on fishing. The shorter design makes it perfect for wading. • Breathable of 4.000 mvp
• Elastic suspenders
• 2-layer Wading jacket with membrane 8.000mm/5.000mvp • He and she buckle
• Nylon Taslon 100% polyester fabric with thick PU coating • Elastic chest adjustment

Size Code Waders

S SV21833 Size Code Size Code
M SV21834 M SV21864 XL SV21870
Kenai Boots
Felt Size
Waders & Boots Only
L SV21835 RRP: £139.99 ML SV21865 XLL SV21871 SV25785 6/7 RRP: £294.98

£70 £180
XL SV21836 L SV21867 2XLS SV21872
2 S
SV25786 7.5/8
2XL SV21837 LL SV21868 XXL SV21873 SV25787 9/10
3XL SV21838 XLS SV21869 - - SV25788 11/12

Helmsdale 3/4 Helmsdale Helmsdale Helmsdale 20000

Fishing Jacket Fishing Trousers 20000 Bootfoot Chest Bootfoot Waders
This 2-layer jacket is
100% waterproof and
100% waterproof
trousers that is great
Waist Waders • 20,000 Hydrostatic Head
very breathable, which Waterprof 3 layer material
for fishing but will • 20,000 Hydrostatic Head
makes it easier to also be the perfect Waterprof 3 layer material
focus on your fishing. trousers for hiking. • Vertical cutting RRP: £239.99
Size

M
S
Code
SV21827
SV21828
Size
S
Code
SV21839
technology for active
movement support

Size Code
£120 Size Cleated Felt
L SV21829 M SV21840 M SV21886 M (40/41) SV21874 SV21878
XL SV21830 RRP: £139.99 L SV21841 RRP: £89.99 L SV21887 RRP: £219.99 L (42/43) SV21875 -
2XL
3XL
SV21831
SV21832 £70 XL
2XL
SV21842
SV21843 £45 2XL
XL SV21888
SV21889 £120 XL (44/45)
2XL (46/47)
SV21876
SV21877
SV21880
SV21881

Traxion 2 Fly Reel Trout Leaders

Helmsdale Outpost Line Tray The Traxion family
gives you the
Made from superb
quality copolymer

Stretch Trousers newest machine

cutting technology
material. 9ft length.
B/S Dia Code Price
– cut from 1 block 6lb 0.20mm SV12571 £2.50
The 4-way stretchable
of 6061 grade 7lb 0.22mm SV12572 £3.00
material deliver
aluminum, best
outstanding 9lb 0.26mm SV12574 £3.99
break system
movability, but
solutions-
without compromising
considering
the durability.
Size Code
water resistance,
smoothness and
Mono Shooting Line
S SV21844
strength. 50m / 50lbs / 0.66mm
M SV21845 SV10305 SV18761
RRP: £79.99 RRP: £14.99 • Belt style line tray
L SV21846 RRP: £12.99

£40 £6
• Multi adjustable frame
XL
2XL
SV21847
SV21848
• Waterproof
• Dimensions: 48 x 25 x 25cm
Code
SV16273
Size
#5/7
Capacity RRP
WF6 + 150m/20lb £119.99 £70.00
Price

£6.50
S Mesh Cap Brook Single Hand Fly Rods
6-panel design with
pre-curved brim. Baby Brook Fly Combo • Relatively deep actions, short stroke lengths
and wonderfully smooth bending curves
SV17669 The Scierra Baby
• Built on 40T Japanese carbon material
RRP: £14.99 Brook Fly Combo
• High quality Portuguese cork

£10
is an ideal kit
• Real peacock wooden reel seat
for beginners
• Quality light weight stripping and snake guides
to fly fishing.
• Supplied in cloth bag and quality tube with
screw in fittings, and carry handle
Included with

Fly Line Backing

Orange 30lb 250yds
this combo is a
loaded SIE Track
2 Fly reel, holding
Code Length AFTM Pcs RRP Price
SV16232 7ft 6 #3 4 £179.99 £100.00
SV9425 backing, line and
SV16233 8ft #4 4 £179.99 £100.00
RRP: £19.99 leader altogether.
SV16234 8ft #5 4 £179.99 £100.00

£10 Code
SV20289
Length
3ft 7
AFTM
#4
Pcs
2
RRP
£169.99
Price
£80.00
SV16235
SV16236
9ft
9ft
#5
#6
4
4
£199.99
£199.99
£100.00
£100.00

Visit our website to order online: fishingmegastore.com

 COME JOIN US AT THE GAC SPRING OPEN WEEKEND!
Packed with lots of things to see and do along with 1000s of weekend only deals.
Join 100s of anglers and field sport enthusiasts in store over the weekend for tackle
demonstrations, fishing tuition including fly casting demos, new 2023 product
launches, as well as exhibitors from all styles of fishing and country sports.

FREE DEMOS FREE TUITION FREE PARKING FREE ENTRY

10 - 12 March 2023
C&R Net OSM Shield Gloves FusionTech Wading Jacket
Large nets with fish Extremely finger The ultimate 3-layer wading jacket when
friendly mesh and sensitive glove it comes to value for money.
short, manageable with a high level of
handle, making water resistance • Durable shell fabric of 100% polyester pongee with DWR finish
them the ideal due to treatment • 3-layer construction with taped seams
scoop net for big with OSM Shield • 100% waterproof TPU lamination of
migratory targets technology 8.000mm and highly breathable
and predator allowing long • High-quality front zipper with wind fillet
species. exposures to
water before
Size Code
becoming wet.
SV16365 S SV20267
RRP: £18.99 Code Size RRP Price M SV20268 RRP: £139.99

£15 Dimensions:
40x32x40cm
SV16540
SV16542
M
XL
£29.99
£29.99
£15.00
£15.00
L
2XL
SV20269
SV20271
£70
X-Strech Wading Jacket
Highly technical jacket with lots of features
for modern anglers demands.
Helmsdale Lightweight Jacket
This super soft, light-weight and warm hooded jacket
• 10.000mm waterproofness and 3.000mvp breathability is perfect as a middle layer that warms you during
• Twill nylon/spanex fabric bonded with soft knit backing the cold months, but can also serve as a light jacket,
• Taped seams due to the 100 % windproof fabric. The 4-way stretch
• Dupont Teflon coating ensures ultimate movability in every situation.
• Large chest pockets
Size Code Size Code
S SV20745 S SV21849
M SV20746 M SV21850
L SV20747 RRP: £199.99 L SV21851 RRP: £139.99
XL
2XL
SV20748
SV20749
£100 XL
2XL
SV21852
SV21853
£70
Tributary Stockingfoot Waders & Boots
Waders with a durable, breathable 3- and 4-layer build for all-
day dry, comfortable performance at a great value.
Kenai 15.000 Waist Bootfoot Cleated Waders
• 3-layer 100% polyester construction
• 3-Layer Waterproof Breathable Polyester in upper, • Waterproof by 15.000mm
4-Layer Waterproof Breathable Polyester in lower • Breathable by 4000 mvp
• Self-fabric gravel guard with gathered elastic bottom hem • Japanese inside taping
• Elasticated at waist
Waders Tributary Boots • Wide neoprene belt
Size Code Size Code Rubber Size Felt
• PVC boots with lining
S MM8882 LS MM8888 MM12710 7 MM12722
M MM8883 LK MM8889 MM12711 8 MM12723 Size Boots Code
MS MM8884 LL 90
MM8890 MM12
MM12712 9 MM12724 Waders & Boots Only M 6/7 SV22767
MK MM8885 XL MM8891 MM12713 10 MM12725 RRP: £349.98 L 7.5/8 SV22768 RRP: £149.99
ML
L
MM8886
MM8887
XLS
2XL
MM889
MM8893
MM12714
MM12715
11
12
MM12726
MM12727
£269 XL
2XL
9/10
11/12
SV22769
SV22770
£100
GX1000 Fly Reel GTS300 Fly Reels
The GX1000 Fly Reels QRS Cassette The Greys GTS300
reel features a strong
Bougle Heritage
have had as much
material removed as
possible, making them
Fly Reels smooth Rulon disc
drag system and the
Fly Reels
incredibly lightweight, The perfect system for die-cast full aluminium Celebrating 110
but without fly anglers who like to construction results in a years since the
compromising swap fly lines to suit great strength to weight first Bougle was
the strength the conditions at hand. ratio. The Greys GTS300 introduced.
and robustness Spare Spools reel offers fantastic
of its profile. Fly Reels Code Model Price value for money.
Code Model
Capacity Price GR2627 2/3 £5 Code Model Capacity RRP Price
2/3, WF3+45m,
GR2558 £100 GR2628 4/5 £5 Code Model Capacity Price HR1726 2 13/16i DT2 + 25m/20lb £499.99 £300
4/5 WF5+60m
Code Model Capacity RRP Price GR2631 9/10 £5 GR2563 4/5/6 WF6 + 52m £44.99 HR1727 3i DT2 + 70m/20lb £539.99 £320
9/10, WF10+220m,
GR2747 10/11/12 WF11 + 211m £309.99 £155.00 GR2560 £100 GR2632 11/12 £5 GR2564 6/7/8 WF8 + 85m £44.99
11/12 WF12+275m HR1729 3 1/2i DT6+70m/20lb £549.99 £385

Unit 1 The Point Retail

Park, 29 Saracen Street,
Edinburgh Unit E Granton Retail Park,
West Harbour Road,
Glasgow, G22 5HT Edinburgh, EH5 1PW
GLASGOW: 0141 212 8880 EDINBURGH: 0131 202 6351
 TACKLE
The latest gear for discerning game-fishers

Flying high
Kite single-handed rods are part of three
brand new ranges launched by Greys for the
2023 season. The Kite is aimed at the regular
or intermediate angler who wants a high-
performance rod without breaking the bank.
Four-piece Toreon high-intermediate modulus
carbon blanks give the rods a medium-fast
action, ideal for most average to good casters,
with high recovery speed and plenty of power
in reserve.
The graphite-coloured matt blanks have black
gloss whippings with red accents, lined stripping
rings and single-leg intermediates. All sections
have model ID and alignment dots for easy
identification and assembly. The overall finish is
good with AAA cork handles — the 3wt to 6wt
models have reverse half wells grips, while the
7wt and 8wt models have full wells grips with
black synthetic foam fighting butts.
The black alloy reel seats have a captive sliding
band, which means they can’t spin and so the reel
slots are always aligned; no more fiddling around
before mounting the reel on the rod. The smaller
3wt-6wt models have wood spacers, while the
larger models have black alloy spacers. All feature
double up-locking nuts with nylon cushion rings
for a secure fit.
With a wide range of models covering stream,
river and stillwater sizes, all retailing at under
£300, the Kite series is likely to prove popular
with anglers looking for performance and value
for money.
 
Greys Kite single-handed fly-rods, available
in 14 models from 6ft, 3wt to 9ft 6in, 8wt;
£199.99 to £299.99.
Contact Pure Fishing
Tel 01665 602 771
Web greysfishing.co.uk

104
 Make mine a double
The double-taper (DT) fly-line was once the first choice
for all dry-fly, wet-fly and nymph fishermen. With the
development of weight-forward lines, the DT’s popularity
waned, but for the dedicated dry-fly fisherman, the
delicate presentation achievable with a light DT still reigns supreme.
This is something Guideline has acknowledged with the launch of its
Fario CDC DT.
It’s designed for anglers fishing small, clear waters with spooky fish. The
line’s coating gives it a low diameter, reducing wind resistance and water
disturbance. The thicker, high-floating belly section is easier to mend and
control during the drift and gives superior loop control for pin-point
accuracy. It also lets you pick up long lengths of line and reposition the fly
quickly in one smooth movement.
The double-taper’s profile is perfect for roll casting when back casts are
not possible, which can mean the difference between catching fish or not.
The Fario has a braided multifilament core, small factory-welded loops
front and back, and a laser ID marking near the tip.
A DT’s taper is the same from the centre to the front and to the rear,
therefore if the <front= starts to show wear, the line can be stripped off the
reel and reversed, effectively giving you a new line.
The Fario CDC DT is available from two-weight floating to five-weight
floating in pale grey-green; 39.3ft to 41ft.
 
Guideline Fario CDC DT fly-line, £70.91
Tel 07973 291 367 Web guidelineflyfish.com

Next level Summit

The Summit is Fishpond’s most popular sling pack and it’s been upgraded for 2023.
It’s full of features. There are three major zipped compartments — two large enough
for fly-boxes, reels, light waterproofs and a lunchbox, while the third is a hand-sized
pocket at the top of the pack, ideal for small items such as sunglasses or a torch.
On the front is a drop-down workstation, a stable platform when you’re
changing flies or tippets. There’s an internal zipped pocket for your phone or
keys and two small stretch pockets for tippet material or leaders. The
drop-down front has high moulded sides, forming a tray to stop items being
blown away while you work on them. One of the upgrades is a Tacky fly
board with six rows of silicone slots. The board is attached to the tray’s base
by Velcro and offers plenty of storage and drying space for flies and a more
secure and moisture-resistant grip than foam.
The padded shoulder strap has Velcro areas for adding extra fly patches,
as well as a D-ring and Hypalon points for attaching tools, zingers and
forceps. In fact, the pack is dotted with upgraded attachments points,
including two, four-way lash tabs, which take Fishpond’s Lariat strap system
for attaching other packs, rod tubes and larger items.
At the base is a stretchy bottle-holder with a retaining cord, and on the
back panel is a net sleeve. This was the only weak point we could find on
the pack. With only the relatively short handle of a standard scoop net
able to fit into the sleeve, it didn’t hold it securely enough for our
liking. Other than that, it’s a well-designed pack with plenty of
useful features made from durable materials.
Available in granite or Tortuga (green).
 
Fishpond Summit 2.0 Sling Pack, £139.99
Contact Guide Flyfishing
Tel 01977 681 300
Web guideflyfishing.co.uk

105
 Marginal gains
Orvis’s best-selling Hydros reel was last improved in 2021. Then, its designers reduced its weight, stiffened
and narrowed its spool to minimise line stacking, and re-engineered its drag knob to make it more
ergonomic and easier to use. The carbon and stainless-steel disc drag was given an improved seal to better
protect clutch bearings and the reel foot was radiussed (curved) to prevent leaders kinking when wrapped
around for carriage — a neat touch that’s been copied by other manufacturers.
The Hydros has been further refreshed in 2023 with two new colour options. The Hydros II 3.4in 3-5wt,
Hydros III 3.7in 5-7wt and Hydros IV 4in 7-9wt are now available in an ice blue or matt olive with a tough type II
anodised finish.
The Hydros range has also been given a fully caged version with tightened tolerances to stop the thin
running lines and mono leader systems used in modern Euro nymphing from slipping between the spool and
body. This Euro model is slightly heavier at 5.6oz to better balance longer rods. It includes all the previous
improvements and comes as a 3.5in diameter model in matt olive with silver accents.

The Hydros II 3.4in 3-5wt, £269, Hydros III 3.7in 5-7wt, £295 and Hydros IV 4in 7-9wt, £299.
Hydros II Euro Reel, 3.5in, £295.
Contact Orvis 0333 400 4188
Web orvis.co.uk

Orvis Hydros II
in the new ice
blue finish.

The full-cage
Hydros II Euro
in matt olive.

Time to strike
Drop Bead Strike Indicators, from Upavon Fly Fishing, are designed to improve take
indication for anglers fishing Czech- and Euro-nymphing techniques. The indicators
are made from brightly coloured, hollow-core braided mono and have spliced loops
and tippet ring connections. Multi-coloured 3mm or 5mm plastic beads are added at
30mm intervals, which give clear reference points for depth and an instant indication
of a take against most backgrounds.
Made in Britain, there are two versions. The Quick Connect Indicator has a 3mm
tippet ring on one end for quick and easy tippet changes. On the other end is a spliced
loop, allowing loop-to-loop connection on to nymphing fly-lines or mono and braided
French leader systems. The indicator is 8ft long and available in various colour Upavon Strike
combinations with either 3mm or 5mm beads. Indicators are
The Ring Connect Indicator is basically the same construction but has 3mm tippet available with loop
and ring or double
rings spliced at both ends. This allows mono or braided running line to be directly
ring connections.
knotted to the indicator, so there is less hingeing and a more direct connection
throughout. The Ring Indicator is also 8ft long and available in various colour
combinations with either 3mm or 5mm beads.
 
