Trout Fisherman 489 (Digital Sampler)

LONEW OK

GEAR S ErraST TScie Traxion reel

FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH

l l Redington 9ft 6wt l Snowbee Long-Cast l Vision waders

20

FLIES FOR WEED BED SPORT with full dressings

FLY-LINE ADVICE

Tips for longer life

TIGER

ISSUE 489

We show you where & how MEON SPRINGS

STAY OVERS

The rise of the fishing hut

DRAYCOTE WATER

FRY FEEDERS Try the Popper Minkie

GRAFHAM WATER

TM FINAL

Full report and results

MENTEITH MAP

HOTSPOTS

Expert late season tips

OCT 12 - NOV 8, 2016 | £3.40

UK

FISHERY EXCLUSIVE

Hunt for a

Pictures: Peter Gathercole Words: Russell Hill More fisheries recognise the need to provide a fuller experience.

6 TROUT FISHERMAN | OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8

BE INSPIRE D

Book an ov er n stay at a to ight p fisher y

Fishing STAY OVERS

When your night shelter is just yards from trout splashing in the evening gloom, you’re in angling heaven. Russell Hill investigates the rise of onsite accommodation...

OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8 | TROUT FISHERMAN 7

Words & pictures: Jeffrey Prest

Casting UNDER THE WIND

Your first impression of Avon Trout Fishery isn’t the one that endures, not by the time you’ve encountered fish with a renewable energy all of their own...

12 TROUT FISHERMAN | OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8

TACTICS Catc

h mor with autume stillwater t n ips

OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8 | TROUT FISHERMAN 13

FOCUS ON FRY FEEDING Words & pictures: Steve Cullen Tools of the trade: Strong tackle, leader and large fry pattern.

Popping the question

Even when they’re feeding like crazy, any old fly won’t do. Steve Cullen has a popper pattern designed to keep both him and the fish happy this fry-feeding season...

28 TROUT FISHERMAN | OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8

A

S WE head into autumn, ‘phone lines between anglers up and down the country start heating up, or ‘frying’ might be more appropriate, as fry tend to be the main topic of conversation.

With hatches of aquatic insects petering out and trout seemingly sensing a long, hard winter ahead, their dietary focus switches from mere snacks to the Full English.

Cue the late-season feeding frenzy we call ‘fry bashing’, when the resident and usually bigger trout begin corralling the fry shoals, bullying the tiny fish towards structure or, failing that, up towards the surface. Such aggressive predation can’t fail to arouse a similar instinct in the seasoned angler.

“...sensing a hard winter, their dietary focus switches from snacks to Full English.”

Early signs that the trout are eyeing the fry will normally be seen around the edges of your local water, shallow areas where weed is abundant. Browns and rainbows, two species that normally live separate lives in terms of feeding habits and of location, unite as one cohesive force to take advantage of the abundant numbers of juvenile fish.

Suddenly, even the bigger fish you never set eyes on for the rest of the year are barrelling out of the water, cutting swathes in the surface and generally coming on to the feed like there’s no tomorrow, while birds screech and fry leap airborne in their desperation to escape. It’s time.

STEVE’S FRY LEADER SET-UP

Get the size right For the angler looking on, wondering how best to cash in on this feeding frenzy, ‘match the hatch’ still works, but it’s now less about matching appearance and more about matching the portion size that the fish are locked onto. Lures that were created to catch these large fry feeders can be as ‘in your face’ or as lifelike as you wish; I’m not sure one will out-fish the other, I think HOW they are fished is the key.

Lures like the Appetiser and Church Fry once featured heavily in fry-feeding

12ft tapered leader

season. Designed for the fertile lowland reservoirs, they were effectively fished fast on a slow to medium sink line. Times change, however, and we now have everything from Minkies to large-eyed Boobies to deceive fry-feeding fish.

