Bad Timing

Trout fishing season has began again here in Finland with the spring stonefly hatch.



I can't go now, and when I can it could be all over. Again.



I screwed it.

That is a sure sign of the start of the new trout fishing season!

Dancing dries on the River Thrushel

David and Tim stole an hour this afternoon to do a recce on the Thrushel (it's hard work but someone's go to do it). Even though the river was still high and a little coloured, several brown trout succumbed to carefully-presented dry flies. The guys gave a one-weight (yes, one-weight!) rod a trial - fantastic fun on a river this size!
With the spring flowers making a welcome appearance, there are certainly worse places to be at this time of year...

Tinhay Lake gets the thumbs up!

Louis Norman showed the pros how to do it this morning by landing five fantastic rainbow trout from Tinhay Lake. Using a dry fly to suspend a Black Buzzer and drifting them in the ripple, 10 year-old Louis released three fish and kept this brace of 3lb 12oz and 4lb 4oz. Great work Louis - an expert in the making!



Carl and Lou Wheeler joined David and Tim for two half-day enhancement sessions on the lake and river. After a casting brush-up, Tim showed them the finer points of spring nymph fishing on the lake yesterday; they landed nine fine trout between them! David took the lead this morning, teaching Carl and Lou the gentle art of the upstream dry fly on the Lyd - surely the ultimate skill for any trout fly fisher.

Rod Building - Part 16: "back back forth and forth"

My rod building project is going like a dance. I replaced the big ugly stripper guides with a pair of shiny, tiny chromed ones.



Removing guides is simple. What you need is a sharp knife, steady hand, and some acetone to clean the blank.



Does this make a better rod?



How cares, we are after the looks here. Almost done...

Book Review: The Freshman Fly Fisher by Rick Passek

The Freshman Fly Fisher is the first book written by Rick Passek from British Columbia, Canada. It is an entry level fly fishing book. Main focus is in stillwater fly fishing for trout - covering a selection of flies, fly fishing equipment, and wide range of boats. For new fly fishers living or planning to fish in BC this book offers sound information for fishing locations as well.

Sharing the experience

I like reading beginner level fly fishing books. This is because I believe that within given limitations of pages, the author must write about what he or she thinks is most essential. And I'm interested in the most essential things in fly fishing.

The way I see it, the most important aspect of this book is that Rick shares his fly fishing experience to his readers. The best stuff is where he gets in the details, be it fishing chironomids, different boats for fly fishing, or specific fishing locations.

A Beginners Guide for a New Generation

The subtitle of the book refers to the links for additional information either in Rick's web site or other web based fly fishing resources. I've spent too much time surfing the web for fly fishing knowledge, and so should a beginning fly fisherman. My advice is read as much as you can. And fish more.

Here are some links:

• www.rp3fishingadventures.com - Rick's Web Site where you can order his book and more.
• http://www.rp3fishingadventures.com/flyfish_fanatic/ - Rick's blog.

Trout in a Hurricane!

Yesterday England International fly fisher Simon Kidd and son Matthew fished Tinhay Lake in what can only be described as a hurricane. The wind was relentless and from all directions, making casting near impossible at times. Nevertheless, Simon and Matthew caught and released over 10 fine rainbows between them, including this beauty of 3lb 8oz. As ever, the monster (estimated at around 7lb) got away! The day was a photo-shoot for an upcoming issue of Total FlyFisher magazine in which Simon demonstrates the finer points of sinking line fishing. The intermediate seemed to do well, but young Matthew took all of his trout on a floater and buzzer patterns.

Rainbow trout perfection!

Although casting was tough, the trout kept on coming.

Young Matthew Kidd used buzzers to deadly effect!

