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Tying the soft touch shrimp video

November 21, 2012, 3:50 pm
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Here is a video I have put together for my new sts pattern...I have had so many questions about this fly i have done this to help people out...

Get tying!!!!

 

Ltd

Glen

 

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At the vice with the soft touch shrimp

December 21, 2012, 11:43 am
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It's been a long slog to get the soft touch shrimp how I have wanted to..the rivers have been shooting up for weeks and it's really hit me hard not getting my fix on the river but with fly fishing you have you chair at home where you can sit and tie flys for hours on end dreaming of some looping over fly rods!!!

 

My good friend Jason Snape is a photographer and I asked him to pay a visit to me to for some proper macro shots of my 'finished' soft touch shrimp

The pictures are amazing and but my main goal was to get my followers who attempt this fly to really see the effect I am getting

 

So thanks to jase for taking his time out

The top picture is the natural with a orange (parasite) hot spot and the other is a fancy pink one we all know grayling love..

 

Thanks

Glen

 

 

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It's just grayling porn

January 20, 2013, 12:18 pm
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I got so much to write about but most my spare time has been fishing!!!

But to keep me going here is some grayling porn from the last month....

See u soon

Glen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Soft touch shrimp makes total fly fisher

February 23, 2013, 3:17 pm
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It's not often a run of the mill fly angler like myself to get in the glossy pages of the fly fishing magazines

The soft touch shrimp has turned so many grayling and mullet anglers heads, it was a amazing experience for Steve Cullen from total fly fisher to come along and spend a day with me on the river and watch me in action using my new fly pattern...

As you can imagine you just hope it all goes to plan on a meeting like this...

It did and when I started to pick of a few 2lb grayling I was over the moon...

Steve pinged his camera away and captured shots only I could dream of....

Last week I was startled to see myself on the front cover shot with a 6 page write up!!! Walking in a whsmiths and my kids seeing me on the cover will stay with me forever, my little girls think I am a famous super star and have asked if I am going on 'celebrity get me outta here' !

I have not done a blog post as late but I have had some sort of bloggers block... I have been writing this for many years now and it's like one big diary...

I have just returned from a trip to fuerteventura on a salt water fly session with reel screaming action so I will type this up while it's fresh in my head...

Dry is coming

Nice one

Glen

 

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Fuerteventura fishing...shark on the fly

February 25, 2013, 2:29 pm
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2.5lb of golden mullet fighting machine
Living the dream

Fueraventura fishing

Well this was my return visit to this amazing island..

February back in the uk is grim... Real grim..the grayling seem to switch off and the trout season feels miles off so nothing better than to hit the warm seas of the canaries with a fly rod in hand..

I had done the same spot last year and found my feet by the end of the holiday but this year i knew where to fish and what times..

I had packed my airflow 9ft 9# nano salt rod and my streamflex 10ft 3#, my main rod would be the streamflex for the mullet and the big airflow was if anything big came along !!

I live 2hrs away from any sea back home and have fell in love with mullet fishing, my main goal was to go and hunt these fish...

There is a obvious myth with mullet that they are impossible to catch on flys or bait, this is total bullshit BUT I must add these fish are the hardest to catch than any other fish I know!! There are many reasons for this and the main one is that mullet are sifters of food, they rummage through algae etc and can become occupied on one food source more than any wised up trout..

You may see them heading and tailing infront of you feeding there heads off but 90% of the time they are just filtering food through there complex digestive system..and what makes it even harder is most of there food source is is micro organisms..along with many other reasons these fish are super wary

This might turn people off trying for them and I don't blame some anglers but be prepared for the most frustrating fishing of your life, when you hook one you will have the highest buzz in any fishing you have done..

I had spoken to top English mullet fly man Colin mc.... He had gave me some superb advice..

This is something I have always done, I always watch speak and listen to experienced anglers all over in my fishing, I see many anglers trying to do it all themselves, thinking they know it all but my biggest advice is to learn off the experienced anglers and you will reap the rewards..

Colin had told me of the sun rise and the fall and this was the critical in what happens in all my amazing catches..

My first session was a hour before sunset so I packed my gear in the hire car and drove 5 mins down the road to the beach front.

Now if your going on holiday always look for the sandy bays where all the sunbeds are..I can guarantee there will be mullet there, most say you can't fish there but if you go in the evenings or early mornings not even a fishing Baliff will care..a man with a fly rod is much less menacing than a 15ft beach caster!!

I have also found that these islands are funded by us tourists and the locals are very polite and just leave you to it..

My first session was going to be using a bread fly.. I had caught them last year with this method, and for starters I wanted to see what was about but later in the week I was gonna tackle more trickier way with flys..

I breaded up and with in seconds small bait fish were hammering the free offerings, next I saw a big fiz as big mullet moved in to get amongst the offerings..

It was then I cast amongst the mullet with a size 16 bread fly..

It was then I felt that heart pounding bumb through my fingers holding the fly line, then a few seconds later my whole set up screamed into life as i hooked mullet of over 2lb set off for deep water!!

It's funny how you forget what it actually feels like to hook a rocket like these fish and when you do you get a real buzz.. It's not often back home you get onto you backing but every mullet you hook I can guarantee you will be way into it!!