My own preference is a Floating Fry pattern. If I’m pleasure fishing, from June onwards I like to fish on or in the surface, be that with dries or Boobies. I just like the visual aspect of it all. A trout

8ft of 8lb fluorocarbon

Popper Minkie Hook: Size 6-4 longshank, bronze or silver Thread: White Body: Pearl Lite-Brite Wing: Grey or brown mink strip Popper: White foam cord Eyes: Stick-on decals

Popper Fry

OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8 | TROUT FISHERMAN 29

WHERE TO FISH STILLWATER SALMON FISHERY Words: Peter Cockwill Pictures: Peter Gathercole

Eye of THE TIGER UK

FISHERY EXCLUSIVE

Peter Cockwill fulямБls his dream of catching a trophy tiger trout...

42 TROUT FISHERMAN | OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8

The male tigers look intriguing with their huge kypes and black saddles.

OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8 | TROUT FISHERMAN 43

Fly-Tying In association with Veniard

trout FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH

Flies for WEED BEDS

Peter Gathercole ties up Shuttlecocks to catch ďŹ sh hunting in the weed Visit our website www.veniard.com

New Gear

Independen tt Robbie Win ester r puts the lat am e gear throug st h its paces

Everything from rods to reels & waders

Traxion has serious stopping power Scierra Traxion 3 reel from £129.99 www.svendsen-sport.dk

THIS reel, the most expensive in the Scierra range, is a real beast! Scierra talk about its main features being strength, durability and design and I would have to agree as it is one sturdy piece of engineering.

It is machine cut from hardened aluminium alloy.

The reel foot, usually machined as a separate component, has been cut from the same alloy block as the reel cage so forms an integral part. The result is the reel is placed a lot closer to the rod, which Scierra say is a more ergonomic position.

All this engineering and strength does impact on its weight. The 7/9 model that I had for review weighs a hefty 9.1oz and most of this is made up of the reel cage, which even though heavily ventilated, weighs 6.5oz on its own.

The cage has an open face design with the addition of an alloy rim, giving it Tackle even more strength. On the back of Tester’s Choice the reel cage is the large diameter, easy grip drag rim for loosening and tightening the drag system. Drags are usually adjusted by a small knurled control knob on the back of the reel cage, but in this case the whole rear rim turns. This rim has been perforated, so you can get a good grip, and it can be adjusted in micro settings – you can hear little clicks as you adjust it. The whole thing is extremely smooth and very easy to operate.

To remove the spool you undo the captive nut in the centre of the reel and pull it apart to expose the bearing and reassemble. The reel comes with a the conical housing over the drag system. This is a detailed exploded A4 diagram that explains how to watertight unit so no dirt or grit can find its way in. do this. It also comes with a neoprene case that will The spool, also heavily ventilated, has a U-shaped go around the reel when it is on the rod. profile so the line beds down nicely into the centre.

Also available in a 5/7 (£129.99), 8/10 (£139.99) and The ventilated design allows some air to circulate 9/11 (£149.99). around the line and backing, helping to dry them out.

To change the reel from left hand wind (the factory VERDICT: setting) to right hand you need to remove the spool, This reel may be heavy, but it is incredibly strong and use the Allen key provided to loosen the small and very well built. It has the power to stop screw in the bearing cover. Remove the cover, flip some seriously big fish in their tracks!

“Drags are usually adjusted by a small knurled control knob, but on this reel the whole rear rim turns.”

The reel sits very close to the rod.

TECH-SPEC MODEL: TRAXION 3 7/9 Price: £139.99 Weight: 257gr (9.1oz) Diameter: 96mm Width: 53mm Capacity: WF8 plus 160 metres of 20lb backing ■ Spare spools £49.99 The large perforated drag rim ensures a good grip.

An alloy rim on the reel cage adds strength.

OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8 | TROUT FISHERMAN 69

MATCH SCENE TROUTMASTERS FINAL

BRIAN LILLIE IS THE NEW

TROUTMASTER

The picture every finalist dreams of – being photographed next to the prestigious trophy.

90 TROUT FISHERMAN | OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8

SPONSORED BY

KIELDER Dabblers team member Brian Lillie had fished the Troutmasters final only once before, finishing in the top 10 a few years ago. But to win his very first major individual title is a huge honour and a step in the right direction for him and the profile of his match team. He wins the coveted trophy and a cheque for £500.

