Tracy and I have been writing these FPs for a number of years now and we've never had the pleasure of writing the new year's eve one – I think. Maybe we have, I can't be sure – this time of year is usually a bit of a blur to me. I've actually been drunk since the 22nd of December when I went out on the Denbighshire County Council Christmas party – I've absolutely nothing to do with Denbighshire County Council, and I don't remember why I was out with them on their Christmas office party, but it was good. None of them fly fish though, which I think is a shame.
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Next week Ashly and I will celebrate Christmas! I know; later than advertised! But she was working at the resort and I had a fishing guest on the lake (that was fun!). And so just after the New Year, we will have our Annual Wet Season Nutloaf Feast while wearing Santa hats.
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Change of tactics, change of direction, change of location, change of flies, change of leaders and lines, change of rods. We must change many things in fly fishing if we want to be successful. We accept that change is required for success. In reading Paul’s December 12, 2023 Front Page, it reminded me that in order to grow as a caster, angler and instructor, change is required. So why is it, in many other aspects of life, I often internally fear change? “Keep the change” has an entirely different meaning in this regard. It is uncomfortable to depart from the familiar, even if the familiar no longer suits me. It takes time and effort that, perhaps, I am not ready to spend. It also takes emotional readjustment and commitment to the process.
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I hope everyone has had a pleasant an indulgent start to the festive period. I know I did. Unfortunately, I've since been struck down with some kind of lurgy, that's kept me indoors rather than out fishing. So this week I thought I'd write about a favourite flats fly of mine that I think is seriously underrated: Gorrels's Hackle Shrimp.
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After all those years with one wheel in the ditch, and the other on the track…, Suddenly, thanks to that report, it seemed that the Willowbrook fly fishers club had finally two wheels on the tarmac and was rolling along!
The EA (Environment agency) with a wee extra nudge and some guerilla gardening had transformed the “Above the Packhorse Bridge” canal stretch into the potential loveliness that is now “The Groynes ”beat..
A certain rebellious gobshite had realised that putting the odd faggot together wasn’t too hard and was now ambitiously looking at that WTT (Wild Trout Trust) report regarding his beloved Nassington Road Bridge beat and thinking, “Do I really need to wait for the club to get round to it…”
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Right now is some of the best fishing of the year on the Belum Temenggor lake. The Snakehead have spawned recently and we are getting shots at babies between rain spells. I was guiding two days prior to Xmas day and shared fishing on the 25th. We are fishing in separate boats today.
Numbers of sets (opportunities) 5 sets, 4 sets, 7 sets. That’s pretty good. And I suspect will continue for some weeks to come. So for those of you planning to come, very soon, like now, is a good idea.
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"Santa Claus had the right idea. Visit people only once a year."
---Victor Borge
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It's nearly the end of 2023 and James and I have been reminiscing about our casting year results. I started the year by winning the UK Casting Sport Championship in some tricky conditions. I remember we had calm conditions for some of the distance events yet it was ridiculously windy for the accuracy comp. Considering the number of amazing male casters, there were different winners for most of the events and it was brilliant when James won the ST27.
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I’m late with the FP. The morning quickly turned into clearing the fly tying table, vacuuming and cleaning the entire house, getting ready for Christmas and the in-laws. December is a lovely fishing month on the Danish coasts and I haven’t been out once. Hopefully there’ll be time, opportunity and weather for it after Christmas and before New Year.
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It was few days only -3 celsius ( 27 F). That meant heavy snowing of course. So I have been cleaning snow and keeping trails on shape. As it is shortest day, it means that from Christmas eve our busiest weeks are starting.
From Christmas to New Year's eve we expecting over 500 guests to visit us and having reindeer sleigh ride. At the same time there are all the maintanance and reindeer feeding and work to be done. Luckily from today days are getting longer.
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As we get close to Christmas, I've naturally been busier than usual. Obviously, I've still managed to spend a bit more time than may be considered normal thinking about squid.
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It does sound ‘Holier than though’ and somewhat boastful unfortunately. A pure and simple philosophy, that sounds rather glib, almost throw-away when written down “My aim, is always to leave a place better than I found it”.
(Though my ex would cite the bedroom and the kitchen sink and the car as clear and obvious failures in this personal endeavour)
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Today is my birthday and so I’ve done what I always do on my birthday.. I’ve gone fishing! Jan-March is usually quite slow on the lake and I thought it would be a good time to encourage some of you, who may have plateaued in your casting, to consider some coaching with me.
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“Today I will do what other's won't, so tomorrow I will do what others can't.”
---Jerry Rice
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Busy week this one! I have my birthday on Tuesday when I will be 27 again. I’ve really forgotten how many times I’ve been this age now. I told someone about this who said they were going to be 23 again. Hmmm.
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The best motivation is fun. Doing something that one really enjoys is the best motivation there is. I’ve been working on my casting for the past couple of years, unfortunately very on and off. Sometimes with a handful of weeks of focused training (carrying mostly), but every little trip to the park has been fun. I usually start with carry exercise and then drift off into something else. I haven’t practised for a couple of months, but when I last did, with a degree of focus, it was shooting for targets.
