Fishing The UK, Fly Fishing in Devon, Exeter, South West

I am a sucker for ‘Hi-tech’ lures. If it looks like it has been created in a laboratory and given a name similar to “Rage super thrust blood head mach IV” it will end up in my shopping basket. After all if you are fishing wrecks 50 miles off the coast of Devon having the “Rage super thrust blood head mach IV” in luminous pink slicing through the water will surely catch you more fish. If it doesn’t then the conditions were ‘against you’ and ‘not ideal’. Ignoring the guy catching fish on a £1 Redgill is it worth spending £6-10 for a pack of these so called “super lures”?

That question is a pretty big can of worms and I really don’t want to take it on. I do however believe that the Savage Gear range of saltwater sandeel lures are worth investing in. I was first introduced to them last year by Mark. When he was struggling out came the Savage Gear sandeel. It always managed to produce a fish of substantial size. The Mark ‘fail safe’ lure continued to produce (and consistently) for the rest of the year.  It made sense to give them a try.

Handling the lures you can start to understand why they might have that ‘edge’. They are unbelievably supple along their complete length and whatever speed you retrieve the action is superb. That extra ’suppleness’ might be the secret to their success but also an Achilles heel. They are not very robust and are easily damaged or mangled after a couple of fish. On two recent boat trips the only fish I caught were on the Savage Gear saltwater sandeels. Either I am rubbish at using other lures while wreck fishing or these really are ‘killer’ lures. I will let you decide. Awesome.

They are available in packs containing 2 bodies and 1 jig head for £5.99. They come in 6 different colours and 3 different sizes. Buy some!

Some pics…

Savage Gear Saltwater Sandeel

Savage Gear Saltwater Sandeel

Savage Gear Saltwater Sandeel

Savage Gear Saltwater Sandeel

Kennick Reservoir opened it’s 2010 season on March the 27th. Being one of my favorite still water fly fishing venues in Devon it was great to be back on the bank. Fishing was slower than I expected, even the mighty Sunburst Blob struggled to find the fish. After trying a number of spots, depths and flies I resorted to dragging a booby along the bottom attached to a Hi-D line. On the second cast while varying the retrieve (they liked it slow) I hooked into a spirited Kennick Rainbow. I had forgotten how lean and fit the fish are, even with a 7WT rod it is hard to keep the trout under control while making those initial lunges. In 4 hours fishing I landed 6 and lost 3, a great days sport. The weather took a turn for the worst so called it a day when my hands became blocks of ice. My camera got soaked too so sorry for the lack of photo’s.

Today was also a chance to try my new Hardy Demon 9′6 7WT rod. Nothing to report other than it is worth every penny. It is hard to describe how much of a difference a rod of this caliber can have on your casting (even someone as terrible as me), it is pretty amazing really. Ideally I would of liked a Demon Reel but my Wychwood SLA is an amazing piece of kit and it really doesn’t look out of place. Another purchase was a Cortland 444 sinking line. A very slick (also incredibly thin) easy to cast line. Casting a sinking line all day can become tiresome (scary in some instances), the Cortland 444 however is a pleasure to use. I cannot emphasise how important it is to spend as much as you can on Fly lines, that extra £10-15 makes an enormous difference.

I am aware that the Wychwood Truefly SLA reel has been a victim of it’s own success. Demand exceeding supply. Fear not, Nick Hart quite literally has a tower of Wychwood SLA reels in the Hart Fly Shop available NOW – Buy one, you know you want one.  Check out the new Wychwood Quest range of travel fly rods too, they look and feel great.

(p.s. I am in no way affiliated with the Hart Fly Shop, I just do it for the love)

Hardy Demon 7wt rod and Wychwood Truefly SLA

Hardy Demon 7wt rod and Wychwood Truefly SLA

Hardy Demon 7wt rod and Wychwood Truefly SLA

Kennick Reservoir - Rain!

Hardy Demon 7wt rod and Wychwood Truefly SLA

Sneaked out a 9lb 8oz Rainbow this weeked from Tavistock Trout Fishery.  The fish looked considerably smaller in the deep gin clear water, watching it follow and eventually hit the lure was awesome to watch. It was also impressive to see a large number of sizeable trout being caught by other people. The ‘Dump truck’ avoided capture, a rather large Brown that took pleasure in turning away from my fly at the last moment on several ocassions. He better watch out.

Tavistock Trout Fishery - 9lb 8oz Rainbow trout