Outside Days

Walked up..and Up…and UP Grouse

Howard — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:40:50 +0000

What better way to start the season than three days spent tramping behind the dogs? Grouse over pointers makes you appreciate the beaters on driven days, and the quarry everyday.While the Yorkshire moors are producing record counts and predicting a fabulous season, in the Highlands we were being more selective, taking only old cock birds and leaving the young to fly on.

Unintentionally, the trip turned into a bit of a father and son event, and it was wonderful to bask in the glow of shared experience. With Will holding down the fort for the next generation, his father had to work hard to keep up. By day three, Mike’s prowess was being challenged by a son who shot his first grouse on day one. I look forward to years of shooting in their company. With muscles screaming after months of disuse, we hauled ourselves across the hill after the dogs, and in hot pursuit of the keeper. By day three, the sight of the boat waiting lochside to retrieve us came as a welcome suprise to the guns. And yet no sooner were they speeding away from the hill, than they were discussing their return.

An entirely wild quarry, grouse breeding and rearing success determines the availability each year. We sell shooting on a first come first serve basis, and with grouse that can mean waiting until August to find out if there are grouse for you to shoot. Your patience is well rewarded, but we do advise booking early to avoid disappointment. This is as true of driven grouse as it is of walked up. Any late availability is always posted on our mailing list.

Spey Casting

Howard — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:02:52 +0000

Occasionally a plan comes together, and I pack the right equipment to make it happen. The estate we have been shooting grouse over pointers on happens to have the River Spey running right through it. This means three things: the potential for brownies, salmon, and fabulous whiskey.Although we didn’t fish it in anger, and didn’t expect the big returns being recorded closer to the sea, all the guns took the opportunity to relax by the river each evening. Even better, everyone caught even if the fish were the same size as the flies.

On the Road Again

Howard — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:17:53 +0000

It’s mid-August, and that means only one thing: grouse. I’ve made the drive between Hampshire and the Highlands so frequently I can do it in my sleep. And every year, I look forward to my first stop, Tebay Services on the M6. It’s not just the home-made cakes and dinners, the farmshop and good coffee that have me returning time and time again to this privately owned services. It provides some of the best people-watching in the country.

Nowhere else are you as likely to find the trials set sharpening up their dogs with a quick sprint in the dogwalking paddock (complete with rabbits). And if you’re purchasing a canine from ‘up North’, the odds are you’ll be among the many such exchanges the carpark witnesses in a year. For those of you who are as sad as I, you’ll be pleased to note they’ve opened up a southbound services, too.

Muntjac: Everybody’s at It

Howard — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:49:33 +0000

So I’m a little competitive. And my mates know it. I’m not fussed about having bigger, or more, or more often. I just want one. Muntjac, that is. Months on from that first blog, and still a duck. Meanwhile, Noel, another munty novice, has been getting busy. For those of you who haven’t discovered him, Noel is the landlord of The Malet Arms in Newton Tony, Wiltshire. I would provide you with a link, but Noel doesn’t do technology. What he does do is a damn fine burger. There’s venison and wood pigeon on the menu, too.

And an excellent side of windup. A couple of weeks ago he took the time to email me images of his first muntjac. And he didn’t stay with one for long, bagging his second on the same outing. It’s past getting personal. Okay, so maybe I have been spending too much time poncing up and down a river in search of barbel, but I am refocusing. With the fallow in season, its an excellent time to try your hand at stalking without needing to invest too much in kit and appropriate attire. So if you’re interested in an evening’s (or morning’s) stalk, get in touch.

More to Retail than a Register

Howard — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:36:51 +0000

Orvis has become synonymous with flyfishing, a company passion evident in everything they produce from rods to luggage to clothing. That commitment to the sport extends to training their retail staff. Recently Stockbridge Assistant Store Manager Philip Nicholson participated in one of the numerous Beginners Weekends Orvis offer through out the season. He caught five fish, two rainbows, two brownies, and a grayling using a nine foot 5 weight TLS Matrix rod and a Battenkill Mid Arbor 3 reel.

In the process, Orvis have made Phil a much better salesperson: he has more in common with his customers having experienced the elation of playing a trout. And he’s beginning to understand just how personal rod selection can be, and why having the right fly can make all the difference. I look forward to hearing tall tales of fish lost and those caught from Phil for years to come. So if you are passing the Stockbridge store, pop in and give Phil some stick.

Snagging the Impossible? Barbel on the Fly

Howard — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:04:31 +0000

When men are bored, we invent a new sport. When fishermen are bored, we invent new ways to catch familiar fish, or new fish to catch with familiar methods. And so began the quest to catch a barbel on the fly.I hate being told I can’t do something. And we all know I hate it more when Jon one ups me. So when, over a post-fluff flicking pint, he began to muse about whether it would be possible to get a barbel to take a fly, I knew my summer had just gotten interesting.

One sunny evening Jon and I set out with his mate Tom to test the waters. The trout had been going mad all evening on a rise, so it stood to reason… Fishing heavy Czech nymphs with my Helios nine foot eight weight, I started wading below a promising shoal of barbel. The nymphs were necessitated by the barbel’s physiology as bottom feeders. The difficulty is that the nymph has to be presented so it comes down to them where they are sitting in deeper, fast-flowing water…and look natural. As Jon spectated from the bank, I worked my way upstream without success. Tom, sensibly forsaking barbel for pike, was into a fish on his second cast. Perhaps our approach needs a rethink…

Pheasant Stage 4: Life in the Field

Howard — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:05:38 +0000

By the start of August, fluffy week old chicks have morphed into stroppy teenagers, ready for putting to wood. After all, in five weeks time the partridge season opens, and in 11 weeks the pheasant season starts. The gamekeeper’s love and care produces strong, healthy poults feathered up and more weatherproof, ready to make a go of it in the wood and learn to roost.

