Hywels Blog

A Month of Contrasts

2011-12-23T05:15:00.000-08:00

Yes another month has gone by since I sat down and wrote something for my blog- but hey what a month from fly fishing in Mauritius to greyling fishing in the river Dee and demonstrating at the Irish Fly Fair. So where do I start ?
It has been a busy month in the Morgan house hold with me just popping home here and there just to pick up clean clothes and catching a few hours with the family!!!
Late in October John Emerson and myself ran another Grayling masterclass on the river Dee in North Wales and the river fished very well with everybody on the course catching beautiful fish. After that it was off to the Welsh bank trial to try and qualify for next years Welsh team. The trial was held on Garnffrwd fishery and it proved to be a testing trial. The morning was ok and I caught on stalking bugs and I ended in second place but boy did things change in the afternoon. I had takes on all platforms but could not convert these takes into fish landed and as the day went on the worse it got. To cut a long story short I caught my last fish with 5 minutes to go on a dry which meant I qualified for the team. To quote my old man " You just scrapped through "!!!
After that I was off to Ireland to the Irish Fly Fair in Galway and what great show. Thank you to everybody who came to the show and once again Mara Media did a fantastic job of organizing the show!!
It was then a 2 day turnaround as I was flying out of London to Mauritius to do some fly fishing with Beachcomber tours- the picture above shows Scott Mckenzie and myself fishing in the surf for GT's- It was a fantastic trip with accommodation to die for and the food was out of this world. It even made the 12 hour flight worth while. We had a great trip and the best fish landed was a 140 yellow fin Tuna (well done Scott) I did fight a black marlin ( estimated at 2-300lb)for all of 30 seconds!!!!! and we did get one other hit but that was it. The place is back on the map for big game fishing and I will be back!!
I flew back overnight landing in Heathrow at 6am and was in North Wales by 4pm to fish the Grayling International over the weekend. This was even a quicker turnaround with one hour at home to drop off my dirty clothes and pack my thermals!!! Two days of fishing with the river rising all the time. It was tough to say the least but we did manage to winkle a few fish out and by the end of the comp we came second. Well done to Ken Bathers and the team for running a great competition. It is a testament to their hard work as teams travel from as far a field as Belgium, Italy and the Isle of Man.
Can I take this opportunity to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and Tight Lines for the coming season

2011-11-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

Where does time go !!! I think the older we get the faster time goes!!!
Yes its been some time since I sat down and wrote something for my blog- why?, well I just have not had the time. It has been a busy time teaching demonstrating and filming. The first thing I have to mention was my trip to Ireland with the Welsh team for the bank international. This was fished in a mountain loch and I know the mountain goats loved the area but boy it was tough going. The competition was hard and to be honest the only team that had their tactics bang on were the Scottish team and they were worthy winners. Top rod went to Ireland and best fish went to Lee from Wales. Competition fishing is not all about catching fish its the whole event and we had a great time in the "Emerald Isle" meeting old friends and making new ones.
I taught at Blackdyke fishery and anybody who lives any where near Cambridge should visit this fishery as it offers great fishing at a reasonable cost.
I ran my first Winter fly fishing course at Garnffrwd fishery and that proved to be a great day with everybody in the group catching fish and improving their tecneque. More courses to follow email me for more information. John Emmerson and myself had the first Grayling course on the river Dee in North Wales and again the fishing was great with everybody crossing swords with the Lady of the Stream. Next course will be held in January.
Filming has been very interesting in the last few weeks- firstly we filmed the autumn section of our new DVD on the river. On the day we faced hurricane winds howling down the valley, boy it was interesting casting and we should have done a section on "self preservation casts"- we also went to Draycot water to film the Autumn section of the bank fishing VD and I cant wait to see the footage as we had fantastic fishing with fish up to 6lb. Hard fighting bars of silver "fishing does not get better than this"!!!!
Lastly I had the Bank trial for next years Welsh team and it was held on Garnffrwd fishery. The morning proved difficult but fish were there to be caught and by lunch time I had managed to winkle out 7 fish. The afternoon proved far more difficult and I had takes on every platform but none of them stuck and by the last session I only had 1 fish and was out of the running for the team. In the last 15 minutes of the competition I decided to fish dries and by luck or divine intervention I managed to catch another putting me into next years team. ( by the skin of my Teeth!!!!!)
Ah well its time to pack as I am off to the Irish Fly Fair In Galway so come and say hi if you are there- I will be the one running around on the Mic trying to keep everybody informed on whats going on as well as doing a casting demo in the afternoon.

2011-09-22T02:14:00.000-07:00

Some times Pictures just dont tell the story!!! This is Scott trying to pose for the camera with the best Grayling of the day but unfortunately the fish was camera shy and exited stage left after what seamed a minute of fish juggling!!.As you can see by Scott's face he didn't mind. This was just one of my guided days on the river Dee in North Wales.
I can't belive its been another month since I wroet my blog and for that I can only appologive but my excuse is that I have been out on the Water and in shows.
Some great new shows and venues for you to put in the diary for next year. The first was Lowther Game and Country Fair. This was the first time Countryman Fairs have organized this show and what a job. Tracking all over the site so no vehicles got stuck all the public walkways were kept clear of trucks so when the show was on it was easy to walk around the show. Great Job.
Then I want to the Galoway Country Fair which had been moved to Drumlanrig Castle. The show ground was fantastic with the great backdrop of the Castle. A well attended show at a great new venue.
It was then over to the Fenland Country Fair which is one of the oldest fairs in the UK and I would like to congratulate Joan and Malcome for their hard work and the way they are still able to keep the show traditional with small stalls old fairground rides and I think it has the biggest display of old vehicles I have seen in my life.
The last show I did was the Midland Game Fair and as usual it was a fantastic event with huge crowds and this year we were so lucky with the weather, only a couple of showers over the weekend, where all around us suffered heavy down pours!!
Had to cancel a few days this month as well !!! British weather!! Blown off at Rutland and Llandegfedd!! While at Rutland I witnessed the funniest thing I have seen in a while. They had let 5 boats out early but had to re-call them due to the wind!!! Sorry forgot to say these were the Army lads practicing for the inter services match. 3 boats came back from the South arm then a little later 2 boats came from the North arm 1 boat had 2 anglers in but the second only had one angler in!!! Yes one of the ARMY boys were so scared he abandoned his mate and went in the safety boat!!! Boy did he get some stick from all the boys when he came in- cant repeat what was said!!! But you can imagine !!
Highlight of the month for me was finishing My New DVD on Still water patterns and also getting my new essentials kit into stock. Please go check them out in my shop on the website.
Now have to go and pack, off to Glasgow for the open weekend Hope to see you there.

