tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48323611368358325022024-03-14T05:09:04.397-07:00Fishing the Irwell - An Urban Fly Fishing JourneyDavid Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-12000743356035235642022-04-26T04:04:00.004-07:002022-04-26T04:06:47.488-07:00Fishing while forgetting your tackle<p> So with heavy rain during my last session the majority of my tackle, (flies, tippet, leader, indicators etc) we’re still in my wet fishing gear. I fish quite light as I carry a lot of equipment from rope and saws etc for dealing with fallen trees and climbing equipment to help with the more riskier spots. So all essential tackle is usually in my pockets. However with.a beautiful hot day and trying to leave the house at a reasonable time I packed everything including dinner except what I really needed. Who needs a drink anyway?! </p><p>I only came to this realisation when I put my reel on my rod, I’d already walked an hour to the river so I knew going back wasn’t really an option otherwise it’d be another 2 hours wasted going there and back. So I had to improvise, I still had around 4 feet of 10lb leader attached to the fly line and I pulled everything out of my bag and found a lone fly at the bottom of it, old and used it was a bit tatty but it was a fly none the least. I couldn’t find anything to act as a indicator so I would have to make do, it would be hard to stay in contact with the fly and keep it at a level where the fish were as it was a very windy day. </p><p>I set up in a very badly polluted section between an industrial estate and didn’t get any luck, I didn’t expect it but it looks a lovely fish holding area but obviously the fish didn’t agree with the water quality. This river was totally wiped out near its source around 15 years ago with an estimated 10,000 dead fish and that is shown in the size of the fish. However I have fished here before and have hit into bigger trout but none have ever stayed on long. </p><p>After probably walking another half hour up river out of the industrial site, reporting pollution on the way I found my starting spot. Though 3 teens were there smoking weed and having a camp fire I left them to it and carried on a it further. </p><p>Frustrated by the lack of opportunity I was given hope by the sight of 2 king fishers, one landing opposite me, I carefully knelt down to get my big camera out and it did one before I even opened the zip. Regardless one of my first casts into the pool as I felt a fish, which was progress but I was still a little disheartened as I felt it could have been one of few opportunities with the set up i had rigged together. The fish here obviously being of smaller size and in clear water a 10lb tippet tied to a size 16 nymph isnt exactly ideal.<br /><br />Next i reached the pool were i knew a bigger fish lived, a tiny stepped weir no bigger than half a foot in a series of steps about 10 metres apart, i cast ever further into the pool, and as i hit the more rapid water, i felt tension and i struck, i immediately knew this was the one i had hit last time and lost, and after a few seconds and a dash into the weir it was off. Frustrated again i continued to fish each weir pool and finally managed a small trout, it had been about an hour and a half since i had started fishing so it was a bit of a relief. <br /><br />I waded further upstream, inspecting huge natural dams were a fallen tree had forced the river to flow around it, eroding the bank and causing the trees opposite to fall into the river creating a dam made of several huge trees, the depth around these trees, caused when the river is in flood, was intimidating as the silt sunk sharply down into blackness. As i came to a riverside house i took a break next to a nice clear pool, it was around 4 feet deep but clear to the bottom. I managed 2 trout in this pool with the faster water helping mask the line. <br /><br />From here on in, fish were in abundance, only small trout but as i waded up through the shallows no more than 6 inches, trout were swimming around me hiding in any crevice they could find, a sure sign that this river was well on its way towards recovery. Every pool i found i was pulling a trout from at this point. Though these pools were a good few hundred yards apart the fishing became steady. I eventually came to an old weir in disrepair, where i hooked a further 4 trout of a bigger size but i failed to hook them properly, possibly reacting to late with the mixture of trying to keep in contact with the fly in fast flow conditions. I ended the day with 13 fish in total but overall the day had been enjoyable despite my initial cock up and i intend to go back here fully equipped next time!<br /><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPybJiKsn2y6S84b32z4_D6WZnKX-fK72JZqdBjZTciBwr68_Knt2gRsV5FAVCxYafhWgfPl7htlFpfxzYt926t7abNxchmhXJjyn2rcZLeXbzUsRnKUK3AQ02wpm_ElTkDa8z-EzyADMiLV0hyqFvfK5E8XK_U5QBDoY8bVOnqqmfTiIR7ZGVC8tQOA/s4032/IMG_1131.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPybJiKsn2y6S84b32z4_D6WZnKX-fK72JZqdBjZTciBwr68_Knt2gRsV5FAVCxYafhWgfPl7htlFpfxzYt926t7abNxchmhXJjyn2rcZLeXbzUsRnKUK3AQ02wpm_ElTkDa8z-EzyADMiLV0hyqFvfK5E8XK_U5QBDoY8bVOnqqmfTiIR7ZGVC8tQOA/w640-h480/IMG_1131.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCI7ZJg3wiSeaIDYGPmOxD5Hb_tGfgPTWtI5EHBeSBPCkaw8oyo9ygpYNhLKueV84HeGDLeG1373V8_1zkCvmJ04rWiHLO9Ewt-9X0D38D6RbHqWn97RRi2__Z3LWlR6YbTbKuQUeBzda9N1qGW7CJj-2dpwP58RHMQq0KoaPR6-Z5ev5RFfPw1L0djw/s4032/IMG_1144.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCI7ZJg3wiSeaIDYGPmOxD5Hb_tGfgPTWtI5EHBeSBPCkaw8oyo9ygpYNhLKueV84HeGDLeG1373V8_1zkCvmJ04rWiHLO9Ewt-9X0D38D6RbHqWn97RRi2__Z3LWlR6YbTbKuQUeBzda9N1qGW7CJj-2dpwP58RHMQq0KoaPR6-Z5ev5RFfPw1L0djw/w640-h480/IMG_1144.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-7JsebHBmPDRcSyc1oD075u-IN9zTJ3rFR-NulQDL-1EXfNOsPhQE9ct3EKEUu9gaOSlMgblYvSdClEnEeyK8EePJV5NrVTe82vzvFXGlyehY0S-lwxws3lyKeI1t3AuHijpOzuDNDyb0x3mT_Ug0BtATcTaRkB3x9keNBU7HSRtRdRp7hWEaZBtbg/s4032/IMG_1140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-7JsebHBmPDRcSyc1oD075u-IN9zTJ3rFR-NulQDL-1EXfNOsPhQE9ct3EKEUu9gaOSlMgblYvSdClEnEeyK8EePJV5NrVTe82vzvFXGlyehY0S-lwxws3lyKeI1t3AuHijpOzuDNDyb0x3mT_Ug0BtATcTaRkB3x9keNBU7HSRtRdRp7hWEaZBtbg/w640-h480/IMG_1140.JPG" width="640" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-7JsebHBmPDRcSyc1oD075u-IN9zTJ3rFR-NulQDL-1EXfNOsPhQE9ct3EKEUu9gaOSlMgblYvSdClEnEeyK8EePJV5NrVTe82vzvFXGlyehY0S-lwxws3lyKeI1t3AuHijpOzuDNDyb0x3mT_Ug0BtATcTaRkB3x9keNBU7HSRtRdRp7hWEaZBtbg/s4032/IMG_1140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhua2Q4OOr0xSoUXgi_q2mmqBaM5Fhx6Bzvk8SGryZCgx6bTBI1V2ljCfrw8foQsXKVdsoGETYuk5kttdF4o31WUvfvZOL82E1aeAW1oDhwdGdQtl0zsjG-TvKWWU6-p-fECHuPeOt-WQn33Z49mqmxeXVLt5MZsChiZoOZo4rhLlmf3JPUvjg9_GBmHg/s4032/IMG_1150.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhua2Q4OOr0xSoUXgi_q2mmqBaM5Fhx6Bzvk8SGryZCgx6bTBI1V2ljCfrw8foQsXKVdsoGETYuk5kttdF4o31WUvfvZOL82E1aeAW1oDhwdGdQtl0zsjG-TvKWWU6-p-fECHuPeOt-WQn33Z49mqmxeXVLt5MZsChiZoOZo4rhLlmf3JPUvjg9_GBmHg/w480-h640/IMG_1150.JPG" width="480" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFH6swd_A1yKny2GK2wWEaQTp6qQohdElWFhdyKPY2__EIQI0OsddOtCkP0xWJU1vAtbPIwKoxosud5EWYuKKCyMBj182MeW7h7GAUUXHxwmtb5wXcbC7zmNbGus0wfi2Zi1_b9b0Bm1Vrg_kQMj82RlQQ0W_hLsNDk4o3E1MOs8p-9uP969vW5D0CvA/s4032/IMG_1116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFH6swd_A1yKny2GK2wWEaQTp6qQohdElWFhdyKPY2__EIQI0OsddOtCkP0xWJU1vAtbPIwKoxosud5EWYuKKCyMBj182MeW7h7GAUUXHxwmtb5wXcbC7zmNbGus0wfi2Zi1_b9b0Bm1Vrg_kQMj82RlQQ0W_hLsNDk4o3E1MOs8p-9uP969vW5D0CvA/w640-h480/IMG_1116.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-31308856004026135322022-04-07T03:32:00.000-07:002022-04-07T03:32:08.766-07:002022, the season reopens!<p> 2022 started like most UK years, a mild February heading towards March then a cold snap, no surprise there but somehow come the start of the season the weather was warm! I eagerly anticipated many rising trout on the March browns which were even present were I live now about 5 minute walk from 2 rivers. </p><p>However upon reaching the river the fish were not bothering on the hatch, then again the first river I chose is crawling with freshwater shrimp, which showed 5 minutes later when I hooked a trout on the nymph. However this early trout was a bit misleading as in a 4 hour session I managed 5 trout. The concerning thing was finding a 3lb dead trout below another incident of pollution (reported several sewerage incidents along the stretch) so this river unfortunately been screwed hard over the winter. Despite being a popular walking route no one seems to care about reporting pollution. </p><p>I fished another river the week after and blanked the whole session, I did see one rise but it never rose again but I did take my camera with me and got some nice pictures of the local wildlife. Even caught someone fly tipping down the hill at the back of their house. So disrespectful that people choose a house that overlooks a river but use it to fly tip their excess shite. </p><p>The week after I ended up on the opposite river to the one I fished last, the confluence is about 10 minutes from my house though this river is reservoir fed but tends to hold small fish and a 12inch trout here is a monster. The river was inches deep and with no rises again?? So I stuck a very light nymph on and hit into a trout in the faster flowing shallows rather than the deeper water. It was barely bigger than my hand but it was a break of the duck.</p><p> Not far round the bend there was a large pool, the rivers here follow the hard rock walls so deep pools have formed over thousands of years with the sandstone river beds being carved away. I was surprised not to get a hit in the pool until a cast right to the top of the lip of the pool were the shallow water quickly drops off into the deep waters. I knew it was a nice fish as usually if you struck normally (you have to lightly strike here due to the small trout) the fish would be straight in your hand. It gave a hard fight and on another river a fight like this would have been a much bigger fish but this was the king of the pool and probably for quite a large section of river. It safely found the net and it was a beautiful bar of gold. After a quick snap it was back into its throne room and I continued upstream. </p><p>I hit a couple of fast flowing small pools which held around half a dozen fish in each, until I hit a bridge pool. This pool gave me 25 fish easy. Many barely longer than my middle finger but good fun and showing that the trout here had successfully spawned. Ironically with all these young trout you’d expect to find a beast of a trout somewhere and I aim to find that eventually but a lot of this river is ticketed with a small amount of anglers and a long waiting list. I continued upstream and unblocked a bridge which had been jammed with trees, found another pollution incident were a sewerage pipe must have burst behind the stone wall as sewerage was leaking between the large stone bricks and hit a few more fish in the fast flowing pools, ending the day on probably 50+ trout. </p><p>After a rainy week I went to a river that holds big fish and with the murky sewerage filled waters it gave me the cover I needed for a streamer. Unfortunately my streamer game was off and I missed all 7 takes, one take I wasn’t to blame for as the fly was hovering on the surface as I stepped forward to get into a different position a very good trout had took it off the surface, I saw the whole fish and was surprised to feel it as I struck but as it levelled out on the bottom the fly came loose and it was gone. Disheartened I went onto the Stillwater nearby and ran some steamers through it, catching a small Jack pike of 2lb, which was just as overjoyed to see me as it jizzed on my coat… so avoiding the blank I headed home. </p><p>So the first 4 sessions of the season have been a mixed bag but hold plenty of promise for the season, with more pollution to find as well I’ll constantly provide a head ache to UU, the EA and to locals and their businesses who think illegal dumping is fine. I’ll also try to hit a few grayling on the Irwell away from the locations they were introduced to see how far they’ve got. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWlCj4SIxOc1rNmojiDEcUd5CVlUATl3Qx94G-e5Ra3nD6Yemm6qv0Y7BPmaMfBYjJApnMIVJ0IqM3njKKicFO7xS2QveVEkTfPZipIIsPjJZneDlXK3F2pRqzWtrDZVQ3x1Wc1WJ6JRh_C4KL8TLYpTwuJ46SglYRzsTSCPf1vpzDAQQvquoJ4z-kw/s4032/0B2D0B47-4B7A-40EE-84F4-D1C5A5C804AD.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWlCj4SIxOc1rNmojiDEcUd5CVlUATl3Qx94G-e5Ra3nD6Yemm6qv0Y7BPmaMfBYjJApnMIVJ0IqM3njKKicFO7xS2QveVEkTfPZipIIsPjJZneDlXK3F2pRqzWtrDZVQ3x1Wc1WJ6JRh_C4KL8TLYpTwuJ46SglYRzsTSCPf1vpzDAQQvquoJ4z-kw/s320/0B2D0B47-4B7A-40EE-84F4-D1C5A5C804AD.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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I suffered a break down in my relationship with my, now, ex-partner, resulting in me becoming homeless and not being able to see my daughter. My mental health suffered massively but i ensured i kept my physical self as well as possible. My dads terminal cancer continued to worsen and i have watched him slowly start to become a shell of his former self despite his determination and grit. I have slowly managed to clamber back onto my feet, sold alot of the stuff my sister was able to salvage that had been thrown out and meet someone new. Though the trouble with my ex still persists and money issues and stress are paramount, juggling a new life, my previous life and solicitors etc taking its toll. i did manage to get some fishing done but very little. So may this blog be brief as so much has happened in 12 months and very little of it actually fishing i'll leave a few pictures to speak the 1000 words instead. