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10 steps to a top season ISSUE 479 £3.40 JAN 6 - FEB 2, 2016

How extra movement gets more takes

ANGLING MOANS

The 10 things that wind up flyfishers

CLEANING TIPS

How to look after your fishing gear

CHANGING TIMES What's the future for trout waters?

THIS MONTH: WINTER TACTICS Words: Oxoxoxoxo Pictures: Oxoxoxoxoxo

Apps’ Bloodworm

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TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

Squirmy Worm

Established champ meets young pretender is one of sport’s oldest themes; Apps’ Bloodworm versus Squirmy Wormy its latest manifestation. Las Vegas being unavailable, we watched them go toe-to-toe in a Durham downpour…

TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

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WHERE TO FISH

Rocky Ridge Ranch Peter Cockwill samples sport at some of the growing number of stocked lakes on American ranches

American flyfishing legend Jim Teeny with a beautiful rainbow.

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TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

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F ever there was a time when I so badly wanted a few reservoir flies it was early last autumn. I teamed up with some long-time fishing friends to try some man-made lakes on a ranch in Oregon’s high desert country, within sight of the spectacular Mount Hood.

This unplanned trip followed on from being away with a group to fish for steelhead on Alaska’s Kodiak Island and hence my only flies were tied on size 6, heavy wire hooks.

As soon as we roll up to see the lakes it’s very clear that a lovely buzzer hatch is on and I immediately feel handicapped.

Tubing the Teeny Nymph My friends, the legendary Jim Teeny, along with Walker Hughes and Steve Dorn, are all devotees of Jim’s nymph (the Teeny Nymph) and prefer to use float-tubes with floating lines, which have short sink tips, and they also have stacks of ‘the nymph’ down to size 10 in a whole range of colours.

It’s true I could have snitched a few flies and got into a tube myself but I decide to brave it out for the first day at least.

Learn to adapt The boys do pretty well with their triedand-tested techniques but admit that with the relatively calm, clear water and freely feeding fish they’re not catching as normal.

I really want to fish the shorelines of these lovely-looking lakes and quickly begin a serious search of the two small boxes of steelhead flies I have with me.

In many of my past writings I’ve stressed the need to have tackle that’s ‘in balance’ for the situation in hand, but just sometimes you’ll be caught out and have to improvise, so here’s how I cope with today’s scenario.

The gear available My rod is an 8wt so for starters I’m overgunned as a more modest 5 or 6wt would be ideal. Scratching around, I manage to find a spool of 5lb mono and rig a tapered leader from sections of my heavy steelhead nylons.

It would have been nice to have had a silver leader ring to join the 5lb mono to the 12lb as the two diameters are too different to successfully tie a blood or water knot, so I opt for making a small loop in the 12lb and then a loop-to-loop link for the 5lb. It’s a bit clumsy but it’s safe.

Other than a cobbled up ‘lure’ made by threading a strip of olive rabbit – which I cunningly unwrap from a coho Zonker, onto a stripped bare steelhead fly – all I have is a size 16 Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail Nymph and a size 14 Renegade dry fly.

This is to be my testing time and I get it into my head that I’ve caught enough stillwater trout to make this work.

On the buzzer There really is a lovely rise on the go and the fish are so clearly taking hatching buzzers and moving really quickly too. I cover trout after trout with the little Pheasant Tail Nymph and I’m beginning to despair when one finally takes me on the drop.

TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

Rocky Ridge has a rustic ranchstyle charm.

“...there’s no such thing as private river fishing because the waters are State owned...leading to overcrowding. That’s how Rocky Ridge came about.”

Beneath the fish These are quality rainbows originally stocked around the 1 to 2lb mark, and only ever fished for via catch and release. I think my problem is that the little nymph is fishing below the trout’s line of vision unless I manage to be accurate enough to drop it dead in the path of a fish so that it spots the fly on its way down.

It’s interesting that even in this part of the world, where migratory salmonids still occur in good numbers, that there’s a growing demand for ‘pay ponds’ as they call the lakes created just for trout fishing where privacy can be had for a fee.

this having seen his pictures from previous visits and verified for myself by taking a quiet walk around the margins of the super clear water in the lakes. I see several rainbows over 4lb and during the two days the occasional showing of fish that were clearly big!

Hard fights I’m really surprised as to how hard the fish fight, especially when brought into the shallows, and I have to be really careful with my unbalanced tackle set-up. So I set the reel drag to the minimum and ‘feather’ the line with my hands.

