FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH
WINTER BROWNS
Now's the time to catch a specimen www.troutfisherman.co.uk
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ISSUE 491
TACKLE SPECIAL
How to fish
LURES Colours, retrieves and the seven deadliest patterns GREAT ADVENTURES
TRAVEL LIGHT Bikes & flyfishing do mix
RESERVOIR TIPS
LEIGHTON
Late season flies & areas
WHERE TO FISH
7 TOP WATERS Pay them a visit now
Buying a rod that suits you l The right action l Handle shape l Boat rods l River rods
FLY-TYING
STARTER KITS
Perfect gift this Christmas
Contents
BE INSPIRED
ADVICE
COVER STORY
Richard Fieldhouse takes to two wheels for his latest flyfishing adventure
Our experts answer your questions on landing net choice, weighted putty and split feather repairs
TACTICS
54 How to...
6 170 miles, 45 fish, one great day!
COVER STORY Paul Procter explains the key points to consider when choosing a new rod
Cover image: Henry Gilbey
12 Lures: the invisible edge COVER STORY How using clear legs on lures makes fish focus on the body for better hook-ups
18 Silkworms for trout?
OFFERS Save up to 43% when you subscribe to Trout Fisherman magazine
59 The Coral Booby
Peter Gathercole provides a step-by-step to a deadly winter lure
24 Time to rip surface flies
62 Easy tying Step-by-step instructions to tying a Beadhead Minkie
64 Flymasters Your Bloodworm creations are judged by Peter Gathercole
TACKLE
FOCUS ON...
79 Reader offer Get a complete GR30 rod outfit for £180 – a saving of £129! COVER STORY
FLY-TYING
Ceri Jones discovers trout feeding on silkworms that fall from the trees at Big Well fishery
Former world champion Iain Barr describes a day of visual, explosive action at Farmoor
30 Subscription offer
50 Advice squad
69 New gear
32 Winter lures
Rob Edmunds selects his favourite lure patterns and offers advice on how to fish them COVER STORY
Robbie Winram looks at the latest tackle including Scierra rods and Greys fly-lines
74 Fly-tying gear 36 Retrieves In this first of a two-part special, Nick Hart looks at the various fast or ‘pulling’ retrieves
Reviews of the Orvis Ty-wheel work station, power thread and marabou
76 Fly-tying starter kits
WHERE TO FISH 39 UK waters
COVER STORY Trout Fisherman highlights four trout fisheries worth visiting this month
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN Bankside
an-up Cle Our Bankside Campaign Clean-up 2016 campaign continues to gain momentum with more fisheries asking for the poster and creating their own bins for discarded leaders. Spread the message…we can do this.
WHERE TO FIND US...
COVER STORY
We look at the best outfits on offer
OPINION & NEWS 80 News
Latest stories plus the Scottish stillwater scene
42 Spotlight on Leighton COVER STORY We reveal the Yorkshire reservoir’s winter hotspots
82 Letters
44 Big browns at Dever
84 Troutmasters
Trout Fisherman readers have their say
Are you amongst this month’s badge winners?
Peter Cockwill recalls the capture of his personal best brown COVER STORY
90 Match news How Scotland won the Bank International, Wayne Jones the Anglian and Charlie Hix the EYTM
47 For fishers with finesse
98 Wading in
Russ Symons heads to his local Hatchlands fishery for some light line sport
Jeff Prest comments on the discovery that monkeys can fish!
ONLINE www.troutfisherman.co.uk TroutFishMag troutfishermanmag Trout Fisherman
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THIS MONTH’S WINNER The moment we’ve all been waiting for – a trout in the net! Sent in by Christopher Knowles.
HOW TO ENTER
Shot of the
MONTH
If you have a flyfishing image that you would like to see here, please send it to us. Images must be: original size • high resolution. Email them to leigh.johnson@bauermedia.co.uk If the image is too large to go over email, send via the free service wetransfer.com (for help see wetransfer.com/howitworks). Published photographers will receive a landing net from Sharpe’s of Aberdeen. Browse their products at www.sharpes.net or call 01466 794415.
Enter our competition now for your chance to win a Sharpe’s landing net
Words & pictures: Richard Fieldhouse
170 miles, 45 fish,
1 GREAT DAY
If you love freedom and enjoy travelling light, take the motorbike on your next flyfishing adventure, says Richard Fieldhouse of Barbless Flies... 6 TROUT FISHERMAN | DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3
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BE INSPIRE D
Travelling l ig reached a wht just ho new level le
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DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3 | TROUT FISHERMAN 7
Words & pictures: Jeff Prest
12 TROUT FISHERMAN | DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3
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TACTICS Catch m
ore a tweak to with yo winter lure ur s
LURES! The invisible edge On a Perthshire water where every fly has its day, we look at hi-viz lures and wonder whether it's what fish can't see that puts a bend in your rod...
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DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3 | TROUT FISHERMAN 13
TACTICS RESERVOIR SKILLS Words: Iain Barr Pictures: Peter Gathercole
24 TROUT FISHERMAN | DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3
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Time to rip SURFACE FLIES Visual, explosive action that certainly gets the heart racing. Former world number one Iain Barr describes a great session at Farmoor...
Iain Barr rips surface flies to create a wake and has a great day.
www.troutďŹ sherman.co.uk
DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3 | TROUT FISHERMAN 25
Words: Rob Edmunds
The winter LURE BOX
I
Ron Edmunds reveals his most successful lures for the cold weather ...
N winter fish change their feeding habits. As the weather and water temperatures have dropped, trout no longer want to chase lures fished fast in the top eight foot. The water has also changed; algae blooms – so often the curse of the summer – are a distant memory.
