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Post by boisker on Apr 19, 2017 21:56:21 GMT
Just been looking at some more patterns, I think I struggled with today as I had the right size in the wrong pattern or the wrong size in a suitable pattern.... I need to spend some time sorting my fly box... they've still got loads tied for NZ in there.. I had down to size 20 on me, but nothing closer enough to match the dun pattern.. . I'll tie a few 18's tomorrow some with hackle and some CDC... probably won't see another iron blue for the next 3 seasons
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Post by boisker on May 4, 2017 21:21:46 GMT
Back to the Otter for a couple of hours over an extended lunch break. Fairly windy, gusting to mid-20's and alternating between sun and cloud, but the fish were in the mood for rising... A bit of a mixed bag, caught about 10, but missed nearly as many and had 3 pull out on decent fish ....picked up some lovely fat fish between 10-13"... there seems to be a decent number around the 12" mark. Great variation in rises, some smashing out the water, some sipping and others porpoising. I'm really enjoying the Otter, some great pool, riffle, run and glide sequences. ... soon when the stars align and the gods are favouring me it's all gonna come together in a glorious session. Just before I left the wind completely dropped... it's so long since I fished without the wind blowing I'd forgotten just how easy it makes casting
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Post by billyfish on May 4, 2017 21:45:14 GMT
I was out on the Otter for a couple of hours this evening . Really good session with some lovely fish about . Had about 10 or so and missed a few. Some fish were really fussy . I disturbed a beaver , which was only a few feet away, that went off with a great big slap of the tail. I love this place especially at this time of year. Colin
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Post by boisker on May 4, 2017 22:24:32 GMT
Definitely fussy fish about... I must have spent over 30 mins on one fish trying various flies and sizes... eventually found the combo and missed the take
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Post by boisker on May 5, 2017 20:13:22 GMT
Spotted a couple of big fish in the pool above the bridge at Tipton Colin. One must have been at least 3lb, pretty certain it wasn't a sea trout, they were cruising up and down the bank.. I spooked it looking down from above. Didn't have time to climb down and settle in and wait, one warm eve at dusk I'll have to climb down early and settle in for a wait... just need to convince Jen to sit up above and fish spot for me... perhaps a bottle of wine will swing it
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Post by billyfish on May 5, 2017 22:09:26 GMT
Good pool . I have many good memories of fishing that pool. The bigger fish were probably sea trout . There was a regular fishing there this evening in the dark which may stir them up a bit. I was there about 10-00pm and didn't see or hear anything but the air was cold. Colin
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Post by boisker on May 7, 2017 19:12:30 GMT
Couple of hours on the Honiton stretch this afternoon. Picked up fish most of the way up the beat, but there's been two runs that scream fish but I hadn't managed to rise one fish in previous visits. When you look at them, you know they hold fish... if you electro-fished them I reckon you'd pull 3 or 4 out at least. Well the first run... nada... again... slightly frustrated I moved on up the river... 2nd run and at last a beautiful 11" trout... So, one down and one to go
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Post by billyfish on May 7, 2017 21:39:52 GMT
Had a few fish at Tipton this evening . Small dark emerger still seems to be the pattern closest to what they are eating. Just on dark we had the pleasure of seeing two otters playing in the rapids above the tennis courts. Brilliant viewing and only yards away. Colin.