My little Pheasant Tail Nymph catches a few fish and then, because of the excellent rise I can see happening in the shallows, I just have to try the dry fly. On goes the Renegade pattern and some careful casting ahead of cruisers and I think this will be a doddle. Wrong!

The fish just cruise past my fly and still take the naturals. Oh, how I long for a few Diawl Bachs, Hoppers or Bob’s Bits and some fine diameter fluorocarbon so that I can fish as I do back home.

The reason these lakes exist You see, out here there’s no such thing as private river fishing because the waters are State owned and so long as you can access the river then it’s open to anyone. Inevitably, in an area of rapidly expanding population, this leads to considerable overcrowding and a style of fishing I, and many others, want no part of.

That’s how it came about that out here in seemingly desert country the three lakes at Rocky Ridge had been created by utilising the readily available water, which is only some 20 feet down. It enables agriculture and cattle to do so well out here in country which otherwise seems inhospitable.

Jim tells me that trout in excess of 10lb are often caught here and I have no reason to doubt

Teeny Nymph Hook: Size 8-10 2X Thread: Black Tail: Dyed green cock pheasant tail fibres, plus strands of dark blue Krystal Flash Body: Dyed green cock pheasant tail fibres Wing and throat hackles: Dyed green cock pheasant tail fibres

In association with Veniard

FLY-TYING

Movement

IS KEY Peter Gathercole explores modern rubber-type materials and the extra ÔkickÕ they provide

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S fly-tyers we’re always striving to add that certain something to our patterns and one of those somethings is movement. Various materials are used to bring our flies to life – transforming them from something inanimate to an object that will fool the trout into thinking it’s alive and edible.

To achieve this goal a whole raft of materials have been used from soft, natural ones such as marabou and fur to man-made products including a growing range of soft, flexible rubber and plastic.

Flexible Lycra The most popular material of this type is thin strands of Lycra. It’s a flexible, elastic material sold under brand names including Super Stretch floss, Flexi-Floss and Spanflex. It comes in a wide range of colours, usually in a hank or on a spool and is the main component of deadly patterns such as the Apps’ Worm and its many derivatives.

The use of flexible rubber strands has a long if mixed history in UK fly-tying. The first time I ever saw this type of material used in a fly was when the late Arthur Cove, that doyen of all things nymph fishing, came up with the Red Diddy.

This pattern was a bloodworm imitation, fashioned from a red rubber band, which had been cut to give it a curve. The shaping was designed to give the rubber tail a bit of a kick - the intention being to suggest a bloodworm’s lashing motion. Curiously, although the pattern was pretty effective and the best bloodworm imitation available at the time, it failed to gain much traction.

What has caused the boom in rubber-legged flies, apart from their effectiveness, of course, is the easy availability of thin elasticised strands in a huge range of colours. Today, with the huge number of products on the market it is easy to add movement to a fly by adding flexible tails, antennae or legs. Along with the Lycra strands there are thin rubber legs in various diameters and colours. Some are not only coloured but have a banded effect – others incorporate tiny pearl flakes, which add a touch of sparkle.

Worm Body While most of these flexible strands are well established there is a new kid on the block and one that’s been having quite an impact on both lakes and rivers. This is a super soft product known as Worm Body – the material behind the incredibly popular Squirmy Wormy patterns.

While Worm Body is wonderfully soft and pliable, using it has a few drawbacks, not least the difficulty in fixing it onto a hook. It can be knotted – and a simple overhand knot will fix the strands to the hook

Various coloured glass beads add weight.

TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

The Squirmy Wormy pattern. allowing it then to be positioned with thread turns.

It’s so soft that pulling too tight with a thin, strong thread will simply cut through the material. If that weren’t enough, using Superglue or even varnish is not an option – the solvents in either will eventually melt the material rendering the fly useless. On the plus side Worm Body actually knots very easily meaning that it can be attached to a hook by one or more overhand knots.

Feeding the Worm Body through a metal bead allows weight to be added to the fly; however if weight isn’t needed the Worm Body can be attached along the shank using a series of overhand knots. It takes a little practice to get an even effect but once achieved a simple Worm Body Bloodworm can be formed in less than a minute – and without using tying thread.

