Bluemoon Angling Thread

There is something very special about it when you can see everything that is going on and the fish can too. I obviously gave a couple of them a laugh on Saturday.

Picture the scene..... I was in a single man boat which is brilliant because you can cast where you like without worrying about your boat partner. ...I had spotted a rising fish 20 yards off the prow so thought if i made my way from front to back, I would have a better chance of casting too it.....so off I went, legs over the boat seat, I thought if I do it gradually and quietly like a heron I will have my chance. So slowly I eased my way forward until I was sitting on by boat box...so far so good......trout rises again and I cover him perfectly....

unfortunately for me the forward motion of the cast had unsettled the boat box and it tipped backwards depositing me with a mighty crash (I am a big lad) on by back in the bottom of the boat, staring up at the perfect blue sky and sand martins wheeling above me. Did anyone spot this faux pas? You bet, I was surrounded by boats and I could hear concerned voices which quickly turned to belly laughs as I arose with as much dignity as possible and gave the surrounding guys a thumbs up to show that I was fine.

Anyhow. During all of this farce, like a good angler I protected my fly rod at all times. My line was still out straight and the very second I gave my little bow of thanks to my fellow fly buddies I must have moved the line, the rod arched and the line shot away and two rainbow trout leapt simultaneously as each of them had taken a buzzer. In fishing parlance its called an 'induced take'. If the belly laughs were loud before my audience was in full meltdown by this time as I limped round the boat trying to land the two trout who had obviously felt sorry for my predicament and decided to cheer me up.

I only managed to land one of the scaly little buggers, the other snapped a dropper taking my buzzer as a prize.

One of the lads on the boat was in all probability filming all this as it happened so if you come across a You Tube video with an old gadge with a suave white beard falling on his arse and playing 2 trout, please let me know....
maybe you and @Didsbury Dave should make a film, two men and a boat
 
After much mithering I took Timur out to catch his first UK predator. After an unsuccessful attempt to catch tiny livebaits for big perch, where he was bored after 15 minutes, I got out my ultralight lure rod and went walking with hi. What a ballache. If he wasn't losing my gear in trees (three lures + traces) he was getting big bird's nests around the reel. Anyway, he got a small perch and was happy so that's done.
 
If they are feeding on the surface make sure you have some emergers, cdc buzzers or top hats or the like. Flies that will settle right in the surface film. Some hoppers, a daddy or two. Buzzers of course. Some Diawls. Fish both behind your FaB of which I would always have Biscuit/sunburst, Tequila, just plain Sunburst. Good luck mate.
Thanks mate. Just ordered some online... They are too bloody small and fiddly to tie compared with my salmon flies!
What strength line would you suggest? I will pre tie some leaders as I am a little out of practice with four turn water knots! :)
 
Thanks mate. Just ordered some online... They are too bloody small and fiddly to tie compared with my salmon flies!
What strength line would you suggest? I will pre tie some leaders as I am a little out of practice with four turn water knots! :)
I would go no weaker than 8lb. Buzzer takes can be particularly savage. If you are fishing dries its a good idea to degrease your leader from your fly a couple of feet back at least. That allows the leader to sink a little. If it’s bright and your leader is floating they can see it and will refuse the fly. Short casts so you can see it clearly. If you get a take to a dry, give it a second or so and then lift the rod. Try and not pull its teeth out when you strike.

have fun mate. I’m on Menteith tomorrow- looking forward to it.
 
I would go no weaker than 8lb. Buzzer takes can be particularly savage. If you are fishing dries its a good idea to degrease your leader from your fly a couple of feet back at least. That allows the leader to sink a little. If it’s bright and your leader is floating they can see it and will refuse the fly. Short casts so you can see it clearly. If you get a take to a dry, give it a second or so and then lift the rod. Try and not pull its teeth out when you strike.

have fun mate. I’m on Menteith tomorrow- looking forward to it.
Thanks mate. Tight lines. :)
 
What a bloody weekend. Lake of Menteith on Saturday and then down to gods own stadium on Sunday morning. Still haven’t recovered. Anyway Saturday was cold with a stiffish westerly breeze. My Rutland boat seat has finally given up the ghost, several years of increasing body weight bouncing up and down on it have taken their toll and they are extremely difficult to replace. So I am using my wychwood reserve seat which straps onto a thwart. Tastefully designed in black powder aluminium, the seat is clearly designed with a slim teen in mind rather than the average foc fly fisherman. Still, I was able to rest one cheek on the seat which took some of the strain.

the fishing was interesting. The usual washing line, fish were reported to be on the road shore and Kates Brae so off we went. It was clear that they had been hammered for the past week and for every firm hook up, there was at lest 4 times as many pulls, bangs and tweaks as the fish failed to commit. It is so clear that catch and release has a massive impact on fish behaviour. I finished with 5 on fabs, booby and buzzers. Best rod on our club was 10, I ended up joint 3rd.

