Trout Fisherman - Issue 416

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Tf i feature

Grafham Water:

Evolution of tactics and flies since 1966

Since opening in the most famous year in English football, things have changed at Grafham. Rob Edmunds explains

W

HEN Grafham Water opened in 1966 few could imagine the effect it would have on fly-fishing.

Game angling was now available to the average person at affordable prices, not just for the well-off. It’s fair to say that methods and flies have changed dramatically over the years, probably because there have been more thinking anglers able to participate in the sport.

This is a brief look back at the significant changes that can be attributed directly to Grafham Water.

In order to write this article (as I wasn’t born until 1973 – the year Rutland opened it’s doors) and provide accurate information, I’ve had to get back in touch with old friends who were there at the time.

Anglers like Phil Caress who fished Grafham from boat and bank when things were still in their infancy.

I’m told that one of the favourite patterns on Grafham during the early years was a White Baby Doll, or a Tandem White Baby Doll, devised in 1971 by Brian Kench originally for fishing at Ravensthorpe. It quickly became a firm favourite with the Midlands anglers and the short journey from Ravensthorpe to Grafham was inevitable.

Fished deep on a sinking line, it is taken for fry and proved very effective towards the end of the season when

trout bulk up for winter on a diet of baitfish.

Brian Kench is quoted to have said that he uses a “new” Baby Doll on each day’s fishing, believing that it’s the bright clean ‘white’ look that is the key to its success.

Although effective, the pattern didn’t really have the movement that modern anglers now come to accept. The fly relied on its profile, colour and the skills of the angler to induce the fish into taking. It was only a matter of time before it was superseded.

Shortly afterwards ( just a year later) Bob Church revolutionised fly-tying in my opinion when, in 1972, he created the Appetiser.

Trout fisherman

It was designed to resemble the roach fry in Grafham and was used by himself and close friends to target the large fryfeeders that were making the water so popular.

To my knowledge it’s the first time that marabou was used in the wing of a modern lure so providing movement never seen before. To this day it remains one of my favourite patterns at fry feeding time and has accounted for

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some simply huge bags of fish. struggled. It was inevitable Dave Barker again changed that the method leaked out the way we fish when he and it was soon adopted by created the first Minkie - a fry the Bristol anglers where it pattern that had the correct proved equally effective on the profile and movement yet relatively shallow Chew Valley could be fished with an ultraLake. As a result, the patterns slow figure-of-eight that was became known as ‘Bristol often required to tempt the Hoppers’. more wary, larger Another modern dry specimens. In that is now widely 1992 Dave used used by anglers the pattern to The Bob’s Bits in a vast array dry fly great effect of colours was when he created for captured Grafham. The the still Bob’s Bits is current a creation by Grafham dry fly expert record Bob Worts. He rainbow of 13lb originally tied it as 13oz on a Minkie a small green dry to from the Harbour. imitate a hatch of green It’s not just lures that have midge prominent on Grafham been developed here. Grafham at the time. His old green Water is the birthplace of fishing jumper was the source the modern reservoir dry fly. of his first patterns. The name Hoppers (Bristol Hoppers as comes from the bits of wool they are often known) started pulled from the jumper. life at Grafham Water in the For me the most important early 1980s and were pioneered advance that can be attributed by the likes of John Moore, to Grafham Water was by Bob Worts and Andy Linwood. my fly-fishing hero - twice They first came to prominence individual world champion when used productively by the Brian Leadbetter. In my successful Grafham Water Fly opinion he changed the way Fishers team in a Benson & we fish and revolutionised Hedges International Final. In competition flyfishing. extremely difficult conditions He was the first person to they allowed the Grafham perfect the ‘hang’ technique, team to record some amazing so dramatically increasing catches when all others the control of his flies and

Rob Edmunds with one of the fry feeding rainbows that have made Grafham Water famous.

