CARP – The Alternative approach.

A nice Common Carp taken on a ‘retrieved’ Pink Fritz Fly !

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When we think of ‘Fly fishing for Carp’ in the U.K. , we often think – Pellet Flies, G&H Sedge’s and other floating Flies, which can be coloured and fashioned to look like small pieces of Bread or Dog-biscuits.

Now over the years when lure fishing for Pike and Perch using soft plastics, I’ve often had follows from Carp. This usually happens in the months between May and September ( June notably being the best month for follows or signs of interest ). I’ve watched Carp follow twisty tail grubs (which are mounted on small 3gr jig heads) to the bottom of the margin and attempt to suck it up only to spook off when they’ve had a go or mouth at the tail of the lure mid retrieve .

What I had seen and experienced over the years got me thinking and with a bit of research on the internet I stumbled across what Guys in the U.S.A had been doing for Carp. The likes of Barry Reynolds, Jay Zimmerman and many others have been sight fishing for Carp using various fly patterns. Flies tied to look like Goby’s, Crayfish and Shrimps and many other variations of food items that inhabit there waters.

A selection of Books/DVD’s I’ve collected – these cover various techniques and Fly patterns used for catching Carp.

So what if I said Carp can also be caught on lures here in the U.K. !? I use the term ‘LURES’ carefully but I refer to Fly patterns such as ‘ Fritz Goldheads , Blobs and Catswhiskers ‘ and these are well known Trout lures. I started specifically targeting Carp on these types of Lures over 12 months ago, so let me tell you about the day that started it all .

A favourite method of Carp fishing for me has always been stalking and surface fishing – so upon roaving around a local fishery one day I found several groups of Carp cruising just under the surface along with others occasionally rising to sip down whatever was on the top .

I spent the morning trying to get the Carp to take floaters but they just wouldn’t have it. It was one of those warm summers days where the fish were chasing each other and swimming erratically. Now as it happened I had been taking my Fly rod for surface fishing as hooking a Carp on a Fly rod and reel is such good fun, So as I couldn’t get the fish to come to me , I thought I’d go to them ! I had nothing to lose , it was either adapt to the situation or blank and I wasn’t about to give up just yet.

I’ve found Commons usually show more aggression and are willing to take a retrieved Fly more readily, but Mirror Carp can be caught too !

I opened the Fly box and tied on a size 8 Pink Fritz Goldhead,  I wanted something that would be in their face , at their level and hopefully it would be something they couldn’t miss ( note – Pink was a colour I’d had follows on from Carp when using grubs for pike so that gave me something to go off ) . I timed my casts so that the Fly would always be ahead of the Carp as it landed . When the Fly hit the surface I started my retrieve as the Fly slowly began to sink , alternating between short fast pulls and a slow figure of 8, varying my retrieve speed to suit the speed of the fish in front of me at the time . After making lots of casts that afternoon , watching fish follow the Fly on the retrieve only to turn away right at the last minute, a Common Carp nailed the Fly right in the margin .

As I was finishing the retrieve and just about to run out of leader the Carp swimming along the margin to my right suddenly sped up and swam straight for the Fly , It looked aggressive and full of intent – it wanted that Fly . I watched it inhale it before turning away and then bolt off as I set the hook .

The fight Carp give on a Fly rod is always great fun !

I couldn’t believe it , I’d hooked my first Carp on a retrieved Fly as you would for Trout , Pike or Perch . Luckily for me it stayed on and I netted the Common which was about 7lb. This then gave me confidence to try it again on other sessions and after nearly 12 months of doing it I’m beginning to have some success . There’s plenty of blanks to be had, but I feel it’s very rewarding when you do hook one as it’s such an alternative method .

The gear I use is nothing sophisticated or technical . A 6/7wt fly rod matched with a floating line to suit and a basic Greys reel with plenty of backing on. I tie my Flies directly to 8lb mono varying the B/S to suit the water im fishing at the time and it’s as simple as that .

For me this is a new and exciting way to catch Carp and it’s something I have only just scratched the surface on . My intentions for writing the above is to hopefully provoke people out there, that haven’t done so already, to try this alternative method !

Tight-lines and thanks for reading , Jamie .

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An untraditional bank holiday

What happened to the normal poor weather and bad conditions to spoil a typical British bank holiday? I don’t know about you, but I had a cracking weekend. Unfortunately I was unable to get the Peeler crabs I so desperately wanted, but it didn’t stop me catching loads of fish and having a great weekend. Lets take a look at just some of the great catches that happened over the weekend.

Firstly Dan Church proved, on a trip to Abbotsbury that you don’t need fresh Peeler Crab to catch Smoothounds. He opted for two frozen Peeler wrapped in Squid to take this lovely hound.

Mark.Parfitt sent me this report from a recent trip to Chesil: I have been sea fishing for about 4 years now and a plaice was still on my list for a new species . This year I’ve  put in about 8 sessions around the Solent area trying for one but only managing a few small dabs . I came down to Chesil a good few weeks ago and had a chat with Tom at abbotsbury tackle. He told me they were a good distance out , which just about ruled my casting distance out . I came down yesterday for a session targeting smoothound for a bit of sport and a few mackerel for a weekend BBQ, but unfortunately took 1 look at the water and new the mackerel wouldn’t be close enough. So armed with ragworm and 6 good peeler from Tom I focused on the hounds . Top of the tide had a banging bite and thought I was into a ray . When I saw the orange spots I almost wet myself with excitement, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at , not only my first ever plaice but a 4lb 12oz absolute beauty caught on a 3/0 pulley Penney with a bunch of rag. Happy man was an understatement. Through the day I also managed 5 smoothound biggest going 7lb and a doggie . It was without doubt the best day time session I’ve had , packing up due to running out of bait about 8.30. On the long drive home all I could think was eat it ? Or stuff it? What a day but there was 1 guy 50 yards to my left and 2 to my right  about 80 yards away who caught nothing .

Iv been reading every report you’ve published for over 3 years now and your old phrase of 50 yards from a mark springs to mind

Thanks for sharing your trip with us Mark. I would love to feature more of everyone’s pictures and tales.

