FLY TIMES

Hello to all

I hope you all have been enjoying this spell of hot weather and catching plenty of nice fishes.I have once more  been in pursuit of them big ol catfish but again I suffered a fekin long blank, with all the options covered on three rods I didn't receive a single run in 2 days. Soul destroying stuff really after my previous cat trip also produced chuff all so yes I had a bit of a sulk.

I,m not about to burn all my cat gear and give up the chase but I really did need a distraction from all the serious session angling. I needed some no pressure fun fishing which to be perfectly honest is what our sport should be all about. As some of you may know the old spessy hunting game can be very cruel one indeed. Maximum efforts are all to often rewarded with nada, It can also be very expensive hobby but if I haven't already put you off I must say I do love it.

Me old mukka Dom Garnett suggested that I should try my hand at a bit of fly fishing.I should bring to your attention that Domanic has recently released his latest book- Fly fishing for course fish. Being a complete novice in the art of fluff chucking the book has been a real eye opener for me and it would seem that almost all of our course species can be tempted on the fly. For any angler looking for something fresh I would highly recommend the book.

My fly fishing adventure began on the beautiful Tiverton canal.The aim of the game was to try and catch my first fish ever on the fly. Dom soon spotted a pod of a few decent Rudd that were gliding around the salad looking like they up for a munch.With not much room for manoeuvre Dom made a ninja like cast seeing the fly land silently on the tail end of the small shoal.The fly was then slowly teased back when all of a sudden a fish swooped in and nailed it creating a lovely bend in the light rod we were using.This method of fishing is so visual making it very exciting stuff !.By the end of the day I had managed a perch and two small roach which I was more than happy with in fact I would say it was the perfect remedy to cure the spessy blues.

My next trip was again that of a fly fishing jaunt,This time me and Moxy were let loose to try and catch a few carp by presenting floating dog biscuits on the surface via the fly rod.We started of feeding a few mixers to see if anyone was home,We scattered a few patches around the lake before a corner started to show some life with a few fish tentatively inhaling the baits. Casting to the fish was a bit of a nightmare for a number of reasons. One being that myself and Mox are shit at fly fishing- the other being all the uncut vegetation surrounding the pretty pool we were fishing.

Moxy started off as we were sharing the one rod. He was casting to a group of fish around twenty yards away, After a few missed takes and tangles with all the bushes he was into a fish which bent the rod like it was made out of rubber.The reel was screaming as the culprit surged out into the middle of the pool. All the whilst Moxy was giggling in the manner of a school boy who's teacher had just farted.To some up the day we had a hoot and ended up tacking a few fish each on the fly tackle. As for the cats; I'm a gluten for punishment so I'm sure I'll have another crack soon ,Who knows I may even catch one?.

Til next time

Good luck

CATFISH CONUNDERUMS

Hello to all

 Any keen predator angler ( like myself ) who leaves pike alone during the warmer months may find him or herself at a bit of a loose end around this time of year.Yes one could target the perch, or zander perhaps? but as nice as these two species may be they simply don't posses the power and fight that a big pike has to offer us.

Q. So how would the discerning fresh water predator angler find some adrenaline pumping big fish kicks?

A. Target the Wels Catfish !!!!!

UK Cat fishing is rapidly becoming very popular with muchos venue's holding these magnificent creature's, These can easily be found with a Quick bit of research on the tinternet.You will be surprised at the sheer number of waters there are which offer the chance of a hell raising battle with a giant cat, There are at least 100 venues around the country containing Wels Catfish.

As I live in lovely old Devon I am lucky enough to have the famouse Angler's Paradise complex only a short drive away.Zyg has stocked cats into a number of the lakes which begs the question - Which one to fish?

First stop a 72 hour social on the spessy Cat lake, This particular pool holds around a dozen cats all over 30 lb with the biggest pushing 60 if you catch her with a belly full. A posse of 7 of us had booked out the lake and were all angling. It was a bit of a lottery with the odds of most of us catching firmly stacked against us.The conditions were not to favourable with cold winds and clear bright nights which put even more distance between me and a big cat.

