Outside Days » Fishing

Free Salmon Fishing

Howard — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:15:58 +0000

As those who know me will know, free is my favourite price. When an accidental encounter with Charlie Baker, owner of a stunning beat on the River Moy led to the opportunity to offer all of you free fishing I jumped at the chance.

The River Moy in County Mayo Southern Ireland is the most prolific salmon river in Western Europe with an estimated 100,000 fish running it every year. This beat is situated above and below the town of Foxford (about 30 mins from Knock airport), about 7 miles from the tidewater so sees tens of thousands of fresh run fish and an exceptional number of springers. The fishery has been developed during the last five years to make it the best fly fishery on the lower Moy. Unlike much of the lower water down to Ballina, which is all slow water, this beat has a considerable gradient and a good flow throughout the beat. It is an exciting stretch to fish, although not at all difficult, particularly in the lowest two pools.

The beats fishes equally well with the floating line in normal conditions or intermediate or sinking lines when the water is higher.

This offer runs for all of May and the first two weeks of June 2012, if interested please contact me for further details.

The catch, if you can call it that is to stick to the following rules for booking.

To qualify you have to stay in one of the b&bs or the hotel in
Foxford. No exceptions to this.
This is a fly only water.
All anglers need to follow the rules for Salmon fishing laid out by the local rivers board (http://fishinginireland.info/salmon/salmonregs.htm).
All applicants must email me and I will email back with fishing permission.
Last but by no means least, this is a first come first served offer.

Blowing Away the Cobwebs: Do You Know How to Reach Your Sporting Agent?

Howard — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:11:52 +0000

Are your rifle, gun and rod gathering dust? Fear not. With an email or a phone call you can enter a season of great sportfulness.

There’s fishing on southern chalkstreams from infamous like the Test and Itchen to more obscure waters like the Piddle and Ebble. Or maybe pulling the trigger 500 times in a sunny summer’s day is more your speed? Simulated game days are afoot with dates for scratch days and whole teams available. And of course the roe season is peeking a wary head around the corner.

If packing your suitcase and escaping these shores for foreign climes appeals, we are still booking trips to South Africa and Argentina, Spain and Croatia. Within a couple of hours’ drive of Buenos Aires, you can be engaging in high volume dove shooting that will leave your heart racing and barrels hot. In Croatia, you can dabble your toes in the Med before heading inland to tackle the migratory quail over pointers.

A word of warning to the procrastinators out there: shooting is booking up fast for the coming season. Giving me the heads up can make the difference between a lovely day in the field or one spent on the sofa watching cartoons with the kids. As always, if I can help please get in touch.

Bosnian Belly Flop

Howard — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:23:30 +0000

While quail shooting, I stumbled across a stretch of Bosnian water and, enticed by its clarity and general troutiness, proposed it as a guinea pig trip. A group of old friends took the gamble, using flicking the fluff as an excuse to convene from their homes across Europe for a long weekend in backwoods Bosnia. The very nature of guinea pig trips means, despite my best effort to iron out the kinks from the New Forest, not all excursions run smoothly. Close on the heels of a very successful experimental trip to Spain, I packed my bags and made for Zagreb with that shoe-dropping feeling in my belly.

After collecting the team in Zagreb, we set off in our rental car for Kulen Vakuf. One exchange with the Bosnian police later, and we arrived in deepest (the village lies in the bottom of a vertiginous valley), darkest (it was 1 am). Bright, eager fishermen welcomed the new day and the guide at 9am, only to be greeted by Sullen from Kulen. We can categorically say clinical depression does not a world-class ghillie make. Fortunately, with four of us, the ghillie cloud could only hover over one of us at a time.

The first day was spent fishing a mixture of water, mainly pools and glides on the River Una. Using very small nymphs to little avail, we lured a few six to ten inch rainbows and a half decent grayling from the water. The clarity of the water led to some humorously close shaves as we struggled to judge depth. The impressive flow of the Una made upstream fishing almost impossible. Walking into the river’s power required superhuman strength we mere mortals lacked, so we copied the local method and worked our way downstream. We had an Outside Days first: fishing interrupted by laundry as a local woman joined us on the riverbank with soap and her intimate apparel in lieu of rod and line. An afternoon thunderstorm and heavy rain saw the guinea pigs retreating from the riverbank for the day.

