Martyn White - Tuesday, March 31, 2020
I've just got back to Japan after spending the week in the Malaysian Jungle and I'm already thinking about when I can go back. Hopefully I'll manage to make it later in the year, although the covid-19 situation might get in the way - it already made getting back to Japan a bit of a struggle!
Paul Arden - Monday, March 30, 2020
I escaped the madness. I spent a week of looking at the news. And now I’m back in Heaven. I had one really crazy stocking supplies day. I was out of essentials such as beer, low on jungle juice and 2-stroke engine oil. And then the lock-out was extended by another two weeks... so I hit the town - no cases of CV in Gerik, but the streets were deserted apart from a few supermarket mask-wearing glove-sporting 2-metre separated individuals. Here we have army checkpoints with machine gun holding soldiers stopping all unnecessary travel. And they don’t want people going fishing which is totally understandable because you don’t know what you’ll catch when fishing. Often nothing at all. Luckily I always seem to catch zee big fish.
Andy Dear - Sunday, March 29, 2020
People have learned to escape reality very well, but too often lose their way back. ---Eugene J. Martin
Viking Lars - Saturday, March 28, 2020
April 16th is around but a fortnight from now, and that’s a special date for my fishermen and -women in Denmark. April 16th is the opening of the salmon season. One river is open already and big fish are being caught. The salmon opening of course draws in *lots* of people from all over the country, in fact from all over Northern Europe and gatherings are impossible to prevent, so we’ve yet to see if the opening will be under restrictions due to Corona-virus or maybe even postponed…
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, March 27, 2020
It seems that this year nothing is going like planned. It is life but it is also pissing me off. My daughters says that I’m my own life’s Donald Duck. I start to feel little bit same nowadays. Earlier I was just thinking that it is bad luck, roof from tractor took off when I was driving on the road in heavy wind, dropping from rafting boat in biggest rapid etc. You know small things that could happen for everyone. But now my fishing is precarious and uncertain.
Tracy&James - Thursday, March 26, 2020
This week the weather has been perfect to spark early spring insect life into action, the river levels in the area are also ideal, yet the fishing has been scuppered by the announcement of a lock-down to combat the coronavirus. As such, Tracy and I will not be fishing for at least three weeks, in fact government advice is to only leave the house once a day for a spot of exercise. Obviously this instruction has sparked a lot of debate over whether going fishing, largely a solitary activity, is allowable or not. Being as going food shopping to the local supermarket with everyone else is ok, there is an argument that a day out away from everyone would be perfectly acceptable. However it appears that fishing is effectively shut down in the UK whilst the more stringent movement controls are still active, with most associations, fisheries etc. closing-up shop.
Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Anything which might be called a typical human life over here and propably almost everywhere has stopped now. Fly fishing obviously is not much different here!
Paul Arden - Tuesday, March 24, 2020
With all this time on your hands no doubt you have popped back to Sexyloops to see what we’ve been up to since your last visit. Well depending on when that was, probably rather a lot. In fact if it’s any time since before last Thursday I would think that you have a lot of catching up to do!
Paul Arden - Monday, March 23, 2020
I took Richard fishing for four days on the Battleship. There was no Internet where we were and we wondered what the chances were of the Resort being shut when we returned. About 40% likely was my guess. Ha! The whole of Malaysia is now shut! So a bit of an emergency ensued where I tried to get Richard over the Thai border crossing before 11pm. Got there in time but five days too lake because Thailand has shut the gates to foreigners. Depending on where you are in the world, I guess you are having similar lockdowns. Here in Malaysia, the army are on the streets and sending everyone home to watch Netflix, tie flies, have sex or post on the Board. Unfortunately my wife is trapped on an island the other side of Malaysia, so that’s one option less for me. It gives me a chance however to catch up on other things of course. Board registrations for example - which I will be doing after posting this!
Viking Lars - Saturday, March 21, 2020
Denmark is more or less locked down like many other countries in Europe and the rest of the World. We’re not under curfew, but honestly, if the latest restriction don’t have a positive effect on infection rates, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens. The news went out last Wednesday evening, effective as of last Thursday noon. Borders are closed and we’re seeing the government taking actions we haven’t seen since World War II.
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, March 20, 2020
It took only few days and everything stopped. Last week I was watching news and following how things will go. I was doing my army rehearsel training. I was a bit worry that something like this will come but never still believed it will happen like this. Starting from Friday we start to get emails and calls where groups were cancelled. Monday our goverment had briefing. It was clear that season will end. Finland has closed borders with many other countries. It is understanable more or less but…..
Tracy&James - Thursday, March 19, 2020
With the recent weather and current health scare, James and I seem to be spending much of our time indoors. When my laptop goes into sleep-mode it scrolls through our fishing photos, which often results in a discussion about our previous trips. Today James asked me what was my most memorable fish hooked, but not necessarily caught?
Paul Arden - Tuesday, March 17, 2020
I’ve been fishing with Martyn this past week and, well I’m writing this on Saturday night, and we are really trying to catch him a fish. Martyn has been close and he has lost two. If we can break through the ice then I know better things will happen. Because today, despite being hard, was a possible multiple fish day! Talking of which I have another favourite return guest, Richard, starting for five days with me as from Wednesday and I’m really excited to fish with him again too. Despite Richard believing himself not to be an expert fly caster, he actually makes it happen!
