Outside Days » flies

Stalker turned paparazzi?!

Howard — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:30:43 +0000

All the media hype about the conversion of paparazzi into celebrity stalkers has fallen on fertile ground. After a successful evening out with a client, Special Jon did his best to capture the moment with a camera. To those of you who feel I take advantage of Jon’s skill at turning turtle, I would refer you to the archives of this blog in which his stalking and fishing successes stand tall compared to mine.

The fallow season has just opened, so if you fancy a buck or a roe do get in touch. Jon and his camera are available at a price. Meanwhile, in his ongoing pursuit of firsts, Jon’s inventing flies for the coarse fish. So far, his invention has taken bream, gudgeon, ghost carp and lost him two barbel. You can see why we think he’s special!

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.

Fish ID: Plan See Trout

Howard — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:30:52 +0000

Having grabbed a few days holiday (ie. scouting trip for future packages), I packed my five weight Frequent Flyer and headed to the Austrian Tirol with my wife.The advantage of a second wife is you realise the importance of choosing someone tolerant of ones foibles and predelictions. I picked a game model happy to slog along lake shores to photograph my successes, supply flies, and sherpa kit.

Finding ourselves on the shores of the Heiterwanger Plan See, I took the opportunity to explore the waters rod in hand. According to the local fishing club, the lake, 200 feet deep in places, boasts trout and whitefish to double figures. Needless to say, fishing from the shore I caught slightly smaller specimens, the best being a 3lb+ wild rainbow. Admittedly, my tackle was a poor match for the situation, having anticipated stream and river fishing and not lake.

My German extends to the ordering of two sizes of beer. While equipped for discssing philosophy, my mini OED-German dictionary exhibited a paucity of terms for wildlife (although I can tell you the German for ‘paucity’ is wenigkeit). Add to that the extremely silver appearance of everything I hoicked from the water, and it became a challenge to ID my catch. Anyone who is interest in being a guinea pig on an Austrian expedition, or who can tell me more about the mysterious ‘renke’, please get in touch.