In a word… Awesome! I couldn’t better describe the last few days having spent it in the company of some world class fly fishers and instructors. Company being that of friends old and new. Paul Arden, Lee Cummings, Tony Riley and Ian May to name but a few that make it worth the trip alone, then there’s Bernd Ziesche, a highly respected instructor and fisher from Germany who passed probably the toughest of any instructors exam on the planet… ‘the Masters’ ~ well done fella!

Assessing the candidates… all working hard in their chosen field to join or move on through AAPGAI.

Saturday saw us open our doors to the general public, some with no more than an interest in fishing and some with an aspiration to become future instructors… regardless, all were made to feel very welcome.

So engrossed was I whilst actively assessing or flexing carbon… that although taking a camera, I didn’t take any pictures so the one above is thanks to Ian May… I’ll have to wait for them to come through from colleagues who took the time to capture this wonderful weekend.

I’m looking forward to some regular grayling posts whilst out with friends and clients in the coming weeks so fingers crossed for some respectable weather. Grayling on the dry seems set to be pretty much a thing of the passed post this weekend as temperatures are set to plummet to single figures. Out with the weighted bolas in that case… enjoy your fishing all. ~ Jim 

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Hectic is my excuse for the lack of blog entries over the last 2 weeks, prior to going on holiday I met up with Ian May to do some filming on the river whilst nymphing. The very man below with more guts than I to expose nigh on six grands worth of kit to the river.

The aforementioned holiday saw Sarah, Holly and I take to a cottage in Barbrook (Exmoor) for some much needed peace & quite. The downside however was the trout season had ended and the cottage had access to a lovely stream… tut!

Are we there yet?… a rather disgruntled Holly.

Luckily the weather stayed mild and mostly dry so days were spent either visiting the glorious beach at Woolacombe or exploring the moors. Ahhh the fresh air…

…oh! and lots of sheep, cow and horse s##t which holly found ideal as a snack in between meals.

Although the peace and quiet were welcome, I couldn’t venture out without the just in case, you never know fishing stuff. I managed to tie up with good friend Pete Tyjas in the hope of some fishing. Unfortunately an early morning deluge put pay to any hopes we had of tucking into a few target grayling… high and stained is probably a polite way to describe the rivers appearance.

Never mind, we enjoyed one of our far too infrequent get togethers and talked about developing the ESF ezine over coffee for a few hours at a local pit stop.

Having returned home subsequently with an unfortunate 8 hour trek on the back of an AA truck due to a breakdown (What a calamity of biblical proportions that was), it’s been back on to the river with Warren… we’re looking at shot patterns and fly weight for nymphs. The recent rainy weather has given the river some height so plenty for us to work on. Yesterday afternoon was superb with Warrens setup coming up trumps to steal the days best numbers and catch.

Although olives were abound we saw no more than 2 rises throughout the afternoon, regardless… they were to be ignored today for the sake of the nymph.

Shallow stretches that were no more. It was good to know the river well and where the pockets and hazards potentially exist. Not for safety I might add, I just didn’t want dunking.

Fishing into the wee small hours, I say ‘wee’ & ‘small’ but meant about 6pm… I was almost blind as a bat from there on in, the only downside to October onwards – your fishing days get shorter.

Now it’s prepping for the AAPGAI meet up this week. I’m assessing candidates and doing demos… the highlight is meeting up with guys ‘n’ gals I’ve not seen as a result of the country fair cancellations that have dogged us throughout the year. If you’re up for a day out we have an open day on Saturday the 20th… more details.

Here’s looking forward to many grayling days from here forthwith… until then, enjoy your fishing.

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