The 47-year-old, from Gosforth in the north-east, continues a long tradition of success from the region with so many from the area crowned Troutmasters champion.

Indeed his fellow Dabbler team members Paul Runec, Peter Crowe and Phil Green were also competing in this year’s final.

Brian’s preparation was pretty stress free.

He works for Northumbrian Water and was supporting Anglian Water’s WaterAid event at Rutland prior to Troutmasters so it was a mere hop, step and jump to Grafham for a weekend’s practice.

“I fished Thursday and Friday at Rutland supporting WaterAid,” said Brian. “And then fished Grafham from the bank on Saturday and then the boat on Sunday, with a little more bank work thrown in for good measure.”

The weekend’s practice saw Brian and his pals searching the whole reservoir and they discovered that it was fishing well with trout high in the water column. So tactics were naturally aimed here with 15-foot leaders of 7lb Sightfree fluorocarbon with either a single Booby or a Booby on point with a Cruncher seven foot up on a dropper (washing-line style).

Match day saw these set-ups attached to a slow glass line and a confident Brian went about his business.

Drawing a morning boat session isn’t ideal normally but he wasn’t put off at all. “I’d have preferred the bank but you have to accept the draw and get on with it,” said Brian.

He’d found that the better fish were 150 yards out near the dam between the Valve Tower and the Gaynes dam corner. He began with the single Booby approach then switched to the washing-line later in the session. He caught his eight fish limit in the allotted three hours and was well positioned moving into the afternoon bank session.

Like many previous champions Brian chose the north shore for his bank session, on a point close to Hedge End, but he had to mix up his tactics a bit to discover exactly what the trout wanted.

“I moved plenty of trout,” he said. “But it wasn’t quite working for me.” Then he remembered some Shrimp patterns

designed for Grafham given to him by Lloyd Thompson from the Fish Hawks match team. These flies caught Brian three fish, which is a very good performance for an afternoon bank session.

This year Grafham was slightly different in that the bank performed better in the afternoon. Normally the angling pressure pushes the fish further out and if anglers catch one fish in the afternoon it’s some achievement.

“It’s very satisfying to win this final and it was a very strong field. To fish alongside the likes of Iain Barr, Nick Halstead, Rob Edmunds and David Hoppe is fantastic because of what they and many others here today have achieved in the sport. It was also great to see Peter Cockwill at the event,” continued Brian, who will be invited back next year to defend his title.

Brian (left) receiving his winning cheque from Peter Cockwill.

BIGGEST FISH GORDON SWAIN , WINS A CHEQUE FOR £100

ABOVE: Gordon Swain with his 4lb 1oz brown taken near Church Bay from the boat, and right, receiving his cheque from TF columnist Peter Cockwill.

GORDON Swain recorded a blank in his morning bank session. But he remembered the morning brief reminding anglers of the £100 best fish prize. This was all the incentive he needed and he promptly went in search of Grafham’s grown-on resident trout in the afternoon boat session.

His pal Phil Green – also fishing the finals – had given him one of his Green Damsels to try and while fishing in Church Bay on the north shore Gordon hit something solid on the Damsel. After a torrid fight the fish turned out to be a 4lb 1oz brown trout and the best fish of the day. It narrowly beat a rainbow of 3lb 15oz taken

by Geoff Gilbert of Swanswater Fishery on a Shrimp near G Buoy from the bank, and another brownie of 3lb 10oz for Paul Runec (Scaling Dam), on a Humungus Booby fished with a roly-poly retrieve on a Di-3, also in the afternoon boat session.

Representing Scotland’s Kailzie Fishery, Gordon, from Stanley, Co Durham, has been a stalwart at these finals, regularly finishing in the top 20. And he has demonstrated the importance of never giving up after a morning blank.

Other notable fish included a 3lb 4oz rainbow for Pat Sharman on a Diawl Bach while boat fishing at Deep Water Point.

OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 8 | TROUT FISHERMAN 91

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