Fly Fishing Blog

Lunch break, Fudgies, Corrib

flyfishertc — Sat, 29 May 2010 10:16:35 +0000

Hot, windless day on the Corrib. No trout but the day had its compensations

Welsh Dee, March 2010

flyfishertc — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:47:25 +0000

You are looking down on this stretch of river for the first time. There are no rises and no discernible fly-life. It is 2 degrees Celsius, late afternoon.

What would be your initial approach to this stretch?

Back to fishing after a long winter.

flyfishertc — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:50:56 +0000

Well, today I went to the river after a long absence for Winter. The air temperature was 0C and occasional pockets of snow still lie in the hollows.

Working on the theory that trout coming out of a hard winter will be conserving energy in the slow waters, I tried weighted nymphs and clyde-style wets near the banks and under trees. But no signs of trout, not even a small tug.

But it was great to get out again. Saw two pipistrelle bats hunting in the daylight, some needle flies, courting ravens.

Got out of the water unable to feel my hands and feet.

Here is a photo of today's Welsh Dee.

Trout distress

flyfishertc — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:05:02 +0000

Well, I went to Tuscany with my 3 weight fly rod; walked down the valley to the river with a small tin of flies.

No go. The river was showing its bones. The water temperature was high; a heat wave and drought. My heart wasn't in it. The trout were probably barely surviving, gasping for oxygen. I wasn't about to make things more difficult for them.

And that's it!

There are times when it's not right to fish!

Moving photoblog

flyfishertc — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:27:52 +0000

I am moving the photoblog to a new site. Here is a link.

Chianti

flyfishertc — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:07:55 +0000

Off to Chianti region, Italy, this week with my family. Gonna' sneak in a 3 wt rod and small reel and small box of flies. You never know!

Will report back.

Three Rivers

flyfishertc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:42:26 +0000

Interesting series on Radio 4 at the moment charting the course of 3 rivers. This week was the Clyde (one of my very favourite fly fishing rivers). Next Friday it's the turn of the Mersey. Click here for more information and a chance to listen.

What attracts us to fly fishing?

flyfishertc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:55:31 +0000

So many different reasons, of course, with countless books and blogs having been written on the subject. Common reasons given include "closeness to nature," relaxation, food, sport, comradeship and a psychological "calling" akin to a primordial hunting instinct, the last being a bit questionable, in my view.

There is, I think, a more fundamental reason. It is knowing something very deeply, not just intellectually but experientially. The intersection of many things at an instant: the trout's behaviour, the structure of the river and its currents, the shape of the river bed, the weather, the fly life, the expert use of rod and fly-line, the tying and presentation of flies, your own limitations, the sound of your own heart-beat, the structure of your own consciousness.

Fly fishing, in its deepest sense, is a phenomenological inquiry. Hence the need for restraint as well put at Classical Angler .

Towards Tinto from the Clyde, Scotland

flyfishertc — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:53:01 +0000

Clyde

Best angling journalist? Clarke

flyfishertc — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:10:13 +0000

Brian Clarke.

He is also an outstanding angler who helped set the compass towards modern fly-fishing.

See here and here.