Robbies Brief Fishing Reports

Reports Index

May 2004

What a Name Dropper ! | The Ellem Club at Sweethope | Busy Busy Busy

What a Name Dropper !

So a bit of hobnobbing with the Big Boys.

A few weeks ago I was asked to guide the English River Team on a weekend on the River Tummel at Pitlochry.

The Rivers International is being

held there in mid June and with the exception of the Captain Dave Mee none of them had fished there before.

Even Dave had not been their for 15 years!

So I was asked d to go up and guide them round. OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH...

Mind you not tell them how to fish. Oh No! that they can do for themselves.

No I was just to show them around point out the accesses etc.

Give them a few pointers to flies and possible methods and generally join in.

More to be added> Customer on the horizon!

Good sale, a GRX Rod and a Flyline. I like selling these GRX Rods they are fine rods and great value.

Any way the England team consists of Dave Mee, John Tyzack, Stuart Minnikin, Gary Pearson, Howard Croston and Tony Curtis. A fine body of men!

They soon seemed to get the hang of the Tummel with all of them into Double figures of fish by the second day which with the Scots as firm favourites should provide for a good final.

Before anyone gets on their high horse the nfishing is with Barbless Hooks and is strictly Catch and Release.

Anyway chaps thank you very much for inviting me and thanks for a great weekend.

The Ellem Club at Sweethope

The Ellem Club were at Sweethope last week and had a slightly dissapointing day.

I was at Rutland at the time so couldn't fish.

Th Ellem Club as you may know is the Oldest Fishing Club in the World.

I am very proud to be a member and was sorry to miss the day.

However judging by the result I may have been in the right place.

Now the Ellem Club numbers among its members a significant amount of...... shall we say more senior flyfishers.

However they do have a great amount of experience and I am sure they all enjoyed their day out.

The basic facts were;

32 Anglers

21 fish

18 Blanks

1st    Davie Dougal 3 Fish

2nd   Jim Youngman 3 Fish

Hopefully I will be able to fish with them at Portmore later in the year.

Busy Busy Busy

Well where has the time gone.

Almost a month since I posted a report.

That's what happens when you are fishing three days a week and working the other four.

Mind you when I say fishing I really mean Tackle Testing.

Which is work after all. Ahem!

So I have been working seven days a week……………

Well it's a tough job but……………………………….

Where about's then?

Well I spent quite a few days on the Tweed practicing for my Eliminator.

A Twenty Inch Brown Trout was the highlight of that.

As for the comp I came 6th out of 23 which would be fine except that only 5 go through!

1st   Davie Parker 6 Fish

2nd  Howard Croston 5 Fish

3rd   Paul Davidson 4 Fish

4th   Alan Jenkins 4 Fish

5th   Jonathan Barnes 4 Fish

The above list contains four England Internationals including a World Team member and a Former English National Rivers Champion. I am still gutted but it's only a year till the next one. AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH !!!!!!!!

Any way I shared a boat on Sweethope Lough with my good friend Mark Howard a couple of weeks ago.

Mark was in the England Stillwater team two seasons ago and we both know the water like the back of our hands.

The weather was really good for mid April but we both struggled to really latch on to the fish.

Anyway to cut as long story short Mark had two Browns and 4 Rainbows and I had six Rainbows.

Such a pity that they have cut all those trees down.

Not only has it lost all that shelter but it has also spoiled the look of the place.

It's typical clear felling so at the moment it looks like an atom bomb has hit the place.

I don't know the economics of timber but I am sure a few lost bookings to the wind will soon reduce the amount of profit they made.

Still it's only another forty years till they grow back!

Next then, it was a day on the Tummel at Pitlochry,

One nice grayling about 18“on the Bugs and Four smallish Brownies.

Two on the Dry and two on the Duo.

Lovely weather. Fantastic Scenery, OK Fishing (Probably just Me), Sparse Fly life.

Then it was a mad dash for two Days on Grafham and one on Rutland .

It's a Hard Life……………………………

The first day on Grafham was the England Squad Day.

It made me ever so proud when I picked up my shirts with the England Badge and My Name

on them.

Mind you nobody had told the fish I was in the England team!

I only had two and one of them was a long range release.

Back down to Earth with a bump then………

Next day was the Bob Church Classic and I was lucky enough to be drawn with Dave Mee who is the England Rivers Team Captain and current English National Rivers Champion.

We had a great day out and I managed to get five fish for 29th Place .

Mind you Iain Barr had only one fish more than me for 8th place.

It was won by a Scotsman Peter Batchelor.

In his speech he said,

“……..I am only five fit six tall but tonight I am six fit five”

Lovely.

Rutland the next day and I fished with Scotty.

Anywhere along the Normanton shore they said.

Berrybutts to Fantasy they said.

Well we did get a few fish each there but it was only when we got to Old Hall that we found a shed load.

In fact after a while I had to take Scotty off them. He was catching three fish to my two and at a prodigious rate of Knots. A Stockiefest he called it.    Oh Dear.

So there we are an extremely brief summary of a months fishing.

Oh yes I forgot.

A very pleasant day on the Whiteadder with a dozen fish on nymphs and dries.

Where the hell did April go and why is May going even faster?

Margaret & Robbie Bell
Game Fair
12 Marygate
Berwick upon Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1BN

Telephone: 01289 305119

E.Mail: robbie@gamefair-flyfishing.net