Cold Cornwall - Turns on the surf and dolphins at the Cribbar

Just come back from Easter weekend in Cornwall. Temps still in single figures with a stiff Easterly wind. If you got out of the wind it was nice. Surf on Saturday maxed out with a hardy crew out on the Cribbar. I surfed Great Western and got a few nice lefts on the dropping tide at about 4'.

For a while the surfers on the Cribbar took a back seat while a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins, including some young calves, came through off Towan Head.

Looking forward to fishing the rivers tomorrow even if it is still freezing!

The lucky ones... Rainbows under cover on the Chew

Walked a good stretch of the River Chew today with Red and his dog Sid. Weather bitterly cold with strong NE winds. The water was coming down to a normal level (what is normal in the current climate!) with a touch of colour. Most of the section you couldn't sight fish as the water was slower and deep. We saw just one small dimple rise. The area we walked had very little cover though so any fish would have been spooked long before we had clocked them. We moved on to another section and to our surprise saw a dozen or so stocked Rainbows jostling for position in the flow. These were hauled up in a section shrouded in trees. They were the lucky fish from last season who had not been caught, washed downstream or predated. Couldn't see any wild fish but that was probably because they were well hidden in the deeper holes of the undercut banks. Also saw a pair of Goosander on this stretch.

On my way back to Bristol stopped off at the Chew lower down and lucked upon Rich Denning from Keynsham AA. He was just netting, would you believe it, a Rainbow of about 2.5lb he had just caught ledgering for Chub. This is one of the ones that had been washed down from the stocked stretch. It didn't surprise me that the fish had taken up residence a fair way from where it was put in as the Keynsham stretch offers cover in abundance.

2013 River Fly Fishing Inspiration

Apologies for not updating recently but weather has dampened activity and enthusiasm for posting. Red likes to remind me of not catching fish - so yet again I visit a local lake and blank while he nets a couple of nice Rainbows on a Snipe and Purple no less. What's wrong with the good old Buzzer or stripped Damsel I ask myself! Anyway I had had some luck few weeks previous stripping on an intermediate at Chew Magna Reservoir - ended up netting 4 fish in a couple of hours but I'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark. Standing still for too long and not casting to sighted fish I guess is just not my thing at the moment.

Today we went for a walk on a local Somerset stream and after catching a few glimpses of fish on the shallow gravel runs it got the old mojo back for the new year. The stretch which we haven't fished before looked good, hidden in deep banks with a high tree canopy great for the roll cast. The water was fairly high but clear in the shallow sections. An interesting sight was a large adult dead Otter which was curled naturally in the crease of some steps. Not far from the road, although it looked in tact, we assumed it had been hit by a car and found a corner to die quietly - sad. Small flocks of tits, Siskin, Treecreeper and Nuthatch moved through the Alders that lined the banks whilst a pair of Dippers lead us down the stream. Raven and Buzzard overhead.

Dead Otter

A beautiful Beech tree straight out of the Shire!

Chunky Croyde

Day trip to Croyde on a mild November day with my bro Rich. Light onshores and a chunky swell seemed to go unnoticed by most as we battled out to a fairly empty lineup. Tide coming in and caught some big rights but had some hellish paddle outs as there was little let up between the sets. Worth the effort and felt suitably refreshed since I hadn't been out since September.

Plan C on the Hampshire Avon

Went down to my bro's with idea of catching a nice little wave at Kimmeridge. The wave buoys were suggesting a nice waist high wave pushing up the channel. By the time I got down to Salisbury the readings were looking borderline at best and K bay is a fair old trek if you are not 90% sure it will be surfable. Plan B   then was to fish the Nadder on the outskirts Salisbury. Picked up a day ticket and got to the bank. It was as brown as the Chew and spilling the banks. Back to the tackle shop and Plan C exchange the ticket for one on the Hampshire Avon which Rich said had been running clear and beautiful for the last couple of weeks. No problems with exchanging and we turned up on the Avon which was looking pristine. Rich was the first to get any action as he hooked into a good sized trout.

Rich brings a nice fish to the net.

The resulting Brownie.

It took me a while to get any takes and then a flurry of rises in my vicinity lead to a couple of small trout and a lost big Grayling that snapped me off. We made our way upstream the fairly long stretch out of Salisbury. The fish were sporadic and came the feed for limited periods as the sun warmed the water enough for some fly activity. As the light started to fade on what was a lovely day the last 30 minutes was frantic with both good sized Grayling and some nice Brownies coming to the net.

My best Grayling of the day - probably of the year so far.

A nice wild one going back.

Wellow nymphing

Met up with Red and fished Wellow for a few hours. Stream in good shape with a healthy flow and crystal clear. The fish I caught were deep and getting the nymph down in the fast flow required some additional weight. Caught about a half a dozen fish, beautifully marked to match the gravel substrate.

We then fished one of the local lakes for carp on the fly but those fish have either become very wary or are just not interested in surface food. Last year tempting them was but this year it has been anything but. I had a few half hearted nosings but that was about it.

Bristol Frome Friday fish produces some late summer sport

Fished my local stretch again. The water like the Chew the lowest it has been all year and very clear. Reminded me of the early days of spring as I was greeted with both Dipper and Grey Wagtail. It had been a lovely day and at about 17:00 when I got to the river the temp was dropping dramatically. At my first pool I saw couple of rises from the resident trout. Second cast on the Goldhead and I had an average sized Brownie in the net. As I made my way up the pool I hooked a second fish on the retrieve. As I brought it to the net I thought it was a Chub but as I reached down I realised it was a big Dace. This is the best Dace I have had from the Bristol Frome - I would say at least 10oz so a good fish by any standards.

Big Dace from the Bristol Frome

Downstream I picked up another small Brownie under the carriageway bridge section. Then whilst searching a deep pool in the last knockings of daylight I hit solid resistance as a good fish took me from bank to bank. After several skyward launches I netted another fantastic wild Brownie for the Bristol Frome, perhaps not my best but certainly near it. The fish looked familiar but I have referenced it against other big fish I have caught here and it is not one that I have in the net before. It never ceases to amaze me after being so familiar with this small river/stream it still produces some great surprises.

Another cracking wild Brownie.