It was good to be back and the night closed in with 3 mullet to hand and lots of bumps offs..

It quite strange how the light goes and the fish just turn off the feed at the push of a button..

The next day I was to be up a hour before sun rise, something in have never done before on holiday but Colin had highly recommended it...

Now anglers get to see some magical settings and there is nothing better than a holiday resort with not a single person about, standing in a resort bay casting a fly on a rising sun is good for the soul..

Now this time i wanted to fish for mullet with 'proper' methods using flys, no baiting up with bread just total flyfishing methods..

This was going to be alot tougher but that's how I like it and it feel more 'real'

I set up with a 15 ft tapered leader and a 3 ft of 3.7lb flourocarbon tippet connected with two of my soft touch shrimps with a red hot spot (size 16 unweighted )

There are some great mullet flys about including the dawl Bach with a red glass bead but i wanted to see my new pattern against the mullet..

Now arriving at the beach I had to have a completely different approach from the 'bread' method

I stood for 10 mins looking for mullet on the move and as the orange glow spread across the flat calm bay my heart picked up as I saw the 'mirroring' of the surface as a big shoal were 20 yards away in 3ft of water!! They were 'on it' feeding there heads off, it was obvious, they were flashing there sides and moving a good speed..

Now I knew if I spooked them with a cast over them it would be all over, these fish sence any danger whatsoever and they will just switch off the feed..

My experience back home of fucking it up time and time again had taught me well..

Cast a line 20ft plus in front of them, let them hang and see there reaction as they come though the flys, I did this perfectly and as they come through i waited for any movement in the fly line..

It did and ripped away for 10 yards until the barbless hook pinged out!!

The whole shoal bolted and my chance was gone..

I was gutted but buzzing....I had for the first time hooked mullet on flys!!!

Now after a day chilling with the mrs by the pool it was time for everyone to go in for a late afternoon kip... It wasn't for me, my insane excitement for a rod bend just keeps my tiredness at bay..

Now there are some things that happen in life that you will never forget and I can honestly say I have loads in fishing but this one just beats them all!!!

I packed my gear in the car for the evening session and arriving at the beach I noticed a full tide which looked perfect..

I stood looking for shoaling mullet but nothing showed at all.. Gutted!

I ran back to the car and got some bread.. I wasn't going to be messing around with nymphs with no fish in sight..

I filled it in and waiting for the mullet to appear......

Nothing

I could not believe it, not even the small fry were taking the bread..

I went walking along the beach and had to take a double look as I saw a huge dark shape moving in 3 ft of water..

A shark around 7 ft long!! as I looked around then appeared 6 of them!! They were where people paddle when walking along the beach...

In anti clockwise movements they were circling very calmly..

Before now a crowd had gathered around me and people were amazed to see such a sight..

I was gobsamcked, they looked around 150lb plus and totally menacing...

What did I do ? I walked up the beach and grabbed my 9ft 9# nano salt rod and clipped on a huge clouser minnow!!

Now it must be in me, Everyone was out of the sea scared and all I could think of was hooking one on the fly!!!

People were looking at me like I was insane as I started to cast the rod.. I did have a thought of what I would do to land it! Hell I would dive on it if I got the chance..

After about 5 casts I ripped it past one and it turned its head and calmly opened its mouth as the fly disappeared .. Oh fuck it's took it!!

I strip striked and set the hook!!

Now I can't really put into words what happened but I Remember looking down at the rod before I could lift into the fish and it was 20 yards into the backing.. I lent into the fish and all I could see was the shark fin out the water screaming down the edge of the beach in 3ft of water..

I looked at my reel and the 100 yards of backing was disappearing fast... Now picture this...

I started to run down the beach with this shark in view to everyone.. I had met at Scottish pike angler David and he was yelling 'goo on lad' 'let me have a hold of the rod!!

5 mins had pasted and I was still battling with the fish but i knew I was against all odds and its wasn't long after I really got stuck into it and it rolled over and I saw the line ping on its teeth!!!

It was all over.. to be honest I was slightly pleased.. I did not want to be wrestling around the beach with hundreds of people watching me!!

It's was a pure adrenaline buzz , like being totally shitting myself but buzzing at the same time..

I never got any pictures of the madness but there are two Italian girls who took some and I have them my email so I really hope they send them..

 

The next day I returned to the same place in hope of seeing these magical fish..a quick walk along the beach and no signs of any sharks so I went out in search of mullet...today the mullet were really showing thereselves as the sunbathers were packing up and going home..

I opted for the soft touch shrimp again with mullet visable all over..

For some reason the mullet were showing but they did not look in feeding mode..

This was time for me to test the soft touch by moving them to get a reaction.. Work?? Oh yes, short inch pulls were met with absolute savage takes and screaming reels..

I don't want to bore everyone with the fights but the fish I was taking were golden mullet... These fish are more aggressive than the standard mullet, smaller in size but they are absolute beautiful fish and are perfect sport to a fly angler...

Over the week I had flat head mullet over 3 pound and none of them compared to the fight of a golden grey..

Luckily I had done some soft touch shrimp for mullet with barbs, there is no change you would hold onto one of these without it..

The fishing went dead and I wondered why??

I should of

I was standing upto my balls in water and to my left something caught my eye.. A shark was cruising past me 10 ft infront of me!!

