Fishing during the Easter weekend was at times challenging. Incredibly gusty wind that couldn’t make up it’s mind which way to blow made for some interesting casting up Kennick Reservoir. I think I set a new PB for losing flies in trees, bracken, goarse and any other fauna that dared sway into back casting range.

In one session myself and Mark caught over 30 fish on a catch and release ticket from a single swim. After the rainbows completely switched off, I decided to see if the fish had moved up in the water. After putting on an intermediate line and a hares ear I cast to a spot where a fish had been rising. After a slow retrieve the line slowly went taught and I was into a fish, a perfect 2lb Kennick Brownie. I would like to say it was down to pure skill and watercraft, in reality it was a bit of an unexpected fluke.

Whoever decided to perform one of the lamest examples of vandalism I have ever witnessed well done, brilliant. I hope you feel awesome about ripping open a ‘catch returns’ lock box as well as chucking a life preserver ring on the floor. Making noises like a chimpanzee while hiding behind a tree will also go down in history as one of the greatest acts of rebellion against fly fishermen.

I unfortunately only managed to squeeze in one upper Teign session (read more here), it is a beautiful place to fish. When fishing well you can really lose yourself in the moment. Waist deep, flicking your line up stream waiting for the lightening bolt of a take. *BOOM* a huge branch hits the water followed by a black Labrador, bugger. I fell in love with my Canon G9 again. Having a compact camera that can take pictures of amazing quality is such a bonus, it fits perfectly in my fishpond chest pack pocket.

Along with my recent aquisition of a Hardy Demon 7 wt rod and my SLA being incredibly difficult to get into the reel seat I decided to take the plunge and get a reel to match. I took a risk and opted for a Hardy Demon 5000 over the 7000. When in the shop the jury was out how much backing I would be able to get on the reel with a Hardy Mach line. When in the shop the ghetto trick of offering up a new fly line doubled over from the packet made it look very tight indeed. Luckily I managed to squeeze around 80 yards of backing onto the spool! It is a very nice set up indeed, the rod as mentioned before fires line effortlessly and the reel is just the icing on the cake. It is such a beautiful piece of kit to handle, use and put away after an excellent day of fishing.

Some pictures, the picture of the brownie was taken with my iphone due to me leaving the SLR on all night :/

Hardy Demon 5000 and Hardy Mach line

Hardy Demon 5000 and Hardy Mach line

Hardy Demon 7 wt

Kennick Reservoir trout fishery

Kennick Reservoir - relaxing in the sun

Kennick Reservoir - Boobies

Kennick Reservoir trout fishery

Kennick Reservoir - Wild brown trout

After almost a month of beautiful weather something had to give. April being famous for it’s ’showers’ decided to make a fool out of everyone by turning the rain up to eleven. I don’t mind the rain except when it makes the water of the upper Teign rise to an unfishable level. With a little re-adjustment and finger crossing my Easter plans to fish the Teign came to fruition.

Checking the upper Teign webcam (thanks Nick!) I loaded up the car and headed out. For those looking at the webcam, if you can see the boulder on the top right nearest the bridge, the vegetation on the left in the river, and the boulder in the bottom right then you are good to go.

I was using a goldhead / tungsten bead nymph suspended beneath a foamed top Klinkhammer. This always serves me well on the Teign especially when the fish are taking both off the surface and below. The Klink acting as both a fly and a bite indicator. The water was still a little on the high side so the fish were hard to the bottom. Getting the fly down quickly and efficiently was important. Degreasing the leader, putting a tungsten bead on the point and a goldhead at mid water  helped. I found the Salmon Par almost immediately (awesome to see the river is so healthy) and with a few adjustments I managed to hook some small but perfectly formed wild brownies.

For those interested in learning more about the upper Teign check out the UTFA website http://www.upper-teign-fishing.org.uk/ – A tip, you can buy tickets from the Fingle Bridge Inn. The pub however does not open until 11am.

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - It feels good to be a Gangsta

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

Upper Teign - fishing for wild brownies

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