Trout fisherman

For me, it’s the uncertainty and the constant changes that makes our sport so appealing.” ultimately increasing his A number of factors, often catch rate to a level previously linked, will determine our unthinkable by many anglers. fishing. For example: weather His idea of whipped line conditions (sunny/rain/cold); markers is taken for granted by oxygen levels in water; water competition anglers the world level (affects weed beds/buzzer over and tackle manufacturers beds and food chain); fishing even incorporate them into pressure (matches/number new lines. of anglers); stocking policy; The Pheasant Tail Nymph abundance of parasites (i.e. was originally designed and ergasilus); colour of water tied by Frank Sawyer for fishing (i.e. cloudy due to rain run southern chalkstreams. But like off or pumping in); water all flies there have been many temperature (too warm means popular variations. Arthur less oxygen and more algae); Cove’s pattern the ‘Cove amount of fry/buzzers that Nymph’ is probably the most hatch; catch and release. famous of all PTNs. Originally Things have changed over tied on a size 8 longshank the last year at Grafham. The hook to represent the very arrival of the invasive foreign large buzzers hatching at the shrimp has seen a dramatic time it soon became Arthur’s change in fish feeding habits. preferred nymph when The fish are holding fishing Grafham much closer into the Water. bank - in fact the Although first five to 20 extremely yards out has effective been the place to this to fish almost day, it has all year.

Cove Pheasant since been Boats often Tail Nymph scaled down struggled and is more to catch commonly tied consistently on a size 10 hook. as anglers simply I believe that waters couldn’t fish close are subject to ‘cycles of enough in. Bank anglers needed nature’ - a fishery cannot fish to angle their casts along the well or even the same every bank rather than out into the season. Six or seven years ago water for best results. when ergasilus (gill parasite) Rough, well picked-out was first discovered in the Hare’s Ears fished on a floater Rutland fish we were naturally or midge tip, often washingvery concerned. Fish were line style (held up with small lethargic, thin, as they Boobies or even dries), have didn’t want to feed and so been the most productive for were extremely difficult to over half the season. Only time catch. We all feared the worst will tell if this trend continues and expected Rutland’s fishing in 2011 and beyond; if so we to go downhill dramatically for will need to adapt the way we many years to come. fish and our patterns in order That season, the fishing was to keep catching. very poor, there’s no escaping But remember, it could have that fact. But it hasn’t been been simply a combination since and over the last four of factors that led to a change years we’ve witnessed some in feeding habits for the of the best fishing ever on 2010 season. For me, it’s the Rutland. I simply believe it uncertainty and the constant was a natural cycle in the changes that makes our sport fishery. so appealing.

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Tf i GEAR GUIDE NEW tackle

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Where you’ll find all the latest tackle for flyfishers every month

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tROUT FISHERMAN I 9-page gear section

Keeping you up-to-date with the very latest flyfishing gear ❙❙❙ By Robbie Winram

Hardy Zentith Sintrix rods from £549

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FIRST the science. Sintrix stands for ‘silica nano matrix’ and put simply these rods are made from a carbon fibre held together with a resin impregnated with silica nano spheres.

Hardy say this produces a material that is “significantly stronger and potentially lighter than traditional carbon fibre.”

Now the reality. I first cast a prototype saltwater Sintrix rod about 18 months ago when they were in their infancy so I was very keen to see the production freshwater models.

I had the 9ft 5wt and 10ft 7wt for review. The shorter 9ft rod (£549) has the power to easily lift, cast and deliver a 5wt line at distance if that’s what you want, but at the same time it is versatile enough for crisp presentation and accuracy at short and medium range, especially with delicate dry flies. I tried the rod with 4, 5 and 6wt lines (the Hardy Marksman and Snowbee Delicate Presentation) so I could see how it performed each side of its main rating.

And while the 5wt rating was spot on it did also manage the 6wt without buckling.

The 10ft 7wt (£649) is a totally different animal with bags of steel and power in it. It also has a fast action and an equally quick recovery when casting and loading the rod. If you are looking to target trout at range and need to lift long head lengths and aerialise even more line this rod takes it all in its stride. It will also handle floating lines right through fast sinkers such as Di-5s and Di-7s which need backbone to control them and especially when pumping them up from depth. This rod is more tuned to medium and long range casting than close up work and might be a little pokey for fishing dries. And because this is a steely blank I did feel my arm begin to ache after a while. For overhead and false casting and for double hauling these rods excelled. For continuous motion casts like the roll and switch which require a little more flexibility from the blank I felt they lacked just a little.

Hardy’s promotional film showed the rod with an almost impossible curve on it, and while the fish I landed didn’t quite produce this effect (!) the way the blank compresses is quite extraordinary and visually heart-stopping!