There is a rather lovely boutique hotel on the banks of the Lake and it’s dining room looks over one of the Lakes hot spots. A calm bay fringed with reeds. I hooked my last fish tight into the reeds and thought ha, good, this will provide a spectacular show for those enjoying a late liquid lunch. It sure did. The fish wasn’t a stocky, more a 3lb bar of silver that in the shallow water put up a hell of a fight. With the stiff breeze the boat was getting forced into the reeds and despite me shouting at my fishing buddy to motor us out, he was asleep on the job and we were increasingly entangled. My only option was to try and net the fish as soon as possible by bullying it. I managed to get it about 5 yards from the boat when everything locked as it had taken the top dropper and the trailing flies had lodged fast on reeds. By now the fish was stuck fast, flapping on the surface with a ‘for fuck sake‘ expression. Jeez. By now my boat partner had started to manoeuvre the boat through the reeds towards the fish and I was finally able to net him, all the while he looked at me accusingly, release him quickly and untangle my leader from the reeds.

Seriously Bad Angling!

anyway, with that result I move into 3rd place in the club championship. Not that I’m in anyway competitive. :-)

the post script to this is I learned one of our International club members were out doing some serious practice the same day. Choosing to fish where there was no fish reported they took over 50 to the boat. Obscene.
 
What a bloody weekend. Lake of Menteith on Saturday and then down to gods own stadium on Sunday morning. Still haven’t recovered. Anyway Saturday was cold with a stiffish westerly breeze. My Rutland boat seat has finally given up the ghost, several years of increasing body weight bouncing up and down on it have taken their toll and they are extremely difficult to replace. So I am using my wychwood reserve seat which straps onto a thwart. Tastefully designed in black powder aluminium, the seat is clearly designed with a slim teen in mind rather than the average foc fly fisherman. Still, I was able to rest one cheek on the seat which took some of the strain.

the fishing was interesting. The usual washing line, fish were reported to be on the road shore and Kates Brae so off we went. It was clear that they had been hammered for the past week and for every firm hook up, there was at lest 4 times as many pulls, bangs and tweaks as the fish failed to commit. It is so clear that catch and release has a massive impact on fish behaviour. I finished with 5 on fabs, booby and buzzers. Best rod on our club was 10, I ended up joint 3rd.

There is a rather lovely boutique hotel on the banks of the Lake and it’s dining room looks over one of the Lakes hot spots. A calm bay fringed with reeds. I hooked my last fish tight into the reeds and thought ha, good, this will provide a spectacular show for those enjoying a late liquid lunch. It sure did. The fish wasn’t a stocky, more a 3lb bar of silver that in the shallow water put up a hell of a fight. With the stiff breeze the boat was getting forced into the reeds and despite me shouting at my fishing buddy to motor us out, he was asleep on the job and we were increasingly entangled. My only option was to try and net the fish as soon as possible by bullying it. I managed to get it about 5 yards from the boat when everything locked as it had taken the top dropper and the trailing flies had lodged fast on reeds. By now the fish was stuck fast, flapping on the surface with a ‘for fuck sake‘ expression. Jeez. By now my boat partner had started to manoeuvre the boat through the reeds towards the fish and I was finally able to net him, all the while he looked at me accusingly, release him quickly and untangle my leader from the reeds.

Seriously Bad Angling!

anyway, with that result I move into 3rd place in the club championship. Not that I’m in anyway competitive. :-)

the post script to this is I learned one of our International club members were out doing some serious practice the same day. Choosing to fish where there was no fish reported they took over 50 to the boat. Obscene.
Great report as always, Saddo. Fishing with civvies witnessing is always a pressure.
 

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