Movement when static The great thing about rubber legs is that they impart a degree of life to the fly even when it’s hardly moving – even more than a long-fibred hackle. That said; it’s a good idea to keep those legs as long as possible to increase the action.

One tip when trimming rubber strands to length is under no circumstances stretch them while doing so.

You will be rather disappointed when your legs ping back to a far shorter length than you’d expected!

Best to get the length right in the first place, using a single strand to create two legs – either by catching the strand in at its midpoint or having it project over both the eye and the bend of the hook.

I like to catch the strand in using an overhand knot.

I think it helps to prevent the strands from pulling loose. However the price paid for using the technique is that you must be very accurate as to where the knot sits along the strands when it is tightened.

It’s all too easy to end up with two legs of differing lengths. It can also sometimes be difficult to get the strands in the right position. Always ensure that at least two of the legs are pointing forward. This means that, on each twitch of the retrieve, water resistance forces these legs back imparting an extra kick.

Conversely, as the fly is allowed to sink the remaining legs also come into play – so there’s a twitch or a pulse going on at every stage of the retrieve.

The Spider One very popular type of rubber-legged fly is a multilegged version of the Apps’ Worm known as a Spider.

This type of fly has six or eight rubber legs, which create an incredible action. The body comprises small glass beads which, depending on the hook size, can be 1.5mm or 2.2 mm in diameter. On the Rainbow

Centipede legs add a barred effect.

TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

Worm Body is soft and full of movement.

“The great thing about rubber legs is that they impart life to the fly even when it’s hardly moving.”

Worm sequence (over page) I’ve used the larger type but if you want a slimmer effect go for the smaller ones. Just remember that as with any type of bead you need to check that it will pass over the point and around the bend of any hook you intend to use.

Olive Rainbow Worm The Olive Rainbow Worm is a variation on the Spider and can actually be tied without using tying thread at all – in fact all the fixing can be done with a spot or two of Superglue gel. The key to achieving this is to fold the Flexi-Floss strand then pass the two ends through the hole in the bead. This creates two legs while leaving a loop of the floss projecting from the other side of the bead. The bead is then slipped over the hook point by the side with the two projecting legs.

If you have a problem threading the floss through the bead, and you almost certainly will when using the 1.5mm sized beads, a large sewing needle will come to the rescue.

Keeping the loop in the floss quite large, push the bead up the shank so it is flush with the eye. If, when this is done, the loop is sitting above the shank flip it over the hook-bend so that it is now below the shank.

Remember that this must be done before the hook is fixed in the vice.

Now, with the hook in the vice, pull both strands so the loop closes snug up against the back of the bead.

The legs are now secured without any need for tying thread. Adding the small drop of Superglue is simply to fix the first bead in place at the eye.

The next step is to remove the hook from the vice and add another few beads to cover almost all of the remaining shank. On a size 10 wet fly hook, as I’ve used here, this will be another three 2mm beads or four 1.5 mm ones. Remember to leave space for one last bead that will hold the rear-facing legs.

Now repeat the process used to form the first two legs by threading a second strand of folded floss through the final bead. Remove the hook from the vice and thread it over the hook-point. This time, though, push the hook point through the side where the loop projects.

Again, ensure that loop of Flexi-Floss is looped over the bend before replacing the hook in the vice.

Now when the floss strands are pulled, the loop will draw tight over the shank locking itself at the back of the bead. Simply add a small drop of Superglue and push the last bead tight up against the others.

Once the Superglue has cured, the fly is ready to be used as it is. Or extra legs may be added – two or four or more if you want to go completely mad.

To add more legs simply take a strand of Super Stretch floss and make an open overhand knot at its midpoint. Position the knot where you want it – this can be at any point between two of the beads then pull the knot tight. This will cause the strand to bed deep into the tiny gap. It is important though to pull each end of the strand with equal force so the legs remain an equal length. To fix the strand simply add a tiny drop of Superglue.

Bead and leg colour can both be varied to suit the tyer’s needs. All red, the classic bloodworm colour, is a big favourite as is amber and olive, the latter being a great alternative for when the trout want something more subtle. But colours can be mixed; indeed the pattern I’ve tied here is mostly olive – but with a rainbow bead at the head to add a touch of sparkle.

Other colours may also be used to create this accent – red for instance, added either at the head or the tail to create a fish-attracting hotspot. In a similar vein, leg colours can also be mixed to create a whole number of different combinations, one of which might just make the difference.

