Solihull FlyDressers Newsletter April 2002

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Barbara Lewis
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1 Solihull FlyDressers Newsletter April 2002 A necessary duty Attached to this newsletter are the Risk Assessments and Safety Sheets for the activities we carry out when fishing or fly tying. This might seem like bureaucracy gone mad but I can assure you that the Duty of Care Regulations cover Fishing Clubs and Individuals as well as Businesses. Remember that when the Postman trips up on your path because of an uneven paving stone and he sues you! Bowling Night A very enjoyable evening was recently had at the Snitterfield Bowling Club. The team event resulted in John Hunts team of All Stars crushing Pete Dents Motley Crew. In the Killer competitions the first was won by my wife Lynn, I will never live it down, and I managed to sneak the second after a nailbiting showdown with Peter Butler that had the audience spellbound. A tale from Great Alne (Maybe we should get the Safety Sheets revised) Ba ba little lambs have you any wool No sir no sir but we have a chewed up fly line that is now not very good I was fishing on the small lake at Great Alne and my very good mate Peter Dent was on the large lake. I decided to take him a flask of coffee, as he is a fantastic fisherman and I wanted a lesson in fishing a team of buzzers. I left all my tackle neatly together on the bank. On my return I found my new Cortland WF7 half way over the field chewed to bits by two lambs. The moral of this story is He caught a flock and stuff your mates!! I am now taking up shearing instead of fishing and orders for legs of lamb are now being taken. The sender wishes to remain anonymous. A note from the Events Secretary Changes to the diary Saturday 11 May - BLITHFIELD RESERVOIR A full day s fishing with boat and 24 per person. There are only 7 places left so please contact Steve Balding to book. Sunday 16 & Monday 17 June - BLAGDON FISHING Two full days fishing with boats and engines. Bed, breakfast, evening meal, BBQ, drinks etc. will cost up to 120 per head. A very good fishing and social event. There are 8 places left so please book now so we can confirm numbers for accommodation and fishing. A deposit of 45 will be required on confirming your place with Steve Balding. Saturday 29 June - LADIES EVENING BBQ To be held at Mick Kitchen s house in Claverdon. Our best social event of the year where we men have to take second place. All food and drink to be included in price (t.b.c.). Any voluntary help to organise this event is always appreciated, this can range from cooking, serving, or setting up to clearing away. Contact Mick Kitchen on or Steve on Saturday 13 July - SUMMER EVENING TAILGATE PICNIC You will have noticed this event has now been moved to this date as we felt it was previously too close to the BBQ. To be held at Great Alne Meadows to start from around 4.30/5.00pm. Bring your own picnic and fish until dark. Partners are most welcome so please bring your own chairs. It will be a very relaxed evening and of course the event is also free! Please book with Paul Vernon on or Steve Balding on the usual number.

2 It is with sad regret that Detlef has finally moved North of the Border. I am sure that you would all like to join me in wishing him all the best for the future. Even though he was a German, don t mention the war, he wasn t a bad chap and he will always be welcome when he is down this way. To mark his leaving the club presented him with a Marrowscoop - could be the most useless gift imaginable considering his fishing record. Here is a letter from Detlef and the first of what I hope will be regular contributions from our North of the Border Correspondent A personal thank you from your North of the Border Correspondent to my fly tying friends. This morning at 6.40 a.m. the postie called with a recorded delivery ( observe not only do Scottish posties start early they expect their customers to be up and about as well ) What a lovely surprise many thanks to all for your good wishes and the unexpected gift - quoting John to get interested in the entomology side of trout fishing I ve got a problem as an Alien I can hardly spell en-to-mo-lo-gy how do you expect me to know what it means!!! Never mind should I catch fish big enough to justify examining their stomachs I ll let you know the gory details. Once again many thanks from me and Margaret and Petri heil (roughly translated good fishing ) Detlef Fishing news from North of the Border extracts from the local fishing news BURNHOUSE LOCHAN Mr. A Cleland from Bonnybridge was very unlucky when he hooked into a 3lb rainbow on the dropper and a 20lb plus on the point at the same time. After a battle of 20 minutes, he managed to unhook the smaller fish and continued to play for the big one. Unfortunately this was all too much for the leader. The fish broke just at the point of being netted What a shame!!!! LAKE OF MENTEITH brilliant start to the season; heaviest trout was a nice 5lb 9oz rainbow... but the biggest fish overall was a massive 20lb pike taken on 8lb line NORTH THIRD Sunday and Wednesday were hard work due to bitterly cold weather - sounds like Great Alne!!!!!!!!! I should start burn (brook to you southerners) fishing within a week or so - will give you an update in a few weeks. (Some pictures have now arrived and are on the next page) Greetings to everybody Detlef

Went there yesterday - fantastic fishing; apart from

3 Herewith a couple of pictures for your newsletter subscribers. This is my old hunting ground which is virtually on my doorstep. Went there yesterday - fantastic fishing; apart from the fact that it is too early for the season and no fish were seen to be feeding or even moving. End of May early June will be great