Upavon Quick Connect and Ring Connect Drop Bead Strike Indicators, £3.99
Email [email protected]
Web upavonflyfishing.co.uk

106
 A CLOSER LOOK

Dark olive
Sintrix blank.

Captive reel
locking band.

Plainer blank and rings are

obvious differences to the
premium Ultralite models.

Out of the shadows HOW IT COMPARES

Without the pearlescent

finish, coloured reel
With its launch of the Aydon double-handed rod series, Hardy has filled the mid-
seat and carbon insert
range void left when the Shadow was discontinued a few seasons ago. The Aydons of the Ultralite, the
are built on blanks using Hardy’s Sintrix nano technology, proven to produce strong, Aydon presents a more
high performance, lightweight rods. They have a medium-fast action that continues workmanlike package.
the company’s welcome return to producing deeper-loading, easier-casting rods. This isn’t detrimental
The blank is a darker olive-green to that of the top-of-the-range Ultralite, with lighter as the rod still has all
green whippings. There are other obvious differences: the Sintrix blank lacks the latest the features and quality
NSX technology and the stripping rings are ceramic-lined hard chrome rather than fittings needed to
titanium. The intermediates are hard chrome snakes, not Recoils — all obvious cost perform to the highest
savings, which make little difference to overall performance. level. Its forgiving action
The alloy reel seat has a gloss black anodised finish and double downlocking nuts. makes it comfortable
to cast — you don’t feel
A clever feature on many new Hardy and Greys rods is the captive locking band. It is
you have to work too
keyed into the reel seat to prevent it spinning and ensures the reel-foot slots remain hard to get it loaded and
aligned. The handle is AAA cork and as usual, Hardy has achieved the ideal size and delivering for you. The
shape, which most anglers will find a good fit and comfortable to use. tip recovery is not quite
The Aydon will retail at around £150 to £200 cheaper than corresponding Ultralites. as crisp as the Ultralite,
  but then few rods are.
Hardy Aydon is available in three switch and four double-handed models from 11ft It’s more than capable
5/6wt to 14ft 9in 10/11wt, £609.99 to £879.99 of producing stable,
Contact Pure Fishing straight-tracking loops
Tel 01665 602 771 and excellent accuracy.
Web hardyfishing.co.uk The Aydon feels just a
little softer and deeper
loading, which some
anglers may prefer.

107
 FLY - TYING Our pick of the best tools and materials

A quality
specialist tool.

Split solution
Using a dubbing loop to form a hackle or body was once considered a cutting-
edge method. And while it’s highly effective for medium to large dry-flies, nymphs
and even lures, it’s less successful when tying smaller, more delicate patterns. The
problem is that even fine thread has to be doubled. Fortunately, the solution came For durable and alluring bodies.
with the split-thread technique.
This involves splitting the thread along its length to create the gap into which
dubbing and fibres of feather or hair can be added. The thread is then spun, in the
same manner as a normal dubbing loop, to lock everything in place.
Ultra-fine tying threads have helped, many of which are single-ply, so by
countertwisting them their fibres lie flat. The trick is then to insert the tip of a needle
Deadly Buggers
into the thread so that it can be divided and with Marc Petitjean’s brilliant little The name Woolly Bugger seems
thread-splitter this task is made much easier. somewhat old fashioned. It’s much
Two tiny hooks of differing sizes are located on either side of the tool’s tip. The more common across the Atlantic
larger hook is for standard thread diameters, such as 8/0, while the smaller one is for where streamer-style flies, such as
thinner threads, 14/0 or finer. The smooth part of the tool is run along the thread to those mentioned in this month’s
flatten it, after which one of the hooks is stroked across the thread to form a split. Method (p86), are common. In the
  UK, we fish with the Tadpole and
Petitjean Thread-Splitter, £15.27 Humungous, which are effectively
Stockist Troutcatchers Woolly Buggers. Whichever name
Web troutcatchers.co.uk Tel 01933 388 281 you prefer, this 5mm chenille is made
for the streamer style.
It comes in five colours picked
for their effectiveness, including
Chocoholic (brown), Bubblegum (pink),
Nymph mode (medium-olive), Twilight
(black) and Snowdrift (white). Each is
Four tools in one laced with pearlescent fibres for added
flash and has a bonded core to prevent
shedding. Simply prepare a marabou
If you seek minimalism and order, this multi-tool could free space on your tying tail, tie in a rib, wind a short length of
bench. The 12cm alloy handle has a locking head on each end that accepts a choice Crystal Bugger chenille along the body
of four attachments: a surgical scalpel blade, useful for cutting stubborn materials in touching turns, then run a palmered
at the head of a fly; a bodkin (or dubbing) needle for applying varnish, thread hackle along the body, secured by the
control and picking out dubbing; a leg-knotting tool for aiding the knotting of rib. Embellishments such as a bead,
Hoppers, Daddies and rubber legs; and probably the most useful of all, a bobbin skull head, dumbbell eyes and an extra
threader, which is your best friend when your thread snaps and your blocked head hackle will finish the <Woolly
bobbin tube resists frantic attempts to re-thread it. Bugger= off.
Having individual tools may save time during the tying process, Simple, robust and effective. There is
but this is possibly cheaper in the long run. 2m of chenille per pack.
 
4 in 1 Combi Tool, £19.99  Crystal Bugger Chenille, £3.50
Upavon Fly Fishing  Upavon Fly Fishing
Web upavonflyfishing.co.uk  Web upavonflyfishing.co.uk
Tel 07875 177 475   Tel 07875 177 475
Compact, useful
and pleasing.

108
 FISHING
REPORTS
All the latest news from our local experts. The only
monthly record of catches and news from the major
fisheries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland

TROUT
MASTERS
’s badge
Plus this monthEurope’s
winners from fishing
largest fly- n
competitio
See page 124
FISHING REPORTS ENGLAND AND WALES

SCOTLAND E N G L A N D & WA L E S
77
45 Alness 67 Irvine 1 Anglesey 24 Isle of Man
46 Annan 68 Kirkaig & Inver 2 Artro 25 Mawddach & Wnion
47 Ayr 69 Outer Hebrides
79 65 6186 3 Bewl 26 Pitsford
49 88 4 Llyn Brenig 27 Ravensthorpe
48 Beauly 70 Lochy
49 Borgie 71 Loch Lomond & Leven 5 Bristol waters 28 Ribble & Hodder
50 Brora 72 Lake of Menteith 69 68 66 6 Conwy 29 Rutland Water
51 Carron 73 Nairn 52 50 SCOTLAND
7 Coquet 30 Seiont, Gwyrfai
52 Cassley 74 Ness ULLAPOOL 78 80 8 Cornwall & Llyfni
51 9 Dee & Clwyd 31 Severn
53 Clyde 75 Nith 45
54 Conon 76 Orchy 54 INVERNESS 10 Derbyshire waters 32 South-west Wales
82 57
55 Cree & Bladnoch 77 Orkney 48 73 63 11 Cumbrian Derwent 33 Talyllyn
56 Aberdeenshire Dee 78 Oykel 81 74 12 Devon 34 Tees
57 Deveron 79 Scourie 13 Dovey 35 Till
58
58 Aberdeenshire Don 80 Shin 14 Dwyfor 36 Towy
59 Doon 81 Skye 56 15 Eden 37 Tyne
60 Earn 82 Spey 16 Border Esk 38 Usk
70
61 Forss 83 Stinchar 17 Esthwaite Water 39 Lake Vyrnwy
62
62 North & South Esks 84 Tay 18 Eyebrook 40 Wear
63 Findhorn 85 Teith 84 19 Glaslyn 41 Wessex waters
64 Girvan 86 Thurso 76 20 Grafham 42 Wye
65 Halladale 87 Tweed
60 21 Hanningfield 43 Yorkshire Esk
85
66 Helmsdale 88 Wick 72 22 Llandegfedd 44 Yorkshire waters
71 23 Lune
GLASGOW EDINBURGH

53 87
67 35
NORTHERN 47
7
IRELAND 59
NORTH SEA
64
109 118 83 75 46 16 NEWCASTLE
120 119 55 37
15
104 121
DONEGAL
117 11 40
BELFAST
34
101 43
17
ENGLAND
94 44
112 24
96 88 23
90
111 93 114
100 110 28 HULL
107 106 95 IRISH SEA
102 97 10
113 GALWAY
98 105 DUBLIN
LIVERPOOL
1
6 9
30 4
19
14
2
25 39 29
103 33 18
13
115
116
WATERFORD
WALES ABERYSTWYTH
27 26 20
92 108 91
31
99 42
IRELAND 32
89
36 38
21
IRELAND 22 LONDON
CARDIFF
88 Lough Arrow 101 Drowes & L. Melvin 114 Lough Sheelin
89 Bandon 102 Erriff 115 Slaney 5
90 Beltra 103 Feale 116 Suir 3
91 Blackwater (Cork) 104 Finn 12 41
92 Upper Caragh 105 Galway Weir NORTHERN
93 Lough Carra 106 Inagh IRELAND
94 Carrowmore Lake 107 Kylemore Abbey
117 Ballinderry 8
95 Cong 108 Laune
118 Bush
96 Conn & Cullin 109 Lennon
119 Bann PLYMOUTH
97 Lough Corrib 110 Lough Mask ENGLISH CHANNEL
120 Mourne
98 Costello & Fermoyle 111 Moher Lough
121 Sixmilewater
99 Lough Currane 112 Moy
100 Delphi 113 Screebe

110
 England On Sunday January 8,
water started tipping over the
spillway at Chew, so, top level
challenges will be facing us.
We are entering the fourth
season of the all-Wales catch-
ever. Nymphs such as Pheasant
Tail and Gold-ribbed Hare9s
Ear are also very efective. The
worm ûshing, implementation
of the use of barbless hooks on
üies, single barbless hooks on
& Wales is now achieved. This is quite
remarkable bearing in mind
and-release bylaw. Returns
given to me over the past three
tried-and-trusted Greenwell
Spider, March Brown, Snipe
spinners and mandatory catch-
and-release. These will come
the level that we experienced seasons have, in my opinion, and Purple, Waterhen Bloa and into force from July of this
BORDER ESK by the season9s end! shown that there were very Partridge and Orange patterns year when the current bylaws
PERMIT prices from the Border Opening days have been few ûsh caught to be released. are still popular. Sizes between are due to end. As a placatory
Esk and Liddle AC have just published, and are as follows: It will be interesting to see the 14 and 10 are often successful concession to bait anglers the
been announced and they Barrow Tanks — March returns when published from in the early weeks of the EA are considering allowing
are as follows: All-waters 1 (season ticket holders Natural Resources Wales. Many trout season. the use of the shrimp but
season £350, Canonbie season <preview= day, February 27). anglers are now concerned Stillwater trout anglers at whether this comes to fruition
£300, Langholm season £175 Chew — March 8, boat and that the bylaw is not having Thrunton Trout Fishery had remains to be seen.
and Lower Liddle £125. Day bank (preview day, bank-only, the desired efect of increasing a lean spell during the big As with all laws though,
permits show a small increase. March 6). Blagdon — March 8, ûsh stocks. freeze. When the thaw came, they are only as efective as
All-waters including Canonbie bank (preview day, March 6); — DAVID FOSTER. catches picked up with some the policing. The Derwent
£40; Langholm £30; Lower March 13, boats. ûne sport on ofer. Among in places, has a history of
Liddle £28. Day permits are — MARTIN COTTIS. the catches was regular Ken poaching issues and although
on Fishpal or available from
COQUET Glenton catching 17 including I hear tell of the expected
Canonbie Post Ooce and THE river has had several good one of 10lb. World champion use of drones by the EA to
Eskdale Hotel, Langholm.
CONWY lifts of water during the close Howard Croston released 18 for patrol areas of the river where
Most catch returns are in LAST year was reported by season which will have given it his visit, mainly to Bloodworm poaching occurs it remains to
and 2022 produced 70 salmon the Met Ooce as one of the a good clean out. patterns. Geof Huscroft had a be seen whether these new
and 338 sea-trout. Bearing hottest and driest years on The likely spots to produce good day, catching rainbows measures will be efective. At
in mind that more than three record, which for rural north an early spring salmon include of 11lb 8oz and 7lb 8oz in least something is being done
months were lost to drought Wales which relies heavily the White Post, Bushes, Clarty his eight-ûsh catch using though, and for that at least
levels, the season9s catch is on tourism was good news. Hole, and Betts Hole. All these lures. Fly-box essentials here we should be grateful.
very respectable. Salmon to But for anglers it ofered areas are on the Northumbrian are Bloodworms, Hot-head — ERIC HOPE.
22lb were caught. challenging conditions, with Anglers Federation9s tidal beat Damsels, Buzzers, various
Esk rods continue to catch rivers üowing at an all-time at Warkworth. Passage has nymphs, and lures.
a few early spring salmon with low and many feeder streams improved at Warkworth Dam — DAVID CARRICK. DEE AND CLWYD
late March and April the likely having dried up. At the end of and areas above this could be MAY I wish all those who help
times. Sea-trout anglers usually December in the upper Conwy in with a chance of an early ûsh me by providing information
appear on the river from early Valley we had some snow and or two. Given mild conditions
CUMBERLAND to include in my reports, a
April with the chance of some a heavy frost which froze the ûsh should slip upstream of
DERWENT very happy new year, and
very fresh-run ûsh being surface of the Conwy in parts the dam with areas such as the BY the time this is in print the many tight lines for 2023.
caught. Areas likely to produce for a week before Christmas Black Bridge and Morwick also new salmon season should Without you I would be in a
early salmon and sea-trout although this was nothing possibilities. be underway, and the trout very diocult position. So many
include Burnfoot, Longtown compared to other parts Fly-only ûshing is allowed anglers will be straightening thanks! To Dee and Clwyd
Bridge, Westalls and Netherby of the United Kingdom, in February and October with their lines and sorting üies anglers I ofer the same
and up towards Canonbie. especially Scotland. no spinning during February in readiness for the new wishes and tight lines for
— BORDER ROD. At last, the winter9s heavy or October. season. Admittedly there are the coming season.
and continuous rain has arrived Patterns with yellow, orange, few salmon pushing into the I thank Chris Porteous
in the Conwy catchment area black and red in their dressing Derwent until April but last of Rhyl & St Asaph AA for
BRISTOL WATERS during late December, and continue to be popular. Gold- season9s improvements in the following relating to the
YOU may not be surprised this past week the gauge at bodied patterns also work well, catches should be encouraging Clwyd catchment: <Rhyl & St
to hear that the proposed Cwmlanerch, Betws y Coed on especially when there is a tinge news to all Derwent salmon Asaph AA have two teams
takeover by South West the River Conwy at midnight of colour in the water. anglers. Salmon redds on the of volunteers carrying out
Lakes Trust seems to have on January 3 peaked at almost The Northumbrian Anglers upper parts of the catchment monthly three-minute kick-
progressed no further. On 4m and falling, whilst on the Federation fees for the 2023 were better than many recent samples of invertebrates at
meeting with Luke Cox, River Lledr at Pont Gethin it season show a large selection years with some big multi- four diferent sites on the
current manager, he assured reached over 2m and falling. of permits available. The sea-winter salmon reported River Clwyd catchment. The
me that the current staf and The water levels have not been salmon season permit is amongst them. results are interesting and
operations team will remain as high as in other parts of £195, concessionary £125. The Perhaps not so encouraging indicative of the state of our
in place, and all will be as last north-west Wales and have salmon visitor season permit for some are the results and rivers, which is, of course, the
year for the foreseeable future. not closed roads or caused is £330. Brown trout season recommendations of the public whole point of the exercise!
Previously we had been told damage to properties. The permits are £80, concessionary consultation undertaken by the There would appear to be
that the takeover was to be Llanrwst town gauge at Pont permit £60. A visitor seven-day Environment Agency (EA) last plenty of food for our resident
approved at the November Fawr recorded a level of permit for all waters and ûsh year. With the Derwent failing ûsh, predominantly freshwater
board meeting! 5.793m with the river falling. is £220. A Coquet-only permit to meet its conservation target shrimp, and olives. These
In the meantime, there have There are no üood warnings is £165 and a visitor three-day for a few years now there are are by far the dominant
been some small changes at present for the Conwy permit for all waters is £135. A serious concerns about the species recorded throughout
taking place. It was decided Valley and no reports of storm visitor three-day all-ûsh permit, state of the Derwent salmon the year, with, to a lesser
that there should be a ranger overüow being released from Coquet only is £100. Visitor population and in common extent Heptageniidae (the
appointed with the speciûc the many sewage plants along one-day all-waters permits with many other rivers, üat-bodied stone clingers).
OPENING PAGE: RICHARD FAULKS.

