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ger set the hook yes you ve got one and it s a roach would you like me to net it oh thank you yes please net s here on the left mark took the long handled net and sank the meshes the lucky angler drew the roach over the net and mark did the rest we must have a photo wet your hands on the net sounded just like me with guests on my bit of fishing the roach was passed over and held for a snap do you want angler and roach or just roach just roach rr s first bristol avon roach photograph thanks to dr mark everard the roach was then carefully laid back into the wet net and lowered gently into the river to swim free and go about its roachy business some of the swims needed a level of skill beyond that of your blogger to cast into mark could deliver his float anywhere with a flick of the wrist and his perfect execution of the f w k wallis cast my attempts led to tangles and frustration that cast is a skill i will have to work on mark and john concentrating into the gloom through the day and into night we fished on but mark was the only one to have any further success it didn t seem to matter we were enjoying ourselves too much to really notice mark is a helpful host and it was a pleasure to meet him we learned a few things and as is always true when learning stuff we recognised that there is a lot more to learn venus top left looks down on the bristol avon the bristol avon is a beautiful river we struggled that roach was largely a matter of luck and of being put in the best swim by a kind host it would be wonderful to revisit when the river was lower clearer and not quite so cold regular rod posted by regular rod at 12 04 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest thursday 4 july 2019 happy birthday usa have a good time folks maybe celebrate with some fishing happy 4th of july from regular rod posted by regular rod at 15 36 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest sunday 19 may 2019 busy day it was another chopping and changing day for your correspondent and his pal henry the hawthorn flies seem to have finished their honeymoons for the year and most dry fly anglers hereabouts will be willing the drake to begin theirs as soon as possible no drake yet but lots of flies around of a variety of species this is what made the day a busy one and added a certain something to the proceedings the first few fish came to a size 14 double badger which was chosen because there were no fish rising four to the minute with their attentions fixed on a specific fly the double badger makes a good fake for many different real flies and looks to be a decent mouthful anyway it was working then the fish started to rise more frequently and it quickly became clear that they were choosing something specific from the buffet bar near their sky what was it aphids but not green ones fat little dark brown creatures that had gorged on sap to the point when gravity took them from the leaves in the canopy on with a size 20 sturdy s fancy and the next fish was the biggest of the day a fine brown trout with all fabulous colours that lathkill brown trout are so famous for after a few more fish it all went quiet the double badger went back on to continue its coaxing duties henry and regular rod continued to wander up stream picking pockets as we went mid afternoon saw the first flotilla of duns sail by untouched for a good ten minutes then it started what a sight fly choice was easy the slight backward angle of the blue winged olive s wings is very distinctive chop off the double badger and change to a kite s imperial and choose your fish this river is always a bit of a test for the angler here the water is so clear the fish can see you from quite a distance creeping about is the only way to earn any real success scare a fish on the mother river the derbyshire wye and you put down all the fish in that pool scare one on the lathkill and the effect can spread over 100 yards these banks may be mown a little bit but the river has lots of cover so careful casting is required the back cast has to be watched as much as the forward cast failure to take this precaution will get your fly stolen by that precious fish holding cover very soon the drake will be on the menu on some days the fly will go on at the start of the fishing and only come off when packing up meanwhile i reckon we may well be occupied by another week or so of chopping and changing regular rod posted by regular rod at 01 21 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest saturday 20 april 2019 minimalism anyone now past the usual allotted span your faithful correspondent lays claim to still having the enthusiasm of youth it must be so as events today surely prove in the rush and hastiness to get tackled up and down river to begin fishing this day the old brady shoulder bag was left behind on the garden table fortunately the kite s imperial chosen simply because the day was so bright and sunny had been tied on and anointed this proved to be of vital import when after a couple of miles wandering down river to sit by the tail pool of ogden island on derbyshire s river wye the bag was reached for and found to not be over the shoulder where it usually is calamity i ve never fished one of those one fly only all day competitions and i don t believe i d do very well in one if i did ooh careful now the floatant is at home as are the scissors leader material fly boxes and other apparatus lose the fly and although there are many in your hat band they are not ready to repel water now dashing off like that must go to show that the youthful enthusiasm for our great sport is still there or does it only show that advancing years have rendered this angler forgetful henry don t sit on the landing net we will need it soon the choice of fly was a good guess sport was not brisk but it was still to be had by sitting quietly observing carefully and letting the fish show us where they are see i told you we would be needing that net at one point the fly was broken off in some trailing vines of ivy dangling just a bit too low for the attempted side cast happily it was possible to lasso the fly with the tip ring and recover it to hand and retie it onto the now slightly shorter tippet a bonus was watching a big momma grayling on her redd the snaps aren t very good laziness led to the phone being the only camera to hand the mother river this year is in amazing condition clear higher than usual teeming with life and ready to give her presents to those ready to receive them maybe a copy of the check list needs printing off again and pinning to the garden door to be read just before stepping out onto the riverside footpath best wishes to you all regular rod posted by regular rod at 16 03 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday 3 april 2019 alert alert urgent urgent for the next three weeks if you are fishing in the north country rivers of great britain you are very likely to need some suitable fakes of the grannom may i please suggest you get back to the vice and tie a few if you have not yet done so on monday i was vexed to see that i only had one in my fly box and one in my hat band cobblers kids are always barefoot hence this urgent public service message regular rod posted by regular rod at 10 47 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday 1 april 2019 change of plans henry and your faithful