Category: Fish and fishing


Mayfly time

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — Leave a comment
June 28, 2018

My brother Sean and our close friend Mark McCann head off fishing the mayfly every year on Lough Arrow and it is one of my few regrets about living in Spain and working as a teacher that I am unable to join them. I do however insist on getting a full report and Sean invariably provides an account in his own inimitable style. Mr McCann has also contributed to the cause this year and I have therefore, in the finest tradition of plagiarism, stolen their words and pictures, without their knowledge or consent, and include them here for us all to enjoy.

 

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News from the river

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
May 19, 2018

It was very nice to meet up with Simon Thompson on Wednesday evening and to spend a little time with him on the river. Work and other commitments made it a pretty brief visit but we managed a couple of fish between us and Simon was out again on Friday and had some more.

Today I was at the river again and had a mighty tussle with a carp. I had been given the cold shoulder by a bunch of carp on this stretch of the river a little while back and felt that I had a score to settle. Continue reading →

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New boots

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May 13, 2018

My neoprene fishing boots have seen better days. They are full of rips and tears. In places they seem to be hanging on by a thread. Thinking about it, my neoprene chest waders are just as bad. I took these waders on an outing to Concepción reservoir after work on Friday and it turns out that, despite my best efforts to patch them up, they have nearly as many holes as my landing net. When I finally dragged my arse out my float tube after three hours casting to largely indifferent black bass, my legs looked like water balloons and the water sloshing around inside the waders was waist high. Continue reading →

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Fishing two rivers at the same time

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Flies and fly tying, Other bits and bobs — Leave a comment
May 6, 2018

Yesterday I managed to fish in two rivers at the same time which, when you think about it, is a hell of a stunt to pull off. Geographers tell us that when one river flows into another the “new” river conventionally retains the name of the larger of the two and the river with the lesser flow is meekly assimilated and its name disappears from the map. Continue reading →

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No flies on me

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Flies and fly tying, Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
May 1, 2018

I ought be be honest with you. Until very recently I have felt rather ashamed of my box of flies. Whenever I meet up with another fisherman I am invariably shown fly boxes with everything in order – nymphs, dries, lures all in neat rows. Everything ship-shape and Bristol fashion. Continue reading →

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Out on the river with Paul Reddish

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April 21, 2018

I have just come back from the river after spending a very fine afternoon fishing with Paul Reddish. Paul is excellent company and is a very accomplished fly fisherman. Today we were accompanied by Paul´s wife Fiona and her sister Shona who is over from Australia. Continue reading →

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Opening my account

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Flies and fly tying, Natural history, Other bits and bobs — 4 Comments
April 7, 2018

On Thursday I opened my annual account with the carp on my local river, the Guadalhorce. I made a single withdrawal of what I imagine was about five pounds, or maybe a little more. It was a typically spirited fish and slugged it out like a heavyweight before I managed to ease into the bankside shallows and beach it. Continue reading →

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The Río Grande revisited

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Flies and fly tying — 4 Comments
April 3, 2018

I visited the river about four days ago and found the Guadalhorce to be off colour but the Río Grande running clear. There were fish in the first stretch of the Río Grande that I came across but they would have nothing to do with me. I spent a very absorbing afternoon trying this and that, ultimately to no avail. I showed them nymphs of various kinds along with dries. I fished under an indicator. I fished without one. I cast long. I cast short. If I thought anything would shift the odds in my favour I gave a whirl. But the fish, like I say, would have none of it. Continue reading →

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Fishing program link

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Folks I know, Other bits and bobs — 1 Comment
January 14, 2018

The Spanish TV program that featured John Langridge and myself fishing on the Guadalhorce was aired a little while back and I put a link on the blog to allow people to see it. That link appears to have been deactivated in some way but Colin McLachlan tells me that it is now up and running once again. Here it is if you would like to have a look:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jara-y-sedal/jara-sedal-barbos-del-guadalhorce/4310751/

Please let me know if you try it and it doesn´t work. Assuming it does I hope you enjoy it!

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The program features gypsy barbel fishing in Malaga´s Río Guadalhorce.

 

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Trying out Grandad´s Hat

Filed under: Fish and fishing, Fishing reports, Other bits and bobs — 2 Comments
January 6, 2018

Grandad gave me a hat for Christmas. It is the kind of hat a Yorkshire sheep farmer might wear and Grandad has one just like it himself. Grandad has only a modest sprinkling of hair on his head and tells me that it is a great hat for keeping your head warm.

I was delighted with the hat and can vouch for its head-warming effectiveness having now taken it for several test outings in and around London. It even sailed through the wind test which involves walking along Wimbledon High Street in storm force conditions without the hat taking to the air. Continue reading →

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