The trip turned out to be slower than slow fishing wise but we did have allot of laughs which to me is just as important as catching the fishes. Not all was lost as over the course of the session 2 decent cats were banked,One being a fine 46lb 8oz beast to Dave from Taunton. Not forgetting to mention it was his first of the species too! ( jammy git! ). The other being a stocky 32lb 4oz  to Exeter's own Steve Moore. After an epic stand up battle with some serious rod bending clutch crunching runs Julian netted the chunk for Steve. (who also popped his catfish cherry) .Unfortunately the rest of us endured a blank, But that's cat fishing.

A week later I returned to the complex with me ol mate Ton Cable who recently got hitched to his good lady Natalie.Why am I telling You this you may think?, Well its been years since me and Ton have hit the banks together so instead of buying him and the wife a toaster or some shit, I found the perfect excuse to get Tone away fishing for a night giving the missus a good nights kip away from tones demonic snoring. Effectively killing two birds with one stone I thought?. So I arranged an all expenses payed catfish trip where I would buy 2 tickets, Some decent food and alcholic beverages and go on an all out mission to try and catch Tony his first catfish.

This time I opted to fish a lake that contained a good number of cats to 35lb,The chances of making contact were alot higher and we both agreed a double figure fish would be a result. The lake was empty other than Julian Chidgey guiding a client who was also in search of his first Wels.

We had many options swim-wise and eventully opted to set up camp  near the monk.This offered us deep water to our right and an island directly infront of us.To our left was the sun bathed shallow's with a light wind pushing directly into the marginal reeds.

The weather was certainly a change from the crap we have had lately, The perfect occasion for lounging around waiting for a whiskery predator to strike. Tactic-wise I set up three 3.25lb Fox warrior rods  employing beefed up carp tackle comprising of 20lb mainline attatched to a leadcore leader with a 3oz lead on a simple bolt clip arrangment. Long hook-links were then tied on using 25lb coated braid to a size 2 Fox Armapoint with a long hair to thread on large carp proof baits.

hook baits where mainly popped up cocktails of 25mm halibuts and large chunks of liver and kidney.After the rods were punched out over the spots we settled down to soak up the warm weather with a cold can of lager...buootiful.I decided to give my new Fox barbel rod a spin and set up a carp rig to pass the time whilst waitng for the cats.I fed the marginal reeds fairly heavily with some small break down pellets and a scattering of  15 mm Cell. After an hour or so the carp got on the bait and Tony landed 4 commons including a low double which really gave the rod a bend conning us into thinking he had hooked a cat.

Jules kindly nipped up the chippy and we enjoyed a good dinner washed down with a few cold ones before it was time to re-do the hookbaits and bait up for cat time.The night remained bite-less and I woke up scratching my  head for a fresh approach.With the pressure on I was desperate to catch Tony a catfish, I set up a dumbell rig with a bunch of worms suspended no more than 8 inches below the surface.the rig was placed in the shallows and I walked the rod back paying out line until the dumbell float was sat flat on the suface.It was now just a case of praying a cat would spring the trap. A little while passed before the float smashed under and the alarm let out a one toner.I hit the run with the rod assuming a bend that most definitly spelt cat!,The rod was passed to Tone and I now had a big smile on my face.The Fish headed straight towards the monk ploughing through one of the other  rods letting out a terrible racket from the alarm. I turned the blinkin thing off and Tone stepped under the line freeing it from the tangle whilst piling on some pressure to stop it heading to the island snags.( proper drama which was funny as hell! ) The catfish realy does provide some excellent sport so if you have not experienced the power for yourself, I would advise one to do so.

Job done!, An 11lb catfish and a very happy Tone. Later on that morning there was also someone else with a chufty badge.

Anglers paradise's most wanted, Aphrodite at 32lb 8oz off the surface! Top draw angling.


Til next time

Good luck