task of learning all about the river and tributaries. It is a are £55 while a visitor all-day numbers of returning ûsh show Over 18 months to December
the hatchery and ûsh farm. pity that, apart from the ûrst Coquet-only permit is £45. an overall and progressive 2022, 45 sampling sessions
The successful candidate will week in October last year, Visitor brown trout one-day decline. In order to increase have recorded 334 cased
shadow Alan and learn all these levels were not sustained permits cost £30, Coquet only. the numbers of ûsh making it caddis, 511 caseless caddis,
about how our farm works. during August and September Visit northumbrian-angler.co.uk safely to the spawning areas 130 ephemeridae (eg mayüy
It was also decided that when the main runs of ûsh for further details. the EA will be introducing what Danica), 232 ephemerellidae
a <senior= ranger should were travelling up the rivers. Trout ûshing gets under to many will seem draconian (BWO), 2631 heptageniidae,
be appointed. Alistair was As we look forward to the way on the river from March measures including restricting 4,614 baetidae (olives),
successful in his application coming season, we cannot 22 with North Country Spider hook sizes, changes to angling 321 stoneüies and 9,756
for this post. help but wonder what new patterns still as efective as methods including a ban on gammaridae. That9s 18,529

111
FISHING REPORTS ENGLAND AND WALES

bugs found during 135 minutes were landed, especially sea- respond better to a well- a successful morning on the the organisation that brings
netting. That may sound a lot trout, so next season go to the presented Buzzer or Cruncher. lower Lyd, hooking ten ûsh together all of those concerned
but how would it compare river and wet a line, it will be The heavy and persistent and successfully landing seven for the Teign, is holding its
to a similar exercise 20 or 30 worth the efort. rainfall that we have of them, the best at 14ins. Jon AGM at the Dolphin Hotel,
years ago, or 55 years ago Preparing these reports is experienced just recently has caught all the ûsh on nymph Bovey Tracey, on March 17.
when our local rivers really diocult at this time of year, at last begun to take efect in and all in Jeannie Pool on On the Yealm, anglers
seemed full of life? so any information you can terms of raising reservoir water Home Beat, where a shoal reported catching 143 brown
<Several more angling clubs provide will be thankfully levels. However, as I mentioned of grayling must have been trout in 38 visits to the Upper
have or are about to join the received. I look forward to in last month9s report, it holding in that pool at the Yealm Fishery in 2022. Twenty
Angling Trust Water Quality hearing from you, my email is remains to be seen how much time. A further ûve grayling per cent of these ûsh were
Monitoring scheme. [email protected]. water Severn Trent decides were taken by other rods, 8ins or above. A sea-trout of
<How can the health of — ALLAN CUTHBERT. to pump downstream in their including three from the Ottery 17ins was caught in July. In
our rivers improve? Only supply network to meet the on Beat 16. August a visitor commented,
by the actions of politicians increased demands associated After the cold spell in early <This is a lovely stretch of
backed up with meaningful DERBYSHIRE with predicted early droughts. December the conditions river to ûsh, but water levels
enforcement. Citizen science WATERS — DAVID THELWALL. reverted to milder but wetter being very low and gin-clear
projects such as ARMI and AT the time of writing in early weather with a few severe made a challenging morning.
Angling Trust Water Quality January, our rivers are still up winter storms, and rivers were I did however manage to land
Monitoring are important and down like yo-yo9s and are
DEVON more or less in spate right a very nice trout of about
but only if the message gets carrying a lot of colour. Fishing AT the time of writing (January through Christmas and into 12ins=. Further information
heard and understood further has been possible, but it9s 6) ûshing on all Devon rivers the New Year, with no hope on the Upper Yealm Fishery
up the food chain. Someone been far from easy and even is closed, with the exception of any grayling ûshing. Before is available on the Fly
said, 8just follow the money9 those that I usually regard as of those waters where there the rivers went back into üood, Fishing Devon website at
and continuing that theme, to the more diehard amongst us is grayling or coarse ûshing. the waters were low and clear üyûshingdevon.co.uk.
any angler or conservationist have been giving it a miss as Salmon ûshing on the Plym enough to see a few redds, but The Dulverton AA, with
it would seem inappropriate a result. With further sub-zero continued until December 15 it was obvious that numbers of ûshing on the Exe, Haddeo
at the very least to dispose temperatures and heavy snow but the only ûsh reported in spawning ûsh were low with and Barle, will continue to
of used toxic chemicals predicted later on this month the ûnal month was a salmon only a small number of redds be open to new members in
on land, which can and do and the possibility of further of about 9lb on spinner found. Odd ûsh had spawned 2023. Subscriptions remain
later leach into our rivers. wintery weather likely to come for Charlie Webster from on the main Tamar and also at £35 for adults and £1 for
For example, sheep dip is in February, it9s impossible to the upper part of the Tavy, on the Ottery, Lyd, Thrushel juniors up to 16. Details from
highly toxic and classed as a predict what opening day on Walkham & Plym Fishing Club and Wolf, but it could certainly dulvertonanglingassociation.
hazardous substance, and yet our rivers will be like on March waters. It was a very dark ûsh not be called a proliûc season. org.uk . Although the rivers
used working strength dip 18. If conditions do allow, then and released. One big salmon redd was have generally been too high
can be spread on ûelds under nymphing will probably be The ûrst of the salmon seen on the Tamar only a few for checking salmon redds,
environmental permit at 5m3/ the best tactic and patterns ûshing opens on February 1 days before Christmas, on a a few were seen well up the
ha rising to 20m3/ha/day such as gold-ribbed Hare9s on the Dart and Teign but, as favoured spawning site which Barle at Landacre.
for dip that has been further Ears and üashback Pheasant has been the case for many had been checked a few days Rainbow trout ûshing at
diluted by slurry or water. And Tail Nymphs should do the job. years, this will be academic before and found not to have Kennick and Burrator closed
this is probably just the tip of However, as was pointed out to for most anglers. Catches of been used, so there is some for 2022 on December 31. The
the iceberg.= me recently by David Marriott salmon in February have been evidence that spawning may ûnal couple of weeks only
It9s good to know that of Cressbrook and Litton Fly but a memory for a long time have taken place a little later in produced the odd rainbow and
others share my passion for Fishers Club, by late March and most anglers leave their the year than normal. nothing of any size. The South
improving our rivers. We can the large dark olives should ûrst outings until March or Cormorants have been West Lakes Trust has ûxed
only hope that the young and be making an appearance and even later. The salmon season around on most rivers the dates for the following
upcoming anglers will take thereby present the possibility on the Exe starts on February including the Ottery and all events in 2023. February 26
such an active interest in our of some top of the water dry- 14, followed by more rivers on beats on the Lyd, and now — Roadford Fly Fair. March
ûsheries in the years to come. üy sport as well. March 1. Brown trout ûshing on the goosanders, which had 5 — Kennick Fly Fishing Taster
For clarity, North Most of our major stillwater rivers opens on March 15. been absent until Christmas, Day. March 9 — Season Permit
Wales Rivers Trust, whose reservoir venues are closed The past month has have also appeared on The Preview Day at Kennick. March
website can be found at at present but I did manage produced one spate after Arundell beats. The Arundell 10 — Season Permit Preview
northwalesriverstrust.org, a visit with friends to Press another, mostly making it has a licence from Natural Day at Burrator. March 11 — All
is independent of Natural Manor Fishery just before diocult or even impossible England (NE) to cull some rainbow trout waters open
Resources Wales (NRW), the New Year. As usual we to observe salmon spawning cormorants, but NE steadfastly fully. May 14 — Kennick Bank
as is the Welsh Dee Trust, were made most welcome and count redds. There was refuse to allow any control Pairs Competition. June 25
website welshdeetrust.com. by proprietor Bernie Maher9s certainly more than enough of goosanders, despite full — Kennick Peninsula Classic
The websites are well worth hospitality and we all enjoyed high water to get the ûsh knowledge of the damage they Competition. August 5 —
a visit, and you may well be some measure of success through to the topmost are doing to salmonid stocks. Kennick Fly Fishing Taster Day
surprised at the variety of work despite very windy conditions. reaches and we can only At The Arundell for 2023 (National Angling Month)
they organise. Both need much Most importantly it was what hope that there was plenty of Gerald Spiers, AAPGAI, will join — MIKE WEAVER.
more angler involvement so we all needed to cure the spawning activity that went the ûshing team, incorporating
please consider participating. otherwise lasting efects of unobserved. Gerald and The Devon School
The Dee Life Project is also festive season cabin fever! At The Arundell, of Fly Fishing into the hotel DOVEY
making very positive progress All of our major stillwater temperatures ranged between business. Strictly by prior DECEMBER began with colder
and is a credit to all involved. I reservoir venues will have or minus 8 deg C and plus 13 deg arrangement, the hotel is now temperatures after a very mild
appeal for all anglers to make will be about to reopen during C, and river levels going from in a position to ofer guided- November. For some ten days,
a positive contribution to our March and should ofer some a nice grayling ûshing height only ûshing on a variety of Arctic winds brought snow and
river quality initiatives. And really good early season sport. to over 2m of üood water. other rivers in the Westcountry freezing temperatures with ice
once more I appeal for anglers Lures such as Cat9s Whiskers, The cold but dry weather to hotel residents, in addition becoming a major problem.
to communicate with NRW by Cormorants and in particular of early December allowed to the hotel9s current 22 The river froze in places and
participating in joint meetings. black-and-green IPNs will rivers to clear and settle, miles on the Tamar and ûve a brief visit to Glandyû on the
A reminder that although take their fair share of the making grayling ûshing a tributaries near Lifton. Details estuary saw an iced-over river,
water levels during the 2021/22 stockies but don9t forget that reasonable option for a short on 01566 784666. something not seen since the
season were problematic, the overwintered ûsh are likely to while. Only a few rods ûshed, The Teign Angling and big snow of 2010/11. The thaw
ûsh were present and several be more selective and may with Jon Barnard enjoying Conservation Association, a week before Christmas has

112
seen nothing but heavy rain Greenwell Spider, Black Spider,
since with the Dovey running Hare9s Ear Nymph and PTN in N EWSR EEL
at very high levels. Today as I sizes from 10s down to 16s.
write (January 4), the river is For salmon, patterns to
in full üood with the main road include are Cascades, various CRISIS ON THE DEE
üooded and looks like being Shrimp Flies, Willie Gunn. An alarmingly lack of spring salmon
so for a few days as there Ally9s Shrimp, Stoat9s Tail, in two indicator burns in the Upper
seems to be no let-up in this and Garry Dog. There is a Aberdeenshire Dee catchment has
Atlantic jet stream. Let9s hope recommendation that anglers prompted the District Fishery Board
for a couple of these rainy days debarb üies and lures. to issue a public statement
during the coming season. Trout ûshing on Lake

MARINE SCOTLAND
promising “emergency action”.
This being a quiet time Ullswater opens on March Fish traps on the Girnock and
of year I have little else to 15. Given mild conditions and Baddoch tributaries, which have
report except that the new favourable winds anglers can been monitored for decades, last
£48 million Dovey Bridge in normally expect some decent year counted only handfuls of fish.
construction is now spanning early season sport. Drifts close However, while some anglers may
the river at Fridd pool. The to the shoreline often produce have hoped the Board’s statement
project is due for completion good results. Ullswater specials Girnock Burn fish trap.
that it would begin “Stocking the
mid-summer. include local patterns which progeny from surplus local
For all information in gaining are available from local tackle broodstock” was a sign a major “hatchery techniques”, anglers
ûshing on Dovey Association shops. Bibio, Black Pennell, hatchery project was underway, should not expect a hatchery
water in 2023 please contact Blae and Black, Zulu, Mallard Board Chairman Lawrence Ross and building full of tanks. First, the
the secretary on 01654 702721 and Claret, Broughton9s Point, River Director Dr Lorraine Hawkins Board plans to appoint a project
or write to New Dovey Fishery various Dabblers, Greenwell, have made it clear this is unlikely. manager this spring to discover
Association Ltd, The Plas, March Brown, PTN, and GRHE Instead, they’ve outlined four key areas in need of mitigation stocking
Machynlleth, Powys SY20 8ER. are all popular. Your contact actions to begin immediately. — where salmon are not populating
Bookings are currently being for boat hire on Ullswater is “Habitat improvements” at a due to man-made interventions
taken. I remain at gwil.dovey@ St Patrick9s Boat Landing at “local level” will be detailed — and, if locations are found, some
yahoo.co.uk for reporting any Glenridding, 01768 482393. investigations of upper tributaries to stocking may begin later this year.
catches and river information — CUMBRIAN ROD. see if more remedial work can be Mr Ross admitted, “We don’t have
— GH THOMAS. done, which may have been surplus funds to do this … but I don’t
GRAFHAM overlooked, especially after Storm see this as an obstacle to getting on
EDEN WITH the extensive drawdown
Frank in 2015. This is to take place and doing something.”
alongside long-stated catchment- While there’s cynicism from some
THE 2022 season saw a drop in of water, experienced by scale goals, such as tree-planting, quarters about the lack of predator
catches of salmon in the Eden. most of the reservoirs in the adding large woody structures and control and the time projects such
Hopefully 2023 will see some Midlands, the bank ûshing reconnecting floodplains. as tree-planting take to have an
improvement. A shortage of has been very diocult. The “Food provision” is being effect, Dr Hawkins pointed out that
rainfall and generally low water slow increase in water level considered, inspired by the success the addition of woody debris to
conditions certainly did not has created many problems of a trial on the Conon, where adding juvenile habitats in 2018 is already
help anglers, especially those because the water is rising salmon carcasses as organic matter adding significantly more juvenile
trying to catch a salmon. over land which has been has “kickstarted the ecosystem and fish. She explained that tree-
Warwick Hall and above barren for many months. I foodweb”, producing bigger fry and planting is essential if the Dee is to
are normally areas to produce thought that the bank ûshing more salmon genetic diversity. withstand a warming climate — the
spring ûsh. Given low üows at the back end would be Experimental work will be Dee valley is forecast to be one of
then the lower beats may get spectacular. How wrong can undertaken to redistribute surplus the warmest areas in Scotland.
of to a good start. River levels you be? Of course, some ûsh wild fry into areas with low fry Asked what anglers can do to
as always, will prove crucial have been caught and the ûsh counts considered viable habitats. help, Mr Ross said emphatically
throughout the early months have been close to the edge The Board need to identify suitable “Keep fishing!” while Dr Hawkins
of the season. High spring but any attempt at wading locations and improve connectivity urged anglers to write to politicians
üows will restrict opportunities by the angler, or groups of between the salmon life-stages (fry, as only by maintaining political
on the river9s lower beats. anglers, soon pushes them over wintering and parr) when pressure will funding continue for
Cargo, Beaumont and away and kills any hope of different habitats are needed. crucial conservation projects.
Grinsdale usually give of their sport. Strong southerly winds As for stocking, Mr Ross Read the Dee DSFB Stocking
best when levels are settled. have made ûshing the more explained that while they will use Review 2022 at riverdee.org.uk
By the time this column is read productive north shore very
early salmon are likely to have diocult throughout December
been caught in the Carlisle and and January. However, some
below areas. Odd ûsh may well large rainbows are being taken. CHRISTMAS CROSSWORD ANSWERS
have slipped further upstream. In a recent bank match, 14 ACROSS 10. Alligator, 12. Derwent, 14. Leader, 15. Annual, 16. Tummel, 17. Viva, 18. Blank,
Trout ûshing gets underway anglers caught 22 ûsh. Not 19. Nude, 20. Scare, 21. Otters, 23. Stork, 27. Current, 29. Dolphin, 32. Used, 34. Reel,
on March 15 on the Eden many ûsh but some real quality 36. Drink, 38. Naver, 39. Offer, 41. Mayfly, 44. Era, 45. Green, 46. Insets, 47. Orange,
and tributaries. Settled river with four ûsh over 4lb and the 49. Lied, 52. Idea, 54. Owners, 56. Muddler, 59. Lough, 63. Rudder, 65. Casts, 66. Bar.
conditions as well as mild best at 5lb 7oz. It is noticeable 67. Rare, 68. Fin. 69. Tan, 70. Amadou, 72. RN, 73. Sink, 74. Usk, 76. Ex, 77. Tar, 80. Croy,
weather will improve the that the ûsh taken from the 81. Islet, 83. Point, 85. Star, 88. Barbel, 90. Access, 92. St, 93. Shrimp, 97. Broads,
prospects for early spring bank are mostly gravid females 98. A.C., 99. Stop, 100. Elvers, 101. Fly
anglers. The Lowther and with little food in them. The DOWN 1. Flounder, 2. Static, 3. Cromer, 4. Adder, 5. Arc, 6. Velvet, 7. Aln, 8. Ballater,
Eamont, as well as the main bulk of the trout shoals, which 9. Tern, 10. Annan, 11. Gull, 13. Taverns, 22. Tin, 24. Roe, 25. Snake, 26. Operate,
river, often produce some high- are mainly triploid ûsh, are 28. Under, 30. Orvis, 31. Iron, 33. Damsel, 35. Afar, 37. Iceland, 38. Nairn, 40. Run,
42. Yellow, 43. Lie, 48. All, 50. To, 51. Dubbing, 53. Drummer, 55. Rise, 57. Dart, 58. Earn,
quality trout. Some can be in swimming well beyond the
60. Guide, 61. Asks, 62. Trout, 64. Route, 65. Corrib, 71. Daybreak, 75. Kit, 78. Black,
excess of 3lb with occasional bank angler, following the
79. Ink, 82. Trent, 84. Oyster, 86. Ripple, 87. Char, 88. Barb, 89. Easy, 91. Sips, 94. In,
trout even larger. In your üy- dense shoals of perch which
95. Dap, 96. Eve
box include Waterhen Bloa, are also attracting big <shoals99
Partridge and Orange, Snipe of cormorants. ■ The winner of our Christmas competition, who receives a Sage Sonic rod and
and Purple, March Brown, The water level is rising Spectrum reel, is: Mr Simon Wood, Northwich, Cheshire.

