Little and Large

Yesterday I had a few hours to kill and fancied wetting a line. Although I love catching game fish on the fly, yesterday I thought I might try for another species so decided to shoot down to Burton Springs fishery and try for a Carp and ended up banking little and large.

Down at Burton Springs they have just opened a new coarse lake for the pleasure angler with various species including Carp to around 10lb, ideal size for trying them on the fly. I made a quick call to Adam the fishery manager, he said there was space on the lake but as conditions were overcast with a blustery wind it maybe difficult to get them feeding on the surface. This didn’t put me off as there is always the Trout lake to fall back on if things didn’t work out with the carp.

On arrival at the complex I had a quick walk around the coarse lake and found absolutely no sign of a fish! Undeterred by this i still decided to give it a go so grabbed a rod and a bag of dog biscuits and made my way back to the lake.

Because the wind was up, even though the lake is quite small, I opted for a seven weight set up to give me a bit more control but before setting up I started firing out some biscuits on the surface to get the fish feeding. i fed two lines, one directly in front of me in open water and one to the left in a sheltered bay hard against a reed bed. After trickling in the feed for an hour, still no sign of a fish, only a Moorhen near the reeds wolfing down my free offerings!!

As there was no sign of a fish I decided to set up anyway and fish the margins with a buzzer under an indicator to see if I could pick up anything. First cast and the indicator slid away as the buzzer was on the drop so I quickly struck and was met by one of the smallest Perch I have ever caught, in fact if I had struck much harder it would have been flying past my ear!! It was still a fish though and while removing the buzzer from its top lip (not sure how it managed to get it in its mouth), I caught sight of some Carp moving on the far bank. These fish had started feeding on the biscuits after they had drifted right the way across the lake, this gave me hope so I changed my set up to a deer hair biscuit imitation and made my way around the lake.

Not big………..but a fish!!

Positioning myself behind some tall reeds for cover I put in a few more lose offerings, its important to really get the fish feeding confidently for this type of fishing as the fish are easily spooked and can refuse your imitation time and time again. A further 15 minutes of feeding and the fish were feeding but without any consistency so I decided it was now or never and carefully de-greased my leader and made a cast. Instantly my offering was met with a nosing by an inquisitive fish but no take, this happened again with another three fish and in a twenty minute period I only had one proper take which after a perfect strike, or so I thought, was met with no tightening of the line.

With the blustery conditions I decided that the presentation of the fly was not quite right so proceeded to trim down the underside of the biscuit fly so it sat lower in the surface film thus giving it more stability. The trimmed fly was recast out to the feeding zone and was instantly sucked down by a cruising Carp. I struck and instantly all hell broke lose! I realised after a strong run this was a good fish and adjusted the drag on the reel accordingly but the fish just kept stripping yard after yard of line.

Rod bending action.

After playing the fish for ten minutes my concern was that the landing net would not be big enough although I hadn’t seen it yet but could tell it was a big lump. Fifteen minutes passed and I got my first glimpse, a Common which must have gone double figures. Luckily Adam the manager had turned up and was able to land the fish for me, twenty minutes of arm aching fun followed by a beautiful 10 – 12lb Common Carp was on the bank beating my previous best on the fly by 6lbs!

12lb of pure power.

 

After a break I had a few more casts but decided to call it a day as I surely wasn’t going to beat this fish but I will be back to try again another day……..when my arms have recovered!!

If you fancy having a go at Carp on fly get in touch with me here to book a guided session. 

A huge mouth designed for mopping up food.

Which Fly Rod? Part 2 – Rod Length and Line Rating.

I get asked a lot by newcomers to fly fishing when purchasing their first rod “which fly rod should I buy to start with?”

With an array of rods on offer in today’s market this is not such a simple question to answer, there are many specialist rods out there now for specific fly fishing situations. I remember in my early fly fishing days, around 35 years ago, I was bought a rod by my parents and made do with that one rod for many types of fly fishing from small West Country streams through to large reservoir fishing. The rod was around 9’ 6” for a 7 weight line and if I remember rightly and I had to make do with this! This rod was used in all sorts of situations, poking it through the bushes on a small stream and just hanging the fly off of the end of the rod, a method now called “short lining” and using it in tight situations with Roll casts and Spey casts when I didn’t even know what these casts were at the time, I just got on with it and improvised with the rod I had, looking back I now wonder how much more successful I would have been having a more suitable rod for each situation.

Choosing the right rod length and line rating makes things a bit easier.

 

For a beginner nowadays they need to identify what type of fishing they will be doing and for most this will be cutting their teeth on small commercial fisheries where the banks are maintained and there is no need for a long cast.

For this type of fly fishing in mind I would suggest a rod of around 9’ which casts a line of either a 5 or 6 weight. This rod would also be fairly versatile in respect that it could be used on a medium sized river or in calm conditions on a large open expanse of water such as a reservoir. The 5 weight version would be more suited to river work where lighter lines pay dividends.

Listed below are some recommendations for rod sizes:-

Small streams – 7’ to 8’ rod with a line rating of 2 to 4.

Medium sized rivers – 8’ to 9’ with a line rating of 4 to 6.

Large rivers and small stillwaters – 9’ to 9’6” with a line rating of 5 to 6.

Reservoirs – 9’6” to 10’ with a line rating of 6 to 8, 10’ rod for boat fishing.

Saltwater and Pike fishing – 9’ to 9’6” with a line rating of 8 to 9.