2011-08-05T02:52:00.000-07:00

I just cant believe it its been over a month since I last put fingers to key board !!!! Time flies when your busy and what a month its been. Guiding, teaching, shows, filming and competitions!!!
But why have I got a picture of me and pollock well this was the best fish of the week on my recent trip to Isle of Lewis but more of that latter.
First its been a great month teaching and guiding both on the river and stillwaters. Some great fishing with great clients. I went filming with S4C welsh TV and had a great day but then went fishing the famous river Towy on one of the best beats and could not believe it the whole river just switched off at around 11pm- no fish moving and no takes for anybody on the river!!!! Typical!!!
After that I was privileged to be asked to open an educational center for " Get Hooked on Angling" scheme near Coventry did a little demo and finished it just before the rain!!! Great timing.
Fished one competition this month Draycott pairs with Paul and caught 12 fish for over 35lb and came nowhere. Julian and Scotty won the comp with 12 fish weighing over 42lb boy this place is fishing fantastic, well worth a visit.
Bearleft and myself spent 4 days filming for the 2 new DVD's we are working on and I have seen some of the footage its fantastic-great camera work and the Polaroid lenses are brilliant, cant wait to see the final cut.
Then it was off for a week of shows first the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show followed by the CLA Game Fair- 2 demos a day for a week and the kids were brill Tanya just wants to do more and more just like her big sister. Yasmin was a star first she won the casting comp at the Welsh then beat everybody at the CLA even the men. She was crowned UK Salmon distance champion at the age of 12 well done Hun.
It was then off to the Isle of Lewis- no thanks to FlyBee who charged us another £250 to change a flight from Monday to Tuesday !!!! Thanks a lot!!! But it was a fantastic trip teaching and fishing. This year we concentrated of sea fly fishing and with small pollock patterns we had great sport. The one above even though it was not the biggest bent my 10wt double!!!! Had some fun trying to catch sea-trout on the shore loads of takes but not one landed.
Some Salmon were running but we left them alone this trip.
Highlight for me this month was seeing Yasmin take on and beat everybody at the CLA chip off the old block. Now for another month of shows.

2011-07-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

I cant believe that its been nearly a month since I sat here on my laptop and wrote a blog, where has all the time gone. I am going to lobby the government and see if we can have a 10 day week in the summer and a 4 day week in the winter!!! Should have been a bear really so I could hibernate through the winter!!!! Its been a very busy month or so. Highlight of the month was captured in the picture, this is Chris just after the surprise was sprung on her. Pete her husband had arranged a fishing trip to Wales but not told Chris that he had arranged a lesson for her. The look on her face was priceless and she was a great pupil picked things up very quickly. ( Pete thanks and I apologize if she keeps saying "Hywel says this")
We had two great days at the Welsh Game fair at Llandeilo but on Saturday every time I stepped on the casting platform it rained so thank you to everybody who stood out in the rain to see the demos.
I appeared on Sky sports "Tightlines" with Keith if you missed it it can be viewed on line http://www.skysports.com/podcast/0,20494,19916,00.html
I have been doing quite a bit of guiding and its been very up and down because of the river levels.
Filmed yesterday with S4C Welsh TV tying flies with kids and then seatrout fishing in the night why o why are fish soo camera shy!!!!!
The welsh Bank team had there first meeting at Garnfrwwd and what a day after a good meeting we all went fishing and it was great fun with everybody catching on all sorts of methods but the best was dry flies down to size 18. I took the family and both Debs and Yasmin caught but the best fun of the day was watching Tanya my youngest play tug of war with a few fish- she's not really got the hang of fighting fish yet so me thinks a few more lessons in the garden before she goes again. The best bit was that she was casting and hooking them on her own and all this at 6 years old, well done darling.
Well got to go as I have a few busy days ahead opening The Angling Unlimited Educational and Training Centre in Coventry tomorrow the guiding on Rutland before fishing Draycott for two days.
Tight Lines

2011-06-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

Hi All

Just thought I would give you some links to the latest web casts uploaded onto my you tube page some great info an all sorts of subjects

One of the most useful pieces of kit I own
http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/5/9Gdh1THWBB4

Safety when going fishing
http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/4/FqBH1WWGyUw

My Fly Selections
http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/3/kk2Yp8jcKUM

XF2 on Test
http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/2/GUFyq6_iAVQ

If you have any comments please do not hesitate in dropping me an email info@hywelmorgan.co.uk

2011-05-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

I cant believe its been nearly three weeks since I sat down and wrote a piece for here !!! How time flies when you are traveling around!!
Pictured left is the group from Johnson Mattey at Barnsfold lakes and what a day. On the top of the one lake it was beautiful with fish rising and easy to cast while down both banks and the second lake it was fishing but survival fishing. Harder to keep your balance than cast. A great day with everybody going home happy and having caught a few fish.
Then I had a great day on Stocks good fishing in the morning but boy was it cold with a capital C!!!!
Then I drove north to Scotland for a meeting and saw some fantastic venues for fishing and teaching- more to come on that( Watch this space). I then travelled to Finland for my first ever show over there with Eumer Tube flies and had a great few days even though most of the people did not understand what this excited Welshman was going on about at least they laughed in the right places. Had a few day guiding on Rutland as well and am glad to see that the brown algae has nearly gone, but why has May been such a bad month- high winds canceled matches and torrential rain not that we didn't need the last one. One great posotive from this month is that my You Tube views are going up and Aaron is working hard to get the next clips ready to put up. If you have anything you would like me to cover please post on the page http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing
Tight Lines

2011-05-10T05:12:00.000-07:00

Ospreys Fly fishing club sat with Davy Hodgson's parents, sister and brother in law before his memorial match on Rutland water last sunday.

A great day was had by all even though the fishing was very hard, and the day for me was not about catching fish as we were there to celebrate the memory of a true gent and great friend. I had a wonderful days fishing with Julie Emerson and she beat me 1-0 ah well who cares. Most anglers found the conditions hard with a few exceptions. The eventual winner was Ronnie Gent with a bag of 7 fish weighing 17lb2oz second was last years champion John Emerson with a bag of 8 fish weighing 16lb6oz. This was a great effort by John as he was caught short out on the water and had to rush in to the lodge to answer a call of nature ( Cant go into details far to messy ). He then went back out and bagged up well done mate. Third was Paul Shaw who is on a roll at the moment- last year he won the Brown bowl in the international then only a few days before this match he won the Bob Church Classic. Best fish also went to Ronnie Gent a beautiful rainbow weighing 4lb13oz. Top lady was Hillary Thomlinson.
The Ospreys would like to thank everybody who fished the competition as well as all the sponsors - Guide Fly fishing- Hardy Greys- Stocks - Anglian Water- Fulling Mill.
From me a thanks must go to Steve Smalley who does all the admin and takes the entries great job mate and to Stevy Peart great cooking on Saturday night mate- you have got yourself a job now Catering manager for the club.
The best moment of the whole weekend for me was watching Joyce ( Davy's Mum) presenting the trophy to Ronnie Gent- not many dry eye's around.

