Trout Fisherman 498 (Digital Sampler)

TACKLE

FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH

TErtST ON Helios Cove rod l l Hodgman waders l Sonar fly-line

PLUS MORE

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21 JUNE - 18 JULY, 2017 | £3.50

ISSUE 498

41

TOP FLIES FOR JULY Plus their full dressings

Mid-summer

MAYHEM

Huge fish from a special new venue SMALL WATERS

HOT HOT HOT! Tips to beat the heat

BOAT TACTICS

BIG BROWNS

Hook Rutland specimens

Olives on the water

RESERVOIR GUIDES

BLAGDON MAP Summer hotspots & flies

MATCH THE HATCH

WHERE TO FISH

SAIL AWAY

Catch big sailfish on fly

Contents 66 How to...

BE INSPIRED 6 In praise of variety

Cover image by: Peter Gathercole

COVER STORY Jonathan Tomlinson catches blues, rainbows and a British record equalling tiger trout all from one lake

Jeff Prest meets two brothers who know how to catch on a very hot day at Balmule

Step-by-step sequence for tying an olive dry, the perfect summer fly

18 Black magic

Stillwater specialist Peter Cockwill highlights the importance of fishing black dries through the season

24 Which flies for peaty water?

James Stokoe enjoys a session at his local Langley Dam – where author Catherine Cookson once lived

Subscribe to Trout Fisherman magazine this month and receive two waterproof fly boxes

90 Reader offer

Get a Greys Strata waistcoat for only £35

29 Rutland browns

Iain Barr catches a magnificent brownie that reminds him of the good old days COVER STORY

34 To stay or go?

Russ Symons ties a Mini Montana

78 Flymasters

Peter Gathercole judges your sedge pupa imitations and sets a new tying challenge

TACKLE 83 New gear

COVER STORY Robbie Winram reviews the latest tackle including rods and waders

40 How to play a fish

West country instructor Nick Hart explains...

OPINION & NEWS

FOCUS ON...

Peter Cockwill and Don Coe predict that our future fisheries will be ‘any method’ to remain viable

The lifecycle and top imitations to try

WHERE TO FISH

WHERE TO FIND US...

74 Flybox fillers

88 Fly-tying gear

COVER STORY

an-up Our Bankside Cle Campaign Clean-up campaign continues to gain momentum with more fisheries asking for the poster and creating their own bins for discarded leaders. Spread the message…we can do this.

71 How to tie a CdC Olive Dun

Faced with a bright sun and a flat calm should you drift or anchor, fish Buzzers or dries?

45 Olives

JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN Bankside

Simon Kidd on how to choose a sink-tip line

FLY-TYING

COVER STORY

48 Subscription offer

70 New series: Snowbee advice

TACTICS 12 High noon

OFFERS

Paul Procter explains the tactics needed for targeting rising fish

A new Fritz, bobbin holders and seal’s fur

50 Investigation 92 News

Bob Carnill obituary, double-figure Rutland brown trout and much more...

51 UK waters

95 Cockwill

54 Spotlight on...

96 Letters

56 Sailfish on fly

98 Troutmasters

ADVICE

103 Match news

TF’s panel of experts answer your questions on leader length, furled leaders and clear water tactics

106 Wading in

Four fisheries to visit this month COVER STORY

The perils of fishing at night

Blagdon Lake in North Somerset

Globetrotter Matt Harris tempts the fastest fish in the sea COVER STORY

62 Advice squad

ONLINE www.troutfisherman.co.uk TroutFishMag troutfishermanmag Trout Fisherman

Trout Fishermann readers have their say

This month’s badge winners plus your latest catch photographs Iain Barr’s report on the Bob Church Classic Jeff Prest explores the dreaded fishery toilet!

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EDITIONS AVAILABLE

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THIS MONTH’S WINNER

Maggie Ward trout fishing in New Zealand.

Sent in by Alan Ward

HOW TO ENTER

Shot of the

MONTH

If you have a flyfishing image that you would like to see here, please send it to us.

Images must be: original size • high resolution.

Email them to leigh.johnson@bauermedia.co.uk If the image is too large to go over email, send via the free service wetransfer.com (for help see wetransfer.com/howitworks).

Published photographers will receive a landing net from Sharpes of Aberdeen.

Browse their products at www.sharpes.net or call 01466 794415.

Enter our competition now for your chance to win a Sharpe’s landing net

Words: Jonathan Tomlinson Pictures: Peter Gathercole

Jonathan with his 11lb 8oz tiger trout.

6 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18

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BE INSPIRE D Multi-spec ie what angle s is rs want

In praise of VARIETY

Jonathan Tomlinson catches blues, rainbows and a British record equalling tiger of 11lb 8oz, all from the new Hobby Lake at Sportfish’s Theale complex...

