Blog — fly fishing

Having fished Rutland for over 37 years, It is fair to say I have witnessed many of its mood swings, however its current mood is on a different scale, although there are ways to nick a few, if you are in the know! From hero to almost zero in a week - how can that be? I shared a boat with Shaun Jones just 10 days ago. The weather was what we anglers would describe as perfect, overcast, and light winds, though the sun did eventually break through. We headed to the dam wall, and was met with the odd...

Rutland Water offers such a diverse way of fishing at any one time. Whether you want to fish a dry fly, or fish a DI-8 with a tube fly, the odds are you will catch a fish, and as some people have found out this last week, it could be 2lb, or even 10lb !! My first day of 3 in a row, was with Warwickshire's Andrew Wheildon. Andrew had visited Rutland 3 previous times, and hadn't landed a fish. We were greeted with a bright day, and at times, flat calm conditions. . We started at C3 Buoy, located 200...

As the water temperatures rise, Rutland's Basin comes into its own, as the fish head here for the deeper cooler water. The latest stocking of 4,000 fish were all released around the shores of the basin, adding to the larger numbers already resident there. Easy fishing you could think? Think again, as  friend Trevor Gibson and I found out at the 'flick of a switch'. As we headed for the North shore, Sykes lane to be precise, the wind was coming straight off the shore - a Northerly wind. Our first 20 minutes we hadn't moved a fish, so I...

I am sure we have all been here - Your days fishing is on the horizon, you are all set, then the day arrives. You pull up at the venue, and you see that glazed look staring right back at you - FLAT CALM ! It is fair to say, this can be a challenge in itself, let alone it being the month of August!! I was pleased to be fishing with  Nik Tompkins, a guy I have seen on the competition circuit over the years, yet never had the opportunity to fish alongside him. Upon meeting Nik, he warned...

Having fished Rutland for over 30 years now, I am all to aware how things can change here, in a mere 24 hours. I have been lucky enough to fish Rutland on two consecutive days this week, and what a difference 24 hours can make. Wednesday I was fishing alongside Simon, a Forest fan (good enough in itself). Simon is still learning the tricks of the trade on how to tackle large reservoirs, and today I was going to show him the pulling of a booby across the surface, as this is what the Rutland trout cannot get enough of...