2011-05-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

In this picture I was out filming for my new river DVD and you see Aaron (director) trying to walk on water and Alan ( camera man) trying to dig a hole in the river !!!!
We had a great days filming but the fish played hard to get, there were a few fish feeding in the glide but more in the really fast water which I fished with a Klinkhammer and caught some nice browns. We did wait on to see if there would be an evening rise but the wind got up and beat us!!!!!
We also spent a day on Llandegfedd filming some bank fishing and boy that was tough!!!!! Very bright and North east wind- not good for fishing but did manage to winkle out 3 rainbows and a nice perch. The best method was Di5 with cat booby. Both of the above DVD's will be out before Christmas.
I have also been fishing on Draycott which has reopened after a year of being closed and can say that it is back to its best. We spent a day just fishing and having fun- cant really say how many we caught but I do know that I landed over 10 double ups!!!! The best method was an intermediate line with a cormorant on the top dropper, red diawl, cruncher and a tequila booby on the point
Getting ready to go to Rutland this weekend to fish the Davy Hodgson memorial match, still can believe I will never fish with him again. He is sorely missed by the Ospreys and we will be raising a glass in his memory on Saturday night at Rutland so if you are around and knew Davy come and have a drink with us.

2011-04-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

Its been a few weeks since I sat down at the keyboard and its been very busy with shows and teaching. First I went off to Lillistrom in Norway which is always a pleasure to go to except for the traveling. Friday 12.15am drive from home to London to fly out- Love the journey !!!! but as always well worth the trip 3 days of good demos and even got to play with some of the new loomis NRX nano rods great action but the cosmetics are a little in your face !!!
I then flew back to London and Stayed with Kiran and his family in North London and enjoyed great hospitality before going fishing. Kiran's Farther was my oldest pupil to date at a sprightly 89- and he would not give up until he mastered the casting. Hope I have half his energy at that age.
The following week I was guiding on Rutland and boy what a day. Fish all over the place and my pupil who had never picked up a fly rod in his life before caught 8 fish all on nymphs. Later on in the day the fish came up and the best method by far was a floating line with nymphs and a cat booby on the point.
I am now sat at home after 2 long days at Kelmarsh Game and Country fair. I was MC for the Angling arena and it proved to be very entertaining. Chris " The countryman" Green brought his new 8 boar gun out and boy what a noise that makes and at the end of both days we had a bit of a fun fishing competition between Jan Porter and Charles Jardine- Saturday saw Jan catch one jack pike to win the mini competition. Sunday I decided to use Jan's spinning rod and again just pipped Charles.
I would like to thank everybody who came and supported the area and I look forward to seeing you at the nest show.

2011-03-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

Its been one hell of a busy few weeks where I have been filming my web clips with Aaron from Bearleft.tv. It was a great day's work and we filmed a load of clips covering all sorts of of fishing stuff. Some are up on my you tube page now and cover the following

Salmon rods Spey or Underhand http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/4/ldOCnZa3eJo

Tying a fly with the New Bug Bond UV cured varnish http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/3/trNQq9P7Ges

Yasmin my eldest tying her favorite fly the Pink Panther http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/2/y9_ru8iMWJk

Tanya my youngest tying the Tan Cat fly http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/1/TRF3upxhBcs

I tried the new Airflo 40+ and this is how I got on http://www.youtube.com/user/HMFlyFishing#p/u/0/15UZ39F4uOg

Go check them out some good information there and if you have any questions or you want me to review anything drop me an email at info@hywelmorgan.co.uk

2011-03-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

Pictured left is Yasmin my eldest fishing at Garnffrwd but more of that later. First I have been busy with Aaron my director and we have filmed a lot of clips for my new Facebook page "Hywel Morgan Fly fishing". They will cover all sorts of topics such as - Salmon rods Spey V Shooting heads, New Airflo 40+, Waders, new Wichwood wader bag and Family fly tying. They will be up soon on FB, my website and You tube. If you have any topics that you want me to film let me know.
After that Yasmin, Debs and myself spent a day on Garnffrwd fishing, well it was practice for me as I was fishing in my first Welsh trial since 2003 for the Welsh Bank fishing team. During the day we found that the fish were either feeding subsurface and by that I mean the top 2ft of water or they were taking off the top so on the morning of the match I set up with 3 rods. One was my banker washing line on an intermediate with 2 Diawls up the cast. Two was my dry set up 9ft 4wt tapered leader with 3ft of fluro on and a olive F fly size 18. Third was a stalking set up 9ft 5wt with fluro on and some of my staking bugs ready to go.
Why does the weather change every day I mean you practice and sort out what you are going to do only for the conditions to totally change. On practice day it was flat calm and sunny on comp day it was cloudy and windy!!!!! Ah well at least the fish did not mind and came out to play. On my first peg I lost my first 3 fish in dries so changed methods to the washing line and landed 2 fish much to my relief I was off and running!!! My highlight of the day was on my second peg after lunch, I got out the dries and as the hooter sounded my dry landed and a fish took the fly " I love it when a plan comes together" I did qualify so I am back in a Welsh team and will be off to Barfinnehy Lake Killarney in Ireland in October.
All in all it was a great competition and I must thank all the controllers who came and helped out and congratulate Jamie the owner on a great venue and great match.

Glasgow Open weekend

2011-03-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

Well the dust has settled after the open weekend in Glasgow and I just thought I would share this picture with you as it made me very nervous- its Phil Varney from Venyard getting ready for something!!!!!! Seen here in his best boiler suit and black rubber gloves!!! Be scared be very scared!!!
It was a fantastic three days and I would like to thank everybody who came down to the canal to watch my demo's as it was cold down there.
It was great to catch up with people that I have not seen in a while and great to see new products that I had not seen before. Nice to see the new eyed heads from Tubeology- they should make great pike flies. David from Bugbond was tying some great sea patterns and I have set him a challenge to see if he can use his bugbond to make some special shuttlecocks- will let you know how he gets on. Saw some nice new products from Simms and cant wait to get my hands on my new G4 jacket. Also picked up Wychwood's new wader bag- great product as I am fed up of putting on wet and damp waders every time I go fishing. Just put them in the bag and hang it up hey presto dry waders in the morning. I have been told that they have a white reel coming out soon and I have put my name down for one of those. ( I can hear you now "tackle tart" yes I am just like every other fishermen)
It was very humbling weekend for me being asked for my autograph by kids and having my photo taken with them. This is something I will never tire of and it is so important nowadays that we take time to encourage children into the sport.