correspondent spent some of this last winter in reconnaissance the changes to the river within its upper reaches nearer to home than down towards the confluence were all cheerfully observed and committed to memory the snowdrops were marvelled at the newly scoured gravel beds were smiled upon the large woody debris much of which had been relocated by the floods was observed with satisfaction in the mind s eye of the dry fly angler a scheme for making the most of opening day was pictured with prospective ambush points already planned what actually happened was somewhat different the angler overlaid this all fools day the plan was to open the season on the mother river in and around the places already reconnoitred this river has more anglers to fish it than the tributary waters usually chosen for a regular rod s opening day being at least two hours later than intended space would likely be at a premium the decision to change plans was an easy one to make dog tackle and angler were therefore loaded into the motor car and a short drive to a parking space at the top end of the lower beat was followed by some furious threading of line and speedy tying on of a double badger the walk down to the bottom of the beat on the right bank was a brisk one the walk was just enough to get the brain in gear and fully into waterside resident mode again back to basics we had not done any reconnaissance down this end of the river no fond imaginings had prepared us for where to set to for some fishing so what did your blogger do he sat down and hid from the fish observed the water and fished where he saw the fish were that s what he did it was not completely straightforward very few fish were to be seen rising normal for this early in the season the first fly was invisible in the lighting conditions so that was changed from a double badger to a red hackle visibility problems over and done with and the fly now cast more accurately had the first fish coming to the net much to henry s delight and his dad s relief blanking on opening day is horrible sport was as expected slow but satisfying it was good to say hello to so many anglers today it was good to watch henry working the marginal flotsam to gather up lost tennis balls together with a yellow racing duck no doubt from last summer s charity plastic duck race through bakewell reconnaissance is a great tool for the dry fly angler but sometimes it has to be done there and then rather than in advance have a great season everyone regular rod posted by regular rod at 18 00 2 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest tuesday 25 december 2018 happy christmas and a good new year to you all a few winters ago 5 minutes after this exposure made with the 8x10 view camera the blizzard came so thick the river was invisible from this viewpoint posted by regular rod at 08 31 4 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest saturday 8 september 2018 trout are not carp do be quick and careful with the trout please in the 1950s a chap who many years later would be a pal of mine used to transport carp around in the boot of his car they were simply wrapped in wet moss and sacking they all survived well today watch a tv programme about carp fishing and you will see them out of water for several minutes while the cameras are put to work they then go back with no ill effects trout cannot bear more than very few seconds out of water especially big ones after a tough and long fight with an angler the best policy for such trout is to simply return them straight from the net with no delay for photographs at all we can get away with a quick snap if we have everything ready before taking the trout out of the water net the fish remove the fly put net and fish back in the water ready the camera lift net and fish out and make the snap then put the net back in the water lower it and let the fish swim out to freedom and oxygen if you don t if the fish is posed with for several photographs then tragedy like this can happen alive this would have been a little bit over 10lbs dead it can never make another angler s day sorry for the lecture folks it s just a reminder that these fellows are not as strong as some of the other types of fish we are lucky enough to catch enjoy what is left of the season best wishes regular rod posted by regular rod at 16 03 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday 4 july 2018 happy birthday usa happy 4th of july to all unsure of the traditional celebrations over there but surely a few hours by a stream wouldn t be out of place whatever you choose to do enjoy yourselves regular rod posted by regular rod at 11 25 3 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest tuesday 22 may 2018 watch this video please it s best to go directly to youtube and watch it full screen https youtu be 2klasqf9jic this is the only limestone spring fed river in the british isles the upper river about two miles of it dries up every summer due to historic industrial activity that still makes the upper river a death trap for everything that moved into it during the winter and spring fish rescues only catch some of the trout and nothing rescues the millions of invertebrates that die when the river dries up regular rod posted by regular rod at 10 48 2 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest saturday 28 april 2018 delayed action 2018 will be remembered for its persistence in reverting back to winter after every brief spell of sun it brings to mind the old music hall joke about the english summer oh we had a wonderful summer last year unfortunately i missed it i was shaving at the time here we are almost a month into the season and the wind is cold the sky is leaden and the flies are showing themselves only in little flurries of activity today the lathkill that beautiful limestone spring fed tributary of the derbyshire wye was calling this winter the keepers had worked very hard on giving this beat its pentennial haircut so a natural curiosity to see what things were like was only to be expected click it to see it bigger see how there are none of the yellow lesser celandine flowers opened up yet here we are with lady s smock blooming well supported by the grasses around it the river looks amazing there has been so much rain this year that the flow which usually chuckles along today was steaming through like a mountain torrent the fly line had to be managed at break neck speed to maintain contact with the fly the river may be high and swift but the water is as clear as gin too much caution therefore could not be exercised in the approach crawling into position was still vital there were some large dark olives skittering about on the surface dragged hither and thither by the erratic breezes not one was being eaten very occasionally a singleton grannom would appear and in one or two cases these were eaten with alacrity on with the fresh grannom then onto the knees and a careful sneak into position he really is behaving himself here just behind me there is a pheasant and i ve told him stay waiting and watching was frustrating for henry but he behaved himself and refrained from distraction so that his pal could concentrate on the quarry the first fish was a brown trout typical of this water dotted to perfection and with bright red rays to the lower edge of her tail this strip of red was augm...
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