The Fly Fishing - And Now All Types of Fishing Thread!
Discussion
A bit of practice on the local ponds produced this first time out with my Greys 9' #5 a few years ago now, blind in one eye, Brownie, that had slipped into the rainbow gang!!
Dreadful quality picture, sorry, but it was a few years ago and, even now, I rarely carry a decent camera or phone, or one of these modern smartwhatnots with multiple lenses and the NHSx App (whoops, wrong thread!) so you get what I can before returning the fish (not in this case) to the river.
Crane fly imitation if you want to know what the fly was?
Dreadful quality picture, sorry, but it was a few years ago and, even now, I rarely carry a decent camera or phone, or one of these modern smartwhatnots with multiple lenses and the NHSx App (whoops, wrong thread!) so you get what I can before returning the fish (not in this case) to the river.
Crane fly imitation if you want to know what the fly was?
pequod said:
A bit of practice on the local ponds produced this first time out with my Greys 9' #5 a few years ago now, blind in one eye, Brownie, that had slipped into the rainbow gang!!
Dreadful quality picture, sorry, but it was a few years ago and, even now, I rarely carry a decent camera or phone, or one of these modern smartwhatnots with multiple lenses and the NHSx App (whoops, wrong thread!) so you get what I can before returning the fish (not in this case) to the river.
Crane fly imitation if you want to know what the fly was?
Lovely Dreadful quality picture, sorry, but it was a few years ago and, even now, I rarely carry a decent camera or phone, or one of these modern smartwhatnots with multiple lenses and the NHSx App (whoops, wrong thread!) so you get what I can before returning the fish (not in this case) to the river.
Crane fly imitation if you want to know what the fly was?
So my day today was great, but way way to windy for fly fishing!
Still I felt I learnt even more about the river and how to read it too!
Strangely I also felt I stepped up my game too, I spent more time watching and waiting , and crucially observing what was going on around me.
Still marveled In the beauty of this wonderful place on my doorstep.
Still I felt I learnt even more about the river and how to read it too!
Strangely I also felt I stepped up my game too, I spent more time watching and waiting , and crucially observing what was going on around me.
Still marveled In the beauty of this wonderful place on my doorstep.
nigelpugh7 said:
So my day today was great, but way way to windy for fly fishing!
Still I felt I learnt even more about the river and how to read it too!
Strangely I also felt I stepped up my game too, I spent more time watching and waiting , and crucially observing what was going on around me.
Still marveled In the beauty of this wonderful place on my doorstep.
And that is why I enjoy fly fishing on small rivers and streams. If I wanted to pull a bagful of commercially produced fish from a lake, there are plenty of opportunities and, in the main, are easy to catch but the art of reading a river and learning the habitat and habits of wild fish, and attempting to imitate their current food source, is where it's at for me. Sometimes you are lucky to fish a beat with a willing adversary who will play along and rise to your fly, be persuaded to come to the net without too much stress, smile for a picture, and happily rejoin the river with nothing more than a slight interruption to his/her daily routine.Still I felt I learnt even more about the river and how to read it too!
Strangely I also felt I stepped up my game too, I spent more time watching and waiting , and crucially observing what was going on around me.
Still marveled In the beauty of this wonderful place on my doorstep.
Anyhow, enough of the whimsical nonsense, what flies are we recommending for Andy to get his mitts on? Not sure what is hatching up there in the NW?
Just watching him working the river, Up and down the reach, then diving when he spotted his prey, makes your day worth while.
At one point I was sat still on the bank, and he ( could be a she, I’m not that talented as a twitcher ! ) came right up by me as I ate my cheese and pickle sandwich watching the water and how it moves on the Ebbs and flows of the currents.
He watched me watching him for a while, and I felt a strange connection, like he accepted me being there, as I wasn’t a threat, noisy or challenging him and his place, it was a very good karma moment, almost like we were at one, and connected too.
The really funny thing was the other anglers, who all seemed to be happy to just fish close to where they had parked their cars, one of them even asked if they were allowed to park in the field.
