The Fly Fishing - And Now All Types of Fishing Thread!
Discussion
I’m 52 in July and haven’t done any fishing since I was 16. I was obsessed with coarse fishing as a kid, was in my school team that came second in the National Schools Angling Championship on the River Avon at Stratford.
However shortly after that I discovered cars, girls and motorbikes and haven’t really picked up a rod since. As I’ve got older I’ve felt slightly awkward about the ethics of fishing for fun, so it’s been convenient to avoid the arguments for and against by not participating. I’ve now got the desire to have a go again, doing the proverbial man maths that if I catch to eat it’s allowable.
So, I’ve hinted to my wife to book me a fly fishing taster session for my birthday next month. Will see how I get on. I have always admired the skill involved in fly casting, am expecting my first efforts won’t be great!
However shortly after that I discovered cars, girls and motorbikes and haven’t really picked up a rod since. As I’ve got older I’ve felt slightly awkward about the ethics of fishing for fun, so it’s been convenient to avoid the arguments for and against by not participating. I’ve now got the desire to have a go again, doing the proverbial man maths that if I catch to eat it’s allowable.
So, I’ve hinted to my wife to book me a fly fishing taster session for my birthday next month. Will see how I get on. I have always admired the skill involved in fly casting, am expecting my first efforts won’t be great!
coppice said:
Not on fly but a nice perch on dropshot lure of 2-13, and a PB chub of 6-10 on my special blue cheese paste .
The near endless rain has screwed my fishing this winter but I've also had some lovely sessions trotting for grayling , with fish to 1-14 .
That is a stunning Perch and a tank of a Chub. There are few fish that look as good as a big Perch for me. By big i mean over 1.5lb. I have had a few on lures to around 2lb locally but they get a hard time on free to fish waters up here, many ending up on a plate.The near endless rain has screwed my fishing this winter but I've also had some lovely sessions trotting for grayling , with fish to 1-14 .
Seeing as it's not just fly fishing pics being posted i will post this one, 76cm. Only trip so far this summer due to a touch of covid but a nice start even if it was a lean post spawn fish. Taken on a home made pencil lure worked slowly on the top next to a big kelp bed. The take looked like a seal had hit it due to how much water it displaced, great fun. Was a hard 3 days fishing between myself and a mate but managed a fair number of fish from about a dozen different marks over a 60 mile stretch of coast. Excuse the quality of pic, it was taken on my mates far newer phone and sent to mine that doesn't appear to be able to cope with the higher def image.
A word to the wise regarding tuition, guiding etc. It's worth having a ponder to understand what you really want out of angling. Today i see many people taking up the sport and quite a few it appears to be for the wrong reasons. It happens with everything these days but the end game appears to be a grip and grin for facebook, instagram etc. The fish i posted above was out the water for no longer than 30 seconds for a pic then after 5 mins back in the water a further 15 secs for weighing in a wet weigh bag. If they are going back and not retained for eating, whether fresh or salt they should be handled considerately.
Many people starting out don't understand the journey is more important than the end result (i only really started to get this after i stopped competition fishing at 100mph). A guided fish where you have turned up in an area where you have zero knowledge and are taken to marks, shown where and how to cast, what to put on the end , no matter what species it is or how big ,will never ever compete with the smallest burn trout caught by a kid for the first time that has spent the time on his little local burn figuring the fish out.
It's a long road to do it in what most would call the right way, especially if you are a multi species/discipline angler but the sense of satisfaction will last far longer than the initial buzz of catching a nice fish that someone else has done all the donkey work for.
My main focus has always been sea angling although i started out on trout/seatrout/salmon before joining a coarse fishing club and the biggest challenge was always finding the fish you wanted to catch with many of the more interesting species to catch being on the opposite side of the country to where i live. It took years to build the knowledge to be successful consistently. These days the amount of info online means that is an easy journey to cut short and i think many anglers are not only losing out on the skill building part of the journey but the reward element that can never be as good as doing it all or mostly by yourself or a small group of friends.
If you still think you want to take the easy route there are some nice fish to be caught from our coast. A friend and i took another friends son under our wing a while back, in his first year he had cod over 5lb, thornback rays and conger to double figures, tope to 30lb plus and common skate to around 180lb along with some bass to around 3lb. All from the shore in his first year. Looking back i feel we have probably spoiled his sea angling journey and he will likely go back to the carp,cat and pike fishing he did before.
