Out of Time, Winter 2014/15

Inactivity

I’ve not posted a blog entry since August and it’s been nagging at me. Since then I have started a demanding new job and my wife has given birth to our daughter. Changing priorities and less spare time have resulted in fewer hours on the river.

During the colder months I only managed to get out a handful of times; to the Frome, a southern chalk stream (that will remain unnamed), the Irfon, the Upper Wye and (of course) the Taff.

Beasts of the Southern Chalk

The first grayling outing of the new season saw me fishing the Frome near Dorchester where Ian Stirling had kindly organised a day for a few us. As trout were still in season we were pleased to land plenty of brownies and quite a few grayling, with a few nudging the two pound mark (including one weighed by Nicholas - not pictured).

One of the larger fish 

Frome grayling

I was in great company. As this was a social occasion we had a memorable lunch, cooked mainly on John Aplin’s well used barbecue with a few additions, including what can only be described as 'Ian's Italian Quiche'.

Beasts of the southern chalk

John - pike spotting with the keeper (courtesy of John Grindle)

The Frome

Staying low with Nicholas (courtesy of John Grindle)

One for Dave (courtesy of Dave Smith)

It was a lovely day in superb surroundings and I am very grateful to Ian for organising it. 

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On the second grayling outing I was the guest of Nicholas on a 'southern chalk stream'. We met at 8.00 am and by 8.30 am (and please don't misunderstand me here) it was clear that he had taken me to a special place; I was amazed by the number of fish and, being relatively new to chalk stream fishing, I struggled to spot some of them in the low light. But when I did... 

By mid-morning I was transfixed with a particular fish and managed to shuffle (on my knees) off a three foot bank and into the river. As good as the fishing was, I think that was the highlight of the day for my companion. 

Average size

Nicholas with a slim fish

The sport was frantic and we caught many hard-fighting blue-hued fish, no monsters but a few just over two pounds. 

The fight

2lb 2oz

These fish were very special, almost irridescent. Certainly the prettiest grayling I've seen.

Irridescence 

The flies that I used on both days were similar to those I employ on the Taff, except for a killer pink, orange and brown shrimp pattern that Nicholas gave me (that rarely left my tippet). The pink butted hare's mask nymph (below) caught my largest fish on each trip.

Taff grayling flies

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Principles

This year I will mainly fish the Bryn Derwen Sporting Syndicate (near my house) and shall retain my Gwent Angling Society (GAS) membership. I am now a bailiff on the GAS Baker’s Beat near Chainbridge (a few hundred metres below Bryn Derwen) and hope to find the time to take advantage of some of the other GAS beats.

Chainbridge and Baker's

I have been an on-off member of Merthyr Tydfil Angling Association (MTAA) for over twenty five years. As a schoolboy I took the bus into town to purchase a ticket from Tony Rees' butcher shop. Tony is long retired, but I recall him enthusiastically filling out my ticket and giving me encouragement. It was on MTAA's Taff and Usk beats that I developed my love for river fishing. 

With this in mind, it saddens me that I will not be rejoining this year. Members of the club have requested that competitions be held on the Usk; while I do not fish competitions, I have no strong feelings regarding the catch and release events in which many of my friends compete. However, this year's MTAA competitions will encourage any legal method (fly and worm) and, as there will be no controllers (as I understand it), the competitors will have to weigh in up to four dead brown trout at the end. I suspect I will make no friends in the club writing this but I do not believe that a modern angling club should be organising catch and kill competitions on a wild trout fishery.

To put this into context, if twenty competitors took eighty fish on the Mardy beat, then I estimate that they may be removing ~10% of the trout population (of takeable size). The fact that this success rate is highly unlikely, makes no difference to the principle and I would be a hypocrite if I retained my membership.


Signs of Spring 
This time of year I can often be found walking the River Usk in expectation. (Usually between midday and 2.00 pm), I seek signs of spring and hope to spot hatching flies and rising trout. As yet, I've seen none. Although last week I thought I spotted a couple of rising fish but it turned out to be two cormorant crapping in the river!