Of course I told them they could not, but when I said it was great to see the Kingfisher, of 5 of them , only 1 other had seen the Kingfisher.
I found it quite profound, i wonder , is it possible to be more connected to nature by being more in the moment?
Now I’m really fascinated.
And yes my little friend was much more capable than I will ever be!
At one point I was sat still on the bank, and he ( could be a she, I’m not that talented as a twitcher ! ) came right up by me as I ate my cheese and pickle sandwich watching the water and how it moves on the Ebbs and flows of the currents.
He watched me watching him for a while, and I felt a strange connection, like he accepted me being there, as I wasn’t a threat, noisy or challenging him and his place, it was a very good karma moment, almost like we were at one, and connected too.
The really funny thing was the other anglers, who all seemed to be happy to just fish close to where they had parked their cars, one of them even asked if they were allowed to park in the field.
Of course I told them they could not, but when I said it was great to see the Kingfisher, of 5 of them , only 1 other had seen the Kingfisher.
I found it quite profound, i wonder , is it possible to be more connected to nature by being more in the moment?
Now I’m really fascinated.
And yes my little friend was much more capable than I will ever be!
pequod said:
And that is why I enjoy fly fishing on small rivers and streams. If I wanted to pull a bagful of commercially produced fish from a lake, there are plenty of opportunities and, in the main, are easy to catch but the art of reading a river and learning the habitat and habits of wild fish, and attempting to imitate their current food source, is where it's at for me. Sometimes you are lucky to fish a beat with a willing adversary who will play along and rise to your fly, be persuaded to come to the net without too much stress, smile for a picture, and happily rejoin the river with nothing more than a slight interruption to his/her daily routine.
Anyhow, enough of the whimsical nonsense, what flies are we recommending for Andy to get his mitts on? Not sure what is hatching up there in the NW?
Anything bar a big fat Booby lure, double hauled out of site from a platform, on fast sinking line and stripped back in as fast as possible to get it back out there ...... that was hard work typing let alone doing Anyhow, enough of the whimsical nonsense, what flies are we recommending for Andy to get his mitts on? Not sure what is hatching up there in the NW?
nigelpugh7 said:
Just watching him working the river, Up and down the reach, then diving when he spotted his prey, makes your day worth while.
At one point I was sat still on the bank, and he ( could be a she, I’m not that talented as a twitcher ! ) came right up by me as I ate my cheese and pickle sandwich watching the water and how it moves on the Ebbs and flows of the currents.
He watched me watching him for a while, and I felt a strange connection, like he accepted me being there, as I wasn’t a threat, noisy or challenging him and his place, it was a very good karma moment, almost like we were at one, and connected too.
The really funny thing was the other anglers, who all seemed to be happy to just fish close to where they had parked their cars, one of them even asked if they were allowed to park in the field.
Of course I told them they could not, but when I said it was great to see the Kingfisher, of 5 of them , only 1 other had seen the Kingfisher.
I found it quite profound, i wonder , is it possible to be more connected to nature by being more in the moment?
Now I’m really fascinated.
And yes my little friend was much more capable than I will ever be!
Again beautiful pic and prose - you are Jack Hargreaves and I claim my five pounds At one point I was sat still on the bank, and he ( could be a she, I’m not that talented as a twitcher ! ) came right up by me as I ate my cheese and pickle sandwich watching the water and how it moves on the Ebbs and flows of the currents.
He watched me watching him for a while, and I felt a strange connection, like he accepted me being there, as I wasn’t a threat, noisy or challenging him and his place, it was a very good karma moment, almost like we were at one, and connected too.
The really funny thing was the other anglers, who all seemed to be happy to just fish close to where they had parked their cars, one of them even asked if they were allowed to park in the field.
Of course I told them they could not, but when I said it was great to see the Kingfisher, of 5 of them , only 1 other had seen the Kingfisher.
I found it quite profound, i wonder , is it possible to be more connected to nature by being more in the moment?
Now I’m really fascinated.