The highlight of the weekend for me was being asked to be an Ambassador for the young peoples charity "Get hooked on Fishing ." If you want to know more about the charity visit their website and if you can help get in touch with them. http://www.ghof.org.uk/index.htm

2011-03-08T03:30:00.000-08:00

Hi folks well its been a while since I tapped the keys on my laptop as I have been here there and all over the place!!!! Firstly have a look at this great pic, you could never tell that it was taken on a Go-Pro head cam. Great quality and considering the camera is supposed to be a HD video camera that films underwater, it does take very good still'sas you can see.
This was our first filming trip of the year for my new DVD which will be out later this year hopefully in time for Christmas. The picture is of me landing a nice rainbow at Garnffrwd fishery in West Wales.
After that day it was a short trip home to unpack the car, re-pack the car and off to Scotland via Newcastle. Oh how I love driving !!! After a 6 hour drive I finally arrived at Paul's house he is a great friend and photographer extraordinaire some of the shots he comes up with are out of this world but dont take my word for it check out his website out http://www.pddigital.co.uk/gallery.php .
After a nice Chinese we sat up talking well into the early hours of the morning discussing the photo shoot and putting the world to rights!!!
Yeat another early start 6.30 and it was off to the famous Junction pool on the Tweed yes the Junction Pool !!!!!!!! But before you start to call me every name under the sun, No I was not fishing unfortunately, we were taking casting pictures with a salmon rod which had a bit of wool on the end!!!!!!.
Can you just imagine standing on the side of the river watching all those salmon jumping and moving up river and not being able to cast at them!!!( you see its not all fun and games)
After a long day of taking photos it was off to Glasgow for the Open weekend at the Angling Center and will post about that latter this week. Cheers for now

2011-02-23T14:45:00.000-08:00

Pictured left is Nick with a great fish from the Dee in North Wales. He was on the Grayling weekend I ran last weekend. The pupils came from far and wide to learn all different techniques from CZ nymphing with indicator tips, using the French leader set up as well as fishing with the braided cast for those difficult to detect takes.
All the participants were put through their paces with casting and shown all the casts they will ever need in the future. The two days were tough fishing but everybody caught but Nick's was the best. On Saturday night John Emmo did a fly tying demo and then allowed everybody to have a go for themselves.
It was surprising how two fishing days were so different as on the Saturday all the fish came to a dull pink shrimp but on Sunday all the fish came to a red tag caddis tied on a jig hook fished deep.
All in all a great weekend with everybody enjoying themselves and learning new techniques. The next course will be run in April dates to be confirmed and if you want to know more please drop me an email at info@hywelmorgan.co.uk

2011-02-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all, well at the moment I have not been doing much fishing so not a lot to write about, however last weekend I was over in Dublin doing the show Angling Ireland with Mara Media. Now as a show, it was a great success with loads of people, and in these troubled times it was nice to see them spending much to relief of the staff and stall holders. It was great to meet up with old friends and make new ones. There were a few highlights for me and the first was to see 2 youngsters from the Irish Youth fly fishing team doing their first casting demonstration. They were Shaun and Shane who were a credit to themselves and to Irish youth fishing "well done lads, keep up the good work".
The second and for me the best moment of the weekend was when I met up with what I believe is one of my youngest fans Liam ( pictured above with Martin his dad). Martin told me that he does not like watching cartoons on the TV but will sit quietly through my programme . As he is so young he can not say my name but calls me tickles!!! Priceless!!!.
The funniest moment of the weekend was when I saw Hugh Bonner ( the organizer) and Stevy Mun running across the hall to the office to get water having just sampled the sushi prepared by Chris Sandford unfortunately he forgot to tell them about the wasabi paste that was on them!!!! Nice one Chris!!!

2011-02-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

Well all the rivers are flooded at the moment just as we were going to start filming a new DVD so I thought I would share what I did last week. First it was off to Bankhouse fishery near Lancaster and boy was it cold. Best method over the two days were the infamous apps bloodworm fished slow and deep on an intermediate line. It was the Ospreys team get together well that was not the real reason as it was Paul's 50th a week before so we decided to celebrate it or commiserate with him. We had a good day's fishing on Saturday and then had the night from hell no food at the pub no heating so all in all not a great weekend.
After this Paul and I spent 2 days fishing on the rivers up North. First we went to the Eden and what a bad day's fishing I had one half-hearted take and Paul managed to catch 2 fish. Personally I believe that due to the very hard freeze that the rivers have been hit hard by cormorants and as there were no anglers around they have had a field day!!!.
Next it was onto the Tweed above Peebles and what a great looking stretch of water- we spent the day searching all the likely looking spots only to find some grayling late on in the day and again Paul was Lucky and managed to get one fish out- a nice one around 2lb.
These two rivers should have produced far more fish in what were ideal conditions but hey that's fishing. Lets hope the rain now stops so we can start filming the new DVD and I'm off to Dublin this weekend for the fishing show, hope to see you there.

2011-01-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

Hi all, well I just thought I would share with you the trials and tribulations of my trip to Belfast for the show at the Kings Hall last weekend.
Firstly, on the left is a picture of my good friend Stevie Munn trying my indoor casting rod. (But I must tell you mate that on Saturday I met your mum and two sisters, sorry Munny you are second division compared to them.)
So lets tell you about my trip, it was challenging from the start. In Manchester airport I tried to get on the wrong plane!!! ( Not my fault!!!! 2 different airlines both going to the same destination from the same place at the same time) confused well I was!!!!!!!. They politely told me that my gate was the otherside of the airport so it was a mad dash and thank god I made it to the other gate( Oxygen!!!!)
Well made it and on arrival met up with Rick from Wickford Angling and what a night !!!!
The show proved to be a bit slow on Friday but the weekend improved with a very good crowd. We all went to one of the oldest bars in Belfast the Crown Bar and what a great place to have a relaxing beer but its also
across the road from the most bombed hotel in Europe.
It was great to see all the stalwarts of the Irish Fly tying scene giving demonstrations and tuition to all interested anglers.
A great weekend and having met loads of old and new friends I look forward to getting back there next year. I have to go now and tie 10 cats whiskers and 10 Damsel nymphs for a customer.
Tightlines and see you all in Dublin in a few weeks

New Year

2011-01-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

Well its now 2011 stating the obvious!!!
Things to do in this year - well my first wish for this year is for Yasmin to get better and if that happens well I'll be a happy bunny.
On the fishing front firstly I am going to try and catch a 20lb plus pike and its either off to Esthwait or Pitsford as I did get a big lady follow me on both of them!!
Next is to get my teeth into some good Saltwater fishing down in Pembrokeshire both from the shore and from a Kayak check out our website http://www.fishpembrokeshire.com/
I also have a few new courses set up for the coming year :
Small stillwater courses at Avon Springs - covering casting-fishing and small water tactics
River fishing on the Dee in North Wales- Winter Grayling fishing- Summer Trout Course
As well as the above I will be available for guiding on the Wye, Severn, Dee as well as reservoirs.