113
FISHING REPORTS ENGLAND AND WALES

very slowly. The wardens are this work and evaluate the dedicated anglers caught ûsh, Philip Lord has resigned from is on Sunday March 5. I know
still having dioculty with the impact of this and other even declaring eight or ten for the chair of the Ribble Trust many of you like to support
temporary boat pontoons. I schemes in the area, they are their season in some clubs, after 25 years and one day of this event so hopefully we9ll
hope that at least the boat submitting a bid to The Big but only by putting in hours dedicated service. Philip has see you all at Haslingden
harbour will have suocient Give for match funding. If their and hours of efort when the steadfastly guided the Trust to Cricket Club. As usual Bill
water for the start of the new bid is successful, then any conditions were right. This is what it is today, an outstanding Monk and his merry lads will
season. The lake opens for donations submitted to their what we expected; ûsh can force for conservation on the provide us with an enjoyable
ûshing on Friday March 3. website during their campaign only be caught if anglers put Ribble catchment. He has been day just before the start of a
— PETER HARTLEY. week (April 20-27) would be in the time and efort. Most replaced by Geof Cowburn, a new season.
doubled up to the value of a of the time salmon ûshing, or local angler who has ûshed our — FRED HIGHAM.
set target. I will keep readers hooking salmon, is not easy, it three rivers all of his life. We
LUNE informed of how to make takes patience and persistence, wish these lads the best of luck
THIS last winter I9ve spent quite donations, details of which skill, and experience. Some for the future; they have some RUTLAND
lot of time up the top end of should appear in the next issue anglers have tried to catch a big shoes to ûll. DUE to mild weather
the Lune and its tributaries and or can be found on the Lune salmon for years and still not If there is a ûner way to end conditions in late December
have made some interesting Rivers Trust website. landed one. It9s challenging a season, or to celebrate the and early January, there has
observations. It9s been a very As I write this report for most of the time but that9s beginning of a new one, than a been considerable üy-ûshing
good spawning season for sea- (January 9) the start of what makes it so fascinating club holding an annual dinner activity from both bank and
trout and been a little better the salmon season on the and addictive! for its members then I9ve boat. Several ûsh were caught
for salmon than in recent years. Lune is just three weeks Very cold weather arrived never heard about it. On our of the harbour arm, by bank
On January 7, as it was raining away. Although ûsh counter in early December, and catchment we have four clubs anglers, on Christmas Day! The
heavy and redd counting was details from last season are temperatures plummeted to which do this, Ribblesdale, best results have come from
out of the question due to the not available at present, -10 deg C in places. There were Whitewell, Clitheroe and the boats being ûshed from
main river and all tributaries rod catches would almost some stunningly beautiful Settle Anglers. I have been the sailing club to Normanton
being swollen and coloured, certainly indicate that the sunny days, as seen on the four very fortunate and delighted Church. Returns show 20-plus
I went up Tebay Gill with Lune salmon run is changing. river webcams showing ice this season to attend them ûsh for some, whilst other
Richard Jardine of the Lune Most salmon are now entering formed across the river against all, organising two of them returns show just a few ûsh
Rivers Trust to see the <slow- the river in May, June, July a backdrop of a brilliant blue and an invited guest at the to the boat. As always, the key
the-üow= leaky dams in action. and August and the once- sky. These severe temperatures other two. Ribblesdale and to success was ûnding small
I have to report I was most famous autumn run has now did afect the number of Whitewell were pre-Christmas shoals of ûsh.
surprised by what I saw and all but disappeared. There is members who attended their and splendid nights they The good news is that there
can report that they deûnitely without a doubt a swing to club AGMs, which most clubs were. Both dinners were well are still plenty of ûsh to be
work. When all the other becks earlier running ûsh, and this hold at this time of the year. supported by around 60 caught. New ûsh have been
üowing from the Howgills is noticeable, too in sea-trout. This is very disappointing for members, wives, and guests, ordered for February and
were running high and brown, I would strongly advise both the hard working oocers who including farmers, landowners, stocking for the 2023 season
Tebay Gill was still well inside salmon and sea-trout anglers do so much, and then have to and local gamekeepers. These will start during the middle
its banks and running peat on the Lune to get out earlier sit and look down a room with two dinners were evenings of of the month. The season
stained as opposed to clay in the season and to switch only about a dozen members excellent food, entertaining starts on Friday March 10. The
brown. What was also quite to lighter rods and smaller present. This was typical company with many laughs, calendar is already showing
encouraging was the growth üies. Without doubt, a good for Ribblesdale AA when I and plenty of drink. The signs of a very busy season.
of deep moss along its banks number of sea-trout are in the chaired my 30th AGM. It was Inn at Whitewell hosted the The prices for the boats will
which is now acting like a big river at the end of April with supported by 15 members, and Whitewell dinner and the not be increased. There will be
sponge and absorbing much good catches being made as this included the committee. I Swan and Royal in Clitheroe a small increase in the cost of
water. The only downside was far upstream as Sedbergh in know of two more associations the Ribblesdale one. Mick ûshing tickets.
the weather — the rain was May and June. Salmon are which did not fare any better. Greenhalgh was presented The water level has now
horizontal, and we couldn9t being regularly caught in the One positive to come from with the two trophies at risen very quickly, and the
have been wetter if we had Kirkby Lonsdale area from the the Ribblesdale AGM was the Whitewell for the biggest lake is now 88 per cent full
fallen in! end of May these days and I number of trout and grayling salmon and the best sea-trout, (early January). Because of the
Schemes to reduce üooding will certainly be around those the members caught. This whilst Paul Needham won very hot summer months, an
like this are, without doubt, the areas from mid-May onwards. is very encouraging, despite three of the ûve trophies at extensive margin was created
way forward. They don9t just — ANDY HURST. being a diocult season Ribblesdale9s for the best by the massive draw down
have the beneût of controlling weatherwise, with 520 brown salmon on üy, the best sea- of water. Most of the weed
peak üows and reducing the trout, the largest touching trout, and the meritorious and static aquatic life was
risk of downstream üooding,
RIBBLE AND 5lb and a few more in the 4lb award for his three salmon destroyed and so the water
they signiûcantly reduce the
HODDER range. Nice trout from the on üy on the same day. These will rise over barren land. Will
likelihood of redd washout THE declared rod catches Ribble even though we had well deserved awards were this afect the bank ûshing
and loss of juveniles. The for last season began to be weeks of very dry hot weather presented to Paul by John for 2023? The ecology of the
scheme on Tebay Gill is ûtted disclosed at the clubs9 AGMs and low üows during the trout Rawlinson, RFCA chairman. water is changing. With the
with telemetry linked to and most were similar: very season. The number of grayling There is no pleasanter way lake 100 per cent full will the
Lancaster University who in poor. The numbers declared declared was 308, well up on to chase away the blues from trout venture into the casting
turn are monitoring its impact were nowhere reüective of the past few seasons. These a bitterly cold winter9s night range of the bank? We will see.
on downstream üooding. what the Waddow ûsh counter ûsh provide excellent sport than when like-minded angling — PETER HARTLEY.
However, its impact on juvenile ûgures showed through the through winter. friends gather to meet and
salmonid stocks has yet to months, but we were still There have been a few chat. More friendships are
be measured and it will be waiting on the counts to be changes in some clubs9 formed, and old ones renewed. SEIONT, GWYRFAI
interesting to see the results provided by the Environment chairmen at these meetings as I was delighted to meet some AND LLYFNI
once the study is undertaken. Agency (EA) for November well. Dan Winstanley has been old friends again and also put A SMALL correction to last
The Lune Rivers Trust and December. The poor appointed chair of Bowland faces to names of a few more month9s report — opening day
are planning to do some catch returns can be explained Game after the sad passing of members at Whitewell. Many for trout ûshing on the rivers is
electro-ûshing in the area by the returns from a good the indomitable Brian Wells thanks for making it one very March 3, just in case someone
over the coming years and number of members in a lot earlier in the year. Up at Settle special evening for me. I look sets out on the ûrst and gets
it is anticipated they may be of cases declaring <did not Anglers it9s very likely that forward to Settle Angler9s a tap on the back, although
able to quantify the scheme9s ûsh=, or <no ûsh=, or <couldn9t Mick Carr will replace Hugh dinner in February and then there is little chance of this
impact on juvenile stocks. be bothered=. Of course, the Elvidge as their new chairman. Clitheroe Anglers in early April. happening these days.
To enable them to carry out üip side to this is that some And another big change is that The Haslingden Fly Show Riverwise, it certainly looks

114
good for the of. There has A TROUT FLY TO TRY THIS MONTH on March 22. Winter so far,
been plenty of water about,
SOUTH-WEST has seen a few very cold spells
and at the time of writing
WALES but in general, mild conditions
(January 4) all the ûelds below THE Christmas period was have prevailed. This may have
Penllyn down to Cwm y Glo largely unsettled as regards helped the brown trout to
are under a few feet of water to weather. River levels were regain better condition for
and the long range forecast at a good height for travelling the early weeks of the season.
indicates no let-up in the salmon to migrate to the Greenwell9s Glory, March
south-westerlies which means spawning grounds. Most Brown, Snipe and Purple, Blue
plenty of rain for us in this sea-trout will have already Dun, Black Spider, Partridge
corner of the country. completed the business and and Orange and Partridge
All the current wet weather will have beneûted from and Yellow are popular early
has been a blessing for excellent spawning conditions spring üies.
spawning ûsh, with access with the recent cold snap. Northumbrian Water9s
being gained to the uppermost As I write (January 9), river Grassholme and Hury
parts of all three rivers. A look levels are very high after a reservoirs will be in full swing
over Penllyn bridges conûrms prolonged period of heavy in early March. Cat9s Whisker,
excellent upriver spawning rain. Hopefully, redd damage Dawson9s Olive, black Fritz,
activity, mainly sea-trout and CLARET BUMBLE doesn9t occur! Kate McLaren, Bibio, Black
browns. The disappointment One item of concern is Pennell and Black and Peacock
is that there are only very few Hook Size 8 Fulling Mill Short Shank Special that although the ground is Spider are likely üies to take
large salmon redds to be seen. Silk Red or black Tail Golden pheasant tippets sodden, farmers still appear early ûsh.
The only ûshery work Body Claret seal’s fur Body hackles Paired cock hellbent on spreading slurry, The wild brown trout waters
carried out over the last few — claret and black Legs Two pairs knotted pheasant in copious amounts! Recently, — Balderhead, Blackton,
months has been the arctic tail Rib Fine oval gold Collar hackle Blue jay intense slurry spreading has Cow Green and Selset — all
charr scheme, in which ova taken place ûve miles down re-open on March 22. Early
was collected from Afon y the valley from my home. The season tactics include a slow
Bala by Natural Resources stench was unbearable, and retrieve. Allowing üies to drift
Wales (NRW) staf during and Llanrug village. The sad ûnd a means of covering the one must assume that a large on the breeze often pays of.
early December, some of thing about all this is that it9s open pass with a net to reduce amount of this bi-product is As water temperatures rise,
which were transferred to being allowed to carry on this happening this year. washed into the river systems. trout can come to a dibbled üy
the club hatchery at Crawia. and will obviously get worse I have been doing It really is rather frustrating. and to a slightly faster retrieve.
These will be later transferred as house building continues some research on the That said, I do have some Trout can be keen to take a
to Waunfawr Primary School at an accelerated pace with returning salmon through sympathy with farmers, üy, especially if the weather
as part of the educational no attention being given to the Severn estuary and I considering at present there is is mild. Midge hatches often
programme run by NRW and increase the waste capacity. have seen photographic little else they can do with this get ûsh feeding at or near the
North Wales Rivers Trust. Unfortunately, these days it evidence of numbers of waste. I would however like to surface from the opening of
School pupils will look after the seems that pollution and harm seals not only feeding on think that it could be discarded the season, with small black
ova through to the hatching to our waterways is now the the returning salmon but in a more responsible manner... imitations a must. Sheltered
stage. The resulting fry will accepted norm. taking sea lampreys and eels. I9m sure you will all agree! areas can often produce
later in the year be released Llyn y Dywarchen stocking Unfortunately, this is nature Please be vigilant on some interesting sport.
into Llyn Padarn. policy will remain as 2022, at its best, but the seals are incidents of pollution along When there is a warmer wind,
Following on from last with our supplier being also feeding on the big spring our waterways and be sure trout may take well just
month where I touched upon Trawsfynydd Hatchery. There salmon and on other runs to support Natural Resources under the surface.
my request for information will be supplemental stocking throughout the year. It is now Wales in tackling these by One word of warning, March
regarding storm overüow with larger browns and important that our regulators calling the hotline number on and April can bring very wintry
frequencies on several sewage rainbows from the club9s own make it a priority to do some 03000 653000. conditions to the Teesdale
treatment works on the Seiont hatchery. Following the success research on predation in the — NATHAN PURSALL. wild reservoirs. A check on
catchment, it was pointed out of the T&S Troutmasters Severn estuary, as well as the weather forecast is a must
that as Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Challenge, there have has looking at ûsh-eating bird before travelling. Given mild
Water is not a public company been considerable interest in predation in the upper reaches TEES weather, the early weeks of
there was no obligation to Dywarchen taking part. of the river. FISH runs continue to show the season can produce some
supply details. However, and —HP HUGHES. The number of anglers low numbers with 264 counted good sport.
with many thanks to the ûshing for salmon in the River through the Barrage in 2022. — DNC.
company, they did give me Severn and its tributaries 47 migratory ûsh ran through
the following information
SEVERN continues to decrease year during October and November
— Llanberis STW, which AS I write my latest report on year, which is skewing the (ûgures courtesy of the
TILL
discharges into Llyn Padarn — (January 8), the River Severn way our regulators make wild Environment Agency). WINTRY weather held a
113 discharges were recorded and its tributaries are in üood guesses of the numbers of Tees anglers continue to tight grip on the Till in mid-
running for a total of 673 and the new season will returning salmon. I am hoping be very concerned about December. Grayling ûshers
hours. This is probably what have started. that over the coming season the continued plundering of had some decent conditions
makes the swimming so good! Further to my last month9s I will hear of more anglers salmon and sea-trout by seals at times. Weighted nymphs
On the Afon Rhythallt, which report, I have had it on good returning to, or taking up, this below the Tees Barrage. ûshed upstream appeared to
is half a mile below Padarn, the authority that salmon have sport and more salmon being River levels have been be the best approach.
Penisarwaun works discharged already spawned in the upper caught and reported. unsettled during the close By the time this report is
113 times for a total of 587.5 reaches of the Severn and I am very interested in season, which limited grayling read, there are likely to be
hours. On the mid and lower on the River Teme. Fingers having conversations with ûshing opportunities for the odd pockets of sea-trout in
Seiont the cumulative total crossed for a good smolt salmon stakeholders on the üy angler. As usual, when the good holding areas of the
of the overüow discharges return later this year. During river so that I can provide conditions were favourable, lower river. The Till usually
for both the Llanrug and last year9s smolt run, seagulls up-to-date information of some good grayling were receives early running sea-
Caernarfon works was 210 were having a ûeld day picking the catches in the Severn caught and released. trout, slipping into the river9s
times for 2,899 hours. of the ûsh as they travelled system. I can be contacted at Any keen salmon rods out lower beats during March.
I9m often asked what the down through Diglis ûsh pass. [email protected]. in the early months, will be on These ûsh can be the cream of
awful smell is that often I will be suggesting to the Tight lines for 2023. the lower to mid beats. the spring runs. They are often
wafts about Caernarfon town Environment Agency that they — GLYN MARSHALL. Brown trout ûshing opens ûsh between 3lb and 5lb-plus.

