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NEWS
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Wilderness Flyfishing News
Winter Fly Tying Course: We are again undertaking the fly tying and tackle maintenance course at Bessy Beck Trout Fishery on Wednesday evenings (from 7pm) starting on November 12th. This course was great fun and helpful to all those who participated last year. Call or email me (contact details below) if you are interested. Winter Grayling Days: This winter, as last, Stuart Broadhust and I will be undertaking several grayling days on a private stretch of the River Eamont. These were very successful last year and there are enormous grayling on the stretch this year - probably among the biggest on the entire Eden system, which means anywhere in England! Please contact me (below), for dates and details.
England teams for 2009: After four successive years being selected to represent England in the FIPS-Mouche European Championships, I have not been selected for the 2009 squads in Scotland (World Championship) and Ireland (European Championship). I have, however, qualified by right for a place in the 2009 England team (Loch-Style), by finishing in the top 10 in the National Final on Bewl Water. I am joining a lot of old friends on the loch-style team, including Vince Brooks, John Horsey, and both Dixon brothers, Mike and Phil, and several others, while welcoming some new members to Team England. I am relieved and excited about qualifying for the team again. I had been on the verge of retiring from England team selection, but this Loch-style team qualification has revitalised me. The Spring International next year is on Chew Valley in early June. Further news here soon.
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Contact Us: Jeremy & Jennie Lucas Tel: 01768 352995 email: jjbrlucas@btopenworld.com Copyright © Wilderness Flyfishing, 2008. All rights reserved. |
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San River, Poland, and Pioneer Flyfishing: Although it took almost the
whole season to get there, the San River finally produced some wonderful
fishing for the last groups of the year. At last the fishing has given
us glimpses, and even reasonably long
periods, of 'classic' San. September was with just a few days'
exception a superb month and October has followed suit. Lovely,
consistent hatches of Blue Winged Olives and Pale Watery duns, along with
sporadic caddis appearances have made for exciting fishing, with a lot of
grayling between 40 and 50 cm. There is a simply staggering number of
trout in the river this year in the 20 - 25 cm category, the result of
excellent spawning years in 2006 and 2007. This bodes very well for
future seasons and I am mindful of the expected size of these fish in time
for the FIPS-Mouche World Championships which will be fished on the San in
June 2010. It is the grayling which gives the San its fame, however,
and it is a relief that in September and October these fish have at last
revealed their great presence. A recent group witnessed a fabulous
day-long rise of these fish, with an almost complete absence of trout, on
the waters shown in the photograph here. Grayling to 50 cm were seen,
and several caught between 35 and 44 cm, mostly on dry fly (BWO). The
very last group of the season had excellent fishing, with one grayling of 53
cm!
Eden:
Heavy, persistent rain throughout summer and autumn has meant that we have
fished in windows in the weather, often waiting for several days for the
rain and the flood waters to subside so that we can get back on the river.
During these windows of opportunity, however, the fishing has been
spectacular. Eden really is a miracle in these times of climatic
change and such horrific agricultural damage. We are so fortunate to
have the rain, because without it we would not have the best mixed wild
trout and grayling river in England. We have caught a lot of trout and
grayling this year, at least during those periods when the pace has dropped
out of the river, and particularly the colour. Hatches have been
indifferent, as almost everywhere, but the fish are obviously feeding
heavily on nymph. The quality of all the fish is unbeatable anywhere
in Britain and beyond. The
Appleby Water has again been the best on the entire Eden system and some of
the feeder becks have produced surprising fishing, including grayling quite
high up the Hoff Beck. 
From the tarn:
While the Eden system is battered by rapid rises and falls in water level
the tarn has been in overflow state since mid-June. Strangely, the
brown trout have disappeared with not a single capture since late June,
though one large fish, as in the photo, was seen in the shallows in July.
Feeding must be good, however, judging by the growth rate of the rainbows.
Stocked last March at an average size of 300g (10 inches), these fish are
now almost double the weight and averaging 13 inches. Some big rainbows
have been seen and caught, but it is
noticeable that they need to be stalked. The damsel flies were
disappointing this year, in spite of a lot of curled leaf pondweed and
almost no algae problem. There have been fair numbers of sedges, a few
pond olives and quite good buzzer hatches. Corixae and gammarus shrimp
remain in abundance. Since June we have had
perhaps a dozen fish in excess of a kilo, with four fish about two kilos.
The giant rainbow (in excess of three kilos) caught back in April has not been
seen again. Visiting the tarn yesterday, I found evidence that our
otter is back - two gill plates, four sharp rib cage bones and one pectoral
fin - all that remained of one of our prime rainbow trout! I am
grateful that it was not one of the elusive brown trout.