Sebastian, Nemo, frogs and winning

Well readers – since we last spoke I’ve been out at a couple of  trout fisheries attempting to develop my fly fishing skills beyond beginner stage 🙂  Although I’m now successful in catching fish most of the time, I’ve never landed one on my own, always needing help with getting the net under the fish in the water. It always seems like you need 3 hands to do this??  I had never taken the hook out of the fishes mouth myself so now was the time to start! Rob had been tutoring me in a method of fly fishing that is slightly worryingly called the “booby method” which entails the use of a fly made with a little foam head that floats well on the surface and then little buzzer flies and nymphs that hang lower in the water. So, lots to learn this year!   

I did think, prior to taking up fishing, that discussing weight, size and numbers of fish caught was a male orientated activity and not one a woman would be drawn into. But last week,  on a particular pool, the unusual situation arose where I had caught three fish and Rob only one. I noticed a small but highly competitive spark leap across my brain and the unspoken contest commenced. The goal? To catch the bag limit of four fish before my husband did. 

The owner of the fishery passed by me on his way to tend to the specimen fowl in the aviaries nearby. He cordially enquired how I was doing and on hearing the “good news”  passed comment that catching more fish than my husband was not good for the “marital relationship”. However, I was sure it would be good for character building (husband’s of course!). 

It wasn’t long before the old adage “pride comes before a fall” was needed as husband bagged his fourth fish before I did, so now it all depended on the weigh in. Last year as a beginner, I was happy to catch nothing as I enjoyed learning the new skill and being out of doors.  Now the competition was definitely on and all noble thoughts of the previous season flown away.

My next catch was a cute little crayfish but more of him later. Once my fourth fish was landed, we walked nonchalantly back to the hut where the weighing scales were beckoning. I can report I had the greatest total weight (by a couple of ounces) – 8lb 2ozs – and one of my fish was heavier than any of Rob’s, weighing in at 2.75 lbs but he won the contest by telling me how proud he was of me 😉

You may be wondering about the crayfish which resembled a small lobster. A few weeks previously, at a fishery in Woolaston near the Rivers Severn and Wye , I caught a frog on my fishing line which was definitely unintentional and probably the most unsavoury fishing  experience I’ve had so far! This incident definitely needed the intervention of a husband to detach the frog carefully from the hook and return it to the pool. Catching a crayfish was also unintentional but quite interesting as it resembled Sebastian, the cute little lobster in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”. My youngest daughter spent many hours as a young child repetitively watching the film before progressing to become a Disney princess fan. The songs hung around in my brain for many months as any parent of young children will no doubt identify with! I have another daughter with a talent for performing condensed versions of animated movies with all the voices and key quotes. “Finding Nemo” is her best! So I had a soft spot for the little crayfish. which was about as big as my hand. Taking a cloth from my bag I gently held him while I removed the hook. Trying to place him back quickly in the pool, I found the little fella was clinging onto the grass for dear life with his pincers and lots of little legs!! I finally wrestled him free and returned him to the pool still clutching grass to his chest. I do hope he forgives me soon!!

Pretty near perfect day!

Today was pretty much perfect!

First day of four days off work – exciting!

Blue skies as the mist evaporated – promising!

Not needing a coat because it’s warm – encouraging!

Driving to the River Severn with my lovely husband. – wonderful!

Bacon sandwich on wholemeal bread followed with rhubarb yoghourt picnicking at the riverside – yummy!

Conversations that illuminate – connecting!

Lying eyes closed on a grassy bank, the sun on my face in the month of March and the warm breeze gently lifting a strand of my hair  –  unbelievable! 

Living the present, unconcerned about the future, enjoying life on purpose – thank you God!  🙂

Catkins, shoots, buds and debutantes

First day of the UK Spring and the signs are all around! 

Like 50’s debutantes appearing for the first event of the season, fresh green shoots have made a shy but excited appearance amongst the winter leaf mould and bare twigs.

Leaf buds step out elegantly. Soon they will be ready to twirl and unfurl their green bias cut skirts.

Maybe there will be a splash of lemony green slubbed silk, like these young nettle shoots here, appliqued to a background of sage velvet.

Or perhaps, a bold, bright green full of depth like the older primeval mosses and lichens which have freshened up and emerged ready to chaperone the newer arrivals.

Willowy new shoots strut their style with heads held high.

Swaying in the melody on the breeze, confident their hot pink hue will attract an invitation to dance.

Their season is short as their taffeta glory will soon mellow to brown dappled tweed.

