IN-DEPTH REVIEWS
FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH
● Vision rod outfit ● Hardy tackle bags ● Scierra Belly line ● Orvis wading boots
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NEW SERIES
Global tips to suit UK waters
20 WINTER
New Season Goals
FLIES TO TIE NOW
30 JAN - 26 FEB, 2019 | £3.60
ISSUE 519
Inspirational plans to spice up your year
RESERVOIRS
LURE THEM IN
Time for the Purple Nasty
SMALL WATERS
WELSH GEM
A fishery for the future
DESTINATIONS
ETHIOPIA?
New trout haven revealed
WINTER NYMPHS
LIGHTEN UP!
Scale down when fish rise
Contents
BE INSPIRED 6 Your first
TF readers reveal some of their fly-fishing ‘firsts’
Cover image by: Peter Gathercole
TACTICS
8 A venue for the future
Graiglwyd Springs combines excellent value fishing with quality holiday accommodation COVER STORY
12 The joy of a 4wt!
Peter Cockwill adopts a light approach at a well-established small water fishery COVER STORY
18 Global Flyfisher NEW SERIES
OFFERS 46 Reader offer
Half-price Greys rod outfit – yours for only £114.99
COVER STORY Top techniques from around the world that you can use to target fish on your home waters
24 Buzzers in the cold
Russ Symons has a ‘light bulb’ moment and turns to the New Zealand method to find success
28 Unnatural causes
Forget ‘imitative’. A Purple Nasty is all they want at Yorkshire’s Leighton Reservoir COVER STORY
Russ Symons ties a Mini Flashback Blue Damsel
70 Flymasters
Peter Gathercole judges your hair-wing dries and sets a new challenge
75 It’s open vice night
Where would you turn if you had to assemble fly patterns from whatever you could find lying around...
TACKLE
79 Gear on test
COVER STORY Robbie Winram reviews Orvis wading boots, Hardy Classic luggage and more...
The latest from the trout fishing scene, plus Ian Muckle’s report on sport in Scottish
TF contributors and social media friends share their hopes for the new season
WHERE TO FISH 47 UK waters
Four top fisheries to visit this month
50 Ethiopia
COVER STORY Bob Marley’s spiritual home is just as appealing to trout, as Jasper Onslow discovers.
ADVICE
TF’s panel of experts answer your questions
www.troutfisherman.co.uk
66 Flybox fillers
Top advice to maximise your changes of catching in the cold
54 Advice squad
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Peter Gathercole ties a fly for those calm, early season days
OPINION & NEWS
COVER STORY
www.greatmagazines.co.uk/ troutfisherman
63 Sunburst Buzzer
FOCUS ON... 44 New season goals
PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS AVAILABLE
FLY-TYING
84 Fly-tying products
42 10 winter fishing tips
Save up to 51% when you subscribe to Trout Fisherman magazine
Choose a set of waders plus top safety advice when wading from Paul Procter
34 The weighting game
England international Phil Dixon alters his depth and fly weight to suit conditions on the river
74 S Subscription bscription offer
58 How to...
troutfishermanmag TroutFishMag troutfisherman troutfishmag
UV torches, resins and an extensive colour range of holographic tinsels
86 News
88 Letters
Trout Fisherman readers have their say
90 Cockwill
Peter explains why fishing in the Alaskan wilderness holds such a special place in his heart
91 Troutmasters
The final list of badge winners from 2018
95 Iain Barr
The former world champion looks ahead to the new season on the major reservoirs
98 Wading in
Fishing seems to capture the modern sculptor’s imagination like no other sport. Jeff Prest asks why.
troutfisherman troutfisherman troutfisherman-online @troutfisherman
THIS MONTH’S WINNER
We go salmon fishing too! “A 21lb cock salmon from the Upper Tyne on my second salmon trip in England.” Sent in by captor Damian Rafferty.
