Fly Fishing anyone catching

[DownSouth]

I saw a Gilbey fly fishing for Pike on Chew Valley not so long ago from a boat. He had a guide with him. The 'fly's' were huge and they were catching some big pike.

Wouldn't mind a go at that myself. Do you know how much a guide will cost for the day on Chew Valley OS?

[Old Smoothound]

Hi Pross,

7/8 weight sounds fine for Chew and Blagdon.

I fished Chew today in a match of the fly dressers guild and it fished well. Most Rainbows came in the early part of the day. They are not far down in the water..... 8 - 12" when we had cloud cover, but they went down in the brighter sunshine. Trout don't have eyelids so the only way they can get out of the bright light is to go deeper in the water.

Water clarity is the key, if you dip your rod in and can still see the tip at say 2/3 of a 9' rod clarity is 6' therfore fish will be below this level, its a good trick to find feeding depths sometimes.

Chew is 1,200 acres and average depth is 14'...... Blagdon is 540 acres and average depth is 11', I prefer Blagdon personally.

All my fish came to dry flies today.... red hoppers, amber bob's bits, black drac fly and fluo orage headed hare's ear. Most fish had been feeding on small red buzzers and Daphnia (water fleas) Fluo orage flies are a safe bet for Daphnia feeding Bows.
One member caught a huge Brownie of 5lb 11ozs!!

Some questions:

Please describe the make of reel you have and make of rod... does it flex from the tip to middle or just the tip?

Do you just false cast or do you single or double haul the fly line?

Do you know how much line you have arealised when you cast and is it a weight forward line or double taper?

If you want some help just send me a private e-mail and we can discuss casting technique and your style of casting further if you want.

[Old Smoothound]

Hi Downsouth,

I know the Gilbey Video must have been a good guide he had. I Fly fish and guide for Pike on Chew Valley. The Pike flies are big... but not always!

At early part of the season, they feed on roach fry about 2-3 inches long so your flies have to "match the Hatch" later in in the season the fry have grown say 4-6 inches very late in the year you are looking at 6-8 inch flies.

But I have caught Pike on a fly called a Booby which is a floating fly with big bulbous eyes either side of the eye of the hook. We fish these on a sinking line and the fly "wobbles" through the water and Trout and Pike attack them as it annoys the hell out of them!

Last season i caught 2 12lb Pike from a Boat in two Casts using a fly not even an inch long and Coral Pink!! I was fishing for Rainbows at the time and caught them by accident. So size doesn't always matter!!!

Largest Pike I have caught from Chew is 38lbs 6ozs early in the season. All big Pike are females and i have seen one dead on the shoreline... died of old age... circa 40lbs plus, they need to be treated with respect as big Pike don't recover from being caught easily and hooking mats and careful handling are a must.
Pike are not easy to catch just like Big Bass they are not easily fooled!

If you want a guide for Chew Valley Lake then send me an e-mail as i don't tout for business on Forums!

[Ben]

sounds like fly fishing could be quite fun

[Fishman]

Hi Richard,
I have been fishing now for over forty years, mostly light tackle with a spinning reel. About three years ago my brother gave a fly rod for Christmas. I have not picked up that light tackle rod since. I love fly fishing.

[Old Smoothound]

Originally Posted by Fishman

Hi Richard,
I love fly fishing.

Good for you mate, its a shame more fly fishing guys don't post on the Forum.

Let us know how you get on with your fly fishing.

Do you fish Rivers, Lakes, Reservoirs or Saltwater?
Brownies, Rainbows, Grayling or Salmon/Sea Trout?

I do a fair bit of Reservoir and River Fishing with a good helping of Saltwater when I can.... So much fishing not enough time to do it!

Cheers
Shaun

[kiwimarty]

Old Smoothie,
This is one style of fishing I would dearly love to try, but seems so unobtainable to me.
Must get intouch with you sometime. Bristol only an hour and a half away.
Could learn so much from someone like yourself which I believe is the key to success.

Regards.

Kiwi.

[Old Smoothound]

Originally Posted by kiwimarty

Old Smoothie,
This is one style of fishing I would dearly love to try, but seems so unobtainable to me.
Must get intouch with you sometime. Bristol only an hour and a half away.
Could learn so much from someone like yourself which I believe is the key to success.

Regards.

Kiwi.

No problem Kiwi, just PM me and will talk.
For someone who has obvious links to the Land of the Long White Clouds.... Mecca of Fly Fishing.... etc ..... Love to go there before I pop me clogs! Rotarua and all that.... you should give it a try!

Cheers
Shaun

[Fishman]

Hi Shaun,
I fly fish mostly streams and creeks. I like fishing trout and bass. Some day I would like to try some saltwater fly fishing.


Bob

[Old Smoothound]

Originally Posted by Fishman

Hi Shaun,
I fly fish mostly streams and creeks. I like fishing trout and bass. Some day I would like to try some saltwater fly fishing.


Bob

Hi Bob,

I will be posting something on Fly Fishing for bass in the near future..... so watch the space on the best Fishing Forum on the Net!!

Cheers
Shaun