I had a couple of very short fly fishing lessons over the last few years & in 2013 I bought some gear, a Sonik SK4 5/6wt rod fitted with a matching reel, floating, intermediate & sinking line in the Weight Forward configuration, simple standard stuff for fly angling.
A box of flies & other various bits, tippets, tapered leaders & hooklengths in 4, 6 & 8lb
The total bill was about £180 which isn't too bad for a quality set up for a true beginner like me.
I basically read books & used good old google for lots of the info & taught myself plenty about fluff flinging.
I feel a great sense of achievement doing things this way & of course trial & error plays a big part but that's learning.
I caught dozens of trout up to 3lb on this set up with the sinking line & loved every minute of it.
It's tough to get right but very enjoyable, which surprised me. Its hard to get somebody to show you the ropes, I've found far too many toffs that have a high opinion of themselves & not willing to share their sport will a normal bloke like me. Anyway.....
Dry fly fishing will test my casting skills to the max as it's all about presentation. but that's what life is all about, pushing your skills & learning what works & what doesn't.
I for one, love that part of angling !!!!
A few days before I ready my gear & check the forcast. Bad news.....
Pants is an understatement, dry fly casting in the rain, that's gonna be tough, even if I was seasoned fly man.
But with limited time for my fishing these days with family commitments, "beggars can't be choosers". I've experienced having all four seasons weather squeezed in just one day but that's the reality of fishing in the uk at times, hahaha.
The lake I've chosen today is a nice small day ticket & I've only cast a line once before.
I did well here last time & I've been told you can even catch off the top in winter, so even with the poor forcast I remain in a buoyant mood.
I had plenty of hard fighting carp to 11lb on light gear & some lovely Rudd to around a pound (& I saw some much bigger that that)
All caught in the bushy margins or no more than a rod length out while siting way back from the waters edge out of view.
But having said that it was a hot summers day last year & who knows what challenges face me this time.
After 40 mins drive it's looking cloudy & then the rain comes, thankfully 10mins before my destination the rain dried up.
So after unloading the barrow & loading up the gear, I did a little anti-rain dance in the car park before i set off to my swim (that was a joke by the way)
Overcast & warmish (13 degrees) were good signs but as I walked up to my chosen swim the wind is horrendous !!!
I give it a go but it's just too windy to keep a float still let alone cast with any accuracy.
After a valiant effort I conceded defeat & after a brisk walk around the other lake I find the only swim with a bit of shelter & my choice is made for me.
With a large ripples everywhere I can't see any carp in the upper layers of the water.
So after firing out a few pouchfulls of good old mixer biscuits, I left the carp to hopefully seek them out & start slurping a few down.
I set up my new Preston C series parabolic float rod (tippy enough for light hooklinks but plenty of grunt if I hook a lump) with 7lb line, 5" Drennan loaded crystal waggler along with a 4lb hooklink, finished of with a strong gage 16 hook.
My swim plumbed up at a fairly uniform 5ft deep, so with a handful of maggots out in the swim I made a cast, fishing "on the drop" without a shot on the line.
After a few casts the Rudd appeared & started swirling just under the surface, scooping up the red & white grubs with gusto.
A few small ones caught & it's time to give a bit of sweetcorn a go & hopefully bag a bigger fish that are lurking under the shoal of tiddlers.
I squeezed out half the kernal so it's kinda flat & thus hopefully flutter down enticingly through the water levels.
The carp are starting to slurp down the odd biscuits here & there so I top up their breakfast with the catapult while I sit it out 4 a better stamp of Rudd on my wag & corn rod.
Plenty of these, but where are your grandfathers ???
Nowt on the corn so far but a few good sized carp catch my eye & I can hear the classic slurping sound every angler loves to hear, I can wait no longer....
I set up my fly rod with 3ft of floating zig line rated at 9lb, a bit heavy but as there are a few fish in here to just under 20lb, it's my insurance policy, if I'm lucky enough to hook a big old girl !
Even In this sheltered area, with my poor casting skills it's dam near impossible, after the first three efforts end up in the tree, a rethink is needed.....
Back on the wild lake I started on, there was a big raft of detritus in the far corner, there must be a few feeding here I thought, a few freebees were gulped down within 5 mins so I can't wait to get a bait in the water....
After a few missed chances, finally I've hooked a carp & it screamed off taking most of the fly line, I'm nearly on to the backing, after tightening the drag I'm back in control (rusty ain't the word haha) but what a fight on this little 9ft fly rod.
After a powerful scrap he's in the net.
It's a first for me & I'm chuffed to bits.
A 7lb near fully scaled mirror, a beautiful fish & by the looks of his rubbery old lips possibly a previously uncaught fish
Just when I think the wind can't get any worse, of course it does, crazy wind & light rain...
Having said that, I proceeded to catch another three fish, close to the bank & I'm loving it, about the same size or a wee bit smaller maybe.
The swim goes dead & I head off back to my sheltered swim, it's fizzing with feeding carp on the top, fly rod away & it's time to try freelining, a strong size 10 hook tyed on & it's dog biscuit time.
Although the carp are feeding well, they're tight to the snags, in this case half a massive tree, a good cast is needed & within a couple of minutes & a big splash I'm in.....
After a good hard fight I can hardly believe my eyes as I peel back the net folds.
Full of spawn or just a deformity ??
Either way she was fighting fit & I got her back asap & she no worse off than 10 minutes ago.
So after 20+ fish my arm is aching but you won't hear me moaning, I'm loving every second of it.
Lovely take for the next fish, like a whale coming up for air, it rolled up a took the bait without hesitation.
It felt like a good'un, a strong fish that kept deep & took plenty of line from my clutch, a real plodder....
My Preston c series nearly tested to the max
Great fight & a beautifully coloured fish.
It's a cracking day but time is ticking, I recast my rod out as I pack up the rest of the gear (couldn't resist another last cast)
Just as I finsh that, my baitrunner melts off again, the culprit was a cute little ghosty that I'd been watching slurp down floaters all day long
As the fish went back I really had to go.
On reflection I feel a small dose of reality is needed as I write this.....
I know some people may call this blog "pasty bashing" but I'm just a simple soul & i just love catching fish.
Of course I'm not pulling up any trees with this blog but it's not always about size, pb's are great when they come along, but as long as your catching on balanced tackle.
I've seen too many people horsing in 5lb carp on a 3lb TC rod, what a joke !
I don't think you can't be too disappointed with a day of arm aching non stop action, well not in my book 😉