It was a big fucker too.. Really big

I calmly stepped back towards the shore and think was the wrong thing to do!! It saw my movement and kicked its tail and turned straight towards me to have a look!!

I absolutely shit myself and slipped backwards straight under water and scrambled along the sea bed to the shore!! I was just waiting for a nip on my calf and time passed very slowly !!

I clambered up the beach looked behind me to see the shark peeling off to my right.. It's had followed me all the way in...

Things like this don't happen once in your life but being around fishing as much as me they certainly do!!

Telling my mrs Michelle back at the hotel she must of thought I was insane.. She told me i was banned from wading again!!

Travally and bream on fly

Did I??

I certainly did! I was there to get the mullet and it did not stop me but I was never far from safety beleive me!!

The holiday fishing was sublime, I ended up studying mullet in feeding action, I got to see there behaviour in many ways and hopefully it's taught me loads more to catch mullet back home in the uk..

I even caught a travally and bream while I was there on my sts.. So the trip really did reveal what I wanted to..

I am sending some of the sts out to some top mullet anglers around the uk so hopefully they will work there but only time will tell...

To finish this post off I must tell people my methods to help them experience the fun i have had with mullet on holiday

1. Bread fly

This is a method that should be done for the fly men who just want to hook one a feel the buzz..it might not be the classiest way to catch them but your on holiday and you want to catch!!

Take three big sticks of bread and slowly start to feed one spot

Don't cast until the fish are well and truly 'on it'

Fish with one bread fly on a 15 ft tapoured leader with 3 ft of 3.7 lb flourocarbon

Start with size 12 bread fly and if there is no interest try going down to size 18..

Once the fish know your fly is fake they all will until a new shoal moves in.. Again change fly size..

You should be fishing the tightest line possible.. I do figure of eight at all times to stay in touch.. Do this at the slowest you can possibly do.. You will not get a single fish unless you are 'in touch'

Point your rod directly at the fly.. U want no slack in the line and the fish will hook themselves..

Do not lift the rod until the fish has screamed off your drag for 20 yards..

Set your drag at the lowest setting and have some slack hanging down from you reel.. You will know your in when the line bumbs your fingers..

2. Fishing the flies

This method is for the more experienced mullet angler and is alot more satisfying catching them with trout like methods..

I am no expert in this as yet and I have had plenty of advice from timmy mullet (Colin) off the forum..

I cracked this method on holiday and had super fun with the golden mullet landing one around 2.5 lb

You have not bread to bring them on the feed so you must go and look for feeding mullet.. You won't miss mullet feeding.. They flash and head and tail of the water..

Place you flys well infront of them and either dead drift them or twitch them in very short inch bursts..

Spook these fish with a bad cast and you should leave them and go find another shoal ...

Expect runs onto your backing

This method is more the real deal and when you catch one you will be over the moon..

I hope that my methods will give anyone going on holiday some great fly sport..

There is no fish that fight like salt water fish and the buzz from hooking and fighting a mullet will have you buzzing for months..

'Stil living the dream'

Nice one

Soft touch shrimp in the bag

Glen

Glen Pointon

07973951352

 

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Deliverance!!!

March 10, 2013, 2:12 pm
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Islay on the sea

September 14, 2011, 3:29 pm
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Living the Dream Fly Fishing UK podcast radio

April 9, 2013, 10:23 am
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Podcast Powered By Podbean

So here it is, I have been getting my head around doing a podcast for all sorts of talk on fly fishing.

I have got some cracking interviews lined up with questions and answers from pro anglers.

It's something totally new for me to run along side my blog, I hope the fly fishing nuts can join me and have the crack along the way.

My episode 2 has Paul Gaskell from the wild trout trust answering some questions.

I have some music in there so if your on your way fishing or chilling at home have a listen.

Any ideas or questions you want on the please email me from the top right hand side of my blog

 

If you have a iPhone you can search glen Pointon on podcasts or click on the link below, make sure you have the podcast app installed

 

Also to the right hand side of my blog there is the media player if you want to play them from my blog..

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/living-the-dream-fly-fishing/id625902879

http://glenpointon.podbean.com/feed/

See you soon

Nice one

Glen

 

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Stuart Croft interview for podcast

May 9, 2013, 2:27 pm
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Wullie Mcguire on the interview



Well its been a mad one getting my head around the new living the dream fly fishing podcast, i have had time to get some fishing done including a trip to the Izaak Walton fishing temple on the river dove which was absolute dream for me and the fishing was hot too, i even got a chance to interview river keeper Andrew Heath who is one bloke on mission improving the river for us anglers, this interview shall be broad casted in 2 weeks time. I got chance to meet up with Stuart Croft one of my fishing idols and managed to sneak a cracking interview with him at a tenkara doo with Paul Gaskell and John Pearson. To listen to the new podcasts please find your required one on the player at the top of the page.. I fished the river Wye on Sunday with a Aussie guy who was given the delights of Wye in a full short flush of olives and boy he loved it... I also met up with the Wyes regular fly man Mick Martin who i spent hours with catching up on fishing, he is a top bloke and angler, mick gave me a lovely fly pattern i am going to copy which looked amazing so will keep posted on that one. Well as i write this i am packing my stuff to hit Islay for the first time this season and there is a gang of seven going which i will be hopefully showing the delights of fishing on this magical island. I would like to thank all the emails and messages i have had concerning the podacst and was lovely to get a nice one off Matt Eastham (north country angler) he runs the most beautiful fly fishing blog and this meant alot to me from someone like him. Hope your all getting amongst the fish now as it just looks like its kicking in finally Nice one Glen
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Early season action blown me away

