April 2008

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed some of the content of last months write up, In all honesty I have Peter from Denmark to thank for the idea as he put forth the suggestion of a news page when he stayed at our home last month, thinking back there were quite a few topics covered and if the time taken to write these pages inspires a few readers then it is time well spent. Last month we briefly touched on fishery issues, casting, entomology, and of course the gratuitous angling shot of a very good friend holding a very nice fish. Hopefully throughout the season by using this news page I can attract more and more people to come and sample the many angling opportunities that West Cumbria has to offer. May is starting to fill up pretty quickly regarding bookings for lessons and there is also the upcoming Tweed angling fair at the start of the month. AAPGAI members will be providing tuition for adults and youngsters alike, and year after year sees the show go from strength to strength.
Well worth attending, and all for a good cause too......Keep up the good work Eion!



Ok, April began will the AAPGAI meeting at Kenmore in Scotland, and mixed weather conditions greeted us upon our arrival. This was to be my second meeting as a trainee assessor and the schedule looked pretty tight for all the assessment teams, with more and more people looking to attempt these examinations. This was also going to be the meeting where for the first time I attempted an AAPGAI Masters exam in Single Handed Casting. My assessment team was Gary Coxon, Derick Turner and Glyn Freeman as a third watch, I had to be at my position within 1 hour of reaching Kenmore thanks to heavy traffic just outside of Glasgow and to be honest the whole day was a bit of a blur to me, although sometime during the afternoon I must have done something right, because following a 3 hour casting grilling, my public 20 minute presentation on salt water casting techniques, a 1 hour written paper and a 45 minute interview, Mr Coxon woke me from the surrealism of the days events and advised me that I had been successful following my interview. Ok, i will admit that things didn't really set in right at that moment, and they probably still havn't now, but there was still a very heavy workload of assessing to come on the following days to keep me occupied till award night, and of course much to catch up on with good friends who were still yet to arrive...



In all honesty, the view from the back of the hotel, outside of the dining room is second to none, and never fails to take away my breath. Situated right on the outflow of Loch Tay, the Kenmore Hotel offers everything we could need to hold such an event, and I would seriously recommend any members of the public to come to the AAPGAI open day on the Saturday of our meetings, casting tuition is at hand and you also get to see such a wide variety of both classroom and outdoor presentations throughout the day.
You can contact Illtyd here if you wish to inquire about future open days

Kenmore will always have a special place in my heart, as I was successful in passing all three of the awards I hold in this very location. It was also here that this time round once again I witnessed something that would knock me to the floor. On the public open day whilst I was practicing some curve casts around a bin on the lawn, an upstanding gentleman stood silently watching at the top of the stairs leading to the lawn, and when I turned and noticed him I was greeted in return with a beaming smile, this gentleman was none other than Mr Peter Anderson. My previous meetings with Peter have all proved to be awesome experiences, and this time topped off the lot.

Last year for the first time, I watched in utter disbelief as Peter, a gentleman in his early 80's, proceeded to make time and time again the most symmetrically perfect set up for a single spey cast I have ever seen in my life, and with a 90ft headed line! Anchor points that came right to heel time after time with just a simple pump of the lower hand, like a well trained, obedient gun dog, forming a rearward traveling V loop that has the potential to chop down trees, Then to watch him blast the line way over towards the far side without any undue fuss is quite simply out of this world. This year Peter knocked me on my backside by taking hold of my 6# Sage Xp and proceeding to false cast.  60ft of line beyond the tip later, a loop was directly over the tip of the rod and holding loop form at no more than 1ft wide, over a false casting cycle that never differentiated in angle or size during a minimum of 40 false casts. That day I got the biggest lesson in casting form I could encounter and much to the amusement of fellow members ive never seen Peter cast a single handed rod before then, that image from that day scarred me, yet also has inspired me too....!


"probably the proudest moment of my life, and an image I will cherish forever, Peter Anderson "left" and Gary Coxon "right" on the award night"

In amidst the happenings far away from home, I did have an ache in my heart because unfortunately the AAPGAI weekend coincided with the Millom Anglers AGM, and following an email from the Millom Anglers Secretary, I knew what was to happen on the same night and at the exact same time I "could" be receiving my Masters award. Last season I took my daughter to Baystone Bank reservoir near Millom for an evenings fishing for Rainbow Trout. There is only one inlet stream into this fishery, yet normally closed off by a sluice gate,  however every once in a while the sluice gate is opened to top up the reservoir, and from this there comes an opportunity for tiny brown trout that exist in this inlet stream to be able to enter the reservoir. On this particular night Millie hooked into a fish, following some tidy, essential roll casting off the dam wall...



Following a hearty fight by what seemed like a well conditioned rainbow trout the net was slipped under this little beauty.....



Fin perfect in every detail, and following these images being taken, was then returned to the water unharmed to fight another day. These images were put forth to the Millom Anglers committee, and was recognized by its members as an exceptional capture given the circumstances, Thus seeing Millie being awarded the Millom Anglers Brown Trout Cup. As wrote above, unfortunately I couldn't have been there when she was presented with the cup, however I have my stepfather to thank for capturing these images from the AGM.



And nor did it end there, Last year my 9 year old sister Amy was presented with a fly fishing outfit for her birthday, no prizes for guessing who she got that off. On an occasion when she came fishing with me, she proceeded to land by herself this excellent rainbow trout, her first on her own, and did it lead her a merry dance...!



This again was submitted to the committee members and was recognized as the largest fish caught by a female member on the associations waters in 2007. Great to see the young ladies almost clean up and the club recognize their achievements, I guess the battle to retain the titles shall begin very shortly, I know Millie is getting impatient to get out there.




Getting some time to fish on my own this month has been difficult, and given the constant easterly winds and low temperatures we have had over the last couple of weeks, the sport has been somewhat stunted, however down in the estuaries the Flatfish present were up for the heavy fly, fished on T14 line.



But the day the East winds swung round to the Southwest, and with it a small increase in temperature, saw the very first arrival of the Grey Ghosts at a mark one mile from my home.



Tempting early season mullet on the fly can be quite tricky and requires a different approach and flies which Im looking to cover in a future article, Fly Fishing For Mullet Part2.
Yet with snow still on the Scafell Mountains to the north, and not a single bread fly in sight, the first Mullet of the year came ashore the day before my birthday.  
What an excellent early present!



As I finalise this months write up the weather has deteriorated rapidly and as far as I'm concerned that will be the end of sport for me this month. With the impending Tweed fair on the first weekend in May to attend, Its time to spend some nights at the vice and catch up on topping up that box of this seasons Sea trout flies..








For people who have inquired, and anyone else who is still waiting for the Salt water Casting techniques article, please be advised that I now plan to include video clip links to enhance the write up, this shall be accomplished next month and I thank you for your patience.

Tight lines for May!!


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