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Post by jezney on Jan 5, 2016 18:13:54 GMT
John's a great guy Mark. He feeds you endless coffee on a cold winters day and really wants you to enjoy your day.
I keep an eye on the farson digital camera on the Frome at East Stoke. You can see water clarity and on the left,there is a little opening on the weir.If water isn't flowing over it,the levels are pretty good.
I have fished it with levels just over 1 meter on the gauge but it's pushing a fair bit.Upper 70s seems spot on. John's beat is one of those places that is usually still fishable when the rest of the river is shot. Hope that helps a bit for future trips.
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Post by boisker on Jan 17, 2016 13:21:18 GMT
At last... I actually got on the river to fish this morning... 1.5 hrs was enough, still pushing through quite hard, reading .32 on the gauge and fairly coloured. Nothing like fishing a new stretch with the river still up and not being able to see the bottom to keep you on your toes. Fairly tough going, I had 2X 3mm tungsten on, but probably could have done with 4mm as I was still struggling to get to the bottom early enough in the drift. Tricky trying to learn a new technique in those conditions, I think some of the open stretches of the otter below Honiton would lend themselves well to becoming proficient in 'euro-nymping'... Wider, longer stretches of uniform depth and not so many backside trees to avoid. Even so, fantastic to be out and landed one grayling of around 3/4 lb. Back home, fire lit, raining again!
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Post by marcouns on Jan 20, 2016 7:27:44 GMT
Should be good over next two days on Tone. Very cold today cloudy tomorrow,river at fishable level. Typically back at work for five hour shifts during each peak time! M
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Post by boisker on Jan 29, 2016 17:24:00 GMT
Decided to take a day off at short notice today and went over to the Tone.... River at 0.31 so still a bit coloured and pushing through. Tough going when trying to develop 'euro-nymphing' skills. Lost a whole load of nymphs, a couple to trees but more to under water snags... Lost more nymphs today than I have dries in the last two seasons! An expensive learning curve. Tricky staying on the bottom without changing flies every 20 yards, but I guess if you don't change you either lose flies or fish mod-column, I think I probably should have been changing more often. Picked up one grayling and bumped one off. Think this will be my last outing until the trout season starts or we get a extended settled cold spell and the rivers sort themselves out. Nice to be out though. First time out with- new shades... Smiths Chromapop ignitors.... Very good considering the extremely grey miserable day...... And a Patagonia storefront roll top back pack.... Anyone looking for a new day pack couldn't go wrong with one, holds loads of stuff, extremely waterproof and very comfy to wear... Anyhow, I think it's back to tying flies for a couple of weeks!
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Post by marcouns on Feb 23, 2016 8:41:06 GMT
Confidence & competence After trying without success to track down the"Scarlett pimpernel of Devon fly fishing, we met on the tone and although not fishable gained a great selection of his and his polish mates nymphs. He is now in the Southern Hemisphere no doubt catching with his usual ease. Since the river has been high mighty dirty and windy. Today was probably the most important day in my short career ! I waded alone,albeit with life jacket and one of my dads handmade sticks. I didn't fall though I had a couple of scary stumbles! The icing on the cake was two grayling to after blanking for more days than I care to remember ! Is it confidence or competence? I don't really care ! Just know I'm smiling & so is my dad up or down there.
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Post by marcouns on Feb 23, 2016 9:08:28 GMT
Too excited! Fill in missing words ! No prizes skint!
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Post by boisker on Feb 23, 2016 17:13:36 GMT
Excellent, well done mate
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Post by boisker on Feb 28, 2016 14:45:21 GMT
Had a quick couple of hours at Hele bridge this morning. One of those days where you're not really feeling it.... 3 nymphs tangled by the time I got in the river.... Snagged on the bottom twice in the first 20 mins, well just off the bottom I think on woody debris, lost the point nymph twice and the lower dropper as well the 2nd time. Definitely my last session until the the 14th..... I need some dry fly action. I'll go back to the nymph after I've had a decent break from it and find a more open stretch than Hele to practice on. Still, a sunny morning, river at .26, two grayling caught despite my nymphing incompetence..... Off to have a practice casting on the field in the sun with a tin of cider....