June 21, 2013, 3:00 am
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Its been a while since i did a post as i have been busy with my podcasts but after a slow start to the season the rivers finally kicked in and gave me some of the best fly action i can remember in years of fishing the Dove.
We have been blessed this year with huge flush hatches of the olive upright fly which i have not seen ever happen in such numbers on the dove, these size 12 bright yellow/green flys are a absolute joy to imatate with being so large and the fish really did lock onto them.
Catching my biggest brown trout to a dry fly was a memorable occasion and it was taken from a trib of the river Dove on a unfished water that thankfully has not got a cliche name as a top fly water, these places are a joy to fish and i have been doing lots of research in finding these virgin streams..
There is one spot i walked and saw brown trout at every pool up in the water rising, and each one looked around the 2.5 lb mark including 4lb plus wacker!! disscusions with the farmer are still ongoing as he wont let anyone fish it but fingers crossed i will finally get him to let me fish it.
This is just a general post as i will be getting back into my story telling very soon!!
The podcast is going great and i have got some great interviews that are lined up and my plan is to get 2 a month out..
I must put a plug into Matt Eastham from North Country Anglers blog, he recently wrote a article about fishing low water for dry fly, i can honestly say its the best piece of written advice i have seen ever including all the top magazines, so fair play to Matt and i hope he gets the recontion he well deserves...http://northcountryangler.blogspot.co.uk/
Matt did me a podcast answer to a question and it was superb if you can get past his accent!!
I caught a fish of a lifetime last week, a Barbel on the fly, i was doing a feature for Steve Cullen Total Fly Fisher on this subject and i am still buzzing my head off, i dont want to say too much as its going to be featured in the magazine very soon..
So hope everyone is enjoying there fishing and hope to do a full post soon...

Steve Cullen in the hatch!!

Waiting for the may fly spinner fall

Cullen with a Dove cracker

RED LED SPOTS


special fish

into a Barbel!!

A memory i will never forget

Barbel on the Fly!!! A feature for Total Fly Fisher Magazine


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OMBRÉ of the river Dove!

August 16, 2013, 6:05 am
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Ombré known by the French anglers for grayling meaning 'shadow' 
My Dove record graced my net earlier this week, a 49cm 3lb plus fish taken on a stripped quill F fly..
The love for these fish is becoming part of me..
Living the dream


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The bubble in the rise

August 22, 2013, 6:59 am
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The question that many anglers often ask is how to spot a grayling rising?
Well being on the river studying fish as often as I do you get to observe certain ways of rising fish..
People often say about the bubble left by a grayling which is very true but trout can do the same affect too so it's not a sure sign.
I often target grayling as my preferred fish for the dry fly as the satisfaction is much more than a trout due to how much your presentation needs to be spot on.. Without going into detail a persistent rising grayling  in my view will be become more preoccupied with the given hatch than a trout which can be tempted without matching the hatch (sometimes)..
A grayling will hold station in a feeding lane at the river bed and can see so much more than a trout that sits inches below the surface..
Therefore drag and the right choice of fly has been critical for me..
Last evenings fishing was all that I needed to get my hatch fix of grayling..
The BWO spinner falls are becoming less and the river did not have the prolific hatches of these spinners but never less there was enough to find around seven rising fish in the last hour which I managed to land 3 grayling and 2 trout with Richard Wards poly prop spinner..
Both trout were hit on first attempts and the grayling put my fly presentation to the test with 3 or four attempts..
The proof is there for me, any dry fly man I see catching 'proper' grayling on the dry is doing his job well..
I am out most nights this week getting my fix so plan to start updating my blog on a more regular basis..
Podcasts are going well and I have some real treats up my sleeve so to any readers or listeners get yourself off the couch on get these last few months of dry fly fishing before its too late
Nice one
Glen
 
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Perch on the Fly

March 18, 2014, 1:04 pm
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The back end of the season saw me Grayling fishing, i was onto a massive fish i had spotted for months but the floods came and the rivers came unfishable for a few weeks..
In this time i had been chatting to my mate wess and we said a trip down to the canals with a spinning rod would get us out from rotting at home.
Its always nice to strip things back to basics in fishing and we went to our local canal and had some excellent sport spinning for pike..
After a few sessions i found myself enjoying being around the canals in some lovely spots, most people think they are shit holes but if you walk them you can stumble on some very remote bits of water with  hook virgin pike..
while jigging soft baits with my light spinning outfit i had a huge lunge and i knew i was into a fish that took me back in time! it was a Perch, not just a normal one, after a mental scrap i had a 2lb 4oz sitting in my net!
2lb.4oz
My first ever fish was a Perch and most seasoned anglers love a 'stripy'
This is where i fell in love with them again and decided i would hunt them with the fly outfit...




