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During the 19th and early 20th century anglers would cast wet and dry flies for coarse and game fish in rivers and still waters. Sadly all this changed during the early 1920’s when fly fishing for the coarse fish become unfashionable, and with the shortage of suitable waters, it seemed that brown trout and salmon were only for the privileged few. Fly fishing for the coarse fish species became unfashionable. This all changed again in the 1960’s when many Water Companies needed to open their reservoirs for recreational purposes. These were drinking water reservoirs and it was felt that if they were stocked with rainbow and brown trout there shouldn’t be any pollution problems. The waters were opened on a day and season ticket basis for fly fishing only and it was an immediate success, with many thousands of anglers casting a fly for the first time. No longer was it the sport of the privileged few. The dustman and doctor would discuss fly patterns, whilst accountants and school teachers would share a cup of coffee at the waterside. It was also very noticeable that anglers who had switched from fishing for the coarse fish to trout were the most successful. We should not forget the importance of Blagdon reservoir nestling in the Mendip Hills where it all started. The water was built and operated by the Bristol Waterworks company. From information gleaned from Chris Ogborne’s delightful book ‘Blagdon’ by Laurels Publishing of Gwent: The fishery opened on May 21st 1904 and the first fish recorded was a brown trout of 5lb 8 ozs taken by a Mr Pershouse who had ticket number 1. Two weeks later Mr Pershouse had another brown of 6lbs. Day permits were 10 shillings with an additional 10 shillings for a boat and the services of a keeper. It’s interesting to note that Fly fishing only was permitted from the boat whilst the bank men were allowed other methods on application. One wonders what “Other methods” were! In the late 1960’s early 1970’s there was an explosion in the growth of small still water trout fisheries, when it seemed as if every farmer had dug a hole in the ground, watched it fill with water then stocked it with rainbow trout. You could if you wished probably fish a different water each day of the week. Many of these were ill advised schemes and soon reverted to carp fishing, which had become very popular during the 1990’s – but for how long? I have met many anglers who after a season or two catching carp have become disillusioned with the sport and have either gone off to watch football or play golf. Today we have some of the finest still water trout fisheries in Europe. Rutland, Grafham, Bewl Water, Chew Valley, Blagdon, Barnsfold Water and Stocks reservoir to name a few. River trout fishing, despite water abstraction, pollution and low rainfall over the past few years, has continued to produce some excellent sport with brown trout and grayling. In the south are the famous chalk streams, the Test, Itchen, Kennet, Upper Avon, Wylye, Nadder, Piddle, Ebble and Allen . The North country rivers – Hodder, Ribble, Lune, Wharfe, Ure, Swale, Nidd, Aire and Eden offer the angler some wonderful sport in delightful countryside. Many riverside hotels have day ticket fishing available for guests and there is lots of club water available. Three clubs with good fishing are Prince Albert AS, Bradford City AA and Bradford No I. All three clubs have several miles of good river trout and grayling fishing. Prince Albert AS also have excellent sea trout and salmon fishing on several rivers in Wales and Northern England . The most popular branch of fly angling today is without a shadow of a doubt still water fly fishing for rainbows, with lures, nymphs or dry fly patterns. For me, of the most delightful ways of taking still water trout is by fishing buzzers or Chironomids. This is a non biting midge that can be fished surface or sub surface. Come late June we can expect to see sedges on the water and the takes can often be very savage. Still water trout fishing is the perfect venue for beginner and expert alike. Day ticket prices vary from fishery to fishery as does the type of ticket purchased, i.e. full day, half day or evening ticket. Your fishing ticket purchased will allow you to keep X number of fish. Thankfully these days many fisheries allow you to purchase a sporting ticket which is catch and release. When fishing catch and release you should try not to handle the fish and use barbless hooks, this allows you to unhook the fish in the water. If it’s a lively fish keep it in the landing net at the waters edge, extract the hook then release the fish. Fish being released should not be handled or squeezed as this will cause injury or death to the quarry. On the subject of migratory fish, salmon and sea trout, with salmon runs being badly depleted I feel it’s our duty to return most of the fish we catch, only keeping one silver fish a season for the table and two brace of sea trout – but only if there is a good run of fish. I feel we should only take sea trout under 3lbs. Salmon and sea trout are too valuable a resource to kill, I have not killed a salmon for the past 20 years and have only taken half a dozen sea trout in that period of time. Again, barbless hooks should be used and all fish should be handled very gently. Sometimes you may have to nurse the fish for some minutes with its head facing upstream before being released. Last season I had some delightful fishing for rainbows on many different waters. I remember one session very vividly. After leaving the BBC Radio Lancashire studios I had about 2 hours before darkness and decided on a short session at Barnsfold Fishery situated in the shadow of Beacon Fell. As the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon the sky was all shades of pink and reds. Swallows and martins hawked the surface of the lake in the fading light of a late May evening. All around me were clouds of chironomids, or as they are often called, buzzers or midges. There were so many fish feeding that if I didn’t know better one could think it was rain dimpling the surface. A light breeze ruffled the surface as I cast a size 16 black suspender forty feet to a rising trout feeding close to a small clump of sedges. The fly settled like thistle down some 2 feet from the feeding trout. I had gathered in a few inches of line with a very slow figure of eight retrieve when a fish pounced. Lifting the rod I tightened into a good fish, the rod hooped over as the reel screeched when a few yards of line were taken. For some minutes it was give and take but I soon gained the upper hand and a nice rainbow lay glistening in the net. Bending down I extracted the hook, lowered the net into the water and watched the fish swim off strongly. One of the beauties for me in trout fishing is the use of imitative patterns and light tackle. Time for one more fish and a quick pint at the local waterside tavern before going off home to a late supper. My tackle on this occasion was an 8’6″ Greys of Alnwick GPRL small AYR light weight reel with a Scientific Anglers floating line to which I had needle knotted a 12 foot fluorocarbon leader tapered down to 3lb bs point. Walk into any tackle shop and you will see dozens of rods, reels, lines and other accessories for use by still water trout anglers. Most of this will be practical for catching rainbows but, as in all walks of life, you get what you pay for. A good angler will make poor quality tackle work for him but it wouldn’t necessarily be the tackle he would choose given a choice. If you’re new to the sport, choose a shop where one of the staff goes fly fishing for trout. When it comes to casting you cannot do better than go off to a fly fishing school for some casting lessons. The beauty of attending a fly fishing school is you learn all about lines, knots, flies, water craft and much more. Today if you want to play golf or shoot, you would take some lessons from a professional. It’s just as important in the world of fly fishing. The great thing about fly fishing is it’s the perfect sport for the ladies – no creepy crawlies, just silk, fur floss and feather tied up on a hook. Today you ladies have your own designed clothing, including waders, so you can look as good at the waterside as you would on the golf course or around town. Ladies make super anglers. You listen, learn, practise and don’t know it all after a day. You also look better and smell nicer than the guys! Next month – brown trout and dancing mayflies.

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