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Post by boisker on May 8, 2017 11:14:33 GMT
it's funny Colin I've had little joy with an emerger, tried biots and dubbing patterns in various colours- black/ dark olive etc. The pattern that's been working for me has been a dun pattern in adams grey with a small cdc wing, size 16... I spent ages on emergers as they are my usual go to fly, it took me an age to settle on the adams dun.. funny old game
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Post by billyfish on May 8, 2017 15:27:43 GMT
Matt ,A very slim dubbed grey rabbit body with a few guard hairs in the thorax with a plume of dark CDC probably makes for a very similar fly to the one you are using. There were a few very splashy rises as it got dark . I tried a sedge, despite the absence of any flying or tracking across the water, but not a look at it. Even a little tweak failed to get a response. The trout certainly get you thinking . Colin
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Post by boisker on May 10, 2017 16:23:25 GMT
So, it's that time of year where I have to put in a big claim to defra and as usual their online service isn't working, so faced with the option of throwing my laptop out the window this afternoon or going fishing, calming down and seeing if it will work this eve... I went for the latter. A couple of hours fishing downstream of Ottery, some great little runs and real variation through the length. There are some slower glides that are a bit shallow at the moment, but in a couple of deeper bits I did spot a couple of lunkers just as I spooked them... but I'll know for next time. I gotta be honest, whether it was to my slightly irritated nature due to work I'm not sure, but my casting for the first hour was rubbish... I was still catching fish, but if it takes me 5 attempts to put the fly exactly in the right spot it sort of takes the pleasure of the catch away. If I'd been walking away for the car fishing I'd have turned back and gone home, but seeing as I was fishing back up to the car I persevered. Slowly, I guess the tension dissipated and I dropped back into a nice rhythm and started to enjoy my surrounding... Again I found the average size of fish really good, with most falling between 9-12". I then caught probably the most enjoyable two fish of the season so far, they were tucked line astern, about 18" apart on the inside bend at the top of the run below... First cast I picked up the back marker, a feisty little 12" fish... which was particularly pleasing as they were sat in no more than 4" of water so no room for error... heavy cast or line them and they'd be off And then the next cast.... 14" it was a bit of a struggle keeping him out of the bank repairs but I managed to bully him into the run below, the hook was a size 20 black CDC emerger that was right in the scissors.. I picked up a couple more upstream and was just starting to fish a really nice run into the head of a pool when 3 dogs launched themselves in for a swim... so time to head home. May have to sneak out later for another hour
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Post by halfstoned on May 10, 2017 16:58:10 GMT
Nice report and photos boisker, I can feel the itch starting again, must try and get out this weekend as long as we don't get too much rain Friday.
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Post by yeoman on May 10, 2017 19:21:57 GMT
Couple of stunners there, mate. Nice photos and report.
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Post by boisker on May 23, 2017 19:56:05 GMT
Great 3 hrs on the Deer Park stretch of the Otter, plenty of spinners amongst the trees as I walked down to near the bottom of beat 3 but not many fish rising. Started with a little spinner and caught a 11" fish 4th cast, but it's teeth ripped the CDC to pieces. Tried another spinner with teimco wing and didn't pick anything up over the next 40-50m, so switched over to the yellow wulff as there were a few Mayfly bouncing on the river... Turns out the Otter trout like the yellow wulff as much as the fish up in the Dore Ended up with 13 browns, largest about 12-13", average 9-10". Also had the excitement of I'd guess around a 2.5 lb sea trout in one of the weir pools... took me a merry dance around the pool Again my photography skills let me down... these are the only useable ones-
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Post by boisker on Jun 9, 2017 18:11:20 GMT
Another afternoon on the Otter at the Deer Park, different beat to last time. River dropped back nicely after the rain and plenty of fly life about, the odd Mayfly, olives and some decent sedge hatches. Ended up with 10-12 fish, but more stockies than last time, about a 50:50 split, shame they stock as it's a great stretch of water and there are plenty of wild fish to 13-14" and no doubt larger. But seeing as I don't pay I guess it's churlish to complain. There's a good variation of water, some great little runs, pools and slow glides... Spotted a fish rising intermittently right back behind branches in the corner of a pool, from the odd glance at its back it was definitely a good fish.. It was up behind the whispy branches centre top very tight into the bank in the photo below- First cast about 0.5m short, but amazingly 2nd cast some how threaded right through the branches to the back and wallop... fish on. I