Flexi-Floss is used in the Apps’ Worm.

Visit our website www.veniard.com

opinion: trout fisheries

What next for fisheries?

While they‘re all that stands between anglers and a closed shop of expensive river beats, commercial stillwaters have no divine right to exist. We asked some of them about their future and the changing nature of their business and its customers‌

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TrouT fisherman JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

opinion: flyfishing moans

The

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great fly fishing moans your shout! Trout fisherman readers get things off their chest

TrouT fisherman JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

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opinion: CATCH STORIES

FISHY stories Inspirational accounts of memorable flyfishing moments

late SeaSON brOwNie

OUR story is about catching late season shrimp-feeders on the drop, writes Rob Edmunds.

With temperatures dropping there are relatively few anglers on the banks of our reservoirs in the winter months. With stocking on many waters ceasing in September or October, any remaining fish will be considerably more challenging and two or three fish in the bag is considered a good day.

pattern because it not only floats but also wobbles in the water). On the droppers we fish a size 14 and a size 16 Hare’s Ear Shrimp and just literally cast along the bank five to 15 feet out.

We simply keep in touch and wait for fish to take on the drop.

On just the second cast Brian’s rod is almost ripped from his hand. The rod arches over and in such shallow water the hooked fish just kites off in the opposite direction towards Hedge End. Brian is soon down to the backing with the fly-line disappearing into the water. We begin to wonder what exactly has he hooked. Has he inadvertently foul hooked a fish in the tail, and has no control over it, or is this a great fish?

Choose days wisely

Pressure on small hooks

Captor: Brian Capel with Rob Edmunds Date: A Saturday in November, 2015 occasion: Late season session Venue: Grafham

brian Capel with the ‘fish of the day’, a beautiful grafham brownie.

I pick and choose my days out on the reservoirs at this time of year in order to give myself the best opportunities. Ideal conditions would be a mild period of settled weather with temperatures between 6 – 12 degrees C with no overnight frost and light 2 – 6mph winds.

My friend Brian Capel and I decide that, as conditions are good and with Christmas only a couple of weeks away, we will seize an opportunity and have one last boat trip to Grafham to bring our season to a conclusion.

Not the best start It’s fi rst thing in the morning and we start fishing Snakes and Minkies on intermediate and Di-3 lines, approximately 50 metres out from G buoy, working the depths methodically. In two hours we only have one fish – a well-mended rainbow of 2lb 8oz that took a Minkie on the drop – and a follow to the boat. It’s hardly the start we’re after.

Close in for shrimp-feeders We watch a bank angler take a couple of fish from Marlow jetty on a floating line, and assume he must be targeting shrimpfeeders. I pull up the anchor and put the boat in the shallows, dropping the anchor literally five feet from the bank.

I know it begs the question, why bother with a boat? But you can move locations faster and more conveniently in a boat. We can see the rocky bottom clearly because

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“On just the second cast Brian’s rod is almost ripped from his hand... and the hooked fish just kites off in the opposite direction...” we’re over two to four feet of water.

Thankfully there’s no-one else on the bank and I use G-clamps to position the angle of the anchor point. This allows us to cast along the bank and ledge, where I hope any fish will be patrolling.

In such shallow water it’s often best to fish buoyant or semi-buoyant patterns on floating or midge-tip lines and just fish on the drop. Both Brian and I set up with floating lines and a three-fly cast on just 6lb leader. On the point is a size 12 Foamheaded Natural Cruncher (a great shrimp

With so much line out and in the water we both know there’s increased pressure on the leader and the small hooks. So it’s a case of playing the fish with care. Thankfully it rips out into the deeper, open water and once there we know it’s just a case of being patient.

A full 10 minutes later I net a cracking, mint-condition brown which we estimate to be 4lb 8oz with the tiny size 16 Hare’s Ear Shrimp fi rmly in its scissors.

A quick photograph and the fish is safely released to fight another day.

In all honesty this one fish has made our day. It’s a privilege to even witness the capture and with the time at just 11.30am we decide to fish on rather than to toast our success at the local public house.

Our best winter session The next four hours provide what I consider to be one of my best (if not the best) winter sessions ever. We land another 16 rainbows all on size 14 or 16 nymphs. The smallest rainbow was 2lb 8oz with the largest three fish weighing just over 4lb – every fish is a perfect fully-fi nned, lean, fighting fit bar of silver that tested us and the tackle to the absolute limits. I estimate that we also lose or miss another 10 fish.

