Pete's Weighty ( Fly Fishing ) Words

The rain continues and the rivers are still high. I’m writing this having just looked at the webcam of the Exe and it is lower than earlier today but still unfishable and not very safe. I think it would have been a little foolish to have taken Guy out today and it looks like there will be more early tomorrow. As ever we look for the upside and it gave Mark and I a chance to do some maintainance on our lake with some strimming and light weed cutting passing a pleasant few hours. We’ll do a little bit more as we have a busy week on there next week.

 Enzo is my best pal. He is my dog and has been a constant companion for the last 15 years. There was a time when he would come on nearly all of my fishing trips but being 15 the old batteries do tend to run out a little bit quicker than they used to. As the old saying goes “the mind is willing but the body isn’t able” He has been on the Teign with me recently and on the occassions I am in the office he comes along and helps me a little bit when I am teaching. He seems to know when I am about to go fishing and as soon as he sees me with a rod he’ll jumps up as if to say “where we going?” He’ll keep me company if I am casting in the garden and waits by the door for me to come home when I have been on the river as if he wants to know the fishing report! He is a good fishing dog as he never jumped in the water and didn’t try and land my fish for me just sat there chilling out and enjoying it all. Funnily enough he fits in with the relaxed lifestyle at the Scott Fly Fishing School where the vibe as ever is chilled!

People often ask if he is named after the famous Italian but it is infact after a Spanish guy I did some surfing with a long time ago. He always had his dog with him and said he was his best friend and funnily enough his name was Enzo. I kind of liked that and I am pleased it has turned out the same for me!

I’ve popped a link on here of some fishing I did on the Taw at the very end of May when the rivers were up (not as bad as now!) There were some Mays around and I had to use a big fly to bring them up and it proved to be a bit of a mouthful for some of the fish but it did OK. And before you say it I know I’m not Micheal Parkinson when it comes to the camera but who cares its about the fishing!!

 CLICK HERE

I have just cancelled the 2 days guided fly fishing with Guy T which is a shame as we had some pretty cool stuff planned. He is down for a week with his family and it sounds like they will be leaving a little earlier than planned!

I am hoping to do some fishing a little further up country on Sunday so I will be watching the weather closely.

In the meantime though I have uploaded a new video of my buddy Ray catching a really nice grayling from a few weeks back. The water was carrying some colour but we came across a nice grayling rising and being the gentleman I am I offered it to Ray. The truth is that I owe him some big fish as he let me cast to and catch a 3lb rainbow on the Colorado a few years back and so although I got the short term glory he has plenty of big fish credits for the future. As well as being a great fisherman he is one of the smartest people I know, what is it they say about it being a long term game?!

So the fish was there for the taking and Ray tied on a size 22 unweighted pheasant tail and greased it up so that it sat just subsurface. Ray is a big fan of fishing just below and I remembered when he had first picked up some emerger patterns from a fly shop in Basalt we visited one time in the states. We happened to be on the Frying Pan fishing pretty much side by side and the fishing was electric to say the least. Rays emerger was doing the business and I would hear “emerger” shouted to me as he hooked into another and I was fishing a parachute tups (you can take the boy out of Devon) and would shout “dry” back as I hooked into one. To be honest I think you could have tied on a fag butt and still caught it was that good but to anyone walking along the bank they would have been amused to see us.

So hopefully this will remind you we do get some good conditions and I look forward to seeing them. I must apologise for the “good fish” comments as those of you I have guided will know I get just as excited as the person holding the rod!

CLICK HERE for Rays grayling

I’m back from a couple of weeks in Tanzania. Now, I love my fishing holidays (I have a few booked for later in the year to offset the lack of fishing on this one!) but this was truely amazing.

Being just 6 feet away from a pride of lions is something I will never forget or seeing a pack of hyenas leaving for an evenings hunt was a magical sight. The tents we stayed in were not fenced off so it was not unusual to be awoken by a munching sound just outside . We would creep out of bed and see a huge eye of an elephant, hipo or giraffe just a few feet away from where we stood. The highlight for me was the walking drive where we saw plenty of animals but also the tracks  of animals and signs of a hunt. This was the only time our guide carried a gun and I assumed it was incase of an angry lion, leopard or hipo but it was in fact for water buffalo. Apparently they are the most unpredictable of anything you are likely to encounter. I have some photos and will pop them up shortly but some of the things we saw I will never forget.