It is amazing how two days can be so different. I decided to try for some Mackerel from Chesil. When we got to the waters edge, one look at the tea coloured water was enough for me to know it wasn’t even worth wetting the lines. I decided to go after some Bass on lures instead. I headed over to Portland Harbour and a mark that normally produces over high water. Unfortunately with such a small tide this weekend, there was not enough water to bring the Bass close to shore on that mark. I knew another couple of marks that would produce, but not till the tide started to ebb. I had a long lunch, then headed to my next mark. First cast and myself and Gavin had knocks from Garfish, We could see loads of Garfish following the surface lures, but not hooking up properly. I switched to a 5g Fladen mini shore jig and had even more hits, but still no hook ups. Gavin went for a larger Maxi shore jig and straight away had a Bass. I quickly changed and was also hit straight away. Even though we were using different colours (green and blue), it was the size of the jig that made the difference. I found the same pattern last year. The more I use shore jigs and work on the different ways of using them , the more I like them. I will create a video on the different way of using them, so you can see how effective they are as lures. At the end of the day both myself and Gavin had at least 30 each and my other mate John had loads as well. There was no great size to them, but it shows that the Bass stocks seem to be recovering.

As I said earlier, it is amazing how two consecutive days can be so different. I went back yesterday at the same state of the tide and all I managed was a couple of knocks from Garfish.

Catch and cook: For almost a year now, myself and Fishing Tails cameraman Gavin, have been filming loads of videos that we intend to release over the course of the year. One area we have been concentrating on is Catch & Cook. We spent all day Saturday, finishing off filming the first of the series. Even before we have finished editing it, I know you will love it. Check out the picture below of our Cod and Chorizo recipe, I don’t really like fish that much but this blew me away. We are aiming for to release the video next Monday. We are still looking for you to send in your fish recipes to be included for our recipe of the month competition. Each month the winner will receive a prize, with all winners being judged at the end of the year. The winner will win a place on the River cottage shoreline course. To enter just send my your fish or shellfish recipes with some pictures to [email protected]

Chesil Beach: calm with lightly coloured water

Portland: calm with lightly coloured water.

Portland harbour: calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: with the water so coloured with May water, Mackerel fishing is pretty much out of the window. The May water should clear in a couple of weeks. The Smoothhounds don’t seem to be effected by the algae bloom and are my top target species this week. There is still a good chance of a Plaice.

Portland: Wrasse fishing all over the island has been amazing. My friend Nathan Edgell managed 70 over a couple of days. He was using soft plastic lures.

Portland Harbour: There was a lot of anglers fishing in the Harbour over the weekend. It proved to be a good mark, with lots of Garfish, Pollock, Wrasse and Bass landed.

 
Weymouth Bay: As usual the piers continue to fish well with bait. Ragworm will tempt the Wrasse and Pollock, whilst small strips of Mackerel are ideal for Mackerel, Garfish and Pollock. Preston Beach should fish reasonably well for Dads and Flounder, but there are better marks that I have mentioned above for this week.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can’t keep any Bass at the moment, we can certainly catch them. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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If you want to find out more info about sea fishing reels, check out www.myseareels.com

What to expect fishing the Essex coast.

Hi guys, just a quick introduction my name is James and I will be covering the Essex coast and giving you,  an insight on what to expect along this coastline. Now, I have not been fishing this coast for many years but I have a bit of experience and know where is hot and where’s not, as well as the rigs and the bait to help you get amongst the fish.

I’m not the most experienced angler there is around this way by any means but I’m keen, always willing to try new things and listen and learn from all advice given. However I will help you with anything I can and if don’t know, I certainly know people who do. That’s enough from me, I hope you enjoy my first post just giving you an idea of what’s being landed here in Essex and what to expect.

So this winter was very disappointing for me and many other sea anglers around the Essex coasts as catches did not live up to expectations. All that I saw on social media was “looking like a great year for cod”, “Yeh great” if you were on a boat several miles out but on the beaches it was not to be. We did have a slight run at the end of October into November but that was short lived. I myself had a few but not of any size, biggest being of 4lb, not great but it was a cod. But happily as we get into spring and the summer approaches, fishing on the Essex coast has more than made up for the bad winter.

There has been a variety of species coming up from all over, from Walton on the naze to Frinton on sea right round to Clacton on sea and St Osyth. Fishing any of these venues for most has been excellent. Now if you live around this coast line you know what I’m talking about, if not I’ll go into detail on each venue.

Walton pier for instance has been doing very well these last few weeks, with the end of the pier being the hotspot, it’s always a race to the end when the pier opens at 8am. With Thornback rays coming of thick and fast I’m not surprised. There have been well over 100 caught in the last 4 to 5 weeks with some anglers having finished their sessions with over 12 landed ranging from the low pounds up to double figures. Overall it has been excellent.

Now last year fishing for the Smoothounds wasn’t very good, with not many being landed but the odd one and nothing of  any size. But within the last few weeks now the weather has warmed up the Smoothhound have made their return, and there have been some sizeable ones caught.

Two weeks ago one angler had 2 in a session the biggest being a very impressive 9lb+! There have been many more reports of catches of Smoothhounds from the pier.

Now that’s not the only species being caught on Walton pier. People get excited about the bigger fish and tend to forget about the smaller ones. I myself fish for both, depending on weather and conditions. The last few weeks Walton has seen Mackerel caught on feathers, Wrasse on ragworm, a very sizable pouting and bass the as well as the usual whiting a dogfish.

If you haven’t yet fished this pier then please head down for the day and hopefully you will be rewarded with any of these species. Parking is available on the roads leading to the pier and at a cost of £7 per angler 8am till 10pm for 2 rods you can’t go wrong.

Down a few miles to the coast of Frinton On Sea, and has also been been doing very. There have been Thornback rays even a Stingray of what size is unknown but it looked beautiful. The Bass are showing in greater numbers and I was lucky enough to pluck one out this week! Forgetting my scales I guessed the weight to be around 4lb+. So again if you haven’t fished this venue please get down there. Bait being used is the usual Squid, bluey, ragworm and peelers.