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.<br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguK7dqQTjH-Nx1Vyfxi0HTT0J9C5lolo7eFy4MePwqVsqyFJLdskIHU-V_LAeBf5NPC5-bh8PNj7IXMCLVNJ5dD_OyKYht4P-EwCDBDRpPkPUh9Wf7Bs_8dak2HVww3OxVaookARzqPDGILgzwRu363XkC5JAyxyqSgialYLtyB1_LrUumFep-0H1JDg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguK7dqQTjH-Nx1Vyfxi0HTT0J9C5lolo7eFy4MePwqVsqyFJLdskIHU-V_LAeBf5NPC5-bh8PNj7IXMCLVNJ5dD_OyKYht4P-EwCDBDRpPkPUh9Wf7Bs_8dak2HVww3OxVaookARzqPDGILgzwRu363XkC5JAyxyqSgialYLtyB1_LrUumFep-0H1JDg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieBis7sTN3MIHK30_LU72DRN-l1EDUZfTdES_lFoIeCz_7V46paoshuKQ-lhP79ArC-ZSVaZd41IFyomSwug1VIBqCRcQ6elMjjnqKoIrpaEA672ZAnN5TOZOnOEvfHb6tVmM_mfRA4Tmnvg9K_nRVvdPm14skMIFj6c3bdBY1XAhEyZNjJ1ABXKLTcw=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVZo-xJrGRkYRfF4eQvkZ8Wx7gRc8SBzxSQaKsDdeqyVcM4EqCaz-AwUPjvJN-eqJEXPzvUmfOghomPaXSWwBfsDL95LAsw-tiIGmxzB9pOfMh6dc5JGYI4fcpte1U2x7Fe-H3-UQwBHL-dnHEucJkm7yqh3Kl1bPhx7GShbPWKZmgwfOkgYQiIxuYxg=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVZo-xJrGRkYRfF4eQvkZ8Wx7gRc8SBzxSQaKsDdeqyVcM4EqCaz-AwUPjvJN-eqJEXPzvUmfOghomPaXSWwBfsDL95LAsw-tiIGmxzB9pOfMh6dc5JGYI4fcpte1U2x7Fe-H3-UQwBHL-dnHEucJkm7yqh3Kl1bPhx7GShbPWKZmgwfOkgYQiIxuYxg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-70575822883462303872020-10-16T15:16:00.008-07:002020-10-16T15:19:49.895-07:002020 - The year a virus affected fly fishing<p> 2020. Just that simple number is enough for us to roll our eyes, in future years someone will say 'Remember 2020? What a year that was." The thing is now, it will probably roll into 2021. One of the strangest decisions im 2020 regarding fishing was the fact we was banned from fishing. Starting the 24th March and ending the 12th of May we wasn't allowed to fish because of social distancing measures? I mean have they ever been stood in the middle of the Irwell, fly fishing is something i do to become socially distanced, pandemic or not.<br /><br />I think i have fished three times not on my own this year, which was odd but a necessity none the less. Oddly though despite the shortened season i still managed to get out 16 times in total, equaling last year. Nowhere near as much as i'd like to but each time was a total mental refresh especially due to my working environment. Though i only managed twice on the Irwell itself. Why? Well after the lockdown was initially relaxed and i bumped into the hundreds of people who were unemployed or furlough i ended up traipsing through densely wooded (brambles & hogweed included) areas to find sections of river off the beaten path. If you follow my youtube channel you've probably seen the video of me battling a forest of hogweed.<br /><br />I usually do the yearly summary at the end of the actual year not the trout season but with restrictions to travel and the Irwell not fully established with grayling yet (even though i have caught 1 of them now) traveling to more grayling filled waters is something that is unlikely to happen till this pandemic relaxes its grip on society. So in terms of catch rates, i had my best year averaging 14.6 fish per session (which did include a blank, more on that later) my previous high was 10.3 fish per session so a massive increase. The cause of this is well known. Thankfully there has been an influx in small trout showing spawning went well last close season and after seeing none of either last season, minnows and stickleback are back in the catch count. I could easily sit in one spot for 10 minutes and catch a fish a minute (and in fact i did at some points) with many more bouncing off the hook or missing it with their small mouths. Elsewhere i was losing big fish to snags in trees, sunken logs and underwater drainpipes. Sometimes the only bonus to landing a fish is you get a picture of it to show everyone but sometimes its the crazy fights you have with the bigger and braver fish that throw themselves into survive mode and pull off some crazy escapes that give you the best memories, which makes fishing for me not even about the catching sometimes. One fish i almost had which was always in a pair in this pool. Once i had hooked it it swam into a pipe in a wall twice, easily a 3lb fish, i managed to pull it out both times and it managed to simply flick the hook out in normal water as it twisted itself. I went back for it 6 weeks later and a huge tree had uprooted right in the pool and it was still happily swimming in its pool, protected by a bundle of branches. A rough winter will hopefully sort that tree out for me so i can try for him again next season.<br /><br />Alot of my time spent out was fishing more polluted waters, which is when i had my blank. Fishing up the Croal towards a spot a reported a broken sewerage pipe 12 and 6 months prior. I blanked and have no doubt in the reason why. The pipe was still leaking raw sewerage into the river, the pipe isn't fixed properly, in fact i am planning on doing my own repair work on it when i get the chance (and material) it isn't a bloody hard fix. An old pipe only a couple of feet above a river has rusted on its underside creating dozens of holes probably not much bigger than a £2 coin. But these were too hard to fix apparantly (for a company that has just announced it was going to spend billions upgrading the sewerage network) Apparantly some rubber strapped to it will suffice (even though it had already started slipping).<br /><br />One of the things i did change was the way i make my videos, i am trying to be more 'involved' in them by talking to the camera and also i have slowed down my fishing, just to enjoy where i am more. I try to add this sense of freedom in the introduction of the video. Any suggestions for my videos are welcome, whether people want fly tutorials or how i set up my line, even if someone wants me to fish a specific location i will try my best to satisfy peoples ideas. As i don't drive alot of my fishing spots are found on google earth not far from a road with public transport and i show in one of my videos the transition from going under a underpass to being in the middle of a forest. The wild isn't far from our doorsteps which is both beneficial and detrimental. It obviously benefits us, as we get to enjoy it and be a part of it but the detrimental side to it is again, us. Fly tipping is absurd and is only getting worse by all cultures. Lazy businesses disposing of their waste, especially garages, scrapyards and builders. <br /><br />Next season i am hoping to meet a new face which should be a great experience for both parties involved and i am hoping to be able to get out more and generally enjoy my time on the water. I'm sure i'll have a run in with United Utilities over this bloody pipe again and i will say it now as an early prediction, that i will beat my PB this year. Only time will tell but i hope you guys will continue to read the blog, watch the videos and please give me more feedback. I will leave you guys with some pictures of the season and the graphs compared to previous years fishing.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyXmRSRV9sNzF3ZbMddPbIgT9lYhvBAQo9yvSoTogc-fDZeC5iL0f-yF-KbxL3v8kIESd1vlWDw9-WyYDMTKVrvRR5Rx0VGYZcJX9Ylyv7jZwhgnA1qCy192KhXlrdFzwwdMucNCHfYB_/s2048/100_1706.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyXmRSRV9sNzF3ZbMddPbIgT9lYhvBAQo9yvSoTogc-fDZeC5iL0f-yF-KbxL3v8kIESd1vlWDw9-WyYDMTKVrvRR5Rx0VGYZcJX9Ylyv7jZwhgnA1qCy192KhXlrdFzwwdMucNCHfYB_/s16000/100_1706.JPG" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCS2FAc24f2KbA7OV-JWvykwpnTplquBWX3sBi1ifI-TtCrMOkRsKoOMMqlIUMEeqm9Ay7pcUQMEzjtxgLA1VzIsY-_ZJzVVyVV4a-5lMSNO9ZylIaUjJOA_GF9qmWbt30VjAbrVFH8ew/s2048/IMG_9902.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlFCX_uQfq7ZJL6sWloT1d3aKtDzcq2k3o_PEekO_TPLLnyaknuazR0iX_hsAizTTw5CxHIrs-tvbR9uVr0wsnsfglylKc9W6nGSOwaaTZ1YqRIRldoqKtUm0s7lW8jrhVg4DqVyhhsCf/s2048/IMG_0088.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlFCX_uQfq7ZJL6sWloT1d3aKtDzcq2k3o_PEekO_TPLLnyaknuazR0iX_hsAizTTw5CxHIrs-tvbR9uVr0wsnsfglylKc9W6nGSOwaaTZ1YqRIRldoqKtUm0s7lW8jrhVg4DqVyhhsCf/w640-h480/IMG_0088.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-183960299101980012020-06-20T18:41:00.000-07:002020-06-20T18:41:45.498-07:00Fishing after lockdown - 1 month onIt is a month since the lockdown was lifted enough to allow us to go fishing again and it was so satisfying to be back out on the river. The peace of stepping a few hundred metres off the main path and into a calm of natural sounds. Even sat in my garden on my days off work the sound around were unnatural though mixed with the nature i have brought to my second haven. It influenced me to stop and take 10 second stills of different areas of river which you may have seen the video of. Its a very simple video but is influentual in how it takes me straight back to the river whenever i hear it. <br /><br />My first outting was local and i had 21 small trout across a trib and then a small section of the Irwell. It was a good day regardless of the fish size, though i was frustrated at a total void of rises despite the amount of fly life around. Though in the heat wave we was having the flies were probably hatching at strange times. The week after, however wouldn't be as pleasureable, in total i traveled 12 miles of the irwell and probably fished for an hour of that. Every single accessible section was full of people, rubbish and bbqs strewn everywhere, people wading through hogweed in shorts and t-shirt to get to even the most elusive spots in the hope of finding themselves a free gravel bank. The beaches we saw on the news were also across the Irwell. i lost 2 decent sized fish after fishing the difficult 100% bedrock sections which were slime covered and desolate of invertabrate, these were after minnows and did strike at the streamer though missing the hookset. In the end i blanked as with the weather continueing to be hot, i avoided going fishing for well over a week.<br /><br />After a week passed i couldn't bare it any more and cast my net to a John Tyzack i knew who could take me somewhere away from the Irwell beaches. It was another hot day but the fishing was good, nothing huge but again that didn't matter. JT helped with pointing out some things he had observed and have his advice how to correct them, especially in helping maintaining tension and casting over the left shoulder in a tight space. It was the trip i needed in more ways than one and with morale high i was ready for my next session.<br /><br />Across the next 2 weeks i fished a small brook in yorkshire and landed every fish i hooked bar 4 which snapped me off. One monster of a fish subtly took a nymph 12 feet from me before running my line 100 feet upstream before rounding a bend and snapping me off in a matter of seconds. Another saw the net, dived down to a wall and with my arm growing tired my finger applied pressure on the line causing it to snap. The same issue occured in a deep pool as i tried to lift the fish off the bottom, at the time i didn't realise this but only on my head cam footage later did i get to review it and finally the last fish i lost my leader caught on a metal pipe and snapped while fighting a fish.<br /><br />Other than them losses i still managed to land 30 fish easily averaging 1 1/2lbs and topping at just over 3lb. All on nymph and dries, the best of which i had to bow and arrow cast a dry after patiently wading close enough due to the narrow tree lined brook i was fishing. Though it wasn't just the size of the fish that was satisfying it was being out again, fishing confidently. The ethos outside of where i live is very different and the rivers are quieter. I was happily jumping head first into nettles to net a fish despite knowing i'd have 3 days of red itchy arms. 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<br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-16526104396068691672020-03-26T05:18:00.004-07:002020-03-26T05:18:30.445-07:00Fly Fishing - Before the lockdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tSvtoFi6wVfYUY8GyhIH2q2otYHRhgmfCAtDpu7UsCykuarkY5KXEjtut4TsAE_4QrhslR7001JkaWR71VpqDuu2plSkI5aKo_b9lsMoisjLXAgAJQuVGf0SeyqQJlsyVVp9ncITNSGG/s1600/IMG_8449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>March the 15th, the season has just opened and i'm trapped in work.
Coronavirus is going round the world, i'm in work, a key worker,
watching hoards of people panic buying toilet roll. Begging for soap and
hand wash, bleach and anti-bac spray. You know when you say 'you
wouldn't want to see their houses'. Well it made me think how little
people were cleaning in the first place that they all had to start
buying some. I fish urban rivers, i carry hand sanitiser when i go, for
obvious reasons. Maybe it's easier for me to not touch my face and maul
about because of that thought of polluted water courses still lies
within me. Now because of the stupidity of people, all standing close to
one another to get inside a shop? The only time i've really stood in a
large crowd of people as an adult is at football games and the City
parade. I like my space, i don't trust people like pick pockets and all
that and i don't like the odor of most of them, so why don't people give
more space regardless of a pandemic? And now it's affected the place
were i have the most space, the middle of the river. I cannot seek my
mental refuge anymore. I have to put up with the sheep of society as a
key worker. And with 2 weeks of Easter booked off work, i will spend it
indoors with my outdoor loving daughter because of everybody else.<br /><br />Come
the 17th though i was up and out with Krystian, the weather had been in
our favor considering the previous weeks so we did expect a decent day.