I will also be filming 2 new DVD's through the year covering both river and stillwaters which will be available at the end of the year.
I cant wait for the large reservoirs to open and I will be off to Rutland as soon as it opens- I have a few guided trips organized already.
On the competition front I will be fishing with the Ospreys who have secured a new Club sponsor ! Great New kit!!!!! Cant tell who it is just yet!!
On the show front bookings are coming in thick and fast I have a few new shows. The first of the year is in Belfast 21st-23rd January and if you are there come and say Hi. The second is in Dublin 12-13th February. I am also off to Finland for the first time in March it will be a bit cold with no fishing but hey it should be fun!

Can I take this opportunity to thank everybody for their support in 2010 and wish everybody all the best for the coming year.
Tight Lines

2010-12-08T01:56:00.000-08:00

Its been a few weeks since I last wrote and its been a hell of a few weeks. I have been in and out of Hospital with my eldest daughter with chest pains. The doctors don't know what is going on and when she wrote a letter to Santa she asked for one present and asked to be better before Christmas Shit how low did we feel as parents " Hun we all hope you will be better soon"

Did go and fish the Hanak Grayling Festival at Llangollen a few weeks ago and what a competition 18 teams of 3 caught 321 fish in Baltic conditions and the best fish was caught by Robbie Winram a 49.2 cm fish. There were 98 fish between 40-50cm. Team winners were 1st Wales Adams 2nd England Black Gnats 3rd England Dunkelds.
I controlled the last session on Sunday and I have never been so cold on a river bank- everything was freezing even my lucozada froze.
Lets hope the weather improves soon and Yasmin gets her wish!!

Grayling weekend

2010-11-23T05:15:00.000-08:00

Well just returned from a fantastic Grayling weekend on the river Dee in North Wales. The pic shows John Emerson doing a fly tying demo without a vice!!!! Don't ASK !!!
To everybody on the course yes he did find it after the weekend!!!
Two days of good fishing on the Maelor beats. We fished the golf course on day one and concentrated on CZ nymphing with indicator cast and the French leader. The best catch of the day was shared between myself and Rob. He did try and push me in after I handed him the rod with the fish on the end of the line. I was taking pictures of Kenny up river of Rob and trying to explain to him how to track the nymphs down river but he could not quite master it so I took the rod and showed him only for a nice grayling to take the fly where he had been fishing for a while!!! Kenny could not stop laughing while the air above Robs head turned BLUE!!!!
The next day we fished DoleIsha and concentrated on fishing the braid as well as river craft. All in all a very successful weekend so much so that we have arranged another date 15-16th January. If you are interested in joining both John and myself drop me an email.

2010-11-17T02:47:00.000-08:00

Hi All
Just thought I would do a quick report on the Irish Fly Fair held in Galway over the weekend. First of all why do I and technology not get on!!!!! Got to Manchester airport only to be blocked on my way into the CAR park could not find my booking reference!!! then could not find me!! Well I knew where I was as I was stuck by the barrier as I told this Edjut on the intercom!!! Finally left in and everything else went smoothly. Arrived at the hotel to see Stevy Mun running around like a headless chicken but everything went with out a hitch. That does not come by accident it comes by careful planning so a great thanks must go to Hugh and Grace and all the staff from Mara Media who ran the event.
Oh yea have to thank Stevie as well for volunteering me for the MC job Thanks mate!!! The show was great with fly tiers from all over Europe and I think this show will go from strength to strength.
Had an early start to the airport only to wait there for a few hours for the plane. Got back to Manchester without a hitch but again spent 15 minutes at the Car park barrier trying to get out. Going to take a chain saw with me next time and if they cant find my reference that barrier is going Down!!!!

2010-11-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Puddleduck fishery. What a day with the Afan boys from Port Talbot. We spent the morning on the grass concentrating on casting and everybody improved their distance and accuracy. Then we descended onto the lake and all hell broke loose with rods bent all over the lake. I did not know who to help first. What a great day with a good bunch of lads on a great fishery. I will be back there soon. The fish above is a good double figure fish which was returned quickly to fight another day.
After this I had a week off and went on a barge trip with the whole family and Paul's family, 7 people on a barge was great fun especially when we struggled to get to Elmsmear before it got dark. The thing is there is no speedo on the boat so you dont know how fast you are going. On the way back to Chirk we saw a Salmon trying to run the overflow on the canal !! yea I know sounds far fetched but we took photos to prove it. Pick is of fish on its way back down the overflow.
Just spent the last day re-arranging the grayling course on the Dee as it was supposed to be on this weekend but due to the floods we have had to postpone it until 20-21st November.
Off to the Fly Fair in Ireland next weekend cant wait.

2010-10-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is a short vid of one of the Grayling I caught on the river Dee on the Maelor stretch last week. Great 2 days fishing some of the fish on the golf course stretch came to a small black magic dry but all the others came to bugs in the fast water Paul and I had over 80 fish in two days.
After that it was off to Grafham to fish the Fry bash comp where you fish one day on Grafham and the next day on Rutland. Two days of fun and fishing. Day one on Grafham was good but very frustrating as I lost far too many fish in play. We spent all day on the North Shore just fishing in bays and by far the best fly was a tequila blob booby which accounted for most of the fish. There were bank anglers around and the ones that were successful were shuffling their feet to kick up the shrimp then walking out of the water and fishing where they had been standing. It was then off to Rutland but this was a different prospect flat calm for some of the day and very hard fishing. I managed to winkle one out as did my boat partner and what a fish a 5lb11oz fin perfect rainbow and what a fight, but the best fish was a 6lb10oz rainbow caught by Browns Island. Coming home I had the trip from hell car overheated was stranded on the hard shoulder of the M6 but managed to nurse the car as far as Telford but then had to be towed back home and arrived home around 1am. A word of caution here if you belong to a breakdown service through your bank "Check the FINE print" in the agreement as you could find yourself not covered and having to pay a lot more than you expected.!!!

2010-10-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Its been a few weeks since I sat down at the computer but its been an interesting time. First I was down at Granffrwd fishery teaching Bernie and had a great time. This fishery keeps producing great catches but you have to really fish hard for the fish. Dries down to size 20 or buzzers sized 16. Fish are just feeding in the little bays and you can see them mooching feeding on tiny insects. Fish small and light.
Next I was teaching Patrick on Ravensthorp and what a great fishery ideal small water for someone who wants to try boat fishing without being daunted by huge expanses of water. The water was not clear and the fishing proved hard but best method I found was washing line on a floater and a very slow retrieve.
Then it was off to Pitsford resy to do 2 days Pike filming It was tough on day one strong winds and bright sunshine but Antony did manage to catch one. Day 2 was far better but there could have been a bit more wind. We did manage to get 4 fish to camera and finish the DVD.
After this it was back to Granffrwd to teach Jonathan and we had a good morning but struggled in the afternoon. As I said before fish small flies on light tippet for the best results.
Tight Lines

Isle of Lewis trip

2010-09-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

After a 3 hour drive to Manchester an hour’s wait I started my trip to The Isle of Lewis. The first hurdle was to get through Flybee check in and to my astonishment they charged me £30 extra to get 2 rods into the hold- "sporting equipment " but after 2 short flights and a little bumpy landing I had arrived .

