Fishing with Arthur - Fly Fishing

It had been a while since i had heard off Arthur Hamer, he can be quite elusive when he wants to be, i guess the multiple methods of contacting people these days make it harder when people use different formats but it was a good old email that came up trumps.

Now Arthur Hamer was one of the first people i knew of in fly fishing, in fact he helped me indirectly to have the confidence to fish the Irwell and it's tributaries and also inspired me to do my own blog. Why? Well when i saw a trout rise on a family walk i googled around to find more information on fly fishing on the Irwell and who's blog came up as pretty much the only information on the matter? Arthur Hamers. We'd only fished together once before, back then i was fishing the Croal as it wasn't as daunting as the Irwell and was a nice little river to catch small trout.

Now i have experience but still in no way do i know everything about trout, if anything my thoughts are constantly changing with their changing behaviour which doesn't seem to coincide with any weather or conditions, on paper on the days me and Arthur went fishing, the fish should mainly be in the oxygenated pool due to the lack of rain and high temperatures, when in fact it turned out quite the opposite.

Arthur took me on a few local rivers he had cards on, as a guest. The first trip we had we both used streamers and it was a tough day, 25' temperatures made the fish lethargic but they were not in the moving water, i missed a trout in one of our first runs and for an hour or so everything was quiet. Then from the bank under my feet i saw a big trout swim out and go towards my streamer, very slowly it approached it then slowly turned away. I lifted, maybe too softly, and i felt resistance, it had taken the streamer. It was then it began to fight. I shouted to Arthur as it ran downstream towards him under a large over hanging tree and i told him i had to jump in, it was impossible to tell how deep it was so it was vital i told him this before i jumped. Luckily, silt included, it was just under my waist and i had more control over the fish. After it ran downstream it reached a shallow section so it turned back towards me and the troubles began.

With the rod directly pointing up as the trout swam past me the rod got stuck in the trees above and i frantically pulled to free it. The trout was heading towards the snags on the opposite side and as it got their it became entangled. Tired from the fight and tangled in a snag it turned on its side, it now became a matter of urgency, i hurriedly crossed the river, sinking slowly into the silt before impaling my waders on the submerged roots of the tree, i felt water coming in but i had to ignore it. Reaching the trout i netted it and was able to get it in the main current to aid in its recovery.

It was a big trout and we let it recover before we took any pics, this allowed me to get my scales out for the first time and weigh the fish (i usually go off length but thickness of trout varies massively) It came up 3.96 on the scales with a wet net weighing 0.38.  It was a great moment for us both just seeing fish like this in our system and we could of easily called it a day after that. We slugged it out for another hour without much happening before i had one last pop at the fish i missed earlier, it took it again first time but after a couple of seconds on the hook it slipped off again.

The next time we went, waders fixed, it was very different experience. We was higher up the system were a 12 inch trout was considered a good trout and with even higher temperatures i had again anticipated fish to be in the faster water and aimed to target them with nymphs. Reaching the river it was alive with rises and it soon became apparent it would be dry fly only.

It was only a narrow river with over hanging trees, my 9ft rod a little too big in these situations but i had to make do. There was hundreds of rises but they would disappear when you was 40 foot away before you'd even cast. Only for a non rising fish to hammer your dry off the top. I caught 6 fish with the biggest just under 10 inches but i missed numerous fish, be it because of their size of the fact they appeared to be taking flies just under the surface, as there wasn't anything on the water. It fact, after i lost my klinkhammer the takes were a little more wary. My eyes became adapted to the water and i could see fish rising up below the Adams and rejecting it, the shallow summer water making them a lot more suspicious of a fine line on the surface. I lost 2 fish i'd say were over the 12 inch mark as the soft takes made setting the hook a little tougher. A simple jump or head shake would be enough for the hook to come out.

It was all good fun and it was good to be out with Arthur, constantly sharing his experiences and having a laugh all day, it made targeting these tricky little trout all the more enjoyable.



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Big Trout Hunting - Fly Fishing

9th June

With a trip with John Tyzack planned after his wash out chasing sea bass, it was on the cards to chase some big browns and put a smile back on JTs face. JT had a place in mind, a river he knew held big fish but with just a short session possible before i had work we knew there would be a fair bit of leg work. The weather was funny and while i waited for JT to pick me up it hammered it down for 5 minutes before clouding over with a cool breeze. It would soon change to a hot sunny day after we overdressed for the occasion and we were left regretting our choice especially with all the walking we would have to do.

The water clarity was murky but still had plenty of visibility, it rendered sight fishing almost impossible but did it render us invisible? Probably not. We worked our way upstream and i was quickly into a small trout, we didn't take a picture as we was chasing big trout and off it quickly went where it came from. As we worked our way upstream we were getting the odd flash and tail slap but nothing definite, but there were less takes than we expected if you had seen the areas we was targeting.