And yes my little friend was much more capable than I will ever be!
nigelpugh7 said:
Just watching him working the river, Up and down the reach, then diving when he spotted his prey, makes your day worth while.
At one point I was sat still on the bank, and he ( could be a she, I’m not that talented as a twitcher ! ) came right up by me as I ate my cheese and pickle sandwich watching the water and how it moves on the Ebbs and flows of the currents.
He watched me watching him for a while, and I felt a strange connection, like he accepted me being there, as I wasn’t a threat, noisy or challenging him and his place, it was a very good karma moment, almost like we were at one, and connected too.
The really funny thing was the other anglers, who all seemed to be happy to just fish close to where they had parked their cars, one of them even asked if they were allowed to park in the field.
Of course I told them they could not, but when I said it was great to see the Kingfisher, of 5 of them , only 1 other had seen the Kingfisher.
I found it quite profound, i wonder , is it possible to be more connected to nature by being more in the moment?
Now I’m really fascinated.
And yes my little friend was much more capable than I will ever be!
This, this is why I love fishing. Fantastic photo Nigel.At one point I was sat still on the bank, and he ( could be a she, I’m not that talented as a twitcher ! ) came right up by me as I ate my cheese and pickle sandwich watching the water and how it moves on the Ebbs and flows of the currents.
He watched me watching him for a while, and I felt a strange connection, like he accepted me being there, as I wasn’t a threat, noisy or challenging him and his place, it was a very good karma moment, almost like we were at one, and connected too.
The really funny thing was the other anglers, who all seemed to be happy to just fish close to where they had parked their cars, one of them even asked if they were allowed to park in the field.
Of course I told them they could not, but when I said it was great to see the Kingfisher, of 5 of them , only 1 other had seen the Kingfisher.
I found it quite profound, i wonder , is it possible to be more connected to nature by being more in the moment?
Now I’m really fascinated.
And yes my little friend was much more capable than I will ever be!
dickymint said:
pequod said:
And that is why I enjoy fly fishing on small rivers and streams. If I wanted to pull a bagful of commercially produced fish from a lake, there are plenty of opportunities and, in the main, are easy to catch but the art of reading a river and learning the habitat and habits of wild fish, and attempting to imitate their current food source, is where it's at for me. Sometimes you are lucky to fish a beat with a willing adversary who will play along and rise to your fly, be persuaded to come to the net without too much stress, smile for a picture, and happily rejoin the river with nothing more than a slight interruption to his/her daily routine.
Anyhow, enough of the whimsical nonsense, what flies are we recommending for Andy to get his mitts on? Not sure what is hatching up there in the NW?
Anything bar a big fat Booby lure, double hauled out of site from a platform, on fast sinking line and stripped back in as fast as possible to get it back out there ...... that was hard work typing let alone doing Anyhow, enough of the whimsical nonsense, what flies are we recommending for Andy to get his mitts on? Not sure what is hatching up there in the NW?
Reminds me of a days fishing trip on Lake Taupo when a friend and I chartered a local guide who we thought was taking us to a few fishy spots where we could cast a few flies. Turned out that his method was to deep trawl a weighted rubbery lure behind his boat up and down the lake until the local monsters would take the bait!! As fate would have it, we caught nothing but an undersized fish that he persuaded to stretch to the gauge which was duly dispatched, carried to a local restaurant for cooking! The whole exercise cost several hundred NZ Dollars and was a salutary lesson to never trust a local guide!!
Edited by pequod on Sunday 28th June 20:26
dickymint said:
That photo reminds me I rarely take a landing net with me as it's a pain in the backside snagging on the brambles etc. when stalking. That and barbless hooks has lost me a fair number of fish though 
So I always take my landing net with me, as I literately hate seeing people haul a poor fish out of the the water on a line suspended 6 feet above the ground, really makes me mad to see it.My best investment ever, was my Greys fly fishing vest, which has as great big netted patch pitch pouch in the back that takes my folding landing net with ease.