115
FISHING REPORTS SCOTLAND

In recent seasons a few out much of the ûshing on the number one salmon river? One theory this year is that it One angler, who certainly
more salmon have pushed in main river. The spring ûshing continues should be a good return due deserves a mention, is long
during the late spring with The North Tyne is not an to see very little action above to the smolts making it out in retired Hugh Barugh. Hugh had
odd ones caught. Bladed easy river to wade, and the Riding Mill Fish Pass until late 2020 and not being hoovered some ûne late season action
spinning baits such as Mepps present releases often make it April or May. Bywell or Styford up due to Covid restrictions. on Tyneside Anglers Syndicate
are popular ûsh-takers in the dangerous to wade. As anglers beats produce early season It was also a good salmon waters, accounting for salmon
colder spring waters. Gold often say, it is either a feast or sport with ûsh held back at return — one of the best I can of 8lb, 9lb, 8lb 8oz and 7lb 8oz,
blades often outûsh silver a famine as far as North Tyne Riding Mill. Anglers out from remember. Muti-sea-winter all released, as well as sea-
ones, especially if there is a levels are concerned. With opening day will be looking to ûsh, for which the Ure is well trout of 7lb 8oz and two at 6lb
peat stain present. a move to üy-ûshing being the pools in the Merryshields, known, should be on their 8oz. All but one was caught on
Anglers looking for access encouraged, the heavy üows Ovingham and Hagg Bank and way back now. Let us pray that üy, and it was a ûtting end to
to ûsh the river can do so on with releases in the mid-teens Wylam areas. Given a settled river temperature and levels a season where ill health kept
the following private beats: of cumecs make üy-ûshing and river then Wylam Bridge Pool are kind and allow ûsh into the him away from the riverbanks
Tiptoe Farm, contact 07974 wading almost impossible. is likely to produce early ûsh, system during February and for long periods.
416692; Ford and Etal Estates The other main concern is seals permitting! March giving anglers a chance Beats below and around
which have Redscar, Ford beat, the lack of water given when Tyneside Anglers Syndicate early on. Durham ofer the best chances
Upper and Lower Tindal House smolts are leaving the river. beats at Wylam and at Bywell — PHILIP ELLIS. of early spring ûsh. In recent
beats available, contact 01668 This crucial time in May and Quarry, Merryshields can also seasons odd ûsh have been
216223. early June often sees a token produce early spring salmon caught and seen in these
Felling Fly Fishers has gesture by the Environment when levels are not too high.
USK early months. Last year, a
ûshing on the lower and mid Agency when it gives a release The North and South Tyne THE cold snap which began very early ûsh was caught in
Till, contact 0191 416 2641. over a couple of days. Instead beats are likely to receive odd in late November continued the Durham area.
The Northumbrian Anglers of bombing the river with huge spring ûsh from late April to right through the ûrst half Grayling ûshing has been
Federation also has ûshing on releases, surely a properly early May given sensible river of December, resulting in a conûned to the odd occasions
the river. Visit northumbrian- controlled regime would be levels for the ûsh to get above window of opportunity for when the river had settled
angler.co.uk for details more beneûcial — a constant Riding Mill. salmon to spawn. When the after persistent high waters.
Peter Ross, Silver Stoat9s release of say 7 to 9 cumecs Fly box favourites include cold weather came to an Wild brown trout ûshing
Tail, Black Pennell, Teal, Blue over a longer period instead of Toucan, Garry Dog, Willie abrupt end, there was a spell opens on March 22, when
and Silver, JR Special and 16.8 and even greater. Gunn, Posh Tosh, Ally9s of mild, wet weather which enthusiasts will be out trying
Dunkeld are popular sea-trout The predation that goes Shrimp, Cascade Shrimp and eventually caused the river to for some early sport. Spider
patterns. For the odd spring on during the long periods of Park Shrimp. Sizes will vary üood signiûcantly on January patterns such as Greenwell
salmon try Silver Stoat9s Tail, low water is very annoying from around 3in down to 4. There was plenty of water Spider, March Brown, Snipe
Garry Dog, Willie Gunn, and and is exacerbated by the lack around 1.5in. Sinking-tips and across the ûelds downstream and Purple, Partridge and
Ally9s Shrimp. of releases, when they are so intermediate lines will be the from Usk town and minor Orange, Waterhen Bloa and
— DAVID CARRICK. desperately needed to help order of the day on most beats. roads were blocked. the Black Spider are successful
smolts out of the river. The brown trout ûshing gets A life-size painting of the patterns. Weighted nymphs
The Kielder releases regime underway on March 22 with 68lb salmon which was netted such as PTN and GRHE are
TYNE is simply not giving salmon and the river üy-only until June 1 at Llantrissent in 1782 has been efective in sizes 14 and 12,
THE total run of migratory sea-trout the conditions they when bait ûshing is allowed. unearthed in the storeroom ûshed on the point.
ûsh for the Tyne in 2022 require for survival. Many are The River Rede ofers good at Abergavenny Museum. It is The Willington AC stretches
was just under 29,000 up to trapped for weeks in the lower brown trout ûshing with some hoped that a transfer can be still have good stocks, mainly
and including the month of river and tidal pools, falling foul sizeable ûsh. They often feed arranged, so that the painting due to the fact that they have
November (data courtesy of of cormorants, goosanders, well in the spring months with can be displayed in the Usk stocked with trout for decades.
the Environment Agency). and gulls. The priority appears North Country Spider patterns Rural Life Museum. In recent seasons some superb
River levels on the main to be to keep Kielder Water as efective. The most productive Anglers are reminded ûsh have been caught and
Tyne at Bywell were up and a pristine boating lake at the times are between 11am and that all conûrmed poaching released here.
down throughout December. expense of the river9s salmon 3pm. Even the canal-like areas incidents should be reported Tunstall Fly Fishers operate
Spates up to 10ft were and sea-trout. of the Rede have enough üow on the Natural Resources a regularly stocked ûshery with
recorded. The past few seasons There has been an for a team of üies to cover Wales 24-hour number 03000 boat hire at the picturesque
have seen anglers struggling increasing presence of seals in the lies of the ûsh. Caddis 653000. The same applies for Tunstall Reservoir. There may
with high üows as Kielder the lower river for several years and snail are high on the diet pollution incidents. be vacancies for the 2023
releases have kept levels well and the problem is getting of Rede trout from March season. Contact Austin Lowery
above a foot and for many worse. Seals have moved up to May. Greenwell Spider, PROSPECTS FOR MARCH on 07825 951525 for details.
weeks approaching 2ft. It is the 18 mile-long tideway from March Brown, Blue Dun, Snipe THE trout and salmon seasons Anglers looking for ûshing
extremely rare that we see a the sea to feed on incoming and Purple, Waterhen Bloa, both open on March 3. The access to the River Wear
natural river üow during the salmon and also outgoing Peacock Spiders with a soft sea-trout season begins should visit the following:
early weeks of the season. kelts. They have been seen brown or black hackle in sizes on March 20. For salmon it Bishop Auckland AC,
Last month, I highlighted as far upstream as Corbridge. 12 and 14 all take ûsh. Pheasant remains fly-only and barbless bishopaucklandanglingclub.
the extremely high releases This goes on all season on the Tail Nymph, Greenwell Nymph, hooks, with compulsory com; Chester-le-Street AC,
made which certainly do not lower river. What, if anything March Brown Nymph, Hare9s catch-and-release. For brown chesterlestreetangling.
help spawning ûsh. The Kielder is being done to protect the Ear, and Gold-ribbed Hare9s Ear trout try Dark Olives and org.uk; Durham City
Operating agreement adopts ûsh or the anglers who try to can also be very efective. A March Brown nymphs. Sea- AC; durhamanglers.
a principle of maintaining catch ûsh in these lower river gold-head ûshed on the point trout are rarely caught in the co.uk; Felling Fly Fishers,
river üows in as near natural areas? Catches have dwindled can be an efective method to early part of the season. fellingüyûshers.co.uk;
conditions as possible. This is since the seals arrived as the present the üies deeper — JEAN WILLIAMS. Tyneside Anglers Syndicate,
designed for the overall beneût ûsh are unable to settle in — DAVID CARRICK. tynesideanglerssyndicate.
of the river, including all the pools, especially in the Wylam wordpress.com; Willington
life stages of ûsh and other area. In Scotland on the Dee,
WEAR DAC, contact 07766 171318.
wildlife. What actually occurs, they have used jet skis to move URE THE 2022 season saw — DAVID CARRICK.
is far from this. Spring river them away from the salmon. THE River Ure opens for another disappointing run of
levels are also often excessively Acoustic devices have been a salmon ûshing as of April 6, migratory ûsh which totalled
high, mainly due to Kielder total failure where they have 2023. Hopes are higher this 8,648 (ûgures courtesy of the
WYE
releases. A more consistent been used. The question is season after two very lean Environment Agency). This is WELL, the cold spell before
level would help, instead of the are we just going to ignore years due to absolutely no well below the expected run Christmas soon disappeared.
high releases which can wash this problem on England9s water for months on end. for the river. With the colder temperatures

116
there was the possibility of A TROUT FLY TO TRY THIS MONTH February 2, on the north side spawning period will go down
salmon spawning really getting of the river, looking towards as a case of what might have
underway. However, the Balmoral Castle. I think of all been. After a promising period
situation changed overnight the sitting by log burners in in early November, where a
to be replaced by relentless cosy huts nursing a wee good head of ûsh was seen in
periods of rain, similar to that dram — before drink-driving the system, the devastating
in many parts of the country, laws meant even one such üoods appeared and
which would do the salmon tipple is out of the question scuppered things for those ûsh
hoping to spawn no favours — and exchanging tales still to spawn. Fish were moved
whatsoever. The main river which grew taller as the ûsh out of their destined areas, and
and its major tributaries, the grew larger. it took a while before spawning
Ithon, Irfon, and Arrow were in I was comforted to hear activity recommenced due to
almost continuous spate and from Ian Murray that I am not the heavy üows. The scoured,
prospects of any spawning in alone in this inclination to cleaned gravel then made for
these major tributaries must reminisce. Ian recalls being diocult viewing to ascertain
have been in serious doubt. on the river on the last day of a true picture of events but
Salmon always seem to face January, with an axe, to clear I9m pretty sure it would been
a threat from one quarter or ice from a favourite spot for improved on the previous few
another but they are one of
SPANTHRAX BUZZER the following day. Then there year9s counts.
the most resilient species and Hook Size 8-14 Hayabusa 387 were the days when the whole The new year arrived, and
we can only hope they found Body Spanflex ribbed in open turns — colour of system was under deep snow the weather pattern over
refuge in the headwaters choice Wing buds Spanflex — colour of choice and inaccessible — and there the ûrst few days continued
or smaller tributaries. Not Thorax Spanflex (as body) with teardrop of Hard were days of cruel grue. Happy to üuctuate between rain
surprisingly, I have had no As Nails varnish infused with red ink memories of four ûsh to his and frosty conditions. A few
reports of salmon seen own rod one opening day in anglers were seen out on the
spawning so we can only guess the late seventies more than river walking of the remnants
what the situation might really compensate for less fond of their new year celebrations.
be. With unusually high winter full swing — or <in swing= at works. This must be made recollections. It was just a pity the season
temperatures this too may be a least! I hope by opening day many times worse by every However, enough of the was still a month or so away
serious problem for them. (February 1) it has warmed up indication that such events are past. We must now turn from opening as the water
Elsewhere, various a wee bit. going to become much more our minds to the future. We was running at a great height
campaigns go on to try and Since I wrote my last commonplace! don9t want the next three for angling. If spring ûsh have
get some action on pollution, column, we9ve had snow and Flooding and the ensuing weeks to be too mild — it already entered the system,
much of which is coming from night-time temperatures way bank erosion are just one of suits best to have snow on they could easily be in the
the farming fraternity, and yet I below freezing which remained many problems with which the westernmost hills to middle reaches or further
see that farmers are to receive in minus values during some owners have to contend. Lower thaw gently through spring. upstream come February 11.
yet further grants from the days. As night follows day, so beats face seal incursion with That said, we do need the I9m told a good layer of
Government, more millions impacted snow has turned to the obvious impact these have water temperature to be high newly-fallen snow is present
to improve natural diversity, ice. I walked through a local on ûsh entering the system enough to tempt springers to on the upper hills again so
so we are told. Well, call me hotel9s car park yesterday to or lingering in lower beats enter the system! We salmon there will be no shortage of
a cynic — although some of get a view of the river and it when they do. Not for the ûrst ûshers are a contrary bunch! I water over the coming weeks
them might put that money to was more akin to an ice rink time, I wonder why predators have already booked my usual till the river opens.
good use, the rest… than anything else. February like seals are protected while week in May and another in Last February produced
I see too that there is now ûshers will have to be extra salmon are not. However, I June on my beloved Dee. I will a few spring ûsh, most of
a proposal to grow duckweed careful on banks which believe the Board has applied invite my band of dear friends the ADAA beats and it9s
on cattle waste in the hope sunshine never reaches at this for a seal control licence and we will ûsh in hope and hopeful this year will produce
this will leach some of the time of year — and wading this season. Let9s hope the expectation. Above all else, we the same. The David Paton
undesirable elements from will be less than pleasant application is successful and will enjoy the camaraderie — Trophy will be awarded to the
the manure. The plan is then without the beneût of the Board can get on top of at and the bonus of any ûsh with successful angler who lands
to still spread it on land. thermal underwear! least one problem. That done, which any one of us connects! the ûrst fresh ûsh of the new
Although duckweed is mainly However, time to think a we9ll still have to contend with — POLMONIER. season. The 2022 winner
a stillwater weed it could badly bit more positively. I am told mergansers and goosanders was Raymond Thomson who
afect small ponds, lakes and that Park gillie, Keith Cromar, gobbling up our juvenile ûsh. landed an 11lb salmon of the
stillwater ûsheries if it gets saw the largest number of One of my correspondents ABERDEENSHIRE ADAA waters at Parkhill on the
leached in. As for the rivers, dead kelts on the beat during argues that the eternal DON 18th. It was also Raymond9s
who knows? Yet another step December than he had presence of these does much RIVER levels ûnally fell back ûrst-ever fresh ûsh having
in the dark. witnessed in the last decade. to reinforce the case for a in mid-December to allow the previously only managed
However, we still all look The later spawning in the hatchery as insurance against remaining redd count surveys kelts. Raymond will collect the
forward to the new season but Lower Dee — usually around redds being washed out and to be completed across the trophy and a bottle of malt
one has to say expectations the second week of December stocks being decimated by the catchment. A period of late at the 2023 River Opening
are not great when you take as — might have been particularly various pests. Regular readers activity was observed with Ceremony organised by the
a whole what is going on. We advantageous as the unusually will be fully aware of my fresh cut redds found on the Inverurie AA on February 11.
shall wait and see. high water of November 17-19 position on the subject, so gravel stretches of the lower Best wishes to all anglers
— GEOFF FRANKS. would have impacted much I9ll not bore by repeating it river, but the middle and upper visiting the Don for the season
less on redds here than in the — yet again! reaches were complete with ahead, any news, catches, or
upper river. To close, I ûnd a fast- no further redds. It was just photos are always welcome.
Scotland The aforementioned üood
wreaked havoc on access
approaching new season
makes me nostalgic for those
as well as the river rose again
on the 19th, an increase in
Please forward onto martin@
riverdon.org
roads on some beats so there long past. I think of all the air temperature to 12 deg C — MARTIN WEBSTER.
ABERDEENSHIRE was a lot of work going on to friends no longer with me to caused a sudden thaw of snow
DEE get these repaired in time for share the excitement of that on the hills and mountains.
BY the time readers are opening. I really feel for those ûrst cast. I think of all the ûsh Levels were again pushed over
ALNESS
settling down to read this issue owners who are having to taken when folk told me I was the banks but thankfully it ALNESS AC members9 catch
of the magazine, the 2023 spend so much time, efort — wasting my time — the earliest peaked around 4ft and caused returns for 2022 have now
season on the Dee will be in and money — on such remedial <springer= I caught was on no further damage. Overall, the been ûnalised. The totals were