We started the first course at 5.30 in windy condition and just to make it more difficult it rained as well after 3 hours we went inside and did theory for an hour. The next day Ian and I spent the day fishing for salmon and I managed one tough day but there were a few fish about. Then in the evening it was the second course and we did it on the football pitch under floodlights a great evening even though it was raining.

Thursday Ian, Eric and I went fishing and boy what a day 7 salmon and a few lost we had to leave the river as I had to go and teach the last lesson and it was very hard leaving the river when it was full of fish, but we just about made it with 5min to spare.

I flew back on Friday and went straight to Harewood house for the Yorkshire Game Fair and it was a good weekend except when I opened my rod tube to do the first demo on Saturday only to find the Flybee had smashed my rod in transit, thankfully I had put a spare in the car.

Thank you to everybody who attended the courses and to everybody who and watched the demos at the show.

2010-09-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

Since the last time I wrote I have done a fair few miles- first and the closest day was on Clywedog reservoir and we had a great day but it was very frustrating until we switched to dries and then it was easy. Best fly was a black shuttlecock on a size 12.
After that it was off to Higham Lake in Newcastle do do an open day so it was a 3am start and a long drive but the day was great dry with some strong wind!!. Not as many fish caught as last year but still a good day and a long drive home at night.
I then taught at Garnffrwd where the fishing was challenging but enjoyable and Geoff had a great day catching some beautiful browns my best fish was a brown around 3lb what a great looking fish.
I was then out on Rutland with Andy and what a tough day- very strong wind and the basin was out of bounds due to the big wave-the South arm looked more like the North Sea with white horses all the way up, so we spent most of the day fishing up the North Arm all the way down from the Transformer just doing shortish drifts keeping in the lee of the bank. There were some big fish hitting fry all the way down but it was the case of being in the right place at the right time. Luckily we did and caught some nice fish. Best flies were white minkies as well as a black blob on the top dropper. It was a good day in testing conditions.
The next day I went to see the start of the International match on Trawsfynydd and was going to be taking a few photo's but one of the boatmen did not turn up so I ended up boating for the day. It was a nice day with Spencer Williams ( Wales) and Nick Dunn (England) . It was a very close competition with Scotland and England catching 60 fish Wales 57 and Ireland caught 37 fish. Scotland came out on top only by 5oz.
After this it was off to the Midland Game Fair Tanya and myself spent over an hour putting the awning up as she is only 6 it was a tough job.
The next two days we had great demos and the PAA coaches were there teaching children how to catch fish and it was great to see the smiles on there faces when they did catch. Thank you to everybody who came and said hello and to everybody who supported the area.
Just been teaching this morning and had a few hours out in heavy rain oh the joys!!!! Now packing my stuff Flying off to the Isle of Lewis in the morning cant wait

2010-09-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

Its been a few day's since my last post and it has been a hectik week or so. First Yas and I travelled to the Fenland Fair early hours of Sunday morning and had a great trip 4 hours from home to the show!!! Boy the rods were quiet. The show was spoiled a bit by showers on the Sunday one while we were doing a demo and guess who forgot his waterproofs!!!
The two day show was well attended even with the gale force winds over the two days- some gazebo's were blown away on Sunday and sleeping in a tent was an adventure even had to put the car as a wind break.
Then it was strait off to the Dee to guide Ren seen above with one of his grayling all caught on dries. Best fly was black F fly size 18.
I went from there strait to Rutland to practice for the Lexus final, two days of great fishing followed by a frustrating two days of competition. The first day I was out with John Emmerson and had a fantastic time up in Manton catching over 15 fish on a floating line and nymphs unfortunately half way through the next day it colored up and was no good for the comp. Day two Steve Peart and myself found a lot of fish in the dam as well as Old Hall flats.
So on comp day I went off to the dam and had a very frustrating day with fish after fish being lost only to end the day with 7 fish. Day two was much the same but not as many fish hooked and lost. Best method was intermediate or midge tip with a booby on the point with nymphs up the cast
The eventual winners were Tight lines with a great second day performance Second was Rio Masters and third were Nymphomaniacs that makes it two Welsh teams in the top three well done boys.

2010-08-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Bala Country Fair was a great success with loads of people and great crowds for the demo's so if you came and watched thank you for your support.
It was then off to Plas Tan y Bwlch for a weeks residential fishing course. Day one we were at a small fishery and had great sport with everybody catching fish- then we fished Morwynion a mountain lake above Blaenau and boy it was tough.
We then fished Trawsfynydd and again it was hard- the fish had gorged themselves on Ants a few days earlier and were not in the mood to feed.
We spent the last 2 days fishing the Maelor stretch of the Dee and had great sport with good grayling being caught of dries. We had a young lad Jamie who was 16 and it was a great pleasure to watch him learn and mix with the group. Good luck yo him in September as he will be fishing the Welsh trials for next years Youth team.
After that it was home for a 3 hour stop to unload a load again to go to Gallaway Country fair. We finally got there at 1am.
The show was very busy and I taught a lot of people on both days but the highlight for me was seeing Tanya my youngest cast a 12ft6in Salmon rod in the main arena for the first time " That's my girl"
Its a few days at home now with the kids then off to the Fenland Fair ocer the bank holiday- might even take the girls fishing.

2010-08-13T05:34:00.001-07:00

Well filming has finished and what a few days. After coming home very early Monday morning it was off to the Dee to fish with Jane who had a great day catching loads of fish but all the grayling kept falling off- more superglue on the hook me thinks.
Then it was off to Manchester to pick up Ant Glascow Pike specialist and off to Estwait lake. We had 3 days full of fun and had great fish for camera 3 double figure fish- but boy the one that followed Ant's lure was a monster he reckoned around 30lb I think we will go back later in the year to see if we can catch her!!!.
I caught my biggest fly caught fish 15lb and what a great fish
Drove Ant home only to be stuck in traffic in Manchester Oh the joy to traffic!!!!
Just packing now to go to the North Wales Fly Fair and on on Welsh TV tonight talking about the fair. Then its off to Plas Tan Y Bwlch to teach all week in North Wales. Lets hope the ewather is good.

The Lakes hold some big hunters!

2010-08-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

Top Secret filming going on in the Lakes next week. I am filming with the guys from Bearleft.tv again and I'm really looking forward to it.
This DVD is going to be something a little different and a whole load of fun.
Time for the teacher to become the student.

