Kimmeridge Surf - 4ft Clean

Surfed today. First time since end of October. Kimmeridge, the Ledges, was a glassy 4 foot with hardly any wind. Went with bro Rich and friend Tom. Surfed for 2.5hrs high tide going out. About 20 guys out at any one time, pretty relaxed session. Temperature about 10 C which is a heck of lot warmer than it has been of late. Took Magic Carpet out. Caught some lefts and then mainly rights that were basically drops with fat shoulders. Good to work off some of that Christmas flab and get motivated again. Not a big swell but from the South with 12 second period. No photos as Kimmeridge and most of the Country was shrouded in a a light misty, murky rain.

Day out on Avon and Nadder

Crisp cold morning for a days fishing in Wiltshire. On the way stopped off at the canal near Seend to take a few shots. Mist was lifting off the water and the early morning sunshine was wonderful. Arrived at my brothers, Rich, to discuss the options for the day.

First stop Hampshire Avon North of Salisbury. Not much rising so fished a nymph under the dry. First few runs nothing doing but managed to spook a number of small Pike basking in the sunshine. Found a nice deep bend where Rich caught a lunker of a Brownie. It must have been all of 2.5lb. On its return I managed to get some lovely underwater shots. From the same bend we both caught Grayling and Dace on the nymph. On upstream and a tightly packed shoal of at least 20 Grayling, some in excess of a 1lb, outwitted us but I managed to hook into a decent Brownie of about 1.5lb in amongst them.

Next stop the Nadder in Salisbury. The usual shallow runs failed to produce so moved downstream to the deeper holes. Between us we caught a mixed bag of small Brownies, some reasonable Grayling and Rich had some chunky Chub. Most fish falling to the nymph but an occasional rise to the Klink. The cold weather had certainly kept the fish down but it was an eventful day nevertheless in the glorious Autumn sunshine. Water levels were about the lowest I have seen it.

End of season River Chew

Thought I'd return to my favourite little River Chew for an end of season fish in the hope of some Grayling and maybe the odd Brownie. The river was coloured which surprised me as the levels weren't high and we hadn't had a huge amount of rain. I could only deduce that work or a disturbance upstream was causing the clay to discolour the water. I fished below the bridge which early in the year holds a small shoal of Grayling. No Grayling but a small Brownie fell to the nymph right in the rapids where I was expecting the Grayling to now be taking position. Next stop a pool I often miss but thought I would try. Not a big pool but a deep drop off from a shallow sandy riffle. Its easily accessible and therefore I normally ignore it. Anyway heavy nymph cast into the riffle and let drop into the cloudy pool. As I retrieve it from the bottom a solid resistance is felt and my best Brownie from Chew that season comes to the net after quite a struggle. I move downstream and fish a great glide canopied in Alder from one of the deep pools where I know the Grayling will be. After loosing a decent Grayling, the first Grayling that comes to hand is tiny but shows the fish are thriving here. This is followed by couple more Grayling each around 6-8 inches in length. I finally end with a nice little Brownie on the nymph from a deep pool on my way back upstream. A couple of fish were rising but I couldn't tempt them with the dry. All fish today came to various weighted Goldheads.

Hampshire Avon Deanery Meadows

Left work early on lovely summers afternoon. Met up with Rich and fished Hampshire Avon at Deanery Meadows. A beautiful stretch of river in the shadow of Salisbury Cathedral. We both fished nymph under the dry. Rich hooked a clonker of Chub under some Willows on the far bank. It was easily in the 4lb range and tested is light tackle to the limit. I was mainly catching small Dace on the dry.  I finally hooked into a good sized Chub of around 2lb on the dry taken from under some Chestnut trees on the far bank. Rich proceeded to catch several more Chub in the 2-3lb range. Trout noticeable by their abscence. A lovely late afternoon/evenings fishing easily worth the hours trip from Bristol.

