Wax On, Wax Off…21st August

August 23, 2020

Returning client Jona had now got a few days fishing under his belt but his brother Neil and their good friend James were relative beginners, having only dabbled in the past. They shared a common goal however, to improve their fly fishing skills.

I’d warned them in advance of the potentially poor weather but having already secured their travel papers and overnight permits from their wives, they were coming anyway!

 

As anglers, we tend to measure success via the number of fish caught. If that was the case here, then today would be classed as a disaster.

However, in terms of how to handle difficult conditions, this was a masterclass! We had to contend with several obstacles including a chocolate brown river Dee which rose to almost a metre on the gauge, torrential rain and a 9 m/s wind that all took turns (and often joined forces) to try to discourage us.

To their credit, these three gentlemen stuck it out and remained in very high spirits in some really tough conditions. The few fish caught might seem like scant reward for their efforts but they will benefit from this experience in their fishing futures.

 

To to fish in such conditions requires good levels of skill and control over both equipment and flies so take a bow, gents.

We’ll just have to cover hooking, playing and landing larger fish in part two!

Jona with the days first fish
Neil with his first ever Grayling!
The high, coloured water kept us on the bank.
James taking the opportunity to refine his casting technique.

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