Rivers National

Hi Guys

I have just come back from fishing in the England Rivers National on the River Itchen. This is the event that can determine your position in the England youth rivers teams so there was lots at stake.

I set of on Saturday morning to make the 5 hours journey down to the Itchen at Southampton. Saturday was just a day for me to gain some confidence in fly and methods, as I don't fish chalk streams very often, in fact I only fish them about once a year if that!. Anyway it was a successful day for me as I caught a few fish and identified some successful flies an methods. I didn't catch lots of fish as I wanted to save them for match day!. after this I went back to the hotel to finish off my preparation for the day, this took me 4 hours as I wanted to make sure that I plenty of my successful flies so I woudent run out on the day and also making up plenty of leaders as the forecast was for strong winds.

Sunday was match day and I was very nervous as I wanted to make sure that secured my place in the team as well as trying to better me last years result of second place. I was fishing the lower section in the morning, which I hadent looked at in my practice but never the less it looked very inviting. while setting up I had seen few fish rising so I started with a trio set up to get the best of both worlds as I was fishing dry fly and nymphs at the same time. I fished all of the likely looking runs only to lose one at the net!. After this it took a while fore me to settle in. My first and second fish were trout so when I next struck I was expecting another trout but instead I found myself connected to my first Grayling of the day. I had hooked it on the far bank past a dense weed bed so I tried to French net the fish to stop it burying into the weed but unfortunately it hit the bank below my net and fell off. It then took me half an hour to get my first fish in the net. I fished my way up the beat fishing every gravel run and at the end of the session I had 4 decent Grayling which was good enough for second place. In the afternoon I caught too fish in very quick succession but then I again struggled to catch moor, I eventually got another. A nice hatch started to come off and I switched to drys to miss one first cast, but then no more offers with the dry so I fished the run again with nymphs and got a take first cast, but as I knew there were more around I opted to stay nice and low but this proved to be the wrong move as the fish came off at the net. This made me very anxious as the session was drawing to a close and I knew every fish would make the difference. I caught no more Grayling which left me in forth place, third place also had 3 fish but had slightly bigger fish so beat me on fish points.

So overall it was announced that I was third, not bad but not as good as I had hoped for. But never the less a good result. First place went to Carl Malpass who ran away with the victory, with Oliver Avis in second and me in third place. So well done to Carl for  winning the Tom Bilson trophy, and to Oli for his silver medal.

James

Thankyou

Hi Guys


Sorry its been along time since I updated, but I have recently suffered from a serious neck injury which concluded in a ride in the Air Ambulance to Lancaster hospital. Thankfully it was just a torn muscle but it could have been much worse!. So first of all I would like to thank the hospital team for the hard work and getting me back on my feet as quick as possible.


Secondly I would to thank G.R. & R.D. Taylor at Kikby lonesdale. After a shopping trip into Kikrby today, they very kindly offered to support me in my fishing competitions by giving me some very high quality clothing. So thank you for your support it is much appreciated. For anybody looking for some good outdoor clothing or army surplus supplies here is a link too there site http://www.gr-rdtaylor.co.uk.


James Atkinson

Airflo International Final

Hi

Sorry for the delay, I have been so busy with school work I just haven't had chance to upload anything. But better late than never!

On the 3rd of October we set off to practice for the match. With no help from the traffic we got fishing at 10am. But never the less we set of in good spirit. But it soon became apparent that the fishing was HARD. 70% of the fleet was fishing along the dam and the rest spread out over both arms. In practice we didn't catch many fish but we knew what to do and where to go. So back to the hotel we went to tie flies and prepare for our biggest fishing day so far.

On match day we had the team photos, not my best picture ever. The game plan was to fish either across the dam on Di3 sweeps with Cat Boobys and Cormerants or to fish at Armly wood or New Zealand point with slow glass lines and black nymphs. This plan worked very well as after day 1 we were in second place! Not bad for a youth team in a senior final.We had 25 fish which was 5 better than the Welsh Hawks in third.