As we worked our way up JT seemed to be getting the bigger fish to attack but still no end product, we would only see the trout as it hit the fly so we were in a way on edge. John soon landing a decent trout but it too was quickly put back as it wasn't the size we came for, another soon followed a little bit bigger but had beautiful markings with it's big red spots. Where was all the big fish though?

We soon came to a small weir were i cast into, the fly had barely touched the water, in fact im pretty sure it landed straight into a trouts mouth, as no sooner had the fly hit the water, it felt like i had snagged so i lifted up and realised i had a trout on. It took off downstream running under the undercuts and the roots so we both jumped into the river to get a better angle on it. After a tough fight it was almost ready for netting, then JT uttered the fate tempting words 'it's well hooked' and as he went to net it, it came off. We looked at each other and laughed, it was a nice fish about 1lb 1/2 - 3/4's but JT had a better look at it than i did so you would have to ask him if it was nicely colored!

The next bit however was a motorway tunnel which i was quite apprehensive about going through, it was dark, long and deep, the worst part was the random structures under the water that jutted out from the shallower side forcing you into the deeper channel. Being a non-swimmer i allowed JT to take point so that i knew if he disappeared not to carry on! It was a bit nerve wracking for me to be fair, there was no current here but the inability see meant i was feeling my way and you would suddenly hit these big concrete structures under the water and other things. But after the water reach up to the top of my waist waders, which i had forgot i had on we was soon out and JT cast into the first bend, missing a pretty big fish.

Carrying on upstream we found a small patch of ranunculus which JT cast to and then we saw it, a big old trout came out to see what we was offering. Another cast it had another look before slipping back under the weed. JT tried again and this time it followed it, i saw it turn on it and JT saw it grab the fly, he struck and we was in. It fought hard and tried to get to the weed beds, trying the next one each time JT pulled it out of the one it had gone under, the bunch clenching moments your line cuts into a huge run of weed and your expecting another 20kg of weed snagging onto your fish but he kept his rod far to the side to pull it back under and after a quick turn upstream it soon tired and JT netted it.

It was a cracking fish easily 3lb in my books. It had the head of a python it was that big, a strong old fish that was in immaculate condition, with a yellow belly slowly transitioning to a olive colored back it was a true horse of the river. It rested next to us for 30 seconds or so as it got its breath back and it soon sauntered off back under the reed beds we had pulled it from 5 minutes earlier.

The next hour went by without much happening until the last pool i fished, after pulling a small but beautifully marked fish out we prepped it for a pic but it slipped back into the water and we JT told me i had pushed it back in as i congratulated him on actually netting the fish time. It was all good banter and i soon had a picture of a fish minutes later, which we thought was the smallest in the river until the next missed take by a trout barely longer than the streamer.

We missed several fish and caught an absolute lump but on another day things could of been alot different. The fish we not turned on as much as we thought they would of been and several factors may have come to play into that. In all though it was very much worth it and it meant JT had leveled the scoring on who had the biggest fish of the day. Don't tell him i'm keeping score though!

Scouting for trout - Fly Fishing

7th June

With a break in the rain i knew most of my rivers would be in flood so it was time to scout out another small stream to check what, if anything, hid there.  This stream was completely urbanized, if anything it was like an open sewer but it didn't smell like one and despite all the garbage it looked kind of fishy if there was any in here.  I had the family in tow, it was my partner who had infact suggested we go fishing. I climbed over the fence and down the bank while i worked my way up each pool, they were created by pockets of garbage collecting in certain points in turn also offering shelter.

Within 5 minutes i knew there was fish here, the silhouette of a decent sized fish calmly hunting down the streamer as it went past, it turned away and disappeared. I still had a chance, i have realised most trout will have 2 takes at a streamer unless they touch the hook first time, after that, its game over. I cast again and again, trying to figure out which angle would tempt it, then i felt a subtle resistance and a struck up, it was on.

It was a lazy take and a strange fight, the fish initially ran downstream then turned upstream and sat there in a lie, as if it was waiting for more food to come down for it to swallow. I guess this guy had swallowed its fair share of non-edibles. I retrieved some line and it fought some more, putting a good bend in the rod as it used its strength to pull away, but again it became lazy and turned once more, swimming slowly towards me, i retrieved line and lifted the rod but i was surrounded by trees, i had to risk putting the rod down and doing the last bit by hand. It was a strange moment but once it touched the net it starting fighting ferociously, thankfully in the net. 

It was a lovely trout, long (23in) and lean, not as fat as the one i had last week but a splendid untouched fish. A pink adipose fin with bright red spots breaking its camouflage, it had a mean head with a strong jaw, big teeth and wild eyes.

I continued fishing upstream and was only met with heavy hits, the murky water meant i had little time to react and i probably nipped a few lips on the strike as they dared take the streamer again. I did hook a small trout though but that failed to stay on the hook for very long, it actually went for the streamer 5 times before it got it right.

In the end it was a fun day, the wind had died, the sun had come out and i was overheating quite quickly, we hadn't been out long but it was a good scouting trip and a place worth visiting again.