Catch Up Time

Quiet start to the week up until Wednesday then contacted the guys from Manchester Casting Club to see if anyone was going on Wednesday night. Andrew is away & Chris was tied up with work so it was just Sean and myself. It was good to catch up as neither of us have been able to get there for one reason or another.
We stayed for a couple of hours and shortly before we left a chap by the name of Rick turned up and joined in the casting. He'd recently moved to the UK from the USA so hopefully he'll start to come along on a regular basis. It does need more people to come along especially given all the hard work Andrew & Chris have put in it would be a shame if the Club couldn't keep going, so if you want to cast a line or maybe just a chat about fly fishing & casting and are in the area of Platt Fields, Fallowfield, Manchester on a Wednesday evening just pop along you'll be more than welcome (more details can be found via Fly Forums - Manchester Casting Club).

Despite the awful weather I decided on Friday I would go and fish my local club water Lamaload. Arrived there about 2pm and didn't really think it would be worth bothering as very low cloud and squally rain kept pushing over the lake, but you never can tell when fishing. I had the place to myself, but I'm not surprised given the weather, water level was down quite a bit and the wind was coming in straight of the dam wall. As there was a few martins working the water I decided to stick to small patterns just below the surface and slowly walk down to the bottom of the lake and then fish my way back. saw a few fish rise of the point of the second bay had a few casts with no luck then carried on. At last I found some fish steadily rising on the edge of the weed bed at the bottom end and after a few casts hooked into one only for it to throw the hook. Other fish still continued to rise so another cast and this time It stayed on, a rainbow but not big but full of fight, a few more fish came to the net then they disappeared so it was time to move on. Back to where the fish were rising earlier and first cast produced a big pull then nothing, fish had gone. Fished the area hard and managed a few more fish before the heavy rain and mist descended and with it the fish moved on which was clearly my cue to do the same.

So it goes to show that you never really can tell just by looking what the sessions going to turn out like until you've give it a go.

Saturday saw me helping out at Curleys Fishery which was a good session. Plenty of fish being caught at this venue well worth a visit.

Tight Lines to all those who are out there fishing this coming week.

Visit us on our Facebook page Cheshire Fly Fish or web site www.cheshireflyfishing.co.uk.

Quick Post

A quick post this week as not much has been happening, hopefully next weeek will be more productive.
After a busy weekend it was time for me to get some fishing of my own in, so had a couple of sessions at my local still water and then on one of my club waters.

Weather wasn't too bad and the fish were in a co-operative mood which was nice, small emerger type patters in silver and brown seemed to produce the most offers.

Planned to get out again on Saturday but the weather was just rubbish, strong winds and rain, typical summer weather for the UK recently.

Hopefully next week will be more settled and I can get out and give the local rivers a try.

Have just booked 2 days accommodation and 3 days fishing on the River Nith staying at Friars Carse Hotel, check out their website for fishing courses that are available.

If your out there fishing this week Tight Lines.

Visit us on our Facebook page Cheshire Fly Fish or web site www.cheshireflyfishing.co.uk.

Mostly Teaching

A bit of practice in the early part of the week before having a few hours fishing at local still water to try and christen my new rod, a TFO Lefty Kreh Pro Special 9' 6# that I bought along with an 8# whilst in the US.

The weather was slightly overcast with the the forecast for rain later so as I only had a few hours to spare I got too it as quick as possible. Fished a small Black Pennel on the dropper and a Diawl Bach on the point and was soon into a fish that had taken the dropper a nice rainbow of about 2lb. A couple of other anglers were hooking up and then it went quiet with no sign of fish moving at all.

Moved over to the opposite bank to try my luck there and found fish rising in the slack water against the far reed bed so these were my target fish, it took a while but eventually managed to get a nice 4lb fish to make a mistake and it was soon safely netted and released to fight another day. Quite pleased with the rod it performed fine and will be useful as one of my teaching rods.

Friday saw the first of my lessons for the week and was a good success with plenty of fish being caught from the start, it was just a shame that once the heavy rain came it just put the fish off completely and even the experienced anglers were not getting any joy. Thankfully the rain cleared away just before they packed up and a few more fish came to the bank, best of the day was just over 5lb a very nice fish but most were in the 3 to 4lb bracket.
All seemed happy with what they had caught and some even happy with the ones that got away seeing that most of them had never fly fished before.

Saturday morning it was over to Curleys Fishery for a lesson with a client of mine. Weather again played a huge part in the session with heavy downpours interrupting things, Adrian did well to keep going at times with such awful conditions. Good lesson and hopefully I've hooked him on fly fishing, he did really well.
Saturday afternoon I assisted a colleague with a group lesson on behalf of my mentor Mike Roden. This group were on a full day lesson so had had to contend with the bad weather of the morning that just kep on going in the afternoon, not pleasant conditions to try and put into practice what you had been shown in the lesson but they stuck at it and it was just a shame that no fish came to the bank despite all their efforts.

Sunday morning and it was back at Curleys covering a lesson for Mike. Client picked up the casts very quickly and was soon out on the main lake fishing. A lot of fish were moving but they were hard to tempt, others that were fishing were down deep with sinking lines and weighted lures but for a beginner casting such lines would have been hard work so we stuck fishing the top layers and he was rewarded with a lovely conditioned rainbow of about 3lb. A good end to a good lesson.

Going to try and get some fishing in myself over the next few days before the rain comes into the area again.

If your out there fishing this week Tight Lines

Visit us on our Facebook page Cheshire Fly Fish or web site www.cheshireflyfishing.co.uk.

Back Home

Well not much happened in the last few days away a few fish came to hand but nothing much, had  a few snook chase the fly in the light surf but none would get hold.

Tropical Storm Andrea

Didn't even get to try the new rod out before Tropical Storm Andrea arrived and wiped out any chance of fishing from the beach, in fact any fishing at all due to the high winds and treacherous seas, nice to watch and listen too but not be in or on.

Big Bug

This chap would be a good pattern to tie and I bet it would catch some big fish. It attached itself to the tyre of the car just before I left for the airport.

Back home now and a busy week ahead with lessons booked in with clients on Friday , Saturday & Sunday so should be an interesting week ahead.

Will try and catch up with the lads at MCC this week as I've not seen them for a while as well as maybe get a few hours fishing in myself.


If you're out there this week, Tight Lines


Visit us on our Facebook page Cheshire Fly Fish or web site www.cheshireflyfishing.co.uk.

Gulf of Mexico Fishing - Part 4

Weather has been changeable since the last post, early morning has been quite calm and then afternoons have been windy so fishing fly from the beach has been challenging. Looked to fish the troughs as the tides changed especially after starting to see snook and red drum patrol these areas at sunset.


Fish that have been biting have been in the main ladyfish and small jacks with the odd whiting if the fly is left to sink lower. Numerous fish have had a quick tug at the fly but it's been hard at times due to the waves to keep in touch as much as I'd like. Ladyfish were by far the most numerous but as lots of you will know keeping these chaps on the hook can at times be a hard task.


Jack

Ladyfish

This last couple of days I've been waiting for the wind to die down so I can try out me my new rod a TFO #8, 9', have used one before that I borrowed for a few hours when last here in October and thought it was a nice rod, so I've bought one. If the wind and surfs too big tomorrow then its the half mile across the island to Tampa Bay which is fairly calm tonight to give it an outing there.

There may be time for one more post before I head back home to the UK, if so until I return to AMI at the end of September to search for the big Red Drum - Tight Lines.

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