Enter right – last season’s debs take the stage. Their pendulous earrings sashay gently with grace and charm suspended from mature branches above the remnants of winter’s floor.

The wind will take them onwards with time and they will multiply.

White and lemon broiderie anglaise makes a come back this season for the young debs.

Others prefer a simple but sophisticated look………..

……while the latecomer reeds are still bathing in spring waters, sure in the knowledge that a fashionably late entrance  always draws a crowd!

Enjoy Spring this year!

Fly fishing, black swans and scones

There’s nothing quite like catching a few trout with flies you’ve tied yourself for making a birthday boy very happy. That’s why Rob and I recently headed for the Bransford Game Fisheries http://www.bransfordgame.com/ near Worcester with celebration in mind.   Two of the fishery pools are fed with water from an underground reservoir of Malvern Spring water and are well stocked with fish from Bibury Trout Farm. A pre-trip look at the weather forecast and predicted temperature had caused us to think the fish would stay deep and we chose some hand tied lures and wet flies with this in mind.

Leaving the motorway,  it was as if the Malvern hills  presented themselves to us, a low wintery sun throwing the undulations of their geological structure into stunning relief. The countryside looked welcoming but the car radio predicted blustery winds, not good for fly casting especially for a beginner like me!

The forecast proved correct and on leaving the car, I put on as many coats and warm accessories as I could manage while still retaining the ability to move. Those of you who have read my previous post “Sea fishing, frost and lemon cake” will recognise this as a recurring theme!

We waddled over to the Anglers Rest Room – the best one I have found so far in my short fly fishing career. A modern brick built building with kitchen, kettle, microwave, weighing area and even carrier bags to take your catch home in. Add to that the picnic table, barbecue and separate ladies and gents toilets and it makes a facility acceptable to any lady angler no matter how genteel their upbringing! Quite a contrast to the small camping toilet at the beautiful Loch Sherup in Scotland but the less said about that the better! On the other hand,  I’ve since been to rural India becoming well acquainted with a variety of their official and unoffical toileting arrangements. Imay well view the dear little Loch Sherup toilet with great affection this coming summer!

Our friend James soon arrived bearing homemade scones. He really is a good baker, taking great care over the creating process with yummy results. The scones along with bacon butties would make up our lunch.

Once we had set up our fishing gear we ventured onto the far lake having worked out how to position ourselves so that the strong wind blew from behind us. Out there, the sound of the wind was earachingly relentless and stole the words and breath from our mouths at times. I was able to stand leaning into the support of the wind (always fun until it suddenly dies down and leaves you stumbling backwards)and at times, I crouched down suddenly to avoid being blown over.

We adapted a version of back casting and holding the rod low when retrieving to avoid the wind blowing the line into a knotted up mess. It was certainly not text book methodology! God must have looked on me with favour as I experienced hardly any line tangles as I cast and got my hook caught on the bushes behind me only once or twice. 

I spent the next hour fishing while admiring the winter shapes of the reeds and a pair of black swans that often frequent the pools, their bright red beaks making a striking contrast against the black waterproofed feathers.

After a while, I felt the eagerly awaited tug of a trout sampling the colourful lure that had sunk deep into the water. I pulled the rod up to secure the hook firmly in the fishes mouth and played the trout successfully for a while until, inexplicably, the line came loose and the trout got away! As still quite a beginner in training, both catching and losing the fish are equally inexplicable to me. No doubt seasoned fishermen and women will have explanations of what I did or didn’t do correctly but at the moment it’s all fun and I’m enjoying the learning process. The fish had a few more  bites at my lure but none obliged by allowing themselves to be caught.

Rob and James went on to catch their quotas of fine looking rainbow trout and even a brownie which was returned to the pool.  

One or two of the fish were female, full of eggs.When we gutted and filleted them later, the eggs spilled out, bright orange pearls worthy of any authentic sushi bar.

As it was so windy and I was recovering from a virus, I decided it was time to retreat to the Anglers Rest to cook the bacon sandwiches. This attractive plan was thwarted by a broken microwave. The scones became the main course accompanied by a cafetiere of freshly ground coffee. The jam was delicious and a pot of clotted cream with a thick crust completed the picnic which we ate at the wooden picnic table overlooking the lakes and the valley.

 

If you value good flyfishing, excellent facilities, beautiful views and an array of natural phenomena to wonder at while you relax why not give this fishery a visit 🙂 If you don’t know how to fly fish, why not try a new hobby this coming Spring?