Day 2 Saw horrendous winds forecast up to 40mph. This looked untrue at the start but was soon confirmed after 5 foot waves started battering the boats. Again we kept to the plan and sent boats to the dam and New Zealand. Unfortunately we had a bit of a bad day with the waves becoming to much for all the boats at the dam as we got forced up the arms by the Wardens, after 1 boat had to beach them self's on the dam. We stuck at it but the fish just didn't come. We only had 10 fish on day 2 which put us back into 5th place.

This was a bit disappointing but looking at the bigger picture it was an amazing result considering our average age in the team is only 17. It had to be one of the best few days of my life to date , to have taken part in the very prestigious event was a privilege and I hope we have an equally good year next year.

Witton Castle

Hi Guys

This weekend I was lucky enough to go any fish at Witton Castle fishing lakes. I went as part of the north west fly fishing team to help the younger ones work out what the fish were like, and how to catch them in preparation for a competition there against the North east on Saturday.

We started off on there middle lake were literally hundreds of fish were rising to the numerous sedge that were hatching. I started fishing with 2 dry's, a small brown Bob's bits and a Yellow Owl. Unfortunately none of the fish seemed interested in these flies. So I switched to my favourite small CDC, which took a fish within minutes.

So I decided to fish the smaller lake which is the one that would be used for the competition next week. I started fishing with the wind in my face and took fish on the same CDC. So I changed fly to try and find some different flies that worked, none of which worked till I tried a size 16 hopper which took another fish. So I moved. I tried the small CDC again with instant success so I caught a few more. Then I tried nymphes with no action at all, on all the nymphs that I tried. So I tried lures with the same effect until I tied on a Humungus, which took this 5 pounder on the first cast.

This fly took another fish next cast. So I tried to find another fly that worked, and I did, it was a small Minki with a grizzle rib.

Overall I had a great day and caught plenty of fish. And I hope all of the lads have a really good time next week.

James

World Championships

Hi all

I have just returned from the world fishing games in Italy, so I thought that it would be good to share my experiences with you!

We set of from Leeds Bradford on the 23rd of September for Pisa Italy. The weather was glorious and we landed on time, for once!, but the first worries came when none of our baggage came through. After 2 hours we eventually got our bags and set of to meet our guide for the week.

Our guide was Allesio Falorne. We had a chat with him to get an idea of what lay a head of us over the next couple of days, and thankfully he was full of enthusiasm for our fishing trip.

Our first day of fishing was on the Tail Water Sieve. This was an absolutely stunning river that just looked 'fishy'. We knew from our chat with Allesio that the river was full of big Scuds and Caddis, and therefore there was lots of huge fish. We also knew that it had recently been stocked, so things looked promising.

Our theories were proved correct when I got one literally first cast. What a way to start!. Our day just got better and better as we kept catching fish on all manor of nymphs. Unfortunately we were forced to stop fishing at 12 o'clock due to the 46 degree heat, but none the less the lunch that Allesio prepared was equally as pleasing as the fishing.

We carried on fishing till the evening, were I experienced the upper part of the river, which was wider and deeper, and as I found out very cold!. The wading became very difficult and lead to my first swim of the trip.

After our fishing we went to our hotel which was extremely good and was right next to the river. We could not of hoped for a better base for the next couple of days, as the rooms were roomy and cool. The food was also excellent, even if the starter was big enough for a whole meal.

For our second day we again fished the Tail Water Sieve. But unfortunately we arrived to find a coloured river due to a small feeder stream, so we were forced to fish further up stream. This may have seemed bad, but after another member of the team caught this fish (below) it didn't seem bad at all.

We had another great days fishing catching many fish including stoked and wild trout.

After these 2 great days fishing we felt confident for the competition the flowing week.

On the Friday we travelled over to the competition water (Tail Water Tevere) to look at the competition sectors. When we arrived we could not believe our eyes. In front of us was one of the most beautiful looking rivers I had ever seen, and what made it even better was the fact that there was fish everywhere rising and feeding at there hearts content. After our riverside walk through the midday sun and 40 degree heat we headed of to watch Allesio fish the river, so we could get an idea of flies and fish behaviour.

We soon found out that these fish were not pushovers, as they would come to look at fly and follow it, just to leave it at the end of the drift. We also found that they were easily spooked by bad wading and high profiles, but they were defiantly attracted to the plop as the fly hit the water.