The English partridge (or grey) have been declining in numbers for half a century as farming methods have changed. The Game and Wildlife Conservancy Trust is doing lots of work on increasing the populations. There is a school of thought that says rearing and releasing greys does nothing to increase their population, but there are many who think that by adding reared birds you increase the genetic diversity and the covey sizes, reducing the impact of predation by foxes. Either way, the future of these beautiful birds seems to be on the up and up.

CLA Game Fair: The Sporting Shopper

Howard — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:26:53 +0000

I hate to shop. My wife is an expert. I love fieldsports and gatherings of what the Americans call ‘likeminded individuals’. Each year, Number Two takes advantage of this and uses the CLA Game Fair to kit me out from top to toe for the coming season.

We’ve got it down to a science…in fact, in lots of cases I don’t even have to waste valuable browsing time. Victoria at Almost Unwearoutable has my foot and lower leg measurements, so Number Two makes the colour choices to match my tweeds and the stockings appear in my drawer as if by magic. A quick visit to Kiwi Kate and I’ve got insoles from the ONLY PC fur, Kiwi possum (the naughty non-natives are eating their way through NZ), and merino skivvies to keep me warm in Croatia and Outer Mongolia.

Purdeys is my favorite source of shooting shirts (bargains to be had at the Game Fair), and I’m on my third Arktis fleece (machine washable and drier friendly!). The Mole Hole tailor made me a pair of moleskin breeks for grouse and early season partridge, and they arrived in record time.

So while Number Two exercises her expertise, I am free to explore the covetable. If Hector the Clumber turns out to be anything special, I’ll be commissioning a portrait of him…John Bye (Stand No. C0681) has already immortalised his dad Rufus, and I am coveting the limited edition woodcock print ‘Hidden Treasure’, too. Of course there’s always room in the gun cabinet for just one more, and the temptations of AYA, or the 243 I need to round out my collection. And when Number Two is ready to find me, she knows I can be found on the Boss stand drooling over the Robertson guns.

When I’m asked why Outside Days doesn’t take space at the Game Fair, I can only say I can’t bear the idea of being tied down to one spot and missing out on all the fun and games. So if you see me, glass in hand, do stop and have a chat. And Number Two always welcomes a helping hand with the packages.

I Canoe Can You? Seabass on the Solent

Howard — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:18:42 +0000

According to Ratty, there is nothing more fun than messing about in boats. Well, he was nearly right. Add a fly rod, some bass, and an early morning start and it achieves perfection. Good friend, local ghillie, and all-round piscine guru Nick Richards has decided to share the secret to bass on the fly (he caught more than 300 himself last year): the kayak. No, not an exotic fly of enormous proportions, a flatbottomed canoe. Nick’s fleet of ocean kayaks is stabilised for coastal waters and kitted out for fly fishing.

Kayaks offer the opportunity to follow the fish, enabling Nick to show clients sporting fishing at unusual marks all within the Solent. For the familiars of my blog, you know I am always eager to a.) get someone else’s opinion of a new sport and b.) get one up on Jon. So roping him in as a lab rat was a no-brainer. We set off from Portsmouth seafront at 4am, and the gods were with me. Before we’d gone 500m, Jon was upside down and thoroughly wet. Neither Nick nor I can work out how he’s done it (but then that’s Jon, achieving the impossible) as we’ve tried and couldn’t, no matter how hard we laughed.

This fishing isn’t for beginners: casting with your ass at sea level takes a bit of getting used to. Try sitting on the floor and casting a decent line. Fortunately, sea bass aren’t as skittish as wild brownies. And proficiency at swimming just makes good health and safety sense, even with the life jacket Nick insists on. As for anything challenging, the rewards are great.

The UK shore-caught record for sea bass stands at 19lbs 113/4 oz, achieved from Sandown Pier on the Isle of Wight. From a kayak, the fight might replicate a husky pulling a sleigh, but there is every chance of tackling a double figure fish. My favorite summer snack, mackerel are another common catch. If only they grew bigger, they’d be the king of the sport fish: pound for pound they put up a fantastic fight on the fly.

So if, having practiced your prone casting in the lounge, you fancy having an early morning or late evening go at the bass, drop me an email and I will put you in touch with Nick.

Fishing from Spring to See

Howard — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:00:47 +0000

The cool, clear waters of the Austrian rivers are fed by snow melt and springs, ideal for the salmonids they contain in diversity. The Austrians have a saying: ‘If you want to fish for big trout, fish in America. If you want to catch big trout, fish Austria.’ I never got any further than Innsbruck last week, but the tall tales the fishermen there had to tell coupled with the diversity of water I saw have me going back for more.

And they don’t stop with trout: Austria has been blessed with a feast of salmonids from the Danube salmon to the Siberian grayling and Arctic char. While plans are in the works for a lab rat trip to Outer Mongolia (taimen and partridge) for September ‘09, Austria provides great value for money much closer to home. Three day Austrian fishing packages start at £500 per rod. If you are interested, get in touch and we can tailor a package to suit.