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ISSUE 505
JOIN OURTO CAMPAIGANRD SAFEGU ING FLYFISH
3 JAN - 30 JAN, 2018 | £3.50
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Deadly Duos
Discover how two flies PLAN AHEAD
TACTICS
can double your chances
FLY CHOICE
LIVE IT, LOVE IT BATTLE BLUES TRY NEW FLIES Make 2018 your best year
Enjoy fierce winter fights
It's surprising what works
WHERE TO FISH
BEST WATERS
6 great venues to visit now
Contents 68 Flymasters
BE INSPIRED 6 My fishing year
Paul Procter reflects on 2017, one of his most successful angling years Cover image by: Jacques Portal
TACTICS
14 Battling the blues
Peter Cockwill is pleased that Holbury’s new management still offer blue trout COVER STORY
20 Let’s see if this works...
Jeff Prest meets an angler with a difference at Glenbervie Fishery
26 How to beat spooky trout
Craig Barr works out how to tackle spooky fish in a flat calm and clear water
OFFERS 32 Subscription offer
FOCUS ON...
Save up to 49% when you subscribe to Trout Fisherman magazine
35 Teams of flies
34 Reader offer
Wychwood clothing at less than half price! Choose from boat and wading jackets, overtrousers and bib & brace
COVER STORY Set up three two-fly approaches for winter stillwater trouting
WHERE TO FISH 41 UK waters
Four top fisheries to visit this month Dave Lewis shows you how to catch ferocious tarpon on fly in Belize
50 Spotlight on...
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN Bankside
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.
WHERE TO FIND US...
72 Follow this thread
Russ Symons reviews the latest tying threads on the market
TACKLE 75 New gear
COVER STORY Robbie Winram reviews the latest tackle including rods, clothing and accessories
80 Fly-tying products
Loon’s Ergo fly-tying tools, squirrel and rabbit dubbings, dyed pheasant and a mini braid
OPINION & NEWS 74 Read on the fly
Two more fly fishing books under the spotlight
82 News
What’s new on the UK trout scene
84 Letters
44 Belize tarpon
COVER STORY
Peter Gathercole judges buoyant lures designed to be poppep up off a sining line
Lincolnshire’s Toft Newton Reservoir
ADVICE
52 Advice squad
TF’s experts help solve your fly-fishing problems
56 How to...
Trout Fisherman readers have their say
87 Opinion
Rob Edmunds’ plea to save our reservoirs
88 Cockwill
Start making up your ’bucket list’ because life’s too short not to
90 New sponsor
Introducing Fordham & Wakefield as new sponsors of Troutmasters
Select your first river fly rod. Paul Procter explains
92 Troutmasters
FLY-TYING
96 Match news
61 Blobs & FABs COVER STORY
How to tie a deadly winter pattern
65 Flybox fillers
Russ Symons highlights his ‘unsung hero’ pattern – the Sparkle Cruncher
ONLINE www.troutfisherman.co.uk TroutFishMag troutfishermanmag Trout Fisherman
This month’s badge winners and catch pictures Iain Barr passes on his tips from his successful 2017 season
98 Wading in
Jeff Prest examines the somewhat lost art of photographing fish
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THIS MONTH’S WINNER
A cold crisp morning at Arran View Fishery, Ayrshire. Sent in by John Mcdines
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 & pictures: Paul Procter
Get out there
How globe-trotting fly angler Paul Procter gets the most from his sport
6 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30
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UMBRIAN-based Paul Procter has been a Trout Fisherman contributor for almost 20 years. In that time he’s travelled the world catching fish on the fly. He keeps a diary and plans his fishing. You can do the same in 2018. Paul chatted to us about 2017… TF: What was your most fulfilling moment? Paul Procter: Without question, visiting the Varzina trout camp in Russia. Situated inside the Arctic Circle, it’s an extremely remote region only accessible by helicopter. Such a wild place gave me an appreciation of how vulnerable we are as humans. Here the land is only free from ice about 12 weeks of the year. Aside from the average size of trout, which topped 5lb, I marvelled at their sheer existence in such a harsh environment and their amazing
markings. Along with Iceland and perhaps one or two other outposts, the brown trout here are genetically untouched and remain true descendants of the Ice Age. Clutching them was a humbling experience. That there was no mains electricity and the only thing separating you from the outside world was a canvas fly sheet, added to the overall experience of being at one with nature – that’s what fly-fishing is all about.