Though things started off slowly, usual places that held fish seemed
barren and telltale signs of poaching over winter became obvious, the
broken lines attached to trees attached to almost sea lures. I missed a
fish in deeper water, wasn't too aware of it's size but it did bring me
some hope but again, the waters fell quiet and we continued up river. It
was there we found our prey, they were rising, which made it alot
easier to figure out where they were. Now in this situation you'd
normally pop a dry on, but there was no real hatch, the trout were
rising steadily in this 10 metre section but there was no readily supply
of flies on the surface. So we opted for very light streamers and cast
at them. Krystian had the first fish, the streamer had barely touched
the water when it took it, it fought hard but he managed to keep it
downstream of the other rising fish, it teased my at the net a couple of
times before i took the lunge and netted it. It weighed in at 2 1/2lb.<br /><br />I
was next, with the aid of my polaroids i was able to watch the trout
chase the streamer, which can almost make you strike to early, but i
waited till it turned after it took it before striking to get a good
hookset. It wasn't as big as Krystians but we was still aware that one
fish was still rising despite all this commotion.<br /><br />This was
Krystians moment, the trout followed it some 20metres so it was almost
upon us and i watched it swallow the fly and stop, i shouted to Krystian
that it had took it, but he didn't react, the lack of pull i believe
was fooling him but then he struck and it bolted upstream for some
concrete blocks. I warned him of this and then as he pulled on the
brakes the line went slack. We had lost it. But then as he reeled in the
line went taught, it had steamrolled straight back at us and Krystian
was now chasing the slack. It then milled around in the pool in front of
us trying to use it's body weight and occasionally go towards some
snags slightly downstream of us but we waited patiently and i netted it
again. It weighed a cracking 4 1/2lb. <br /><br />The rising had stopped
now, we gave it a couple more runs but then continued upstream, i
reached a small narrow bend and came across a chicken hanging around
with some ducks, which was quite amusing. Regardless of this i was
adament i had seen a black line follow my streamer just at the foot of
my rod tip, so i ran it through twice more before i hooked into a fish, i
pulled it down into the slower water and just had to avoid all the
obstacles in the water before i could net it. My trout weighed 2 1/2lb.<br /><br />At
this point we was on top of the world, we could have easily have gone
home at this point but we was only a couple of hours in and the rest
would be exploratory. More signs of poaching as we headed up river and 1
decent trout spooked as we made our way up river. It was about another
hour before Krystian hit into the next fish, fighting hard in the deep
colored water it tried to go into the plants against the wall of the
river but i pushed upstream of Krystian to net it and rounded of his
catch total to 10lb with a 3lb trout. The thickness on all these fish
was promising that food was plentiful, but the lack of signs of fish and
the amount of poaching signs were possibly the reason there was so much
food. I managed another small trout in the next hour but there was only
signs of one other fish that rose once.<br /><br />The day before lockdown
which we could all sense was coming i took my chance to take my daughter
out to show what social distancing really means. Heading down to a safe
section of river it allowed Emily to try out her new waders and develop
her water legs which she fully enjoyed, not having to be carried across
a river. The fishing again was tough though for her, her casting had
some how improved over winter and almost every cast she made deserved a
fish, only snagging a tree once which i crossed over to get for her. She
eventually caught a trout which really didn't full reward her efforts
of the day and it's sometimes hard to explain to a child of 5 that
sometimes no matter how good you do something it isn't always rewarded.
The trout itself was a nice little fish, probably of a pound or so as i
didn't weigh it.<br /><br />We fished our way up river, skimmed stones after
each pool and headed back up to a place i reported last year for
leaking sewerage. Well, it hadn't been resolved, which after 6 months
would explain the lack of fish downstream of it. The constant phone
calls between UU and the EA ensued over the next couple of days for them
to conclude, they knew about it and it needs a permanent fix. 6 months
not long enough?<br /><br />So now we are in lockdown, i am still in work
for the rest of the week, walking past people having garden parties,
BBQs and meeting on the park. So it's guarenteed that the lockdown will
be extended and how we have to suffer both mentally and physically. As
technically i could have 12 weeks self isolation due to my asthma, but i
could not stay indoors for 12 weeks. I just have to survive this
epidemic.<br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWDMWpqMUh_tK9r4jVczN2vOssoMofrOHOpbLGCBwNAiYihb8NNbdyw0wrjqEnVkRf_n68Bf5c4N9JO_yDFzibQNudJdR_AyrA1MxZMwTPRfcNV48TEtuR5TpmMTAT4Y_6d8J7lZOOOND/s1600/IMG_8632.JPG" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrDFSy36mZkHGLVJ1RbEA_eV3D1ouKMWz3E7rz8leBanIiz1kcywPs6yVk5P9EGGsurTtXKIcsqvBSM29TfXQKKVcyhl2OJsB4Kg70prHp3I-yK7fMUtr8XwcIC_wuGSfBrDLG8GnM83l/s1600/IMG_8637.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrDFSy36mZkHGLVJ1RbEA_eV3D1ouKMWz3E7rz8leBanIiz1kcywPs6yVk5P9EGGsurTtXKIcsqvBSM29TfXQKKVcyhl2OJsB4Kg70prHp3I-yK7fMUtr8XwcIC_wuGSfBrDLG8GnM83l/s1600/IMG_8637.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMYE2Hg3sjLWckapQyst8qdA9hWNiuTToFzfMgKjw0OnJcvdXHqMEM2rm_atsQSW5wyTbH6daOyrATZrZP1bYkl1Lq8y7_M6SzePu723KAQT7zxPBarIh3nrj7gzMMVARdKc6wWnT2_vZ/s1600/IMG_8657.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMYE2Hg3sjLWckapQyst8qdA9hWNiuTToFzfMgKjw0OnJcvdXHqMEM2rm_atsQSW5wyTbH6daOyrATZrZP1bYkl1Lq8y7_M6SzePu723KAQT7zxPBarIh3nrj7gzMMVARdKc6wWnT2_vZ/s1600/IMG_8657.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoFXtkKOx9gfidKYvSvRZIXfn7ZHXmuCt1RaSqYFn86erocjMU40meeQ79BnTa92wUnkDkIjCvZXCJTYpMfQrbr2iGmL4kW16Zr4WBC9jH1Z9UqgJTali4rhSjZezBSeejG1ngmWyv3Ap/s1600/PETQ3237.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoFXtkKOx9gfidKYvSvRZIXfn7ZHXmuCt1RaSqYFn86erocjMU40meeQ79BnTa92wUnkDkIjCvZXCJTYpMfQrbr2iGmL4kW16Zr4WBC9jH1Z9UqgJTali4rhSjZezBSeejG1ngmWyv3Ap/s1600/PETQ3237.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FZoK3Yt_y8Hcn1asQP6QSyyz_o1PMK1emhyphenhyphenC9e-XXPOBMTOf29rGGVsRKxH5R0NEDyuQwFKbZjZcqIEhP9Me9GHlT8lFxOhXTKD5_5xop0t2qBgOR5T92jrPMcprxJPYNy8NkcqhbM1G/s1600/IMG_8401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tSvtoFi6wVfYUY8GyhIH2q2otYHRhgmfCAtDpu7UsCykuarkY5KXEjtut4TsAE_4QrhslR7001JkaWR71VpqDuu2plSkI5aKo_b9lsMoisjLXAgAJQuVGf0SeyqQJlsyVVp9ncITNSGG/s1600/IMG_8449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tSvtoFi6wVfYUY8GyhIH2q2otYHRhgmfCAtDpu7UsCykuarkY5KXEjtut4TsAE_4QrhslR7001JkaWR71VpqDuu2plSkI5aKo_b9lsMoisjLXAgAJQuVGf0SeyqQJlsyVVp9ncITNSGG/s1600/IMG_8449.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XHybKjKgH-SINe-8tH3NgKkPxdx16G0_cmvRVvP8FZ3CJuzrAu2G_U17WpJz6SofvdaylDl6Q_GYAq2yUpYpBWRtcVzTfrUYupXGZQe-G0rtlhRDCfIZ7DeDatFBKFBuW0k82U0RMXue/s1600/JWYZ8554.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XHybKjKgH-SINe-8tH3NgKkPxdx16G0_cmvRVvP8FZ3CJuzrAu2G_U17WpJz6SofvdaylDl6Q_GYAq2yUpYpBWRtcVzTfrUYupXGZQe-G0rtlhRDCfIZ7DeDatFBKFBuW0k82U0RMXue/s1600/JWYZ8554.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBcFmSxPGE9FI6mGsl8eMc1RQs7Q7kh4ceUPzr-TtFO8_b9tzJUD54PM-G4B02D8h5hdk7rYuW9avoV4a39m9dRO_RomOE5LnjcfIlOf4tj1JO8RETkSdGAtgDpPsZGP4V9KwXTgSj4l9/s1600/JNPG2829.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBcFmSxPGE9FI6mGsl8eMc1RQs7Q7kh4ceUPzr-TtFO8_b9tzJUD54PM-G4B02D8h5hdk7rYuW9avoV4a39m9dRO_RomOE5LnjcfIlOf4tj1JO8RETkSdGAtgDpPsZGP4V9KwXTgSj4l9/s1600/JNPG2829.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FZoK3Yt_y8Hcn1asQP6QSyyz_o1PMK1emhyphenhyphenC9e-XXPOBMTOf29rGGVsRKxH5R0NEDyuQwFKbZjZcqIEhP9Me9GHlT8lFxOhXTKD5_5xop0t2qBgOR5T92jrPMcprxJPYNy8NkcqhbM1G/s1600/IMG_8401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-9815276360081299332019-12-30T18:41:00.001-08:002019-12-30T19:02:03.154-08:002019 - Pollution, Mental Health and Trout<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Pollution, Mental Health and Trout</span><br />
<br />
2019 draws to an end today and
with it a whole year of experiences both on the river and off it. With
the world becoming more aware of pollution by the visibility of it on
our screens, in our media and on our doorstep there has been plenty of
talk and even action surrounding it. But the problem only seems to get
worse, regardless of what any numbers a statistician can throw at me the
problem has continued to rise. Recycling numbers may be up but that is
because there is more and more garbage out there to be processed. The
number of fly tips and pollution incidents continues to rise and despite
all the awareness surrounding pollution people continue to turn a blind
eye to it. Now the majority of my readers will share a similar mindset
to myself so will know this is a problem but how do we connect, how do
we really wake up the people who see the problem, recognise the problem
then do nothing. And the culprits, when will someone step forward and
take responsibility to prosecute them or change a law so that fly
tipping regardless if it is council or private land is an offence
regardless who pursues the prosecution.<br />
<br />
I personally monitor a
few of my local rivers and have featured in the local news for my
reports on it and the lack of action both the EA and the councils make
regarding it. I clear a catch grid constantly due to a lack of access
the EA have due to the council not monitoring its double yellow lines
(ie cars park in front of the EA access gate) and the amount of
household rubbish, weed growing kits and other fly tipped items that are
dumped into that very small section of river is shocking, it can make
the river rise 5 feet above its usual depth from pure rubbish build up,
the woody debris obviously builds up then behind the black bags and
linoleum. It is hard dirty work but to maintain the health of the river
it is work that must be done, the passage of fish is blocked which
affects spawning, the increase in the depth of the water from its usual 2
or 3 feet depth to 7 or 8 feet puts them at risk of diving birds
especially when they move off the frozen still waters.<br />
<br />
The end of
2019 has been a tough time as well. Fishing is a wonderful aspect in
helping people maintain a healthy mind yet when the close season comes
and your opportunities have been non existent since the 23rd of
September you do, or at least i do, find ourselves slipping into a murky
corner of our thoughts. On top of that i faced disciplinary procedures
at work which, without going into too much detail, were about actions i
did to protect my staff from danger, that dragged on for several weeks
before i was given a first & final warning. During that time my Dad
was diagnosed with cancer and has still, even now, not received any
treatment, just scan after scan while the decide how to deal with it due
to its position and, i guess, rarity due to the solidity of the mass.
With my time being split between work and home and i'd say more of the
former i struggled with my mental health. Remember mental health isn't
depression, anxiety or anything else, mental health is your emotional
and psychological well being. I wasn't sleeping well, i lacked
motivation, i worried about the affect of losing my job would have on my
family. I worried about my Dad and what was happening or the lack of.
And with that, i had no escape, no place to go, nothing to take my mind
away from it all. Just slipping into a dark corner in my mind feeling a hate towards myself, a doubt in myself and my actions. Questioning myself constantly if i was right or wrong. Being there in a river, feeling the cold water press
against your legs, the nip in the air as a breeze blew downstream, the
trees rustling gently as they swayed. The sound of birds singing and
their wings beating as they flew by curiously. The whispers the rivers
spoke as it flowed smoothly by and the shouts they made as they battered
boulders. The popping noise of a fish taking a fly from the surface and
the splashing sound of a fish as it fought when it reached the net.<br />
<br />
I
had none of that, i had everybodies christmas to deal with, the
repetitive comments about my height, the same colours of concrete and
tarmac, the hustle and bustle of people and traffic. The constant
shouting at inquisitive children just wanting that one small toy to make
them happy but yet left them in tears instead. The walking in the rain
to work at 6.30am dodging puddles while dry drivers ignored you as you
waited to cross. The drunks, the druggies and the threats. I've isolated myself, not spoken to many people when we'd normally talk rubbish for hours whether in person or on social media. And all this
hidden behind a wry smile so everyone thought you was ok, so that no one
would ask the question. Are you ok?<br />
<br />
Before then however, there
was fishing, not as much as i would have hoped but you know, enough. And
though i didn't get any monsters i did get to fish with my daughter
alot more, which is amazing, to anyone who questions it its much more
about the fishing, the questions she asks and how much she learns and
matures after each trip is profound and i can see why my dad took me as a
child. We had big rainbows and some decent trout but all of them
stories are in the blogs i have already written. What you get here are
the statistics behind my trips and then some pictures. So how did my
year compare to the previous seasons?<br />
<br />
I had 16 days out, yes only
16 which is the least of any year since i started in 2015, 4 of them on
the Irwell itself again the least time i'd been on there.. I averaged
9.6 fish a trip totalling 154 fish, 19 of them on the Irwell averaging
4.8 fish a trip. So how does this compare?<br />
<br />
Overall out of 5 years
it was 3rd in the catch rate per trip but was at the higher end showing
good progression especially but then again i hadn't fished the Irwell
as much and the 2017 numbers were severely hit by the pollution that
year. So looking at the Irwell in 2016 i averaged 10.2 fish per session
dropping down in 2017 when i averaged 2.4 fish a session and furthermore
in 2018 a mere 0.6 a session. Thankfully improvements have shown with
4.8 fish per session which is a stark rise compared to the 2 previous
years.<br />
<br />
Diversity has dropped however, with no roach or perch for 2
years now compared to 108 in the first 3 years. Another year without a
minnow totally 2 minnows in 3 years compared to 38 in the first 2 years.
