Saturday 27 September 2008

Great Company and Great fishing this week.

200 fish in three days !!


After a great start with a 9 lb fish from the shore I had the added bonus of three days boat fishing lined up. This the time of year to get out as much as possible. I will continue to do that for the next few weeks .


Wednesday



I was joined by the editor of Total fly fisher Steve Cullen and Dave Edgington . We had a great days fishing around the Fal with plenty of fish landed. Steve landed a nice 4 lb fish casting tight to the banks Most of the other fish were taken on the drift with fast sinking lines. All fish fell to the Sparse Olive Frosty Fish Fibre Clouser size 4.


Thursday



Fished within the estuary with Jason Lowe and his mate Alex - 7 am - 4 pm. We had exactly or we think exactly 100 fish . It took around 1 hour to get the last 2 fish but we thought what the hell. Lets be morons.
That was made up of 21 Bass all 2 - 3 lb class - 7 Mackerel and the rest were all Pollack ranging in size from 2 oz - 2 lb. Most fell to Sparse FFF Clouser . Most of the others fell to a horrible Christmas tree style Blobby baitfish pattern, at times this monstrosity was hit straight away. It was a shame to see it work as well as it was a horrible looking thing .

Friday




Fished the with Jason and Alex. It was hard to match the fishing from the previous day. The wind had switched from NE to E and picked up in speed. This proved to be rather bumpy so we hugged the shoreline staying in the lee of the land. After a slow start we eventually started to catch consistently with fish falling for sparse offerings rather than Jason’s Sparkler. (Much to my relief!! )

Alex lost a good fish. At the end of the day
the whole estuary is stuffed with Herring fry. Fish busting around the margins all day . I cant wait to get out again.

AG

Monday 22 September 2008

A Big Bass on fly for 2008 at last!




2008 has been a tough year down here in Cornwall. The weather has hampered us as you would expect. Beyond that, the one thing that has concerned me this year is the lack of larger fish, make no mistake, large bass are almost always hard to come by regardless of wind and tide. My guided customers have all had what they would regard as a great days fishing, they go home happy having landed a load of different species and several bass at around 2 ½ - 3 ½ LB. This happens daily. I’ve had a few thousand of those now so I am always on the look out for the larger specimens. I’m not complaining about the day job as I love taking people Bass fishing in Cornwall. What a great job and for that I am thankful.



If you fish for Bass in the UK then you have to understand that we are fishing for the left overs, the ones that have slipped the net, so to speak. These fish are subject to so much abuse and mismanagement. The commercials harvest fish that have not spawned and most UK recreational sea fishermen are the sporting equivalent of thugs. I’m afraid that threes only a small proportion of UK based fishermen who have grasped the essence of sport fishing. , Catch and release, Fair Play! When you catch a mature Bass from the shore you have to consider the incredible journey that has brought this fish to you and the sheer odds that that fish has had to survive. Any Bass that makes it past the Dolphins , Seals , Pair Trawlers, Gill netters, Livebaiters, Moronic recreational sea fishermen deserves a bloody medal !

This fish measured in at 29 Inches that’s around 9 lb in weight. Trust me to leave the scales on the boat when I headed out on foot tonight!!

This fish was released and I will be standing on the same Rocks at exactly the same time next year hoping she has survived in the face of all the odds

Monday 1 September 2008

Hatch Fly Reels in the UK at last



Hatch Reels in the UK


Sealed Drag ? Cork Drag ? , Sealed Drag ? Cork Drag ? I really must start counting sheep at night. Never the less I have been perplexed with regard to this dilema for a few years and have success stories and Horror Stories from my experiences of both.

Two years ago the owner of a Fly fhop in Vancouver handed me a Hatch Reel. I was instantly impressed with the look and feel of the product. The innovative design combined with a rather sexy finish left an impression. I have now also heard great things about the performance of the sealed drag. Its great that they are going to be available in the UK at last thus we were more than happy to stock these reels. It was only a matter of time before Hatch Reels made their way across the Atlantic.