Ssshhhh we are hunting some big predators and you will be able to follow us as we do right here on the blog, twitter and on facebook....

I will try to secretly film us filming this top secret programme and I might leak some behind the scenes footage just for you guys.
Wish me luck...
H

2010-08-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

This week it was Yasmin's birthday and she wanted to go to Oakwood theme park so I spent the day going on all the rides with Tanya. We went on Virtigo where they suspend you in a harness attached to a long wire then pull you up high and let you swing and she was not scared- I was but could not show my 5 year old that her dad was scared. !!!!!
Then it was off to Melton Hall Game and Country Fair near Kettering. A good show but not a lot of people attended which is a pity as a lot of work had gone into organizing the event. Early start on Saturday 4am then slept in a tent on Saturday night thank god the weather was kind.
Getting stuff ready to go to Norway now for a show in Elverum over the weekend.

2010-07-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

Its been a hectic few weeks and not had time to sit at the computer.
First I was guiding on Trawsfynydd which was great fun fishing with Ed Daws and the lake fished brilliantly. Fish all over the place. Best method was an intermediate line a cat booby on the point and dries up the cast fish were taking all 3 flies. Then it was off to Stocks for the Lexus and what a win over 20lb ahead of the second team. Star man and top rod was Mark Howard with 6 fish so consistent as he had 6 fish every day in tough conditions. Best method was woofta booby on the point with WF blob on the top dropper well that was my cast but Mark has the WF blob on the point with 3 dabblers up the cast on a cortland blue.
Then it was off to the Royal Welsh Agricultural show 4 days 2 demos a day plus commentating on the coracles and gun dogs which ment 3 hours a day on the mic which was a strain on the voice ( most of my mates would say I was in heaven!!!)
Then it was straight to the CLA Game Fair which was a great show. Yasmin was ill with tonsillitis and had to be taken to casualty but she was a star as she did all 6 demos over the weekend and even came up with a party piece to end our demo where we have a salmon rod each then both of us did a back cast then swapped over rods to do a forward cast( That's my girl)
Tanya also did all demo's and the crowds reaction was fantastic when she walked into the Main Arena or the platform.
Spent yesterday with Jesper fishing the Wye before he goes back to live in Denmark and boy the fishing was great. Most of the fish came to small F dries but the biggest came to a hares ear bug. Sorry about the quality of the pic but it was taken on my phone. All in all we had over 50 fish most on dries. A great day with and old mate

2010-07-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I told you that I would let you know how I got on fishing for bass down in Tenby well I broke my duck on my second ever trip. We were out with Dave Lewis from Sea Angler doing a photo shoot and all you anglers know when the camera's are about the fish go into hiding. Well not this time, after a fruitless few runs we anchored up near a reef and waited for the tide to come in. I used a 9ft 3inch 8/9wt with a DI7 on and one of my sand eel patterns. Dave and Kev fished with bait and spinners but with no response and just when all hope was seemed lost I hooked into a nice 2lb bass. I know its not a specimen but hey its my first- look out in sea angler in a few month's and you will see the cheesy grin on my face.
Then it was off to teach in Germany-Hamburg to be exact two days of teaching in extreme heat, Sat was far too warm but at least Sunday was bearable. On the way home I was up graded by BA and had a very pleasant flight home pity it was so short. Then down to Buckland lake fishery to teach with the Kent Disabled anglers. A great day with great people at a great fishery. Then it was supposed to be the drive from hell !!! so I thought!! Around the M25 onto M3 and the A303 to call into Avon Springs- No traffic jams at all and this at 5 o clock!!!!!
Finally got home at late o'clock only to get up this morning to drop Yas off at School at 5.15am so she could catch the buss to go on the school trip to France!!!
Cant sleep at the mo so I am working on a new exciting project with BEARLEFT.TV for a new DVD - should be a good one, anybody know of any good Pike waters let me know.
Off to Trawsfynydd tomorrow guiding then onto Stocks for the Lexus.

2010-07-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last week was interesting to say the least. Monday I had to say goodbye to an old Friend Huw Walters who passed away in hospital and his funeral was on Monday. He would have been so proud of Sophey who spoke at his funeral.
Tuesday I was at Garnffrwd teaching Jeff and it was a tough day with only a few fish caught all day but the weather was hot.
Thursday and Friday I was on the Dee and had a great day with Steve,Steve and Tim who had never fished the river and the river did not disappoint. The best fish was caught on bugs on Dole Isa stretch under the farm. It was a grayling of over 2lb. We also fished the golf course stretch and caught some nice fish.
After this it was off to Rutland to practice for 2 days before the Anglian Water Northern final on Monday. Saturday I was out with Paul Shaw and caught 4 fish in 10 minutes great start to the day but it went down hill very quick with only 5 caught all day.
Sunday I spent the morning in the basin- thanks captain I certainly had the short straw here the wind was strong and I even jammed the drogue in the engine and had to cut it out.
Match day I was drawn with Steve Cullen ( Editor of Total Flyfisher ) and we started in Carrot creek then the peninsular and I managed to get 2 fish. We then went up the North to the transformer where I had my 3rd fish total luck as the fish just swam away with the flies.
Steve then went on dries and pulled it back to 3 all but I finally got one last fish on a midge tip and nymphs. This was after loosing what Steve estimated as a 5lb fish. Its always the big ones that get away.
The team did not do well and for the first time in years the Ospreys will not be in the International final. Congratulations to every team who qualified especially team Vision who were 20lb ahead of everybody. A special mention about Chris Guthery's bag as he caught 8 fish for nearly 30lb all on dries.
Off in the morning to try and catch Bass down Pembrokeshire will let you know how I get on next week

2010-06-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hi All
After the hustle and bustle of the Welsh Game Fair it was nice to get back to guiding and I was on the Usk and Wye foundation Water at Ty Newydd below Builth Wells with Alan. This stretch is beautiful and produced great fishing even in the low water we have at the present. Best flies were gold head hares ear. Wednesday saw me down at our lake Fishpembrokeshire- 2 acre lake with a group learning how to cast. Its great to see how quick people take to fly casting and some of the group mastered the double haul by the end of the day.
Friday saw me back at the Wye with Mark and we had a great day plenty of fish and wonderful weather. He did take a quick dip early on but was fine after that. On my way home I stopped to catch some of the Commonwealth championships which were being fished just above us on the river. It was a privileged to watch John McCallum from Scotland fish his beat where he had 19 fish in 3 hours. Great angling by a great fisherman.
Saturday I was on Llandeg guiding Bill and his partner Linda - we had a casting lesson first on the grass and all went well. We then ventured out on the boat and boy it was hard. The Celtic league were fishing at the same time and due to the heat not many fish were caught.
Sunday I had the pleasure of teaching Alan from London and we had a great day not many fish but hey its not all about catching.

