Outside Days

Hanging Fred

Howard — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:00:57 +0000

Subtitle: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Over the seasons many of you have commented on the patience…okay, sainthood, of No.2. The following is only bound to confirm this view of her.

Three springs ago, I packed my bags and took a client to Kaytor Peaks on the south island of New Zealand. We spent a glorious week stalking said peaks for medal giants. When I emailed No. 2 for her input on whether to go for a skull or cape mount for the 19 point red I’d bagged, she was unequivocal in her support of my judgment. Well, actually she pointed out that we were residing in a thatched cottage with ceilings that contributed to my hairloss and very little hanging space.

So you can imagine her delight on receiving the delivery of a large box on our drive (see above). Fred was promptly relocated to the wall of a local shoot room where he enjoyed a happy two year sabbatical. In the interim, we relocated to a Victorian residence with higher ceilings and ample wall space. We reached a compromise: she got her grey walls, I got Fred.

Small wonder, then, when I announced I was planning to depart for South Africa this spring (in pursuit of yellow fish, guinea fowl, francolin…oh and springbok, warthogs and who knows what else) that No. 2 announced her bags were packed. After all, my excuse of teenagers needing supervision during A levels no longer holds, and there are intriguing reports of diamonds in them there hills…

Idiot’s Guide to Booking Shooting

Howard — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:00:44 +0000

Subtitle: The Things I Really Need to Know to Make Your Day Work

We start booking shooting for one season before the previous season closes, and are in full swing planning for the season to come by the time March becomes lamb-like. Much as I love extended email conversations and playing phone tennis, tag, and catch with all of you, it helps if you’ve done a little thinking before we start. We work with so many different shoots, each offering a selection of different opportunities, that it’s hard to know where to start when the email says ‘looking for some shooting…prices and dates please’.

Knowing what quarry you’d like to shoot, where or when you’d like to shoot helps narrow the choices. Grouse are a possibility in northern Britain from August 12th to December 10th, but you can forget shooting in the Outer Hebrides until September, or being within an hour of London ever.

Do you care how many times you pull the trigger? How high the birds are? How far you will have to preambulate between pegs? Is your dog just for show, or do you expect to use its services on the day? Are you solo, or blessed with an entire team of compatriots eager for the off? Can you shoot any day except the first Tuesday of each month, or are you a weekend warrior? Gourmand content only with linen tablecloths and a selection of fine wines? Cottage pie or casserole in the shoot room? Fish and chips at the pub? Or sausage rolls and soup on the tailgate of the Landrover?

Do you have to be back on your doorstep for dinner at 5? Looking to stay in a sporting lodge complete with singing laird and scotch pancakes? Fancy a pub with a roaring fire that allows your dog to stay? Or maybe a B&B whose landlady has an encyclopedic knowledge of local watering holes?

I’m sure you get the picture. The more specific you can be, the closer to your dream spec I can tailor the day. Of course, giving me plenty of notice always helps…

One Season Closes, Another Opens

Howard — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:39:23 +0000

When Britain mothballs game shooting for the season, my attentions turn to sport further afield, and to the next season looming on the horizon – a summer of game clays and fishing for trout and salmon.

While you’ve been reliving the season past over a pint and cleaning your gun for the final time, I’ve been to the GP to arrange shots and contemplated packing for a guinea pig trip to South Africa in May. Never one to live in the present, I had the details of that trip sewn up with my Christmas shopping: now I’m firming up plans for trips to Croatia in early August. Better known for boar and deer (which we can also arrange), Croatia is also home to a species of quail so small that disturbed coveys have been described as swarming bees. Cheap flights to parts of Croatia have made bargain sporting breaks a tempting prospect. We’ll be putting together teams to go to locations near Split and Zagreb in pursuit of these tiny dynamos. The sport will be quail over pointers at either end of the day (avoiding midday heat), and ‘cultural’ activities in between. As always with pointers, the ideal team size is 4, and the standard package is 2 days sport, 3 nights accommodation. If birds the size of angry bees are your thing, get in touch.

