Just getting used to my new video camera today down on the taff. Quite different to the one I had and a little awkward to get right on the chest pack, I think i’ll have to make something to hold it in the right position so there is no figgeting about. i’ll have to get it right for the trout season thats for sure.
If the rain sorts its self out tonight i’ll probably get out somewhere and if not i’ll tie a few flies and put a few photos up.
Not the best conditions to fish the taff this morning with blustery wind blowing down river and as all anglers know, its a kiss of death and can be really hard work.
I was determined to fish this morning whatever the condition and whatever the outcome. With the weather, I only took the one rod for nymphing knowing that presentation was going to be a nightmare and I could put my full concentration on the one rod and not worry about anything else. The taff is still holding a good flow of water and has been for a good while now. I’m unable to fish my favourite spots and im just waiting on the day that it is possible. Today I set up the long leader with two 2.8 jigs. Due to the water I was fishing, I had around 8ft to the point fly and a dropper around 20″ above that. For the tippet material I was using 3lb stroft ABR. I targeted the back-end of the pools and behind the boulders that are usually standing right out of the water, this makes good places for fish to pick off nymphs and not exert too much energy at the same time. Hot spots as I call them. Not easy to get the nymphs to fish natural today with the wind so I was keeping everything low and waiting for gaps in the wind so I could get the drift that I needed. One of the places that I was talking about is shown below. I managed a few grayling but more trout than anything from behind this rock so I left them to it,
Working on up river looking for little eddies and pockets I manged to catch a trout well battled scared up by the cormerons, not looking its best but getting over the worse by the looks of him, it’s never nice seeing these fish scratched up and bite marks all over them. I had one small grayling with a perfect bite out of its tail aswell, check these out below.
Not a bad days fishing with lots of small grayling and a load of trout but as always its never about size for me it’s just getting out and enjoying something that I love.
After a late night last night at the vice tying a few different patterns to play with, i checked the taff river levels to see how the old girl was running after the resent rains and after seeing the levels i was in with a chance to wet a line in the morning.
I didn’t get up early as usual, I woke around 8am and didn’t rush to get out, I checked the levels and it was okish and it didn’t alter that much overnight so it was more of just getting out really and looking for the shallow parts of the river where the fish would be sheltering from the heavy main flow. As my streamflex 10ft 3wt is still out of action, I set the french leader up on my greys 8ft 4wt, I’ve done this in the past in tighter smaller rivers and got on fine but I was fishing a much bigger river so I just had to stick it out. It wasn’t that bad really but I did miss my 10ft. As normal I always carry two rods and the other rod was set up for the klink and dink. I didn’t see any fly life today or any movement on the water surface , the only movement I seen on the surface was a large salmon showing it’s head a few times and then disappearing back into the depths. After seeing the tourist playing around I got back to the nymphing. I managed a load of the yearling grayling and around the same amount in brown trout.This grayling was the biggest of the day below.
I was catching fish on both methods and all in about 2ft of water, I did walk in a little deeper water taking it easy and it was touch and go so I made a move back in the bank. Last time I thought I would be ok out there, I took a dip and a fair swim :S Really dont want to do that again that’s for sure, Brown pants after that one. As the day went on, the fishing started to slow so I decided to check out what was moving around on the bottom, after a few funny looks off people wondering what I was doing I had a right mix of nymphs and shrimps and caddis cases and as i’ve done in the past I found an old can and used the bottom for a petri dish. Works quite well. The macro shots are not the best but not bad considering its on the bank side freehand.
Not a bad day and it was nice to get out and wet a line and wash a few troubles away. I’ll leave you with a few photos of the lovely day. Just before I leave I had a lovely christmas present off the wife:) I had an under water video camcorder so i’ll be making a few more short videos of my forays the next time im out, so please look in time to time and see what ive been up to.
Thought i would sit down and tie a few dries tonight and give the bugs a rest.
Here are two patterns that i use to imitate the olive hatches on my local rivers and streams in the summer months.
I’m no expert on tying the dries as you can see below but they work very well so that’s the main thing 🙂
More patterns will be up soon so please keep checking out my blog posts.
The dries below are all size 16.
This weekend has been a right washout and an expensive one at that!
Had a fish and eat day with my local fishing club saturday and I was busting to get on the water so I set up as quick as I could and in no time I was into the first small lady and shortly after another. Thinking all was going good, I made another cast and suddenly a Crack! I was left just holding a small section of my streamflex 3wt :(, GUTTING. I couldn’t see where the other part went but I was lucky one of my mates was down river and manged to pick it out for me. I’m well gutted and that was the end of my fishing day. I did use my other rod for a bit but I was too gutted to carry on. I’ll be sending the part of the rod off in a few days so hopefully I will get things sorted. Problem with me is that I know I will not have the same looks on the rod and i’ll be waiting for it to break again so im shopping for a new one, not sure what to go for yet.