The first drop in chub totals from the average of 3 to now just 1,
which is a reason i don't target them on my rivers over winter.<br />
<br />
So
overall, fish catch rates seem to average at 9.9 per session, anything
less has only been in my first season where i was learning and in 2017
where the pollution incident happened. Diversity has dropped, showing
trout are the hardiest of the species given we say pollution is a cause
in their decline and not mention the black death till next year. And
Irwell catch rates have risen dramatically possibly showing it is
finally back on the road to recovery.<br />
<br />
Don't forget to check my youtube channel: Irwell Fishing<br />
and i hope to see you all again in 2020.</div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-24388195566068258052019-09-25T09:23:00.001-07:002019-09-25T09:23:48.450-07:002019 - The trout season draws to a close<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Its been a while since my last blog, too long in fact but then again ive
only been on the river 7 times since my last blog, back at the
beginning of May. I have tried to make the blog easier to look at for
those visiting the main page to help freshen it up a little and to show i
am still here. Work commitments primarily have caused this lack of
update and on the days i did get off it always seemed to be a wash out
during the night. Sods law i guess. But the fishing i have managed has
been highly entertaining and somewhat, eye opening to the point more
data and experience was needed before i could accurately comment.<br /><br />Well
i haven't had any major fish if that's what your expecting or hoping
for. The first thing though, that has really baffled me is my strike
indicator. I've fished various methods, various ways, we are all
different, all have our own comforts and preferred ways and i was still
finding mine through trial and error. Now i loved klink and dink but its
flaws were you couldn't adjust the depth without retying the fly so i
tried this new plasticine like indicator. Bio-degradable, reusable and
fish friendly it opened up my flexibility across numerous and varying
pools. Now the first time it happened i laughed and didn't think much of
it but then it happened again and again and again, across numerous
rivers in varying conditions and it really would be a big fingers up to
'you got to match the hatch'. What am i talking about? Trout hammering
my indicator. I fish dry when i see a rise so when ive got a nymph on
they tend not to be rising but hell, when that ball of plasticine pops
over their head they smash it like they playing volleyball with it. <br /><br />The
experiment continued as the fish were holding onto the ball after
taking it rather than letting go i realised if i then struck the
plasticine would slide down the line and the hook would set. I'd
essentially invented a 2 foot hair rig for trout fishing. It was
unbelievable just how confident fish of all sizes where taking this
indicator and you'd get to reuse it next cast no problem, other than
readjusting the depth.<br /><br />The second thing i've noticed are ...
flying fish. Now, if you've ever fished with me you'll know when i cast i
use a very low horizontal cast, being 6ft 8 anything above your head
ends up in a tree so it kind of stuck and owes itself back to my
childhood as i use to flick my maggots under a float across the front of
bankside trees. Now, this is a lot less common but it has occured on
numerous occasions across the years and this is trout trying to catch
your fly mid cast. It could be complete coincidence that as my fly
flicks past the surface a few inches above it a fish decides to do a
glory leap in its path. But it has happened way to many times now that
makes me think, hang on they actually might be trying to catch it. And
then, 2 days ago, i was streamer fishing with Graeme, fishing a tiny
brook with probably 2 feet of space to cast due to over hanging reeds.
First cast, i got hung up in the reed, the Martins Minnow pattern
dangling 8 inches above the surface and what happens? You guessed it, a
trout, probably a pound of so, jumps out of the water grabs the bottom
of the streamer and pulls me off the snag, missing the hook mind. I was
in awe, again! I can understand a fish jumping for a fly because,
technically its natural, but how many fish have fed from fish growing in
trees? It was crazy and pretty amazing to be fair.<br /><br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUErsBEA8pZLyCnKC69qMHG4YxbDEj1bP6zhI-vlmUQdA4rtwhEqIUlLwPV_1qjPh9tSanhVf7IIMjKHX00oIIKWO8D3PkGiBwNV95CHef_GkP5MvU9QuaopIOxRSbsGrcbX_hM3OV1MV/s1600/IMG_3299.JPG" /></div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-72529088530727658672019-05-01T16:04:00.001-07:002019-05-01T16:04:03.428-07:00The River Irwell - Explore, Fish, Enjoy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This blog is from my last trip on the Irwell, a couple of week ago now, thanks to work. Another reason why this blog will be a little brief.<br /><br />It hadn't rained yet and the rivers were super low so i had anticipated on fishing some hard to reach deeper waters, but upon my arrival there was already 2 anglers there. So i went upstream of them around 100 yards and set up my fly rod, they still hadnt moved by the time i started fishing so i cast into a pool under a bridge. I was soon into a fish and after a good fight for a fish of this size i noticed why. This fish was a fighter, a survivor. A large gaping wound near its rear had began to heal. This area was notorious for damage like this as i had caught many a fish with pierce holes or similar nasty wounds. Not only our these predatory birds eating more fish than the river can produce but the ones they cant catch they are giving them potentially life threatening wounds. <br /><br />Now after catching this fish & releasing it i was soon set upon by the 2 'wannabe tweed' anglers who had insisted i had stolen their fish. They soon buggered off after being given a harsh lesson in Irwell fishing tactics to the reason they had blanked thus far after fishing 6 hours prior apparantly. But wary of giving my watercraft secrets away i headed upstream, past the local mink who had amassed another pile of crayfish bodies. Cleaned the area up for him again so i can keep tallying his kills. This guy is very much a hero. So i continued upto a very bedrocky area about 30 minutes upstream, this bedrock was like ice but just beyond it i knew of some freshly collapsed banking which would provide a different environment in this typically barren area. I was fishing a current as it bounced round a bend and went round a boulder. I barely noticed the indicator go when i struck but when i did i immediately swore, knowing i hadn't fully commited in the strike i was worried it would soon come off.<br /><br />It tried everything, at first it jumped and then it stuck down deep, the pool here was very deep but after a minute of so it tried to use the current against me and began swimming downstream. The water shallowed slightly but it headed towards the inside bend and into the cracks in the large boulders which left me scrambling on the slimy surfaces. After trying to get under and between the cracks in the boulders it tried one last attempt of getting into the faster water downstream of my but i wasnt so wary of applying the pressure to force it to turn and it was guided into the net.<br /><br />It was a beautiful trout, its scales were pale and irredescant. Not the longish trout by any means but a very stocky deep trout which again reinforced the fact that the Irwell is, at the moment, recovering from its major pollution incident.<br /><br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfXZcPTScNM3K99QPnZdBCHQfb0_zWNst3fm00tmmorQ02bQB65RVg8lOsXwLcCor8T5b1_97ZS9tF3m78W0gD4miRxeLvGwqNCK0UlwBkW-ewUxqcp7ASLM-zs2Lr_Zh6bxKmUqomna7/s1600/IMG_2877.JPG" /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHh-a0PY0DSPh8BNV1QGuq2o1zzelJEd8ZiQqSxrHZ78sqL0lm2Z0XMid75j0IooZZoATdv12C6_fUWWnLvc5QFiYYj2sqLFA312KU_9PH-pdT75ClmRMv8z2NZVcMzCeLE4C82JmDcWR/s1600/IMG_2868.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHh-a0PY0DSPh8BNV1QGuq2o1zzelJEd8ZiQqSxrHZ78sqL0lm2Z0XMid75j0IooZZoATdv12C6_fUWWnLvc5QFiYYj2sqLFA312KU_9PH-pdT75ClmRMv8z2NZVcMzCeLE4C82JmDcWR/s1600/IMG_2868.JPG" /></a><br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-11677256449093394362019-04-03T03:30:00.000-07:002019-04-03T03:30:19.790-07:00A hatch on the Irwell - Fly Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was a cold day in early April, the first rain for a couple of weeks
had occured during the night and a heavy upstream wind blew along the
river. The river was already flowing much faster than the other day,
with choppy waves over the rocks despite the river only being up about
half a foot more. The colour of the Irwell was still pretty decent too, 2
feet visibility i would say before it melted into that 'Irwell green',
i'm sure that's a colour of its own. I was suitably prepared for the
weather, i had my buff on which was protecting the back of my neck from
the hailstones which would come and go every 15 minutes or so. My hands,
however, were freezing, from checking fly life in the river bed and the
biting wind, it was safe to say it was a bit like winter. Tying knots
had become difficult already but i had to choose a method to fish.<br /><br />I
originally planned for 2 nymphs in a czech nymph method but didn't have
enough weight to stop them dragging, so i went back to the classic
klink n dink, the nymph doesnt drag as much, thus sits lower in the
water when i use this method, so even with a single fly i tend to get
more depth than 2 nymphs drifting under each other. I set the nymph
around 3 foot under the dry, the line tied around the body of the
materials being a barbless hook and popped on again a pink Bendles Bug.
The bridge pool had changed since the other day, the rain had washed
down alot of trees and caused a leaky dam across the river, there was
nothing biting in this pool but i did get one underneath the other arch
which was taking more water through it to compensate for the other arch.
Them trees will go during the next rain. <br /><br />Now i really wanted to
cross to the other side of the river but the extra flow was posing
quite a danger, so i clambered along the bank upstream, past fresh deer
tracks and bodies of large cray fish near a rocky opening, the mink were
doing a decent job hunting them. I guess the crayfish not being totally
wiped out gives an extra food source for the mink rather than fish.
Another wave of hailstone passed and a sparrowhawk swooped low over the
river, i marveled at how wild things felt, yet looking down at my feet,
plastic, paint tins, tires, oh how ignorant our country <strike>is becoming</strike> has become.<br /><br />Looking
back to the water i noticed some of the riffles in the calmer water had
more centric shapes, stopping for a moment i witnessed it. A trout
rising on the Irwell, not one but 4 of them, i had fished this section
for 4 years and never seen a rise here. I saw the olives on the surface
being washed down river, struggling to take flight in the poor
conditions. The last trout i saw rise on the Irwell was before the
pollution event so it had been literally 2 years since that day that i
had seen a trout rise below the pollution site.<br /><br />The problem i
faced now was my hands were cold and i didn't feel much like tying a dry
on, the heavy wind would make casting difficult and it would be coming
off my left shoulder as i was on the wrong side of the river (the reason
i wanted to cross). So with my 10lb line going to my dry fly and 2lb
tippet underneath to my nymph i cast upstream into the path of it. The
first one took the nymph within a second of it hitting the water and i
missed it. Targetting the next one and casting a little further ahead to
give me that second to prepare the dry disappeared and i struck into
it. It was on.<br /><br />I ended up with 3 trout there, 3 of the 4 that
were rising. A couple had fresh battle wounds, a tendency for many trout in
this area due to the high number of cormarants and goosanders. Next time
i am here i will slow things down and watch for rises, not something i
had done for a while here since them being none existant beforehand and
probably go on a warmer day too.<br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKBuOJBtfPzgIBdssep-FQi7ydLVoRJjYclxcEQv1DBrtk-8SgYfdnfYvwgwEOvv1WJms9CowtODpOKfedoeGPk_lXewg36gxpWPCaJZo89DuodFcve-vq7e_xU2-Wg_lED4qW8l2HKQ2/s1600/IMG_2374.JPG" /></div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-70685722138370740332019-03-29T16:50:00.001-07:002019-03-29T16:53:41.520-07:002019: The Irwell is reawakening??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The season has been open for 2 weeks almost and i have been fishing 3
times, once with Emily. I had been waiting for the season so long but
when it finally came i felt so unprepared, i literally hadn't touched my
gear since last september. I hadn't tied any flies, though i had only
fixed my vice the fortnight prior, and i hadn't even put the line on my
new reel. Rushing around the night the season started only for it to be a
wash out the day after, but my time came a couple of days later and i
got a couple of trout on a small city centre stream. </div>
<br />
After the
water levels dropped later that week i took Emily there too. She got a
nice trout early into the session, reminding her to let go of the line
when she used two hands to hold the rod was a life safer, she snapped
off a couple of times last season doing that, which meant a few tears
flowed. But this time she listened and reacted quickly and after
admiring the bend in her bright pink rod i netted the trout for her. It
wasn't a warm day by any means and the wind was blowing cold into out
faces. We headed upstream and Emilys next fish was much smaller, she was
a little too used to big fish that as i went to net it she lifted the
fish completely out of the water to her amusement. With water in her
wellies an hour or so later she asked to walk on the bank and let me use
her rod, i ended up catching 8 fish in 1 pool which were all named and
given family positions.<br />
<br />
So today i was planning on going on a
trib of the Irwell, but upon arrival i spotted a couple of guys already
fishing. I set up here anyway and tested my set up then headed off to
the Irwell. It would be a decision that proved to be well placed, i had
17 small trout on the trib, just above the confluence, nothing fancy but
all giving it what for. They were falling for a light pink Bendles Bug
and were all dark in colour. <br />
<br />
Heading over to my favourite pool,
not because it has given me any big trout, cos it hasnt, but because it
is a spot you know if you catch them here you know you everythings ok.
For example i didn't catch anything here last season and only caught 3
trout in 5 trips to the Irwell all season (below the pollution site).
However today would show a massive improvement, 10 fish in and around
the bridge, even in fast flowing water and a single nymph would lift my
spirits immensely. These fish were proper fighters too, jumping around,
swimming deep and making runs for it, they certainly kept me on my toes.