Having shrugged off our Eeyore of a guide, we made for the River Martin Brod. Martin Brod’s trout were far more aggressive on the dry fly, and several pound to pound and a half fish were caught, but the bag was still dominated by prodigious numbers of four to eight inch fish. Just as we were starting to look forward to the afternoon’s hatch, the weather rolled in with another thunderstorm forcing us off the river.

Our final day saw us returning to the Una, this time on the Kulen Vakuf town beat. It’s one of the few places I’ve fished where a fisherman looking for a break from casting has a choice of riverside bars with decks stretching over the water. Packed with locals, they were prime territory for tips and advice from locals au fait with the peculiarities of their water and fish. Off the back of all the local assistance, one impressive specimen was caught among the shoal of smaller fish that we’d accepted as the hallmark of these waters. Mother Nature brought the last day to an abrupt end with an impressive display of weather, including torrential rain and pounding hail.

Three good friends spent a long weekend in a beautiful location on stunning rivers and had great fun…despite the wrong guide and no fish worth mentioning. Having canvassed the locals for an explanation of the lack of large fish in these obviously productive waters, it appears they divide into two camps. An exponential spike in the cormorant population is to blame, posits one faction. No no, responds the other, it is local overfishing to supplement meagre incomes. In reality, the explanation probably sits between the two: there are definitely big fish in the waters, but most are caught with conventional tackle and bakery enticement not on the fly. Oh, and the reason for our guide’s obvious depression? A woman, of course.

Barbelous Dry fly Fishing in Spain

Howard — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:57:52 +0000

Six months ago a stranger from Spain posted a comment on one of my blogs telling me that where he fished, they caught barbel on the dryfly in numbers. Never one to miss the opportunity to try something new, I packed my bags, guinea pig and tame fishing journalist for the first experiment of the 2011 guinea pig season. After an inauspicious start, earthquakes, heavy rain, a forced relocation and impromptu three hour drive, two bottles of wine at lunch, we were rods in hand on an enormous (86.5square km) reservoir by 5pm. Slight language issues meant gestures and demonstrations were the order of the day, and after our host showed us how it was done, we were soon into fish of our own.

Best described as upside down bonefishing, you see cruising barbel as they come into the shallows to hunt, fins above the water like small scale golden sharks. With the theme tune to Jaws playing in your head, you cast your terrestrial imitation in front of blunt, moustachioed noses. If you get it right, the fish will raise its head and knock the fly several times before rearing up, grabbing it and running in the opposite direction. The shallow water means they have no where to go but out towards the deeper water of the lake, and they keep going until your line is heading for the backing or you are man enough to fight back.

The reservoir offers a huge variety of habitats from boulder-strewn outcrops to white sand flats to grassy coves populated with sheep. This diversity meant that in 30 hours of fishing over two and a half days, we were never bored. Walking continuously and casting in turn, we managed a respectable bag…we averaged about a fish an hour even with the wind creeping up to a lionous force 7 on one day. With the barbel fishing peaking in October at a tremendous 40 barbel a piece, the fishing only gets better. It is possible to fish for barbel on the dryfly for 10 months of the year, although the best seasons are between April and early July and September until November.

I’m already packing my bags and the guinea pigs for our second adventure (Bosnian trout), but if barbel tempts you, I’m taking bookings now for what Toby has described as the best short fishing break he’s ever been on. That says something when you fish all over the world for a job.

Guest Blog: Alaskan Salmon Fishing Goes South

Howard — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:36:00 +0000

Every once in a while, I stumble across a blog post that makes me laugh out loud. Fred Telleen, Alaskan fly fishing guide, T-shirt entrepreneur and master storyteller provided me with just such a happy moment, and he was kind enough to agree to my sharing the story with you.