Instead we’re faced with gin-clear water with visibility around 15 feet, unless there’s been a sudden influx of water or high winds causing the water to turn the colour of coffee. It’s best described as a season of extremes. To consistently catch on the majority of stillwaters, lures fished deep and
slow is undoubtedly the number one winter method. I keep things simple and normally opt for the single fly approach (occasionally two flies) in order to reduce tangles and give better presentation. Tying new leaders with cold fingers is hardly ideal.
Winter is prime time for a varied assortment of coloured lures fished deep and slow.
32 TROUT FISHERMAN | DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3
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ADVICE PROBLEM SOLVER
HOW TO...
Choose the right fly rod
Paul Procte Expert angl r home on riv er at er lake in the Us or K & abroad
From flex to grip, Paul Procter explains the key points to look for
T
HOSE new to flyfishing can often find the idea of selecting their first flyfishing rod a bewildering purchase that can end up being more of a lottery. What with all that jargon and ever-advancing technology, even those with a season or two under their belt can be left in the dark when it comes to upgrades. Before discussing this it’s as well to remember, a fly rod serves two basic functions. Initially, to deliver fly-line, leader and fly to the fish and secondly, in the event of success, using the rod as a lever and cushion to play your quarry. This sounds obvious, but as you’ll see it’s vital to match rod length and line rating to the type of fishing you plan on doing.
Choosing the right rod for the fishing you intend to do can be difficult.
54 TROUT FISHERMAN | DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3
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Fly-Tying In association with Veniard
trout FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH
How to tie the CORAL BOOBY Peter Gathercole’s sequence to arguably the most successful winter pattern Visit our website www.veniard.com
New Gear
Independen tt Robbie Win ester r puts the lat am e gear throug st h its paces
Everything from rods to reels and flyboxes
TECH-SPEC
The 3/4 rod bend is all too obvious when playing a fish.
Deep flex profile
Tackle Tester’s Choice
Scierra SRX V2 from £129.99 www.svendsen-sport.dk
THERE are five rods in the SRX V2 series from a 9ft 5wt at £119.99 to a 10ft 8wt at £139.99. I selected two models for review – the 10ft 7wt and 9ft 6in 6wt. Both have quite slim blanks and quality rings and fittings with minimal filler on the cork handles. All of Scierra rods have been given a flex profile rating which describes, in laymen’s terms, how deep the rod bends when moderately loaded. The SRX V2 has a ‘¾’ rating indicating that about three quarters of the blank bends. When matched with a 7wt floating line the 10-footer loaded quickly with a relatively short casting stroke and put a clean line out on the water with crisp presentation and good turnover. As I increased the head length outside the rod tip the line was stable and smooth in the false cast, helped along by the increased flex along the blank, giving the whole cast from start to finish a very relaxed feel. Even when striving for distance with a large single lure or a team of flies it smoothly went about its job. This rod does have a deeper action than I’m used to, but that’s OK because everything worked. I could lean hard into the rod to get the very last bit out of it, letting the blank do its job without forcing it. It’s just as accomplished at overhead and double haul as it is for continuous motion casts such as switch and roll so it is very versatile. www.troutfisherman.co.uk
At this length and line rating it would suit bank and boat sport on larger reservoirs so with that in mind it needs to handle a range of sinking lines. I tried midge-tips to medium sinkers (3 inches per second) and there wasn’t a lot of difference in casting and fishing compared to the floating line. When it came to denser fast sinkers (5 to 8ips) I could certainly feel the blank load much quicker and deeper, but I needed less in the way of false casts and double hauling to hit the distance marks. A 7wt line matches this rod well and for dual rated fast sinkers I would opt for 6/7 rather than 7/8 for optimum performance.
Pin-point accuracy The action of the 9ft 6in 6wt, although similar in some ways, is a little livelier and it’s quicker to recover so really suits floating line and top of the water tactics. The 6wt rating is spot on whether using standard or long belly lines. If using a dual rated line I would opt for a 5/6wt for best results. Accuracy and presentation at short and medium range is about pin-perfect and ideal when targeting rising fish. It’s also no slouch at range and holds its own even with a range of sinking densities.
MODEL: SRX V2 10ft 7wt Price: £139.99 Weight: 138gr (4.9oz) Sections: 4 ■ Full wells cork handle with cork/rubber mix top and bottom; 1-inch cork and cork/ rubber mix fixed fighting butt; anodised alloy double ring uplocking reel seat. ■ Matt grey blank with matching whippings for a ‘stealth’ look; alignment dots plus length and AFTM rating detail. ■ Two lined stripping guides, eight snake rings, tip and keeper ring. ■ 33.5-inch zip-top nylon covered rod tube with carry handle and adjustable shoulder strap. Also comes in a partitioned cloth bag. MODEL: SRX V2 9ft 6in 6wt Price: £129.99 Weight: 126gr (4.4oz) Sections: 4 ■ All other specs the same except it has seven snake rings and a 31.5–inch rod tube.
If you are looking for a lighter line outfit with presentation in mind but not sure about dropping to a 5wt this model ticks the boxes.
VERDICT: Never judge a book by its cover! Scierra talk about the rods having a 3/4 flex i.e. a deeper action, which wouldn’t have been my choice when looking for a rod. However, the 10ft in particular performed exceptionally well and it coped admirably with everything I threw it at from flat calms to head on winds. I like the lowflash ‘stealth’ matt grey finish to the blank.
The SRX V2 has a low-flash matt grey blank. DECEMBER 7 - JANUARY 3 | TROUT FISHERMAN 69
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