<br />
<br />
Now the next time i go i will ensure i do a kick sample to see
what the bottom life is like, i am expecting vast improvements even with
the water still being cold. But one thing for sure, the fish are
certainly returning and i cant wait to be fishing the Irwell more often
this season.<br />
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<br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-42439246591237840932019-01-19T12:43:00.000-08:002019-01-19T12:43:43.007-08:00A brief summary: 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been a while since my last blog, in fact it has been a while since i had even been fishing. It was something i needed, something i missed, my daughter kept asking about it, the stuff she wanted for next season. Her own net being the key item. But with my promotion at work free time was limited and i knew how my good friend Mike France felt given his free time had also been limited by stepping up at work. 60 hour weeks over christmas with 3 hours sleep between shifts on some days took their toll and a trip fishing would have refreshed my mental state but through clenched teeth i made it past the toughest time of the year. It didn't only affect my fishing time it also took its toll on my socialisation. I keep in contact with a lot of people via facebook and even e-mail to my older friends and i just had no time as when i was home i was trying to catch up with my family.<br />
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But 2018 was a very weird and also a very productive year, given the limited time i beat my PB again and my daughter continued to improve dramatically. I didn't get out as much as i would have liked chasing grayling in the close season catch only 13 all season over 2 trips comparative to 2017s total of 75. This however being mainly due to, obviously, the lack of time since my promotion and how good the trout season was going. In fact out of the 23 times i went fishing (my lowest since i started fly fishing in 2015) i caught 213 trout. Below is the comparative totals over the years and as you can see my fish per trip average had greatly increased. <br />
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I had avoided the lower Irwell this season but had fished below the pollution incident and had seen fish returning. Including 1 big one that i lost almost instantly as i had only been catching small ones. That was the first day i had been out with Al Meer who i hope to fish with again at some point this season on some of my old sections as he is very much a scenic angler. <br />
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I had been fishing very public rivers in the pouring rain which pushed everyone away from the water which gave me plenty of good results. However used to humans these fish where it was clear they were still more comfortable when it was quiet. I prefered the quiet, the comments 'oh you won't catch anything in there', the lack of floating cans that had been thrown in the river upstream. <br />
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The rivers suffered a long drawn out summer of no rain, in fact it rained after Englands exit from the world cup which is when i became the father of an orphaned egg. That first rain was a killer for the newly hatched birds but was heaven to the fish that had been suffering in the low calm waters that next season i will ensure will have environmental changes to them to keep flow moving during the low water seasons. The river only exceeded the 3m level once, on April the 2nd after heavy snow fall. <br />
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So what do i have planned for next season and 2019? Well i hope to get on the river before the season starts and get some Grayling, to rescue my sanity. I need to sort out a new vice as mine has now broken and i havent tied a fly since September. All that work but financially am i better off? After tax? I hope to catch a few fish i have caught before with distinct features to monitor their growth rate. I already have a few named fish that have grown bigger and become the king of the bigger pool. I also intend on fishing my old sections of the Irwell, the number of big fish i lost on this section was immense but after the pollution they vanished but it has been 2 years this spring and so i will see if they have returned. I also intend to fish more with the people who have helped me improve as a fly fisherman as i enter my 4th season fly fishing. Mike, Graeme, John, Nick, Arthur, Al and hopefully some new faces i have spoken to who fish the same waters who might help me in my environmental improvements if we have a tough summer again.<br />
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Tight lines to everyones 2019<br />
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<br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-4213705830551662102018-09-05T12:47:00.003-07:002018-09-05T12:47:25.925-07:00A new taste of water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was a chilly start to the day which woke me up quite quickly once i
stepped out of bed. Back on the school run as my daughter started school
for the first time. With the promise of fishing later with football
rival Nick Behan i was a little happier about getting back into the
school run routine. Nick had promised to show me one of his nicer waters
with both trout and grayling to catch. Unfortunately on route the
weather started to get brighter and warmer. Not what is needed, the
summer has been so dry and with so little frequent rain any rain we do
get runs off so quickly that it might as well not bothered. In fact my
best fish this year and the most fish i caught were both in heavy rain
showing how much the fish were being affected. <br /><br />Reaching the
river i didn't know what to expect but the area we was in was alot more
natural and wild. After Nick set up twice, changing his reels 3 times,
losing his leader twice, which i found, he told me he was quite clumsy.
Deciding to leave his phone behind just in case we headed to the river,
only to find a couple of lads kick sampling where we was meant to start.
I wouldn't of minded much but they weren't doing it correctly, well,
not how i do it, picking up a several rocks and shaking them into the
net as opposed to actually kick sampling.<br /><br />Fish were rising and i
started on a dry with a weightless underneath, while Nick opted for the
dry. We were getting take and tugs but it seemed they were small fish
which was confirmed by Nick when we eventually hooked one. Nick said the
river was very low so we headed up to a deeper run. On the way i
spotted a calm spot behind a rock in a heavy slow and dropped my fly in,
i saw the fish chase it and but as it went downstream as i struck the
hook pulled out of its mouth. It was a lovely looking run below a weir,
very deep looking but only provided me one trout while Nick caught
grayling above it. I almost put a streamer on at this point as there was
no way there werent a number of fish here but Nick tempted me by
telling me he knew a honey spot.<br /><br />Walking on upstream we came to
said spot and it did look very fishy with moving water, channels and
deep pools. I fished downstream while Nick was upstream and was
surprised not to get a take. So i popped on a streamer and caught 2
small trout in succession. Nick shouted me and he had another grayling
so i headed upstream and told him the news. We was both equally confused
as even with the low water there was these runs we had fished that
should of held bigger fish. <br /><br />Nick handed me his rod, a Marryat
rod to have a cast and it felt very different to what i was used to,
very light and the reel placement was unusual. However it did compensate
for my heavy striking with its fast action as when i struck into my
first grayling of the day it took the sting out of my strike.<br />We
fished a 6 foot area of this large pool, the end of a channel which was
overcast with a grassy margin and pulled a half dozen grayling out one
by one. <br /><br />One grayling rose up slowly beneath Nicks dry and sipped
it in, even without his glasses Nick saw it take it, it was a great
sight to watch. Nick was getting the bigger ones easily, he insisted
they were alot bigger here too! A large trout jumped out of the water
in the pool as we were working our fly up this grassy verge, the casting
by both of us deserved a fish every cast but it just suddenly went
quiet.<br /><br />We would fish from there and upstream for another hour
with a couple of small fish nipping at the fly and i had a small
grayling again on the dry but it was a little frustrating after hitting a
decent shoal of grayling for it all to go quiet again. The fish had
been effected by something, they could of possibly been more active
earlier in the day in the colder morning but we have no 100% answers
until next time we venture there.<br /><br />In all it was a great first day
out with Nick despite the short number of fish, it was nice to be on
some new water that wasn't urban and he never mentioned that team from
the swamp once.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-SPQO5urjf_oCjjXRa29X0qWuMGkHxLMLX-cLyDRBHk_2XQ2oI7PRntuVO1an9Lf-GilO-HJxInNWV2kB1ouVmDoCm0tmHS6p1Qc7tlMlKaHL0ilSfLnMdFtyL6zQpJb6kg44q9KjATG/s1600/IMG_9853.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-SPQO5urjf_oCjjXRa29X0qWuMGkHxLMLX-cLyDRBHk_2XQ2oI7PRntuVO1an9Lf-GilO-HJxInNWV2kB1ouVmDoCm0tmHS6p1Qc7tlMlKaHL0ilSfLnMdFtyL6zQpJb6kg44q9KjATG/s1600/IMG_9853.JPG" /></a><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGhcayLJfBMh2u1Tdtc2tfdOkWFIlni0ik0A9zTODpKT4p73MDNrrcUZqcA-8pGDSXd0Q8lwA2PT6rYrRqrgIPKwv8A_bzHei3dZ2s-MdMVO4yY3VEqopMk4NkDa5yShK7c-RICkD3guN/s1600/IMG_9830.JPG" /></div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-80056128411326089372018-08-01T16:04:00.001-07:002018-08-01T16:46:05.853-07:00Urban fishing & why i do it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been a while since my last blog, not by choice. That choice is governed by the speed my eye lids shut after my shift. Fishing for short stints in early hours to avoid the heat of the day or after what little rain we had meant i wasn't resting well on my days off and after my promotion at work and getting home at 9pm most nights the energy was draining from me. I'd often fall asleep fully dressed in my uniform getting my daughter to sleep who had waited up to see me, waking up early hours sweating and groggy before getting into bed proper.<br />
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It's a funny life i live, i defend my fort where i work from retail theft, preventing drug users from obtaining goods to fund their fix yet when i fish my urban rivers i put myself in the heart of drug dens, the multi colored needles littering the 100 year old cobbles. But what brings me back here? Yes there are big fish that lurk in these waters but i equally enjoy catching the small trout there. So it isn't a size thing, don't get me wrong i love a big old trout as much as the next person. If anything i'd say it was the sport that made it worth while. If you have ever caught a 3lb trout that wants to steam roll down river then you know just how well they fight, oz for oz trout are the best fighting fish i personally have caught. Now put that trout in pool with concrete pillars and overhangs, rusted iron pipes it can swim inside, cobbled gulleys and metal grids. Then you can start adding the fly tipped rubbish from the classic rusty trolley to the bin bags of household rubbish, the numerous bikes and scooters and the odd pram. <br />
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You can catch a trout of 2- 3lb in these rivers and they know every little hole they can hide in. Team work is often essential. With Graeme i had to lift a bicycle off the top of one before it snagged onto a log. Unsnagging it twice it raced 30m downstream before he put a stop to the train. With JT a tangle of the fly line around the reel saw it head into a grated pipe before swimming under a concrete overhanging and line wrapping a concrete pillar. After unsnagging that JT still had a fight on his hands with a feisty fish.<br />
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I have sat in the middle of Manchester in the early mornings, a thick blanket of smoke covered the river from the fires on the moors watching wild brown trout eating terrestrials off the surface. Graffitied walls of old buildings, the mix of red brick and large stone blocks lining the walls of the river. There
are fish here, some would say plenty of them, but in reality there
isn't. 100 fish in a 100m stretch sounds good at first but then they are
all visible and vulnerable in these harsh summer conditions. Often
catching the same fish a couple of times over a year or sometimes in the
same season. Each earning a name by their distinguishable features. The
constant pollution entering the river from misplaced drains and 3rd
world citizens, treating the river as a tip.<br />
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It is impossible for me to protect them, these Greater Manchester trout, as hard as their native citizens. Through thick and thin their daily lives are a struggle. But they perservere and they feed and they grow. They spook at the sight of any human like figure, the sound of a 2mm tungsten bead sends panic into the waters. Pollution, poaching & persecution. Killed because they are 'food' to those to lazy to buy from a store. There is no pride to be found in killing a soldier of a trout, the true pride is to see it slap your hand with its tail as it slips into the foul smelling waters whence it came. To have looked it straight in the eye as you captured it's image in digital history, these fish will no longer be forgotten regardless of their future fate. And all i ask for those who take on these urban adventures whether it be the concrete jungle or the green space just outside of town or in the local park. Bow your head and respect the creature you hold as it won't be there forever and it has lived a harder life than you & me, and boy did i have a hard life.<br />
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<br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-82666448410986076232018-06-17T17:12:00.001-07:002018-06-17T17:12:39.533-07:00Fathers Day Fly Fishing with Emily<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Fishing with a child especially fly fishing is no easy feat. You have the difficulties in transportation around the river which used to be a 100% carry job when Emily first started but now she's 4 shes on her feet in her wellies (anyone know of a decent set of waders that dont break the bank nor have a duck face on for a 4 year old). Now me and Emily have a few secret spots, protected by largely boring unfishable shallow water, high walls, brambles, long walks and 1 access point. Unless you abseil down from the city streets above. This spot however will always hold fish due to it being the only decent pool for a good length of water. How deep it is i don't know but you can catch a fish and disrupt the pool, see nothing go back in the pool and then catch one 10 minutes later.<br /><br />First cast, i lost a fish, about 1lb, instantly got Emily interested so she was up for the next one, klink and dink with a bendles bug below, the river here was largely unaffected by the rain and was only slightly colored. Emilys turn next and she was instantly on to a good trout, it took the klinkhammer off the top and was well hooked. After a fight for 10 minutes and me having to remind Emily how to hold her rod properly during a fight, i mistakenly told her to hold the line as she caused a little too much slack, the fish bolted at this second and snapped off.<br /><br />Several more fish followed, i bagged a nice green colored brownie and a few small fish inbetween we shared between us. We had lost 5 and landed 4 after an hour or so, so decided to just sit down and chill and have dinner. After half or so it was Emilys turn again to fish and after a nervous bow and arrow cast, she really doesnt trust not hooking herself, she was in to a fish.<br /><br />She was quite fortunate this time as it was another big trout though this one didn't go off on fast runs, fighting more like a grayling trying to swim to the bottom it was another long fight of determination. Emily had learned from her earlier mistakes and after a couple of attempts to draw it to the net it was finally landed.A big kill and a cuddle while the fish was in the net and i set her pose up ready for the fish. Fortunately the fish behaved well despite the time to recover and was soon back in the water, Emily releasing it back into its pool.<br /><br />With ground to make up i had a few more casts and caught 2 more fish in 2 casts, both small but regardless we had rounded the day off perfectly with Emilys new PB (22inches) on her, now christened, pink rod and some quality father and daughter time. With my new promotion at work starting on wednesday i'm not sure how it will all coincide with our free time together but hopefully we will be back out on the river again soon.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle"><< You can buy my flies here >></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2TG56JvJwf4c4mkYYSb8JQRJg3VkKEsf40fKPvuGfljY1cudcqK4o_IEidJAogbQbTIogmZzHbo-0L1piVBPYZ0el59J9Pz6QLzIGkX3b7icmtIPLvlznxy1xZBbWqBrAziu51MAmRwC9/s1600/IMG_8364.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2TG56JvJwf4c4mkYYSb8JQRJg3VkKEsf40fKPvuGfljY1cudcqK4o_IEidJAogbQbTIogmZzHbo-0L1piVBPYZ0el59J9Pz6QLzIGkX3b7icmtIPLvlznxy1xZBbWqBrAziu51MAmRwC9/s1600/IMG_8364.JPG" /></a><br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-37061863882083294002018-06-11T03:05:00.002-07:002018-06-11T03:05:56.597-07:00Industrial Browns <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I headed over the hills with Graeme to the home of steel in search of
more urban browns, these industrial power houses had to be somewhere and
we would not be disappointed. The weather was warm and we expected
early rain but in the shadows of derelict mills we kept pretty cool. Our
dull green clothing would probably be more ideal camouflage in wooded
areas than the cold stone walls around us.<br /><br />We spotted a few
browns as we headed down river, the river was clear and very low and
with no cover stealth would be a real issue. However stealth would also
be our saving grace. Opting for similar techniques, Graeme with a foam
indicator with a weightless nymph while myself using a weightless
bendles bug 'under' a Klinkhammer (if it decided to sink). We would use
long range casting to prevent the fish from spooking from our presence
and with no splash on impact other than our fly line, surface movement
was kept to a minimum.<br /><br />Being an experienced urban fisherman you
learn the attitudes of fish in these locations. We went through a couple
of fishy runs and i missed a lone fish, we had seen plenty of juvenile
fish which was very positive and unusual in these vastly urban
environments due to lack of spawning gravel and constant pollution.