So what does this have to do with fly fishing in Devon? I guess not a lot but I have to say how impressed I was with the guides and how they worked as a team. Although there were not many lodges near us when someone had spotted something they would pass on the information and I thought this was pretty neat. They also had a few tricks up their sleeves that made the day even more special and I have to admit I nicked a couple!

There was some beach holiday too and luckily I packed an 8wt and some clousers and spent some fun time catching jacks and small cuda. It was fun figuring out the fish and where they were and I was a little surprised to see that they didn’t want a frantic retrieve but a nice steady pull. Like everyone in Tanzania they seem to be pretty relaxed!

When I was writing yesterdays blog we had pretty good cloud cover and it wasn’t too cool. As the sun went down and we got ready to fish the clouds had lifted revealing the full moon and a nice little bit of mist to go with it. It didn’t bother us too much and we carried on despite the odds being against us.I only get to fish this stretch of the Taw on a Monday so we thought to hell with it and cracked on. It was a really fun evening and despite not catching any sea trout. Toby had a few nice browns but the most important thing was that we had a good time and had quite a few laughs as well. As ever it isn’t always about the fish but just being out there with buddies enjoying the experience.

We had some nice comments come in from happy clients yesterday which is always a nice start to the week.

Bob was a great guide. He’s an easy going guy and he taught me the rudiments of double handed casting very effectively.

Stuart

Pete-great day on the river you’re a top river guide.

Cheers

David

CLICK HERE to see Bob in action

CLICK HERE to see Pete in action

Bob was out yesterday with Mike who was brushing up his spey casting before going on a fishing trip!

Fathers Day was a really nice treat as Charlie cooked a most excellent full english for me for breakfast and then a barbie to finish the day. I also managed to sneak on to the Taw for a couple of hours and although the fishing wasn’t exactly hot it was good to be there.

Mondays are always a busy day for catching up and as I am away to warmer climes in a few days I was making sure that Mark was OK with keeping the cogs of the school oiled whilst I am away. Those of you that have had tuition know he is an excellent instructor but computers are another thing altogether. I have written fail safe notes so fingers crossed!

We have been doing a Monday night sea trout session and he was hoping to join Toby and I but his car is low on fuel and believe it or not there is no fuel in Okehmapton. You can guess how pleased he was! So it is just Toby and I tonight.

Bob was out teaching this afternoon so I manned the office and do not tell him I nabbed one of our SewinCaster lines and will give it a go tonight. They seem to have been a runaway success and popular with sea trouters and now things are warming up, bass anglers too. It is perfect for turning over heavier flies and our partner Illtyd Griffiths has spent a lot of time making sure every little detail is right. He even went as far as checking the figure of eight-ability of it. It seems to be the must have line at the mo according to our retailers which is great news but perhaps not for the sea trout!

I, at last, have a pic from Bob from his salmon weekend where one of the guys had a rather nice salmon…

Also to see smooth Bob in action with his new favourite rod CLICK HERE

31/5

 I popped down to the Taw and had a look today. The water was up and coloured and had some speed to it. I am lucky the river is only a few minutes drive away and although it wouldn’t have mattered too much I really wanted to have a quick hour of fishing. To make it more special I had Charlie, my daughter, with me. She is 16 and fly fishing for her isn’t in the top ten of cool things despite her old man trying to make her think otherwise! I wasn’t going to miss this chance to spend some time on the water with her and she offered to bring the video camera and take a few shots.

I rigged up with a mayhammer and a flash back pheasant tail tied 3ft off of the dry fly. As the water was coloured (we only had 1ft of visibilty) I used a bigger dry than normal in the hopes it might drag a fish up to take a look. It became apparent that you had to work tight in to the bank in any pockets of slack water as it was moving far too fast in the main lanes. 2 quick takes to the dry (which I missed) and then a landed fish had me taking the nymph off. A small trickle of mayflies helped my cause and we did see the odd splashy rise to them. The dry was doing a great job and although probably a tiny bit too big for some of the fish it was what they wanted. We didn’t stay on the river for long as it rained again but it was great to fish at a challenging time and was rewarding to catch fish off of the top when the books might have suggested some heavy gear might be a better bet. I guess thats why I’ll never be a competitive fisherman as it is all about having fun!