I fished a lovely section of river as a kid and we always went to the canal that run along side it when blanking on the river, i had this very canal in my mind and thought to pay it a visit.
This time my fly rod had come out with me, catching anything on the fly is a thrill due to the direct pull on the line, i was in hunt of anything predator, Perch, Pike or even Chub...
At the fly fair i had met up with top pred tyer Martin who had promised me a few killer streamers in small sizes for the big trout..
What struck me was how he had produced such a amazing profile of a minnow imitation, but the real highlight was how they fished which was perfect for my canal session..
My main goal was to get into anything and on arriving at my wild canal section i was amazed to see the gin clear water!!
Funny how some things never change, going back to your kids years is a lovely feeling, places never change and i could not wait to get my flys in the water.
My set up was simple, i had a old bison 8ft 5", 6" WF floating line, 6ft of flouro and a small 6inch crimped up trace directly to my fly in chance i got smashed by a pike.

The flys i was using were along the line of Martins, a 4.5mm tung bead on the front to get me down quickly but also to jig the fly along the bed of the canal, anyone who fishes for `perch will know they are quite lazy at times and sit inches off the bed but they cannot resist something jigged off the bottom slowly.
Its wasnt long before i had the bang off a perch, then i continued to hit a shoul that gave me some sport i could only of dreamed of, i knew i was fishing in a place that no one ever fishes and it showed.
Thats when i saw a bolt out from the bank with fry darting everywhere! a pike in full flow hit my fly so hard and i leaned right into it tail walked all over the place..
The day saw me walk for miles pickingoff shouls of Perch and the odd Pike, it was action i had not expected and i rang my mucker  wess to tell him it goes down as one of the best days fishing i have ever had, that must seem a bit mad being on a canal but his place fished its head off.
Pike on the fly is heart stopping stuff, to see the take is amazing and the speed and power takes your breath away..
MIRCO PIKE!! amazing
UNCLE MARK 1lb 14oz
2 inch Perch fly...Perch love em
Well the dry fly trout season is approaching fast but i will still be having a dabble on the Perch and Pike..
If you get chance go and try your local canal, you will be amazed what these places hold
nice one
Glen


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Steve Cullen early season podcast photo referance

March 24, 2014, 12:52 pm
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Early Season on the trout is good for the soul

April 7, 2014, 10:15 am
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Early sesason for me is the best time you could ever fish, the trout are hungry and some might be slightly out of shape so its good practise to play them very hard and get them back quickly..
Fishing the jingler in a large dark olive hatch has proved deadly.. I am enjoying sport like no other and without being too greedy i am getting what i can until it slows off...
enjoy
nice one 
Glen




early season brown hunting
surely a 10 year old fish
this has got to be the nicest brown i ever caught
snake trout!! 52cm
the moment you think you fucked up!!

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Huge Wild Brown Trout PB has me Trembling

April 14, 2014, 10:03 am
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Well as i have spoken in my previous blog post, the early season fishing has been quality for me and just to add the my thrills i had one of them moments that will stay with me for ever.
We all like different styles of fishing and i have done many but stalking big fish has always been my thing, i can sit for hours not casting a rod waiting for a moment to catch that special trout, i just returned back from a trip to Islay on the scottish lochs to see my mate David Wood who now lives there, i had opted to fish for the hard lochs with huge fish, this can be frustrating for many flogging the water all day long without nothing but this does not bother me in the slightest, i just know what could happen and this drives me on..
I did flog a Islay hill loch all day long and hit into what i could only describe as a horse of a wild trout, the hook pulled away as it streamed off  leaving me gutted but even more keener to get my goal..

Back home on the Dove there has been huge hatches of LDO that have really bought the fish on big time and i have caught some awesome fish but what happened a few days ago still has me walking around in a daze!!

Around 1 oclock i packed my tools on my van and headed off to my river, i was running late as i knew there would be hatches coming off around 12 o'clock.
Turning up at the river it looked just right, overcast and a warm breeze, bit of sun peaking through to raise the early season spirit...
now walking through my river i noticed the olive hatch was in full swing, the pools i had fished previously had the browns inches from the surface sipping away, i had already caught a few of these resident fish and i would not even think about targeting them again until the end of the season..
I walked to a unknown pool on a big deep bend and peered into the water looking for trout, i saw nothing and could not believe this amazing looking pool would not have a trout in there, i then turned away and under my feet i noticed something, oh my god, there was a huge trout and i mean once in a lifetime trout sitting inches under the surface in a back eddy....I froze instantly....i had to look again to believe my eyes, yes it was real...
Now i started to turn my stalking senses on,  i was stood there frozen as not to spook this old warrior,  i was planning already how i would approach this fish... i would have to get behind the fish and run my fly around the eddy, something that was very hard but still possible, a over branch was in its cover and i knew i did not have a chance for a fuck up cast..
My heart started to race as i saw the horse rise to a large dark olive, it looked unreal as its huge kype was breaking the surface tension, this fish eating trout was obviously very hungry as it looked too big to rise..
I shortened my leader down to 8ft with a 4lb tippet, heavy yes buti would need to really get stuck into this fish...its hole was obvious, it was about 5 ft away to a huge tree root in a 5ft hole...i knew what i had got to do but could i?
As i watched this fish taking olives from behind it i could see how bigit really was as it turned on itss flank...i then stripped my leader and went up-to 5lb flouro straight through!!
Sitting behing a fish that you have dreamed to catch all your life is the so exciting but a complete nightmare, i was making mistakes, tying a shit knot to the jingler, i had to calm down which i did..