The Three Beverly Hills Attorneys

As a professional adult day care provider and fly fishing guide, I need to be careful about razzing fishing clients on my own blog, even if some of them deserve it. That is why I am offering up this story as a guest post. This occurred long ago when I was in my early 20s and guiding for one of the many fishing lodges on the Kenai River. Fortunately, I now own my own business and handle my bookings directly. Many of my guests return yearly and/or refer their friends and family, so incidents like this no longer happen. No offense is intended toward the many great attorneys out there who work hard so they can fish every chance they can get.

I was supposed to meet three clients at the Kenai Airport arriving on a 9am flight. I waited as passengers deplaned and they did not show up. I called the lodge to inquire if they’d called in, but they’d heard nothing. I waited for the next flight an hour later and still no guys. I figured I’d wait it out for one more. At 10:30, three gentlemen were deposited on the curb by a cab. Could these be my guys? They were standing there in silk jogging suits holding little hand bags. I said, “Are you guys looking for your guide?” They said, “We are here to go to “The Fishing Lodge on the Kenai River”. I said “Which one?” They said, “The Fishing Lodge on the Kenai River.” Apparently they had come in an hour earlier and grabbed a cab, telling the driver to take them to “The Fishing Lodge on the Kenai River”. The cabbie drove them around for an hour and a half. Who knows how many miles they traveled while racking up a steep bill. Knowing the correct name of their destination might have helped.

I got their names and called “The Fishing Lodge on the Kenai River” where I worked. My lodge reached their booking agent and I was somewhat disappointed to find out that they were my guys. I inquired, “Where is your luggage?” They said, “We don’t have any. Our secretary booked the trip and told us that our trip was all-inclusive.” I said, “That’s true, but you still need to bring your own clothes. We are headed straight to the river, already several hours late, and it’s 48 degrees and raining. We are going to have to stop at a sporting goods store so you guys can at least get some rain gear and another layer.”

So I took them into a store where they moaned about having to buy the appropriate gear. We finally got on the river at noon for a float that was over ten miles long. As we launched, the rain quit and they started in about wasting money on rain gear. I advised that they suit up for warmth and to be covered when the rain started again, which it soon did. They didn’t suit up. “It will stop,” they said. Eventually it did, but they were wet, cold and miserable and still complaining about having to buy the stupid raingear. One of the guys produced a bottle of scotch and they proceeded to get drunk and even ruder.

We were fishing for king salmon on the Lower Kenai River in a drift boat after a late start in lousy conditions. It was quickly turning into the boat ride from hell. In the midst of our collective misery and while I was rowing like a mad man to hold the boat in a heavy water slot, the miraculous happened. Two rods went down and two big kings were hooked and ripping line. One went down river toward the ocean liked he’d made a wrong turn, and the other went straight upriver past the boat on a spawning mission not to be derailed. I tried to explain that we needed to chase the down runner if we were going to land either fish. The upper classy fellow with the upstream rocket started screaming at me to chase his fish back up 14,000cfs of heavy water. I politely ignored his request without trying to explain the physics problem. Fortunately his fish self-released while he was seething at me. He refused to reel in his 100yds. of line and it eventually passed the boat, tangled in a sweeper, and I had to cut it off while still trying to navigate around several boulders and stay on the same path as the other fish.

We eventually landed an awesome 55lb. King. At this point, the guys were roaring drunk and going hypothermic, so I felt justified in bailing despite the other two anglers howling about wanting bigger fish than the one their lucky S.O.B. of a friend had caught. On the way down to the landing, they screamed at every boat we passed and complained about lousy fishing. The hour long ride back to the lodge was a real joy. At dinner that night, two of the guys got into a fight and broke some dishes and pretty much scared the other guests.