Welsh Game Fair

2010-06-21T03:58:00.000-07:00

Gellu Aur was a great a weekend very sunny and well attended. The Morgan family were all demonstrating with Yasmin and Tanya stealing the show. Both of them cast very well and Tanya my 5 year old tried to cast with a salmon rod for the first time.
The most interesting part for me was on Sunday when I was roped in to help the coracle display as they were short of people to go on the river. Having not been in one for over 15 years it was a bit scary and the one I used had a hole in- He told me that the hole was there to let the water out !!!!
I am sure that people watched to see if I would fall in!!!
A big thank you to everybody who came to watch the demo's even those who were laughing at me in the Coracle.

Ladies International

2010-06-21T03:34:00.000-07:00

I had a great week at Llandegfedd reservoir coaching the Welsh Ladies Team. The conditions were horrendous strong wind and sunshine for the whole week of practice. On match day the conditions were far better but unfortunately the fish did not play ball. It was a very close match with England catching 33 fish Scotland 28fish and Wales 27 fish. The top rod went to Cheryl Jones of Wales with 5 fish and she caught the best fish of the match as well. It was a great match and the Welsh girls worked very hard and I was very proud of the effort put in by all.

Great Weekend

2010-06-21T03:09:00.000-07:00

Well it’s been a hectic few days, first it was an early start and down to Avon Springs for a day’s teaching.

There were 12 in the group ranging from beginners to some who had been fishing for a few years. We had a great day and the most productive lake was the top one where we caught fish up to 7lb. All of the fish caught were spotted and fished for- really heart stopping moments and everybody were surprised on how quick they had to strike to set the hook. The fish were not taking the fly aggressively but were just cursing around just feeding as they swam around. What we were watching for was the tell tale sign of the white flash when the fish opened and closed their mouth to take the fly. If we did not strike at this point the fly would be rejected very quickly- I am sure that I saw a few fish swim away laughing to themselves as the angler struck far too late. All in all a great day was had by all.

After this it was a 5 hour drive up to Stock’s reservoir to practise for the Anglian water comp. On Thursday it was a heat of the Stocks pairs and as I was not fishing this I just went out for a few hours to relax and catch a few fish on dries.

On Friday the whole Osprey team were out practising and after a hard day there were 2 obvious methods for us to go out and fish the following day. First was dries and secondly was pulling on a wet 2. I know two very different tactics but both seemed to work. On match day we were greeted with a sunny windy day- why cant Metcheck ever get the forecast correct!!!!!!.

It was a tough day for some but congratulations to the winning team “Stocks” and to their top rod Paul Bebb who caught 9 fish on dries. Second individually was our own Star Steve Smallie who caught 8 fish pulling on a DI3 sweep.

A special mention must go to England Youth who qualified in 3rd and it was the first time in a few years for them to go to the English finals” Well done Lads”.

The Ospreys sneaked in in 4th. The average bag was 3 fish with some catching far more than that. You will notice that I have not mentioned how many I caught well as John Marshall announced the statistics he said if you did not catch 3 fish you were below average, well I was well below average with one fish!!!!

A relaxed day for me. Roll on Rutland in July

Frantic few Day's

2010-06-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Friday saw me down at Garnffrwd teaching Wayne and we had a good morning but the fishing was tough very tough!!!! Best method was fishing an egg fly under a bung- NOT us I may add. After a morning's tuition it was back home to Guide Andre and his mate Gaz on the Upper reaches of the Teifi. This was a set up for Gaz as he had no idea that this had been arranged and the look on his face was priceless. I live only a stones throw from the river but have not fished it for years due to it being polluted a few times, but had heard a few rumors that the old girl had started to produce fish again. Well they were correct we had a great evening with great sport on Dry fly. Now you can see its not the biggest fish in the world but to us it was a beauty. Gaz fished the run you can see behind and caught this one but the one that he spooked was far bigger. I will be back down there soon to try and catch the one that got away.
After a late finish it was a 4am start on Saturday to drive to Barnsley for thw Wentworth Castle Game & Country Fair. Saturday was a bit quiet and Sunday it rained most of the day but the people did come out even in the bad weather and there was not a white trainer in sight.
Monday I was on the Dee in North Wales guiding Peter and Phill now both of them are on a 6 week trip fishing around the UK. They had been down to Devon - South Wales and after our day on the Dee were off to Ireland then Scotland. Two nicer people you would not meet and it was a pleasure to share their company on the beautiful Dee. I only wish that the fishing was better but we did land a grayling of over 2lb and some nice trout. The water authority have been releasing water from Celyn and it is dirty and has spoiled the fishing for the last few weeks. Why oh why do they do it and why don't they tell the fishing clubs.
Got to go now and pack- off to Avon Springs in the morning and then Stocks for the Anglian Water comp cant wait

Yorkeshire Game Fair

2010-06-01T03:52:00.000-07:00

Yasmin and I had an early start on Sunday morning leaving home at 3.30am to travel to Harewood house for the Game Fair.
The first day was very windy but at least the rain kept away and there were good crowds for all the demo's. We enjoyed a great BBQ thanks to Rob and Michelle from Carrilon on Sunday night and bedded down on site in our tent.
Monday the weather gods were kind to us and the Sun came out to play, there were more people and everybody had a good day.
Thankfully all the traffic on the way home was going in the opposite direction and we were home in a little over 4 hours.
To everybody who came down to watch the demo's Yasmin and I would like to say thank you and we hope to see you next year.

Open Day Fish Pembrokeshire

2010-06-01T02:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday saw the whole Morgan clan down for the open day at our new trout fishery in Pembrokeshire.
Unfortunately when we got up in the morning we were faced with heavy rain and strong wind. I can say that everybody who attended and fished enjoyed the Fishery and had some great sport with the best fish landed weighing over 3lb.
Highlight of the day for me was watching my youngest daughter Tanya catching her first trout of around 2lb- the look on her face was brilliant.

To all who attended thank you and I look forward to seeing you on 2 Acre lake soon.

For more info please visit http://www.fishpembrokeshire.com/

2010-06-01T02:29:00.000-07:00

Llangollen on Friday
Today was a guiding and casting day at thank god one of them went well. I was teaching Steve from Hartfordshire who was really looking forward to fishing the Dee. We started the day concentrating on casting and boy what a quick learned he picked up every cast I taught very quickly as well as mastering the double haul- well done mate.

Its a pity that I cant say the same about the fishing- for some reason the water authority had been releasing water from Trewerin and it had introduced all this sediment into the river which put off all the fish. Why oh why dont they inform people so that we can re arrange and go fishing elsewhere, it took Ken Bathers who is the chairman of the club 3 days to get an answer from the Environment Agency boy they need to buck up there ideas.

Well at the end we did get some fish and it was an enjoyable day.

First post

2010-05-27T02:29:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my new blog.

Cheers

Hywel.