I get that it's not much fun not catching anything when you first start and most people need a few pointers to get going but be careful you don't cut too many corners or it could spoil your fishing very quickly and lead to a far shorter involvement with something that really can hold your interest and provide a lifetime of discovery and learning.
Many people starting out don't understand the journey is more important than the end result (i only really started to get this after i stopped competition fishing at 100mph). A guided fish where you have turned up in an area where you have zero knowledge and are taken to marks, shown where and how to cast, what to put on the end , no matter what species it is or how big ,will never ever compete with the smallest burn trout caught by a kid for the first time that has spent the time on his little local burn figuring the fish out.
It's a long road to do it in what most would call the right way, especially if you are a multi species/discipline angler but the sense of satisfaction will last far longer than the initial buzz of catching a nice fish that someone else has done all the donkey work for.
My main focus has always been sea angling although i started out on trout/seatrout/salmon before joining a coarse fishing club and the biggest challenge was always finding the fish you wanted to catch with many of the more interesting species to catch being on the opposite side of the country to where i live. It took years to build the knowledge to be successful consistently. These days the amount of info online means that is an easy journey to cut short and i think many anglers are not only losing out on the skill building part of the journey but the reward element that can never be as good as doing it all or mostly by yourself or a small group of friends.
If you still think you want to take the easy route there are some nice fish to be caught from our coast. A friend and i took another friends son under our wing a while back, in his first year he had cod over 5lb, thornback rays and conger to double figures, tope to 30lb plus and common skate to around 180lb along with some bass to around 3lb. All from the shore in his first year. Looking back i feel we have probably spoiled his sea angling journey and he will likely go back to the carp,cat and pike fishing he did before.
I get that it's not much fun not catching anything when you first start and most people need a few pointers to get going but be careful you don't cut too many corners or it could spoil your fishing very quickly and lead to a far shorter involvement with something that really can hold your interest and provide a lifetime of discovery and learning.
otolith said:
Haven’t been fly fishing for a while, but nabbed an evening tench fishing a couple of weeks back. Lift method, bread flake, homemade swan quill float.
That's a beautiful pair of fish. If we had more access to species like tench and barbel up here i think i would have coarse fished for much longer. Probably caught less than 20 tench in my life with the biggest around 2lb but they don't half go a bit. Those must have been a proper scrap.wc98 said:
That's a beautiful pair of fish. If we had more access to species like tench and barbel up here i think i would have coarse fished for much longer. Probably caught less than 20 tench in my life with the biggest around 2lb but they don't half go a bit. Those must have been a proper scrap.
Yes, didn’t weigh them, but 6lb-ish and went a bit. I lost the first fish I hooked trying to stop it getting into the lilies. Second one made it in there but came out again. Third one plodded about under the rod tip and tried to get into the marginal weeds. otolith said:
Yes, didn’t weigh them, but 6lb-ish and went a bit. I lost the first fish I hooked trying to stop it getting into the lilies. Second one made it in there but came out again. Third one plodded about under the rod tip and tried to get into the marginal weeds.
That's a very solid bit of angling to get that pair out of a swim like that 
otolith said:
6lb line straight through to a barbless #8 and a Drennan Acolyte Plus - animal tackle!
That brings back memories. When i was a teenager much of my fishing was done on two highly pressured local rivers, mainly with stick float tactics. When it was seatrout season we were often on 2lb main line and 8oz breaking strain hooklengths and size 26's. Can't remember how many times we got bust up on that but the best i had was 3lb 12 oz and took 25 mins to land.A young lad from St Andrews had one at 4lb 15oz that took 55 mins to land, an amazing fish on that gear. We used Daiwa whisker rods and when using heavier hooklengths, Bayer Perlon 1.7lb (for its stretch properties) i have seen a couple of tips bust. Great rods for their day but helluva fragile. That period taught me a lot about how fish react to constant angling pressure that has stood me in good stead to this day.
Back then i thought i could land anything swimming in fresh water up here on 4lb line, the first time i went pike fishing i used 4lb straight through and amazingly only got bitten off once in over a dozen fish although they were all jacks. Time on various fisheries and a few big trout and salmon soon disabused me of the 4lb notion, although i did have a 10lb 5oz salmon on 3lb line and a 16 one day.
These days 10lb flouro or 8lb mono on certain lure set ups (flouro for daylight calm water bass and seatrout fishing and the mono for local cod and pollack on what is apparently a new technique called free rigging in the largemouth bass world that i have been using for a long time) will be as light as i fish, going any lighter in the salt over anything but sand only brings trouble.
