To catch any fish in these conditions was very hard. But to catch a beautiful 4lb 4oz Brown trout was exceptional , well done to Jamie and the competitors.

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Fly Fishing Tuition Sunday April 22nd 10am - 4pm

Mr Derek Turner a member of the AAPGAI ( Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors.) gave club members expert tuition firstly on the river by the Golf Course.

Salmon double handed casting was on the agenda first.

• Derek's prime concern was on safety and demonstrated that before even beginning to cast, anglers should observe certain personal safety requirements.
• No 1 wear polaroid glasses to avoid flies becoming lodged in your eyes and eyebrows.
• No 2 Wear a small life jacket over your coat.
• 3 Use a wading staff when wading any river
• 4 Wear Chest or thigh waders preferably with studded grips on the soles.
• Night Sea Trout Fishing

Although the river was in a very low state and the currents were minimal, the above safety requirements certainly take effect when the river is in much higher water.

Dereks next concern was the Wind , which was blowing upstream making the forward cast harder to control.

Despite this factor Derek then demonstrated the very basic of Salmon casts The Roll Cast. Getting enough line out from the rod tip to execute the roll cast. Here the tecnique is to bring the rod slowly up to the vertical then forming a D with the rod tip just behind your shoulder and then springing the rod forward to execute the roll cast. Applying power the rod is accelerated by pushing with the top hand and pulling with the bottom hand, a true double handed action. from the vertical to about 11 oclock and holding the rod there to allow the line to follow through and then lowereing the rod tip once the cast has been made.

The points to note about this cast are that very little effort is used to perform the cast and Derek demonstrated that by holding the top of the cork handle in your right hand and the butt of the rod in your left hand , with no excertion or pressure put on by either hand a good cast can be made . Timing is more important than excertion .

The next cast which Derek showed us was the Single Spey Cast.

Very similar to a basic roll cast , the line is fed out until enough line is out and then the rod is lifted to the vertical no power at all applied ,now turn your body start with the feet placed for the direction of the new cast and rotate the body back to address the line. Now when you make the turn the direction change is natural.Allow the line to form a D with the rod just behind your shoulder, the rod is accelerated forward by pushing with the top hand and pulling with the bottom hand, a true double handed action. The cast should be aimed high (unless a strong upstream wind is blowing) and the rod tip must be moved in a straight line if the forward loop is to be kept tight to penetrate the wind.

We did have problems with the wind blowing straight upstream so Derek showed us with Safety in mind at all times a method of getting the cast out without getting the fly in the back of your neck. Here the cast is made exactly the same as a Single Spey cast except that the rod is lowered to form a D behind you ( again no power strokes yet ) then the rod is brought across to your left shoulder and like all Spey casts the rod is accelerated by pushing with the top hand and pulling with the bottom hand, a true double handed action and sends the cast to the right of the angler with no danger at all .

For beginners this was quite a new experience and with plenty of practise can be mastered. He also said that the same basic casts used in Salmon fishing can also be used with a trout rod and is a real benefit when there are trees and bushes right behind you.

A word on mending line.

After a cast is made and if the current is fast then you need to mend line. All this means is that you put a loop into the line whilst it is on the water.A bit difficult to describe in words but basically you flick the line in a semi circle fashion to the right or left.This helps the fly swim properly and is much more natural for a taking fish.

Derek also demonstrated how a mend in the line can be incorporated into the cast itself as opposed to a separate action.

When the cast is made and before the line touches the water the rod is turned to the right or left 45 degrees. This then automatically mends the line and you carry on fishing.

Night Sea Trout Fishing

It is even more important that the basic roll cast is learnt or the Single Spey Cast when fishing for Sea Trout at night . It avoids all the tangles of getting caught up in bushes behind, disturbing the water and splashing about. The most important point about Sea Trout Fishing at night is to tell someone else where you are going and what time your expected return

This concludes Dereks session on the River and the casts demonstrated.

We then moved on to Llyn Elsi and Trout Fly Casting.

Before learning any casts Derek ran through the basic equipment needed for trout fishing.

• Explanation of line densities
• Large Arbor Reels
• Basic first aid kit
• Landing net
• Nylon and Casts
• Selection of flies

Again tuition was aimed at the very beginner and as some members had bought rods reels and lines Derek explained the differences in line weights ( Double Tapered Weight forward and line sizes 5,6,7,etc.) suitable for rods rated for a specific line.

He explained the use of Large Arbor reels. These are the new type of reel which have a large diameter casing. The advantage of this type of reel is that together with the new design of fly line the line holds less memory in a large diameter reel.

I am sure you know the problem when casting from a bank you have pulled off quite a bit of line and go to cast and the line does not shoot very well because the loops get caught up in the rod rings. This is due to line memory ( the loops created when a line is left on a reel for a season ) Large Arbor Reels eliminate this problem.

Nylon Casts and Leaders

Derek told us the advantages of using pre bought tapered casts against those of home made 3 different nylon breaking strains.

He also showed us the very simplest way of joining two pieces of Nylon together using a 3 turn water knot, and also explained why you should not lick or spit onto nylon when joining new sections. A disease which is now quite prevalent is diagnosed from a waterborn spore . Try wetting your nylon joins from other water sources ( bottled water etc ) The water spore can have quite a serious effect on Anglers .

Selection of Flies

Derek briefly touched on the selection of flies, buzzers, sedges and Damsel Nymphs, and gave a short description of how to fish each type and how to retrieve your line with a figure of eight method or short sharp pulls.

Length of Fly Rods

Derek asked the question "Why are there different lengths of trout and Salmon Rods"?

The answer is Line Control. The longer the rod the better control of your line retrieve and easier pick up and casting your next cast with the least most disturbance to the water.He demonstrated that with a wind blowing towards him he could fish his flies right up to his feet, with the possibility that a trout would be following before taking.

Casting

We now came on to casting and started with a basic overhead cast. Here the rod, again with line out our cast is started with the rod tip touching the water.The rod is lifted up to the vertical ( or 12 o clock position ) paused to let the line straighten and then pushed forward to the 10 oclock position, letting the cast with a nice tight loop come over onto the water and then lower the rod .

Emphasis was given that again no effort was needed . The rod is held lightly and is kept as an extension of the arm until the rod is in the vertical position, then and only then is the wrist allowed to lift to follow the rod back and then the arm is used to power the rod on its forward journey with the wrist just easing forward after the cast is made.

The Roll Cast

As we saw in the Salmon casting the roll cast is the basic cast and this applies to trout casting as well. Once learnt we saw variations of the roll cast and how to change direction to cover fish that were in a different position.

Again the importance of safety in casting was demonstrated , especially with difficult wind conditions.One tip was to ( if right handed ) move the rod tip over the opposite shoulder and execute theoverhead cast from there .

Our thanks go to Derek for his time and demonstrations to Club Members. All of whom learnt the basics of Casting and safe fishing.