We watched Allesio for around an hour with no fish caught, but we sore lots of Blue winged olives hatching and some very large spinners dancing. So Allesio swiftly changed to dries only to find the same thing as before, he even got this reaction with size 30 flies and 1.5lb tippet.

finally he got a fish, would you belive it on a streamer.

we decided that it might be time to leave around 7.30 because the mosquitoes were everywhere!.

The next day we checked into the official hotel, and spent the rest of the day preparing kit and fly tying. We soon found that this time spent tying was invaluable to us later in the competition.

Our next task was to attend the opening ceremony. We knew that this would be huge because all of the teams from 25 different championships were going to be there. We also knew it would be a very long day.

This proved to be absolutely true when we left the hotel at 1.30 and returned 11 hours later. All the same it was a tremendous experience to see all of the teams together, and what a privilege to represent your country in front of thousands of people.

The next day was Official Practice. This would be our only chance to test our patterns and methods on the Tevere before the match. We had a very successful day catching many Trout and Grayling on all methods which gave us great confidence in our tactics. This was also a great opportunity to find a good dry fly pattern. Which I did, I had fish rising nearly every cast to it but unfortunately not all of the made the 22cm size limit.

Finally competition day had arrived. We all packed our kit and headed for the buses. The nerves were now starting to kick in and I was shaking when I arrived at my first beat. But all nerves soon went once I had walked my beat and seen many holding pools and rising fish. I started at the bottom of my peg in a deep pocket only to catch nothing so I moved to the next pocket but again nothing, so I changed fly. This proved to be wise as I got one first cast. This proved to be one of many fish that fell to the same fly. I finished my session on 10 fish. This proved to be good as I got 4th position in the first session ahead of the Favorite French and Czech anglers.  

As we met for lunch it seemed most of the team had found similar success with three 4th and one 3rd placings. This left the team in 3rd place overall.

Unfortunately we struggled to keep this momentum up in the second session. In this session I had 13 fish but only 7 measured the 22cm limit which left me in 5th place in my group. Although it was not great, it was very respectable especially as the angler fishing that beat before me only had 1. Unfortunately not all the team were so lucky and we dropped to 8th place.

The next morning we awoke tired after spending lots of time preparing the night before, but none the less we went out optimistic as we were not for from the French in 4th place. My beat looked very good at the start as the was lots of rising fish, but as the start of fishing came it was obvious the fish switched of. I had no option but to fish the deep slow water below a wear. This was very hard as it was to slow to nymph fish and as the were no fish rising, dry's were ruled out leaving only streamers. I managed 4 fish which was not very good and left me in 8th for that session.

We had a free afternoon that day which we used to tie flies and to catch up some much needed sleep.

Before we knew it we had come to the last day of fishing, and looking at the results a couple of good sessions would put us around 4th which would have been very good. My morning session was the dry fly only session. I was looking forward to this even ore than the other sessions. After walking my beat I had identified that three quarters of it was not fish-able due to high banks and stupidly deep water. So I again started at the tail of the pool were there was a drop off and some moving water. I started with a black beetle only for every fish I saw refuse the fly. I could some some pale olives hatching so a changed to a yellow dry on a size 20, and cast it at a fish that had taken station in front of me, and without hesitation it came splashing up and the first fish was in the net.

two more fish followed very quickly. But after that it went dead. There was no hatching flies and no rising fish. So I went back to the Beetle. I saw a small hole in some bushed where I could see some smaller fish, only for them to swim away as the fly hit the water, so I thought I had ruined a very good cast. Then a huge mouth appeared and swallowed my fly. What came next was a very determined deep fighting fish, until I moved my feet. It them dashed down stream and under a sunken tree, but determined to get the fish in I waded out over the top of my waders and up to my neck to pass the rod under the tree. Thankfully the fish still on but heading for another tree, thankfully some side strain stopped it and after 20 minutes it was in the net. It turned out to be a 53cm brown ( around 6 pounds) but it was very thick and fat. I felt lucky to have landed this fish of a lifetime especially because it was caught on 2 pound line. This fish also turnout to be the biggest English fish and the 4th biggest of the competition. I got one more in the last minute after landing the fly on the back only for a fish to take it just as it fell of the ground. I finished in 3rd place above the local Italian.

