Great fishing on friday!

Despite the terrible weather two of my clients managed some really good rainbows on a local stillwater on friday. The girls who have been having double handed lessons prior to our trip to Las Buitreras in Argentina to fish for sea trout in Feb, took to the single handed rods in no time and were soon catching fish on small dries.

Well in between the constant rain the water did drop a touch and the nymphs were replaced by the dry flies. For me anyway I love taking fish on the dries and after watching a fish rising steadily away whilst I conducted a spey casting lesson the temptation was too much to resist. So after the lesson finished I pulled the 4 wt out of the car and wandered back down to the river. The fish was still rising and after a couple of casts the fish made a hesitant attempt at the klinkhammer. A quick switch to a size 18 Gnat saw me miss the fish. However another change to a size 20 parachute saw a confident rise and the fish took the fly with confidence.

The river is up again today and with six inches of rain forecast I will have to bide my time before my next sortie.

River Wharfe fishable again!

Finally the river dropped back into some kind of shape. The river was still a tad high but running clear. So time for a spot of fishing to find the grayling again and thanks to river keeper Mark Whitehead we did! A lovely fish they were too! Bugs were the order of the day and the fish picked them off as they drifted past.

Great to be back on the river again, lets hope the weather holds and the levels stay fishable next week.

Despite the horrid weather this week father and son team Chris and Jamie had some great sport this week. The plan was to fish on a stillwater on monday to learn the basics before hitting the river later in the week. However the river was blown out and we returned to the stillwater on Thursday to move the guys a bit further on with their casting and catching techniques. The guys did well on Monday and they landed a couple of fish each, Thursday they both played a blinder the casting dropped into place and the loops were terrific. The fish thought so too and the guys caught fish all day on dries and small nymphs. Well done to both of them!

River Wharfe blown out!

And here I was all fired up about to have a busy week guiding on the grayling on the Wharfe and the rain gods have decided to ruin my plans! Thankfully tomorrow starts with a session on a stillwater, but it doesn't look good for the rest of the week. Always amazes me that the trout and grayling can avoid being washed out to sea when the river gets like this. Any stocked trout will now be down the river at Ilkley by now as they struggle to hold station in torrents like this! But the wild fish will tuck themselves under the banks and wait for the levels to drop.

Last Salmon of 2009?

This could well be the last salmon of my 2009 season. It' s been a struggle for us all at times. With a shortage of fish throughout the season on many rivers. This coloured hen of the Ribble went back a treat, fingers crossed for a good spawning season. The Ribble has been kind to me this year and it makes a lovely change to catch a few salmon close to home without hammering up the A9. The AFS shooting heads from Rio have been great lines, no need to cut and trim the heads back and they really fly!

New Blog begins

Hi and welcome to the start of my blog on my great new site. It will give me chance to share my days on the river with clients as well as on my own fishing days either fishing or trying out new lines and rods etc. It will also give me chance on my destination trips a chance for everyone to follow my clients adventures in some of the finest fishing locations in the world.

First picture is on my own water on the Ure which is just fantastic for grayling!