I really enjoyed my few hours out on river last week. I was OK once casting on the water, but had two left thumbs when I was tackling up and tackling down. I tried to look none plussed when I got back to my car and tried to untangle myself from net attached to my back by magnet, wading belt, and wading staff. I was completely tangled up in my own clobber and thought I may have to drive home kitted up, as I could not find my way out. It used to be a seamless operation, but after such a long break, I was rather clumsy.
I started building a 10 ft 3 weight nymph rod during COVID. Got the rings whipped on, but wanted it perfect before varnishing them on. Hence, unfinished. Must find the time to get it spot on and completed, so I can throw some home tied Czech nymphs with it in winter.
I started building a 10 ft 3 weight nymph rod during COVID. Got the rings whipped on, but wanted it perfect before varnishing them on. Hence, unfinished. Must find the time to get it spot on and completed, so I can throw some home tied Czech nymphs with it in winter.
wc98 said:
That brings back memories. When i was a teenager much of my fishing was done on two highly pressured local rivers, mainly with stick float tactics. When it was seatrout season we were often on 2lb main line and 8oz breaking strain hooklengths and size 26's. 
Mind you, I did come a cropper on a club match on the Dane once. Fished the whole match in a great swim on a rapidly rising river on my usual light float gear and blanked. As I was packing up a couple of lads turned up and chucked in heavy leger gear with bread, and rapidly nailed a couple of chub, either of which would have won the match. Returned the favour many years later on the Marden with a chub heavier than the hard earned bag of bits the previous incumbent was weighing in.
wc98 said:
Can't remember how many times we got bust up on that but the best i had was 3lb 12 oz and took 25 mins to land.
A young lad from St Andrews had one at 4lb 15oz that took 55 mins to land, an amazing fish on that gear. We used Daiwa whisker rods and when using heavier hooklengths, Bayer Perlon 1.7lb (for its stretch properties) i have seen a couple of tips bust. Great rods for their day but helluva fragile. That period taught me a lot about how fish react to constant angling pressure that has stood me in good stead to this day.
My best was a low double figure carp on pound bottom and a #22. Took a long time but it was a water supply reservoir with no snags. A lot of line was given and retrieved!A young lad from St Andrews had one at 4lb 15oz that took 55 mins to land, an amazing fish on that gear. We used Daiwa whisker rods and when using heavier hooklengths, Bayer Perlon 1.7lb (for its stretch properties) i have seen a couple of tips bust. Great rods for their day but helluva fragile. That period taught me a lot about how fish react to constant angling pressure that has stood me in good stead to this day.
Lovely bass and lovely tench. I've caught the latter but never even seen the former except in fishmongers. I adore light lure fishing for pike and perch , and if I had a suitable coast line close to me I'd love to try for bass , wrasse and pollack off the rocks .
On the tench, I divide my angling time between them and trout . As above , lift method is my favourite but this year it's been slim pickings Up North for them . And I bust my new Acolyte Specimen 13ft the other day . The rods are thin but cope with any fishing abuse I've meted out - but not the cack handed idiocy I specialise in. I've now bust three of the 4 Acolytes I own - #1 trying to squeeze the two piece 12ft Acolyte Ultra into a MX5 #2 driving over my 14 ft Acolyte Plus with my Yeti (amazingly , only one section broke ) and #3 On Sunday I had the sun in my eyes and cracked the 13ft Specimen Float into an unseen branch .
Off to the river today- jungle warfare with either 6ft Shakespeare Agility 2 #3wt or 7-6 Hardy Sovereign #4 wt . I bought the latter in 1992 and I reckon its caught at least 4000 wild trout and grayling . I will need counselling if I ever break that one...
And here's one I caught earlier - isn't she lovely ?
On the tench, I divide my angling time between them and trout . As above , lift method is my favourite but this year it's been slim pickings Up North for them . And I bust my new Acolyte Specimen 13ft the other day . The rods are thin but cope with any fishing abuse I've meted out - but not the cack handed idiocy I specialise in. I've now bust three of the 4 Acolytes I own - #1 trying to squeeze the two piece 12ft Acolyte Ultra into a MX5 #2 driving over my 14 ft Acolyte Plus with my Yeti (amazingly , only one section broke ) and #3 On Sunday I had the sun in my eyes and cracked the 13ft Specimen Float into an unseen branch .