When game birds become protected species on February 2nd, trigger fingers across the country begin to itch through lack of use. Simulated game, or game clays as I like to call them, provides the remedy for many of you each year. From April until mid-July we offer days on several locations in the South, or we can bring the sport to you. Unlike driven shooting where the line is limited to 6 to 10 guns, we work on 12 to 18. Perfect for everything from team building to wedding guest amusement, we’ve organised days for it all. From fully catered with wait staff and candelabras to picnics in a hay barn or sandwiches from the boot, we can do it all. For the lone gun or incomplete line, we have a number of scratch days throughout the simulated season. Get in touch if firing upwards of 400 cartridges a day sounds like fun.

My sporting passion began with rod and line, and every year as the buds burst and the days lengthen I am drawn back to my roots on the river bank. Whether your pleasure is still water or river, novice or experienced fisherman, we have opportunities to flick fluff at trout for all. Days are booking up rapidly, but remember you can always fit in an evening’s sport after the office closes with some of our waters catering to the afterhours fisherman.

Shooting and Fishing in the Sun!

Howard — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:07:35 +0000

As the 2009/10 season draws to a close we have certainly had our share of weather! From shirt sleeves in November to being almost drowned in December to now being frozen, we’ve seen the lot.

Looking for a chance to get away from it all this spring (Dates TBC) ? I am looking for a clutch of guinea pigs to join me on an exploratory trip to Argentina.

The three locations we are looking to visit are:

Cordoba

World famous for its dove shooting and the enormous number of birds it produces, most of us have heard about this area – Cordoba makes every list of the top places to shoot before you die. Not wishing to cast aspersions about your health, but life is short and this trip is cheap. Why not make it this year?

Northern Patagonia

This relatively new fishing destination offers truly wild rainbows and brownies in a spectacular setting. Couple this with a luxury lodge and you have a memorable adventure.

Tierra del Fuego

When you fish the rivers of the sea trout capital of the world, even the average fish is the fish of a lifetime. We will be fishing the River Menendez were the fish average 16lbs. So pack those 8 and 9 weights and start eating your spinach!

You don’t have to do all three locations. Just pick the one(s) that appeal to you. This is a trial trip so the prices will never be beaten. For more information drop me an email.

Fishing For Red Hot Christmas Gift?

Howard — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:00:31 +0000

Are you searching for the perfect gift for the person who has everything? Or maybe, like me, you are trying to help loved ones to buy something you actually WANT and not another pair of socks or the ever-present scarf? Outside Days provides flyfishing lessons for every level of fisherperson, from the complete beginner to someone wishing to refine their double hauling technique.

As the old saying goes, give someone a fish, and you’ve fed them for the day. Teach them to fish, and not only do you feed them for a lifetime, but it makes it much easier to buy them gifts for birthdays and Christmases yet to come.

We offer a range of lesson plans, from all-season, lake-based courses to bespoke chalkstream masterclasses. Gift days start from £90.

Devonshire Flyrod McNab: Saltwater

Howard — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:01:26 +0000

My fascination with all things saline began early, on what now would be a staycation, but then was a seaside holiday. As saltwater fly fishing has moved from the subtropical bonefish north into temperate waters, I have been able to combine my two passions and reduce No. 2’s irritation with me.

David Pilkington is another convert to a phenomenon I have written about here: bored fly fishermen finding alternative quarry at which to fling fluff…albeit considerably larger dust bunnies. Having failed on the freshwater sections of the Devonshire McNab, we were determined to turn around our fortunes by heading to the sea (not the first Brit to think this would be the making of my adventure). We kitted up in the carpark, surrounded by intrigued walkers and ponies: donning waders and strapping washing up bowls (line trays) to one’s waist caused a sensation among the less fashionably attired. Setting off across the sands to meet the flooding tide, we passed a host of promising looking depressions that would be fish-holding pools on our return journey.

As soon as we reached the water, all our dreams of crystal clear seas were shattered: the swell resembled a tossed salad. Saltwater decorated with rafts of seaweed, driftwood and swirling sand charged up the race to meet the turbulent spate freshwater. Imagine fishing into Realtree camo, and you’ll come close. Double hauling frantically to get the best of the clearer water, it was impossible to tell whether the knock on the end of your line was a fish or a passing pallet. Undetered, we fished on, David watching the incoming sea to make sure we could still beat a hasty retreat to the diminishing beach. After a couple of hours of good effort with nothing to show except improved technique, we accepted defeat, and returned to the welcoming fires of the Arundel Arms where a consolation dinner awaited us.