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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 7

Words & pictures: Jeffrey Prest

Bill Graham casts from Balmule’s lush banks.

12 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18

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TACTICS Fish a

n ol with a new d fly s this summ lant er...

High NOON

Waiting for some cloud cover on a torrid day in Fife, two brothers introduce us to the Foam-Arsed Blob’s slimmer, deeper cousin…

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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 13

TACTICS DRY FLY FISHING Words: Peter Cockwill Pictures: Peter Gathercole

Black MAGIC

Peter Cockwill highlights the importance of fishing black dries through a season...

18 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18

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A hawthorn dry works all year round, even if hawthorns aren’t hatching.

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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 19

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The larger of the two boxes es (measuring 17 x 11.5 x 4cm) has a clear lid with a rubber seal and double clasp. The slotted foam inlay has nine rows of 25 slots and is ideal for flies of all sizes with plenty of room for larger flies and delicate hackles. The medium waterproof aterproof box (12.5 x 10 x 4.5cm) is double-sided and each side has seven rows ws of 13 micro slots, perfect for wets, nymphs, dries and small lures. Features eatures clear lids, rubber seals and wide clasps.

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Fly-Tying In association with Veniard

trout FIRST FOR TACTICS, TACKLE & WHERE TO FISH

Tying a CDC DUN

Peter Gathercole ties an olive dry, perfect for summer ďŹ shing Visit our website www.veniard.com

TACTICS RESERVOIRS Words: Iain Barr Pictures: Peter Gathercole A magnificent 6lb 12oz Rutland brown brings back memories for Iain Barr.

Rutland BROWNS Iain Barr catches a fish that reminds him of the Rutland of old...

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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 29

TACTICS MEDIUM-SIZED WATERS Words: Russell Hill Pictures: Peter Gathercole

Should I stay or SHOULD I GO? Russ Dyer and pals are caught in two minds about whether to drift or anchor under a bright sun and flat calm at Elinor...

34 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18

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Peter Gathercole plays an Elinor fish caught with a dry fly on a scorching day.

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JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 35

WHERE TO FISH GUATEMALA’S PACIFIC COAST Words & pictures: Matt Harris

FASTEST FISH Matt Harris’ heart stops as he battles a 68mph sailfish on fly

O

FF the top. That’s where I like to catch my fish.

If I’m out on Draycote, Grafham or Rutland, I’ll have a dry fly rod rigged from almost the first day of the season to the last, and the merest hint of a rise will have me reaching for the Gink, much to the amusement of my boat partner.

It’s cost me dear many a time, as my mate sticks with the Buzzers or the washing-line, 56 TROUT FISHERMAN | JUNE 21 - JULY 18

and gets to crow about his inevitable ‘victory’ in the pub afterwards. However, to me at least, a fish taking your fly off the top is worth a dozen caught ‘blind’. The sight of a trout rising to your fly is an enduring thrill that just never gets old.

Imagine that the fish rising to your fly is not a trout: imagine that it’s a freakish great thing of 7, 8 maybe even 9 feet long. Imagine it lighting up in a surreal range of vivid neon

colours, and then demolishing your big ‘dry fly’ in a heartbeat before rocketing into the sky right there in front of you.

Istiophorus platypterus – the Pacific sailfish is that fish. Watching one take a fly off the surface is about as thrilling as flyfishing gets. Add in the fact that these creatures are widely heralded as the fastest fish in the sea – reputedly capable of a mind-boggling 68 miles an hour, and you have all the www.troutfisherman.co.uk

IN THE SEA ingredients for an unforgettable flyfishing experience.

The boredom of trolling At most destinations, these spectacular creatures are caught by trolling lures behind a boat, and anyone who has indulged in this form of fishing will tell you how dull it can be. In short it involves hours cruising around, punctuated by a very occasional www.troutfisherman.co.uk

take, way back behind the boat. As a result, the hook-up – and the ensuing spectacular acrobatic display – is viewed from the ‘cheap seats’, anywhere from 50 to many hundreds of yards distant. You get only a tantalising, long-range glimpse of all the aerial mayhem these creatures are so rightly celebrated for.

My issues with trolling don’t end there.

This style of fishing is not only tedious, it’s also lacking in any skill and barely any input

from the angler. It is the boat skipper who locates the fish, puts the lures in front of them and moves those same lures at the right speed to induce a take. All you have to do is sit in a big chair and pull. And beat your chest afterwards of course…a monkey could do it.

However, I know a special place where catching sailfish is a very different experience. A place where you can sight-cast at close quarters with a fly-rod.

JUNE 21 - JULY 18 | TROUT FISHERMAN 57

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