The Continuing Adventures of the Fluff Club, Episode 28
"Well, I woke
up this morning
And got myself a beer
The future's uncertain
And the end is always near"
-The Doors
And got myself a beer
The future's uncertain
And the end is always near"
-The Doors
(In which the names
of the participants are pseudonyms, to maintain the Fluff Club anonymity)
Brrr! Colder mornings are here! The last time we visited this fishery was three
years and one month ago, which was the month before the Fluff Club adventures
were first blogged. Back then only three of us put in an appearance. Today we
managed to undercut that, only two of us showed. No wonder trout fisheries
greet the news of our impending bookings with such studied indifference.
Actually, studied indifference is the best way of describing the trout's
reaction to our flies. The two of us were not alone: in all nine anglers fished
today and as far as we could tell only three caught, indeed the previous day,
Saturday, saw the log record that 90% of the visitors blanked. Inevitably the
gaffer said "Funny, it fished its head off on Friday", scant solace
to the paying guests at the weekend.
The Professor and I each set up two rods quite independently as I was parked in the wrong car park. My two were a floating line #5 weight for dries or buzzers, and a #6 weight intermediate for lures or nymphs. The fishery rules permit two-fly casts, and in addition once you have your particular bag limit you can flatten the barbs and fish Cn'R provided those fish are not lifted out of the water. So, a range of ticket options including just Cn'R but i have to say still expensive compared to the pricing the anglers in the midlands and the north can enjoy.
Setting off along the sodden turf I could see some fish topping and moving in the eleven acres, amidst Ducks, Teal, some Swans, Little Grebes and their much bigger brethren; the odd vermin Cormorant flew by from time to time. Some of the swirls were within casting range of the banks so initially hopes were high. The water was very clear and not yet up to the full mark. The Professor and I set off clockwise, not really fishing together per se, but inevitably we passed by or caught up with one another several times as we hunted around. Both of us were skunked, a very apt description. Pulling lures and/or nymphs resulted in nothing, in fact the three times that I sight cast to cover a moving fish the reaction was identical, a 180 degree about face and fleeing away in panic.
At the furthest end (near the corporate or private booking pond) there was a swim between two pesky trees overhanging the surface, here there was an occasional rise to the left, in front, and to my right, indicating at least two fish surface feeding although I could not see anything at the surface or swimming near me, and I was only a couple of rod lengths away from the rises. I covered all three positions with various combinations of dry flies and emergers. Twice one of my offerings was clearly 'bumped' but not taken; that was the extent of the action for me.
As a fishing blog there is little else I can say of this trip, but on the plus side there is no such thing as a bad day's fishing. I got loads of casting practice in, had a field day catching trees, but best of all I didn't suffer even one tangle despite using two-fly casts. I can't claim that was entirely down to my casting skill, however, as the rules here called for a minimum of 6lb breaking strain tippet, and with the possibility of a double-up I had chosen 8lb fluorocarbon; I think the stiffness played a part in keeping me tangle free.
With no successful fly patterns or even much badinage to recount I apologise for this episode, but would like to take the opportunity to ask a question of you, dear reader: How can I improve this blog? Occasionally I have requested comment and feedback, but hitherto there has been none. Perhaps I should start to name the venues? Up to now I avoided that as I did not want to cause any offence, but hindsight suggests I have not written anything about the venues which might actually be construed as offensive or derogatory. The reason the Fluff Boys' names have been disguised was to keep their identities clandestine and I thought if I named the fishery the FBs might be able to work out who they are, whereas that would not be as easy if I kept the blog deliberately ambiguous. Ambiguity was an aim, in order for the blog to appeal to as wide a readership as I could possibly reach, not limited to the actual participants. Why? My intent is to spread my love of fly fishing as far as possible. Was it Jeremy Paxman who said "The next best thing to going fishing is to read about it"?
Please comment or even p.m. me.
Until the next time...
The Professor and I each set up two rods quite independently as I was parked in the wrong car park. My two were a floating line #5 weight for dries or buzzers, and a #6 weight intermediate for lures or nymphs. The fishery rules permit two-fly casts, and in addition once you have your particular bag limit you can flatten the barbs and fish Cn'R provided those fish are not lifted out of the water. So, a range of ticket options including just Cn'R but i have to say still expensive compared to the pricing the anglers in the midlands and the north can enjoy.
Setting off along the sodden turf I could see some fish topping and moving in the eleven acres, amidst Ducks, Teal, some Swans, Little Grebes and their much bigger brethren; the odd vermin Cormorant flew by from time to time. Some of the swirls were within casting range of the banks so initially hopes were high. The water was very clear and not yet up to the full mark. The Professor and I set off clockwise, not really fishing together per se, but inevitably we passed by or caught up with one another several times as we hunted around. Both of us were skunked, a very apt description. Pulling lures and/or nymphs resulted in nothing, in fact the three times that I sight cast to cover a moving fish the reaction was identical, a 180 degree about face and fleeing away in panic.
At the furthest end (near the corporate or private booking pond) there was a swim between two pesky trees overhanging the surface, here there was an occasional rise to the left, in front, and to my right, indicating at least two fish surface feeding although I could not see anything at the surface or swimming near me, and I was only a couple of rod lengths away from the rises. I covered all three positions with various combinations of dry flies and emergers. Twice one of my offerings was clearly 'bumped' but not taken; that was the extent of the action for me.
As a fishing blog there is little else I can say of this trip, but on the plus side there is no such thing as a bad day's fishing. I got loads of casting practice in, had a field day catching trees, but best of all I didn't suffer even one tangle despite using two-fly casts. I can't claim that was entirely down to my casting skill, however, as the rules here called for a minimum of 6lb breaking strain tippet, and with the possibility of a double-up I had chosen 8lb fluorocarbon; I think the stiffness played a part in keeping me tangle free.
With no successful fly patterns or even much badinage to recount I apologise for this episode, but would like to take the opportunity to ask a question of you, dear reader: How can I improve this blog? Occasionally I have requested comment and feedback, but hitherto there has been none. Perhaps I should start to name the venues? Up to now I avoided that as I did not want to cause any offence, but hindsight suggests I have not written anything about the venues which might actually be construed as offensive or derogatory. The reason the Fluff Boys' names have been disguised was to keep their identities clandestine and I thought if I named the fishery the FBs might be able to work out who they are, whereas that would not be as easy if I kept the blog deliberately ambiguous. Ambiguity was an aim, in order for the blog to appeal to as wide a readership as I could possibly reach, not limited to the actual participants. Why? My intent is to spread my love of fly fishing as far as possible. Was it Jeremy Paxman who said "The next best thing to going fishing is to read about it"?
Please comment or even p.m. me.
Until the next time...
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