The Urban Fly Fisher

Dakota Angler II Watch Review

I have written a review of the Dakota Angler II Watch

Dakota Angler II Watch Review

Asian Carp Invasion

Eak, at first I thought this was a spoof……it is very scary though

[tags]flying fish,asian carp [/tags]

16 days

16 Days to go and the broonie season will be upon us.

I mind it was like this last year …..and then suddenly we get snow.

snow

I hope its not the same this year !

[tags]snow,spring,glasgow [/tags]

Â I was at my fly tying class last week and I was asked the question that I just hate trying to answer. Before I tell you the question maybe I should say that I am being slightly hypocritical as I asked this question at the start of my forays on the river bank. To be fair I only asked it a few times before I realised the answer was staring me in the face.

The Question

Where is a good place to fish on the River Kelvin?

I mumbled something about the Vet School being good only to be told that the person had read my blog and the Kelvin website and knew that I thought it was pretty poor. Well, I said, it is good at the start of the season (the truth)- the person did not seem to believe me and I gave some vague directions to other parts of the river. What this person probably went away thinking was: this guy knows absolutely nowt about the river My problem was in fact that I know so many good spots on the Kelvin how can I possibly say them all in a quick conversation before a fly tying demonstration. A lot of the nice spots I have found have been found through hard work involving trial and error, sweat, blood and torn waders and generally getting scratched by jaggy bushes. Should I give these spots up easily to someone I hardly know?

Kiss n Tell

There is also an element of ethics involved here as well, I often go fishing with other people who show me there little sweet spots on the river and I dont think its right that I give them away so easily. If I were to post specific places on the river that I have been taken to then I would surely find that the next time I go for a nice fish there could be a dozen guys all fishing my pool. The same goes for other rivers I fish. I am sure my friend Alberto is still cursing the day he introduced us to his little sweet spot on another river. I have been sworn to secrecy and will never reveal its name or location on pain of- well whatever the hell Alberto does with people that turn up with a bus load of people to his spot. Where is a good place to fish on the River Kelvin? It is also the top question that I am asked via email as well my reply is always get your waders on, get a bottle of water and climb over a fence, mucho effort is involved but it is worth it!

Enjoy!

Start of Season Plans

I was thinking about last spring and how this yearÂ is shaping up to be the same. Last year Spring did not really happen, we had a winter until around the end of April and then we had a long hot summer. The true classic spring just did not happen. Last year it was April the 9^th before I got out on the Kelvin and had my first proper session â€“ and caught my first trout of the season on the dry fly. This year we are aiming for 15^th March â€“ opening day â€“ to try and catch a trout on the dry. We have two options. Mike, Alex and I have all arranged days off work. The Kelvin will not be an option as the chances are it will not have recovered sufficiently for the trout to be looking up (it is still an option 3 though)

Option 1

The day is cold, it has been raining and it looks like things will not go well. In this case we will head up to one of the Kelvin tributaries where the trout should be suicidal enough to take something off the surface.

small stream

At the end of last year we had seen good hatches of Large Dark Olives so we should expect to see some kind of hatch around midday. The tributory is small so we will be using tiny river tactics which will be fun.

Option 2

We have a spring day with no rain for a couple of days. In this case we will head to our other river where we should expect to see large hatches of Large Dark Olives â€“ with a bit of luck it should be like last year where we had a bit of a bonanza at the start of the season. Mike did well with a nymph as well.

If all goes according to plan we should freeze our rocks off, catch no fish and make Tea in Mikes Kelly Kettle.

Aim low – Â anything else is a bonus.

The World of Fly Fishing

Been flicking through this lovely book over the winter, full of lovely photos and interesting articles.

Synopsis
The World of Fly-fishing sweeps us along on a worldwide journey to experience the beauty and thrill of fishing for trout, salmon, tarpon, permit and bonefish. The fly-fishing destinations have been chosen for the interest and variety of their fishing and for the impact and beauty of their landscapes. Revered figures from fly-fishing’s literary hall of fame, such as Zane Grey and Roderick Haig-Brown, keep company with some of the best-known contemporary writers, including Tom McGuane, David Profumo and John Gierach. With more than 300 stunning photographs from the highly respected lens of renowned photographer R. Valentine Atkinson, The World of Fly-fishing is an irresistible visual and literary feast.

Neeeeaaaaaaaaa (that was my plane leaving New York)

Well, I am back from my trip to New York and most enjoyable it was too if absolutely freezing. It was so cold I think I might have got frost bite on my legs (Claire says this is impossible but I am convinced I am damaged in some way)I picked up a new rod and reel (more on that when the season starts) and gained around a stone in weight.

I think I will point you towards a little site I stumbled across in my travels through the forums. It is a post by a chap who is webmaster of www.palewatery.com. He detailed the fly hatches of the area in which I live and I think is a lovely guide for those people just starting out or for those brushing up (or people who just call em bugs )

Read his post over at Smallstreams.com

Edit: The link will not work as that part of the forum is invite only. You will have to wait until I convince pale watery to put th econtent on his site.Â

It is 22 days to the opening of the trout season.

More Friends and Fish

I am in New York enjoying myself

Vosseler on EBay – time to look

A few weeks back I told you about the Vosseler reel scandal

Well this is a good time to start looking out for those reels.

Click here to automatically search for them

[tags]vosseler,ebay [/tags]

Tying Flees

So when do you have enough flies ?

I have been trying to tie up a plenty of olives for the start of the season. Usually at this time you find the trout are not that picky and are willing to take fairly big olives. This is quite good if you are a clumsy fly tier and can only tie up large flies.

I like to use yellow thread as most of the olives around this way seem to have a yellow sheen to them.My fly box is filling up fast. I have a good selection of CDC and Elks, Klinhammers, lots of dry olives and a few nymphs.
olive comparaun

box
I will keep this box for newly tied flies and then transfer them over to a more portable box for streamside use. I am thinking of taking advantage of the exchange rate in New York and pick myself up a bargain.

[tags]fly tying,flies,fly boxes [/tags]

Dakota Angler II Watch Review

Asian Carp Invasion

16 days