Outside Days » mayfly

From Our Foreign Correspondents: Fishing North Carolina

Jennifer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:14:33 +0000

Friends from home (the American south) are adept at keeping me in the loop and homesick! Gene (more affectionately known as Bubba) loves his fishing and his whisky, and just as soon as he gets his passport, we expect him to be joining us on Scottish lochs, Hampshire banks and anywhere the fishing is fine. Until then, we will have to join him (vicariously in this case) streamside in the States.

The Nantahala makes Trout Unlimited’s top 100 American trout waters, having a diversity of stream types and species as well. Gene was fishing in a stretch of hatchery supported waters with native brook trout and introduced brown and rainbow all reproducing naturally. As the sign in the photograph indicates, the fishery is fly only and catch and release from October through June.

“I had to get a non-resident 10-day license and a special trout license – year-round,” says Gene. He was fishing with wet, “brown stonefly, brown woolyworm and chartreuse beaded inchworm- little early for that, but it worked” and dry flies, “sulfur dun, caddis, really anything mayfly like in the afternoon – size of fly (wet and dry) came into play a bit, but all worked well.” If your travels take you to the States and you find yourself with a day or two to fill in the itinerary, we can usually find you fishable water and the right fluff to flick. (Jennifer)

Fishing the Dorset Frome

Howard — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:15:39 +0000

Obsession is an ugly thing…even when it takes you to some of the most beautiful fishing spots around the globe.Since I introduced him to the sport four years ago, Mr. Mexico, more known for catching rooster fish and dorado on the fly, has honed the obsession to a pedantic art. He deigned to join me on the River Frome in Dorset in pursuit of more domestic fins.

Bright sunshine, a limited hatch, forests of weed, and very little rising made for a challenging day. We caught everything we saw rise, but were reduced to nymphing by a number of recalcitrant grayling in the beat. There’s nothing that gets my goat like watching enormous fish turn up their noses at everything I throw at them. At the end of the day, we had to admit defeat despite flogging the things with flies of every description. If anyone wants to catch a monster grayling, I know where some are sitting…I hope you have better luck than we did.

Toby has asked that we all refer (defer?) to him as the ‘Master Caster’…a moniker we feel might be a bit premature given the confusion he still stumbles into on occasion. The Mexican Maestro might be a better description, although he did forget the scales and couldn’t bear to kill the fish when he caught trophy (and possibly world class record) rooster in Mexico. A lesson he never forgets when sharing his passions for all things Mexican and flyfishing as an expedition leader.

Gamekeepa Fishin’

Howard — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:32:59 +0000

All of us need to escape the daily grind now and then, and flicking the fluff for mayfly-delirious brown trout is an addictive relaxant. Headkeeper Martin Broad stole away from the rearing field and the eagle eye of his underkeeper (and wife) to spend an evening on the banks of the River Test. The fishing was still challenging – all that rain has taken its toll on the hatch and the trout’s enthusiasm…or visibility.

A beautiful four pound plus brownie was ample reward for an evening’s patient work. Martin went back to preparing for the arrival of his partridge and pheasant chicks with lower blood pressure and a big smile.

Swan Replaces Trout on the Nation’s Plate?

Howard — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:00:41 +0000

One of the local river keepers is taking issue with the Queen’s diet: she’s not eating enough swan and, unchecked by natural predators, the mute swan population is booming. So, you might ask, what’s the problem? The charge laid at the swans beaks boils down to diet: by grazing on weed, the swans are uprooting valuable insect habitat and reducing the invertebrate populations on the chalk streams.

This, in turn, affects the amount of available fish food, reducing the size of populations sustained on a given stretch and the size of individual fish. Which upsets fisherman and keeper alike. Add to that the swans habit of joining sheep in field to graze, and the farmers aren’t all the keen on the population explosion either.

Over-grazing of weed is less of an issue in years like this one with plenty of water, but in a dry year it can be devastating. Weed works as a semi-permeable dam, helping to maintain water levels. Strategic weed cutting can make or break fishing on a beat. It comes down to conservation or preservation and species priorities when managing a population.

But how do you manage a protected species with a population that is getting out of control? Unique to this protected species is the Queen’s right of consumption: Her Majesty remains the sole legal predator. So the ‘keeper hopes Her Majesty will be serving swan to all her guests this summer.

Fishing for Hippos in the Hampshire Chalkstreams

Howard — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:06:52 +0000

Spring has sprung…well and truly in artesian style. All this rain has made fishing very challenging. Stocked fish are completely unprepared for the spate caused by all this rain (2 inches over the Test on Monday alone), and seem to have gone on strike leaving the remainders of the mayfly to wild brownies more acclimated to the murky water.

The further downstream one is fishing, the longer it is taking for the water to clear, leaving the impression you are fishing the Zambezie for hippo and not the gin-clear trout streams of lore. If you are venturing out over the next week, fish are still rising to the hatch albeit more sporadically. Persevere and you may well be rewarded with a wild fish.

If like this duck, you’ve taken your toes out of the floodwater, you might consider retreating to a stillwater until the silt settles. For anyone interested, we have rods on a lovely little pond topped up by a Test feeder stream and stocked with brownies and rainbows on offer. BBQ facilities make it the ideal location for teaching novices, kids, or just whiling away a sunny (?) afternoon.

Blast and Cast: Fishing the Derbyshire Dove

Howard — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:57:53 +0000

No, not another Orvis open day. This time I bagged an invite from an old college mate to join him on the Derbyshire Dove (or in, more accurately). In typical British style, the bank holiday weather was rough. We made the best of the weekend’s weather, fishing on Saturday with only the wind to compete with. Galeforce wind made casting…interesting. There was a reasonable hatch of mayfly, although any chance of a fall of spinners was slim as the wind whisked them off over the fields as soon as they took flight.

Tony’s resigned to his appearance on these hallowed pages, suggesting I might mention the tightness of his loops while casting into a headwind. Or perhaps his accuracy, placing a fly within a gnat’s breath of where he wanted it. Personally, I think it far more pertinent to mention his skill with the kettle: he is the country’s champion at the slow-boil. A demerit only compensated for by the quality of his wife’s baking (thanks, Claire). And then there is his skill at wader repair (his not mine, thankfully)…he was wearing more Aquasure than wader and still got wet feet.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much a washout for countrysport…the Highclere Country Fair had some fine weather, but by the time we rocked up on Sunday, it was damp. Unfazed by the inclement weather, our friend John Bye was exhibiting his latest paintings with enthusiasm. While his focus of late seems to be on wildlife, his portraits of dogs are stunningly accurate. Hector the Clumber’s father Rufus has been immortalised in paint. And if his son turns out to be any good, John will have him hanging on our wall in the future.

The Mayfly Have Landed

Howard — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:24:49 +0000

It’s been a funny kind of year for flies: almost no hawthorne, and straight into the mayfly hatch. Despite a stiff breeze, the mayfly started hatching about lunchtime on Tuesday, and trout took immediate notice. After a morning with limited surface activity (mainly grass snakes on the move), the clients and I packed it in and headed to the Peat Spade Inn for beer and sympathy.

Changing the morning’s Klinkhammers for Grey Wulf and French Partridge to better mimic the rise, we tackled up and strode out to face the challenge. The experienced rod of the pair was quite quickly into a string of nice fish, catching 3 brownies in rapid succession. Just when the chalkstream novice was ready to blow retreat and head back to lakes and ponds, the fish obligingly took his fly. Needless to say, four brown trout later (including the 4lb plus fish of the day), he is off to invest in his first river rod.

With the weather set to change at week’s end, it will be interesting to see whether the mayfly are still around in number, or if the hatch slows.