Paul Arden - Monday, March 16, 2020
Sorry for the late and short FP. I did have one half ready but otherwise not finished! Today is a big day :D
Andy Dear - Sunday, March 15, 2020
The great Ben Hogan was once asked in an interview, what he thought about the trend of PGA Tour players wearing manufacturers logos on their hats, shirts and bags for advertising purposes. He responded. " I don't understand what's going on out there. I never wore signs...and I never will."
Viking Lars - Saturday, March 14, 2020
I’ve been tying a bunch of flies for a friend who was going to Argentina for sea trout on Rio Gallegos, and I’ve been putting off some ideas of my own for a while. I was almost done with my friend’s flies when he suddenly had to cancel the trip on short notice. That gave me the time to sit down a wind onto hooks a few ideas I’ve had in the back of my head for a while and fill some empty spaces in my own boxes.
Bernd Ziesche - Friday, March 13, 2020
Travelling to Thailand I didn't put much (if any) expectations about catching fish into my bag. Only it was hard to keep my mind from thinking about Arapeima!
Tracy&James - Thursday, March 12, 2020
I think the winter in the UK should be renamed the wet season, the river Dee remained high throughout the time Tracy and I were in North Wales. As such, we still haven’t fished it this year – I suspect the first time we do actually fish we may be dry fly fishing for trout rather than bouncing heavy bugs for the grayling. We’ve both got our fingers crossed that it’s a least fishable for our next trip up that way.
Martyn White - Wednesday, March 11, 2020
I'm heading over to Malaysia shortly to see Paul for some beers, campfires and a bit of fishing. I'm really looking forward to it, like any trip but I think the challenge of the snakehead on Belum is something a bit special.
Gary Meyer - Tuesday, March 10, 2020
A recent fishing trip turned out to be a surprise, or maybe, a lesson in humility. It depends on how you look at things… half full or half empty? On one hand, it might have been proof that I may not be too old to learn new tricks, but, on the other, it could be indicative that I am not as smart as some folks assume I am. The question that keeps banging around it my head is, “How could I have not realized something so obvious a long time ago?”
Paul Arden - Monday, March 9, 2020
Spend 5-7 days with me here in Malaysia and I will transform your casting. You might even catch a fish! Come here to do this and I’ll introduce you to, what might be, the finest freshwater sight-flyfishing anywhere in the world. I will not only teach you how to execute these difficult shots but I’ll also teach you how get a boat into position so that you can actually make the shot happen by yourself.
Andy Dear - Sunday, March 8, 2020
Where there is no novelty, there can be no curiosity. ---Afra Behn
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, March 6, 2020
When we plan our fishing trip or holiday, we put lot of expectations over those. I was last week snowmobile guiding in Finnish and Swedish lapland. I knew them from earlier trip and as guide I had expectations how they will do. I know that they had some also but more like about route and nature than about me. We had great time, I think all of us had and it was mostly because none of us put too much expectancy over trip. They were better drivers than earlier so I was suprised and for them landscape was something they couldn’t even imagine before trip and always variable.
Tracy&James - Thursday, March 5, 2020
Tracy and I don’t seem to be having much luck with the weather for fishing lately. We’re currently in North Wales and yet again the rivers are blown out until at least the weekend, at which point we’ll be making our way back down south. At least next Sunday we have the first BFCC event of the year to look forward to, in Cullompton, Devon. We’ve been doing some off and on (weather permitting) practice for this which, for me, has shown that my tennis elbow condition, that flared up about a year ago, has still not resolved itself. I’ve been in pain since I got carried away casting the S55 salmon outfit a while back – it was flying great that day and I obviously over-did things. I suspect I’m going to have to be very careful for the rest of the year.
Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, March 4, 2020
This is my front page number 350 for Sexyloops. Looking into my folder of pictures which I attached within all these front pages, there were a lot of fish involved.
Gary Meyer - Tuesday, March 3, 2020
An old saying that keeps us fishing is, “You don’t know if you don’t go.” It is a truism that gets us out on the water even if the conditions do not look the best. For as any experienced angler will tell you, if they are being honest, we don’t always know what to expect. Sometimes when you least expect it, a trip can turn out pretty good. Unfortunately, there is always the possibility of the opposite too.
Paul Arden - Monday, March 2, 2020
I attended a fly fishing festival last weekend in Terengganu. There were approximately 100 fly fishing participants - which I think is an excellent number! They mostly fish for a small river fish called Sikang, it has a few trout-like spots on its cheeks; it doesn’t appear to grow very large, but does eat dry flies and nymphs. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be around in huge numbers - certainly if the catch rate is anything to go by! Anyway - I gave a presentation on the Essential Level Challenge because for those interested in improving their casting skills I firmly believe that this is the best way top go about it. In other words train so that you can do each cast 9 times out of 10 (in the certification you actually only need to manage it one in three!), and you will be a better “fishing” caster - this I can guarantee!
Andy Dear - Sunday, March 1, 2020
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead —his eyes are closed. ---Albert Einstein