Now moving on around the coast to Clacton On Sea unfortunately I can’t say I have heard or seen a great deal being landed, don’t get me wrong there have been Thornback rays and the odd Bass. However the last few times I;ve come down for a session,  I’ve always been very disappointed, as I have been greeted by the sight of at least 2 miles of nets 500 yards of the beach. This for any angler is a awful site when you see nets just off shore indiscriminately taking everything including the returning Bass. Especially when you take into account the catch and release rule currently in place for us line anglers!  Having said that Clacton does produce some great fish, from Thorneys to Bass, Gurnard and always  a few Dabs and Sole around so plenty to fish for.

The pier is doing well at a cost of £6 for 8am till 6pm with 2 rods, it’s a great mark and always a pleasure to fish. Parking available on the top roads before the pier or you can pay to park on the pier but it’s costly. Season tickets are available at £75 per year with 24hour access to the pier 365 days a year. “Bargain”

One of 4 in caught 3 hours on Clacton pier this year.

Now for the infamous St Osyth Beach.

This venue is a hard venue but get to but in the right conditions it can be very rewarding.

In the last 24hrs is a 45lb stingray show how good this beach can be but you have to put in the hard work. I myself have put in the hours here but no stinger as of yet! A friend of mine last year in middle of summer had one at a whopping 50lb “wow” and then a week later another good friend had one of 33lb. So there is always a good chance to land a monster. Thornback rays are renowned on this beach and also bass. This is my favourite beach for bass in the summer months hitting it just before slack water and waiting for the ebb is key when I go. As it’s bass from the off.

Please feel free to comment and get in touch for more information on this venue.

Now baits used on all these venues :

Unwashed/washed squid.

Ragworm

Bluey

Fresh peelers or frozen

Black lug.

Sandeels

My preference of rigs is the pulley rigs.

Pulley dropper and the pulley pennel fantastic rigs for rays and bass.

For the smaller species I myself use 2 to 3 hook clip downs rigs and flappers. Obviously it’s the angler’s preference to which end tackle is used.

Please try these venues and let me know what you think. Have you had any bad experiences or have they produced well for you?

Please leave comments and feedback.

Thanks

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

If you want to find out more info about sea fishing reels, check out www.myseareels.com

What to expect fishing the Essex coast.

Hi guys, just a quick introduction my name is James and I will be covering the Essex coast and giving you,  an insight on what to expect along this coastline. Now, I have not been fishing this coast for many years but I have a bit of experience and know where is hot and where’s not, as well as the rigs and the bait to help you get amongst the fish.

I’m not the most experienced angler there is around this way by any means but I’m keen, always willing to try new things and listen and learn from all advice given. However I will help you with anything I can and if don’t know, I certainly know people who do. That’s enough from me, I hope you enjoy my first post just giving you an idea of what’s being landed here in Essex and what to expect.

So this winter was very disappointing for me and many other sea anglers around the Essex coasts as catches did not live up to expectations. All that I saw on social media was “looking like a great year for cod”, “Yeh great” if you were on a boat several miles out but on the beaches it was not to be. We did have a slight run at the end of October into November but that was short lived. I myself had a few but not of any size, biggest being of 4lb, not great but it was a cod. But happily as we get into spring and the summer approaches, fishing on the Essex coast has more than made up for the bad winter.

There has been a variety of species coming up from all over, from Walton on the naze to Frinton on sea right round to Clacton on sea and St Osyth. Fishing any of these venues for most has been excellent. Now if you live around this coast line you know what I’m talking about, if not I’ll go into detail on each venue.

Walton pier for instance has been doing very well these last few weeks, with the end of the pier being the hotspot, it’s always a race to the end when the pier opens at 8am. With Thornback rays coming of thick and fast I’m not surprised. There have been well over 100 caught in the last 4 to 5 weeks with some anglers having finished their sessions with over 12 landed ranging from the low pounds up to double figures. Overall it has been excellent.

Now last year fishing for the Smoothounds wasn’t very good, with not many being landed but the odd one and nothing of  any size. But within the last few weeks now the weather has warmed up the Smoothhound have made their return, and there have been some sizeable ones caught.

Two weeks ago one angler had 2 in a session the biggest being a very impressive 9lb+! There have been many more reports of catches of Smoothhounds from the pier.

Now that’s not the only species being caught on Walton pier. People get excited about the bigger fish and tend to forget about the smaller ones. I myself fish for both, depending on weather and conditions. The last few weeks Walton has seen Mackerel caught on feathers, Wrasse on ragworm, a very sizable pouting and bass the as well as the usual whiting a dogfish.

If you haven’t yet fished this pier then please head down for the day and hopefully you will be rewarded with any of these species. Parking is available on the roads leading to the pier and at a cost of £7 per angler 8am till 10pm for 2 rods you can’t go wrong.

Down a few miles to the coast of Frinton On Sea, and has also been been doing very. There have been Thornback rays even a Stingray of what size is unknown but it looked beautiful. The Bass are showing in greater numbers and I was lucky enough to pluck one out this week! Forgetting my scales I guessed the weight to be around 4lb+. So again if you haven’t fished this venue please get down there. Bait being used is the usual Squid, bluey, ragworm and peelers.

Now moving on around the coast to Clacton On Sea unfortunately I can’t say I have heard or seen a great deal being landed, don’t get me wrong there have been Thornback rays and the odd Bass. However the last few times I;ve come down for a session,  I’ve always been very disappointed, as I have been greeted by the sight of at least 2 miles of nets 500 yards of the beach. This for any angler is a awful site when you see nets just off shore indiscriminately taking everything including the returning Bass. Especially when you take into account the catch and release rule currently in place for us line anglers!  Having said that Clacton does produce some great fish, from Thorneys to Bass, Gurnard and always  a few Dabs and Sole around so plenty to fish for.

The pier is doing well at a cost of £6 for 8am till 6pm with 2 rods, it’s a great mark and always a pleasure to fish. Parking available on the top roads before the pier or you can pay to park on the pier but it’s costly. Season tickets are available at £75 per year with 24hour access to the pier 365 days a year. “Bargain”

One of 4 in caught 3 hours on Clacton pier this year.

Now for the infamous St Osyth Beach.

This venue is a hard venue but get to but in the right conditions it can be very rewarding.

