Total Flyfisher Magazine

The recent leaf fall certainly gives it an Autumn feeling and the dark mornings and afternoons make it feel like winter, however the mild weather coupled with the Song Thrush singing in the morning outside my house has made it feel almost like spring. This is the first time in many years that I have kept fishing into November and now December.

By now I have usually swapped my rods and a trip to my local Stillwater for Willo my yellow lab and the local pheasant shoots picking up shot game and stocking up on my fly tying materials whilst I’m at it. But the recent mild weather has seen me take an extension to my fly fishing season. This last week I have managed two very good trips out at Seighford Lakes and Westlow Mere. On both trips I have kept away from my usual floating line and nymph and buzzer approach. Instead I have dusted off my Di lines and tried a completely different style of fishing, and to be honest I have loved it. A Di7 isn’t your typical small Stillwater line, but it can and is very effective. And fishing lures? Its not my standard method of fly fishing but one I’m starting to quite like. Winter lure fishing using the range of sinking lines is not every ones favourite form of fly fishing but if you, like me, want to make the most of this mild weather then perhaps its time to give it a go. So, prior to, and since my recent trips I’ve spent a few hours building up my lure collection.

The colour focus of this recent tying frenzy has been black and olive. Armed with these new creations I popped across to Seighford Lakes near Stafford for a few hours last Saturday morning. Those black and olive lures never touched the mouth of the big head of Rainbows that had recently gone in. Instead it was an old yellow and white favourite that did the trick fished quickly on a slow glass. The quality of the fish and fight at Seighford is one not to be missed. I had two good 6lb+ fish which fought like demons!! 9 fish in total for a morning’s fishing is pretty good going. What have I been missing over the least few years???!!!!!

On Friday it was a trip to Westlow Mere in Congleton with my good friend Mark Sheppard. At 76 years young Mark like me prefers the traditional approach to fly fishing. But it wasn’t long before we put our floaters away and brought out the Di7 and a box of marabou marvels. A short leader and a single lure was the killing method fished slowly right on the deck or very quickly as soon as the line hit the water.

It was interesting to witness that the fish caught at depth were all rainbows and fish that had been in a while. Whilst the fish caught higher up were all brownies. Anyway I returned a good quantity of both rainbows and brownies mainly to an olive and gold lure. The quality of the fish at Westlow is excellent and at time £10 for a sports ticket it is bloody good value. So take a trip out and make the most of this mild winter weather after all this time last year everywhere was pretty much frozen up!!

Andy Taylor is a member of the Hardy and Greys Fly Fishing Instructors Academy. He is also a qualified and insured instructor with the Game Anglers Instructors Association. Andy can be booked for part, half or full day guiding on his parents fishery in beautiful south east Cheshire or one of the many large and small stillwaters in the Midlands and the delightful Welsh Dee.

Andy Taylor
www.flyfishingtuitioncheshire.co.uk
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it