In stark contrast to Friday’s Fly fishing ‘Man-fest’, Saturday was the annual meeting of the “Chinny club”. The name is of course an amalgam of Chiara and Ginny, her ex colleague and occasional angling buddy and is in no way meant as a reference to the amount of ‘chinwagging’ that occurs!   My role here…

A more relaxed river day today with a fellow CADAC member on the fabled Berwyn Arms beat. Not perfect conditions but certainly much better than the last couple of months.   The water remains ice cold and with the blustery wind and some of the trees already on the turn, it felt like summer was…

I can’t tell you how impressed I was with returning American client, Michael. He and his wife Barbara were arriving in England on Friday to attend a family wedding the following day. They were planning to return home to Connecticut on the Monday but he had somehow managed to squeeze in a days fly fishing…

It’s easy to lose touch with people even though these days we have so many more ways to communicate. Whereas once a phone call or a letter was acceptable as a valid attempt to contact someone, this has now been diminished to a text or a ‘like’ on Facebook. We are busier and it takes…

As July draws to a close, I can honestly say that it has been one of the toughest months fishing and certainly THE toughest months guiding I’ve ever experienced.   Bright sunshine and high temperatures are uncomfortable for fish so they avoid them by taking cover during the day and feeding when it’s cooler at…

Early in my fly fishing journey, I was fortunate to spend some time in the company of a legendary Yorkshire fly fisherman. Sensing my initial frustration, he offered this calming and seemingly meaningless statement.   “Thiz mooer tu flaaa fishin than just catchin fish!”   His general demeanour suggested that if I were to demand…

I spend a good amount of time retrieving flies from trees. Most of them are mine but today whilst conducting such a rescue, I spotted another fly dangling from a different branch. It took me a good 20 minutes to get it down. Why bother I hear you ask? The answer is that they are…

I shouldn’t complain but the current prolonged spell of good weather has made it difficult for fish and fisherman alike.   The searing heat has forced fish to feed hard at dawn and dusk and hide during the daytime. This of course, is when most clients prefer to fish so catches have not been spectacular…

Yesterday it was back to the river Goyt to explore some more unfished but very public stretches.   The fishy looking bits are easy to see from the footpaths and bridges but not easy to get into and out of. This makes you a perfect target for the projectiles and light hearted abuse that are…

I was joined on the river today by Rivergreen ‘Graduates’ John M and John A. Both are now members of Corwen Anglers (CADAC) so we headed to the Berwyn Arms beat for the day.   With the Grayling season not due to start officially until tomorrow (16th june), I was determined to try to avoid…