BE INSPIRE D Get out the r make 2018 e and you best year r
TF: What inspires you to keep fishing? PP: Fly-fishing involves wild creatures and weather conditions that are totally out of our control, so each time we venture out the goal posts are continually moving. Granted, we can rely on past experiences and fly patterns which produced for us but, on the whole, there’s no guarantee that we’ll find fish in a cooperative mood. Equally, there are times when we think
Paul takes time out to admire the wilds of New Zealand, his spiritual home.
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JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 7
INTERVIEW: FREDDY STEELE Words & pictures: Jeffrey Prest
10 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30
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Dabbling in intrigue
Hailed as the best fly to come out of Ireland in a generation, the Dabbler’s origins are shrouded in controversy, and Freddy Steele isn’t letting it lie.
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NYONE familiar with the imposing presence of Freddy Steele might briefly wonder why he hadn’t already sorted the matter out himself in more physical terms, but be that as it may; 27 years after Trout Fisherman hailed Donald McClearn as the creator of the Dabbler, Freddy would like it known. We got the wrong man. I’d heard a whisper to that effect from an independent source when I was at Lough Melvin recently. “You didn’t hear this from me,” I was told, “but that’s Freddy’s fly...” And now, five months later, it comes from the horse’s mouth. Now enjoying a fledgling guiding career at Melvin, the former Ireland captain is quietly insistent. “The Dabbler is my pattern,” said
Freddy. “I fished the Melvin Open many years ago and my boat partner was getting them on a Partridge & Orange and I was catching on a Golden Invicta. The next day, I took Donald McClearn to Melvin. He’d asked me the night before if I could suggest anything he might tie and I gave him the tyings for [what would become known as] the Dabbler.”
Bred in the purple The story moved on when Fred noticed a previously magenta cape, fading in the sun on his window ledge. The Claret Dabbler was born. “I tie three turns of that around the head, then the bronze mallard wing in front of that,” he recalls. “About a fortnight after, I told Donald
about this and he tied some. We were cleaning up on them in competitions. I said, ‘we’ll have to name this fly’. Donald’s nickname was ‘Dabbler’ so we called it that. “A few weeks later, I heard there was an article coming out about the Dabbler. I wasn’t keen but Donald told me not to worry about it, because it wouldn’t have the right tyings.” When Trout Fisherman ran a two-page splash on this exciting new pattern in June 1990, however, the dressings became incidental. Amid a dizzying roll-call of competitive successes achieved with the Dabbler throughout the 1980s, Freddy’s name is mentioned once. Updating Donald McClearn on the result of a match,
“Oh, to have a recording of that fateful conversation, for therein seems to lie the nub of this dispute...”
Freddy Steele looks out over his second home, Lough Melvin.
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JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 11
Words: Peter Cockwill Pictures: Peter Gathercole
Battling THE BLUES
Holbury Lane Lakes is under new management but Peter Cockwill is pleased they’re continuing their reputation for quality, hard-fighting blue trout...
14 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30
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TACTICS Keep
catch with our w ing in stillwater t ter ips
Blues are popular because they put up one hell of a fight.
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JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 15
TACTICS SMALL STILLWATERS Words & pictures: Jeffrey Prest
Ally hadn’t even bothered naming this fly. As though the fish cared...
20 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30
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Let’s see if THIS WORKS... When you’ve caught all the fish you need and tied most of the flies you wanted, quotas give way to curiosity. Welcome to Ally Bruce’s world...
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JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 21
TACTICS SMALL WATERS Words: Russell Hill Pictures: Peter Gathercole
26 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30
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How to beat SPOOKY FISH
Craig Barr has to work hard on calm, small lakes where fish are easily alarmed...