In the last 24hrs is a 45lb stingray show how good this beach can be but you have to put in the hard work. I myself have put in the hours here but no stinger as of yet! A friend of mine last year in middle of summer had one at a whopping 50lb “wow” and then a week later another good friend had one of 33lb. So there is always a good chance to land a monster. Thornback rays are renowned on this beach and also bass. This is my favourite beach for bass in the summer months hitting it just before slack water and waiting for the ebb is key when I go. As it’s bass from the off.

Please feel free to comment and get in touch for more information on this venue.

Now baits used on all these venues :

Unwashed/washed squid.

Ragworm

Bluey

Fresh peelers or frozen

Black lug.

Sandeels

My preference of rigs is the pulley rigs.

Pulley dropper and the pulley pennel fantastic rigs for rays and bass.

For the smaller species I myself use 2 to 3 hook clip downs rigs and flappers. Obviously it’s the angler’s preference to which end tackle is used.

Please try these venues and let me know what you think. Have you had any bad experiences or have they produced well for you?

Please leave comments and feedback.

Thanks

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If you want to find out more info about sea fishing reels, check out www.myseareels.com

Crabs everywhere, except in the tackle shops.

Live crab, especially Peeler and Hermit crab are by far the best bait for the Smoothounds and boy are we getting a good run of hounds at the moment. The reason they are here is for the huge number of crabs that are close to shore. Abbotsbury and Cogden are plagued with Spider crab at the moment as you can see from this picture sent in by Pete Jolliffe.

The crabs are capable of cutting through most mono and even some braid, but they do have more of a problem with the braid. I have tried using floating beads, but they even seem to be able to stretch up with their long claws and grab them. I have also tried using braid snoods, but found that they tangle very easily. However I think I have found the solution and I will have a diagram to show you next week to help illustrate the tip. The Crabs normally cut the snoods off around an inch above the hook. What I have done is use a normal snood length of Amnesia, normally 15-20lb then instead of tying a hook on the end, I tie a swivel with a 3 inch length of 40lb braid, which is then tied to the hook. This stands up to most attempts to cut it off by the crabs and is not too long for them to get tangled.

I had a recent report from Gary Beasley who lives in Plymouth. Gary traveled to Chesil to target the Smoothounds. This is Garys report: Great days fishing with the target species achieved! Arrived at Chesil a little later than planned, then first cast I have a crack off followed by a birdie! Respool the reel and I’m off!! First fish of the day was a new PB with a cracking Smoothound which went 9lb 14oz so not quite the double that it looked!! During the rest of the day I hooked into another 7 fish, with two going 8lb 8oz and 7lb 2oz. The rest were just pups around the 2 – 4lb mark! All fish safely returned to fight another day and taken on fresh and frozen peeler. As always top bait supplied by South West Sea Baits, Plymouth. All fish hooked nicely on Varivas BMX, but because of the massive population of spider crabs on Chesil I shall be on the phone to the guys at VMO to order more hooks over the weekend.

So with all these hounds around, I bet you are thinking I will be out after them this weekend. Well I would be, but I can’t get any live crab. I never waste my money on frozen Peeler, as I think they are rubbish. I am sure many of you are now jumping up and down saying how you have caught loads of frozen. I have never caught on frozen, so I have no faith in them and in fishing faith is a huge factor. My local tackle shops that I use don’t have any in stock and by the time I had messed around looking for some online, the deadline for a Saturday delivery had passed. Lesson for the future, make sure you book your bait in advance. I should know better.

Job opportunity: So a final plug for this, as I will be closing applications for this position after the weekend. Are you any good at sales? Here at Fishing Tails we are looking to recruit a sales person to sell online advertising. The position is  commission based and would suit someone that wants to work part time from home. Knowledge of fishing is essential, but if you are reading this, I expect you are half way there already. Perks include free tackle and a high rate of commision. If you would like to apply or find out more information then please send an email to [email protected]

Chesil Beach: calm with lightly coloured water

Portland: calm with lightly coloured water.

Portland harbour: calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: It looks like a great bank holiday of fishing ahead. Chesil should fish well for Mackerel, Plaice, Smoothound and Rays. Night tides will be good for Pout and Dogfish, if you don’t mind fishing for them. I probably don’t catch many Ray because I rarely fish at night and they do tend to come closer in at night.

Portland:I had a fish for Wrasse one evening this week and after half an hour I had landed 8. Nothing of any great size, but it shows that there are lots around. The Pollock fishing will not be so great, as ow water coincides with dawn and dusk. i much prefer it when they coincide with high water. I am not saying you wont get any but your marks are more limited. Church Ope Cove is one good location for them.

Portland Harbour: I had a walk down the harbour on Thursday and chatted to a number of anglers. The only fish t report were a number of good sized Garfish.
Weymouth Bay: I expect the piers to busy this weekend, specially as the kids are on half term holiday. Having said that, the pier is a reat place to take them and introduce them to fishing. Pleny of Wrasse, Pollock Garfish and Mackerel can be caught there at any time of day and most tide states.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can’t keep any Bass at the moment, we can certainly catch them. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

If you want to find out more info about sea fishing reels, check out www.myseareels.com

What to expect fishing the Essex coast.

Hi guys, just a quick introduction my name is James and I will be covering the Essex coast and giving you,  an insight on what to expect along this coastline. Now, I have not been fishing this coast for many years but I have a bit of experience and know where is hot and where’s not, as well as the rigs and the bait to help you get amongst the fish.

I’m not the most experienced angler there is around this way by any means but I’m keen, always willing to try new things and listen and learn from all advice given. However I will help you with anything I can and if don’t know, I certainly know people who do. That’s enough from me, I hope you enjoy my first post just giving you an idea of what’s being landed here in Essex and what to expect.

So this winter was very disappointing for me and many other sea anglers around the Essex coasts as catches did not live up to expectations. All that I saw on social media was “looking like a great year for cod”, “Yeh great” if you were on a boat several miles out but on the beaches it was not to be. We did have a slight run at the end of October into November but that was short lived. I myself had a few but not of any size, biggest being of 4lb, not great but it was a cod. But happily as we get into spring and the summer approaches, fishing on the Essex coast has more than made up for the bad winter.

There has been a variety of species coming up from all over, from Walton on the naze to Frinton on sea right round to Clacton on sea and St Osyth. Fishing any of these venues for most has been excellent. Now if you live around this coast line you know what I’m talking about, if not I’ll go into detail on each venue.