Below you will see the technical stuff. That aside the Hatch Reels are very classy upmarket toys and Im sure they are here to stay- Austen Goldsmith

Hatch Saltwater Reels Start at £ 449.00 RRP

The Hatch - STACKED DISC DRAG
The majority of the drags in reels on the market today incorporate what we call one to one surface contact. Meaning that one surface (metal) is driven or drawn toward another surface (cork, plastic, carbon fiber, graphite, etc). Hatch reels take a completely different approach by incorporating a stacked disc drag. The discs are made up of a combination of stainless steel and Rulon®, and positioned in a stacked configuration.

The red discs are the Rulon®, the silver are stainless steel. Notice that you have braking surface on both sides of the stainless steel discs. 6 surfaces on the 3 Plus, 8 surfaces on the 5 & 7 Plus and 10 surfaces on the 9 Plus. Since braking pressure is happening to both sides simultaneously, the material is wears evenly. EBS is measured by the surface contact area of one disc times the number of surfaces it contacts.

EBS (EFFECTIVE BRAKING SURFACE)
Each size reel has it’s own unique disc size and combination. The size and number of discs determines the EBS in square inches. Now this explanation is way oversimplified, but it’s a start. If you’re interested in knowing more please call us at Hatch.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT?
1 More surface area makes for a smoother, more durable drag and virtually eliminates start up inertia.

2 Heat distribution occurs over multiple surfaces, rather than one to one surface contact,
thereby eliminating stick slip problems caused by extreme heat in high-speed runs.

3 Disc materials require NO lubrication or maintenance.

To enquire about the range of Hatch Reels - Contact Austen Goldsmith - www.uksaltwaterflies.com

0044 1326562753



Fly fishing Baja Mexico 2008


Baja Mexico July 2008

I have been back from Mexico for almost 6 weeks now; things have been crammed in somewhat this summer. Hence I have not had a chance to report on the trip.

The 2008 Trip was a resounding success. We landed plenty of Bull Dorado., Roosterfish, Jacks, and Bonito one of the group had a Marlin (although that was taken using bait ) I really feel that by splitting the trip between 2 locations North and South we increased our options and created an adventure. I am in the process of writing a full article for publication. This year we had a group of 8 fishermen (and women) with us. Our first leg of the journey landed us at Loreto. The plan was to pursue the Dorado. The fishing certainly did not disappoint. We all had plenty of large Bulls to show for our efforts. These fish fight like demons and pull off excellent acrobatic displays once hooked. We would fish from 7 AM to lunchtime and by then we had had enough fish wrestling in the heat. Afternoons were spent relaxing.



After 3 days we headed South through the Mexican mountains and down to La Paz and the Punta Arena area. We then fished for 3 days from Pangas. This area offers plenty of options for the visiting fly fishermen. There’s no doubt as to who would be the star of the show. The enigmatic Roosterfish stole the limelight as we had expected. These fish will tease you and torment you with their lightening fast pursuit of your fly often followed by last second fly rejections. We also encountered Jacks, skipjacks, amberjacks along with a local Pompano (Grafftopsail)





Our accommodation was a few yards from the beach allowing an opportunity to swim in the sea to keep cool in the desert heat. The air conditioning was certainly an essential feature of the rooms I can’t wait to get back out there and land a few large Roosters. There’s one around 45 lb swimming around with my fly in his jaws. I would love a chance to retrieve my fly!


I have already pretty much filled the trip for 2009. I have plenty of interest from other parties so perhaps we will add a further trip to accommodate those extra rods.

The price for the 2009 trip will be £1330 For a 9 Day trip with 7 Days fishing , 2 per boat. This includes 2 internal flights , Breakfast , lunch and most of your evening meals.

Hers a link to a video from the trip. CLICK HERE