Go Fly Fishing UK Blog
Despite the continued poor weather this spring almost everwhere and certainly here in the Yorkshire Dales and with far too much water despite the drought, (what!), there have still been some fly fishing highlights and a couple this last week.
Yesterday, guiding on the River Itchen downstream of Winchester, I saw my very first Danica Mayfly of the year and there were quite good numbers hatching for so early in the season. I was expecting that I might see the occasional Mayfly but by 4pm there were decent numbers hatching and some good sized Trout that had not been rising earlier in the day started to look for them and make excited jumps to catch them before they could take off. Its always a highlight of my guiding year to guide clients in the Mayfly hatch. Click here to read more
This last two weeks guiding on the chalkstreams has reminded me of some of the critical factors in success catching Brown Trout on dry fly. First, and most obviously, ‘match the hatch’. Look at the flies coming down the stream and pick a fly from your box that is designed to imitate the naturals you can see – like an Adams to imitate a Blue Winged Olive or a Kite’s Imperial for a Medium Olive or a Tups Indispensable for a Pale Watery. Click here to read more
Well the chalkstream Trout season is now well under way. So far it has been mixed fortunes from a hatches and fly fishing point of view, with some unusually wet weather. Few beats open before mid-April but all were open by 1st May. The chalkstreams are very little affected by short term rain no matter how heavy it is. One exception is the lower River Test from Timsbury downstream. I was guiding here three times between 29th April and 2nd May and I saw the worst river conditions that I have ever experienced on the chalkstreams…but my clients all still caught fish. Click here to read more
I supposed I am biased having been brought up fishing both the Yorkshire Dales rivers and still waters but I really do think that the Yorkshire Dales has some of the very best fly fishing in the UK. The sheer variety and numbers of rivers and lakes here means that there are opportunities for fly fishing whatever your preferences, small, medium or large rivers, stocked lakes or wild brown trout fisheries, the Yorkshire Dales has it all.
May has arrived although with the weather as its been it feels more like March has just arrived.
Nearly forty five years ago my first decent fly line was a Kingfisher number 3, silk of course nothing else available then except very early plastic lines that were if I remember correctly frankly not much cop, the number 3 was quickly followed by a Kingfisher number 2 for the rivers, for the uneducated a number 3 was roughly equivalent to an #6 and the number two an # 5.
Over the winter I got myself fixed up with a couple of “Tenkara” rods. Tenkara fishing is the traditional Japanese way of fly fishing and has become increasingly popular in the USA and is now catching on over here.
I was lucky enough to be invited for a couple of days salmon fishing on the River Tyne on the 1st & 2nd March by regular Go Fly Fishing UK client and friend Marcus Beale.
The season started well with the opening day on the River Nidd in near summer conditions, a couple of hours Tenkara fishing with a client produced an out of season grayling and a few trout up to around a pound and a half, interesting stuff on a rod without a reel! There was a good hatch of Large Dark Olives and fish were moving well to them, all boded well for a good start to the season a week of beautiful weather followed when the fishing was excellent.
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