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21 JUNE - 18 JULY, 2017 | £3.50
ISSUE 498
41
TOP FLIES FOR JULY Plus their full dressings
Mid-summer
MAYHEM
Huge fish from a special new venue SMALL WATERS
HOT HOT HOT! Tips to beat the heat
BOAT TACTICS
BIG BROWNS
Hook Rutland specimens
Olives on the water
RESERVOIR GUIDES
BLAGDON MAP Summer hotspots & flies
MATCH THE HATCH
WHERE TO FISH
SAIL AWAY
Catch big sailfish on fly
Contents 66 How to...
BE INSPIRED 6 In praise of variety
Cover image by: Peter Gathercole
COVER STORY Jonathan Tomlinson catches blues, rainbows and a British record equalling tiger trout all from one lake
Jeff Prest meets two brothers who know how to catch on a very hot day at Balmule
Step-by-step sequence for tying an olive dry, the perfect summer fly
18 Black magic
Stillwater specialist Peter Cockwill highlights the importance of fishing black dries through the season
24 Which flies for peaty water?
James Stokoe enjoys a session at his local Langley Dam – where author Catherine Cookson once lived
Subscribe to Trout Fisherman magazine this month and receive two waterproof fly boxes
90 Reader offer
Get a Greys Strata waistcoat for only £35
29 Rutland browns
Iain Barr catches a magnificent brownie that reminds him of the good old days COVER STORY
34 To stay or go?
Russ Symons ties a Mini Montana
78 Flymasters
Peter Gathercole judges your sedge pupa imitations and sets a new tying challenge
TACKLE 83 New gear
COVER STORY Robbie Winram reviews the latest tackle including rods and waders
40 How to play a fish
West country instructor Nick Hart explains...
OPINION & NEWS
FOCUS ON...
Peter Cockwill and Don Coe predict that our future fisheries will be ‘any method’ to remain viable
The lifecycle and top imitations to try
WHERE TO FISH
WHERE TO FIND US...
74 Flybox fillers
88 Fly-tying gear
COVER STORY
an-up Our Bankside Cle Campaign Clean-up 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.
71 How to tie a CdC Olive Dun
Faced with a bright sun and a flat calm should you drift or anchor, fish Buzzers or dries?
45 Olives
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN Bankside
Simon Kidd on how to choose a sink-tip line
FLY-TYING
COVER STORY
48 Subscription offer
70 New series: Snowbee advice
TACTICS 12 High noon
OFFERS
Paul Procter explains the tactics needed for targeting rising fish
A new Fritz, bobbin holders and seal’s fur
50 Investigation 92 News
Bob Carnill obituary, double-figure Rutland brown trout and much more...
51 UK waters
95 Cockwill
54 Spotlight on...
96 Letters
56 Sailfish on fly
98 Troutmasters
ADVICE
103 Match news
TF’s panel of experts answer your questions on leader length, furled leaders and clear water tactics
106 Wading in
Four fisheries to visit this month COVER STORY
The perils of fishing at night
Blagdon Lake in North Somerset
Globetrotter Matt Harris tempts the fastest fish in the sea COVER STORY
62 Advice squad
ONLINE www.troutfisherman.co.uk TroutFishMag troutfishermanmag Trout Fisherman
Trout Fishermann readers have their say
This month’s badge winners plus your latest catch photographs Iain Barr’s report on the Bob Church Classic Jeff Prest explores the dreaded fishery toilet!
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THIS MONTH’S WINNER
Maggie Ward trout fishing in New Zealand. Sent in by Alan Ward
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 Sharpes 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: Jonathan Tomlinson Pictures: Peter Gathercole
Jonathan with his 11lb 8oz tiger trout.
6 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18
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BE INSPIRE D Multi-spec ie what angle s is rs want
In praise of VARIETY
Jonathan Tomlinson catches blues, rainbows and a British record equalling tiger of 11lb 8oz, all from the new Hobby Lake at Sportfish’s Theale complex...