4 ENTOMOLOGY EXPOSED PART II MAY, A TIME OF PLENTY As far as riverside insects are concerned, a time of plenty it certainly is! Most of the flies that were hatching in April are still around and by the end of May the air will be buzzing with insects on any warm day. Ironically the one fly that was hatching in April that isn t on the wing in May is the March Brown, but the wet imitation is still one of the best flies this month. Of the others, the Large Dark Olive is still struggling along, the hatches of Olive Upright are increasing and the Hawthorn is really coming into its own on breezy days. The rest are still there and you will need to use a bit of observation to decide which is on the water. In the Mayfly Section, there are a whole host of new arrivals this month. The Iron Blue Dun (Baëtis pumilus or niger) (Fig.4) and the Purple Dun (Paraleptophlebia cincta) are two early arrivals. The IBD is a small fly, very dark in appearance with dark grey wings and a dark brown olive body. As it is one of the Baëtis species it has two small oval shaped hindwings with a prominent spur and two tails. The Purple Dun is like a large IBD with a purple tinge. An Iron Blue pattern will suffice. The next important fly will be the Medium Olive (Baëtis vernus). This is smaller and lighter than the Large Dark Olive but otherwise similar. It can be one of the most common flies on the river although it doesn t seem to be easy to successfully imitate it. The Pale Watery (Baëtis bioculatus) is legendary but I will suggest that a similar fly, the Small Spurwing (Centroptilum luteolum) is much more common and deserves more attention. Both of these flies are small and have a pale grey olive body and pale grey wings. The difference is really in the shape of the hindwing with that of the small spurwing being very narrow with a very prominent spur, whilst the Pale Watery has the typical Baëtis hindwing. They both have two tails. One of the best patterns for both is the Last Hope. There are several species that are uncommon or unimportant which I will mention briefly. These are the Yellow Evening Dun (Ephemerella notata), the Yellow May Dun (Heptagenia sulphurea), the Dusky Yellowstreak (Heptagenia lateralis), the Turkey Brown (Paraleptophlebia submarginata) and the Ditch Dun (Habrophlebia fusca). Of these the only one which I believe will occur on PB is the Yellow May Dun. It is commonly believed that the trout do not like these flies and I can say that I have rarely seen one taken, even when there have been a lot on the water. This leaves one more of this order of flies, the Mayfly itself. I am told that there is a hatch of these at Pettiford Brook. No fly engenders more interest than this one, both by anglers and the trout. It is the fly that even the biggies will come to the surface to take. Fishing can either be easy or frustrating. It is a large fly, no a huge fly! Fig. 1 is the actual size. The size, three tails, upright hindwings and general coloration make it unmistakable. There are three species Ephemera danica, Ephemera vulgata and Ephemera lineata. Any that we meet at PB

5 will almost certainly be danica. Lineata will be absent. There are many patterns both dun (Fig. 2) and spinner (Fig. 3), the latter being used to imitate the flies lying spent on the water after laying their eggs. Sedge flies (Trichoptera)(Fig. 5), common on most rivers, make their appearance at this time and are especially important in the evening. This order of flies is characterised by its roof shaped wings. There are many species but they can be covered by two patterns, i.e. red and black sedge. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig.5 The patterns: Iron Blue Olive Quill(Medium Olive) Last Hope Hook: 16UE 16UE 16-18UE Tails: Blue dun cock fibres Medium olive cock Honey cock fibres Body: Stripped peacock-claret Olive stripped peacock Goose primary herl-buff Rib: None None None, use yellow tying silk Wings: Dark starling Dark starling None Hackle: Dark blue dun cock Medium olive cock Very short cream cock Mayfly Dun Deerstalker (Mayfly Spinner) Hook: 10LS 10LS fine wire Tails: Cock pheasant tail Cock pheasant tail Body: Yellow raffia White deer hair tied along body Rib: Oval gold tinsel Fine silver wire or none Wings: Mallard breast None Hackle: Olive/yellow & grizzle cock Black cock tied spent Little Red Sedge Black Sedge Hook: 12-16UE 14UE Tails: None None Body: Cock pheasant tail fibres Black seal s fur Rib: Gold tinsel Silver wire Wings: Red hen wing tied low over body Any black wing feather tied low over body Hackle: Red game cock palmered & at head Black cock palmered & at head In part III we will look at the immediate post mayfly period a difficult time on the rivers and streams. JWL Some people are under the impression that all that is required to make a good fisherman is the ability to tell lies easily and without blushing; but this is a mistake. Mere bald fabrication is useless; the veriest tyro can manage that. It is the circumstantial detail, the embellishing touches of probability, the general air of scrupulous - almost of pedantic - veracity, that the experienced angler is seen. Jerome K. Jerome

The charge is 20 per head for the season to cover rent and minor expenses. Students pay 10, under-18s go free.

The charge is 20 per head for the season to cover rent and minor expenses. Students pay 10, under-18s go free. The Galway Fly Tying Guild has been meeting and tying flies in Galway since the 1970s. It consists of a group of people who meet once a week during the closed trout season to tie flies. The meetings are