117
FISHING REPORTS SCOTLAND

73 salmon and 43 sea-trout but the 4ft rotary screw trap A SALMON FLY TO TRY THIS MONTH power in comparison to wind
with all ûsh returned. These got damaged in a spate so turbines, with the Dam having
are signiûcant increases on only the trial box trapping on üooded spawning ground and
2021 when 47 salmon and the Farrar went ahead. Overall impacting on ûsh passage.=
25 sea-trout were caught. üow mitigation was successful, The minutes state that the
The catches are all the more and the Board continues to Board Chairman <discussed
pleasing as the water levels for build on its smolt monitoring the matter with the Board
most of the year were far from capability. For 2023 SSE is and the concerns raised and
optimal, especially in the last providing a 6ft rotary screw the Board agreed that this
couple of weeks of the season trap which is intended to be matter was out with the scope
which are traditionally proliûc. employed a few kilometres of the Fishery Board as they
The 100 per cent catch-and- above the Aigas dam. are existing structures. The
release rate is impressive and The Board has commenced Board agreed the matter
demonstrates the continuing <ûsh habitat walkovers= to had been considered but it
keenness of club members to begin to assess ûsh habitat in was not to be considered
support eforts to protect the relation to the hydro dams in any further.= This underlines
stocks in the river. the catchment and it aims to BLACKO’S DEE SPECIAL a fundamental reluctance to
The Alness opens on continue this work in 2023; tackle the problems caused
February 11. As this is a such dams are likely to prevent Hooks Size 6-14; plastic tubes to 1½in by the hydro infrastructure
Saturday, the club is aiming the natural downstream Thread Black Tag Silver wire Tail Yellow on the Conon for fear of
for a slightly bigger ceremony dispersal of gravels. bucktail with three strands of yellow Flashabou, jeopardising the considerable
than usual. There will be a On the ûsh survey front, black bucktail with one strand of black Mirror Flash annual funding provided the
piped procession and blessing in the summer the Board over Rib Silver wire Body Opal Mirage tinsel hydro company. Surely at a
of the river with refreshments looked at the coastal burns Throat Dyed-blue grey squirrel Wing Yellow time of a wild salmon crisis it
including some oferings from in the catchment and ûlled bucktail with black bucktail over is opportune to re-evaluate
the local distillery, as well a in a few data gaps. The 2022 Horns Kingfisher-blue Flashabou priorities — not least whether
session on casting with David electroûshing data is still Hackle Black saddle the commercial interests of the
Mateer from Inverness. The being analysed. Together Cheeks Dyed-light blue jungle cock hydro company should always
club will allow anyone, member with the Lower Beauly Head Blue metal cone take precedence? The elephant
or not, to ûsh that day. Syndicate gillies the Board in the room can no longer
— ANDREW GRAHAM- also took part in the National be ignored.
STEWART. Adult Sampling Project. Incidentally, some 20 years
There is concern about occupants got out safely. The browns or large dark olives, ago, whilst researching my
illegal <Rib activity= in the River Wardens could only on the surface, or their book, I was told by the Conon
BEAULY Beauly Firth and the bailifs watch and predict that the nymphs near the riverbed. Board9s oocers that they
THE Beauly District Salmon aim to work with the Marine salmon kelts, from earlier — TOM MCGREGOR. would only furnish information
Fishery Board held its annual Scotland compliance rib in spawning activities, will have on the understanding that I
public meeting on December 2023 to gather more evidence. been helped on their journeys made no criticism of the hydro
8. As regards the 2022 rod The Board is encouraging back to the sea. The spates
CONON regime — such was the degree
catch total for the system landowners in the upper should have swept away the WHEN the ûsh were removed of sensitivity and the extent of
as a whole, this is still being catchment to plant riparian accumulation of silt that had in November from the trap at the reliance on hydro cash. It
collated but the initial ûgures trees; it is working with built up during the summer the Heck on the Blackwater seems that little has changed.
indicate that it will be above Braulen estate and Trees drought. Nobody was ûshing. tributary for stripping for — ANDREW GRAHAM-
the ûve-year average. for Life and Riverwoods to At the time of writing the hatchery (part of the STEWART.
Provisional upstream ûsh apply for Forestry Grant (January 4), United Clyde ongoing mitigation for the
counts through the dams for scheme funding. Angling Protective Association loss of spawning habitat due
2022 are as follows. Kilmorack — ANDREW GRAHAM- (UCAPA) are preparing for to the hydro), only some 400 FINDHORN
— 4,013, compared to 3,075 STEWART. their Migratory Fishing Permits were procured — the lowest FORRES AA held its 110th AGM
(the period from August 4-11 to go on sale, online, possibly number on record. In 2021 on November 14. As usual there
is missing) in 2021, 3,374 in on January 30. They are also the total was 861, from which was a good turn out and Andy
2020 and 2,329 in 2019. Aigas
CLYDE trying to work out what form <just under= one million eggs Hutchinson got the evening
— 3,432, compared to 2,896 in FROM the date of my last their salmon season opening were obtained. The target is 1.2 of to a great start with one of
2021, 2,864 in 2020 and 1,723 report, freezing conditions ceremony might take on million eggs, so with only 400 his legendary poems. The club
in 2019. Beannacharan (Farrar) were dominating the whole February 11. ûsh available, the number of business was swiftly completed
— 256, compared to 123 in of the Clyde catchment. eggs stripped will be way of before all present were treated
2021 and 144 in 2020. I must Discouraging ûlms and PROSPECTS FOR MARCH the target. to some excellent catering
stress that these are provisional photographs showed ice üows IN theory, this should be The negative impact of the from Audrey McIntosh.
and are likely to be slightly being swept downstream the last month during which comprehensive harnessing of The club agreed once
above the usual reported between sheets of ice clinging grayling can be fished for. the Conon for hydro-electric again to 15 out of area season
unvalidated ûgures. New more to the banks on both sides of Anglers had been hoping generation is a perennial issue permits being made available;
accurate AI counters are due the river. This persisted almost for freezing conditions, but for the river9s salmon numbers. by the time this issue of T&S
to be installed at Kilmorack without respite. When it was they were far from happy Mitigating measures are really is published, the draw will
and Aigas in 2023 and at not freezing, it was snowing. when their wishes were a sticking plaster. Indeed, have been made and the
Beannacharan in 2024. Just before the end of 2022, granted. Hopefully, the the low number of salmon fortunate winners will have
The Board continues to heavy rain hit the snow and UCAPA’s salmon permits caught in the Heck in late 2022 been informed.
carry out smolt monitoring ice sending the River Clyde, went on sale at the end of reinforces concerns about The club recorded 266
work to inform SSE about and its tributaries, up to January. Because the Clyde the impact of hydro raised at salmon and grilse and 91
üows for better smolt survival spate levels. has been obliged to go total the Cromarty Firth Salmon sea-trout for 2022; given how
at the Aigas and Kilmorack The previous pictures were catch-and-release, it will be Fishery Board meeting in desperately low the water was
dams. In 2022 the aim was to replaced by scenes of üooded interesting to see if they were March in a written submission for much of the season, this
monitor smolt run timing on roads between Abington all sold out. by Board member and land represents a decent return.
both arms of the Beauly (4ft and Thankerton. Some of the No salmon will be present agent Peter Graham (who The river opening will take
rotary screw trap at the top of sights included üoating cars until May or June. In the sits on several Boards). He place on February 11 and the
the River Glass and trial box being swept along normally meantime, brown trout referred to <the Meig Dam club9s opening ceremony will
trapping on the River Farrar) busy roads. Presumably, their should be feasting on March and its eociency at producing be held at the Stoney pool

118
 NORTH OF ENGLAND'S LARGEST GUN AND TACKLE STORE SECONDHAND TACKLE
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&3HUIHFW̏(XQLFKVLQJOH
check with 4 clasps very rare .......£750
&3HUIHFW̐5HHOZLWKHQDPHO
ðQLVKDQGDOOR\IRRW .......................£295
&3HUIHFW̐0.,UDUH(XQLFK
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%9LVLRQ&XVWRP
*3SF
incl tube .........................................£499
SPEY SERIES EXPEDITION SERIES 6 PC Powerlite Sal & Sea Trout Special 10' #7 3pc £674.40 άϯϵϵ͘ϬϬ A9699 Sharpes of Aberdeen Plus 3
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4pc salmon ....................................£299
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impregnated dark cane .................£225
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black incl s/spool boxed ....................£695
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C9521 McGinn the Highlander 14'#11
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Z WITH ZIP STOCKING STOCKING FOOT STOCKING FOOT WADING JACKET JACKET TACTICAL JACKET incl s/spool boxed ..............................£325 &+DUG\1R9LFWRU
6WHHO
RRP £419.00 FOOT WADER WITH ZIP GUN METAL RRP £649.00 RRP £449.00 RRP £499.00 A9581 Guideline Faria LHW #6/8 Grey centre Palakona .............................£225
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3DODNRQD
STOCKING FREESTONE B9637 Lamson Velocity No.3 #7/8 Reel Spinning Rod .................................£275
GORTEX FOOT TORAY incl case .................................................£99 C9661 The JS Sharpe Scottie
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VSLQ ...................£225
C9663 Hardy Palakona The Gold
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A9702 Abel No3 N Big Game Super Medal 'Deluxe 9' #5/6....................£275
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A9683 St. George Junior RHWN No.22
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original makers box ........................ £200
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C9300 Viscount 150 Fly Reel............ £85
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C9553 Zenith Wide incl s/spool ........£275 incl case boxed unused .....................£499
FISHING REPORTS SCOTLAND

at 1pm; members are looking pike taken on the üy. Angler seen venturing cautiously out given the conditions, during
forward to events (such as the
HELMSDALE visits to the Lake are at their to Loch Lomond. To spend a this period to ascertain redd
opening) being back normal THE very cold spell that began minimum in early January — day back on the great loch in numbers were fruitless.
after Covid. around December 7 lasted until as warmer temperatures spectacular winter surrounds As mentioned in the
— ANDREW GRAHAM- the New Year. Whilst much are awaited. of snow-capped mountains, previous issue, the Board
STEWART. milder weather prevailed at The main season at the can be a memorable preface has drawn up a summary of
the start of January, it was Lake commences on March to the season for any of the known catchment barriers to
not until the 7th (the time of 18. A variety of tactics will <Lomond Faithful=. migration (and thus access
FORTH writing) that the considerable greet the ûsh at this time — Our ûnal catch numbers had to spawning areas) that may
THE salmon season doesn9t build-up of ice in the system depending on weather. Last been held back at the time of need attention and/or should
open until February 1 here in ûnally cleared. year buzzer ûshing started at writing (January 5), owing to a be closely monitored. They
the Forth but the ûsheries that The river opens on January the end of March when water minority of anglers who have include the following —
do open are starting to gear 11 and those taking advantage temperatures increased by 5.5 not yet sent their returns in. Cawdor Burn and ûsh pass:
up in anticipation. Fisheries on of the early season free ûshing deg C to 11 deg C in a week. At But an overview of the ûgures thought to be fully passable
the Teith, Almond and Leven will certainly ûnd the river this time of year overwintered counted to date indicate that and should be checked
all open on February 1 with open and ice-free. That said, resident ûsh predominate in our salmon catch for 2021 of regularly for debris.
the remaining rivers opening an excess of water may be a the catches. More information 340 ûsh was slightly increased Mid Lairgs Burn: bridge
on March 15 in line with the problem as Badanloch is brim- on the website at menteith- to 357 in 2022. The sea-trout probably impassable due to
trout season. full; the forecast is for some ûsheries.co.uk. total for 2021 which was both the concrete apron and
Season permits for the heavy rain, none of which will — QUINT GLEN. almost 1,100 ûsh, increased the shallow culverts. Relatively
various ûsheries around the be held back by the loch. to 1,400 ûsh last season. So, limited habitat available
Forth are available via Fishing December9s low in these challenging times for upstream in this small tributary
Around The Forth. For more temperatures slowed the
LOMOND AND game angling, there is likely to of the burn. A more serious
information check out the development of eggs in the
LEVEN be a degree of relief at these natural barrier to migration
website at ûshforth.org hatchery; they are now likely A WALK along the River Leven improved ûgures. is on the mainstem of the
— JONATHAN LOUIS. to hatch in mid-February with in early January conûrmed that The ûnal count including burn nearby.
planting out of fry in April. the December deluges had the aggregation of these Loch a Clachain weir:
— ANDREW GRAHAM- had their undesirable efect. ûsh numbers spread across probably only passable in
HALLADALE STEWART. The river was over the riverside the association9s ûshings in high üow conditions, could be
DECEMBER in the far north towpath in places owing to the Loch Lomond, River Leven, improved signiûcantly. Debris
was unseasonably cold and high levels of Loch Lomond. River Endrick, River Fruin, above weir notch also needs
much of the river was frozen
KYLE OF There are signiûcant spawning and the Clyde Estuary should to be removed. Salmon habitat
over on a few occasions. It
SUTHERLAND redds above the tidal waters be available for the angling above limited.
was also very wet and there THE provisional total salmon of the Leven, so the timing of associations forthcoming AGM, Scottish Water9s Loch
were some major spates catch for 2022 for the Kyle of these winter üoods is always date still to be conûrmed. Duntelchaig weir and ûsh
including one of 6ft or so Sutherland District as a whole a worry. So, although a few Initial enquiries about pass. Should be fully passable.
in mid-December. By early is 2,093 — approximately snowdrops were peeking permits or LLAIA membership Limited salmon spawning
January mild conditions two thirds of what might be above the ground, there was a can be made on 0141 353 habitat in loch tributaries
dominated. The river opens expected in a <normal= year sense of foreboding along the 5004 or email secretary@ above. May be afected by lack
on January 12 but there will be with average spring and riverbank as the white üecked lochlomondangling.com of ûsh pass downstream at
little angling efort before the summer rainfall. torrent rushed down towards — DICK DICKSON. Loch a Clachain.
latter part of March. The total breaks down thus the Clyde estuary. Livestock fence (probably
In the next two months — Carron 516 (the river was Within the Lomond impassable) spanning the
more tree planting in the desperately low for much of catchment our principal
NAIRN Farnack tributary circa one
upper reaches is scheduled, the productive season), Oykel spawning grounds are on NAIRN AA9s AGM on mile above Farr village. The
particularly on some of the 955, Cassley 271, Shin 300 and the River Endrick and on December 13 was not well fence base does not move as
side burns in those areas where the tidal Kyle 51 (very poor December 30 a BBC news attended, probably due to the the water is too shallow and
deer fencing is already in place. given the lack of üow coming bulletin reported that this poor weather. Permit prices the spacing of the bars far too
The planting will include willow down the rivers). Lomond tributary river had next year are unchanged, but small (no gap for ûsh access),
whips taken from elsewhere in The Oykel again fared üooded over its banks within members will be asked to carry acting as a gridded ûsh fence
the catchment. the best, partly due to the salmon-protected SAC a photograph along with their for migrating spawning adults!
On the wind farm front, more regular small rises (its Endrick valley. Once again this permits when they ûsh, to aid — ANDREW GRAHAM-
two developments, with headwaters are way to the was not good news from a identiûcation by the bailifs. STEWART.
the potential to impact west and include the rain- winter spawning perspective. The proposed Centenary
the Halladale and its ûsh attracting Ben More Assynt) in But despite this it is dinner will be in June 2023.
populations, are currently in comparison to the other rivers. expected that on Saturday, Members were pleased to
NESS
the pipeline. The 11-turbine — ANDREW GRAHAM- February 11 there will be note that David Johnstone TO date the rod catch total
Kirkton windfarm is proposed STEWART. smatterings of anglers is now on the river board for 2022 for the system as
for some two miles south of gathered at various pools to represent the anglers a whole stands at 767. One
Melvich to the west of the along the River Leven, going on the river. A painting of or two returns for the loch
river. As it is above the 50mw
LAKE OF through the annual rituals Whinnyknowe pool on the are still outstanding but it
threshold, the application
MENTEITH associated with the start of Nairn, along with a scroll is anticipated that the ûnal
will be decided by Scottish SEQUENTIAL nights of another salmon ûshing season. thanking him for his services to ûgure will exceed 800. Whilst
Government; this is likely to be hard frost before Christmas But after these initial short the Association, was presented still low, it represents an
determined in the spring. eventually brought the water outings, many anglers will to Nairn AA president Willie improvement on 2021 and it
The Ackron windfarm temperature down to freezing evacuate the river for a few Barron, on the occasion of his will be between the ûve-year
is proposed for some two point with 50 per cent ice more weeks, mainly because, 70th birthday. There was also and ten-year averages. The
miles south-east of Melvich cover present for the start in line with most of Scotland9s a rane of prints which raised spring element of the catch
(to the east of the river). Its of January. This lasted for a west coast rivers, Lomond9s a good sum of money for the was a bit stronger than the
application was withdrawn week before wind and milder ûrst spring salmon do not association. late run.
last year; however, it is likely temperatures intervened again. start to arrive until March The river was frozen over The ûsh counter ûgures are
to re-apply with a revised The cooler water temperatures at the earliest. in many places on December 37 on the Garry and 284 on
scheme. have had an immediate efect If the weather in February 18, but the following day, after the Moriston. Both are known
— ANDREW GRAHAM- in reducing trout catches but is reasonable, there may be a a rapid rise in temperature, to be undercounts. SSE are
STEWART. there were some notable big few early season trolling boats it was full of üoes. Attempts, working on the installation