At breakfast the next morning, I explained that the sockeye salmon fishing on the upper Kenai was really good and that if they were willing to try fly fishing, we could have an action filled day. I figured that even a drunken lawyer from LA could hook some sockeyes the way they were running until they said, “We know all about fly fishing. We just saw that movie.” Right…

So I floated them down to a nice gravel run where sockeye were streaming past. We were set up with 8-wt. fly rods and 300 grain Teeny Lines. I explained the concept of drifting the fly deeply and swinging it across the path of the fish. No false casting necessary. This is a heavy sinking line. Just flip it upstream, roll cast to redirect the angle and lead it back down with the rod tip. My demonstration drift was interrupted by an energetic chrome sockeye. “We know what we’re doing,” they scoffed and the pain fest began. I have never witnessed such careless flogging. No attempts at ordered casting were made and my vain tries at demonstrating the proper technique kept resulting in me hooking more fish. After three tries, I gave up and spent the next hour untangling lines from rocks, vegetation, myself, themselves and pretty much everything but the hundreds of fish that were streaming past.

Finally, one of the guys paused mid flog to take a breath, and his line sank just enough to hook a fish in the dorsal fin. Off it went like a scalded cat, while he yowled as his fingers were battered by the whirling reel handle. I pretty much figured I would lose the fly line without rapid response, so I sprinted down the bar, caught the fly line and drug in the hapless fish, quickly releasing it.

When I walked back up to the guys, they were lined up waiting. “What the f**! do you think you are doing letting our fish go?” I explained that the fish was foul hooked and not a legal catch and that by regulation, we were required to release it. “We don’t give a g** d@^ $*!+about your f*^(!n fishing regulations.” I tried to remain calm while explaining that despite their feelings, I was a fishing guide and my job is to follow the regulations. Under no circumstances was I going to break the law for them. They made their disregard for regulations quite clear and challenged me with their legal expertise. There was more F**! piece of s**! Alaska regulations don’t means S**! to me, before I said, “Let’s go try another spot.” I floated straight to the landing and left them there while I hiked to the road and hitchhiked back to the lodge. I found the lodge manager and explained the situation. He went back and picked them up and they were on a plane home the next day.

These guys win the award for the worst clients ever. Their award is banishment from Alaska for life. They seriously made me question the guiding profession. I’m glad I did not waiver and I’ve now enjoyed many years and hundreds of the Best Clients Ever. There have been unique experiences impossible to enumerate, shared with many great people in some very special places.

If you fancy your shot at being a Best Client Ever, one of his fantastic t-shirts, or just more of his adventures and wisdom, you can find Fred at the aptly named Mystic Fishing.

Spring Has Sprung, The Grass Has Riz…

Howard — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:02:45 +0000

I wonder where the water is?!

It’s only April and after a statistically dry winter (okay, there were days in the shooting season when it didn’t seem that way), and some unseasonable hot spells, water levels are looking low. Hardly suprising given we’ve had 2mm so far in April, and a miniscule 8mm in March – 10mm that’s a tenth of the average rainfall for this time of year.

The rivers are starting to fine off, with the silt dropping out and summer-style clarity dominating. The weed is getting a jump on the swans and growing at a good rate. As a result, there is plenty of invert life around the riverbank. With granom on the Avon and hawthorne on the Test, I’ll be popping out to flick the fluff before packing my rods for Bosnia, Spain and Argentina.

If you fancy reducing your stress and blood pressure without contorting yourself into a pretzel doing yoga, why not join us on a riverbank or a small stillwater pond? Or get in touch for coaching to improve your rivercraft or casting.

Stay In The Know AND Get To Go

Howard — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:29:42 +0000

All clients are created equal, but the ones on the Outside Days Mailing List get offered sport first.

In our 24-7 365 day world of blogging, tweeting and emailing, the List is the best way of reaching most of you without joining the spamming hordes. It gives us the opportunity to offer you deals from single guns in a line to last minute sport to cancellations that would otherwise pass you by. Most special offers never make it past the mailing list: last year 5 days of walked up or mini-driven grouse were snapped up in hours; numerous cancellations at half price; scratch days were filled before ever seeing the publicity of the blog.

For some of you, this will be like sucking eggs, for others I fear it comes as a complete revelation. Either way, the List works on the simple premise that if you are interested you’ll come back with a reply, if not you’ll just ignore me. It’s a hassle-free way of ensuring you’re in the know. Put your name on the List now.

Our latest mailing:

I’m predicting a BBQ summer (Morgy will certainly be having one). Optimist? Me? Well if not a July and August scorcher, I’ll settle for a sim game spring.