The final session came and I felt good after my good session in the morning, but this soon went when I saw my beat. It was only about 75 metres long and most was to shallow and overgrown to fish. It did not even span bigger then my rod in places. But determined to get atop twenty place I started fishing. After a struggle I got my first fish. My coach them turned up and told me that to even have got fish was good. I still fished on and 3 more unfortunately 1 was undersized. Then I hooked a fish around 45cm which went ballistic jumping 7 times before diving under a sunken branch. I waded out feeling down the line to try and free the fish but unfortunately it just snapped as it came trough the last bit of weed. 4 Fish and 8th place.

After 5 sessions I was in 24th position, one place below the top English rod Tom Gott but he is 3 years older than me and in his 3rd championships and I was in my first. The coach said that I had put in a sterling performance with some bad beats and did extremely well. I had got up to 17th place at one stage and might have even got higher I don't know.

The closing ceremony and Gala dinner were something very special. with the awards being given and all the teams having a great time.

We then set of to the airport at 1am. we did not arrive home till 2 pm that afternoon, and I did not go to bad for nearly 2 day. But all the same it was a one in life time experience and I really enjoyed it.

The results were:

1st USA

2nd Italy

3rd Spain

1st Lukas Starychfojtu - CZE

2nd Dan Marino - USA

3rd  Mateusz Irsak - POL

So well done to all the anglers and a huge well done to those who won medals. Well done!

International

Hi

Last week was the Youth fly fishing international. As we arrived on the Saturday to start our practice it was clear that the weather we were going to experience was not the usual scotish weather.

After the first day of practice we had identified 3 main areas: Gate side bay, reedy bay, and international bay. All of these had produced fish mainly to the washing line method.

As the week progressed we gain more and more information on the areas and what methods was best. And by Tuesday we had established out game plan. This was to fish in gateside bay or reedy bay with straight lined nymphs on a floater or washing line on a midge tip, with a few of us deciding to fish Billys method in the flat conditions  with our best flies being green Nemos, pearly Nemos and red Diwal Backs with a few lures including Wooftas and biscuit flies.

On match day it was clear that each team had different approaches and it was going to be interesting to see who came out on top.

After a hard days fishing it was clear that the fish had dropped even further in the water and that the fish had to be caught early to stand a chance of the win.

At the weigh in it was clear that we had not done well with 2-3 fish being average and that the Scots had won with them averaging 4-5 fish.

They fished nymphs on Di5 lines to get there fish and got nearly all there fish before 11 o'clock.

The final scores were:
Scotland 68 fish
Wales 48 fish
England 41 fish
Ireland 26 fish

Despite a disappointing result it was a privilege to spend a week with some awesome people, and a massive well done has to go to the Scots for the gold medal.

I would also like to say thanks to all the people that helped us to compete in this great competition. And A special thanks goes to Phil Longstaff our manager and Carl Nixon our coach for staying up all night tying flies and doing all they could to help us do well. I would also ;like to Thanks Carl Malpass for coming up and helping as well. Thanks Boys 

Airflo Northern final

Yesterday was the Northern final of the Anglian water Airflo international at Rutland water. We travelled down on Sunday the 10th for a practice to see where the fish were holding and what methods were  working best. This proved to be invaluable as the fishing was extremely tough. Unfortunately we didn't find any particular areas that were holding fish but we did find fish and I also found that Woofta's and sunburst blobs were the top flies.

On match day it was very similar to practice with fish hard to come by, this was probably due to no cloud and near flat calm conditions. So i decided to fish a DI7 40+ line with Tequila blob and Wootfa booby. Unfortunately I didn't get my first fish till 2.30 out of Manton bay. So we decided to move to old hall. This proved to be the best move of the day as within 2 drifts I had caught my limit with 8 fish by 4.30. This turned out to be 1 of only 2 limits caught all day and claimed 3rd overall for me because I was narrowly beaten by Peter Appelby with 5 big fish to my 8 smaller fish. But it did mean that the team qualified for the international Final in October. So it was an extremely good day.