120
of new generation counters A SEA-TROUT FLY TO TRY THIS MONTH Tay, by February and March, rain is forecast. Hopefully
which should provide but a change to colder weather conditions will allow for
better data. might slow them down. Again, opening day ûshing.
On the positive side keeping up with catches and If you9re looking for the
catches were up on the Lower conditions on the ûshtay chance to catch a prized
Garry. This may reüect the website is perhaps your best spring salmon, traditionally
impact of the Upper Garry guide at this time of year the area between Floors
Restoration project together when prospects can change and Coldstream sees most
with changes to the regime markedly from day to day. early springers caught. With
for the downstream passage I hope you do manage to a mild period, there may be
for smolts from Loch Garry. connect with one of these something further up the
For decades the exit from the special ûsh! river system.
loch has been via the narrow Tight lines. Tight lines to all for the
entrance to the ûsh pass. — BEN LUI. 2023 season, stay safe and
Prior to the 2020 smolt run make memories.
the screens, preventing ûsh — MARTIN RITCHIE.
from entering the tunnel
THURSO
upstream of the turbines, were A YEAR always passes quickly
removed. It sounds brutal SIGNAL and here we are with the start
WESTER ROSS
but smolts now go through Hook Size 2-6 Partridge Bartleet of a new season (January 10). IN 2022 Sepa conducted a
the turbines (the number of or Daiichi Alec Jackson single Piper Alister Miller led the consultation on its <proposals
blades has been halved) and Tail (for peaty water) Orange Fluoro Fibre assembled company over the for the new, spatially based
apparently the survival rate Body Glo-Brite floss, No.4 with pearl Mylar over bridge at Halkirk and down risk assessment framework
is 86 per cent. The smolts Rib Red Amnesia mono 8lb-12lb (depending to the Comlifoot Pool. The for regulating the interaction
migrating downstream in on hook size) Wing Arctic runner, squirrel or fox traditional toast was made to between sea lice from marine
2020 would have returned to Beard hackle Black soft hackle the river and the ûrst cast was ûnûsh farm developments and
the Garry as two sea-winter Cheeks Red jungle cock Head Black made by Francis Sandison, a wild Atlantic salmon=. It is well
salmon in 2022. regular visitor to the Thurso. worth reading the Wester Ross
— ANDREW GRAHAM- After the end of the season in Area Salmon Fishery Board9s
STEWART. 2022 the Thurso has had a lot detailed response which
at prime time is going to be have been slowly increasing of water and after rain the day is available on the Board9s
diocult, if not impossible. All in number. Their peak months before the Thurso was running website. The response provides
SPEY I can suggest is you look on are February and March. Last at a good height. It would have a well-informed summary from
SPEYSIDE had a seasonal look the estate websites, phone year they made up a good been glorious if we had an the coalface of the impacts of
over the festive season; the their ooces or try the on-line proportion of the early catch opening day ûsh to report, farm-derived sea lice on wild
snow arrived before Christmas marketing sites. Although both as a result of their being but alas all I can report is ûsh, the serious implications
and has mostly stayed, the most estates still try to let their more of them but also because some very well-mended kelts for the existing and future
temperatures were very low ûshing by the week for the there were fewer smaller 2SW and a few strong pulls from viability of salmon and
for a while and the river carried whole beat, the associations ûsh around early on. ûsh unseen. sea-trout populations in
some frazil ice or grue, and and on-line will still have odd Whether the poorer This winter has been cold the area9s rivers and
there were large frozen bands days for odd rods. numbers of 2SW ûsh early last with more snow than we have the basic inadequacies of
along the edges of the river. Tight Lines for 923. season means that they are had for a few years and a fair Sepa9s proposals.
The track along the riverside, — MALCOLM NEWBOULD. going to come back as even amount of rain. I would not Here are a few extracts:
where I walk the dogs, has more 3SW ûsh this spring expect to see too many kelts <The numbers of sea-lice
been very slippery with the or whether a poor year class about as the water will have emanating from the farms
warmer day time temperatures
TAY means there will be something washed them out to sea. The in the Loch Torridon system
and the colder nights. The I AM writing this report in early of a blip in 3SW numbers this weather seems to be set fair, in particular have regularly
local otters had pulled a kelt January, with a week to go spring just remains to be seen. if a little blustery, for the next exceeded (and on many
up on the ice and the young before the Tay salmon season Hopefully it will be the former. few days (I write January 10) occasions far exceeded) the
dog had to walk out on the opens once again. So, as you But what is certain, is that and there will be the usual industry9s Code of Good
ice to snif it every time we read this, the season will have these early big Tay springers hardy rods out, looking for that Practice (8CoGP9) levels in
passed, so I was glad to see been underway for several are the absolute pinnacle of elusive ûrst ûsh. recent years.=
it go as the thaw started. weeks and hopefully some quality. There are no ûner, Everybody on the Thurso <2021 was another bad year
Fortunately, the thaws have good springers will already more special ûsh to catch. would like to wish all our for sea lice control on salmon
been gentle, and although the have been caught. In recent They are the stuf of dreams. guests and salmon anglers farms in Loch Torridon and on
river has risen the spates have years the ûrst few weeks of the So, my advice, is get out there everywhere a fantastic the salmon farms around the
not been excessive. season can be relatively slow, and give it a go. There is plenty 2023 season. Isle of Skye. All of the active
Although the shortest day but things usually really pick of ûshing available, a lot of — TIM HAWES. salmon farms in Loch Torridon
falls before Christmas, I always up in February and more so it can be booked through reported ûgures far above the
ûnd that it is into the ûrst full in March. So, what might we ûshtay.co.uk, and prices are SSPO Code of Good Practice
week of January before the expect this year? reasonable. TWEED for sea lice, over a period of
lengthening days are really It is, of course, impossible Of course, a lot also does THE closed season has been several months. High numbers
noticeable. to predict salmon runs, but depend on conditions this quite a strange one with the of lice were also reported
It will not be long before we might learn from general early in the year. In my last weather ranging from one from many of the salmon
the season gets underway, this trends in previous years. As I report I enthused about the extreme to another. During farms in the east of Skye,
year opening day is a Saturday have reported previously, what real wintry weather that had December the river was frozen especially very large MOWI
and I assume that the opening we have been seeing in recent set in. However, since then, over in parts and for the best sites including the new Scalpay
ceremony will be at the years is a trend of more of the things have changed again. part of a week there was grue farm. The cumulative emissions
Victoria Bridge in Aberlour, larger 3-sea-winter salmon Since about December 19 coming down the river. Then of sea lice from farms between
but at the time of writing in the early spring. Those we have had something like the mild weather arrived, and Wester Ross and the Isle of
in early January there is no are ûsh in the high teens or four rises to over 7ft. So, if the river rose, peaking at just Skye in the ûrst three months
oocial news. even low twenties of pounds, there has been more rain over 11ft at Sprouston. Days of 2021 is estimated as
There is demand for ûshing of which the Tay used to be during January, then we might on end of dirty water seemed being as high as in previous
on the Spey, and I would think famed. From a very low ebb expect ûsh to be relatively to have eased at the time of years, representing a major,
the chance of ûnding anything about 15 years ago, these ûsh spread, all the way up to Loch writing (January 9) but more signiûcant pressure for wild

121
FISHING REPORTS IRELAND

salmon smolts in migrating getting smaller on all our trout in Ireland is gaining on February 25 in The Old and Inland Fisheries Forum)
from coastal waters from the waters every year. The Minister popularity and some of the Courthouse, Antrim. This will last December. Was this
rivers in the southern part of for the Environment, Climate best rivers for this are the be followed by a conference because SIFF advice
the WRASFB area (including and Communications, Eamon Nore, Suir, Cork Blackwater at 1pm focusing on Lough and comment was an
those migrating from the rivers Ryan TD, said: <81 rivers and Boyne with many more Neagh and dollaghan trout. inconvenience?
Applecross, Balgy, Torridon, will be available for salmon smaller trout rivers in all other I know that the Federation Then there9s Water Quality,
Badachro and Kerry).= and sea-trout ûshing in parts of Ireland. Mayüy ûshing have recently conducted the Reservoirs Bill, Put and
<There has been little 2023. This facilitates careful is always a great time to ûsh a survey on the Lough, Take Commercial Fisheries
improvement in sea lice management of this important in Ireland from the middle of completed last month, to and much more.
management over recent natural resource, for which May until the middle of June. help with advice and planning During the past year we
production cycles, despite conservation and sustainability Corrib, Mask, Conn and Arrow the way forward. This should know that the UAF also
industry assurances to those are paramount. 48 of the in the west and Lough Sheelin, make for an interesting submitted complaints to
concerned about protection rivers will be fully open, with a along with other nearby loughs afternoon given the numerous the European Commission.
of wild ûsh.= further 33 open to 8catch-and- in the midlands, are worth questions concerning the These included the Lough Erne
<Unregulated sea-lice release9 angling. The general considering. future management of the Management Plan, Commercial
emanations from existing improvements in stocks from Fishing in the summer for Lough and its wonderful trout. Pike Policy, Lagan Gateway,
salmon farms present a real 2022 have been maintained grilse, depending on water The work the UAF carries out and Lough Neagh mineral
risk to the survival of the for 2023=. levels, is very popular on the on our behalf is wide and will, extraction.
salmon populations of up to He has approved legislation Moy, the Cork Blackwater and no doubt, be detailed in their We now have a new Ooce
ûve rivers in the southern part that will govern the wild many other smaller waters Annual Report. However, I of Environmental Protection
of the Board area.= salmon and sea-trout ûsheries nationwide. expect that the following will and I know that the Federation
<Wester Ross has a sea- in 2023. These came into For the visiting angler be highlighted: has been engaging with
trout population that is much efect from Sunday, January coming to Ireland this year, The Lough Erne Conference staf on these questions and
reduced and at particular risk 1, 2023. You can ûnd the the Inland Fisheries Ireland February 26, 2022. Held at much more. Topics discussed
from sea lice emanating from Inland Fisheries bylaws 2022 website at ûshinginireland. the Manor House Hotel with included, for example,
current salmon farms: see at: https://www.gov.ie/en/ info/ publishes weekly angling presentations from DAERA, the lack of protection for
further below. The once iconic publication/4753d-inland- reports from all our great NIEA, AFBINI, UAF and SACs and failure by DAERA
Loch Maree sea-trout ûshery ûsheries-bye-laws-2022/ salmon and trout ûsheries. Erne Rivers Trust. While the Inland Fisheries to carry out
has recently beneûtted from Some of the venues in These are an excellent guide to presentations were helpful in Appropriate Assessments
the cessation of aquaculture 2023 that I can recommend planning your next trip. clarifying the data available on together with NIEA9s failure
operations by Mowi at its Isle the visitor to try for spring — PAUL BOURKE. the ûshery and the inüowing to provide Water Framework
Ewe farm.= salmon in Ireland this spring rivers, actioning has been Directive 3rd Cycle plans as
<Serious and ongoing are the Drowes River, diocult. The Federation was legally required. All in all, it will
damage from aquaculture Carrowmore Lake, Delphi, the
DROWES AND unable to hold a follow-up make for an interesting and
in the Board area to these many ûsheries on the Cork
MELVIN conference with the Chief comprehensive Report.
populations is clear from the Blackwater and there are THE ûrst of January saw the Fisheries Oocer of Inland In addition to this, 2022
results of the sea-trout project many more, even the Moy opening of the 2023 season Fisheries. The Department found the UAF9s coaching work
of Marine Scotland Science in in late April. on a cold, calm, dry day with ûrst pushed any proposed continue to introduce people
the Loch Torridon system, and On the trout ûshing side, high water and quite a few dates from last summer to the to the sport of angling and to
from ûeld-work conducted ûsheries are generally opening anglers out, despite the water autumn, then from November provide facilities, equipment,
in the waters by Gairloch up from February 15 onwards. conditions. All methods were to this year, 2023, still without and new coaches to drive
in particular over the past Lough Corrib has to be my ûrst deployed on the day by their any date. Consensus would forward angling. The year saw
few years.= choice for spring, especially for various exponents, but I9ve suggest that the Erne Fishery them introduce some 1,550
<The scientiûc research the ducküy ûshing in March. noticed over the years that is being mismanaged, by people, of all ages and abilities,
conducted by Marine Scotland Timing is critical and sport is there are now many more DAERA Inland Fisheries to angling for their ûrst time.
Science in the Loch Torridon also weather dependent so anglers prepared to try the üy Operations and Policy, to the This happened across some
system for approximately 20 it is worthwhile going ûshing very early in the season. No detriment of both its salmonid 48 events at their Angling
years on sea-trout of the river with a good guide or gillie. doubt, for this reason, a fair and coarse ûsheries. With Hub sites. Sport NI funded
Shieldaig has established the They can often ofer good proportion of early season ûsh, another poor year of trout the training of further Coach
link between the second year package deals together with and on occasion the ûrst ûsh ûshing in 2022 there is an Educators / Internal Veriûers
of production in nearby ûnûsh accommodation and excellent of the season, now succumb urgent need to tackle the to make their Northern
farms and very damaging and advice on when to visit. There to the üy. This year however issues including their Fisheries Ireland 1st4Sport UK Centre
indeed lethal levels of sea-lice is a full list of guides and gillies no one succeeded in capturing Management Plan and self-suocient for the future
on those sea-trout.=. for every county in Ireland on the ûrst ûsh of the year on Commercial Policy. and the next Level 2 course
— ANDREW GRAHAM- the Inland Fisheries Ireland opening day but no doubt The recently held Invasive begins on February 11. The UAF
STEWART. ûshing website. Look up lots of people will be trying in Species Conference which have also developed a junior
ûshinginireland.info/guides/ the coming weeks to take a included cormorant problems. competition pathway and
galway for ûshing on Corrib. January ûsh as Garrett Byrne I believe that no representative youth Ulster League. A number
from any government agency
Ireland If you want to ûsh for salmon
on the Moy assisted by a
gillie later in the year
did on January 13, 2022, at
the Eel Weir, when a 12lb ûsh
seized the cone-head Shrimp
was available to attend!
Next on the list might be
of participants went on to
represent TAFI Ulster at youth
level winning all Ireland Inter-
AT the time of writing on visit ûshinginireland.info/ he was ûshing to give him the the failure of the Fisheries provincial titles. Others have
January 6, the few ûsheries guides/mayo ûrst ûsh of that year. Bill 2016 to proceed in 2022. come through the coaching
which are open have not yet If you are contemplating By the time you read this It could be said that many structures and represented
yielded any salmon to date. coming to Ireland from the the entire system, including current problems result from Ireland at World and Lake
With more salmon ûsheries UK for ûshing it is worth Lough Melvin, will be open unresolved legislation issues. International level.
opening on the 17th and with checking the UK tour operators and hopefully a few ûsh can be Fish passage and abstraction All good news and I9m
the majority of the other as it9s usually possible to get reported in the next issue. are other issues which the sure that there will be much
ûsheries opening on February a much cheaper ferry ticket — DAVY STINSON. Federation have been dealing more detail on the day in the
1, maybe it will not be long if you wish to drive over to with, as are those wider full report.
before the ûrst salmon of the Ireland to ûsh. Contact Tourism problems discussed within With the salmon season
new season is reported. Ireland in the UK ooces for NORTHERN the Environment Marine and open I9m of to check the
As I have written before, assistance in ûnding a suitable IRELAND Fisheries Group. This is now conditions and, I hope, get out
the quantity of spring salmon tour operator. THE Ulster Angling Federation of more importance since for my ûrst cast of 2023.
available to the rod is sadly Heavy-nymph ûshing for AGM is scheduled for 11am the closure of SIFF (Salmon — MICHAEL SHORTT.