I’m a big believer in visualisation reality, in that if you can see something happening In your minds eye, and have all the components of that image, it will happen as you visualised it.
It really works try it.
If you want to know how I changed my life and career I will bore you with that story and journey too!
dickymint said:
Again beautiful pic and prose - you are Jack Hargreaves and I claim my five pounds
How funny that you should quote Jack Hargreaves, I loved his work as a lad, and the fact he smoked a pipe made him even cooler in my book,Now the pipe thing is a funny thing, just today I thought it would be nice to sit by the river and enjoy a nice pipe with some quality Virginia Rub.
I’m sorry.
One Amp Andy said:
Now come on, spend my monez!!
Right my zen is high today, ( is that a correct phrase? )But I feel a force tonight, a force that is strong and needs to be shared too.
So I have more Rods, Reels and lines than I will ever really need or use , so Andy, I want you to have one of them,as my gift to you.
I don’t want anything for them, I just want you to use them and enjoy them like we all do.
It’s my gift to you, and you have to use it and tell us what you have done to enjoy them too.
So let me know where we can meet up and I will hand them over to you.
Your call, it’s over to you.
nigelpugh7 said:
dickymint said:
That photo reminds me I rarely take a landing net with me as it's a pain in the backside snagging on the brambles etc. when stalking. That and barbless hooks has lost me a fair number of fish though
So I always take my landing net with me, as I literately hate seeing people haul a poor fish out of the the water on a line suspended 6 feet above the ground, really makes me mad to see it.My best investment ever, was my Greys fly fishing vest, which has as great big netted patch pitch pouch in the back that takes my folding landing net with ease.
I’m a big believer in visualisation reality, in that if you can see something happening In your minds eye, and have all the components of that image, it will happen as you visualised it.
It really works try it.
If you want to know how I changed my life and career I will bore you with that story and journey too!
I use barbless hooks and play them to my legs in the water. if they're to small a quick flick whilst still in the water and they're gone. If they're pan size then a firm grip then given their "last rights" by my priest and bagged. If I catch two (one for me and one for Wifey) then that's it for the day and head home.
Basically I don't fish for sport, I fish for supper and the shear enjoyment of the surroundings. Catch and release is not my thing as you can do more harm to a fish with a landing net than a quick flick in the water from a barbless hook. Which is why I just can't get my head around course fishing - banging them all in a keep net for hours, then weighing them at the end! What's all that about
dickymint said:
That's not the way i fish though. My fish never leave the water unless I intend to eat them and size permitting is a max of two per visit. I could take 5 a day but got fed up of giving fish to 'friends' only to discover they end up in the bin!
I use barbless hooks and play them to my legs in the water. if they're to small a quick flick whilst still in the water and they're gone. If they're pan size then a firm grip then given their "last rights" by my priest and bagged. If I catch two (one for me and one for Wifey) then that's it for the day and head home.
Basically I don't fish for sport, I fish for supper and the shear enjoyment of the surroundings. Catch and release is not my thing as you can do more harm to a fish with a landing net than a quick flick in the water from a barbless hook. Which is why I just can't get my head around course fishing - banging them all in a keep net for hours, then weighing them at the end! What's all that about
I felt the same about coarse fishing, though that’s what we all did as lads back in the eighties and thought nothing of it back then.I use barbless hooks and play them to my legs in the water. if they're to small a quick flick whilst still in the water and they're gone. If they're pan size then a firm grip then given their "last rights" by my priest and bagged. If I catch two (one for me and one for Wifey) then that's it for the day and head home.
Basically I don't fish for sport, I fish for supper and the shear enjoyment of the surroundings. Catch and release is not my thing as you can do more harm to a fish with a landing net than a quick flick in the water from a barbless hook. Which is why I just can't get my head around course fishing - banging them all in a keep net for hours, then weighing them at the end! What's all that about
I’m the same as you when it comes to landing them, I have my landing net there on standby, mostly if I have an issue get it them to the bank, but if I can reach them easily I will do the same as you and gently release the hook and send them on their way, unless of course they are big enough to take home for supper!
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