The sun starts to set and the temperature drops, switching the fish off in an instant.

Every fish in such shallow water fought like it was possessed, often taking us well into the backing.

TrouT fisherman JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

robbie winram with his Dee salmon. the heavily weighted grayling bug which tempted robbie’s salmon.

a SalMON ON grayliNg Day Captor: Trout Fisherman tackle tester Robbie Winram Date: Saturday, November 29, 2014 occasion: Hanak European Grayling Festival Venue: River Dee, North Wales

I WAS fishing the second session of the weekend Grayling Festival at C5 section on the Carrog to Glyndyfrdwy stretch of the River Dee. The river here is big and wide with a couple of salmon pools connected by long glides of water about thigh to chest deep.

In the morning session the England Crazy Nymphs had taken 17 fish from this area.

I was part of the three-man Wales Mayfl ies team along with Rob Evans and Harry Parr, and Rob was my partner for the afternoon session. We tackled up and when the controller gave the start signal Rob cast downstream, I cast upstream and the inevitable tangle ensued when our leaders met! Not a great start, especially when you only have 2.5 hours of fishing for the session!

Rob sorted himself out quite quickly but I had to retie a whole new leader.

Tangles sorted Rob started at the top of the beat and I started about midway to work the water upstream. All day we had seen salmon crashing out of the water, breaking the peace and quiet as they worked their way upstream through the pools.

I’d noticed that Rob was getting a few more takes than I was and I could tell by the ‘plop’ of his fl ies that he was using heavy bugs. So I went up and had a chat with him and he gave me one of his fl ies, a curved grub pattern with an orange and red tag tail and a peacock Spectra Dub body, very simple. The underbody was a Body+ tungsten bead which gives a huge increase in weight and allows the pattern to fish upside down so it can just bump along the bottom of the river.

The tapping stopped It was getting towards the end of the session and I didn’t have as many fish as I would have liked. I was also cold and hungry and probably not as focused as I should have been, when suddenly the tap-tap-tap of the point fly stopped. There was a slight pause, then I bent the Hanak Superlight rod over to pull it sideways and was met with an immovable object.

Whatever was on the end then proceeded TrouT fisherman JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

“I was also cold and hungry and probably not as focused as I should have been, when suddenly the tap-tap-tap of the point fly stopped.” to bend the rod double, before shooting across the fastest part of the current to the opposite side of the river.

My fi rst thought was that I’d caught the biggest grayling in the river! Then reality set in and I decided it was probably a decent brownie by the way it was fighting and the runs it was making. Even when it topped for the fi rst time all I saw was a flash of golden-brown which made me even more sure that it was a brown trout.

Some of the runs were incredibly powerful and even more amazing I was fishing a 2.5lb point and the Hanak Superlight 10ft 3wt rod, to its credit, was coping with every lunge and run of this powerful fish.

Away from fast water As five minutes became 10 I had started to think “salmon”. By this time my fishing partner Rob Evans was fi lming the whole thing on his phone and the section controller had also come down the bank to see what was going on.

All I could do was take my time, bank the

rod as low to the water as I could to keep trying to turn the fish and keep it out of the fast water. I knew how much pressure I could exert but at times had to let the fish have its own way.

Well into the 15-20 minute mark now and I knew I was wasting valuable time on a fish that wouldn’t count. However I didn’t want to leave any hooks in the fish, even though it was a barbless fly. So with a bit of added resolve and after a few more pulls and runs it started to take on a few gulps of air and slowly but surely the fight left it.

I thought at this point I’d get some help with the net from Rob but no such luck, he was too busy fi lming and giggling behind my back!

Finally I got the net under the salmon which fi lled the mesh from one side to the other. Not the biggest fish I’ve ever caught but on that ultra-lightweight outfit and in the fast current it was certainly one of the most memorable and it put a huge smile on my face. To see it unhooked and then gently released to fight another day was fabulous.

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NEWS & VIEWS

LETTERS

Send your letters to: Trout Fisherman, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA or email: beverly.winram@bauermedia.co.uk

Your letters covering a variety of flyfishing topics with replies from the editor

FLOATS AND FLIES DO MIX!

DON’T mix fly with coarse. It’s a well worn statement but it’s too late! I always find it amusing when the ardent flyfisher claims that you shouldn’t mix angling disciplines. Don’t use fly to catch other species, don’t use freshwater tackle to catch trout and so on…

The fact is; it’s all too late.