Anyway, rather than reading about it have a look at it as it happened by clicking here

I was laying in bed and heard the rain start at about 5.30 this morning. I am writing this at 6.30pm and it has just stopped. I had my truck loaded and had planned to stay on the river after work and do some fly fishing as there are plenty of salmon and sea trout around. Sometimes it doesn’t always play out the way you hope and I had to make the call to Richard at 8am from the office and call off our day on the river. I am starting to feel sorry for Richard as it looks like the weather gods have decided that he isn’t going to catch a trout from the river on a dry fly just yet! We are re-planning and I am sure it is only a matter of time. This meant I was at work already and had plenty to catch up on so it wasn’t so bad but I’d rather have been on the river!

Mark was also teaching on the lake and was with 13 year old James. I had my video camera with me and so I popped down to see how they were getting on and to take a few pics. I have spent plenty of time teaching with Mark but it was a real pleasure to watch him in action and watching the video makes me proud to be part of such a great team. He was fantastic with James and was constantly passing on information and tips to him and I know James is hooked now!

Mark, James and Cethin, his grandfather, were due to have lunch down at the lake but the rain brought them up so Bob, Jax and myself joined them. It was good to all sit down and talk fishing!

Anyway, enough of me talking about it take a look at how well James did and when he caught his first fish. In between using the camcorder I kept it under my jacket which meant it steamed up when I took it out just as James hooked his first fish….sorry James!!  Click here to see James catch a few 

Bob,Jax,Mark,Cethin and James all tuck into lunch at SFFS HQ!

It is always really nice to see someone go off at the end of the day having learnt loads but having had a good time and be it an existing fisherman (or woman) who now has something that will now help get a few extra fish on the bank or a newcomer to fly fishing who has left enthused and ready to embark on a new pastime. We keep in touch with everybody and it is cool to hear how things have gone and if some of the things we have shown people are working…

Below is a message from Colin, who along with David, wanted to learn how to tackle their stretch of the Otter with a bit more confidence. I am so pleased it looks like it is working. Well done Colin!!

Hi Pete, thank you for the most enlightening morning for David and myself. Lots of people often have the skills, but few have a natural ability and  enthusiasm to teach their subject in an easy to understand way. You have  that ability along with an easy-going manner that puts people at ease  enabling them to learn and progress. Both David and I learnt and understood so much that we now both feel cap   able of casting in most circumstances. I still can't Double Haul but I have  to say that I haven't needed it on the Otter yet ! David says that it really was a morning well spent and I agree  wholeheartedly with him. So once again thanks for all you taught us and the manner with which you  did it, you have enhanced our ability, enjoyment and experience whilst  fishing. Kind regards Colin

If you haven’t seen this already it is a day Mark and I spent on the Dart, it is worth a view just for watching me doing an impression of a jaquzzi! click here 

Mark has put a new blog up and as ever is an interesting and amusing read!

Now, it is admission time, I’m not too bad with a fly rod but a video camera is another matter! Mark and I popped up to the Moors last week and did a spot of fly fishing with 2 and 3 wt rods and small dry flies. The fishing was good and we did our best to capture it on video so click here for a peek. It is a bit rough and ready but I sort of like it that way rather than a polished Ridley Scott version…perhaps that’s just an excuse. Hope you enjoy it and as ever we are trying to be a little bit different….hope you enjoy!

 Bob hosted his salmon course and it went down really well which was also aided by a 12lber! He promised he took his camera so hopefully some pics up soon. The team seem to be doing really well on the bit we guide on the Tamar with Champo having a customer returning a good 14lber and a few 2 1/2lb sea trout last week. I am guiding on there with Richard for trout on Weds weather permitting…

Despite heavy rain the Devon County Show was really good fun and a worthwhile visit. It was great to meet up with friends old and new and have a bit of a cast as well as talk fishing of course!

Sunday was great fun as I met up with Luke Westaway after we had to cancel a fly fishing lesson previously due to snow! Being only 10 I was amazed at how quickly he picked up fly casting and how much knowledge he already has of our sport. He did himself proud and caught 3 fish and took one of them home for his tea. His father, Simon, is a very keen fisherman too and I think it will only be a matter of time before Luke is joing him on plenty more of his fishing trips. Really, really well done Luke we all look forward to hearing of your future fishing exploits!

I noticed we have 2 carp in our trout lake and with things warming up that they are moving around near the surface. I have set myself the challenge of staking one with a proper dry fly and will keep you in touch with how it goes…