There is was with my bow and arrow cast loaded up....i pinged it through a few branches and caught the fucking tree...was my fish of a lifetime over?? ...................................it paused, so did i, it knew something was not right, and then it flicked its fins again and rose to another olive pheeeewwwwww
I then pulled the fly slowly from around the branch, it lopped around and did not hook up...yesssssss i thought...
My second cast landed a bit short, it did not matter, it turned and whaoppled it, that moment you cannot describe in words and only a angler can feel it...
I watched it fully take the fly and set the hook home with my trusty side strike...the feeling of the hook setting home was amazing, the trout just paused a moved to the left and i was in shock, i think the fish was until about 5 seconds when it realised it was under threat, it bolted for its hole, the 5lb flouro was the key i really did bollock into the fish and it did not stop it, my 5 weight rod just bevelled completely out and i had to adjust myself to get more power in, i managed to turn it but it opted to scream upstream of me, my drag was too tight and the rod was lunging, i took a few clicks softer on the drag and it ran perfectly around the pool keeping full tension on..
The moment it broke the surface i knew it was more special that i had thought, i was thinking, 'is this a salmon.? thats when you know your into a special fish when you question what it is...
I played the fish for over 5 minutes and i could honestly say there were times in the fight i was totally out of control!! this fish was a pure wild angry beast and boy it let me know...
The fish barely went in my net, i left him in the water and never raised the net, a method i use all the time now, this is too help the fish 'get its wind' i really do think this  is the  difference in a trout surviving be caught...you imagine having a boxing match then someone putting there hand over your nose and mouth!!!
I sat there and fell back on the bank, i had done what i had dreamed off, a huge wild trout on drys!!
lifting the fish was a amazing feeling, holding a fish that looked so big to its surrounding...
weighed on my £50 Salters it went the magic 4lb 2oz !!
A few pictures and as i let it go back i spoke to myself and thought of my mucker Steve Cullen, 'ITS A HORSE' in a scottish accent!!
4lb 2oz PB







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'The Buttercup Horse'

April 20, 2014, 3:19 pm
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Its still April and i am still in shock over how much good fortune i have had on my Derbyshire  rivers, the warm mild winter has obviously had much to do with this..
Around 1 o'clock in the afternoon there has been a regular trickle of the hardy Large Dark Olive which has given me excellent sport, my chosen fly has been the Jingler that is being used all across the uk by many anglers due to it sheer effectiveness, i do however feel that this fly is a early season fly and when the fish start to get wised up i will be transferring to the JT olive that has been proven for me time and time again for any olive pattern that comes off our rivers.
I am still quite on a high from my previous catch of the 4lb 2oz wild brown trout, only us fisherman know what it feels like to catch something you hunt for years and to be honest i will be buzzing for a few months...
Over the years i have learnt many techniques but small stream stalking has tested me right to the max in Fly fishing.. A broken twig or vibration from 20 yards away and your fucked in this game, these huge trout are wised up, they are looking for prey on top of eating!!
Last week i took a stroll down the river while unhooking a 1lb trout i saw a rise further upstream on a bend in the corner of my eye, maybe fishing has made me so alert these days i seem to be aware of everything around me, i creeped up on my hands and knees and saw a butter cup beauty sipping olives! a sight that never fails to pump the heart stronger... it was another horse too!
This fish was moving around the pool looking for olives and eating every one it could find...
I did not mess about i just patently waited for the fish to present its self in a good casting position and then chucked it into the food lane..
To see a big brown take a dry fly so calmly is magic to my eyes, the splashy sedge hits are good but you know you are fishing everything right with a olive dun when the take it in slow motion, another nerve jangler to say the least.
I set the hook hard and it went berserk, i shall not go into detail but it took me around 10 mins to land, it bolted down stream taking line then bolted straight across me up stream bouncing through snags!!
Finally when i lifted the net i realised i had caught another very special fish...
'the buttercup horse' at 3lb 4oz  
Without sounding like a twat i caught another fish that topped the 3lb mark but i had to walk away from the river after that..my soul had been healed and more would of been pure greed to carry on...
'living the dream' has never meant so much
Nice one
Glen
3lb 4oz buttercup horse

the fish controlling me!!



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LIVE THE DREAM WILD RIVER BROWN