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JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 27
SPECIAL READER OFFER
1 | WYCHWOOD BOAT JACKET RRP £179.99 Offer price £60 ■ Two-layer waterproof and breathable jacket in high performance fabric and fully seam sealed ■ Adjustable fold-away hood ■ Cuff construction designed so that no water creeps up the sleeve and fly line does not catch when casting ■ YKK main zip with double stormflap ■ YKK zipped hand pockets and two generously sized chest pockets with magnetic fasteners and flap hold-up feature ■ Internal YKK zipped security pocket Size codes: M - LD13515; L - LD13516; XL - LD13517; XXL - LD13518
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WYCHWOOD CLOTHING LESS THAN HALF PRICE! MAKE sure you are properly equipped to deal with any bad weather by taking advantage of this month’s great reader offer from Glasgow Angling Centre. On offer are four key items of clothing from the Wychwood range – a wading jacket, boat jacket, bib & brace and overtrousers – and all are available at less than half price!
HOW TO ORDER
Quote ‘Trout Fisherman offer’ and code 00127TF when you place your order. Please state size(s) required.
(* Plus £6.99 p&p. Offer available while stocks last).
2 | WYCHWOOD BIB AND BRACE RRP £149.99 Offer price £60 ■ Ultra-lightweight, highly breathable with DWR finish ■ YKK front zip covered with stormflap ■ YKK Aquaguard zipped hand pockets and water-resistant zip closure hip pockets ■ Adjustable elasticated webbing straps ■ Ergonomic cut through the leg for comfortable fit ■ Generous gusset at hem with adjustable tabs for a close fit ■ Internal chest pocket for valuables Size codes: M - LD13511; L - LD13512; XL - LD13513; XXL - LD13514 3 | WYCHWOOD WADING JACKET RRP £199.99 Offer price £70 ■ Lightweight, waterproof and breathable three-layer construction and fully seam sealed ■ Water resistant YKK Aquaguard main zip with stormflap behind ■ Innovative cuff construction that ensures no water creeps up sleeve ■ Magnetic fasteners hold the generous chest pockets open while retrieving your gear ■ Internal YKK zipped security pocket ■ Fully adjustable hood ■ Laser cut holes in high collar for breathability when collar zipped up across bottom of face Size codes: M - LD13523; L - LD13524; XL - LD13525; XXL - LD13526 4 | WYCHWOOD OVERTROUSERS RRP £119.99 Offer price £55 ■ Three-layer high-performance fabric with DWR finish ■ YKK front zip covered with stormflap ■ YKK Aquaguard zipped hand pockets ■ Elasticated back waistband ■ Ergonomic cut through the leg for comfortable fit ■ Adjustable tabs at waist for a close fit ■ Large leg gussets mean they’re easy to get on and off Size codes: M - LD13519; L - LD13520; XL - LD13521; XXL - LD13522 Please state size code(s) you require when you place your order.
Tel: 0141 212 8880 Fax: 0141 331 6340 Email: sales@fishingmegastore.com Website: http://gac.fishing/00127TF/ Or by Post: Glasgow Angling Centre Ltd, Unit 1, The Point, 29 Saracen St, Glasgow G22 5HT
FOCUS ON H ow to cope with two-fl y set-ups
Create your first fly team. Peter Cockwill breaks down the basics of multi-fly leader set-ups USING two or more flies at a time on the same leader is probably the most common style of presentation for stillwaters, and is deservedly popular. It should be said that on some waters, notably the bigger average-weight fisheries, it’s a requirement that you fish with only a
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single fly, but if we first look at the options for two-fly rigs then it quickly becomes clear that there are some fascinating techniques at our disposal. It’s this colder time of the year that can make you think there’s no point in the imitative approach and yet just because very little hatches now doesn’t mean there are no insects in the water.
JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 35
WHERE TO FISH BELIZE
SOLID MUSCLE
Dave Lewis casts at diving pelicans to hook powerful tarpon in Belize...