Bristol Frome Dry Fly Evening

Evening session today fished Bristol Frome. Normal route from BB working my way downstream on the towpath looking for feeding fish and then approaching upstream. Dry flies here don't need to be fussy Size 12/14 parachute patterns work just fine for Trout and Chub. Intentionally missed the weir glide and noticed fish rising in a very short glide by the old bridge. First cast flicked under the hanging Hazel, bang nice little Brownie. Amazingly never spooked other fish despite skittish scrap across the shallow shingle below. Same pattern followed for two further brownies all around 6-8 oz. The area of water was probably a metre square and 3ft deep with shallow riffle above and below. Great result 3 casts on the same dry and 3 fish. Carried on down and caught another 3 further downstream before bad light stopped play. All fish safely returned.

Bristol Frome mixed bag

Evening session on my local patch. Not much rising. Headed for my favoured pool about halfway down my normal route. Fish rising under the far side branches - not sure whether its a Trout or Chub. Not a vigorous rise, just sipping. My favoured parachute is flicked up stream and engulfed on first run down resulted in my best Brownie on the fly from the Frome. Just under a 1lb I would guess, and it went berserk in the shallow water wrapping my 7ft 4 weight at right angles. After that not much on the dry but some lovely - out of season, for which I apologise, Roach, on the Goldhead nymph. All fish safely returned.

Wellow Wilderness

Weekend trip to the Wellow. Lovely clear stream just 40 mins from me but weekday traffic prevents further excursions. Difficult to fish, trout are spooky and casting is tough. Once you are on the stream bed it truly is magical. The high banks buzz with life and Kingflishers dash the walls either side of you. I find the dry fly hard to present and when a take comes I'm always pre occupied mending line or thinking a head. The stream moves fast through riffles and shallow runs with the occasional pool creating eddies that bow the line and hinder the flow of your fly. I use a 7ft rod but sometimes wonder whether to add a foot for more control. I loose 2 fish off the bat on a blunt nymph and then nothing. Clumsily working my way upstream spooking fish. The fish are like rockets exploding into the pools ahead putting heads down. Every rising fish is shadowed by an awkward branch. A tangled line forces patience and often allows confidence to return to both you and the fish. Finally a small trout comes to hand. I clamber the bank and move downstream to the footbridge. Beautiful Demoiselle are out in numbers flitting over the gurgling water. As I work my way upstream again, a head moves across one of the few deeper pools to a hole beside a stump in the bank - first time I've seen an Otter here and in total daylight.  I fear for any further action but 10 yards past my fleeting encounter I hook a further two wild Brownies on the nymph on a really productive glide below a deep pool.
Note to oneself must make more of an effort to return.

River Chew bonanza

Fished my favourite stretch of the River Chew. Great day with plenty of Grayling and Brownies taking the nymph and later on the Klink. Fish appeared to be shoaled up in the fast shallow runs. Best Grayling of season so far at just about a 1lb. A lot of Brownies in the 6-8oz range. Dippers, Kingfishers and a Barn Owl added to the experience - wonderful.

Upper Chew first trip

Thought I would explore Upper Chew as had read and heard good things. Unfortunately a fair bit of rain had coloured the water nearer the reservoir. The overall experience was not as good as I expected both from a fishing and environment perspective. Having fished relatively quiet streams in the past I was surprised to see at least 2 or 3 fisherman walking the banks. Although I like solitude I am always happy to engage but no one seemed overally friendly or engaging I guess they didn't want to see me either! I managed to catch 2 small wild Brownies and from the returns book that seemed to be a good result. One was on the dry and another on the nymph from one of the bigger pools below the bridge. I worked my way up the bottom beat and that was it with much of the stream appearing pretty lifeless. I did see one lurking stocked Rainbow at about 2lb but was unable to tempt it. Most enlightening moment was seeing Brook Lamprey beneath my feet and getting a few shots of a fish I had never seen before.