If you haven’t discovered the beauty of potting the featherless bird, Game Clay Days work on the same principle as a driven day’s sport, but with no beaters or sausage rolls and better weather. Instead of flushing birds over you, we fling clays from cover and woodland.

Whether a novice shot or old hand clay days offer a chance to dust off your sporting etiquette, brush up on your shooting and make plenty of noise. For the novices (to clay or game) we can provide loaders cum coaches to explain the intricacies of a driven day in a safe and unpresurised environment. And fire around 500 cartridges in a day.

The scratch days are back by popular demand, so if fielding a team of 10-16 guns proves impossible, why not join a made up team on:

Friday 6th of May or Friday 10th of June 2011

Scratch days are £175 per gun to include refreshments on arrival, lunch, and of course enough clays to satisfy anyone (in excess of 3,500 clays over the line in the course of a day). Call or email to reserve your place…as always it is first come first served on scratch days.

Alternatively if you can field a whole team of bangers, please contact me to discuss dates and requirements (yours and mine).

The shoot is located just north of the M27 at Romsey.

A Cast A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Howard — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:49:10 +0000

There’s no question we’re stressed – just take a look at my follicularly-challenged bonce. Then there are all the statistics on strokes, unfitness and depression: all rising with my blood pressure. So we need to release that valve, blow off some steam, or in a former beloved’s jargon ‘take some ME time’ (clearly an unpopular suggestion given she’s been superceded by No.2). If shutting the bathroom door, lighting candles and filling the tub with bubbles doesn’t float your boat, I have the solution for you: fly fishing.

According to the Stress Reduction Institute, “Even 1 second of relaxation can break up the stress patterns in your brain.” So imagine what an evening’s fly fishing will do! Whether you’re an experienced fluff flicker looking to cast your line in new and uncharted waters for unencountered species or a novice who likes the sound of wandering up the river bank in carpet slippers G&T in hand, when it comes to fish wish fulfilment I’m your man or know someone who will be.

There’s something and somewhere to fish year-round in the UK before you look further afield. So before you end up at the gym, GPs or heaven forbid A&E, join me and mine on the bank (be it pond, river, ocean or lake). For those of you addicted to the adrenaline rush of the gym, nothing raises the heart rate or the spirits like having a tight line.

Thomas Cook Has Nothing On Us

Howard — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 21:47:04 +0000

Before you start shaking your head about the cost of foreign travel (never mind sporting holidays) and cleaning your weapons in preparation for mothballing, have a look at Outside Days out of season sporting breaks. After all, I didn’t get a can of WD40 for my birthday because I am a frivolous spendthrift.
Texas
No. 2′s nationality has nothing to do with my passion for this vast state and the varied sport it offers (her kind cling to the coasts). From quail over pointers to hogs in high seats and bass from boats, there is literally sport to be had 365 days of the year. Packages can be as simple or complex as you like: take in multiple venues or be based from one camp, devote yourself to one quarry or sample a plethora of sporting opportunities. In 2011, start from $250USD a day.

Argentina
The high volume dove shooting in Argentina needs very little introduction, nor does Tierra del Fuego and its enormous sea trout. But it wouldn’t be an Outside Days adventure if we hadn’t explored every nook and cranny to bring you sport off the beaten track. The pampas holds enormous trophy reds and antelope that will have the stalkers dreaming, and Patagonia’s stunning trout rivers and freshwater lakes will take the ardent flyfisherman by surprise. Whether iconic Argentinian sport or a diversion from convention gives you the shivers, we can take you there with 2011 excursions starting at $450USD a day.

South Africa
Last year’s guinea pig trip is this year’s strong contender for the best boys trip away, offering huge value that almost matches the bag. We offer a range of South African options from the luxe and plush colonial to the no-frills lodge experience. From wildebeast to dove and all sizes of fur and feather in between, we’ve got a southern African trip to suit. And the meager hour time difference means no jet lag! With 2011 African experiences available from £1,600 for a week, you can trade the heat of the British spring and summer for the balmy African winter.