Graeme would lead and up ahead lay a riffle section created by a pile of
rubbish in the flow. Graeme cast in to the bottom of this run and
nothing but we both agreed that 2 feet upstream of that cast should be a
fish, and we was right. In these locations you have very little room to
work the fish so the best tactic is to, if possible, keep it downstream
thus not spooking any fish further up. This fish wouldn't pass the
shallow section of the rubbish so was quite controllable despite the
fight it gave, however the fish later on would be much more difficult.<br /><br />In
the next run i had to deal with very still water but the light gear we
was using was the only way to go and it came up trumps. My nymph was
barely sinking but once it was wet it slowly sank and within minutes i
was into a fish. Mine was slightly smaller than Graemes but it gave a
good fight, holding the rod high above my head to prevent it going under
any undercuts in the channels it definitely gave the arm a work out.<br /><br />We
would work our way up slowly and would be catching fish in similar
fashion, some would wait for the nymph to sink fully and some would take
the nymph just as it landed. Fishing under trees it would imitate a bug
falling from the tree as there were very few areas bugs hide under the
surface to to a lack of rocks. The fish were also rising at certain
points and with barely any fly life it must of been purely on bugs from
the trees.<br /><br />We had some pretty funny moments, i had a fish swirl
under my klinkhammer twice, millimetres from it's face while seconds
later one took Graemes foam indicator while another took his nymph at
the same time. The sound of their mouths 'clapping' the surface as they
closed their mouth around whatever they were taking was more enjoyable
when i got my first one on the dry of the day. Klink and dink method
isn't ideal when you need to change depth but it gives you that double
coverage on fish that are both feeding below and on the surface and
having used this technique before on Arthurs club waters on much smaller
fish i knew it was a tactic that worked.<br /><br />The fish we were
catching were all very pretty but the ones with the big red spots really
stood out to us. Being the most colourful thing around other than a
brave kingfisher that might frequent this place it always surprised me.
It bares no advantage to their camouflage but must mean something to the
trout, the dark backs were good enough camouflage alone especially in
the shaded waters.<br /><br />We observed plenty of schooling and
outmuscling of this, usualyy 2 'big' trout with a dozen or so smaller
trout down to a couple of ounces. If one would move out of line the
bigger ones would swim along side it and, basically, side swipe it which
also happened if we had a fish on and it swam past non-spooked fish.<br /><br />In
all we had 20 fish between us of good size and plenty of juvenile fish
to boot, this place if kept protected has a future but like most urban
stretches it is always at risk from humans via poaching and pollution.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle"><< You can buy my flies here >></a><br /><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ilnOgh84J9f9RgzEcFd1yXEv4d0iVfNwTYh_5HtoV-vqnyzmNpfgLXNoNqwjFI-qLYI3oP8vjBKP1eS5FZZccGJfjzWQHxm-b70lX3puKudZL3COmYzGI6P5GXQxchNRKh6AI976f43X/s1600/IMG_8130.JPG" /></div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-8754314916342895472018-06-03T16:21:00.002-07:002018-06-11T03:05:52.028-07:00Is the Irwell making a comeback? Things have been quiet at my end on the blog front for a few week, i have been fishing a couple of times, just on my locals, i found rising fish and were getting well into double figures of them. It was nice to finally get fish on a dry regardless of the size. The size however is still very small. At least they have spawned well but it does make me worry about the bigger ones especially with the increase in poaching. The Irwell at my end, however, has proved to be very poor, missing 1 fish and losing a tiny one in the fast water. However my friend Al Meer offered to take me a little further up river.<br />
<br />
It was the first time i'd met Al in person despite having been on social media for a few years and it was a pleasure to meet and fish with him finally in person. We was fishing still below the pollution in fact not far from where i discovered the pollution incident on that fateful day. Al told me he had only been on this section once before but i can see why he brought me here. The first pool we got to was perfect but being the Irwell and with its complications it wasn't giving in until i finally got an Irwell fish. It was only small as expected, like the ones i had been catching elsewhere but it was a fish. We spotted a lone rise under the tree but the pool didn't live up to it's expectations like it would of done 2 years ago.<br />
<br />
Moving on we found many beautiful runs and some of them were just a little too, bedrocky, but when we found them proper fishy pools where the conditions were right we knew there would be fish. Al opted to choose between a lone nymph or wet fly while i stuck with the klink n dink method to keep the nymph in the narrow foam lines. I had 2 more fish in the next pool, again of small size.<br />
<br />
Al would be the next to catch after a switch to a heavier nymph, the pool we was in was still in a state of autumn, the ground was crisp and brown with seeds and such. I tried the same spot and lost 1 fish and missed a bigger fish at the head of the pool. While Al landed another slightly downstream. <br />
<br />
We explored some more sections but ignored alot of the bed rock runs and alot of it was also inaccessable unless we waded the full length. After catching another small fish we headed back to the car, we had hiked a long way, up steep hills and on narrow paths over steep drops. Reaching the first pool Al let me give it another shot and it was very quiet. So i headed over to the spot i saw the rise a few hours earlier, it was well under a tree with barely a foot between the branches and the water but i cast into the current. The eddy effect pulled my klinkhammer out of the current and into the slower swirling water. Then a big ol' trout hit the dry so fast and hard i bloody jumped and missed setting the hook. Caught off guard at the end of the day, typical but it was a good day regardless for me.<br />
<br />
So how is the Irwell doing. Fly life is increasing, not many big flies
but it is definitely an improvement. Minnows are shoaling up and were
showing an increase in their numbers and also i spotted thousands of
tiny little fry in the shallows showing that at the moment things are
doing ok. The fish will get bigger, the big fish will return even though
some are still there hiding and in time it will be back to how it was.
As long as nothing happens again.<br />
<br />
It was nice to finally catch trout below the pollution. It was great to
meet Al and it was especially enjoyable in the surroundings we were in.
Miles away from anyone. It was a tiring day of exploration for us both
especially in the heat but when your near the river, catching trout
regardless of size, the sound of the river flowing past and the tweets
of a nest of young birds as their mother flies off to find food only
metres away. I sat and watched Al fish, both to rest and to reflect, the
Irwell holds many secrets, it has been punished and tortured but long
before that it would of flourished. Every fallen rock and boulder has
its own story and thankfully they cannot speak of the pain the river has
endured for it be to tortueous for us to hear. There is a time i hope
that everything can be reversed but while money is so easy to take from
us it is hard for the government to spend it on our final wild
frontiers.<br />
<br /><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle"><< You can buy my flies here >></a><br />
<br />
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<br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-76110523070280559782018-05-09T13:17:00.003-07:002018-06-11T03:05:46.073-07:00Fishing with John Tyzack & a sex dungeon<div style="text-align: left;">
With the bank holiday weather at its finest alot of rivers were on there
arse but heavy rain over night and the day prior it was a welcome
addition and i headed out with John Tyzack to search for some big fish
enjoying deeper waters. We drove round a fair bit checking river after
river from bridges but they were all still very low, in the end we opted
for a smaller river which despite low still had some colour running
through it. No idea if anyone had rights to it but it wasnt well
maintained so we presumed not.<br />
<br />
Both with streamers on, Martins
minnows on both i believe, we fished the first pool were we instantly
attracted the interest of a few fish but their takes were sluggish and
we missed both. Moving on up we found another pool, a little trickier
but first cast JT was straight in with a good fish to start. Not a big
fish but a pretty fish, big black spots with an olive oil yellow
underside. Spotting a shoal of chub we gave the rest of the pool amiss
as they were big chub and definitely streamer gobblers.<br />
<br />
Further
up the run i missed a couple after sighting a fish and casting above it i
became tunnel visioned and missed the fish hitting the streamer on the
drop. Silly mistake. JT then managed a better fish, longer but still a
little lean, if this river has been anything like my locals then the
feeding hasnt been great which would explain how lean they were.<br />
<br />
We
soon came to a weir and after my fly dissappeared into the foam a swirl
and a touch of the line i struck into my first and only fish of the
day. It was a nice cock fish, mottled colouring with a funny black mark
either side of its belly i presume from sitting on the bottom. <br />
<br />
At
this point with us fishing the same fly JT switched to a strange
looking fly, the aptly named 'sex dungeon' the action it created in the
water was probably why it was named that. Even as it sunk it looked like
it was swimming the way it swayed.<br />
<br />
The next areas were scarce in
depth but i couldnt reach a pool due to the mud and silt to get their
so i left it to the professional and let JT use his long cast to reach
it, it was perfect and i saw this big trout follow the streamer, as it
reached it JT struck. He wasn't fighting it though so i was shouting
'you've got it you've got a fish' and he was shouting back at me 'no, no
i aint'. i could see the fish slowly swimming away from where it was so
i shouted again 'you've got a fish on' and JT continued 'No, im
snagged' i then realised he was. the fly had snagged just before the
fish took it. <br />
<br />
Further up another deep pool that was hard to
reach JT had a follow of another big trout, he ran out of room on his
pull back so just had to jiggle it in the hope it would take it, it swam
in a circle 3 times before it left it, probably put off by the
shallowing water.<br />
<br />
Things went quiet however, we sighted a few
fish in shallow water but they didnt even turn a head. But when we saw a
rising fish we obviously cast a fly towards it, still the streamer. The
rise was on the left but a trout grabbed it from the right, which we
hadnt anticipated, JT struck just as it opened its mouth pulling the fly
clean out, one issue of casting downstream.<br />
<br />
All wasnt too avail
and after having a few misses by both of us JT pulled a black beauty out
from an under cut, you couldnt see it as it took the fly but you could
as JT struck into it. A dark peaty green back with a dark tinge all the
way down to its 'yellow' underside. It was a lovely fish but again very
lean. They all needed a meal on here.<br />
<br />
As we headed towards the
car we spotted a nice trout sat at the side, i went to cast to it but i
noticed its tail was laid on the bottom and it kept twitching its head.
It looked like it had just been in a fight and had a hook in it. So i
said we should check it out. It was a little surreal, seeing a trout
turn towards you, look you clean in the eye and then just swim to the
side. It had bigger issues to deal with than me. I got it in the net and
me and JT give it the once over, we couldnt see any hooks of any sort.
So we let it go. It then turned belly up so assessing the water, slow
and shallow i hopped back in and waded a few metres upstream to a small
weir were there was more oxygen in the water. We left it there sat
upright which was an improvement but we can only hope it survives. <br />
<br />
Overall
JT showed how even in streamer fishing you can still be adaptable.
Moving on to a slower sinking fly it allowed him to move slower through
the shallower water and it definitely showed.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle"><< You can buy my flies here >></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle" target="_blank"><< You can buy my flies here >></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-88940800455435160572018-04-25T06:46:00.001-07:002018-06-11T03:05:48.517-07:00Good things come to those who wait - Fly Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
With a trip to Wales for my daughters birthday over the weekend, having a
hire car to get me a few places opened up alot of oppurtunities. The
weather would vary across the weekend (Friday - Tuesday) and to start we
headed off as a family to mainly help Emily catch some fish in the nice
weather. </div>
<br />
Unfortunatly the river we got the day ticket for was
teeming with Grayling so my daughter caught a few out of season grayling
and the odd trout. She was limited by where she could fish as she was
fishing from the bank so needed to fish pools which had a bit of depth
or features close in and thankfully we found a natural weir. She hooked
her first fish without even noticing, i thought she was struggling with
her casting so took the rod off her to again show her how to cast and i
realised she had a fish on. Passing it back to her she quickly brought
it in while i netted it.<br />
<br />
The weekend days were all holiday,
zoo's, theme parks, beaches etc we did get to do a bit of crab fishing
which Emily excelled at (Emilys mum losing out despite catching a crab
first) 24' heat on a jetty as a family was a great experience. The end
of the holiday though the weather turned, we had 30' heat on the
Saturday where we went to a zoo but after that it thundered and rained.
Heading back to our caravan as the storm came closer after walking to a
lighthouse. Made it just in time to watch the natural lightshow in the
sky.<br />
<br />
Using the rain as cover i headed on to a river in Wales i
had seen but was unable to find if anyone had rights to it, i didnt see
any signs but i blurred the background anyway incase anyone has a moan
about it! There was a few rises in the rain but i opted for a streamer
first to get a sense of size and boy did i realise it was going to be a
good day. <br />
<br />
First cast a decent fish came up for the streamer
(Martins Smiths Minnow) but i was a little rusty, then i had a nice fish
to start off with. I barely fished 100m but i had missed 3 more fish
and had 2 more, another 18inch trout and a 20inch. I was more than happy
with these but i opted to carry on. The rain was pouring down and the
river was now colored but the next pool gave me the fish to reward me
for all my efforts earlier this season.<br />
<br />
It came up slow, i seen
it turn underneath the fly and i was unsure if it had took it, i struck
anyway and it slowly turned away, then it realised it had been hooked.
It pulled down deep using its weight and i held firm, it turned towards
the nearside bank and i had to reach out in to the river as my rod was
bent right over as i tried to pull it away from the safety of the bank
and it's snaggy trees. I knew it was a decent fish but with my polaroids
being prescription glasses so i can see better it gives a false
impression on sizes and distances. However when it splashed the surface i
realised it must be big, with experience of big fish i have lost and
caught they have a very distrinctive splash. It fought hard but after a
couple of minute i had tired it enough to land safely. With Becky
waiting in the car nearby incase i wasn't allowed to fish here i rung
her to come take a picture and the rest is history.<br />
<br />
It was a
beautiful fish, immaculate condition and so thick from top to bottom. I
was soaked through but it had all become worth it, all the poor days
previous have built up for this moment and thankfully i didn't mess it
up.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle" target="_blank"><< You can buy my flies here >></a></span><br />
<img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWz7e27DdcIcA0RzXc_ArigUO1paFypIUZ1388fhyGV_h5AQoiwJiTPuva9XcZSJ_GH4q3z9Mh9-wMnwKm1D-Jz63siu-8DCNeQqZEOBiIdyRwspolZW5IBFMNPh3L382eNWC3-ZGx8rdq/s1600/31198225_838508683013847_1824507639_off.jpg" /><br />
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-11076966352069654062018-04-14T18:34:00.004-07:002018-04-14T18:34:56.923-07:00In the middle of the hatch - Fly Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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14th April<br /><br />It was another late start in the day, with my
daughters first swimming lesson in the morning and the river charts
showing them slowly subsiding after a steep rise in river level i was
apprehensive of what condition the river might be in. Though as it came
to half 11 i decided to go have a go. The weather had warmed up nicely
so i knew there should be a 12 o clock hatch and after the ardious walk
to the river i found myself in the thick of a of blue winged olives,<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> paraleptophlebia adoptiva, and black hawthorn flies, bibio marci.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
hatch was probably the strongest i have seen on the river since i
started fly fishing, you could see them bouncing on the surface, taking
flight, crawling on the inside of my cap and the inside of my polaroids.