A hefty bar of solid silver muscle – no dainty fights from tarpon.
44 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30
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JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 45
Fly-Tying In association with Veniard
trout FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH
BLOBS AND FABS
Peter Gathercole ties a pattern you can’t do without on stillwaters Visit our website www.veniard.com
MATCH SCENE OPINION
Don’t destroy our reservoirs Rob Edmunds has serious fears over the future of Anglian Water reservoirs
I
DON'T want an argument between angling disciplines. But, having been a season ticket holder for 25 years with Anglian Water, I care about the reservoirs, more so it seems than AW. I fish at least twice weekly at Rutland, Grafham and Pitsford. First, I love all types of fishing. But I do feel very strongly about this issue and recognise the damage that’s being done to my home waters. Twenty years ago, pike fishing was originally allowed for a week per season on Rutland and Grafham, with large spoons and spinners only (over six-inch lures and barbless hooks only). This generated revenue and very few fish, with little effect on the fly fishing. Predator fishing really took off when we “fly anglers” decided we’d target the big pike, perch and zander on these reservoirs (around 12 years ago). After all, we the “fly anglers” knew the holding areas. We soon had a lot of really big fish on fly and it raised the profile and potential of the waters. The fish we caught were often “fish of a lifetime” for predator anglers. I remember the days when I had four double-figure zander in one session and four perch over 4lb, all on fly – now, that's impossible for anyone to achieve. The problem was, the majority of predator anglers couldn’t cast a fly, let alone a large pike fly, so they struggled and caught very little yet while spending a
lot of money! They complained about not being allowed to use jerk baits and such. Specimen groups saw the potential in our waters and put pressure on AW to open the reservoirs for “predator anglers”, and a relaxation of the rules. From AW’s perspective, it’s now a huge revenue stream. They sell a lot of boats and day tickets, and now I feel they care more about the predator anglers than the fly fisherman. Just look at all the predator tackle for sale in the AW lodges!
The current position l From September onwards, predator anglers account for 10-30% of all AW boats. On some weekends all boats are booked just for a predator event. l Small “plastics” of any size are now allowed - supposedly to target the perch drop shotting (yet the trout love them). l Small spinners are used by the majority of anglers - this is not policed by AW staff. l Deadbaits of any size are used - often small sprats in the 3-7in size for zander – but they’re taken by trout. Predator anglers use trebles, fly anglers cannot! l AW promotes a match on Pitsford in which predator anglers must achieve the “Grand Slam” of a pike, perch and trout. l In July, you can legally spin or use plugs for trout at Pitsford. Any lure is fine! l AW promoted a “survey” for eel fishing this year with bivvies from the Sailing Club at Graf ham to the Dam for three
nights - they were supposedly eel fishing. Anglers paid £45 a night and caught a variety of species, including trout!
What should be done I’ve witnessed all kinds of rule-breaking by predator anglers, many of which were listed in last month’s Letters pages. I’ve no problem with pike, perch or zander in our reservoirs, nor with anglers fishing for them. But fishing should only be done on the fly for most of the season. However, one week could be set aside each season at each reservoir specifically for predator fishing, but only with lures over 6in and with barbless single hooks attached. This would run consecutively over each reservoir to give predator anglers a month of fishing at AW waters. I also suggest no deadbaits, small plastics or drop shotting. This will protect all our fish – zander, pike, perch and trout – as only the true specimen anglers will fish for them. Currently, anyone can throw out a small spinner or a deadbait with a treble and catch something – usually a trout. AW are rapidly destroying their waters. The predator fishing is a shadow of what it was. The fly fishing is in sharp decline and AW cannot dispute the fact that season ticket anglers are not at all happy. I fear we’ll become like Hanningfield or Bewl, where once-great fly fishing reservoirs are now all but destroyed.
“I feel we’ll become like Hanningfield or Bewl where once great fly fishing reservoirs are now all but destroyed.” www.troutfisherman.co.uk
JANUARY 3 - JANUARY 30 | TROUT FISHERMAN 87
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