Walton pier for instance has been doing very well these last few weeks, with the end of the pier being the hotspot, it’s always a race to the end when the pier opens at 8am. With Thornback rays coming of thick and fast I’m not surprised. There have been well over 100 caught in the last 4 to 5 weeks with some anglers having finished their sessions with over 12 landed ranging from the low pounds up to double figures. Overall it has been excellent.

Now last year for the next species wasn’t very good not many being landed but the odd one but nothing of size. But within the last few weeks now the weather has warmed up the Smoothhound have made their return, and there have been some sizeable ones caught.

Two weeks ago one angler had 2 in a session the biggest being a very impressive 9lb+! There have been many more reports of catches of Smoothhounds from the pier.

Now that’s not the only species being caught on Walton pier. People get excited about the bigger fish and tend to forget about the smaller ones. I myself fish for both depending on weather and conditions. The last few weeks Walton has seen Mackerel caught on feathers, Wrasse on ragworm, a very sizable pouting and bass the as well as the usual whiting a dogfish.

If you haven’t yet fished this pier then please head down for the day and hopefully you will be rewarded with any of these species. Parking is available on the roads leading to the pier and at a cost of £7 per angler 8am till 10pm for 2 rods you can’t go wrong.

Down a few miles to the coast of Frinton On Sea, and has also been been doing very. There have been Thornback rays even a Stingray of what size is unknown but it looked beautiful. The Bass are showing in greater numbers and I was lucky enough to pluck one out this week! Forgetting my scales I guessed the weight to be around 4lb+. So again if you haven’t fished this venue please get down there. Bait being used is the usual Squid, bluey, ragworm and peelers.

Now moving on around the coast to Clacton On Sea unfortunately I can’t say I have heard or seen a great deal being landed, don’t get me wrong there have been Thornback rays and the odd Bass. However the last few times I;ve come down for a session,  I’ve always been very disappointed, as I have been greeted by the sight of at least 2 miles of nets 500 yards of the beach. This for any angler is a awful site when you see nets just off shore indiscriminately taking everything including the returning Bass. Especially when you take into account the catch and release rule currently in place for us line anglers!  Having said that Clacton does produce some great fish, from Thorneys to Bass, Gurnard and always  a few Dabs and Sole around so plenty to fish for.

The pier is doing well at a cost of £6 for 8am till 6pm with 2 rods, it’s a great mark and always a pleasure to fish. Parking available on the top roads before the pier or you can pay to park on the pier but it’s costly. Season tickets are available at £75 per year with 24hour access to the pier 365 days a year. “Bargain”

One of 4 in caught 3 hours on Clacton pier this year.

Now for the infamous St Osyth Beach.

This venue is a hard venue but get to but in the right conditions it can be very rewarding.

In the last 24hrs is a 45lb stingray show how good this beach can be but you have to put in the hard work. I myself have put in the hours here but no stinger as of yet! A friend of mine last year in middle of summer had one at a whopping 50lb “wow” and then a week later another good friend had one of 33lb. So there is always a good chance to land a monster. Thornback rays are renowned on this beach and also bass. This is my favourite beach for bass in the summer months hitting it just before slack water and waiting for the ebb is key when I go. As it’s bass from the off.

Please feel free to comment and get in touch for more information on this venue.

Now baits used on all these venues :

Unwashed/washed squid.

Ragworm

Bluey

Fresh peelers or frozen

Black lug.

Sandeels

My preference of rigs is the pulley rigs.

Pulley dropper and the pulley pennel fantastic rigs for rays and bass.

For the smaller species I myself use 2 to 3 hook clip downs rigs and flappers. Obviously it’s the angler’s preference to which end tackle is used.

Please try these venues and let me know what you think. Have you had any bad experiences or have they produced well for you?

Please leave comments and feedback.

Thanks

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South Hams is the Plaice to be!

Well it’s been a while since I wrote an article this is due to some personal problems which have stopped me getting out, but things have settled down now and I’ve been able to get out fishing.

I’ve concentrated my efforts on the South Hams area of Devon as it has been fishing very well lately, particularly the beaches. There have been a lot of plaice being caught also a lot of Rays have been making an appearance.

Mackerel are everywhere at the moment with the top marks in Torbay being Berry Head and Hopes Nose, but be warned these marks can become very busy and I must touch on the fact that they are often left like rubbish dumps by inconsiderate people that leave allsorts down there.

If you are fishing on the bottom at either of these marks it can be impossible during the day so night fishing is essential but the rewards can be worth it especially at Hopes Nose where you should start to pick up the Smooth hounds and Thornbacks now, but it is one of those marks that can throw up anything really. Fishing off the high ground at distance can produce specimen plaice on the right day and is well worth ago.

Both of these deep water rock marks will also produce Pollack and have been known to produce a few doubles.

Going back to the South hams,  Slapton, Beesands and East portlemouth are all producing Plaice, Bass and Rays.

The best time to fish is over low water, I have found that the first two hours of the flood tide seem to produce the best plaice fishing but they can be gone as soon as they are there so make sure you have a few rigs baited and ready to go. Ragworm is the top bait but lug is a great alternative.

As many other places the spider crabs are here in force! Snipping of hooks from traces cast after cast.

If using fish baits then I would check them fairly often as they may not be there anymore.

On the few times I have been out I have managed a few nice plaice and a couple of Thornbacks from the estuaries and of course lots of Dogfish, I must say though that on nights when not much is about they keep the Rods Knocking.

Around Brixham there are plenty of Rock marks and it is well worth trying for a conger at night especially from the Breakwater. You will also pick up Bull Huss and Specimen Rockling all falling to Mackerel baits fresh is better but frozen works well.

My plans for the next few weeks involve a trip to a Bristol Channel mark and  trips to Chesil , locally I will be concentrating on Rough ground marks looking for the Huss and Conger so hopefully I will have a lot more to report on.

Tight lines Gareth

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Hounds Abound

My prediction that there would be plenty of Smoothounds caught over the weekend was spot on. I have had reports of loads of hounds from Chesil and other beaches all along the South. I even had an email from an angler that was fishing Sandbanks for Plaice and almost lost his rod when I smoothhound took his Ragworm bait.

Robert Raybould decided to have a session on Friday afternoon. Armed with a load of live Peeler Crabs, he headed towards Abbotsbury. It didn’t take him long to get amongst the fish. It seemed that each one he caught was bigger than the last.

Not content with just catching hard fighting smoothies, he then went on to catch a Plaice that topped 4lb. He got it on a whole Peeler crab, that was meant for a hound. It goes to show that big baits catch big fish.

Further to the West the Hounds turned up as well. 11 year old Ryan Male had a session with his Dad Ben. Both managed several nice Smoothounds and Ryan also managed a Thornback on his last cast. I would say from the smile on Ryan’s face that he really enjoyed his fishing session. It makes me want to start fish of the month competition again, as this one would be a worthy contender.

I have been trying to finish a number of videos that we have been working on over the past few months. Yesterday myself and Gavin, who will be co-presenting in our Catch & Cook series managed to get out with Luke Pettis on Snapper. Our target species were Pollock and Cod. Gavin caught the only Cod of the day, but we had plenty of Pollock. I managed this one of around 7lb.

However Gavin was not going to be beaten by me and on the same drift, he managed this lovely double figure Pollock. That gave us lots of fillets to use for the cooking part of the video.

It has been just over four years since I started Fishing Tails of as a small blog. Back then the idea was to give people traveling from outside the area an idea as to whether it was worth coming down for. Since then the site has grown from strength to strength and we want it to keep growing. We would love to see you contribute more. We love to get pictures of your catches and hear about your sessions, good or bad. It all helps build up the picture. I often read fishing blogs and see them come and go. Mostly because the writers of the blogs realise how much work is involved in putting out content and then become disheartened when only a few people read it. I am also an avid viewer of YouTube fishing videos. Unfortunately many of them are terrible, with the whole content shot from a head mounted Gopro. However there are lots of good ones, that also don’t get many views.

I want to help those writers and video makers, by helping to promote their skills through this website and my YouTube Channel. Unlike most fishing sites or blogs, we don’t jealously guard our readers and try to make sure they don’t stray to other sites. We know the modern angler, whether a complete novice or an expert, has a thirst for knowledge. If you would like to write an article for us then please let me know. We are more than happy to include links to your own site and we want all sorts of content, whether that is shore, boat, kayak, freshwater and game fishing, in this country and abroad. even if you don’t have your own blog and just want to see your articles published then drop me an email at [email protected]

As for video content, we are looking for numerous short videos that we want to feature in our most exciting project yet. At the moment we are in the process of creating a once a month live fishing show that will be broadcast on our YouTube channel. We want to feature your short videos alongside our own. Once again this can be anything to do with fishing, including cooking your catch.

The show will be fully interactive and you will be able to ask questions live, on any of the topics we will be covering. What we would like you to do is subscribe to both the site and our YouTube channel. Especially the YouTube channel as that will show us how much interest there is in a live show. Just go over to our channel and hit subscribe Fishing Tails Youtube Channel

I know I am going on a bit today, but I have been experimenting with live streaming over Facebook this weekend. I did a couple of trial broadcasts which you can see from my Facebook Page  To be honest the quality was not great, but I think I can get round that in future. I am going to attempt another one today and on Thursday. I would like to hear where you would like to see future live streaming broadcasts from and what topics you would like me to cover.

Job opportunity: I just wwant to plug this opportunity again. Are you any good at sales? Here at Fishing Tails we are looking to recruit a sales person to sell online advertising. The position is  commission based and would suit someone that wants to work part time from home. Knowledge of fishing is essential, but if you are reading this, I expect you are half way there already. Perks include free tackle and a high rate of commision. If you would like to apply or find out more information then please send an email to [email protected]

Chesil Beach: calm with lightly coloured water

Portland: calm with lightly coloured water.

Portland harbour: calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: As far as weather is concerned it looks like a cracking week ahead. This should be ideal for Mackerel, Plaice and early Gurnard fishing. It is almost perfect conditions for the the Smoothhounds. Without a doubt the best bait for the hounds is Peeler Crab. I also prefer fishing the slightly shallower water around Abbotsbury and West Bexington for them.

Portland: Another mark that will fish well in the conditions this week. Wrasse and Pollock love calm settled conditions. You can choose just about any spot on the Island to target Wrasse. If you are going for them on soft plastic lures, then look for boulder fields. This goes against common thinking, but you will have a lot more success with lures in shallow areas than in the deeper water. Bait reigns supreme in the deeper gullies.

Pollock fishing is always best at first and last light. Small white sidewinders and metal lures work best and are cheap, should you lose them.

Portland Harbour: The fishing really is picking up in the harbour. I spotted quite a few people lure fishing on a number of marks. Most I am afraid were fishing the right marks at the wrong time. It is well worth spending time on the different marks and making notes as to when it fishes best. When I fish or guide in the harbour, I am always moving from one mark to the next, as the Bass move around. You can catch fish all through the tidal range in the harbour, but they are normally only on that mark for an hour or two at the most.
Weymouth Bay: As usual the piers continue to fish well with bait. Ragworm will tempt the Wrasse and Pollock, whilst small strips of Mackerel are ideal for Mackerel, Garfish and Pollock. Preston Beach should fish reasonably well for Dads and Flounder, but there are better marks that I have mentioned above for this week.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can’t keep any Bass at the moment, we can certainly catch them. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Smoothounds and Rays

It is getting to that time of year when the larger Smoothounds start arriving in numbers. Reports from the Solent indicate that the hounds are well and truly in and some impressive catches have been reported. I love fishing for Smoothound, they have to be one of my favourite sea fish. Not regarded as a good eating fish, they more than make up for that in their sporting action. The size of the hounds being caught has increased considerably over the past couple of years. There were several reports of fish well over the british record, that were caught and released last year.

On Chesil the average size of the Smoothounds is smaller than the Solent and the Bristol Channel. However even a 6lb Smoothound is capable of pulling your rod from the rod rest, so never leave your rods unattended.

Peeler crab are without a doubt one of the best baits to use for hounds, but fresh Hermit come a close second. Smoothound are one of the few species that you can successfully target with hardback crabs and lets be honest, it is a lot cheaper to use than peelers. I normally use a Pulley rig or an up and over rig with a 4/0 hook.

Ray fishing has been pretty good recently and Ben Stockley has once again been targeting them. On this occasion he opted not to fish Chesil, but decided that a 40 minute hike was in order to find some relatively unfished ground. The hike paid off as Ben managed a number of lovely Small Eyed Ray, with the best going 9lb 14oz.

It would seem my quest to introduce more people to the fun of catching fish on the fly is starting to pay off. I have even managed to get top Pike angler Nathan Edgell chasing his favourite quarry on flies.

For more on catching Pike on fly, have a look at David West Beales article on Chalkstream Pike, which makes me very excited for the start of the river season in just over 3 weeks.

Job opportunity: Are you any good at sales? Here at Fishing Tails we are looking to recruit a sales person to sell online advertising. The position is  commission based and would suit someone that wants to work part time from home. Knowledge of fishing is essential, but if you are reading this, I expect you are half way there already. Perks include free tackle and a high rate of commision. If you would like to apply or find out more information then please send an email to [email protected]

If you have not already seen some of the articles from this week, it is well worth going back and having a look. We finally got round to writing a review of the top of the range Trabucco Poetica  and for those looking to learn how to create your own rigs we have the Wishbone Rig 

Chesil Beach: calm with lightly coloured water

Portland: calm with lightly coloured water.

Portland harbour: calm and clear water

Weymouth Bay: Calm with clear water

Chesil Beach forecast: It looks like we have a bit of a blow heading our way on Saturday morning. It is going to be wet and windy for a few hours, but don’t let that put you off too much. It is an onshore wind, which will help keep the baitfish close to shore. This should tempt the Bass to attack them in the surf. The surf shouldn’t get much bigger than 2m and the use of a Mackerel head close in, may well result in a lovely fish.

Conditions on Sunday look far better, opening up the opportunity for some Plaice and Mackerel fishing. I ran the first of the River Cottage Shoreline courses at West Bexington on Monday. We had one of the first Gurnard’s of the summer. It was only small but it was great to see.

Portland: It will be pretty busy on Portland this weekend, especially for the lure anglers. We have some great tides and the high water is near enough dawn and dusk to make it worth fishing for Pollock at those times. I am heading off to the Bill to try and film a Wrasse fishing video, which we hope to release in a couple of weeks. That should tell you that I am confident that there will be plenty of Wrasse around. This one is going to be a bait fishing video, so I need to take a load of leads with me, as I expect heavy tackle losses.

Portland Harbour: I spotted a huge shoal of Mullet in Portland Harbour, earlier in the week. They were in the middle of the bay at Sandsfoot yacht club, but it is likely they have distributed themselves around the harbour.
Weymouth Bay: Preston may well be worth fishing on Saturday, as it will allow you to stay out of the wind. Expect Flounder, Dabs and Gurnard, but also lots of bait stealing school Bass. Handle these little fellows with care, as they are the big fish of the future.

Guiding: The new guiding season is underway once again. Although we can’t keep any Bass at the moment, we can certainly catch them. I am hoping that the winter fishing ban and the new commercial quotas, combined with an increase in the minimum landing size, will make for some great Bass fishing. I specialize in lure fishing and I am offering Fly fishing this year as well. I am still more than happy to go after the multitude of species in this area with bait, whether that is big Wrasse, explosive Smoothound fishing or targeting the tastier fish such as Plaice and Bream. If you want to book a session or find out more information drop me an email at [email protected]

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Trabucco Poetica KW Torzite Rod review

I have been a fan of Continental style rods for a couple of years now, especially for my light fishing, for species such as Plaice and Bream. When I was asked to review the Poetica KW Torzite, for heavier work, I was a bit sceptical. When it comes to distance casting and heavier rough weather work, I have never felt that the standard fixed spool set ups have been up to the job, let alone the lightweight continental style rods.

The Poetica is the flagship of the Trabucco surfcasting range of rods and at almost £550 it would need to be. Does it have solid gold guides for that price, I hear you ask. Well no, it doesn’t, it actually has something even better. The blank is fitted out with the latest Fuji Torzite guides, which are made with a Titanium frame. This makes them some of the lightest guides on the market, but is also responsible for adding £150 to the price of the blank.

The lightness of the guides affects the way the blank performs during casting. The design of the guide allows for more line to be in contact with the guide when it is being retrieved. This spreads the load over the guide. Reducing pressure on one single point. This might not sound significant, but when you are bringing in a large fish through heavy surf, it can mean the difference between losing it to snapped line, or possibly landing a personal best fish.

It does however have a gold reel seat. That is a Fuji DNPS gold label reel seat, which is a very strong and firm fitting seat. I had no problems tightening or loosening the fitting over the months, even when it was wet.

Lets look at the blank itself. It is formed using CX-2 Nano Tek carbon, which is a super high modulus carbon with a low resin content. This makes the blank much lighter and responsive, than most blanks that are capable of the power you can generate in this rod.

But having power is nothing if you can’t see the bites. Trabucco have overcome this by creating a tip that goes from hollow carbon, through to solid, before being spliced onto glass fibre. This prevents the tip from collapsing during the cast and provides great bite detection, even on smaller fish.

The tip also has a luminous finish that is designed to be easier to see both during the day in bright sunlight and at night. To be honest the luminosity of it at night is not great and I would have prefered to see a more reflective finish.

Overall the finish on the rod is superb and it does look great. As far as the test of time goes, I can only comment on it over the 6 months or so that I had it. Despite it being heavily used on the beach and rocks, the rod looked as good as it did when I first got it. I looked after it in the normal manner that I do with all my tackle. It gets washed when it gets rained on and if I can be bothered to put it back in its bag after a session, then I would class that as me being carefull. There were no signs of corrosion at all, and even the finish had not dulled, which is a first for me.

The Poetica became a firm favourite for most of my fishing situations, whether that was on Chesil, fishing for Cod and Rays, or even Bream and Trigger fish, to fishing on Portland for Wrasse in very rocky marks. It has the power to get the fish up quickly and away from the snags, yet you still get the sport that the species has to offer.

They say you can’t buy distance, but with this rod I would disagree. I can hit the same distances with a simple of the ground cast with the Poetica, that I can using a full blown, down the butt pendulum on my Century Tip Tornado match; casting with it is effortless. It really comes into it’s own when you are punching a big bait out into 15 knot winds after a winter storm. You know the Cod are out there, but you have to get out past the pounding surf and putting out a whole squid is exactly what you can achieve with the Poetica.

It is not just a rod for big fish and heavy seas. I have used it to great success for targeting Plaice and Bream at long range and bite detection even from Whitting and Dabs is good. Although the rod is very powerful and can deliver great distances, the baits are not exploded by the force of the cast. Everything seems to be so smooth and effortless.

Personally I love the Poetica. Unfortunately it has gone back to Trabucco, to be passed on to the next lucky person to review it. Would I buy one myself? probably not, as I can’t afford the price tag, but if I could I certainly would. There is a bit of good news on the price, as Trabucco have created another rod called the Imperia it is the same blank as the Poetica, the main difference is it doesn’t have the Torzite rings and is a lot cheaper. More information can be found on both rods from the Trabucco UK site

Review 0

Summary

A fantastic top of the range rod, that anyone would be proud to own. It copes with all fishing conditions, especially rough conditions where you need power to get a large bait out.

Durability

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Chalkstream Pike on the Fly

July 2015

I am sitting by a tranquil chalkstream.  Later she meanders through clay farmland but here her emerald pools are placid and deep. This water is rich and clear and the electric flash of a kingfisher scatters some tiny roach as I string up my eight weight. Not the usual tackle for water such as this but I am here with a challenging quarry in mind. Today my interest lays in the pike that hunt in this little river.

Gothic drama

Charles Rangeley-Wilson is right. There is something wonderfully Gothic about catching pike with a fly rod. For me the intimate atmosphere of the chalk stream heightens this sense of drama. The fish here are not generally huge – a ten pounder is a good fish and a twenty a rare monster.. but in this little river the fish seem to take on a scale of their own. And the rare  opportunity to sight fish for pike is just too good to miss. However, during my early visits here I had soon discovered that if I was to be successful I would need to learn some new tricks..

This was my first catch from the chalkstream. She shot from under a moored boat at first light and hit my fly in mid-stream.

My 4/0 baitfish tied to imitate fingerling roach

Beginnings

Back at the start of 2014 I had set myself the challenge of catching a river pike on the fly, but the close season was fast approaching. Many rivers were still flooded out and not easily tackled so my chances that season were beginning to look slim. But time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted and eventually I discovered this little gem of a water – a small stretch of chalkstream with a good head of pike. Being spring fed and acting as a feeder to a series of ponds this section of river isn’t prone to flooding.. and being a rich nursery for spawning roach it is also a very attractive proposition for pike!

Weed raft and willow roots, perfect for pike

New Tricks

So throughout January and February I enjoyed some fine sport with the pre-spawn pike of the river and learned some new tricks along the way.  I found the pike to be very territorial and came to recognise individual fish and their preferred ambush positions. It seemed that the smaller more aggressive pike would hold tight to structure in the margins and streak out to hammer my fly if I could put it close enough to them. With gin clear water a stealthy approach is needed and by keeping low and away from the edge I could avoid spooking these fish. I worked to perfect a side cast that would drop my streamer under the branches and tight to the weed rafts. I discovered that by overpowering the cast I could steer the fly into position through applying tension with my line hand as the loop unrolled. Now I could plop my fly into all kinds of little nooks on the far bank and a whole new and highly enjoyable dimension to my fishing began to open up.

I also found that the larger pike usually held deep. With sometimes limited options for concealment these bigger fish adopted a hunting strategy of hugging the stream bed and waiting for unsuspecting prey to swim by. I found that a streamer fished extremely slowly and bumped along the bottom was more effective than stripping it back in mid water. Frequently these fish would follow right to the near bank and stop inches from my static fly, reluctant to strike.

Another dawn capture, tempted from the bottom of a deep pool with a streamer bumped slowly along the stream bed.

Uncommon Knowledge

Although contrary to received wisdom, I intuitively felt that the streamers I was using were too big. When I started to use smaller designs with slimmer bodies I enjoyed more success with finicky followers.

I began to tie with hackle feathers to create patterns with very soft mobile tails. These could be fished almost statically with just the tiniest pull on the fly line to make the tail pulse enticingly. Laying in the long grass I played cat and mouse with pike right under my rod tip, waiting for the take from fish so close I could almost reach out and touch them. It was a nervy game to see who would blink first. Sometimes the take never came, sometimes after several minutes of close inspection the pike would sip the fly in so gently that I wondered just how many takes occur undetected and out of sight.. but what followed was invariably explosive as all hell broke loose in the little stream.

After many attempts on my fly we finally met face to face.

Strange Behaviour

As I fished through the season I witnessed some interesting pike behaviour. As I had come to recognise certain individuals I started to notice different characteristics in behaviour from fish to fish. One pike was consistently aggressive in attacking my fly but often missed it in an explosive surface attack – I caught it only once. Another large pike would follow my fly with curiosity but never take. She would ward off the smaller jacks aggressively and prevent them from getting near my streamer but would never strike my fly. Several times I had large pike follow my streamer to the near bank and then sit inches away rhythmically flaring gills and snapping jaws but never striking. But the strangest thing I have experienced here happened when I was bringing my largest capture to the net. I had hooked her in a shady pool and knew instantly that she was a good fish. She held deep and it was some minutes before I could see her. As she materialised, to my surprise she was accompanied closely by another female, larger still. Her companion was twining sinuously about her, so closely that for a second I couldn’t tell which of the two fish I had hooked.

As I drew my pike nearer the other bigger pike melted from view and sank bank into the pool. I have my own theory to explain this behaviour which is more emotional than scientific but I will leave you to draw your own conclusions..

Full Circle

I have fished this little spot every month of the river season this past year and couldn’t resist a last visit. As I make my first cast and watch my streamer slowly sink I reflect on my good fortune. I have caught some beautiful fish and have been privileged in having the opportunity to observe their behaviour at close quarters. My love and respect for this wonderful predator is all the deeper for it.

I have learned a few things that have surprised me and witnessed events that I have no explanation for. And this is as it should be, because after all, this is the great mystery that is fly fishing for pike.  

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