Snow nearly stopped play

Sunday  i ventured out onto ghyll head on walking down to the water it started snowing i was in two minds as to turning around and getting back into my car and setting off home,but i decided as i was there i might as well give it a go.
Thank fully the snow stopped and i set off down towards the shallow end of the water,on getting there i was a case of giving it 10 Min's or so and keeping on the move i managed to catch 5 trout and had the first 2 blue trout of the season as well all in all a good day!!! 

One thing i have noticed that i need to go and see my good mate tony Riley for a casting lesson as in the close season mine has gone to pot.See Tony's link below Tony's a AAPGAI casting coach Tony provides a qualified and professional fly fishing skills, fly fishing casting tuition and guiding service.

http://www.flyfishinginstruction.co.uk/

P.S on a lighter note if anyone hooks and lands a double figure fish  (it was that big across its back i could have put a saddle on its back and rode it !!!! )  with a size 14 orange woolly bugger in its jaws can i have it back please  ha ha.

Most of the  waters i fish all come under the WADDA fishing club see link below for website and waters that can be fished.

http://www.lakedistrictfishing.net/home/welcomewadaa.html

I'm also a member and on the committee off ulverston angling association a brown trout only water situated just outside the picturesque village of ulverston in cumbria.We offer day tickets and also season tickets (no waiting list)

http://www.ulverstonangling.org/home/home.aspx

first trip to high newton this year

My first trip to high newton was not as straight forward as i thought, with high winds blowing straight down the water it was more like fishing in the sea at some points of the day.

As chirstie and phil always say its location,location,location and i was constantly on the move giving it 1-15 mins in each place and hopefully dropping onto the fish if i was lucky.

Well after doing more laps of high newton than i care to mention i finally stopped at a little basin at the bottom end of the water changing from my floating line to a clear intermediate 5 weight line and various nymphs/small lures i hit onto the fish and a very enjoyable 1 hour later i had lost count of the number of rainbows i caught and returned.

Ii was good to get out and catch a few fish but i cant wait till it warms up and i can get away with wearing one layer of clothing instead of the 4 layers i had on today.

Here are a few pics i took today both of the fish i caught but also the scenery and the other few brave souls that fished today as well.

Eden

After watching the EA website all week i decided to try the eden,this is the first time in a month or so i have been on a river.

On parking up the river was in a nice low level and it was a mild warm day,fish were conspicuous by there absence but on walking up the river i witnessed a number of large fish jumping clean out of the water,after watching one particular fish jump i thought could it be a salmon?

After quite a few miles under my belt i had managed to catch 4 grayling the biggest being a 17 inch fish (see below) on walking back to my car i bumped into john gardiner on asking him about the jumping fish he indeed told me that they would be salmon and right on cue one jumped right where we were.

My best fish of 2011

With the year just about to end i have been looking through my pics and thought i would post a few pics



river bela trout




river bela trout

 

3 rd time lucky

Saturday so me once again on High Newton the last two occasions i have blanked so i wasnt expecting anything from the trip.As with the last two visits it was a case of fishing the warmest parts of the day usually 12 - 3.

On walking round i could see a few fish topping along the dam wall it was hard work in the end i managed to winkle out 2 trout and in no time the temprature dropped as the sun set and it was time for home.

At this time of year its just a case of picking your day and fishing the warmest part of the day and like me you might get lucky and catch a few!!!!!

Eden

With the brown trout season over my last minute trip to the bela didnt materialise so with the weather set fair i set off for the eden at KS trying for the resident grayling.

On getting there the river was in near perfect condition with the river at a nice height and still a ting of colour in the water, i had a walk along the bank looking for rising fish.

After locating a feeding fish a cast a size 20 klinkhammer first drift back nothing on the second cast the fish rose and the first grayling of the session was landed,after that it was hard work trying to locate fish but going to a few favourite pools i managed to get another 2 fish.

Bela Milnthorpe

Had my first visit on the bela at milnthorpe this sunday after parking in the beef sheds and walking the river i could see there was a lot of water still in the river,passing by a nice looking piece of water i saw a fish top.

on getting into the water and pitching a fly up stream the first glide back nothing happened a few casts later on the way back the fly dissapeared and a angry bela trout was hooked after a brief  but heart stopping battle a plump 1 lb trout was nestling in my net.

After returning the fish and moving up the pool i had another trout of similar size my first visit on the bela and i had 2 fish a perfect day spent on a new water, i carried on walking the bank and pitching a fly in likely looking places but caught nothing more.

I still have one more guest ticket and 4 days to the end of the season so i hope i will get a chance to get back on the bela.

high newton

With the rain finally stopping and a few hours on my hands I decided on a trip up to High Newton,on pulling into the car park the weather didnt look brilliant as a thick carpet of mist was hanging over the water.

Taking a quick look over the wall i could see plenty of fish topping so if want all bad,Greg and rastas decided to fish off the dam wall i headed for fantasy island.

I opted for a small un weighted damsel nymph and was soon into the resident rainbows catching the majority of fish just under the surface i had a real hectic session,on the way back to the car i went and had a word greg and his brother who told me they has been catching on various sized sedges.

Off home to hopefully watch the rhinos beat hull and end a perfect day.

high newton

With a break from wind and rain i had a mornings fishing up at high newton on the WAADA water.The sun was out and with a gentle ripple the prospects looked good.

On setting up i could see lots of fish topping but now the hard part what are they feeding on?, I struggled for a good hour but switching between f flys and sedges (size 18)  i managed to take fish on a regular basis.

Quiet Times

Over the last few weeks with the weather being on the hot side i has been a case of picking your days and fishing either early morning or late at night, With this in mind I have been doing a few late sessions on my local brown trout water knotthallow.

Using my float tube I have had some very fruitful sessions catching well on mainly spider patterns,but on my last visit there was a massive hatch of flying ants hatching off and this certainly had the trout looking up.

I have also not neglected the river and have had a few sessions on the eden catching mainly trout with a sprinkling of big grayling amongst them, last weekend i took a fellow angler onto the eden who had not fished a river before.After setting his tackle up and showing him  likely haunts he hooked and lost a trout and then managed to hook and land a grayling the look on his face was amazing and worth the trip up just for that.

Last sunday saw me on the bela at milnethorpe (regretably not fishing but on a working party) greg and myself have been the last twice and for half a days work you get a days ticket to fish the water,so i will be on the bela next weekend weather permitting.

Ulverston anglers are holding a open day on knott see link to the uaa website its a free days fishing with local angler and casting guru tony reily there to answer all your casting questions and give free lessons its all free so come along

ulverstonangling.org

eden

With a few days holiday and the weather turning nasty over the weekend I had a session on the eden,i had a walk along the river looking for rsing fish.

With nothing much rising i decided on the klink and dink approach working my way down a run i connected with a small trout,half way down the run i connected with a 19 inch grayling weighing in just under 2 lb 4 oz.