May 1, 2014, 12:44 pm
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Well i must be doing something right at the moment as all my luck seems to be flowing in!!
There are many reasons for my good fortune but i think the most important one hs to be that i have started to hunt down big trophy trout...i have done it in the past but for years now i have spent my beloved fly fishing for big grayling..even out season grayling i have just walked the banks spotting grayling spawning and noted there location for when they do come into season, this has however been a downfall in catching some huge wild browns.
I had decided last year i was going to hunt down trout early season and started to search around my rivers for these elusive 'horses'
At grayling time last year i saw a huge trout leep out the water in the depths of winter, why it did this i was unsure but one thing i noticed was the sheer size of this fish, it had me thinking it was a salmon but i made a mental note of its location.
Another reason is that i am prepared to fish the hardest type of venue you could imagine, i will go places that are totally unfished, believe me there are lots around!!
But i really think the main reason behind my fortune is the sheer hard work and effort and time spent on the water..i try to fish as much as possible, i work as a self employed electrician and i will work hard to get finished as soon as possible and get a few hours after work on the river, this has proved deadly and time spent on the water is priceless..most of my mates are hitting the pub before they go home for tea..there is no comparison, i am on the river!
I had spotted a huge 55cm plus trout by spooking it weeks back, i studied the pool it lived in, when i had spooked it i realised that it had shown itself for one reason, it was on the feed, a trout will not hang near the surface if its not on the feed, so i knew where it feeding lane was, it was on a bend with the flow hitting the tree face on causing a huge back eddy the size of a car..i threw a dandelion onto the food lane that circled and noticed it continued to circle around without going down the main flow, this fish was living in a zone that spun everything around the eddy and it stayed there for a long time so it was obviously a fish that had a ideal spot to get huge!!
Now where did the fish live? i have learnt over the years that a brown will have a spot that is his home and it will have depth as to not see the fish and a overhang of some description, this one had it all, it was obvious a huge tree root tail was its home.
This is a great tip for anyone stalking big fish in small stream, feeding lane and its hide out..from working this out i had my next step..i wanted to take this huge fish on a dry! not being a dry fly elitist but i new this was the cream..i could  easier tease it out of its trees root with a streamer or some nymphs..
So my found info had taught me to get into a position to see the fish in the feeding eddy and then most important to be able to cast a line without drag. I also new that if i hooked this fish it would instantly bolt for the safety of its home, this was going to be a huge problem, 5ft from the eddy there was a fast flow with depth and then the tree root on the slacker side! if it got in the flow i would be fucked...the plan was to hit it hard with a 4lb line, but would this thicker line mess my presentation up?

I had arrived at the river mid afternoon and there were hawthorne and black gnats in the air, i had seen them days earlier but hoped for them to be on the surface...
I walked to a known spot and saw a 2lb plus fish rising, a buttercup beauty, i spent 20 mins getting into position, the fish was casually taking black gnats off the surface, i raised my rod to put a cast in the lane and the flash off my rod bloted the fish!! great start !!
The river was low and clear and i feared this upper reach stream would be a no go, when it gets like this not even a marine siper could get into position without spooking a trout.
i walked upto my trophy trout pool with little hope of seeing the fish, as i walked through the overgrown vegitation i peeked through a elberry tree and like a child opening the living room door on xmas day there he was, with the sun lighting the whole fish up in 2foot of water!!
This is when my heart started to thump, you makes mistakes when you get nervous but i have sort of learned to curb this, i crept into a position upstresm of the fish and sighed with relief, only for the trout twitch its fins as though it new something was not right...it circled around the eddy and then disaapeeredd to its hide out...bastard!! Well i thought there is always another time but i was in no rush, you can spook a grayling and it will be back after a minuite or so but trout take at least 10 mins..
I waited and waited then sure enough he came back out again cautioulsy circling the pool for any danger.. i froze!!
I was now within 15 ft from the fish and could see its every move, it was absoutley huge, i sat for 20 mins watching how it worked...it would come towards me up the side of a fast flow and then drift off away from me into the eddy looking around the circling food lane..it did not rise for 5 mins until i saw it come into the centre of the eddy and take a dead hawthrone in no flow whatso ever, a fish of this size rising is something to be seen and just shot my nerves to hell..
I now knew i was introuble, how could i present a dead fly in the middle of the eddy with no flow, i would get around a second of drag free then it would rip off the surface..
i would have do a big mend as i cast, this might get me around 3 seconds before it ripped off..
I put on a jingler and waited for it to enter the centre of the pool, the fish was circling around the eddy and then coming through to rise..
as it come through i cast into the zone sweet, the fish looked at the fly and then totally ignored it...this happened twice, the fish was not spooked it just carried on feeding away..
The jingker had nailed me some many fish, it them became very obvious it was totally preocupied with the Hawthorns..
I am not one with a posh fly box with rows of flys in perfection, i tye flys to go fishing and my box is full of ones and twos of my river flys, i was looking for something black, at the bottom of my simms rucksack i had my scottish lochs fly box, i opened it up and found one bibio snatcher type fly..it was black and bushy surely this would do the job..
a slight ginking, not too much, i wanted it to go into the surface film like the dead natural..
There i was again waiting for the brown to enter the dead spot of the eddy..
i had three seconds as it hit the water...it hit the water, the fish saw it, one second two seconds, the huge kype come out the water in slow motion, engulfed the fly (time goes in slow motion with a feeling of euphoria) i surprisingly calmly wait for the fish to drop its head then i strike with sheers power straight up to set the hook in its boney kype...
Bang am on!!!
from such a quite scenic setting, birds singing and flys buzzing, river bumbling i wreck the whole scene as i stand up jump into 3ft over water to get away from a tree the fish does what i knew it would, it bolts for the tree roots and i give it full beans and have no chance of stopping it, i decided i got to go after it!!
The fish bolts straight under the roots that are visible to me, i pray they don't go to the bottom.
I have lost the fish am sure, the dreaded feeling when the movement of the rod tip stops bouncing, i run down to it hole and my my line screams through my hands, he has bolted out and heading for the next pool downstream...  my line going under the root... i chuck my whole rod under the trailing roots and grab it out the other side! i am still into the fish somehow!!
I then get some form of control and run downstream following the fish with a good loop in the rod...i get a glimpse of this trophy as it goes through the shallow gravel at the back of the pool, its horrendously big...
The fish goes two pools down using the flow, i have no chance of bullying this fish but i know for sure the fish is hooked very well...
two pools down i am into a slack bend with a good depth and no flow, i am now on top of this fight as i side strain the fish both ways and start to make progress..
The fish makes one more bolt but my 5 weight rod turns him and i know its time to net the fish
Now seeing a fish of this size and beauty hit the net is something that will stay with me forever, a 10 year old fish 60 cm in length, a true wild fish from a small derbyshire stream, on a dry fly!!
I made a hash of weighing the fish and wanted to get it back in the water, at first my scales said 2lb then  3lb 14 and i decided to leave it...i get asked what weight and am unsure, it looked 5lb but who cares really its a fish of a lifetime
 who needs New Zealand? we have trophy trout in the uk, you just got to open your eyes..
who said fishing is boring
'living the dream'
GP
60cm it dont get no better