Pesky piscivores 

This year I've seen more signs of fish eaters than fish. Over the last few months I've been finding (with a bit of help from my lurcher Nel) trout tails up to over fifty meters from the river. 

Otter 

Expectation also drives industry and I tie most of my flies for the Usk in February and March. The first important hatches on the Usk are the Large Dark Olives (LDO) and March Browns and I imitate various life stages with tried and tested patterns, a few of which are shown below.  

UV backed olive emergers

Hook: Size 14 - Kamasan B100
Tail: Coq de Leon
Body: Olive or natural quill
Back: UV blobs tail fixed with a very thin coat of UV cure
Thorax: Hare's mask / pine squirrel / musk rat - mix of natural and olive
Plume: Natural CDC

March Brown emergers

Hook: Size 12 - TMC 200R

Tail: Coq de Leon

Body: Ginger quill

Thorax: Hare's mask / pine squirrel / musk rat

Plume: Natural CDC

Bromwell's big boys

Signs of spring

Thoughts of Summer

Over the long and busy winter months I have been comforted by thoughts of the Usk in summer. As described in my previous entry, spending the last few hours of daylight on the river brought peace of mind. 

Last summer (courtesy of Jon Poutney)

Ken's field 

2014 - a good year for swans

That time in my life will stay with me and, as the end of summer proper coincided with the birth of my daughter, it seemed only fitting that we name her Hâf (summer in Welsh).

My PB (courtesy of Jon Poutney)

Domestic Bliss, River Taff, January 2014

Buckets of rain

It was Saturday night and a text from Dan Popp indicated that the lower Taff would be fishable the following day. I needed no persuasion as the local rivers had been in spate since November. We arranged to meet the next morning at nine.

Upon arrival the falling river was still pushing fast and slightly coloured. Further rain was forecast for the afternoon and so we fished relatively quickly through half a mile of water in the hope of finding a shoal.

Conditions dictated that we concentrated on slower water, mainly covering the margins, gentler runs and pools. We caught numerous micro grayling, nothing big, but it didn't matter as I’d not seen Dan since before Christmas and I was happy to be out.  
 

Against the clock

By mid-afternoon, the rain had returned and the river was colouring (we suspected it had been raining heavily higher up the catchment). There was just time for a quick move to a slow deep pool that would provide our best chance of some larger fish.
 

At the pool Dan went straight to his favourite spot and I entered the river downstream where I caught, and missed, more small grayling on my heavy bugs. The river is currently stuffed with these 4-5 inch fish but, when the water drops back, I expect them to be hammered by the numerous cormorants that we observed perched on wires above the river.

Almost immediately Dan was into a fish of over a pound. Then another, and another. I worked my way upstream hoping to get in on the action. Ever the gentleman, Dan offered me a turn.

 

One of Dan's



On the first cast I was into what was obviously a large grayling that fought deep and steady. The fish was intent on running downstream and into the main current, but I applied side strain to turn it towards the bank. After a couple of minutes my quarry was steered upstream, along the margins and above my position.

As I pulled the net from my back I caught the appetising whiff of a Sunday roast and could hear the sound of hoovering from a nearby terraced house - a surreal moment. By now Dan was in the river next to me and I told him to bugger off as I was afraid the fish would make a last run towards him. He laughed as he netted the 19 inch grayling. After being subjected to a few sweary exclamations the fish swam away strongly.






My largest Taff Grayling

Smiling, I patted Dan on the back and made a few casts upriver to calm myself. As I covered the water, I wondered if anyone else had landed a specimen grayling to the smell of warm crackling and the drone of a vacuum cleaner.




Ladies About Town - Urban Grayling, Lower Taff, November 2013

Previously on Thymallus thymallus...

I have fished for river trout on the upper Taff since I was a small boy but, until a few years ago, I had not caught a Taff grayling as they only inhabit the lower river.