Croatia
With the amount of time I spent there last year and the fun I had, I’m considering registering as a Croatian citizen. They think nothing of waking before dawn to pursue quail over pointers, then heading to the Dalmatian coast for a bit of spearfishing and baitfishing, or to icy mountain streams for trout before returning for another bash at the birds. Add chamois, moufflon, boar and woodcock to the sporting menu and it represents pretty amazing value within a couple of hours of London. Let’s be honest, that’s closer than the big Devon high bird shoots (for most of us), and with two days of sport starting at 900euros in 2011, a LOT more affordable.

If any of these sporting destinations appeal to you, please get in touch so we can help you customise a trip to suit.

******CALLING ALL GUINEA PIGS******
If you like the unexpected, the bargain, the occasional compromise, and expressing your considered opinions in a constructive way, this is for you.

Every year, we add a few new strings to our bow. And, as you would expect from us, everything is road tested before we offer it to the wider world. The road test dummies, affectionately known as guinea pigs, get bargain trips to stunning (well, we hope) locations. In exchange, they tolerate me and the unforeseen. Risks have included dodgy transfers, mystery meat, unusual food combining (banana, ham and salad cream sandwiches), local games, and patchy sport. On the other hand, we’ve had enormous bags of a diversity of birds, real bargains, made some new friends around the globe, and no shortage of laughter.

Providing I have enough of you volunteer to be experimented on, the 2011 offerings include:
* Flyfishing for trout on the rivers in Bosnia
* A three day barbel on the dry-fly trip to Spain. Yes, you read that right, my fantasy fishing experiment has been made a reality by the Spaniards.
* Partridge, taimen and antelope, the Mongolian McGenghis, for the really adventurous.

Sign up now to join the doughty band of adventurers named after a children’s pet. You, too can be an Outside Days guinea pig.

Guest Blogger: Tony does the Kharlovaka

Howard — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:51:59 +0000

This guest blog has us joining Tony Watson on the banks of the Kharlovka in Russia in his continuing pursuit of THE fish: an enormous salmon. Just how big is enormous is a question we’ve been asking Tony for years as he travels the globe after the elusive fish of a lifetime.

Try as I might, I just couldn’t get my Spey cast to come together. The more effort I put in, the more it went wrong. This was turning into a disaster…and I was less than an hour in.

I was fishing in August on the Kharlovka, one of Russia’s northern rivers situated on the famous Kola Peninsula. The northern rivers have a repuation for being challenging to fish. Less prolific than their southern counterparts in terms of numbers, they yield much larger multi-sea-winter fish. I didn’t want to catch a lot of fish: I was looking for the fish.

This was my quest for the week, assuming I could ever get my fly into the water. Eventually my fishing partner, Sean Clark, lit another cigarette and waded out to join me. “Calm down and stop dropping your rod tip when you bring your cast to the stop.” The line formed a tight loop and I finally started to cover the water, easy.

We fished down the pool together and I could finally relax and start to enjoy myself. I drank in my surroundings and reflected on the prospects for the week ahead. The first part of which we’d enjoy in the comforts of the lodge on the Kharlovka, and the second would see us helicopter to the nearby Litza and tented accommodation. As I considered what lay in store, I felt the familiar tap…tap as my line started to draw away: a fish! Not the monster I was looking for, but as I safely returned the fish, I had the feeling I was in for a good week.

Set in pristine tundra, the rivers here are achingly beautiful and leave you feeling this must have been what salmon fishing was like everywhere a couple of hundred years ago. Challenging to fish in parts, the rivers required some tricky wading and long casts, but this made all the more thought provoking and rewarding an experience. As the week slipped by, the rivers lived up to their reputation. One memorable afternoon saw a fellow anger land a personal best of 31lbs to be followed down the pool by his companion, who then caught a fish of 35lbs out of the same lie (I felt satisfied enough ending the week with my own personal best of 20lbs and several smaller fish to boot). The Kharlovka and Liza are truly fisherman’s rivers where you’re only ever a cast away from something amazing.

If you want to join Tony in his pursuit of GARGANTUAN salmon and trout, he’ll be leading a few trips to various prime big fish locations each year. Get in touch!