Yorkshire Fly Fishing School

On the water again!

2011-01-26T19:47:00.003Z

After the big freeze its great to be back on the water again with clients and catching fish and what a great day to begin the new season. Experienced pole fishermen Andrew had very kindly been bought by his good lady an excellent Greys outfit and was keen to start his fly fishing career with a lesson or two. We decided on Kilnsey Park as our venue and after meeting up and loading up lines on reels etc we got cracking.

The great thing about teaching coarse anglers is their water craft is generally already in place and it became clear that once we got the casting going that Andrew would be into fish fairly quickly.

Despite being early season a decent midge hatch kicked off about 12.00, so on went the dry flies and with the excellent water clarity we could see rainbows drifting upto the fly at which point they would turn away. Now Andrews turnover of the fly was impro-

ving he was raising fish steadily away and a change to a smaller size 16 parachute resulted in his first trout on the fly. With Andrews dinner now secured we went for a quick brew to warm up and then back to the water where we switched to a small black buzzer. Just as Andrew took the rod a big fish cruised into view maybe 45 feet from us. Line was pulled quickly from the reel and Andrew nailed a perfect cast and dropped the fly a foot ahead of the fish. I screamed "STRIKE" and Andrew bent the rod into a big Golden Trout, which posed for the camera before being slipped back. Great job Andrew and remember keep firing that backcast high!

Rio Gallegos Article in tomorrows Financial Times

2010-04-23T17:48:00.002+01:00

Read about our fantastic trip in Feb this year to the Rio Gallegos River in tomorrows (Sat 24th) Financial Times Weekender Magazine. We had a fantastic time with a great group of clients including a couple of AAPGAI Instructors Bob Sherwood and Brett O'Connor.

Great memories and the most stunning sea trout you could imagine.

Just Perfect.

Two Places on River Eden Salmon Course 25th 26th May

2010-04-14T19:49:00.003+01:00

Two places have come available at short notice on the River Eden Salmon Course on the 25th and 26th of May. The course will take place on the banks of the stunning Upper and Lower Lazonby water and is aimed at beginners and improvers. The two days are an excellent way of fast tracking your skills for those in pursuit of these magnificent fish.

The course is conducted by myself and Glyn Freeman AAPGAI Master Instructor who has been guiding and teaching of this lovely river for many years. Accommodation is in the Fox and Pheasant at Armathwaite just five minutes from the water and is perfectly positioned to enable easy access to the private Lazonby estate water.

For more information please contact me.

Tight Lines

Jim

Great week on the Rio Gallegos

2010-03-04T12:50:00.005Z

The jet lag is almost a thing of the past and now all that remains are the memories of the most amazing weeks fishing in Patagonia on the Rio Gallegos river. Everyone will remember this tremendous weeks fishing and treasure the memories for ever!!

Ailsa's quest for a double figure fish was rewarded with this 15lb beauty. See Below.

The team of nine rods had a blast catching these huge sea trout, everyone had personal bests. Including Ian above who hooked and landed this 21lb fish after just half an hour of the first morning on his single handed G Loomis!

By the second day the wind started to live up to it's reputation, however the group changed to the double handers and the catching of huge sea trout continued.

The fish were bars of silver and jet propelled giving all the guys and girls some amazing scraps.

The lodge and the guides were first class and the welcome we received was very special indeed.

Well done to all the group for their good humor and good company and for making my job of host such an easy one. Special thanks to fellow AAPGAI Instructors Bob Sherwood (who's rod I "borrowed" to catch an 18lb fish on the last evening and to Brett whose quest to become a member of the 20-20 club (20 sea trout and a 20lb fish) kept us on the edge of our seats until the last session. He finished the week as top rod with 18 fish biggest 21lb, great effort.

Thanks to all the group.

Jim

Rio Gallegos Sea Trout Adventure

2010-02-18T04:34:00.004Z

After months of planning we are now just a few hours away from another adventure down in Patagonia. Its 4.30am and I'm just treble checking all the details for the trip. Everything looks good, the river is in great shape, the average size of the fish is at an all time record of 12.4lbs! With out doubt one of my favourite places on the planet and with a cracking group of clients ready to experience these hard fighting silver bullets,all that is now left to do is jump on the plane and enjoy the adventures that are sure to come our way!

Great fishing on friday!

2009-12-01T18:42:00.003Z

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.

2009-11-16T12:46:00.004Z

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!

2009-11-06T17:20:00.004Z

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.

2009-11-06T17:08:00.006Z

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!

2009-11-01T18:35:00.005Z

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?

2009-10-23T14:16:00.002+01:00

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

2009-10-21T14:39:00.002+01:00

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!