Martin Cairncross - Trout Fly Fishing: An Expert Approach

AN EXPERT APPROACH

AN EXPERT APPROACH

Martin Cairncross
& John Dawson

Illustrations by

Charles Jardine

Although we are presenting our own interpretations, they have been gleaned over many years by fishing with proven experts from home and abroad, and tested over a wide variety of waters. The list is enormous, but we would like to register our particular appreciation (in alphabetical order) to: Bryan Archer, Bob Barden, Brian Bowsher, Geoff Clarkson, Graham Dean, Andrew Donaldson, Dave Grove, Colin Harvey, Jeremy Herrmann, Phil Hooper, John Horsey, George Inglis, Martin Introna, Graham Knowles, Chris Ogborne, Mike Perrin, Frank Schlosser, Dave Shipman, Omri Thomas, Tim Tollett, Paul Wakeham, Neil West, Alan Williams and Davy Wotton. Andrew Donaldson and Tim Tollett deserve special thanks for supplying some excellent photographs, and we feel privileged to have the benefit of Charles Jardines superb artwork.

Although our experiences cover waters from around the world, our long apprenticeships were served in the British Isles. In this respect, our appreciation goes to the staff of many reservoirs but in particular to those of Chew, Blagdon and Rutland. Paul Knight at Langford encouraged us to develop an interest in the smaller lakes. The Gliffaes Hotel beat of the Usk has repeatedly provided excellent sport on a rain-fed river. And with Jeff Smith, of the Middleton Estate, we have consistently enjoyed the cream of chalk-stream fishing.

Finally, the greatest vote of thanks must go to our wives, Chris and Linda, for putting up with our fishing exploits and the undoubtedly monotonous stories about the ones that got away.

Both authors wrote the previous best seller Success with Trout in conjunction with Chris Ogborne. They enjoy sharing their knowledge through guided tours, tuition days and corporate parties. They also want the knowledge imparted in this book to be kept up to date, and to encourage feedback and dialogue. Those wishing to keep abreast of developments, or to contribute their own ideas, should consult www.corporate-flyfishing.co.uk .

THE DERRYDALE PRESS

Published in the United States of America

by The Derrydale Press

4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK, INC.

First Derrydale Edition 2001

Copyright 2001 Martin Cairncross & John Dawson

Illustrations copyright 2001 Charles Jardine

First published in the UK in 2001

by Swan Hill Press, an imprint of Airlife Publishing Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-58667-066-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI/NISO Z39.481992. Printed in Hong Kong.

It was turning out to be a dour October morning at Llandegfedd. Earlier in the week the trout had been rising freely to both aquatic and terrestrial flies but now the activity had ceased. Success was inevitably going to require a lot of effort on a day when both fishermen were feeling rather jaded. They had just returned with gold medals from Englands fly fishing campaigns in the world and home international series, and the desire for relaxation had become the overwhelming factor. The immediate choice lay between hard work and a pint of Caffreys in the nearby pub a decision that was not too difficult under the circumstances.

So it was that two Englishmen entered a Welsh pub, drank Irish beer and started to talk about Scottish fishing experiences. They reminisced about Success With Trout a best selling book on still-water fly fishing in the UK that they had written with Chris Ogborne five years earlier. Since then, they had acquired a considerable amount of additional knowledge on rivers as well as lakes. Perhaps it was time to update and republish it.

Their thoughts then started to take on a more global perspective. In conjunction with their close friends, they had experienced many different waters around the world. This included fishing and speaking with local experts and sharing flies and tactics. It was interesting how the same approach had worked so well and so consistently in all these different countries. On reflection, though, it was to be expected, for there was no logical reason why trout should vary their behaviour when the food chain was so similar.

They could identify several excellent books on fly fishing. Many specialized in either rivers or lakes, and most were restricted to the authors experiences in his own country. Some concentrated solely on techniques, while others focused in great detail on the complexities of entomology or the trouts behaviour. But they had not come across an authoritative book that co-ordinated global tactics from many experts with a simplified description of the underlying rationale. That was what todays trout fisherman needed and that was what todays trout fisherman was going to get!

Tim Tollett with a wild brown trout.

After the initial burst of enthusiasm, we began to have second thoughts about writing a single book covering such diverse regions as North America, Australasia and Europe. Different species of insects are often unique to a country, and within the USA, for example, there is a considerable variation between east and west.

However, we soon reminded ourselves that the brown and rainbow trout and the basic fly life are fundamentally the same. Variations in species between countries are usually only due to differences in size or shade. Upwinged and caddis flies dominate the stream fishermans thoughts from Colorado to the sacred chalk-streams of southern England, and aquatic midges are a staple diet for trout in still waters everywhere. Small fish and terrestrial insects abound, while most regions have their share of damsels, stoneflies, corixae and various crustaceans. Thus, general patterns like the Adams, Royal Wulff, Pheasant Tail and Hares Ear are proven on a global basis.

Of course, you can always obtain detailed tips from the locals, and sometimes from the most unexpected sources. Customs officials at Auckland were only too keen to offer us advice on where and how to fish in New Zealands North Island. Youll need a selection of cicadas at this time of year, and its worth having a few brown gold-headed damsels for the lakes. And have you got any nits?

Well, weve got some of these. Will they do?, we reply, showing them some tiny black dry flies.