Tips for beginners Fly Fishing on a flat calm, sunny day

There's a big competition on at Rutland Water today, and I've been watching a flotilla of boats in the bay by my lodge and a few thoughts came into mind.
This is April 2014 and Dickenson's bay has been choc full of trout since the season began in March.



When I first brought a boat in here a while ago to see if the bay held fish, I was astounded at the number of eagerly feeding trout all over the bay but mainly right in close by the back, almost under the trees.
Mostly smallish, fresh stockies probably swimming here from Transformer on the South Shore of the peninsula, but with a few good silver ones mixed in.
This has been a guarantee* of excellent sport for a good few weeks and my clients have enjoyed fast and furious sport.
Back to the armada in the bay. The rules of the competition, in this case a Police Federation Match, are that the first 4 fish must be taken and weighed then catch and release thereafter giving each released fish a score of 2 pounds.
A useful tactic would be to catch 4 fish quickly (some of the stock fish are less than 2 pounds in weight) and keep catching all day to build up the 2 pound bonus weight.
However, it seemed to me that the boats in the bay weren't catching quick enough to achieve that goal. The reason is probably clearer from up here on my balcony with a clear view of the proceedings, but in the frenzy of competitive angling, the 'mist' can form and some basic fly fishing watercraft can be forgotten.
Dickenson's bay isn't deep, it's probably one of the shallowest creeks on the lake apart from a few lovely shelves and deeper spots. Recently the fish have been on the shelf as the bottom, easily seen as a light brown colour gives way to the deeper, darker water with a weedy bed. The weeds which flourished on the low water mark last year, approx. 25 yards out are still there, the winter just gone was incredibly mild and the weedbeds which hold huge amounts of food are still growing, as can be seen when you lift up the anchor against mountains of lush, food rich greenery. So that's where the fish have been. By the way, I do prefer to drift with the wind but with the recent breezy weather, a steady anchored boat has been more effective.
But, as we know, every day can be different, and today, we have bright, warm sunshine and no wind.
If you were a fish, where would you be?
Trout don't like bright sun. They don't have a peaked cap or sunglasses, or even eyelids. The water here is very clear and there are many predators looking for a trout-sized meal. In fact an osprey flew over the bay just now and decided it wasn't the pace to hunt. Probably because those trout which were happy feeding in shallow water during a good ripple on the water and an overcast sky, now, are finding the depths, in safety away from the sun.