This is a very broad list bearing in mind there are some very specialist rods out there now, one example being a 10’ for a 3 or 4 weight line now used on rivers for a method called “Czech nymphing”where a long rod is used for greater line control.

Fly Fishing and the National

Last Saturday I had to make a trip to Burton Springs fishery to drop off some posters for the Beginners day I’m running in June.

I arrived about 2.00pm in blazing sunshine and was greeted by Adam who runs the fishery along with his father. These guys are really friendly and switched on when it comes to running a venue, always on hand with useful advice and a smile…………what a refreshing change compared to some of the places I have been to in the past. If you get a chance to visit, don’t hesitate, you’re sure to have a great day. They have even just added a pleasure lake where you can fly fish for carp, a great alternative in the summer when the days get too hot for the trout.

High Sun at Burton Springs

After putting up the posters in the ticket room and the lodge, I thought long and hard for all of thirty seconds before deciding I just had to wet a line!! Probably not the best conditions with a big sun high in the sky but I couldnt resist having a go anyway.

After wandering around the lake to my chosen spot and sat on a bench to tackle up whilst keeping one eye on the water. No sign of any fish for the ten minutes or so while I was sat there…….no surprise there given the conditions. I decided to fish a black buzzer deep under an indicator as there were a few midge coming off the water, not everyones cup of tea I know but needs must sometimes.

I fished this method for an hour or so varying the depth, fishing the buzzer static and with a retrieve without even a sniff off a fish. Time to change, so I then tied on a bead head Damsel, fished that through the depths and with different retrieves but still no joy. At this point I realised it was time for a different plan of attack so I decided to retire to the lodge for a cup of coffee until the sun had dropped in the sky a bit.

Who stole my seat!!

On arriving at the lodge I discoverd Adam and his father glued to the t.v. as the Grand National was on, I’d totally forgotton about this and usually have an unsucessful flutter on the race myself. Adam on the otherhand had a bet on. The race started and so did all the shouting and cheering with it, any anglers in earshot must have wondered what was going on!

Some rod bending action
…….followed by a Rainbow at the net

Race over I returned to the lake to find a few fish moving so I changed my set up to a black Harry Potter dry with a black buzzer suspended a couple of feet underneath it New Zealand style with the result being the first fish in the net after five minutes. The action really got going as the evening progressed with fish coming to both the dry and the buzzer, all in all a great session after a very slow start. Sometimes its just good to take a break if the fish aren’t playing ball, sit back and realx and enjoy the surroundings and wildlife………or go horse racing!!

Which Fly Rod? Part1 Rod Actions.

‘Which fly rod should I buy?’ is probably one of the most common questions I get asked when teaching someone new to fly fishing. Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this but I hope to make a bit clearer when you come to choose your first or next rod.

In simple terms, the ‘action’ of the rod is the way it bends or flexes under the weight of the line as you make a cast.  Firstly you should choose a rod with an action that suits your casting style and the type of fishing you intend doing , there are three main actions to chose from :-

THROUGH ACTION – These fly rods are designed for close range fishing with small flies and light tippets and are not designed for distance casting. When casting, the rod will flex through the entire blank from the handle to the tip ring. These rods are not that common these days and are a bit of a speciality tool, they can feel a bit like waving a length of limp spaghetti around in the air and are definitely an acquired taste. The through action rod was common place many years ago when rod manufacturing was in its infancy but there are still a few rod makers out there that produce this blank for the ‘traditionalist’ but to get the best out of this rod you will need a very smooth and slow casting action.

My worst experience with a through action rod came a few years ago whilst guiding a client on a river. He had an old split cane rod which he offered me a cast with. I happily took the rod from him as I’m always interested in casting a rod that is new to me………I soon handed it back after my first forward false cast!! I had made a nice crisp, abrupt stop on the forward stroke and watched in horror as the tip of the rod just carried on going for what seemed an eternity………almost submerging itself under the water…..this rod was not for me!!

MID TO TIP ACTION – The best action for all round fly fishing, this bank will flex or bend from the middle of the rod through to the tip. These rods have the benefit of being able to deal with fairly small flies and light tippets but also have some power in reserve for achieving some distance in the cast. I always recommend this type of action to a beginner or to someone who does not have a very powerful casting stroke. From a beginners point of view they will get a ‘feel of the cast’ with this action and they are ‘forgiving’ so a beginners timing does not have to be spot on. This does not mean that this rod will cast itself; you will still need to have a reasonable casting action to throw a good loop.

TIP ACTION – As it says on the tin, this rod will flex in just the last couple of feet or so. This is a rod designed with distance in mind. Master casting with a tip action rod and you will be hitting the horizon with your fly!! If you are a beginner steer clear of this action as your timing will have to be spot on and you will find it hard to get a feel for the cast with its stiff action. The best bet would be to learn with a mid to tip action then progress to the tip action if you want to achieve greater distance with your cast. These rods are not really suitable for light tippet work as you are likely to ‘snap off’ when you strike into a fish as there is little give in them.

This is of course a basic guide to rod actions, there are rods that fall in between these categories, mainly down to the recovery rate of the blank (the way the rod straightens after being bent), and some recover quickly, others not so fast. This is what makes each rod feel unique when you cast it and why different rods suit different people in different fishing situations. Don’t ever be fooled into thinking all rods are the same, my advice is if you get the chance cast a rod before you buy it, it can be a big outlay so that you want to get it right!!

If you would like to learn to fly fish or improve, I am running a beginners day at Burton Springs Fishery near Bridgewater on 18th June, drop me a line for more details.