I'm quite insensitive to them being on my skin, though the odd one did
go in my eye and i'm sure i ate a few. But there was one thing missing,
rises. The river was up yes, but it still had good clarity and had
plenty of areas for rises to happen. Nothing. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The first hour was
tough, with the higher river level the water slapping sound made me
think fish were rising that i couldnt see in the current so i was
constantly chopping and changing my set up, from duo to dry fly.
Nothing. Extra weight, nothing. So i moved downstream after an hour or
so and found a secluded pool, first cast, fish, it wasn't big but it
would turn out to be the biggest of the day. The fish gradually grew
smaller and smaller. They were a pleasure to catch, infact it was the
type of fishing me and Graeme had been chasing last week. I did bounce
of something bigger and did have the line indicator shoot off twice but
as i was using my dry fly reel the long range casting with the nymphs
meant it had let go by the time the strike had fed through the line. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
little trout caused issues with their frantic flapping, causing a rerig
on each one but it reassured me that the trout were managing to spawn
successfully at least. It did however also make me think were the bigger
ones were and why were they still not feeding on dries. I have had
plenty of good fish on dries in March/April over the years but not one
yet with barely a rise anywhere. The small trout were all in the right
places though, in calm pockets behind big rocks in the main flow, or
just alongside the main current in the channels. The size of the fish,
especially the last one kind of showed me the big fish were not there,
as i have caught fish on streamers bigger than that.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span><br />Below is my trusted Bendles bug and a few of the fish i had today, below them (the biggers ones) are fish i have on dries earlier or around this time over the past couple of seasons.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle" target="_blank"><< You can buy my flies here >></a></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeUyhHy4UthY6YVAYCWKVEz8h7sZZN1bNtpKl1F5BOhz-0UMGnFNEPwk_8a0e4iQDstquLzYdcSrQqChpPsp-a3AgLQlAP4tyBNLp4Cgfb-wLOO13sOYzuIHhNxcrkmPecrmUI0wgj7_wG/s1600/bendles+bug.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeUyhHy4UthY6YVAYCWKVEz8h7sZZN1bNtpKl1F5BOhz-0UMGnFNEPwk_8a0e4iQDstquLzYdcSrQqChpPsp-a3AgLQlAP4tyBNLp4Cgfb-wLOO13sOYzuIHhNxcrkmPecrmUI0wgj7_wG/s1600/bendles+bug.jpg" /></a><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdAm87kch0nrJXWdx-0N7UEURkcAyMYIJKPK4viPdmo6mFIOa-LuR6cAJ6A6hrBFxrEZoPPL05QDeZNeqSmoPzF3Tv_4r9eo2f3hlPUu3etvsAwKOGYNqkAWsy7FcuXL_Ug2jvWuYVGJ0/s640/IMG_7243.JPG" width="640" /></div>
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-69384331521506358552018-04-09T06:06:00.004-07:002018-04-09T06:06:38.726-07:00The 'perfect' day for fishing? - Fly Fishing8th April<br />
<br />
Well it finally came, the perfect day for fishing, how? i do not know considering the rain the day before, it somehow didnt affect the river levels nor the clarity. The weather was warm and overcast which opened up into breaks of sunshine, it was dry fly weather, so as i was off out with Graeme i only took my dry fly rod.<br />
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Our intentions were to catch alot of fish, not big fish, though a bonus they would be, so we headed to a river we have fished and had plenty of action. Why? The start of the season had been rough, temperatures and weather ruining the limited days we get to go fishing, the cold waters seemed barren and cold, with little fly life and plenty of signs of poaching over the winter. We won't know if the poaching has taken effect until mid season when we get an idea of our catch counts. But in comparison to last year, i ended todays session with my 8th fish while this time last year i had already caught 19, with the april storm bringing the river levels way up and with the irwell pollution incident thrown in the middle of that for good measure.<br />
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With my total for the year being only 8 you can probably guess the plan for alot of small fish didn't go to plan. The first hour was awfully quiet, fishy looking pools going by silently, eventually i found a trout in a shallow run, small as expected but we thought that would be it. As we continued we found more evidence of poaching, all of them next to the best looking pools. Graeme missed a nice fish for this river and we headed up into more precarious waters were access was limited to the water level. Holding on to the cracks of a sheer cliff that had worn away over thousands of years as edged round a deep drop off we found a nice pool which held a couple of fish, but we only managed to land 3 of them between us.<br />
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Upstream a few more pools were quiet and coming up to 12 o clock the hatch i predicted occured. The hatch on my locals isnt spectacular but it always brings plenty of rises, except today. Nothing, the surface of the water lay motionless bar the ripple of a tire breaking the surface, or a sanitary towel berg swinging off a tree. <br />
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We upped sticks and moved off to another river in the hope it would come up trumps too, but again it didn't. With evidence of peculiar behaviour on the rivers our hopes were dashed again but after seeing a rise after an hour or so there i immediately pulled out the dries. It rose again as i was tying on, sat under a over hanging bush i cast in between, i watched an olive land on the surface and the trout rose up beneath and sucked it in, 12 inches above my dry, it had gone further into the bush, i edged my fly inch by inch further upstream under the bush into a small alcove of branches but on the 3rd cast i snagged a branch and had to break my dry off, the moving branches scared the fish off so Graeme helped me recover my fly.<br />
<br />Eventually though after switching back to a klink and dink i found a
small trout, were it should of been, but where were the rest of them. In
hope of it being because of the poor temperatures at the start of
spring affecting the fishing rather than the astronomical amount of
poaching that has clearly been occuring. I will return here again, to
compare, in hope it was just an off day for the fish on a perfect day
for dry fly fishing.<br /><br />
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<span id="goog_80776579"></span><span id="goog_80776580"></span>David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-82569756414008674462018-03-21T16:11:00.001-07:002018-03-21T16:20:23.071-07:00Start of the trout season - 2018<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">March 21st 2018</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">It had been a long time coming, and for me somewhat delayed. With a bad back delaying my first trip back on the river after 5 1/2 month it was almost delayed again, but come 2pm i was fed up of been a cripple and decided to just hack it out and get out there.<br /><br />By 3pm i was on the river and set up. Within minutes i was into my first fish of the year, i was fishing with 2 nymphs, a dark brown Bendle Bug with black dubbing, and a white Bendle Bug without dubbing. The first fish had taken the point fly, the Brown one, it was a soft take and i thought i had snagged the bottom for a split second. It fought hard and pulled my rod tip to the surface of the water a few times, it wasn't a big trout but it had fight in it. jumping 3 times it was an enjoyable start to the season. The trout was quite marked, showing it had survived cormorant attacks in its life, no wonder it fought so well!</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bi53lL0w8PoEkctPZEA0K-S-YTnKFmJkcfqYzEcMDzTizsd6YjMHvZI7rk1HFXD6YcnH995b-uvYGkzjNDTf-Nca69_gkiNpz6xPEye3re-rN2Cvc-Wmz0QPGTjXqRHcOrJRPKmdwVb3/s1600/IMG_7068.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bi53lL0w8PoEkctPZEA0K-S-YTnKFmJkcfqYzEcMDzTizsd6YjMHvZI7rk1HFXD6YcnH995b-uvYGkzjNDTf-Nca69_gkiNpz6xPEye3re-rN2Cvc-Wmz0QPGTjXqRHcOrJRPKmdwVb3/s1600/IMG_7068.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Within a couple more casts i was in again, this was smaller but fought well for it's size once again, opting to stay deep this time it allowed me to change the drag settings on my nymphing reel, i have had several nymphing reels and i had another one break on me back when i was out with Mike. So i replaced it with a Maxcatch reel. Felt ok, nothing like my wychwood reel i use for dry fly but it doesn't need to be fancy for nymphing. The trout was very pale and washed out, but was in perfect condition. A sparrow hawk was circling above during the fight which was a nice sight to see.</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYE_sKjInTFB7WvtCS3-B8CiD7C33fel9MGbE9cu-EpqW6HY6BWjBK5AA-faijvCOxUn96dIkFMS9ge03xOpNemv4oceJhxCqdw9A74yhY6v3XlS_E3wDgexMNYwZUe0awISgiMiuPfcd/s1600/IMG_7071.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYE_sKjInTFB7WvtCS3-B8CiD7C33fel9MGbE9cu-EpqW6HY6BWjBK5AA-faijvCOxUn96dIkFMS9ge03xOpNemv4oceJhxCqdw9A74yhY6v3XlS_E3wDgexMNYwZUe0awISgiMiuPfcd/s1600/IMG_7071.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEyL_gtfgIT5q7YREjUMiSsR358tEa5GFb4WBVGjAPQ8teyZdwYje3SveGFIaB8pC8KmoUjfodF0oodeDSQm5t5i4T8Y-NG-FSsEKLFSChRthlE421dzPjco3bUvcJ6xjOMvDv4qx8tlP/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEyL_gtfgIT5q7YREjUMiSsR358tEa5GFb4WBVGjAPQ8teyZdwYje3SveGFIaB8pC8KmoUjfodF0oodeDSQm5t5i4T8Y-NG-FSsEKLFSChRthlE421dzPjco3bUvcJ6xjOMvDv4qx8tlP/s1600/1.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The 3rd and final trout came 3 casts after the release of that, and i knew straight away it was the biggest so far. It fought hard and fast, jumped half a dozen times and made me think i was hooking into september fish based on just how hard they were fighting. It took 2 attempts to net as it spooked the first time when the net came close but i was pleased with myself that i was no longer losing jumping fish, remembering to dip my rod each time they jumped. 18in it measured at the net. The sparrow hawk landed in a tree opposite as i removed the hook and took a quick picture. </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZxcJ_quqvNCiQ4gddsn-Vz09aatRp1YisfYMQ473-KvpeAIJcWWgYJ06i5bTlfsKOGhB4ZmgmR5vJlJ5oBuasRutPl8b2suPkaQG_lBi0CAj5fZDDFpWOs6_lku0ykDXWxIHzBMffY4a/s1600/IMG_7079.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZxcJ_quqvNCiQ4gddsn-Vz09aatRp1YisfYMQ473-KvpeAIJcWWgYJ06i5bTlfsKOGhB4ZmgmR5vJlJ5oBuasRutPl8b2suPkaQG_lBi0CAj5fZDDFpWOs6_lku0ykDXWxIHzBMffY4a/s1600/IMG_7079.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiub6XutoV5KhIjPOnv3wqEkpVsmtQPy4jyFSEOPALjHZObddmNzBqOBLh_Yho25uGBaPReBjhDrxriBkoLrEz_a_f5qxcuvJ3U2yYDBlcxpN3FqeZldZQbpdCzVkwYzJz7pxV32y62Kmyw/s1600/IMG_7083.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiub6XutoV5KhIjPOnv3wqEkpVsmtQPy4jyFSEOPALjHZObddmNzBqOBLh_Yho25uGBaPReBjhDrxriBkoLrEz_a_f5qxcuvJ3U2yYDBlcxpN3FqeZldZQbpdCzVkwYzJz7pxV32y62Kmyw/s1600/IMG_7083.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I noticed the temperature had significantly dropped in this short period of time as i was now cold, i had come out in just a jacket and light t-shirt and felt ok until that point. It would be a bad omen too as the next 2/3 hours would go by without another touch of a fish. I could of easily called it a day earlier but i was determined to get more and get used to fishing again, it still didnt feel natural and it was good to get some air and give my back some moderate exercise. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNy0P0HrJnuOsDs2P10Hpaof8n3rpOhxxZOFsEgaYxQHwZLSSOaR7WMoOK8l_M1gz6G4JJSCMNELZYWt-Cz0oiVknbWtz-Rb3xcZ4jdyncRvOuS8eoomERdmcYbtJmdhNryIZox0reMwE/s1600/IMG_7065.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNy0P0HrJnuOsDs2P10Hpaof8n3rpOhxxZOFsEgaYxQHwZLSSOaR7WMoOK8l_M1gz6G4JJSCMNELZYWt-Cz0oiVknbWtz-Rb3xcZ4jdyncRvOuS8eoomERdmcYbtJmdhNryIZox0reMwE/s1600/IMG_7065.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAyBpXTSPuKbg76nbTnT8J7VUY_F47AL3n1d9EtXpksF3WdAgwxJyU2lUvYSiBwCWLCRuR5EDpBQqpaag7RsKIyNHUr9s3BQ1jC0tzj09uuT2OMijqGorkniajQqtKKzdkychdmUy1BOU/s1600/IMG_7082.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAyBpXTSPuKbg76nbTnT8J7VUY_F47AL3n1d9EtXpksF3WdAgwxJyU2lUvYSiBwCWLCRuR5EDpBQqpaag7RsKIyNHUr9s3BQ1jC0tzj09uuT2OMijqGorkniajQqtKKzdkychdmUy1BOU/s1600/IMG_7082.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bendles Bug - Sawyers Bug</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bendles Bug - Dark Brown</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle" target="_blank"><< You can buy my flies here >></a></span>David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-2239214578613637142018-01-03T06:24:00.001-08:002018-01-05T03:56:48.260-08:002017 - The year the Irwell 'died' and new rivers uncovered their secrets.<h2>
2017</h2>
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Years are remembered for different thing, you look back in the past and
you mention a year and the memorable events that happened that year, and
depending on your interests, certain dates stand out more than others.
When it comes down to my local river, The Irwell, it has it's own little
timeline. 2015 for example will be remembered for the boxing day floods
and 2017 will probably remembered for the Irwell pollution incident.<br />
<br />
The
year for me however didn't start like that. It all started back in
February where myself and Mike France had been planning on a Grayling
trip in Wales, however the weather hampered us with heavy winds and rain
leaving the river high and brown. We had still ventured to Wales just
incase it was fishable but eventually ended up on a fishery there.