Dickenson's Bay with 10 boats, 2 out of sight

Also, this bay isn't large and there are now 10 boats, each with 2 fishermen, casting away, motoring around and all congregated in the shallow areas where the competitors found fish in the days before, during their practice sessions. But those fish must also be getting nervous with the fishing pressure and will move away from all the commotion.
There are some fish being caught occasionally, usually by the boats either over the deeper holes or the ones on the periphery, ie away from the main concentration of anglers.
They are being caught on either slowly fished buzzers or similar flies suspended underneath a 'bung' or sight indicator. 'Pure' indicators are not allowed in competitions, so to make it legal, you can by tie a hook in it and calling it a floating fly. I often fished a 'bung' made from 15, yes 15 Cul De Canard tips onto a size 10 nymph hook. It works well and there's a good chance that a trout will take 'the bung' itself.
I've no problem with this, it's a mighty effective way of fishing buzzers how they really should be fished, that is, static. An occasional 'draw' lifts the buzzers and then let's them fall back through the water, and a nice ripple helps with a 'dangling' irresistible movement. Plus, it's a method using widely on the famous River Test, a purist water if there ever was one. They use a hi viz floating 'klinkhammer' and attach a sinking nymph to it. Watch the dry fly disappear and the trout has probably taken the sunken nymph. Great fun and very effective. I love to fish 'the bung'.
So, if the conditions, and I mean the weather conditions and the 'traffic' conditions aren't good for this location where should they go?
You could prowl around the edge of the main fleet and pick up fish moving to somewhere quieter, probably fining down to a 6 weight set up and perhaps a thinner leader. I wouldn't go lighter for the leader as the fish still pull hard, 8lb breaking strain minimum, but a more expensive, thinner make such as Orvis Mirage etc. The lighter set up will produce more delicate presentation. Many of the anglers out there are casting long distances but the lack of a wily presentation may easily spook any remaining fish.
You could stick around and wait either for most boats to give up and move away and also hope for a breeze to cover the shiny water in a camouflaging ripple. In a flat calm the fish see everything, boats, fly line etc at least ripple would disguise the anger and boat.
Or you could move. I probably would have seen the number of boats in there and gone somewhere else initially. In my experience I believe that that this particular bay on Rutland Water can take a maximum of 3 boats to fish well. More than that, certainly 10 plus boats will probably drive the fish out and into safety.
There have been other spots on Rutland which have produced big numbers of fish recently and these seem to have had a higher proportion of bigger, grown on fish. Transformer for example, with it's shallow bank and lovely dark drop off had held many fish with some real corkers of 4 pounds and over for me and my clients over the past few weeks. Finches down to Armley Wood, Armley around to Carrot Creek and Barhill are good areas now and at least on that bank, the water has been in the shade for longer. The water being shaded by the Hambleton rolling hills until noon.
The South Arm has deep water off Old Hall Point and again slightly in the shade, Gibbets Gorse and New Zealand Point.
On days like this when there's no wind and glaring sunshine, it's not going to be easy. All competitors could struggle and the tactics have to change. It's not a race any more. The initial plan to catch lots of fish and win with a large bonus weight may not work today and perhaps a different strategy could be worth considering.
Maybe to try and target bigger fish first then hope that the afternoon will bring a few cloud, a decent ripple and that this will induce the fish to come on to the take in more 'stockie-filled' locations, may be worth considering.
Where's that then? You ask. Well I could tell you but I'd have to kill you I'm afraid ;) Joking of course. I'd try a few deeper areas which normally would produce grown on fish later in the year, about May/June. The lack of severe frosts mean that those areas still have weedy beds and therefor are a magnet for wise old trout.
In the deeper holes at the top of the arms; off the Normanton or Sykes shore well out from the shelf; along the dam; around the towers. Risky gamble but often, 'he who dares wins' a couple of good fish may be several times the weight of 4 small stock fish and it may just win the match for someone today.  May not though, these are wild animals' after all and we may think we know what they'll do, but we really, I mean really don't know for sure at all.
Rob

 
* Sorry, we can't actually guarantee anything in fishing, that's why it's called 'fishing'...not 'catching'

Red Letter Day for Angus

Sometimes all the fishing Gods smile down on us poor fishermen.
We cope with rain, winds, sun and generally the wrong weather seeking for a miracle to happen when all things come good and we catch a fish. But, occasionally the Gods smile for us and give us a day like today.
Rutland Water's been on fire for weeks, with great catches and great fishing.
But this was something else.

Today was Angus's first trip to Rutland this year, he comes a few times every season and we fish together with lots of fun and laughs and have become good friends. There're some funny stories to tell of our fishing jaunts but Angus often has a great day catching either his biggest or best or most fish, so far. I will add to this story and this blog some time soon, but for now, these pictures speak a thousand words.

21st april 2014 Lovely Rutland Rainbow 'close to the wire'!

By my Lodge there's a nice bit of bank and sometimes the trout hang about just to the Western side of an old wire fence. This fence is useful to keep Jane's sheep from moving from one field to another when the water level is very low. However in high water as we have now, it sails away maybe 30 yards into the lake and any mistake in casting can mean you're caught up in the wire.

Of course you have to be careful if you hook a fish near this fence as it can snag easily if it takes a turn to the left.

Well it's been a bright day, my friend Cameron had had a few nice fish including a lovely brown of about 2.5 pounds this morning, but as usual on this fairly shallow stretch, it doesn't fish too well in bright sun.

 

 

This evening I saw another friend Matt going fishing down here, so I so decided to take a rod down and have another go as the sun goes down.

Nothing off the point, so I decided to have a cast along 'the wire' ...BANG! a strong swirl and a screaming of reel and line cutting through the water as a strong, powerful fish with a tail like a shovel rived line from the reel and took me out into the lake...and to the left! Around the wire and into the next bay.

No possible chance of bringing it over the wire as the shallow angle meant barbed wire teeth just a few inches under the water ready to snag the line and the fish would be gone.