HOW TO ENTER
Shot of the
MONTH
If you have a fly-fishing 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: Peter & Sue Cockwill
A venue for the future Peter Cockwill and pal Nicholas Walmsley have nothing but praise for Graiglwyd Springs in North Wales…
W
HAT a spectacular setting this is. This fishery embodies the future of small water trout fishing. Visiting for a few days, not too far from North Wales, gives me the opportunity to experience the amazing Graiglwyd Springs, and it has convinced me that the future of the smaller, stillwater trout fisheries is exemplified by this trendsetter. Although a fishery since 1992 it’s taken the enthusiasm of previous owner Huw Jones and new owners James and Debbie McAllister to transform what was an already, well-known water, into one which combines excellent value fishing, with fabulous holiday cottages. Many times in the pages of Trout Fisherman we report that fisheries are experiencing tough times and see the comments that there aren’t enough youngsters coming into the sport, the fisheries don’t offer enough variety or facilities, there’s nowhere to get a meal or something for a non-fishing partner to do. Well, that’s so very different here. But let me first tell you about the fishery. Originally a water-supply reservoir, the structure is incredibly well built and staggeringly deep. There aren’t many two-acre waters that are the best part of 40 feet deep! And neither are there many that are set high up on a hillside, with views out to sea – and the distant island of Anglesey – to distract you from concentrating on the fishing.
8 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26
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TACTICS Winter
can big fish timmean e Graiglwyd at
Nicholas Walmsley with his personal best 13lb Graiglwyd rainbow.
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JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26 | TROUT FISHERMAN 9
TACTICS SMALL WATERS Words : Peter Cockwill Pictures: Peter Gathercole
Fun with a 4wt off the wooden platforms at Great Burrows Fishery.
12 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 30 - FEBRAURY 26
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THE JOY OF A 4WT! Peter Cockwill adopts a light approach at an established fishery that reflects fly-fishing’s traditions...
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JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26 | TROUT FISHERMAN 13
TACTICS GLOBAL FLYFISHER Words & pictures: Paul Richardson
Bouncing Caddis in ‘big sky’ country Paul Richardson learns a new technique from American Greg Thomas that will work well on most UK rivers...
18 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26
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Former Editor of Fly Rod & Reel magazine Greg Thomas plays a fish.
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JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26 | TROUT FISHERMAN 19
TACTICS SMALL WATERS Words & pictures: Russ Symons
Buzzers IN THE COLD Russ Symons eventually cracks it at Blakewell Fishery with the New Zealand indicator method
24 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26
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Sheltered Blakewell makes a good buzzer water, even in winter.
W
ATCH the weather forecast very closely over the next few weeks for what we call a ‘window in the weather’. These welcome breaks in often unfavourable conditions can often herald the most interesting of winter fishing conditions. These ‘weather windows’ often occur between the cold and snow-laden weather fronts when there is often a day or three of not-so-cold, reasonably-settled weather. The wind drops, the temperature rises a noticeable few degrees and the fish think it’s Christmas! As well as being a much more comfortable time to fish, this slightly warmer weather can trigger insect hatches, when the fish leave the darkness of the depths and rise up www.troutfisherman.co.uk
in the water looking for something to eat. These cold-weather insect hatches are most likely to be of immature creatures in the first few days, or maybe even first few hours, of their life. They are not going to be full size, so your tactics will be contrary to the full-blown sinking lines and saltwatersize lures that seem to be the mainstay of most anglers fishing in the winter. Fishing a light rod and floating line with size 12 and 14 flies in the middle of winter might seem the deranged antics of an obsessed nutter. But if you are thinking and watching and you see fish ‘finning’ or you see that fast swirl as a fish locks on to an insect swimming away from it, then it doesn’t take the brain of Britain to work out that some fish are up in the water and looking for something to eat.
Very often these are last season’s fish that have overwintered, learned how to forage and are in sparkling condition with full fins. Fish that have perhaps learned that all that sparkles is not good for their health, but a size 12 Black Buzzer fished on the drop...now that is truly a temptation! This was exactly the situation I was faced with when I joined Jeff Pearce at Blakewell Fishery just outside Barnstaple in North Devon. Jeff does the instruction at Blakewell, inbetween chasing salmon on the River Fowey or bass in the Taw-Torridge estuary. It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it!
Swirls in shallow water It had been something of a nasty wet week and I was fully expecting it to be one of those wet and manky days when I would JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26 | TROUT FISHERMAN 25
TACTICS RIVERS Words: Phil Dixon Pictures: Peter Gathercole
Switch between flies of differing weight to suit shallow and deep areas.