Clearly, this is not an adventure for the weak of cast, the pessimist, or those afraid to fail. But then what true challenge is? The tides and runs of sea bass and sea trout make this a trip with a limited window of availability. If you fancy having a go, don’t hesitate in getting in touch to secure the best dates.

Devonshire Flyrod McNab: Freshwater

Howard — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:57:48 +0000

We wrote this blog more than a year ago, but had to hold off sharing it with you for editorial reasons. Now, in the gloomy rain of autumn, it seems appropriate to hark back to summers gone, and dream of the ones to come. As I have observed when trying to justify my attempts to catch barbel on the fly, fishermen invent new challenges when bored. The Arundell Arms staff, passionate about their flyfishing, have invented the Devonshire Flyrod McNab: brown trout, sea trout and sea bass on the fly in a day. I’ve been desperate to visit the infamous Arms since I was 10 and keen to learn to flyfish. Needless to say, my parents couldn’t be convinced to send their kid off to Devon on his own, and had no interest in accompanying me, so I had to satisfy myself with drooling over their brochures. Thirty years on, Anne Voss-Bark was kind enough to invite me and Number Two to stay and attempt the McNab.

The 2008 season was a challenging one on the spate rivers, with the constant rain making conditions unpredictable, but I packed my rods in great anticipation, and headed west. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of staying at the Arundell Arms, it is famed as much for its fabulous food and hospitality as for the 20 miles of fishing on the Tamar and its tributaries.

Conditions on the Tamar resembled the Nile in flood, ruling out any night time adventures as the water was just too dangerous to fish for sea trout in the dark. Come the morning, it was apparent we would have to be clever with our fly choice to tempt salmonids of any flavour to take. Needless to say after several hours of dangling Pilkington Bumbles (our ghillie’s foolproof invention) in likely spots, we conceded defeat and beat a hasty retreat to the welcoming arms of the bar. Under fishing paraphernalia that would make the most accquisitory collector blush, we plotted and schemed the salty part of the day’s challenge.

Where are you reading this? Facebook? Outsidedays.com? Twitter?

Howard — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:02:18 +0000

It’s official, Outside Days is social networking in the internet ether as well as in the field. We’ve launched a Facebook Fan Page complete with reminders of seasons, top tips and albums of images. We’ll be using this space to share our kit recommendations and get yours. Or maybe you have fantastic images from days out and want to share. Grow with us as we discover the promise of Facebook Field Sports.

Reels at Gin-Clear’s Fly Rise

Howard — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:45:51 +0000

The downside of the CLA Game Fair is that the most interesting people always seem to cross your path when you are juggling other commitments. When Matt McHugh introduced me to director and producer Nick Reygaert, I had my hands full of Orvis gear. Only later when I logged on to his website and read his blog did I realise what I’d missed

The fly fishing equivalent of Cannes, RISE is the world’s largest fishing film festival and on our doorsteps for the month of November. From exotic locations to big fish, cinematographers have captured the epic passions that drive us back to the water over and over. Don’t believe me? Check out Nick’s equivalent of a trailer on YouTube. I’m overcoming my distaste of the Big Smoke long enough to make the London showings…

Standing in for Hugh

Howard — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:19:29 +0000

How do you answer when a shooting friend asks, “What are you doing this weekend?” Is it that long-awaited (okay, fantasy) invitation to take his place in the butts for a double gun day on the grouse? Or a chance to sit next to his mother-in-law for Sunday lunch? In this case, it was a chance to stand in for crack shot and all-around bon viveur Hugh at a charity clay shoot while he supported his wife’s racehorse habit. I joined Farmer David whose ground we’ve shot over for some years and the ringer John Pool, British team clay shot in the Mendips armed to the teeth in the name of charity.

The layout consisted of four 75 bird flushes (high pheasant, vermin, flighted duck, and pigeon that more closely resembled partridge) spread up a narrow valley. I learnt quickly to ignore the hail of greetings followed by jovial derision that follow John like a cape: everyone had clearly set their sights on beating us. Including the trappers. With Dave completing his ensemble with a red rucksack in lieu of a cartridge bag, we were definitely eye-catching.

I’d love to boast that we won, and we did kill more vermin than any other team, but we beat a fashionable retreat pleading lunch at David’s. All I can say is when we left, we were in second place…