Having never fished on a fishery before it was a different experience,
fun none the less and a small observation i made here helped me on the
rivers later in the season.<br />
<br />
After a trip on the old river and one
more grayling change before the trout season opened i was back on the
Irwell in familiar territory and was surprised by the lack of fish
caught. The river level had dropped but was still murky but with nothing
on nymph until the very end of the stretch i wasn't sure if i was just
out of form. However the last pool i fished had several fish rising
heavily and i caught and landed all but one which snagged me round a
rock and pulled free before i could reach it.<br />
<br />
That day was the
sign i had missed. The fish had been feeding heavily on dries due to the
pollution incident hidden in the murky waters, with the third highest
river level of 2017 at 3.28m (behind 3.38m and 3.48m), happening the day
after i had been on the Irwell alot of evidence would no doubt have
been washed away. 'Luckily' 2 weeks later on my return to the same spot
with my daughter the evidence was undoubtedly clear. I didn't go fishing
for another 2 weeks. Once in 5 weeks, especially at the start of the
season, is unheard of for me. With another one happening not long after
that i was back out fishing mainly to see what affect it had had on the
river. Fishing just above confluences of the Irwell then heading on to
the Irwell i would catch fish on the tributary but not on the Irwell bar
the odd decent sized fish. They were surviving on minnows. <br />
<br />
Across
the year i fished on the Irwell below the source of the pollution 3
times, i caught 3 fish. In comparison to last year when i was primarily
fishing the Irwell i had 249 Trout in 28 trips. Thats a decrease of
around 90%. If you put into account time spent fishing and the distances
fished then it would be higher as i would usually go home after a good
couple of fish.<br />
I fished upstream of the pollution once this season
and got 4 fish. That was more fish in one day than i had on the Irwell
in 3 days, across a couple of hundred metres of uncharted water, and it
should of been more had i had them take the dry as often as they rose.<br />
<br />
However
the pollution helped me meet Graeme Barber, also affected by the
pollution on the Irwell, we soon were out on different rivers each time
looking for new waters to fish, find out what was hiding in long lost
sections of river. I learned how to streamer fish effectively thanks to
both John Tyzack and Graeme. I took my daughter out more and she became a
such a strong little angler. I also managed to have one last trip out
with Mike before work took a hold of his time but discovered a new go to
fly for my fly box. The 'Bendles Bug'. I enjoyed days out catching
small trout with Arthur Hamer and helping him catch a PB for himself. I got stuck knee deep in silt and fell in the river 3 times. Not the best when you can't swim but all good fun! <br />
<br />
Now,
mine and Graemes explorations took us on both good and bad rivers
across the Greater Manchester area and sometimes beyond. On some rivers
our fish would average 2lb+ but the amount of small fish would be
worryingly small, while on some rivers the amount of small fish was
astronomical. It didn't matter to us, we did love the big trout, but we
enjoyed catching any fish even a small perch on a streamer. Sometimes
just seeing the fish on the sections of river we explored was a good
sign, thus maybe a little frustrating especially on the Medlock.<br />
<br />
Come
the end of May i caught my PB trout at 25inches, my daughter was the
filmographer and camera lady for that one. I cast to a rising fish for
it to be a small trout, only to find a fish still rising in the same
spot. It would a beautiful wild brownie and what better more to share
that moment with my daughter who turns out can take a decent picture at
3.<br />
<br />
Our explorations took us into dark under city tunnels and
drains. Into rag filled rivers and alongside rubbish tips. We visited
the ugliest areas of river you could imagine, but the trout that lived
among it would be some of the best marked fish we would see. We visited
beautiful sections of river, all wild and grassy, trees over hanging and
would blank. The rivers around Manchester are fish no book can tell you
how to catch, only experience from doing it will help you catch. I saw
the same big trout 6 or 7 times this year, in the same spot doing the
same thing. Could i catch it? No. Is it a PB? More than likely.<br />
<br />
<br />
As
the season came to an end it had been a good year overall, but a bad
year for the Irwell. I will no doubt go to my usual haunt with Graeme to
see if the fish have recovered even partly. But we also have 100 more
spots to try on other rivers that we still haven't explored. Our map of
the urban rivers around us is growing after seeing what fish live in it
has made us want to explore even more water that you just wouldn't think
something lived there. Don't get me wrong, some rivers were exactly
that, or at least them sections. <br />
<br />
I ended the year typically and how it had began. With Mike France chasing Grayling. It was snowing at this point though. Reaching the river it was a call to the EA, an riverwide oil like slick covering the surface. Thankfully it went after half hour or so but it shows us how much of it goes by unnoticed.<br />
<br />
Looking at the stats for the
years catches, i caught 157 fish on new or distant rivers. 75 of them
being Grayling. But my overall catch rate dropped to 6.1 across the
year, the lowest since i started fishing back in 2015. That being a
mixture of the Irwell failing and new sections of river not living up to
their expectations. Throw that in there with the fact i caught 30 in
one trip shows how hard it has been despite all the positives. I haven't
caught a single minnow all season, i had caught 38 in 2 years, but not
one in 2017. I have seen them in small numbers and small size. But they
are there and will hopefully recover next season. <br />
<br />
What will 2018
bring? Well hopefully no more pollution, well i should rewrite that, no
more pollution that has a negative affect on the rivers populations.
Whether it be plant, fish or insect. (Unless it <b>just</b> kills
hogweed, knotweed and balsam). My daughter has a new pink fly rod, a new
pink fly reel thanks to Michael Duddy. New wellies and a pink
waterproof coat. I need to tie her some pink and purple flies and get
her a pink fly line and she's sorted for the season. I myself haven't
thought about what i am going to do this season my concentrations have
been on where. I think i will buy a small kick sample kit to test and
mark results down each time i go. It will possibly help detect pollution
events that i may have missed had not all the cray fished died. <br />
<br /><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle" target="_blank">Buy my flies <<Click Here>></a><br /><br />
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David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-14793243312114432352017-10-22T10:45:00.001-07:002017-10-22T10:45:45.708-07:00Back on the Grayling - Fly Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a tough year chasing trout and scouting new rivers due to a polluted Irwell it has been a tough year despite some very good fish caught. I do love a big trout but in all honesty i would happily catch small trout forever on a healthy river than one big trout on a river barely hanging on. <br />
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But with the trout season over and without a rod in my hand for 3 weeks, Graeme decided to treat me with a trip out to see some lady friends. That's right, Grayling! So off we went early doors as i had to be home before 5 as the Mrs was going out in the evening and we was lucky enough to have good weather. The river level was up but dark and clear and look immaculate on arrival. Bar the 2.4 million leaves it should of been a good day! <br />
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In fairness it was a good day, being a private water it was well kept and we was pulling plenty of fish out along the whole stretch, despite being behind 3 other anglers! With a mixture of banter and fish to go with it was a much needed rise in morale for the long cold winter ahead. We would likely come here again when all the leaves had fallen as they were becoming a problem as the wind picked up during the day.<br />
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On another day we could have easily hit triple figures but being behind 3 other anglers made it tough but we still managed 60 between us, around a dozen out of season trout making an appearance. Nothing big showing unfortunately but fun none the less!<br />
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<br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832361136835832502.post-46827719877355237492017-10-01T10:37:00.002-07:002017-10-01T10:37:35.779-07:00The Last Trout of the Year - Fly Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2>
24th September</h2>
It was a bright Sunday morning and with a cancelled trip with Mike due to work commitments i had bounced around with several rivers in mind to fish. It was a toss up between something potentially big and possibly blank or lots of little fish which should hold big fish but i hadn't fished enough there.<br /><br />Reaching the river there wasn't much signs of life so i set up with a searching pattern with my nymphs under a klinkhammer, this especially helps as the bottom is 100% snag city. After running it through the first 15 metres and signs of nothing i popped on a streamer and had 4 chases but only one touch. Continuing on i switched back to the klinkhammer set up, using my slate colored nymph, and was greeted by the wake of a rise. I sat and watched for a short while to see if it was a rise of a leaf and sure enough another rise came up. As i crept up almost on my knees i could see 2 trout looking towards and inlet. The rising fish had been in the top of the main pool and i know a big fish lives here. Based on the size of fish i have had on this river i would say it was easily 4 as it dwarfed the 3lbers. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpx79tHRMds8Norj9C_Pi8PG720sA6NDjguJThre7ldOD7MdBhngMWHMdkMw3MCQBLeMx6pVOBxLfekT0ecKQ5nbCVBmgyzCQPp8ZQsUhFO_sYYV0-WFeDIzUwBIW9XeOyfOpuGon9al8/s1600/IMG_5822.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="424" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpx79tHRMds8Norj9C_Pi8PG720sA6NDjguJThre7ldOD7MdBhngMWHMdkMw3MCQBLeMx6pVOBxLfekT0ecKQ5nbCVBmgyzCQPp8ZQsUhFO_sYYV0-WFeDIzUwBIW9XeOyfOpuGon9al8/s200/IMG_5822.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My slate colored nymph</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I flicked the nymph using a bow and arrow cast to cause minimal rod flash and let it drift downstream, the klinkhammer slipped under and i struck into it. It was a nice fish. I fought hard to keep the fish in the pool, i know there are multiple snags everywhere so you have to keep the fish in a neutral position. They don't get this big without knowing all the escape routes. After a couple of minutes i eventually got it to netting distance only for my net to snag on the bottom. Thankfully it was a quick snag and i quickly netted it on the second attempt. It was a very fat trout, the fattest i have had all year, i struggled to support it on my hand in my signature pose before it slipped off and into the river it went. Luckily i managed a quick picture.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3REqni15K5Mu4YrqHGt_teKkiuPdqtd5FANTWVT5ZshTCi6LaOzodVqZh5Bo6HCm9J_NvPJWDJ80SGuehxOIhLZlXDltwxiRFd6icLelhbBew7PIfA4tFEyRi8iLdYq3eUfZqpI6LkIwT/s1600/21751558_10212301510067400_64590684934770932_nw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3REqni15K5Mu4YrqHGt_teKkiuPdqtd5FANTWVT5ZshTCi6LaOzodVqZh5Bo6HCm9J_NvPJWDJ80SGuehxOIhLZlXDltwxiRFd6icLelhbBew7PIfA4tFEyRi8iLdYq3eUfZqpI6LkIwT/s1600/21751558_10212301510067400_64590684934770932_nw.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Moving on up i stalked 2 large chub in a couple of inches of water under a branch. A perfect bow and arrow flick under the branch and i saw the first chub open its mouth for the nymph, i struck just as the second went for the klinkhammer and i missed them both! That would of been a very interesting double hook up! With fish rising i checked the water to see what they were eating, these big sedge like flies, easily an inch in size. I could see a couple of rises and i cast upstream towards them, a large trout came up off the bottom and sipped the fly, i struck but it had already rejected it!<br /><br />Removing the nymph from underneath incase that was the reason it rejected it, a large trout swam downstream next to me. It was easily a couple of pound and it sat under my rod tip, the white of its mouth opening as it ate nymphs. i stood still for 15 minutes watching it, trying not to spook it, it even took a dry off the top right next to my rod tip before eventually swimming back upstream. I tested my knots as i prepared to cast and on the first cast it took it. It shot off like a steam train and the 5# rod was no match, it bent right over and flattened out putting the full strain on the line. 11 seconds on the camera it took for it to snap me off. 11 seconds of adrenaline. 11 seconds of pain. <br /><br />The fish went quiet after that, there had been alot of commotion in the water and with visibility near perfect they were very aware of my presence now. So i headed upstream. Things went very quiet for a while, maybe an hour or 2 before i spotted a fish. Nothing showing on both nymphs and streamers in between. This was another decent fish, i had seen a small swirl and crept up on it, keeping as close to the centre line behind it to avoid it seeing me in the corner of its eye i still lowered my profile right down and bow and arrow cast it, probably 15 feet. It took it straight away and it launched itself a couple of feet out of the water, this was another good fish and it was trying all the tricks in the book. One thing i didn't account for was the new snag in the river, a large piece of cling film like material about 20 foot long lay on the river bed. It snagged up in there and i waded up on it. The fish was still full of fight and was only restricted by the snag. Stupidly i thought that giving the fish a chance to fight would feel better to me especially being the last day of the season, so i untangled it from the snag rather than netting it. It slipped the hook and buggered off. It took me a minute or so to really realise what had happened as i was still to busy removing the snag. I felt a little stupid.<br /><br />3 more fish were caught in similar fashion, smaller than the previous ones but beautiful fish none the less. It felt good that despite being 6ft 8 i had proven all day how stealthy i could be, i'm like a hairy heron! It was a good day to finish the season, though i could of had bigger fish, it was still a fun and well earned day. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/d_bendle" target="_blank">Buy my flies <<Click Here>></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-LnzBG1X-R3urrdEckd8rja8kthWbhZEAQH2eDi9k5jRRtBzhbInx9c1UfT6Wj5IRUtDlZV__If-9CMr3NBlJI9VZDhWw8gpaq9S89u7iAoBLxbSL1qL4XLQ_yHVdWwxQLb491KYFZeS/s1600/21751558_10212301510067400_64590684934770932_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-LnzBG1X-R3urrdEckd8rja8kthWbhZEAQH2eDi9k5jRRtBzhbInx9c1UfT6Wj5IRUtDlZV__If-9CMr3NBlJI9VZDhWw8gpaq9S89u7iAoBLxbSL1qL4XLQ_yHVdWwxQLb491KYFZeS/s1600/21751558_10212301510067400_64590684934770932_n.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDk_TMyozKqRjy9xS4rz0e-aYiuBfaocEAh9s8D0ik5bpNcLEMIangvvUEnpGD0MCbGr-8i39vSzkaY0T6XlGCQS2US1vvfBeKzAwKWR08AgoJgN_j3o_kLNbMK1gJd4s1d_ba_aPn_f3q/s1600/alien.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDk_TMyozKqRjy9xS4rz0e-aYiuBfaocEAh9s8D0ik5bpNcLEMIangvvUEnpGD0MCbGr-8i39vSzkaY0T6XlGCQS2US1vvfBeKzAwKWR08AgoJgN_j3o_kLNbMK1gJd4s1d_ba_aPn_f3q/s1600/alien.jpg" /></a><br /><br />David Bendlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085958585411230196noreply@blogger.com1