2 metal heads and a bad case of wind

THE DOUBLE GRAND SLAM

PIKE , PERCH , TROUT – BASS, SEA TROUT , MACKEREL

the scene was set me and conan had decided to hit the water today (Friday) the plan was a great one we were going to try and do the grand slam on my local water 3 species that lurk in the depths pike , perch , and trout . Now you may think oh that’s easy well actually ive never had a perch in there yet and I get a trout maybe 1 trip in 4 so actually quite a good challenge , but it wasn’t to stop there , what we had planned was to go hit a saltwater mark on the same day for bass, mackerel , and sea trout that is a challenge as conan hasn’t fished the salt before so today was the day everything was good flies were tied the tides for the saltwater section of the challenge were perfect with an 8pm high tide which meant we could complete the first fresh water part by 4pm be back at my house for something to eat then be casting into the salt by 6pm and hopefully done by 10pm .

Until things started to unravel yesterday the wind was howling really blowing chunks now what this means for the saltwater part is that the spot I go to is quite shallow so when you get a blow it stirs up the sand and mud bottom and colours the water which really kills the fly fishing on that spot , so not to worry we still had the grand slam freshwater to do , so I duly got at 6am for a 7 pick up stuck the kettle on then I got a text from conan saying he didn’t get in till 2.30am and would I mind delaying the trip till later today , far from me to stand in the way of a fine rock n roll gig so im hoping his hangover will have gone by lunchtime and we can still get out ahhhhh to be young again ….....

the flies

 

 

ok so down to the flies .well what I wanted was a fly that would do the job for all 3 freshwater and saltwater species a tough call well not really I decided to go down the clouser minnow route as I know these catch fish all I had to do was get the size right for all the species so I tied them all on no1 and no 2 hooks in the best colours for all the species green/yellow – white – and olive/white and all around 1.5 to 2 inchs long these will catch fish wherever you are and I think these are right for the job.

So eventually I got the phone call from his hungoverness saying he was on his way and would be with me in 20 mins and to his credit he was there 20 mins later so we loaded up the car and set off

so tooled up with a small clouser type minnow I was actually quite confident as we headed to my sweet spots of actually doing the grand slam , so it was with great excitement that I cast the first line of the day then I cast another line then another then I changed fly and changed spot all to no avail I had one crazy rainbow trout on for about 4 seconds but that was it despite throwing around my sexiest of loops it just wasn’t happening today even conan didn’t get a hit …....



 

but hell thats fishing makes life interesting and at least I was out getting some wet , so what was the problem well to be honest it was blowing chunks on the loch and there was a monster low pressure over the south of scotland and I think they were just sitting on the bottom and refusing to play ball , ive had this before when a big low pressure has moved in and it can be really hard work so with heavy heart we called it a day just before dark and thoughts of a slam but back in the box for another day .

Conan looks for the number of a local golf club

 

so onto other things and ill put that trip down to experience , Im going to post this mail I got from the lads at piketrek

 

Dear dave,

We are writing to tell you about the Piketrek Predator Cup, a fly-only predator fishing competition to be held on the 20th of October 2012.

This event is to be fished at Celtic Lakes Resort, at Frisby-on-the-Wreake near Melton Mowbray in North Leicestershire. This is a terrific venue that holds large numbers of predators, with pike to high twenties, perch to four pounds plus, big chub, and zander to high teens so we are expecting some real surprises to turn up! It is also a water that is a real pleasure to fish with lots of casting room and plenty of good-looking areas that hold fish.

Proceeds from the event are to be donated to charity so your participation is of the utmost importance as our target is to raise as much money as we can to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Entry is open to everyone and anyone, all we ask is that you take the time to help us out and come along to enjoy a day out with like-minded people who all fish for predators on the fly.

There are three main prizes to be won for the lucky anglers who catch the most fish, and there will also be an extra prize and cup for the biggest pike captured on the day. We will also be holding a raffle with lots of goodies up for grabs as prizes, so there will be a great chance of everyone taking something home with them.

Applications for entry are limited and will only be available from our website at www.piketrek.com where the full details of the contest are displayed on the "competition page". Entry is priced at only £20.00 per contestant which is not much more than the price of a day-ticket on this fantastic venue, so please come along and help to support our efforts and those of our various sponsors in providing a great day out for all.

We look forward to seeing you!

The Piketrek Team



“here is the page for all the details on what I belive is going to be the premium predator fly fishing event in this country for a fantastic cause http://www.pikeflyrod.com/642-piketrek-predator-cup.html “

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WELL DONE TO BROTHER KEN CAPSEY

on catching a new personal best largemouth bass from the lake champlain region caught on a hook eye and fly hook (I believe it was an esox 2) stunning fish buddy well deserved to one of the hardest working fly fishers I know

 

http://www.spanglefish.com/hookeyeandfly/index.asp

 

so thats pretty much it for this time and well although the fishing was garbage I managed to sneak in a fly tying lesson with conan , who I may add really dosnt need one his trout flies are absolutely stunning (although he would disagree) so here is a very very very rare picture of conan in my cave usually I never let anybody else in the cave but I made an exception with conan as I really couldn’t be arsed bring all my tying stuff through to the living room , conan however didn’t mind at all and to be honest he tied up a fantastic looking fly .

see ya soon

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in scotland)