Live for the Moment...

Blank, skunked, nada, zilch, nothing… This has been the course of last few trips to the river, and the last trip to the lake. I would be lying if I said that it didn’t bother me that I had spent six long hours at the lake in temperatures that peaked at around four degrees centigrade, and missed three takes because I wasn’t concentrating. On my last two trips to the river I didn’t even see a fish so I practiced casting for three hours. I tried big flies, small flies, dries, wets, nymphs and streamers. The only problem I encountered was my feet were so cold that I had to sit on the bank for half an hour so that I didn’t fall over on the walk back to the car. I sat in the car with my feet on the air vents and the heater on full for what seemed like an eternity before I had enough feeling in my toes to drive. This got me thinking…

Was I fishing badly? Were there any fish where I cast my fly? Were there any fish feeding on what I was imitating? Was I fishing my fly at the right depth? Was I retrieving my fly the way the fish expected it? Was my fly the right colour? Did I take enough breaks in the cold weather? Had I missed subtle takes? Had I wasted my time? Had the piscatorial Gods conspired against me? Was I in the wrong place at the wrong time?

The answer to all of this doubt is “NO.” I think that I haven’t put in enough effort to have earned the right to release that proverbial fish on those occasions. These doubts are sent to make us appreciate those times when everything falls into place and you land that fish. I think that perhaps some times we try to hard, and I think that nature can sense this and withholds her reward.

The moral of the story is simple: Relax, enjoy the moment, because before you can think about it, that moment will be gone…

Capture Release?

Conformity is an ideal that I don’t really buy into. I believe that conforming places boundaries on us. If every one explored all of the options open to them, before following blindly in the footsteps of those who preceded us, the world would be a far more interesting place. I don’t really know where I’m going in my life, but I think that the journey is more important than the final destination. The one thing that I’m certain of is that I have an affinity the art of fly fishing, casting and tying. Learning runs parallel with making mistakes, so a master in the art of fly fishing has to have made a wealth of mistakes to attain the level of competence that they have achieved. There are very few people who are the exceptions to the rule, and are truly talented.

If one man’s pleasure is another man’s pain then the man who experiences pleasure should also be able to appreciate the other man’s opinion? Why is it that there is such a negative attitude to catch and release fly fishing? I have heard and read countless arguments both for and against, and I have made my decision. I hope that anglers reading this blog take the time to investigate this topic before joining the queue of lemming’s waiting to fall off the proverbial cliff. You have a choice to make, which way will you go?

November confusion?

Literature concerning this time of year and the eco-system of the lake tells us that life has slowed down to a snails pace. The trout have apparently descended to the depths of the water column and will not rise until April next year. We are told that to stand any chance of catching these creatures that forage in the detritus of decaying plant and animal matter on the bottom of the lake we should fish a bloodworm pattern static under an indicator within six inches of the lake bed. I guess I was lucky that no one told this beautiful brown hen that. She fell to a detached bodied crane fly (daddy long legs.) This is a Davie McPhail pattern and if you ever need inspiration in the fly tying department you will have check out Davie's YouTube channel by clicking the link below:



http://uk.youtube.com/user/PeatyMann



I am also in debt to another of Davie's patterns for my second hen capture that afternoon, although this lovely lady had read the rule book as she was taken on a Czech nymph, on a short cast drifted into the leeward bank. The heavily weighted hares ear Czech nymph was pitched into the 20 to 30mph wind with an immediate mend. This allowed me to get the fly down close to the bottom, but the small bow in the line, created by the wind, meant that the fly didn't actually catch the bottom but skirted over it. The only down side to this technique was that if you struck into the wind, or directly upwards you would pull the fly out of the fishes mouth. After a couple of missed bites I realized that I needed to strike with the wind to remedy the problem and I was rewarded with a hook set in the scissors of another awesome brown hen.



At the last count there were 66 fly pattern video's on Davie's channel. I have scouted YouTube extensively for a better produced fly tying video, but I have been unable to find any that can compete with quality or range of flies tied by Davie. For anyone out there who is looking for a regularly updated fly tying resource packed with valuable tips, hints and useful information to help improve your tying, you will have to check out Davie's channel. I realize that we all have different styles of learning and that Davie's videos obviously suit my learning style, but I would be interested in hearing from you if you know of any other resource which you feel surpasses this channel...



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Gettin' through...

The end of another day and there are a few more to go before I get the chance to go fly fishing again. Constraints bind us all to the daily grind we have to endure to get to a point where we can be free. Sometimes the desire becomes to much and I succumb and go wade the river for a few hours just too quench thirst I have to cast a fly. Even when the conditions dictate that most sensible people would be indoors in the dry and warmth, I have to be at the water's edge learning to deal with whatever nature throws at me. Lightning is the only thing that stop's my pursuit of fly fishing and casting perfection, but that just gives me more time to perfect my fly tying...

At what point dose a healthy passion become an obsession?