On The Beck

Spent Sunday with Phil n Mike ,with rain
falling through the week a spot of still water
fly fishing was a nice way to spend the day
while the rivers are flooded.
It was a lot warmer than our last visit but
the fishing was quite hard .
I only managed to land one fish and lost
a couple more, still good to be out .
This year I hope my Dad wll be up to
getting back on the bank with me ,
I have not been fishing with him for two years
in this time he has had two new hips .
Just writing this brins back great times
I've spent with him from being a little lad
he was and is my best mate ,to spend time
with him by the water will be great .......
also I can blog about all the fish he wont
catch !!!!

Solid Silver

I knew today that I had some free time
the question where to spend it .
Mike had been out Saturday with Phil
but the -5 temps made the fishing hard.
The weather had warmed over night
and we had the first lite rain for weeks.
My first thoughts was to make a trip to
the Dane, it takes me a good half hour
along the M6 and with the low temps
and clear water I had a feeling the going
would be tough .
I have had some nice fish off the local
brook , the recent good Roach on caster
was still at the back of my mind.
So when Pete rang to say he was
''playing out'' my mind was made up.

The last time I fished maggot I found a
switch to caster brought me more fish,
this was because I hid the hook in the
hard shell , I think the Roach have
been taking loose feed all the times
I've fished but seeing the hook avoided
my attempts to catch them . I looked
hard for a fine hook and the one I
chose allowed me to hide the hook
very well.
I also decided to fish small in every way,
I took the smallest stick float and cut the
stem down, this float needs 2 no4 shot,
I use Styl shot on the fine line, low diameter
lines are pre stretched mono and the slightest
damage weakens them. The Styl shot is best,
another advantage you can move it up and
down your line very easily ,if a fish runs into
a snag the shot moves avoiding lost fish.
I also used some of the new 0.08 hook-length
which as a good breaking point of nearly 3lb .
While doing this Mike rang to say he would
meet us for a few hours.

Mike was fishing the spot which had brought
us fish recently ,today they had moved .
Even though little rain had fell the water
had rose and also carried some colour.
So the hunt was on.
I commented to Mike how the spot upstream
where the river narrows may be worth a cast.
We both had a Roach each before I tried it.
The Roach seemed to be lined up for
me a succession of ''solid silver'' winter
Roach followed.


Some of these fish must be approaching
a pound Mike thought he had left is scales
in the car, when we got back he found them
in his pocket .... ah well .
This set up makes such a big difference,
I have had quite a few Roach over the
last few months ,now with the new approach
I'm sure my catch rate will increase greatly.
On the river Dane quite a few years ago I had
some cracking Roach I used this method
but with caster to great success .On my recent
visits no Roach so this tactic may well be the secret.
I then got a little Perch followed by a better
one which I lost .If the weather stays a wee
bit warmer the next week or so should be
interesting .

A Quick Fix

Well after getting my first blank of the
New Year out of the way Friday it was
on my mind to get the first fish .
Basically A Quick Fix was needed.
So I scored a few brownie points
with the good lady , hoping I may
get a late cast on the local brook.
Time was ticking by and it was just
the last hour before dark that I made
my first cast , my only bait was bread
I was hopeful of a few Roach , but the
previous outing and reports of hard
goings on most water left my confidence
a bit dented .
Ten minutes past before a couple of little
Roach broke my 2009 duck.
Then followed a Trout out of season and
on bread !
It was lean but well marked .
The white edges is something I find
shows a fish off ''very nice'' , a quick snap
with the camera and back to the Roach.
A couple more small fish next before I finished
the short session with two better fish , just
what the doctor ordered ... better now .

My Rod Bent Double

Got the chance to fish the upper Ribble with
Rob . The night had been a little warmer so
I thought we may stand a chance ,the high
pressure that had settled and caused clear
nights and deep frosts seemed to have moved.
We arrived at the river I've fished the spot a few
times and it's great water .
Every time the Christmas break comes along me
and Rob try for a few Grayling ,he had a cracker
a couple of years back .
The river was very cold and clear as usual at this
time of year spent Salmon litter the bank and
shallows.

It's sad to see these King's of fish dead and dieing
but such is life and with the sacrifice comes a new
beginning .
I imagine a lot of life along the river feasts at this
time on dead Salmon remains and after a few years
we have decided the pink flies we fish are more than
likely imitating the flesh that washes down the river
and Grayling gorge them selves on it , almost
prebaiting the river for us .
Today was hard going, I tried three flies under a
stick on the pin , spiders , Czech nymphs you name
it . I spotted a fish or two in a pool and gave them a
go . I thought I had hit bottom but then all hell
broke loose my little 6# rod bet double and my
line stripped off down stream I hoped for a
monster Grayling but I knew only one fish
could be responsible ''Salmon''.
No matter how I leaned in to the fish it would not
yield . After a good struggle it made another run
and the top dropper found the only snag on the river
the fish was still on so I gave Rob the rod and
waded out I could see the fish a big double and
not as dark as I thought!! only thing it saw me one
shake of it's head was enough and away it went.

I blanked but it was still a good day Rod had
a couple of wee fish .
I tried hard today and would have loved the
slightest sign of a fish on what was a new method
for me but not a sniff , even on the fly rod we both
struggled . I sort of expected we would after reading
a few reports and blogs of people who had fished
earlier in the week .
Not to worry hopefully plenty more days fishing
to be had .
Happy New Year.