34 TROUT FISHERMAN | JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26
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The weighting GAME England international Phil Dixon alters depth and fly weight to suit the river...
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JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26 | TROUT FISHERMAN 35
SPECIAL READER OFFER
HALF-PRICE GREYS ROD ONLY OUTFIT £114.99 GR10 rod, reel & lots more...
THIS month’s great offer from Glasgow Angling Centre is a complete fly-fishing outfit based around the Greys GR10 fly rod. This four-piece rod is a high performance, smooth, yet powerful, medium action model with a gloss black finish and matching black aluminium reel seat. It has a hard-wearing composite cork handle and features hard lined butt but guides and chrome snake intermediates. It is supplied with a cloth rod bag. For F this great offer you can choose from a 9ft 5wt or 9ft 6wt model when you y place your order. The offer also includes a Stillwater S C60 cassette reel. This large arbor, arbor lightweight reel features a powerful, pow reliable drag and comes complete with one super-light plastic plas spool,
plus two spare spools, that are quick and easy to change so you y get back fishing as quickly as possible. Spools are also sold separately. separ Plus you also get a Greys Gre Platinum Shoot floating fly line, a pocket pock fly box and 50 popular stillwater flies, a pack of three braided br loops and a 50 metre spool of braided br backing. The normal RRP of this outfit is £232.94, but it is available to Trout Fisherman readers for £114.99 – that’s just under half price!
The Greys GR10 fly rod - choose from a 9ft 5wt or 9ft 6wt model.
(Free p&p. Offer available while stocks last).
The Stillwater C60 cassette reel comes with two spare spools and a carry bag.
Greys Platinum Shoot floating fly line has an easy-cast taper.
Light but strong foam-lined large pocket fly box (16x11cm).
HOW TO ORDER
Quote ‘Trout Fisherman offer’ and code 00141TF. Please also state size of rod you require when placing your order.
A packet of fifty popular stillwater fly patterns.
Pack of three Airflo floating braided loops.
50-metre spool of abrasionresistant backing.
Tel: 0141 212 8880 Fax: 0141 331 6340 Email: sales@fishingmegastore.com Website: http://gac.fishing/00141TF/ Or by Post: Glasgow Angling Centre Ltd, Unit 1, The Point, 29 Saracen St, Glasgow G22 5HT
Fly-Tying In association with Veniard
trout FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH
Sunburst BUZZER
Peter Gathercole ties a fly for those calm, early-season days Visit our website www.veniard.com
THE ULTIMATE FLY-TYING BOOK A lifetime's flies in one beautifully illustrated book – from the publishers of Trout Fisherman and Trout & Salmon magazines
ONLY £122..999 P9&P PLUS £
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Catching a fish on a fly you’ve tied is one of the most rewarding aspects of our sport. The satisfaction is everlasting. If you've not tied a fly before, this quality 200-page book will help you to achieve that goal. Discover the basics of hook and fly anatomy, and the tools and materials to get you started. There are explanations of basic techniques, including applying thread to a hook, the whip finish and everything inbetween: hackling, dubbing and ribbing. But this book is not only for beginners: the fly collection will satisfy the experienced modern game-fisher's every need. Modern patterns feature alongside traditional stalwarts that continue to be effective. Dressings and easyto-follow sequences are clearly written and beautifully photographed. The flies are presented in colour-coded categories for stillwater trout, river trout and grayling, and salmon and sea-trout. The book is ringbound for easy viewing when you tie. All the flies have appeared in Trout Fisherman and Trout & Salmon over the past two decades and are the most successful patterns from gamefishing’s finest anglers.
HOW TO ORDER Online at www.greatmagazines.co.uk/248f lies www.greatmagazines.co.uk/ By post (see form below) From rom ebay ebay | B
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FLY-TYING Words: Jeffrey Prest Pictures: Jacques Portal/Ben Prest
It’s open vice night STARRING
Beard hair • Crisp packet • Tumble dryer lint • Cat fur
If you had to do ‘improv’ when fly-tying, would you die on stage or steal the show? Welcome to our guide to alternative fly dressings… www.troutfisherman.co.uk
JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 26 | TROUT FISHERMAN 75
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