Leaders
I am sometimes asked by new fly fishermen about leader materials and how to make up a leader and, sometimes, I am at a loss for an answer. I’m no expert on this subject and can only speak from my own experiences and what I have read about the subject. Mostly I refer the questioner to a proven expert, someone like Charles Jardine………
A beginner can often get along quite well with a manufactured leader. I have several in my tackle drawer and the ones produced by ‘LEEDA PROFIL’ have served me well on many occasions. I still have a selection of nine foot and twelve foot leaders in various weights from 2lb breaking strain up to 6lb breaking strain to be used with deference to the fishery and the size of fish likely to be caught. Sportfish, for example, carry these leaders in their current catalogue.
On a tiny moorland stream like the Sett above Hayfield in Derbyshire, where a good brown trout weighs around the half pound mark, a 2lb tapered leader would do the job but, of course, this would be totally inadequate on a fishery stocked with big rainbows. The leader would inevitably break under the strain and the trout would be left swimming around with fly and leader trailing from its mouth.
Just recently, in the very windy conditions that have prevailed, I have taken to using a twelve foot leader of straight 6lbs breaking strain Fulling Mill fluorocarbon. (I must apologise for the incorrect version last time when I referred to them as “Flushing Mill”). The winds have produced quite a wave in recent days and the fish have been feeding in the top couple of feet of the water. A twelve foot leader will get a gold headed nymph to where you want it; allow it to sink briefly for no more than five seconds and then commence a leisurely retrieve. Fish have been taking this very rapidly and powerfully. I think that in these conditions building a more complicated leader is not necessary for the inexperienced angler to catch a fish on a well stocked reservoir. Difference lines for different waters!
The Fulling Mill fluorocarbon 6lb is a springy line that turns over well and cuts through the surface film easily. I have tried other brands and this is one of the better ones with a good knot facility; I’ve not had a single breakage on Fulling Mill which cannot be said of some other fluorocarbons. A couple of years ago, when they were first on the market, one or two brands used to break even when tightening the knots on to the flies. The exception to this was Riverge Grand Max which I also found to be very reliable and I have some of this in my tackle bag, too.
A new reel
I’ve always viewed reels as very functional and, as long as they allow me to cast and then wind line in, that’s been good enough. I have often shuddered at some of the prices for top-of-the-range reels listed in catalogues. However, the reel that holds the floating line on my reservoir rod has been misbehaving for some time and I’ve had some very untidy re-winds. I’ve had it for years and, when I looked, I could not even find a maker’s name on it and decided that it must have been a “bargain buy” in some retailer’s sale long ago.
I asked around among my angling companions and I even tried reels belonging to some of my friends. The consensus was that an Orvis Battenkill Disc reel able to take a WF8 floating line would be suitable. I purchased one a couple of weeks ago and I’ve only had three sessions with it but, my word, what a difference it’s made to my casting, retrieve and playing a fish. It’s a bit like swapping an old banger for a new Jaguar and the price was not that outrageous, either. I’m sorry I did not make the change years ago instead of struggling on. I’ve got perfectly good reels for lighter rods and lines and why I kept the bigger inadequate reel for so long is baffling in hindsight. Give yourself (and the tackle shop owner) a treat and check out the efficiency of your reels; there are some excellent bargains in several of the current catalogues.
Charles Jardine (again)
My club, Colne Water Angling Club, celebrates its golden jubilee this year. The committee has arranged a very special dinner at the Fence Gate Inn on 24th August and have secured Charles Jardine, internationally acclaimed fly fisherman and wildlife artist, as guest speaker. Once the demands of the members have been met, the committee will offer any spare tickets to the general angling public.
Just what Charles Jardine will make of CWAC I do not know. Its two principal waters, Laneshaw Reservoir and Churn Clough Reservoir, can be inhospitable locations even in high summer and, because of their elevated locations high in the Pennines, are wide open to the prevailing westerly wind which howls over the water incessantly. I fished Churn Clough on 26th June and wore wellies, moleskin trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, a thick fleece, a waistcoat and topped it off with a waterproof – and still felt cold! Flaming June, indeed!
The committee hope to persuade Charles to visit both the above waters and to demonstrate his skills for the members. I can, however, assure Charles that, whatever the weather conditions, he will receive a very warm welcome from the friendly members and everyone is looking forward with great anticipation to the visit of this trout fishing legend to our homely club.
Contact for tickets: 01535 634426