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Post by Pete Tyjas on Mar 2, 2016 17:03:04 GMT
Didn't even get to fish it today, washed off and so we headed elsewhere and soon got beaten back there too!
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Post by boisker on Mar 2, 2016 18:11:00 GMT
Unlucky Pete, it's been a frustrating winter... Forecast next weeks looks ok.... So with a bit of luck opening week could be good.... Just need a spot of sunshine and some warmth...
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Post by Pete Tyjas on Mar 3, 2016 17:06:11 GMT
I've only fished twice this year, think it is some sort of record for me!
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Post by marcouns on Mar 9, 2016 11:05:10 GMT
Tone high,mighty&dirty! Flood level at 6.30. Falling gradually. Still treacherous! M
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Post by marcouns on Mar 9, 2016 11:06:38 GMT
Still at flood level 0.5 m!
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Post by boisker on Mar 9, 2016 17:12:00 GMT
Should be nice and settled by Tuesday
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Post by marcouns on Mar 10, 2016 7:36:01 GMT
It may well be. Downto .38 now. Unfortunately grayling end Monday & trout out of season till 1/4/16!
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Post by boisker on Mar 10, 2016 7:54:15 GMT
I was looking at access to the other Tone beats higher up the river and suddenly noticed that last night . Thanks for pointing It out as well.... Would have been really embarrassing getting my season dates wrong.... Looks like it's club waters on the Axe or somewhere else in Devon
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Post by marcouns on Apr 2, 2016 8:39:57 GMT
Fished this am . Still fast furious although clear! River is 150 cms higher than Culm! Can anyone explain?
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Post by boisker on Apr 2, 2016 8:54:50 GMT
I guess all down to catchment area, Culm comes off the Blackdowns which is relatively small area espcecially as it has a number of other rivers that also drain it
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Post by paul on Apr 2, 2016 18:27:35 GMT
Grumpy old man reporting!
Set of for the Tone this morning. Got to the M5 at Tiverton to realise I had left my rod behind- normally it is my wading boots!
Thought immediately this is not cricket! This T20 thing is just an invention for the city wide boys and the indian mafia to put bets on. Pure ambling- one team will win one day and the other the next - particularly if the syndicates have bought someone. Test and County is real cricket- time to develop strategy and sink more than a few without getting raucous....
Anyway, as marcouns says, it was racing through and somewhat high. I would have govern it a go but I was at Trefusis farm; I had a few friendly words with the farmer, looked over the gat and all was clear so got into my waders and went through the gate. Ten seconds later, I felt a minor earthquake with the ground shaking; sixty starving cattle were coming full tilt across the field!
They had just been put out to pasture; too early for the fartmer to put hem in individual fields; early enough to take food in once a day to supplement the grass.
I, a cofirmed boviphobe, left 'just in time'!
Tried the Hele bridge bit; kitted up again only to find it was too high/ fast/ cold/coloured for me so beat a more dignified retreat.
Marcouns mentioned the Culm. Thats where I went next. Not quite so high but pushing on. Nasty wind - upstream but still inhibiting any hatch- only flies I saw all day were my own ( and that only by a forward contortion that pulled a few muscles!)
Lots of nice french leader type casts to no avail.
Spent several fruitless hours- not a twitch anywhere- but at least you can now wade through where the river cut though to create an oxbow a year or so back.
Now up to eight consecutive blanks; now I know why you occasionally see golf clubs on islands in the middle of lakes on the better courses!
Tomorrow looks good, but payback for my pink ticket today is a neglected garden!
Anyone know a good needlework forum?
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Post by paul on Apr 2, 2016 18:32:24 GMT
apologies all- is there a spellcheck programme I can use with the forum and is there any way i can disable the helpful but wrong correction guesses my system seems to insert into my purple prose>
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