The fly fisher uses an ‘indicator’. They’ve been used in coarse fishing for generations: they are called ‘floats’ and do exactly the same job.

The flyfisher uses a moulded plastic/epoxy imitation fish. They have been used in coarse fishing for years, where they are called ‘plugs’. The fact that the fly plug normally has a feather stuck up the rear end hardly changes it from the plug used to catch pike and perch.

So what about using long rods for flyfishing (‘Culture Clash’ TF 476)? Well it’s been done for generations – it’s called ‘dapping’.

The dapping kit is normally a 14-16ft rod with monofi lament, floss to allow you to work it in the breeze, and a bushy fly. The reel can be a fly reel but is more commonly, dare I say it, a coarse fisherman’s fi xed-spool!

I spent most of my early life coarse fishing but now mainly concentrate on fly. I think rather than criticising the various

Do you mean the Welsh Witch?

READING Letters (issue 477) and ‘The Welsh wonderfly is lost’ submission by Ian Wynn, can I suggest that he looks at the Kilnsey website fishing report for the week he visited.

If the Welsh anglers were so successful it is more than likely that the fishery will have included their name and the fly used.

I recall a Welshman (John Davies) who fishes a Welsh Witch has in the past obtained badges in the Troutmasters competition while fishing at Kilnsey (and many other fisheries) and no doubt your own records will identify this individual.

Welsh Witch.

Hope this helps.

Mike Towers, by email

Mixing fishing methods gets you thinking I’VE been reading Nick Halstead’s article ‘Culture Clash’ (issue 476) with great interest. It really got me thinking in a piscatorial sort of way.

I took up fishing in the mid 1980s when I was in my late 30s (should have started years earlier). An old friend – one of the old school, who I used to call Captain Birdseye

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types of fishing, we should all be supporting each other – there are enough ‘antis’ out there already.

Keep pushing those boundaries, Trout Fisherman, it’s great reading and another view on a great sport.

John Owen, Woodbridge, Suffolk Editor’s reply: I can get used to this! Thanks for your comments John.

Does anyone disagree?

– he taught me to fish on the River Ure. I can still hear him now “keep your elbow in, pretend you have a gold watch under your arm”, so I did as I was told and fished like all the other club members, and caught some decent fish.

Over the years I’ve had many jobs – secretary, insurance rep, I’ve sold tractors, worked in supermarkets, have worked for a heritage railway, and ended up as a jobbing gardener. But the two jobs I most enjoyed were managing a fishing tackle shop for a couple of years and a water bailiff for eight years at a well-known reservoir.

I have dished out the maggots and sold both coarse and fly tackle, and have also had the pleasure of getting to know a lot of flyfishermen.

I’ve tied flies for a very famous footballer and also for a member of the House of Lords. So I am not a snob. I mix with all sorts of different people from young lads buying coarse tackle such as rods and poles, to the upper crust on the Scottish rivers.

You have to look at all sides. If you are fishing trout and grayling rivers you stick to convention and obey all the rules. But on some small rivers and streams where any method (within reason) is allowed, surely you fish the most practical way.

When the young lads bought their

poles I used to think how sensible. If it is a small stream and you can’t (because of undergrowth etc) cast a fly out, what is wrong with using a pole and just dropping the fly where the fish are? I think that if it had been used 30-odd years ago I would have been using the tenkara method!

I have not been lucky enough to fish in sunnier climes, but have done a bit in Scotland and have fished various waters with fellow Salmon & Trout Association members. For the past few years I’ve also stewarded at the Junior Troutmasters competition. But I do agree with Nick, and will fish whatever method that is needed (providing rules allow) and I don’t care what other people think.

Name and address withheld

TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

Grafham shuffle unsporting?

IN a recent article by Iain Barr (TF issue 478) he refers to something called the “Grafham Shuffle”.

This technique of using an imitation Shrimp and disturbing the stones to release real ones has been mentioned to me quite a few times this year by seasoned veterans of Grafham Water.

I really struggle to see the difference in doing this to using an imitation maggot on a hook and throwing a handful more round it? Not that I would do either.

We already have attractors, bungs to act as floats – how long before we start using goo to flavour flies?

Change always happens and I’m sure people will catch more of their limits but is it better for sportsmanship?