122
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England ■ TENTERDEN TROUT

WATERS, Tenterden,
2 John Bicker, Kilmarnock,
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1 James Molier, Abingdon, 3lb 4lb 6oz rainbow, Black FISHERY, Bonnybridge, SOAKED through but happy! Adrian Kruger,
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2 James Molier, Abingdon, ■ THRUNTON LONG CRAG 1 Tracy Allan, Stirling, 12lb weighing 5lb 12oz and 4lb 3oz from Tavistock
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■ BIGWELL FLY FISHERY,
JUNIOR AND YOUTH Monmouth, 01600 772904
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BADGE WINNERS 8oz rainbow, Orange Buzzer.
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Youth 2 Chris John, St Austell,

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CLUES ACROSS 1 00 1 1 2 2 3 4 3 5 4 8
5. Mediterranean island (5)
6. Pigeon’s sound (3)
7. Salmon river of Dumfries (4) 5 6 7 8
9. Belonging to me (2)
10. ***** Brown, trout fly (5) 9 10 11 12
11. Tay tributary, which includes Pitlochry salmon
ladder (6) 9 10 11
12. Spherical plastic float (6)
14. Netting (4)
14 15
17. Alternative to bank when reservoir fishing (4)
18. Goat’s ***, traditional trout fly (3)
19. Big exotic marine fish (6) 12 13 14
21. How you might address a man (2)
23. This position on a reservoir leader can hold the 18 19 15 20 16
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26. Fin on the tail of a trout (6) 17 18 19 20
27. Modern salmon fly with bucktail hair tail (7)
28. One who stands or walks in water (5)
22 23 25 24 25
29. Land bordering a river (9)

21 22 23 24
CLUES DOWN
1. Bivalve marine mollusc (4) 27 25 28 30
2. Type of swivel (6)
3. This addition can make a reservoir angler more 26 27
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4. Email greeting (2)
32 33 34
5. Prolific salmon river in Ireland’s Co. Mayo (3)
6. Type of Pacific salmon (4)
7. Mayfly larva (5) 28 29
8. Game-fishing river of north-east England (4)
12. Short, bulky reservoir trout fly (4) 39 36 37
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15. Very fast sinking fly-line allows you to fish ****
16. Fly type with an appendage (8) Cut out and post this coupon to: MARCH CROSSWORD, Trout & Salmon, Media House, Lynchwood,
18. Sums (6) Peterborough PE2 6EA. Entries to arrive no later than March 20. Photocopied entries are not acceptable.
20. Says again (7) Name ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
22. Boat steering device (6)
24. Slice of bacon (6) Address ....................................................................................................................................................................................................
25. Salmon river of south-west England
27. Large edible crustacean (4) ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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127
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email: [email protected] web: www.mochrumpark.co.uk

RIVER TROUT and

GRAYLING FISHING in KENT
Contact: The Secretary Tel: 07960 518738
www.teiseanglers.org.uk

TREE MEADOW TROUT FISHERY

CORNWALL (Nr Hayle) TR27 5EP
Troutmaster Water
TWO CLEAR LAKES 3.5 acres of clear water
BEACH SIDE APARTMENT PLUS COTTAGE AT MARAZION TO RENT
Fully stocked tackle shop.
Tel: 01736 850899 / 07971 107156 [email protected]

72% of paper and paper packaging

THE ANGLERS LODGE is recycled into new products;
one of the highest recycling rates
AT JUBILEE LAKES
of any material in Europe!

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FLY REELS
& FLY LINES Source: CEPI, 2019
Europe: EU27 + Norway, Switzerland and the UK
A LARGE RANGE FOR
Love Paper is a registered trademark for Two Sides Ltd.
TROUT & SALMON FISHING Registered in the UK, U.S. and other countries and used with permission.
Jubilee Lakes,
near Darlington DL2 2UH www.anglers-lodge.co.uk
To Advertise please call Susan Scott on 01733 363017 email: [email protected]
 To Advertise please call Susan Scott on 01733 363017 email: [email protected]

ALBURY ESTATE
FISHERIES LOWER ITCHEN FISHERY
OPEN ALL YEAR Brown Trout, Salmon & Grayling
Two day ticket waXIVWSJJIVMRKPEOIERHVMZIV¾]½WLMRKWIXMR On the River Itchen in Hampshire. Season & Day Rods. Corporate Days for 4-20 rods.
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ERHSRIHE]XMGOIX[EXIVWMXYEXIHMRXLIWXYRRMRKKVSYRHWSJ
7]SR4EVOMR7SYXL;IWX0SRHSR7IEWSR6SHW%ZEMPEFPI
*SVJYVXLIVHIXEMPWTPIEWIGSRXEGX
07477 790210
Fishery Manager Cameron Craigs Mobile 07976 810737
ZZZDOEXU\HVWDWH¼VKHULHVFRXN
www.itchen-fishing.net
*SPPS[YWSR*EGIFSSO
8[MXXIV$EPFYV]½WLMRK LTHPS!PUMV'P[JOLUÄZOPUNUL[

Exceptional Salmon Fishing

COUNTRY MANSION ESTATE Lower & Upper Beat
HAMPSHIRE AVON Half mile beat on Upper Avon
With private salmon & trout oshing on river Teio. Lanrick Estate, River Teith
4 well equipped cottages with gardens.
Pets welcome. 2 season tickets Grayling Trout season
Close to Llandysul AA waters, Cardigan Bay &
Pembrokeshire coastal path.
available at day tickets day tickets
Contact: www.oshing-holidays.com
Tel: 07721838679
£850 from £55 from £85
[email protected] Email: [email protected]
07918 016377 www.lanrick.co.uk
Contact 07770 922544 [email protected]

T ILL FISHING
NORTHUMBERL AND
SALMON/SEA TROUT & GRAYLING
DAY RODS AVAILABLE
4* SELF-CATERED COTTAGES
www.till-fishing.co.uk
E: [email protected] Rosie’s Mobile: 07909 335100

Holiday Cottages & Fishery on the Camel Trail Cornwall

|e Southwest’s premier destination for sea trout and salmon Experienced Ghillie on the Lough Currane
Exclusive night Sea Trout fly fishing „ 18 named pools „ Limited to 4 rods „ Good
May-Aug and day Salmon fishing
7RP2·6KHDLVDIRXUWKJHQHUDWLRQJKLOOLHRQ/RXJK&XUUDQHZLWK
runs June –August „ Fishes well even in drought
Sept-Dec on private 44 acre estate on „ If spate conditions arise daytime fly fishing for
RYHUWKLUW\\HDUV·H[SHULHQFHÀVKLQJWKH:DWHUYLOOHV\VWHP
the River Camel one mile above the tide Salmon and Sea Trout also available May-August Tel: +353(0) 66 9474146 Mobile: +353(0) 87 922 8659
Ideal holiday location for the fly fisher with non-fishing nature loving family.
Email:J\YYHULÄZOPUN'NTHPSJVT
Sam & Rachel Hamilton - www.butterwellfarm.com
[email protected] - 01208 831515
6Y]PZP[!^^^Å`ÄZOPUNH[SV\NOJ\YYHULJVT

RIVER TEST ANGLING AUCTIONS

FISHING ON THE WORLD FAMOUS Auction of Fishing Tackle & Related Items
BROADLANDS ESTATE on Saturday 1st April 2023
Trout & Salmon Season/Day rods available | Single or group bookings
Further details contact: Neil Freeman Tel. 01794 518076 / 07785 281349
SALE INCLUDES
Approx. 550 lots of vintage and modern tackle,
email: [email protected] ZZZEURDGODQGVÀVKLQJFRP
FDVHGÀVKWURSKLHVDUWDQGERRNV
)RUIXUWKHULQIRUPDWLRQFRQWDFWNeil Freeman, Angling Auctions,
Coldingham Loch Cottages & Fly Fishing 30 Basepoint, Premier Way, Romsey, Hants. SO51 9AQ
Tel: 01794 518076. Mobile: 07785 281349
Holiday cottages & www.anglingauctions.com
superb fly fishing
on a small private Email: [email protected]
estate, spectacular &DWDORJXHVE\SRVW
location on the SE The UK’s leading specialist angling auction
coast of Scotland 01890 771960 www.coldinghamloch.co.uk

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Last cast

A POUND
A POP
Giles Catchpole bids for
the property of a gentleman

T
HERE IS A SALE COMING UP AT THE someone else had clearly found them and went higher.
local auction rooms and I have been Actually, they went a lot higher, which suggests that yet
burrowing in the catalogue. You might another bidder had formed the same conclusion as me
recall how I have become enthused of the but without my rigorous self-control.
occasional auction where exquisite vintage tackle Anyoldhow, the current sale is characterised as
and equipment can be acquired for a modest outlay the <Property of a Gentleman= and a very sporting
of bunce. Or vast amounts of useless tat may be gentleman he must have been. Or, more probably, he
accumulated at ludicrous prices. It’s all a question of was a bit of an angling shopaholic with a tendency to
perspective, isn’t it? loiter about in junk shops who also went to occasional
Take, for example, the <Box of assorted ûshing auctions of assorted tatty tackle.
accessories — £30-£40= that cropped up recently And my, didn’t he accumulate some stuf?!
in a <General Antiques= sale. When they said box, Trout rods, salmon rods, sea rods. Ranging from
the cataloguers weren’t kidding. It was an elderly early split-cane versions by Hardy and Sharpe’s of
cardboard afair, much stained with damp and oil. Aberdeen through Bruce & Walkers to modern Loops
It contained a couple of centre-spool reels set about and Sages. With scores of reels to match and boxes
with quantities of tangled nylon. There were rusty of others by multiple makers. Boxes and tins of üies
spoons and spinners and a few tobacco tins of moth- and lures of every description and spools and rolls of
eaten üies. And at the bottom there was a plastic box gut and nylon. Wading sticks and gafs and üasks and
containing a hundred perfect salmon tube-üies. There gew-jaws for every purpose imaginable and then some
were Willie Gunns and Pot Bellied Pigs and Stoats of more that I can’t make head nor tail of.
every hue, and a range of Waddingtons from wee to Put short, it is an Aladdin’s cave of largely useless
whopping and back again. Well, they’ve got to be worth ephemera assembled by some chap over — presumably
a pound a pop, haven’t they? — a lifetime and now available to the rest of us to
But, more importantly, what a way to generously add to our own burgeoning stocks of space-eating
repay those friends from whom I have <borrowed= rubbish so that we, too, when our assorted nonsenses
üies in the past and then abandoned in trees, bushes, ûnally go under the hammer, may be described as
gabions, reeds, rocks and, occasionally, passing sheep. discriminating collectors of angling requisites.
So I left a cheeky bid. I prefer to leave a commission But here’s the kicker: what else can we get as a gift
bid rather than to bid in person on the day because for the kind and generous friend who invites us to
I know that I would — at best — get thoroughly ûsh on noble rivers, to show our appreciation, if not
overexcited and bid ridiculous money for something I an intricately carved walrus penis bone handled
really only quite liked; or rub my eyebrow at the wrong combination priest and ûlleting knife?
moment and end up owning a pair of stufed cane toad And where are you going to ûnd another one?
candelabra for a king’s ransom. Exactly!
Did I get it? Or them? Nope. Despite tucking them
away right at the bottom of the cardboard gear grave
and covering them carefully with assorted rubbish, I L L U S T R AT I O N : O L LY C O P P L E S T O N E

130
8,000+ PRODUCTS MADE IT.
MANY MORE DIDN’T. NEW %YXYQR;MRXIV
GEXEPSKYIOUT NOW
It’s not just a catalogue. It’s the ultimate range
SJXLIPEXIWXLMKLUYEPMX]ƼWLMRKXEGOPIGPSXLMRK ORDER YOUR COPY AT
ERHIUYMTQIRXXSWYMXIZIV]FYHKIX3ZIV [[[WTSVXƼWLGSYOVIUYIWXGEXEPSKYI
SJXLIFIWXƼWLMRKTVSHYGXWEZEMPEFPI%FSSO
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passion and more than a few late nights.

BY THOSE WHO FISH,

FOR THOSE WHO FISH

Winforton, Hereford, HR3 6SP • Theale, Reading, RG7 4AS

8)WTSVXƼWL$WTSVXƼWLGSYO
Scan the QR code to order a free copy
of the catalogue or to view it online. [[[WTSVXƼWLGSYO
 FLY
COMBOS
The expanded Fin combo range
offers a high performance
“just add water” solution to
the Greys combo assortment.
• High quality Fin 4pc fly rod
• Alloy and wood reel seat
• AA Cork handle
• Double foot snake guides
• Lined stripper guides
• Fin disc drag fly reel
• Twin colour floating fly line with loop
• Fully fitted with backing
and tapered leader
• Supplied in a combination rod/reel case

Code Length Line Weight Our Price

GR2906 8ft #4 £179.99
GR2907 9ft #5 £189.99
GR2908 9ft #6 £189.99
GR2909 9ft #8 £189.99
GR2910 10ft #7 £219.99

Euro Nymph
Code Length Line Weight Our Price
GR2819 10ft #3 £179.99
GR2820 11ft #3 £199.99

Edinburgh
Unit 1 The Point Retail Park, 29 Saracen Street, Glasgow G22 5HT Unit E Granton Retail Park, West Harbour Road, Edinburgh EH5 1PW
GLASGOW: 0141 212 8880 EDINBURGH: 0131 202 6351