Mearns Quail

The area of Az. that we live in is one of the few areas in the SW USA that has a hunt able population of Mearns Quail . They are great birds, the environment that they are found in is spectacular .
Their habitat is conducive to fast and tight shooting and rugged terrain .Because of these factors my two favorite guns are British Side by Sides that are choked skeet and skeet , and Cylinder and Improved Cylinder.
The average covey size for Mearns Quail seems to be around 10 birds ,and during the 07/08 season on serious days we where moving around 15 coveys per day.
Keep in mind that this was an exceptional year ,normally the covey count is lower.
I like to run 2- 3 dogs at a time , the dogs seem to pick their own zones to hunt, they search the bottoms of the canyons ,underneath the Oaks ,and the open side hills,They also learn to slow down and be thorough ,as there are many places a covey can be and plus scenting conditions can be tough.
Let's hope we have a repeat hatch in 2008.

Working for the Future

We visited the new Tamar salmon hatchery yesterday at Endsleigh. The set up is fantastic - the modern equipment, and stringent organisation and hygiene controls were very impressive. Many thanks must go to hatchery manager Jim for showing us around.



Anne Voss-Bark and David Pilkington watch thousands of young Tamar salmon at the new Endsleigh hatchery.



Hatchery manager Jim shows a typical box used to house alevin before they become fry and inhabit the larger tanks...



Tamar salmon of the future!

The Cockpit tackle shop - open for business!

Dawn of the brown trout season. Rods, reels, flies and all the fisherman's gadgets ready for sale.��

Searching for a Springer

David and Tim shared a rod on the Lower Tamar fishery today at Gunnislake Weir. With only a handful of fish through the counter so far, hopes of connecting weren't high but you'll never know unless you've got a line on the water!
With blue skies, a warm sun and just a breath of wind, it was a beautiful day to be out, and the flora and fauna were certainly waking up to spring. The only fish seen were a grayling and a sea trout smolt to David's Mepps Long no.3 spinner, and all manner of flies were swum to no avail. But what a day to be alive!





Gunnislake Weir - not a bad day for early March!





Purple Toothwort; a rare flower of the British Isles, but common in the Tamar valley during early spring.





David searches the water as the tide starts to lift...





... and the result! Not the first springer of the season, but a welcome grayling nonetheless.

Ice, you can go now.

a jazoni photo. Used with permission.

It's March. To cope with it I'm currently reading The Freshman Flyfisher by Rick Passek. Rick is a fellow blogger from British Columbia, Canada. He asked me to write a review of the book, and I will. There is a good chapter about beginner fly selection in his book. Those always make interesting reading.

I haven't tied flies in two months. Not since I made the perfect mobile fly-tying station that is supposed to make fly tying so easy to start that you actually can use that spare 15 minutes for it. I'll be introducing this ground braking innovation to you at some point. Before that, you go and take a long walk along the banks of Tamanawis. There you will find lots of information about fly-tying-somethings. They will help you organize your fly-tying stuff and speed up the tying process. Or, at least they'll keep you busy doing anything but tying flies. Great stuff.

Tinhay Lake... in the cold!

When the rain, sleet and bitter winds subsided today, Roy and David took the opportunity to sneak an hour on the lake. Typically, as soon as the first casts went out... the heavens opened!
The fishing was less than a walk in the park, and although several fish were seen rising lazily to small midges, they proved tricky. The one that eventually graced the net however, was the most perfect little rainbow that any angler could wish for - it was great to see that the fish have over-wintered well and are in fine fettle.
On the rivers front, the salmon season started last Saturday and the first salmon of 2008 is yet to be caught. A handful of fish has been clocked through the Gunnislake counter, so it won't be long until the first falls to rod and line... watch this space!
We've spotted small hatches of grannoms and large dark olives while trimming the riverbanks recently and, on milder days, trout and grayling were seen rising even in mid-February. It all bodes well for the months ahead...





Harry would have rather stayed in the warmth of the fishing office...





This little rainbow - taken on a Pilk's Nymph - just wouldn't give up. It fought like a fish twice its size.





Roy shows the typical quality of this season's fish in the lake.

Chasing Grayling

Between days of serious bank maintenance, ladder building, tackle repair and river inspection, we've managed the odd hour or two chasing grayling! Beats 8b, 9a and 9b have been the most productive, with David and Tim taking several great-conditioned fish to 34cm on goldhead nymphs and pink shrimps. Several out of season brownies have also put in an appearance, and on the few days when the sun has shone, it's been lovely as ever to be on the Tamar...