Additionally, Iain suggests stepping into the water off the dam. I thought wading from the dam was not allowed. And even if you did try it, it’s so slippery there is an excellent chance you would soon be on your backside and up to your neck in water!

Steve Munday, by email Editor’s reply: First of all, Iain would never encourage anyone to step into the water off the dam. He meant stepping into water generally, although I freely admit that the passage in question was poorly edited, leaving you the reader thinking as you did.

Now that’s cleared up, I’m not sure that the ‘Grafham Shuffle’ is unsporting as you seem to imply. It’s simply encouraging the shrimps to swim and attract trout – a form of natural groundbaiting if you like. No fishery rules were broken and it definitely works.

My fear is that we fly

Incredible trout Mr Barr!

WHAT a great article by Iain Barr in issue 478 ‘Shrimps in the Shallows’. I’ve never fished Grafham before but I can’t wait to fish there and I hope to catch one of those incredible brown trout featured in the article.

With regards to the killer shrimp, would they not be beneficial to other waters? I see you have used the Anglian Water ‘Stop the Spread’ information at the end of the article. The spread may well be unavoidable long term anyway because they move between waters in a variety of ways, some of which are impossible to control.

anglers can be quite dismissive of anything that increases the odds in our favour. If you’re a purist and want to fish in a certain way, do it. I think the sport isn’t served well when the methods of others are criticised. If no rules have been broken then let the methods develop because they actually allow the sport to be shaped and evolve.

Of course, traditionalists might not like the sport changing but to coin a phrase ‘only a corpse sits still’.

Having said that, we should all read the feature about angling moans on p85. We can learn much from purists and competition anglers alike. The more time spent focussing on what unites us the better, let’s move away from what divides us.

Imagine the worm and bubble float angler on a reservoir sitting next to the fly angler. They start chatting and sharing what they like about the sport. A friendship begins and we have a potential newcomer into the world of the fly.

That has to be the great positive from all this change we’re seeing at our waters.

May all fly anglers shrug off their fears and embrace change in a positive way.

Doing this might well ensure our sport’s survival. So carry on fishing everyone and enjoying what you do while accepting others’ methods.

have improved the fishing in many ways but we must be very careful about claiming that further spread would be of benefit. We don’t yet fully know the long-term impact of this shrimp so for now we must do what we can to stop or limit its spread.

TROUT FISHERMAN JANUARY 6 - FEBRUARY 2

Some of the tips and opinions shared by those who ‘liked’ our Facebook page

What do you think of tenkara?

■ Daphne Porter – If tenkara had been popular 40 years ago I would certainly be partaking, but now that I fish so infrequently I shall stick to what I know.

■ Robert Goble – Could someone invent a landing net for tenkara! Something along the lines of a telescopic pole?

■ Warren Langridge – Pole fishing with flies... not for me.

■ Richard Morgan – I think that the whole concept of fishing with just a rod and a line and a few flies is a lovely idea!

What’s your favourite tackle item and why?

■ Robert Jones – From the bank a deep and rigid line tray which stops that bird’s nest of line tangling at your feet and preventing clean casting.

■ Chris Ferguson – A Sage RPL+ 10ft 6wt rod, 20-plus years old and has caught hundreds of trout to 16lb 4oz. Years of life left in it. Brilliant casting tool, bank, boat, wherever. You get what you pay for!

■ Craig Sheridan – Loomis NRX has to be one of the best fly rods out at the moment!

■ Roger Woodhams – Empty Fox Box for all the flies I scrounge!

■ Peter Lorrimer – Magnetic rod holder for the side of the car, stops me looking like a tit when the rod falls over. Although driving down the road with it still stuck on the car makes up for that!

■ Chris Mulholland – My catch and release tool, nothing better than winning the battle and returning your prize to fight another day.

■ Daphne Porter – A priest that was made for me from antler and has my name carved on it. It was made by one of my anglers at Leighton.

■ Simon Wormald – My landing net because if I’m using it everything is going perfectly.

■ Trout MaGee – A camera so I can share the beauty of what fishing is all about.

TF asked FB friends which was their favourite section of Trout Fisherman magazine...News or Letters?

55% Letters

45% News

LEARN MORE TIPS AND JOIN IN THE FUN

Dave Tilley, by email Editor’s reply: Iain Barr, along with all of our contributors, certainly catches some incredible trout on feature days. The shrimp

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