Off to the river today- jungle warfare with either 6ft Shakespeare Agility 2 #3wt or 7-6 Hardy Sovereign #4 wt . I bought the latter in 1992 and I reckon its caught at least 4000 wild trout and grayling . I will need counselling if I ever break that one...
And here's one I caught earlier - isn't she lovely ?
coppice said:
And I bust my new Acolyte Specimen 13ft the other day . The rods are thin but cope with any fishing abuse I've meted out - but not the cack handed idiocy I specialise in. I've now bust three of the 4 Acolytes I own - #1 trying to squeeze the two piece 12ft Acolyte Ultra into a MX5 #2 driving over my 14 ft Acolyte Plus with my Yeti (amazingly , only one section broke ) and #3 On Sunday I had the sun in my eyes and cracked the 13ft Specimen Float into an unseen branch .
Ouch! Not cheap rods either. I know a few people who have had them fail in use, but pretty sure that they had given them a knock on something previously. Not sure any rods are Coppice-proof when armed with a Yeti, mind What's the replacement section service like with Drennan? I've got a few of the older tench and bream rods and a specialist Avon duo which are now out production. They are pretty robust things, but I'd hate to lose them over a broken section.
I've got a lovely little split cane brook rod I was given by a now departed friend. He was still fishing into his eighties, but felt his days of scrambling round small streams were over. It needed a little work, just eyes rewhipping, which I did, but I still haven't had chance to fish with it. Looking forward to using it, and at least cane is not too bothered about the odd little impact!
coppice said:
Lovely bass and lovely tench. I've caught the latter but never even seen the former except in fishmongers. I adore light lure fishing for pike and perch , and if I had a suitable coast line close to me I'd love to try for bass , wrasse and pollack off the rocks .
On the tench, I divide my angling time between them and trout . As above , lift method is my favourite but this year it's been slim pickings Up North for them . And I bust my new Acolyte Specimen 13ft the other day . The rods are thin but cope with any fishing abuse I've meted out - but not the cack handed idiocy I specialise in. I've now bust three of the 4 Acolytes I own - #1 trying to squeeze the two piece 12ft Acolyte Ultra into a MX5 #2 driving over my 14 ft Acolyte Plus with my Yeti (amazingly , only one section broke ) and #3 On Sunday I had the sun in my eyes and cracked the 13ft Specimen Float into an unseen branch .
Off to the river today- jungle warfare with either 6ft Shakespeare Agility 2 #3wt or 7-6 Hardy Sovereign #4 wt . I bought the latter in 1992 and I reckon its caught at least 4000 wild trout and grayling . I will need counselling if I ever break that one...
And here's one I caught earlier - isn't she lovely ?
Beautiful fish, fin perfect and lovely markings. I haven't been this year yet but my local river (10 mins walk) runs out of Loch Leven so not only do we get the wild brownies but a fair few Loch Leven trout as well. This is my favourite time of year if we get low water conditions. Pools that look dead in day time bright sunshine come alive in late evening and the rise can continue into the early hours of the morning. On the tench, I divide my angling time between them and trout . As above , lift method is my favourite but this year it's been slim pickings Up North for them . And I bust my new Acolyte Specimen 13ft the other day . The rods are thin but cope with any fishing abuse I've meted out - but not the cack handed idiocy I specialise in. I've now bust three of the 4 Acolytes I own - #1 trying to squeeze the two piece 12ft Acolyte Ultra into a MX5 #2 driving over my 14 ft Acolyte Plus with my Yeti (amazingly , only one section broke ) and #3 On Sunday I had the sun in my eyes and cracked the 13ft Specimen Float into an unseen branch .
Off to the river today- jungle warfare with either 6ft Shakespeare Agility 2 #3wt or 7-6 Hardy Sovereign #4 wt . I bought the latter in 1992 and I reckon its caught at least 4000 wild trout and grayling . I will need counselling if I ever break that one...
And here's one I caught earlier - isn't she lovely ?
Start off on yellow or olive mays then a black gnat as the light goes, had some amazing evenings with good numbers of fish occasionally to 2lb ,even had a mother otter and three young swim by me less than a rod length away. I use an old 8ft Orvis 5 weight i bought in the days before the really light stuff appeared. Once the rise stops a lot of anglers think that's it done but even on dark nights later in the year if you wait long enough and employ similar tactics to night time seatrout fishing with smaller flies, size 10 or 12 wickhams fancy is a good one, the bigger fish will be feeding. I got smashed to bits by a trout i reckon was 5lb plus one night doing that and a 2lber is classed as a big one in that river.
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff