I’m writing this page completely sober for a change. Now Tracy and I occupy the Sunday slot it is usual for one of us to write the FP on Saturday – typical of the trait of putting things-to-do off to the last possible minute. As such, we’re usually well past wine o’clock by the time we’ve finished. However this weekend we will be attending the Game Fair at Ragley hall, hence I’m writing this on Wednesday.
After missing a year in 2021, when the Game Fair was held but there were no casting competitions, along with the previous years of cancellations due to Covid, it is the first time the BFCC have run these casting competitions for a while. There will be the usual single handed and overhead salmon events this time, but unfortunately no Spey competition.
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If you’re tired of reading about old flies, old North Country Wets in particular, just skip the rest, because I’m going to bother you with it again. I just love these flies, the lore, the history and in fact also the North Country it self, even though I’ve only been there a few times. There’s a good handful or two of the flies that are well known to most trout anglers, Waterhen Bloa, Partridge & Orange and Purple Snipe in particular, I think. But there are so many more and some of them are unusual in both tying style and material choice
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Fishing has been okay. Lot of fish around 35 cm, not so many over 40 cm. In some years it has been better, I doubt that past two years when there were lot of fishermen, it had some effect to fishery. If so next summer will be different again. River sides are quite this summer. I have longed something during fishing, not sure what.
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Being in isolation has meant I've been watching just about every carp fly fishing and fly tying video I could find. Some are very good, and have really re-sparked my interest in carp.
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The junk!! Everyone should have to pickup and move thousands of miles away every few years. Not only that, they should have to pay a mover where every box is an additional cost. Brutally purge, recycle everything you can, have a yard sale (neighborhood junk exchange), donate things others can use, give family mementos to other family members, pare down what you thought you’d already pared down.
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It’s been a busy and at times chaotic few weeks for me. I’ve had two Tasmanian anglers visiting. A mixture of guiding and then setting them free. With some excellent results. George managed a 6.5KG free-riser which was a brute of a fish, while fishing solo on the final day of that two week session. Declan and George together both really nailed some great fishing I’m happy to report.
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Recently I have been listening to a podcast called Tone Talk. Hosted by Marc Huzansky and David Friedman of Friedman Amplification, Tone Talk is dedicated to the discussion of all things related to guitar amplification. Whether it's vintage Fenders or Marshalls or modern day digital amp modelers Tone Talk features interviews with all of the amplifier design gurus both old and new. For an a former 1980's heavy metal guitar picker like me, it's a very deep, very interesting dive into an old passion of mine, that still holds my attention today.
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Tracy has been working away from home quite a bit recently so I’ve been left to fend for myself. Normally I would use this time to go fishing, however the weather has been so warm and bright that I didn’t think it would be worth making the drive to the river Dee. I did happen to pass by a couple of beats a week or so ago and this confirmed my suspicions that it was too hot – there was nothing rising, apart from a few very small fish, and the anglers I spoke to were all struggling. As such, I’ve been taking lots of walks along our local river, the Elwy, but not doing much fishing.
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One of the first FP for me was "dream come true". It was about Varzina. It was a great trip and fishing was awesome. So little I knew on that time. People seems to have these bucket list also, so little they know.
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I haven't fished this week because I caught Covid and have to stay isolated at home until the 29th. I've been messing around with my smallmouth stuff, reading and going over my old diaries. There's one thing that surprised me; how many fish I've caught nymphing.
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I know that if I cast right … *there* … with an upstream reach mend and the CFS is below 200, I can get about a 4-5 foot drift and catch a brown or rainbow. In the early spring it’s with a #18 small black stonefly imitation. In the summer, it’s with a small flashy emerger on the dangle. In the fall, it’s my own CDC variation of a pheasant tail with a #20 zebra midge trailing 24” behind on 5x tippet and fishe d deep.
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I’ve just had 12 days back to back with guests here on the lake. Day off today with Zoom lessons and a supplies trip to town. Two more days tomorrow then I’m heading to south Malaysia for a triathlon (going to be tough in this climate for sure!). I thought I’d talk about Snakehead shots today.
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Last month I turned 52 years old. Not ancient by any stretch, but old enough to realize that there is much more mileage in the rearview mirror than there is to be seen looking through the front windshield. While that doesn't concern me in the slightest, it does cause me to reflect on the memories of my angling life, and how the geographic locations where those memories were made have changed over the years.
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A common statement I often hear, is that someone says to me that they would never guide because it might ruin their hobby. And I can certainly understand that it could happen. I got into hosting trips on the water, as opposed to just teaching fly casting, very carefully. It can definitely be a potential headache because you are dealing with people!
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In Denmark, most fly fishers fish all four seasons. Well, I’m not sure if most do, in fact, most probably don’t, but a lot do. Some species are legal to fish year round, some of them with restrictions during spawning. Some are present year round and some not. Of course the rivers are closed during the winter to allow trout and salmon to spawn.
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Originally I found this knot in end of 1990’s from flyfishing magazine. I think it was fly tying & fishing or something like that. It is really simple knot and I have use it since that when fishing grayling and trout. Dries, nymphs, wets and even with small streamers. Tippets from 0.12 to 0.28, monofil. I have memory that it was called mexican knot but I wouldn’t bet my head for that. It is easy to tie even in dark and it had hold really well.
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It's been boiling here since June, and I've been anticipating the start of the terrestrial fall for weeks. I love how the fish respond to land borne insects, they always seem to eat them with a degree of gusto you don't seem to see with aquatic insects.
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Other than the obvious differences of price and complexity, buying a new fly rod is a lot like buying a new home.
As a couple of you know, last month my Scott Radian 6 wt. was stolen with my well-used Ross Evolution reel, leaving me with two orphaned spools. I was heartbroken and still am. It had become so much a part of my life, practicing with it every day for more than two years as I “retooled” my cast and worked to prepare for the CI exam. It had become my comfortable go-to fly rod for practicing and teaching. For a few reasons, I will not be able to get another, including the fact that they are not made anymore. I’ve begun the process of trying new rods: This one is too stiff; this one is too noodley past 40 feet; this one’s tip flex isn’t quite what I want; this one is great but not meant to be cast beyond 65’ and besides it’s too expensive; this one is just junk. So, for now, I am settling until I can save and have the budget to buy the one I want.
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This is a very quick FP from me in case I don’t get a chance to upload something later. I have guests on the lake and they’re doing well!! Both George and Declan have managed a snakehead each. So that’s the pressure off! Hopefully they can now do it on their own while I fish with Richard!
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Before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming, I'd like to link to one more of my favorite podcasts from Andy Mill's series of interviews on The Mill House.
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Italy was a great weekend; the SIM Fly Festival is run by a sociable club who love all things fishing. We watched some great fly tyers and artists at work, some amazing rod builders and spent ages observing the Italian fly casters practicing their techniques on the beautiful river Sangro. Castel Di Sangro is a fantastic town with gorgeous architecture and lots and lots of steps. In the blazing heatwave, the route between our hotel and the event was often exhausting, but always took us past the river over bridges where we would spend ages observing the large trout sip down dries or pick up nymphs from the fast moving water. Thankfully someone kindly borrowed James a fishing outfit and on the Sunday, he caught a couple of stunning rainbow trout to the applause of the locals basking in the sun. Before this, we had spent all day Saturday and Sunday morning casting different single and double handed outfits for the festival attendees, some of whom came and had a go. The welcome of the people at this event couldn’t be faulted; they arranged some scrumptious meals where we were able to try Italian cuisine. We particularly enjoyed the desserts, gelato and the wine.
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I’ve been tying a lot of upside-down and weedless flies lately. It’s not entirely the same, upside-down and weedless. Upside-down helps not catching weed, but weedless has a better hook-point-protection, either built in in the dressing or with additional features such as a mono loop over the hook point. But in both hook design aids greatly. I’ve been tying upside-down bait fish and shrimp imitations the last few days.
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Last two weeks we have been doing silage and marking reindeer. I have been herding reindeers
a lot and Monday when moving once again reindeer herd, I realized something. Reindeer
herding has some similar things with fishing.
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This year I feel like I'm quite behind with my gear readiness and fly boxes somehow. I'm probably not really that behind but I feel like it. The float tube issues are probably part of it, but not the only reason.
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There are always articles and podcasts about how great this can be, and it can. Yet I don’t do it that often anymore because, well, IT’S WORK! Yesterday was a good reminder of that. We walked a mile down a trail before dropping into a small stream that still was running a bit high from run-off. The cutties were done spawning, but it’s still too early to walk in the creek for fear of stepping on redds with incubating eggs. You could see that the fish were holding only in the slower water but getting to those holding spots wasn’t easy:
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To write a Front Page on a weekly basis can be quite difficult. I often hear of “writer’s block”. After over 20 years of writing Sexyloops FPs there has to be a secret? Actually there is. And it’s an ability we all share, which is the ability to take any subject whatsoever and find a way to link it back to fly fishing! So by way of example let me show you how…
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My admiration for Rob certainty extends to his talent as an angler and guide. He is what we call "fishy". He can think like a fish, and because of his many links to the natural world, respond like a fish to changes in that world. He is most certainly a fish's nightmare!
---Flip Pallot
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Some hot rods coming off the rack at the moment. Always nice to see some customisation. Ian asked for the lightest HT6 and so we used Latohegy Osage Orange spacer and the rod weighs in at 86 grams. “Chestnut and mustard wraps” so good you can eat. Duis on the other hand was something less traditional but when you are coaching you want to be seen!!
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Ants are funny little creature, extremely important in their habitats and with some fascinating symbiotic relations to specific species of aphids, for instance. They can form hives with over 100.000 individuals and some species can even form super-hives, where several colonies work together.
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There are few tips how you can improve your scanning over water. Some might sounds funny or kind stupid, test anyway, it can make a difference. Some of these I didn't realize until trip Malaysia, how big difference it can make. Those were so daily use for me that I didn't even notice the difference.
There is simple rule how you can check which area you are able to be fast and accurate. Take a point from wall and look that, then put you arms on the side of you so that your thumbs are pointing to each other. Keep hands straight and start to bring your arms slowly together, keep looking point, when you see your thumbs, that is the sector which you can handle easily.
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