This was obviously a powerful fish, and the runs and dives were deep and long, not the splashy fight on a recent stockie.

No choice, I had to run to the bushes where the wire fence was at it's lowest and straddle the barbed wire fence to get into the next bay to land the fish safely.

Ably assisted by Matt who by this time could see that it was a good fish and that I was in need of help.

Have you ever tried to get your legs over a barbed wire fence in a hurry? Well it's not a good idea! Everything got caught up in this cloying spears; the net, my sleeve, Matt, and a seriously sensitive  part of my jeans...... I'll leave that to you, but it was close!  'Close to the wire'!

 

The Rainbow was an absolute cracker, at 4.4 pounds, silver as a bar with Mother of Pearl Ribs down the tail, looking like a lovely little Grilse, it was perfection, and my best fish, so far from the Rutland bank.

 

3 GREAT fish caught on Rutland today!!

The full moon must have worked its magic on Rutland Water  today 16th April 2014
I came off the boat early at 5pm and at least 3 great fish had been caught.

The 1st Was a Super Rainbow of 9lb plus caught on a black buzzer and floating line. I could tell you where, but I'd have to .... well, I fished there this afternoon and we also has some nice fish but not like this bruiser. Well done chaps.

The 2nd Was a Bar of Silver Brown Trout caught by young fischmeister Toff Crowther, looking like a giant sea trout and weighing in at 7lb plus. Caught on a different type of fly (!) 'deep down south'.



But the best catch of the day was yours truly's 2 dram bream!
It put up a hell of a fight via a 3lb silver rainbow which had it in its mouth! And was hooked on a buzzer.

Totally Awesome Fishing Show, beginners guide to fishing the Rutland Water shore

Quite embarrassing seeing yourself on the screen for the first time. However, I'm sure I can be less nervous the next time! ..and hopefully looking less like W C Fields! :)  red nose!
The guys did a great job and though we didn't manage any proper grown-on Rutland fish on the day, we did have some rod bending action!!!

Please share the video with your friends

www.rutlandwaterflyfishing.co.uk

Totally Awesome Fishing Day

This week, I had a visit from an old (not so old!) hero of mine, the 'awesome' Graeme Pullen and his son Mike.
They run a hugely successful and popular fishing channel 'the totally awesome fishing show' see http://www.totallyawesomefishing.com/ . They came up to Rutland to do a film on the early season bank fishing on big reservoirs.
After a bit of fun in the fishing cabin, talking about the flies, methods and locations, we headed out to (hopefully) catch some fish for the camera.
Lots of fish, thankfully from various spots around the lake, so the guys were chuffed. They are a super Father and Son team and very good at their job and it was an absolute pleasure to meet them.
They made it easy and relaxed, although I wasn't relaxed as I wanted them to catch one of the good grown on fish for which Rutland is famous.
I took them to a place which I knew didn't have many stockies and we saw a huge fish swirl out in the lake. Just about within castable distance, Mike, took my rod and with his newly improved casting style (he got a few tips throughout the day which helped enormously) and made a lovely long cast to the 'biggie' out in the lake.

The fish turned and it followed his fly right to his feet and as he was about the recast it snapped at the lure. It snapped at it but missed! Darn it, or words to that effect, it could have been the fish of the day, or the lifetime. Although these guys have caught more big fish than most of us have had hot dinners, Mike was devastated.... 'that's fishing bud'  A lost fish is always the biggest, the monster, the one that remains in the memory for ever.

I have a memory from my childhood. Fishing the River Dee at Eccleston Ferry, Chester near to where I grew up, I was fishing for pike with a little rudd bait I'd caught in a local farmer's pond the day before. I can see that big orange pike 'bung' to this day, sliding away into the bushes by a small eddy I was fishing. I struck, I hook it and I fought it, but the pike ran into the roots and the line snapped probably due to my inexperience at the time and I lost that fish. I was also devastated and in my mind, that pike was my monster. Thinking back now, it was probably about 14 pounds, but in my young mind, that fish was a world record breaker, massive and getting bigger the more I thought about it. But that day, that lost fish (if you can ever lose something that you didn't have anyway) changed my life. There's so much more to fishing than catching fish. And by losing that fish I became a life-long passionate, always wanting to return to catch the dream, the unattainable, the fish which is just out of reach. It's what keeps us fishing. If we caught every big fish and reached every goal, what's the point in carrying on?  Fishermen Mike and Graeme will have to come back, next time for a boat session but most importantly to try and catch that 'crocodile' that got away!
Thanks guys, see you soon.
And let's watch out for some Totally Awesome Rutland Fishing :)