immediately thought is was a sea trout as the water just erupted, a few minutes later it was netted... which already made me suspicious... Yup... a stockie, nice fish but always slightly disappointing... a wild fish of just under 2lb is so much more 'valuable' than a stockie. But can't grumble, nice fish to probably my best cast of the season.... or luckiest depending how you look at it Carried on up the beat picking up a mix of Wild/stockies... The final stretch up to the bridge it all went a bit Pete Tong.... Over about 70m running alongside the Japanese Knotweed there was 5 fish rising... hooked all five, set properly then as the pressure came on a bit the hook pinged... don't think I've ever had a run like that before. Luckily it was the top of the beat and time to go home as my language was getting a bit blue
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Post by halfstoned on Jun 9, 2017 19:32:47 GMT
Nice fish boisker ( even if some are stocked you've still gotta catch um). Sorry did you say the last five fish were all blue trout, didn't realise they stocked them as well😀
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Post by boisker on Jun 9, 2017 22:18:08 GMT
Hey halfstoned... no sorry not blue's... I posted in a rush before I went out... not sure what they were, but they were quite big... a couple had large backs as they porpoised on the surface. But, unfortunately I never found out.... I hooked all five solidly for 10-30s and then the hook pinged out, just one of those unlucky sequences.... the hookup was fine, maybe related to the way they were 'rolling/porpoising' the fly on the surface. I reckon at least a couple would have been stockies as their backs were fat. Can't remember ever having the hook pull on 5 on the bounce, still cannae grumble I picked up some lovely fish and it beats being at work
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Post by boisker on Jun 14, 2017 21:41:01 GMT
Hey Colin... good to bump into you this eve. I should have stayed in the car park My casting was slightly off, I stuffed about 3 casts to rising fish completely... prob the most inaccurate and heavy casting session of the season! Bumped three as well, but picked up a few nice fish at the top of the beat. Have a great trip
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Post by billyfish on Jun 15, 2017 21:13:35 GMT
Just finished packing, knackered after two 5-30 am starts to get work out the way. Tay on Saturday , fishing Lower Kinnaird and then on to fish the Findhorn for a week. Both rivers are picking up and it looks good- pressure on. Colin.
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Post by boisker on Aug 23, 2017 16:21:19 GMT
Popped out for an hour to the Otter this afternoon. I've been thinking I need to change it up a bit recently, I've pretty much fished dry with the occasional duo the last couple of seasons, so ordered some streamers the other night.... but as they haven't arrived yet I dragged the hanak nymph rod out of the cupboard. I bought it 2 yrs ago with a 40% discount but have probably used it 3 times, so I reckoned the time had come to either get to grips with it or move it on... pointless having what would have been a £240 nymph rod collecting dust if I'm never going to use it. So headed to the Alfington beat. Felt quite positive on arrival this was the day I would crack the code of long leader nymphing (euro/French whatever's your preference) Strung it up with a 9m leader and two nymphs... 2mm on the point and very lightly weighted on the dropper. Few cast in and snagged, on what must have been a branch as it wasn't bouncing the bed.... broke off on the tippet ring below the indicator.... set it up again and had a tortuous 30 mins. My casting/lobbing was poor blah blah blah so ended up getting very frustrated. I just headed under the willows below when I snagged it very slightly on some bank side vegetation... red mist, yanked it like an idiot and ended up needing to set up again... but really couldn't be arsed, I certainly wasn't feeling the love for the nymphing this afternoon I was stood just past the willows by 5 or 6', when a few fish started to rise.... I'd seen some nice fish a few times in the same position... but until the low water it was hard to wade up to them. I didn't have time to go and get my other rod and my experience with the nymph long leader didn't bode well... but I'm def better with a proper casting action and no weight swinging around, so snipped the indicator out and added 2' of 5x and 4' of 6x, tied on a little size 20 griffiths and the whole day changed. I think I may have found a use for my hanak casting 10m of nylon leader with a tiny dry to rolling and sipping fish rocks! Picked up 6 fish in about a 4m square area over the next 30 mins... This was the first and smallest- At 11" it certainly bent the hanak, I'm used to a faster, tippy rod... loads of fun The next 4 fish were peas in a pod at 12-13", they were all just marginally smaller than my net, then the best came last, a touch over 14"... no photo as I dropped the fish, rod and nearly the camera in one calamitous moment. I'll def get back out with the hanak for dry/French leader, for the still and slow water i was fishing it was perfect, I doubt a normal line could have pulled 6 out of such a small area. A stay of execution for the hanak!
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