The Fishing Clinic
On Saturday we ran our first ever fishing clinic here at Exe Valley. The day did not get off to the perfect start as upon my arrival at 6am I found an angler hot footing it towards the lakes, despite several signs explaining that we were closed for the event! The individual was obviously not happy, especially when I mentioned that he could join the day for £50 including tuition and a full day of catch & release. He retorted with “I dont need tuition!” Of course I may seem biased working as a fly fishing instructor, but don’t we all need tuition at some point? Isn’t the whole wonderful point of fishing that we learn all the time? Why go in the first place if we know it all?
Anyway drama over I made a few last minute additions to my fly box (Claret Stealth Buzzers- love them!) and then it was away to the Three Acres Country House for breakfast with Iain Barr who was our special guest for the day. Mulling over our lack of Sea Trout fishing the night before (we stocked the fly tray and then ended up in the Quarrymans Rest, followed by Eds Bar!) the topic of conversation quickly turned to the weather. Dark storm clouds were building and we knew we were in for a soaking, but there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad equipment. With the lake well stocked and 12 guests to entertain there was definitely no going back now!
Iain Barr lands a Trout for one of our junior guests Daniel Tranter
Our guests all arrived for a 10am kick off and we set about offering advice on the likely tactics for the day while also checking out tackle. Quite a few anglers were fishing with short leaders and there were one or two novel connections between the leader and fly line. Offering step by step advice we helped to create small loops, secure knots and therefore achieve better overall presentation … it is surprising how these small changes can make all the difference. What was particularly pleasing was watching one or two of the guests who had already been on one to one tuition days with us. Their leaders looked in good order and I was also really impressed by their fly choice, coupled with an ability to find the best fish holding water. Who said tuition doesn’t work?
Julie Hooper loves her fishing and caught a good bag during the fishing clinic. A two fish limit was followed by catch and release.
While Lewis and I did the rounds, checking retrieves, offering tactical advice and helping out with casting Iain headed straight for the two youngest members of the party, Daniel Tranter and Freddie Kent. We have been watching both these lads carefully over the last couple of seasons because their fishing is superb for their age (under 13) and in fact Iain soon had the boys showing the adults the way as there rods hooped into several hard fighting Exe Valley rainbows.
The new "deep point" at Exe Valley is fishing very well and Duncan Dart put it to good use.
... and after netting the fish I explain how to release it unharmed
And so the day continued with our guests enjoying a full day of fishing with an opportunity to release fish, using barbless hooks of course and so prolific was the action that our 2009 world champion guest could not even resist a cast or 2 …. or maybe that’s 1000! Iain is an infectious angler who still loves to catch fish, even from a small stillwater … using CDC dries to extract a healthy bag of Trout. Before long he had our anglers following his lead and for some this was their first ever experience of dry fly fishing. The smiles said it all and especially for one of our Exe Valley regulars, Trevor Ball who extracted his best ever bag of 11 fish, mainly on a CDC Buzzers.
However the biggest fish did not succumb to such subtle tactics. Fishing a slow figure of eight retrieve coupled with a long leader and a Sunburst Blob, regular guest of Nick Hart Fly Fishing, Rob Pithouse caught steadily throughout the day and then suddenly his rod took on an alarming curve! Seeing this from the other side of the lake I think my sprint may even have impressed Usain Bolt as I dashed to assist Rob with what was obviously a decent specimen. At 10lb 4oz it was by far the largest fish of the day and the perfect end to our first Fishing Clinic. Look out for more news about a similar day that Lewis and I are planning in the not too distant future and if you are a fan of facebook follow at www.facebook.com/nickhartflyfishing for more details coming soon.
Rob Pithouse with Iain Barr and a 10lb 4oz specimen taken during the fishing clinic
Introducing Lewis Hendrie
Many of you who read this blog will have met Lewis Hendrie during a guided fly fishing day or in the shop. He has seemingly boundless enthusiasm. In fact I would rate him as one of the most passionate anglers I have ever met and I have been lucky enough to meet a few!
Lewis is a seriously talented river angler who began making a splash as a World Youth Fly Fishing team member and more recently only just missed out on his first senior international cap. I have not doubt he will achieve this goal very soon. But competition is not his only talent, as Lewis has a natural ability to pass on his passion and the knowledge required for guests to further their fly fishing ambitions.
Lewis Hendrie guiding on the River Lyn in North Devon
So I am seriously pleased that Lew has agreed to get involved with the blog and author some content. I hope he will have a post or two ready for next week and in the meantime find out more about Lewis here.
From one passionate angler to a guy who we all know frequently describes himself as a “fishing junkie”. Henry Gilbey joined host Keith Arthur earlier today on the long running Sky Sports show Tightlines. If you missed it the show will be repeated and a full schedule appears here although there is also a very useful Podcast service available if you have a smart phone to hand. The weather has hardly been favourable recently and the fishing a little slow but I have no doubt that Henry will inspire you to dust down your rods. Check out his blog too.