I enjoy fishing gentlemen's hours on the urban river in winter; it's convenient (within 40 minutes drive), cheap (£10 buys a ticket for Ospreys Fly Fishers Association water), the fishing can be top drawer (there is a large grayling population with a good number of fish over 2lb) and many of the friends that I meet on the river are proper fisherman and great company.

Landing a Taff grayling



The fish pictured below was one of largest Taff grayling I caught last season. It was captured in a heavily populated area and, upon landing, I received a hearty round of applause from spectators positioned on a nearby bridge. One of the onlookers, a small boy, clearly concerned for my safety shouted, 'Mr there's a f***ing shark behind you!'.



One from last season

This fish was caught on the pattern below. It worked very well for my friends and I last winter, proving a successful point fly on a number of Welsh rivers and English chalk streams.

Hook: Hannak grub hook - 12, 14 or 16
Bead: Metallic pink - 3mm or 3.5mm
Underbody: Medium lead wire - few turns glued behind bead
Body: Dark hare's mask
Rib: Red or pink wire
Thorax: Ice dub - UV shrimp pink

Cabin Fever, November 2013

It was a sunny November Sunday morning and it hadn't rained for three days. The local rivers had been unfishable for over a month and I was suffering from cabin fever. I'd been tying for weeks and was itching to wet a few new patters. 

Not my usual tipple

Upon checking, I noted  that the river had dropped to 0.9m at Upper Boat Bridge . The safe level is around 0.7m, but as I was desperate to fish I texted my mate Dan Popp...

I joined Dan and Terry Bromwell on a part of the Ospreys beat that I am relatively well acquainted with. Wading was tricky but we knew that some fish could be caught off the bank. That day we didn't return a huge number - perhaps fifteen between three of us (including out of season trout) - but the proper grayling we did land were well above the Taff average.

Terry was the first to catch. I was stood on the bank above him and saw the fish glint as he set the hook of his red tag HE nymph variant in the slightly coloured water. It put up a strong showing but Terry has had plenty of practice.

Terry with a pristine grayling

As we moved up river we caught several out of season trout (to 1.5lb) and a few small grayling, but did more talking than fishing. At one point I was talking and laughing hard at the end of a cast and, as my body shook, the fly bounced downstream of me and tempted a small grayling. That was not to be the last fish I caught jigging nymphs that afternoon.

Dan Popp into a fish in the coloured water

After a bit of free climbing, and some very difficult wading, we ended up at a pool that was large enough to accommodate the three of us. In the swollen river we knew that some grayling would be close in and so, initially, elected not to wade. I was using a pink butted silver bead hare's mask nymph on the dropper and a pink metallic beaded bug on the point.

I flicked my nymphs upstream, just beyond a weed bed on a line where the current slowed. As the point fly reached the maximum depth, my indicator stopped and I connected with the lady below. Both flies were heavily weighted and this made the difference, ensuring they presented at the required speed in the faster than usual flow.

Nicely conditioned lady

Once we had covered the lies close in, I waded into the river to fish another band of slower current. I varied my casts to cover the water and change the speed of the flies. Nothing took, but as previous experience had shown this to be a productive spot, I persevered. 

Again I cast upstream and slowly led my flies. When directly opposite me, I raised and dipped the rod slightly, repeating as the flies moved with the current. On the second or third rise the fish below hooked itself and put up an arm-aching attritional scrap.

Pleased it's in the net

This chunky fish had taken the dropper and was my largest of the day.

 Thick Taff two pounder

I left the water concluding that, given the conditions, we'd done well, with the quality of the fish more than making up for the relatively low number.  Also, I'd had a great laugh with Dan and Terry and managed to steal a look at a few new flies.

Something for the weekend

This weekend my friends David, Dave and Morgan are coming to stay. On Saturday we are booked to fish Doldowlod on the Upper Wye and later intend to watch Wales play Australia at rugby (in the pub). On Sunday Dave, Morgan and I will (slowly) fish the Taff. David remembers the Taff as an industrial gutter and is going to 'give it a miss'.

I can't guarantee grayling, but can guarantee more good humour and a few beers.



Morgan - elegantly wasted