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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 7
Words & pictures: Jeffrey Prest
Bill Graham casts from Balmule’s lush banks.
12 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18
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TACTICS Fish a
n ol with a new d fly s this summ lant er...
High NOON
Waiting for some cloud cover on a torrid day in Fife, two brothers introduce us to the Foam-Arsed Blob’s slimmer, deeper cousin…
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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 13
TACTICS DRY FLY FISHING Words: Peter Cockwill Pictures: Peter Gathercole
Black MAGIC
Peter Cockwill highlights the importance of fishing black dries through a season...
18 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18
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A hawthorn dry works all year round, even if hawthorns aren’t hatching.
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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 19
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Fly-Tying In association with Veniard
trout FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH
Tying a CDC DUN
Peter Gathercole ties an olive dry, perfect for summer ďŹ shing Visit our website www.veniard.com
TACTICS RESERVOIRS Words: Iain Barr Pictures: Peter Gathercole A magnificent 6lb 12oz Rutland brown brings back memories for Iain Barr.
Rutland BROWNS Iain Barr catches a fish that reminds him of the Rutland of old...
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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 29
TACTICS MEDIUM-SIZED WATERS Words: Russell Hill Pictures: Peter Gathercole
Should I stay or SHOULD I GO? Russ Dyer and pals are caught in two minds about whether to drift or anchor under a bright sun and flat calm at Elinor...
34 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18
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Peter Gathercole plays an Elinor fish caught with a dry fly on a scorching day.
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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 35
WHERE TO FISH GUATEMALA’S PACIFIC COAST Words & pictures: Matt Harris
FASTEST FISH Matt Harris’ heart stops as he battles a 68mph sailfish on fly
O
FF the top. That’s where I like to catch my fish. If I’m out on Draycote, Grafham or Rutland, I’ll have a dry fly rod rigged from almost the first day of the season to the last, and the merest hint of a rise will have me reaching for the Gink, much to the amusement of my boat partner. It’s cost me dear many a time, as my mate sticks with the Buzzers or the washing-line, 56 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18
and gets to crow about his inevitable ‘victory’ in the pub afterwards. However, to me at least, a fish taking your fly off the top is worth a dozen caught ‘blind’. The sight of a trout rising to your fly is an enduring thrill that just never gets old. Imagine that the fish rising to your fly is not a trout: imagine that it’s a freakish great thing of 7, 8 maybe even 9 feet long. Imagine it lighting up in a surreal range of vivid neon
colours, and then demolishing your big ‘dry fly’ in a heartbeat before rocketing into the sky right there in front of you. Istiophorus platypterus – the Pacific sailfish is that fish. Watching one take a fly off the surface is about as thrilling as flyfishing gets. Add in the fact that these creatures are widely heralded as the fastest fish in the sea – reputedly capable of a mind-boggling 68 miles an hour, and you have all the www.troutfisherman.co.uk
IN THE SEA ingredients for an unforgettable flyfishing experience.
The boredom of trolling At most destinations, these spectacular creatures are caught by trolling lures behind a boat, and anyone who has indulged in this form of fishing will tell you how dull it can be. In short it involves hours cruising around, punctuated by a very occasional www.troutfisherman.co.uk
take, way back behind the boat. As a result, the hook-up – and the ensuing spectacular acrobatic display – is viewed from the ‘cheap seats’, anywhere from 50 to many hundreds of yards distant. You get only a tantalising, long-range glimpse of all the aerial mayhem these creatures are so rightly celebrated for. My issues with trolling don’t end there. This style of fishing is not only tedious, it’s also lacking in any skill and barely any input
from the angler. It is the boat skipper who locates the fish, puts the lures in front of them and moves those same lures at the right speed to induce a take. All you have to do is sit in a big chair and pull. And beat your chest afterwards of course…a monkey could do it. However, I know a special place where catching sailfish is a very different experience. A place where you can sight-cast at close quarters with a fly-rod. JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 57
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