Family Fly Fishing Introduction

One of our most popular fly fishing activities is the half day 'Introduction to Fly Fishing'. The day begins at 10am with tea/coffee and cakes to greet the guests and to discuss the format of the day.
Many people are complete beginners who have always wanted to go fly fishing but don't know how to begin. Some guests may be coarse fishers and wish to learn a new style of fishing. Often we have fly fishers who wish to learn more about the methods and flies we use or to improve their casting, we can teach to any standard, for example learn a more advanced technique of 'double hauling' to get extra distance or learn new casts ie Spey, double Spey, snake roll etc.
I am a fully qualified fly fishing coach and level two licenced instructor, and for 10 years I've been introducing hundreds of newcomers every season to this wonderful sport.
It all begins with a welcome to Rutland Water, the largest man-made lake in western Europe and arguably the finest Stillwater trout water.
Rutland is famous for the quality of it's trout which quickly grow to become pristine, silver, hard fighting specimens. To give an idea of what this water can produce, the record was smashed last season with a superb 17 pound plus brown trout. to put that into perspective, there are many smaller Stillwater in the UK where trout of that monstrous size are grown in tanks and stocked at that weight, only to be caught perhaps a few days, or even hours later! Rutland is different, that large trout was stocked about 10 years ago at around 2 pounds, but with the perfect water quality, the enormous space and the vast amount of natural food available it grew to that massive size.
However, they don't grow that big by being caught so while Rutland Water is certainly one of the best in the UK, it's not always the easiest. Far from it. Many things need to be right before a good fish is caught. the weather, the location, the depth and using the correct fly is so important to be successful.
You also need to be able to cast a fly without 'whipping the water to foam' and present your fly with delicate precision.
During the morning we are based in our fishing cabin overlooking the lake. Pine panelled walls covered with fishing pictures, tackle and mounted fish give the feel of a Canadian Fisherman's log cabin and there are displays of huge fish caught over the years by myself and my guests: silver rainbows, large brown trout, pike, Atlantic Salmon, giant sturgeon and fighting sailfish and marlin.
First of all we discuss the 'concept' of casting a fly, to get my guests to understand that strength and power is not needed, it's all about timing and technique. In fact, rather like golf, the harder you try, the worse the casting becomes.
After explaining and demonstrating the tackle needed; the lines/leaders/rods and so on, with the help of interesting projected slides, I explain all about the flies used on this and other stillwaters. My fly box may look like 'witchcraft' or an explosion in a Christmas decoration factory but it's not as complicated as it may seem. Again with visuals, I explain the different types of flies and why we use them at different times of the year. Fascinating and informative, and information which they have for the rest of their lives.
Patient, and above all, fun 'Step by Step' casting instruction on the grass soon enables anyone to be able to cast a decent line. good enough to GO FISHING. So, out we go for the rest of the time, fly fishing from the banks of Rutland Water. Why we choose a particular place in certain conditions and times is also covered in the morning's 'teach-in'.
Catching a trout can be difficult for a beginner, and the most difficult aspect of my job is to try and enable them to catch, every morning I look over the lake and wonder, 'how are the conditions today; which direction is the wind; is it too strong/not strong enough; is it too sunny? However, often, the gods smile on us and a miracle happens....then all is right with the world :)

Yesterday I had a lovely English/Japanese family group who really wanted to catch a fish or two to take back home for a tasty meal. Well, the fish played their part admirably, in fact I cannot remember a day when so many fish were hooked, lost, landed and kept or returned. everyone caught fish from the youngest son to Mother Mayumi. Daughter Hiko was a 'natural', casting and catching several lovely trout.

The best part of my job is when a novice catches their first trout, it often does happen and yesterday the family returned to London with big smiles and some lovely trout.

Smiling faces and Bending rods is what Rutland Fly Fishing Adventures is all about... hope to see you soon.