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Some thoughts from TZ this week…
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Sandeels, sand lance or whatever you want to call them are important and much imitated forage for all kinds of saltwater predators. It doesn't matter if you are fishing for seatrout, striped bass, blue fish or anything else, if sandeel live where they live then sandeel is on the menu.
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A Groin, according to the common usage, is the area between the abdomen and the upper thigh on either side of the body, with some remarkably sensitive and tear inducing nerve endings.
Architecturally a groin is a curved edge, created by two intersecting vaults. (are you bored yet?)
It could come from Grynde, the medieval English word for Abyss. Or, from the Old French Groign which is a pig’s snout and leads us to Grunt.
Neither definition remotely helps us here. Nor do they relate to the “featureless straightened channel, modified by dredging, heavily incised with raised banks of spoil” described as such in the Wild trout trust report on Willowbrook. Not directly, or in an analogy, or a simile and certainly not as a crude and ironic personification!
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Ego is a very dangerous thing for it will prevent us from improving. If we ever set ourselves up as being at the top of the mountain, with nowhere else higher to go, then we simply won’t go any higher. Unfortunately I see that with instructors quite often. Guides too. In fact I’m sure you know someone who believes that they are always right. And sometimes about everything!!
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Every now and again I have strange little insights about the peripheral experiences of fishing, and the effects they have had on my adult life. Most recently it was a random epiphany about the role that "Gates" had on me as a young man. I know that sounds a bit strange, but bear with me....there are deeper metaphors and meanings here.
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It's the time of year that we start planning for the casting and fishing trips for the next year. We already have several dates for casting competitions during the summer. Firstly the three Game Fairs; the Welsh GF in June (at a new venue in south Wales), the Scottish GF in early July and the English one, this time at Blenheim near Oxfordshire during the last weekend in July. Since the Welsh GF has been rescheduled for earlier in the year, the final of the triple (#5 distance, salmon overhead distance and trout accuracy) GF Championship will be at Blenheim – this should be a much better attended spectacle. We might need to do a recce to Blenheim in the New Year to check on the set-up at this new venue, though I will start promoting this very soon as there is a fantastic trophy to win from James who is the current holder after winning the final earlier this year.
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There is little doubt that Frederic M. Halford was a special type and a character. He’s considered the father of modern dry fly fishing - and for a good reason. He was a near-religious dry fly fisherman, fishing the famed chalk streams of southern England. There are a lot of stories about him and his relationship with others, and especially G. E. M. Skues, but many - if not most - are not true.
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First winter season week starts to be done. It has been pretty good one. Our team, reindeer and workers has been doing great job, when it is like this, this is easy work.
My biggest doubt was on Sunday. I have had same pullover/sweater (made from wool) for over 10 years. Last spring, Satu bought new one which similar as old one. Old one has some extra holes and to be honest, it has seen better days. It has been heavily used, about 180 days per year, every day during the winter.
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It's been a busy week for me; topping up my big fly box, putting a couple of fly selections together for Christmas, a podcast and, of course, a bit of fishing.
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Knowing there was a while to the next Annual and General Meetings of the Willowbrook Fly Fishers club and wary from my experiences now that things could and probably would just get caught up in the bureaucracy and blocked for a year of inactivity. Either directly, with cod science that is so hard to dispute on the hoof, or with anecdotal evidence dressed in a veil of ‘common-sense’ and presented as knowledge.
Or, as so often the case, when trying to discuss an issue that ruffles feathers, finding it gets waylaid by some wonderfully imaginative obfuscation to transform the discussion from whatever topic, into some personal recollections of shooting Rooks as teenagers, or the increasing Badger numbers, or the benefits of old fashioned milk bottles, (yes I’ve heard each of those at the AGM delaying the agenda), or berating these nameless city newcomers for thinking that they understand the countryside!
Switched in an instance to a topic everyone felt more secure chattering around, chipping in, and the whole flock start clucking and chirping contently until that troublesome change is put safely away and forgotten.
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I’ve always liked the weather. I think as a fly fisherman that this is important. If you don’t like being outside in the rain, then fly fishing probably isn’t for you! Just being outside, no matter what the conditions, always makes me feel alive. And it sure is pretty damned wet over here at the moment.
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An antique is anything old with class.
--John Bartlett
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Falalalala, lala la laaa.
That’s right boys and girls, it’s snow time.
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I fish a lot both from my pontoon boat and from my float tube. Whenever I can, I do prefer the the pontoon boat for reasons I’ll cover below. The main reasons for using both is the ability to fish waters that would otherwise be nearly impossible to fish, to fish when the wind would otherwise be straight in your face and comfort. It really is like fishing from an arm chair.
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Winter season kicks off this weekend. First 4 week Spanish and then 3 months Germans. It looks like busy winter. I truly hope good one. My thoughts are going often our planned trip on next May. I really want to make it happen, now it is not that we won't have time, just have to get money!!!
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