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Spade Hooks getting me on the water film!!

September 13, 2014, 4:34 am
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Its been a while since i did a blog post but i have been updating my fishing adventures on facebook and twitter, it seems these days that thats how social media has gone but my blog has always been my highlight for me and the ammount of people who contact me from it is mad..I have done write ups for Steve Cullens Total Fly Fisher which has been brilliant but i cannot stay away from the fact that my blog has got me places you cant imagine.
This season i have had probably the best seasons fishing in my life, i have met many new friends and even got to meet up with my mucker Mathew wright as we shared the most memorable two days fishing on the Derbyshire Wye and Lathkill.
As always in my fishing life i am still living and breathing the rivers , i am still searching for huge trout and grayling, some would say this is not what its about but even from the age of 8 years old fishing the river churnet with a legered maggot i have always had the amazing feeling of catching a big special fish, this is what drives me and always will.
On my previous post i caught the fish of a lifetime on a dry fly, will i better it? surely one day i hope..
i had a few people question if this fish was wild!! it was quite obvious to me, but speaking to Tim Jacklin of the wild trout trust summed it up for me, he said he would bet his house on it being wild, its a male (they only stock females) and the markings and the size of the pectoral fins says it all.
Even Warren Slaney congratulated me, he could spot a stocky from a miles away!

Anyway enough of my updates, here is a fly that has blown me away this season for many reasons but i would like to start with a new method that i have been testing.
I remember speaking to Stuart Croft about getting the right profiles on dry flys and he stated that we always have one problem... we have a piece of metal attached to our fly and this totally messes things up to a degree and there is no way out of it..
Yes he was right, i have always had the problem of finding a lightweight hook, the only ones on the market are the Tiemco 103BL, these are lightweight and do a superb job but they tend to snap on occasions especially when hooking a big nasty brown.
I often take a look in my local coarse fishing shop for different bit in there game and as i walked past the hooks i saw some of the finest black light gauge hooks i had seen.. but on closer looking i saw the dreaded spade end..
To put in plain, spade hooks are still used by the match men because they can be manufactured extra fine and sharper than a eyed hook due to not have to form a eye.
This gives tem the edge for better presentation and so it would me!!
I bought some and set out to combat the spade!!
This season i had made what i call a daytime spinner, without going into detail it was tied on a size 16 up to a size 22.. it has caught me so many fish but using a extra light hook would really send the fly into a proper profile on top of the water film..
here is the you tube link fly tying video and i explain all about my theories in the fly... LTD Daytime spinner

The hooks that i have been using are a Mustard 60200NPBLN that can be bought from any tackle shops.they are super light and strong and around a quid for ten...

So what does this super light hook do on flys? it makes them sit right ontop of the water film which is more like the natural on fully emerged drys and spinners alike.. Also using size 22 tiny flys you are able to see them perfectly as they are not sitting half in the film...












To tie the proper knot on a spade hook is a no go on a tied fly, there is always the option to tie the line on then tie the fly so its all made up ready but i think this would be too much pissing about..
I have come up with a method that is easier than tying a normal eyed hook on, and also gives a added bonus for presentation.
I simply just make up a clinch knot on the line, slide the loop over the spade on the tied fly, wet and tighten up!
If you do this with the knot pointing down the line sinks under the water film for a few inches giving a deadly profile.
The only downside of this method than i can see is on weak lines the spade might slice the line but as yet i have had no problems at all.
I have also started to use the tying method on eyed hooks too which again gives a deadly profile and sinks the first bit of line..

Below is a picture of a size 14 hook with some big line to show what i am doing...




















Below is a spinner tied on a spade hook with the line for illustration







































Please email me if you have any questions and i am always happy to help where i can to fellow brothers on the fly

Still Living the Dream
Are U ?

GP


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Big Grayling hunting can be hard but worth it ...

December 2, 2014, 7:32 am
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Steve Cullen Dove 2lb 15oz

Dove 3lb 3oz

Dove 2lb 15 oz

River Test 2lber

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