I’ve been trying to keep my mind off the rod so instead of fishing i’ve been doing the next best thing, tying a few bugs and jigs in my new tying room and setup. As normal I wasnt alone tying, my cat is never far away as you can see below this photo.
Just a few patterns to fill the gaps in my fly box. Ill be tying through the week so ill post many more jig patterns and a few heavy bugs to get in them deep pockets where the big ladies hang around.
Well as I was saying last night, I was hoping that the rain would hold off and it did thank god.
The alarm sounded at 7.30 and as I got up and looked out the window I could see that Jack frost was doing his bit. It looked absolutely freezing and made me think for a second, should I bother, after having a nice hot coffee and a barrel full of biscuits I was out the door. I arrived on the river around 8.45 and I wasn’t alone on the river fishing. I could see two herons working the margins down below me so I sat there for a bit just watching and looking for a few spots to give the first going over with the nymphs. I took both rods as normal, 10ft for the bugging and the 8ft for the dry and klink and dink. The river didn’t drop that much over the night but it was fishable and the clarity was good.
I started off using the klink and dink working alongside a large deep pool just off the current thinking that the fish would be there sheltering from the main flow as normal. In no time I was into a load of small grayling and a few out of season trout. The small grayling are in good numbers this year in the Taff and I just hope you get the chance to grow on and give us good fishing for next year. Not getting anything any bigger I changed over to the heavy bugs, fishing the deeper waters on the back edge of the run hoping for something better. As I cast the nymphs up river, I started to track the indicator downwards, when it came in line with me it stopped so I lifted and I seen a fair size grayling turn in the water but a few seconds later the line went slack. Not having anther take in this spot I moved on looking for the next place to give a going over. I decided to fish a deep pool that has done me proud through the years but normally I would just get straight in with the heavy bugs but this time I just stayed back just fishing the klink and dink on the back end. I ended up taking three nice size grayling and a load of small ones and more trout that I could shake a stick at :(. I left the pool after catching more trout than grayling so I moved onto the next spot to pick on. I manged a few more grayling throughout the day but nothing in any large sizes so they will have to wait till next time. Not a bad few hours in the conditions and the bloody cold 🙂 Photos Below.
Being in work all week and checking the weather for changes, the weekend looked quite promising but as always it never turns out the way you want it to.
As I live quit close to the river Taff and pass it on the way to work every morning it was looking great at the start of the week but thursday was the day that put the spanner in the works, rain most of the night and all through the day. As for now the area I want to fish on the Taff is quite fishable as long as the rain holds off tonight. Please give us a break mun 🙂
Here are the levels of the river Taff in Pontypridd in the last 48 hours.
If all goes well i’ll have a new post up tomorrow so watch this space.
So, I’ve been wearing the Airflo Hydrotec Softshell Fleece for over a month now both to work and whilst out fishing. Trying everything humanly possible to get the best out of it I can. Quite frankly, I can’t fault it.
From the second I opened the jacket I could tell it oses quality. The first thing you notice is the dual colour Soft-shell MemBrain. with the gray shoulders and black body and underarms It certainly looks the part! I like the ‘shower-proof’ capabilities of the jacket as throughout the Spring and Autumn a coat can be an unnecessary addition to you fishing gear. But with this, it keeps you dry and warm. Being able to wear a jacket both fishing and ‘out and about’ is a big plus for me as I get used to wearing some things.
The comfortability it offers me when out walking and/or fishing is second to none with the Mambrain seeming to mould to my casting style and shape.
After putting the jacket on for the first time you definitely see the advantages over others. It’s spacious enough to have a few layers underneath just for that little extra protection from the cold. The cord around the base of the jacket allows you to tighten around your waist to stop any draught and the Velcro straps at he cuffs makes it easy to stop water and wind creeping its way down your arm when casting or handling fish. Something I’d like to do more often.
It seems as if the guys at airflo have thought of every possible way wind could break the barrier. The pockets are sealed with a watertight zip which only under the submersion of water will lapse.
The built in hood with draw strings is a great addition to the jacket, allowing you total protection from the elements. Or from any nagging fishermen you happen to come across. The front of the hood has enough coverage to completely cover the peak of my hat.
The Fast wicking properties of the jacket allows it to dry 3/4 times quicker than other fabrics such as cotton, making it a gem to be out in a shower with. We all know how quick the conditions can change!
To purchase the jacket it will only set you back £50 – Which for a quality piece of kit, isn’t a lot! You could pay 4/5 times more for a name such as Simms.
Overall, I think the jacket is a great addition to my fishing gear and will allow me to get out in the harshest of conditions when others can’t. I am very please with this jacket and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a top layer.
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