READER OFFERs

TECH SPEC

l The 10ft rod is a four-piece light olive blank with matching whippings and a silver-blue highlight thread. l Cork and composite fighting butt, fitting onto a two part skeletal alloy reel seat with two uplocking rings. There is a full wells cork handle (which has a surprising amount of filler considering the price!) l Two Fuji silicone carbide stripping rings with nine top of the range titanium single leg recoil guides plus a tip ring and keeper ring. l Silver dot alignment markers. l The fittings and furniture on the 9ft 5wt are the same except it has just one stripping ring, a half wells handle and no fighting butt. l Aluminium screw-top rod tube with a fabric outer slip case. Inside is a partitioned cloth rod bag.

Verdict: With rods this technically advanced and at this price I feel a longterm test is needed - so watch this space!

Contact: www.hardyfishing.com

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Recoil rings spring back into position.

Tf i instruction

red glint

Photography by xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A hint of

Why you can’t afford to be without a Red Holo Diawl Bach or Buzzer this season ❙❙❙ Words and pictures: Russ Symons

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Tf i feature

Delbury’s haul

Matt Hayes and friends find success at an “unknown” local small water

S

O often you overlook those of life’s treasures that are right under your nose.

Everyone, it seems, has heard of Delbury Hall Trout Fishery and yet its location has remained a mystery to me until it popped up on Google.

Ed Brown and Lawrie Hickman, who accompanied me there, were also Delbury debutants, despite living 25 minutes away.

One of its nicest features is its location amid parts of Shropshire around Craven Arms and Clee Hill that have resisted the ravages of time. Sheep graze on rolling

hills and signposts are small or non-existent because everyone knows where everywhere else is.

Delbury Hall is in the village of Diddlebury and said to be the most beautiful Georgian mansion in Shropshire.

Built in 1753, the main house boasts superb decoration and furnishings and it was built in an area rich in top quality limestone. This, plus Diddlebury’s location in the Corvedale, one of Shropshire’s most fertile, spring-fed areas, made the creation of two beautiful trout lakes possible.

They sit inside an old walled garden and are fed by the

Trout fisherman

Diddle, a brook that runs into the river Corve.

We come across the Diddle while driving into the village and our hearts are gladdened by the site of crystal clear water bubbling alongside the road: spring-fed fisheries are a TWO LAKES rarity in an area where we’re Try Garden Lake and far too used to Corve Lake fishing in water with colour.

Research suggests that Delbury’s spring-fed waters harbour a feast of insect life, providing the fish with a rich diet and plenty of oxygen.

After assembling our gear near to the walled garden

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upon our arrival, we are greeted by a pair of beautiful, mature lakes sitting side by side. Overlooking the first (Garden Lake, 2.5 acres) is a pavilion where tea and coffee are available for visiting anglers. The place has a homely feel and we’re soon into our first brew of the day, discussing the day ahead and enjoying the surrounding countryside.

A chill wind ruffles the surface of both the Garden and the three-acre Corve lake: it’s rapidly becoming the sort of day when the chill pierces your bones. Yet, while we sup tea, a figure appears from behind a tree, shrouded

All released

Over 40 rainbows were returned during the productive session.

in the mist yet clutching the unmistakable form of a bent rod.

It turns out to be but one of nine trout for the angler, the best over four pounds. The gentleman is a veteran of the fishery, who wonders out loud why more people don’t come here, while lifting his rod to acknowledge another trout!

Delbury Hall is stocked with rainbow, brown, blue and golden trout with an average size of around 2lb 8oz. Being spring-fed by a borehole, the fishery produces fit, hardfighting fish, a fact that we are soon to discover. Thank goodness a catch-and-release policy exists here, for a four-

Rich pickings

Surrounding foliage and limestone bed mean plenty of trout food.

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Wild

Fish

overseas

“Our wild

rainbows averaged 6-8lb” Peter Cockwill fishes the legendary ‘Jurassic’ Strobel Lake, famed for its huge wild rainbows!

Peter’s dream

Fishing Strobel has long been an ambition for Peter Cockwill.

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Trout fisherman

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March 9 - April 5

Wild

Fish

Brown trout

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Catching your first

wild trout The gear, tactics and flies to be successful ❙❙❙ By Paul Procter

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The Home tyer ❙❙❙

MATERIALS

The new old Peter Gathercole enhances the effect of the wet fly

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