in the search of cart grayling

well I'm off in the search of these elusive grayling that are said to be in the cart and in good numbers if you can find them ,also I've been hearing their are a few in the 2lb weight so that would be nice ,god a 4 inch grayling would be nice ,in fact i would be grateful to find the roach or the good old perch in abundance as it would give me something to fish for over the close season which seems to be never ever ending ,but as they say time goes on and ill be their on the first day of the new trout season with rod in hand and a great big smile on my face, even though i never catch anything on open day ,but that don't matter when your on the river you love the rod in hand and you manage that first good cast of line of a new season ,i cant wait I'm most definitely going to be on a quest for the seatrout this new season as their are some big boys coming up the kelvin and i want to get one at night although I'm not looking forward to meeting all the river kelvin inhabitants ,like the great water rat which I've seen as big as a small cat well it was probably actually a mink as their are quite a few around new and they are lovely animals and really good to watch and also very skilled hunters ,so I'm off up the cart float rod in hand and a tub of maggots to go and ill let you all know how i get on OK.

the wife

here is my most wonderful wife to whom i owe my return to the sport i love ,as she is the one who has encouraged me back into fly fishing a few years ago ,so here is my thanks to my beautiful ,caring ,loving wife ,i love you more than life itself and am eternaly greatful for every day we spend together and may their be many more ,

your most loving hubbie Derek....

fly tying club hillpark secondry

I have recently joined a fly tying club which i have wanted to do for a long time as I've heard that their is a great amount of knowledge to be had from people who have been tying for a number of years and i must say i am enjoying it to the full and the members all seem to be very nice people who are passionate in their tying as i am and are always willing to give advice and offer help so were is this great club ,well it is held in Hillpark secondary school every Friday from 7pm till 9.30 pm and costs a very reasonable 2 quid which is nothing is it and i am sure they would love more members along,so if you are interested just contact me via this site and i will pass anything you want to know onto you through an e-mail and i will see you their,
I feel i am coming on in leaps and bounds in my tying although i am in need of some new materials so as i can attempt more patterns which right now my main interest is winged wets and spider patterns with the latter being one that i seem to tie to a passable standard in fact I've even had people trying to but these from me but until i am sure i can manage a good line of flys in good supply then i wont be putting my tying name to the test until I'm totally sure and have tried and tested them out which is going to be my main objective for the season coming as i intend to fill a few boxes with different type patterns for trying out on my local as you all should know to be the kelvin, so until then i will be trying new patterns and new methods and if i manage to get them right i will be showing them off no worries on here and other places around the net and in fact with the net the great thing is you get to show them off around the world ,fantastic ain't it folk's well i just cant wait...

The season at an end

well now that the season is at an end on the kelvin its time to get the thinking cap on and make sure i have my fix for the colder months as I've just got to be fishing, i suppose you guy's ,girl's feel the same so were do we go in and around the Glasgow area, well first of all their is not much to shout about ,but their is places we can go and find some good sport on the right day and in the right place ,where i hear you say ,well of course first of all their is the canal which will be doing OK for perch and pike as they fatten up for winter on fry so i am going to have a good go at it over the next couple of months to see what happens ,as I'm sure i can pull a few out of the canal if i put in the time and effort, and now I'm thinking were else can i go in and around the city as i do like to stay close to home but will venture out of the boundary if need be and some of my best days have been had going on a good old fishing adventure,and one place I've been mentioning over the past few months has been the Gryffe as i hear their is a few good spots for Grayling which i think is fantastic and cant wait to give it a try during the colder months, but need to do my homework to find out were to fish and what flies work best in what conditions and also what baits i can use and when is best so that should keep me busy for a while.
And their is also one other place i must visit over the winter and that is Barrhead dams which I'm a little afraid to go to in case i find it in an even worse condition than i did not so long ago after they empty'd one of the large dams and loads of great fish were lost ,but I'm going to give it a visit anyway to see whats been happening.
As for fisheries I've not heard to many good things about the ones i know of accept Howood and to get their i need transport and then their is Carbeth which I've been hearing allot of bad things about like it being like a hole in the ground over fished and plenty of the local element to drink with and have a fight with too if you want ,but this could all just be hear say who knows ,but one thing is for sure I'm not sitting around all this winter waiting on the trout season to start, i just cant be doing that again ,theirs no excuse is their accept that horrible cold wind and rain as well as the odd blanket of freezing snow ,ahhh the glory of winter its what separates the boys from the men and ill tell you at 36 and an avid fisherman when it comes to the coldest days I'm certainly now one of the boys as i like my warmth but i will do my best to get out asap and feed back with what i find in and around Glasgow, so until then i will try to keep something coming out each week like maybe some step by step tying of some of my favourite flies for you all to see and add some pics of the places i visit to give you an idea of what the places are like I'm visiting around about Glasgow...

older fishermen know their stuff

deleted.

coming soon

in search of Grayling

Well guys i hate to say it but those winter nights are drawing near and their is less and less time in the day for us to get our fix ,i can only hope that my expedition into Grayling fishing takes off and i find a new soul partner for the winter months as last year was so slow waiting for march to come around and OK i know i could go and try my hand at puddle bashing but I've tried it and its just not got the same excitement and it doesn't fill me with a wanting need to do it every day like being on the rivers wading in the running water amongst the wild life finding new places to fish every time you get out ,so this winter its Grayling on the Gryffe and the Clyde and this should be a whole new learning loop for me as I've never pursued Grayling before as I've never really had the bug bad enough but by god now its bad real bad and its getting worse every year, but i would rather fish my days away than be doing things i was years ago ,anyway enough about that as that's the past and i have now got the best sport in the world to keep my happy.i will be checking out prices and venues over the next couple of weeks and also I'm going to have to find what bus goes were as I've no transport so that's a big problem but one I'm willing to deal with in my quest for my first Grayling,so until I've been out again its by for now and keep fishing even if your fingers start to go numb and the best of luck to all you over the winter months....

October rain

well more good rain again last night which should have brought the river back to a good level ,so i think ill give the old spinning a go again today when high tide is due in which i think is around 3-4 o'clock so as to give myself the best chance of a fish or two even which would just end my season on a high and would keep the spark lit until the new season of trout and salmon on march 15 next year ,ahh those winter nights ,well loads hate them and i do to at times but what i do like is the time it gives me trying out new patterns and perfecting older ones I've already learned to tie ,so it not all doom and gloom is it ,well not for me anyway and if you are a trout man then i would advise getting yourself a vice just a cheap one to start off with to see if you find an interest in it and when like me your hooked then go onto buying a more expensive type vice which will last you years ,so don't sit around all winter wondering what to do get your self tying its a great pass time and if you have kids they will love it too as mine do..more later after fishing

milngavie fly tying club.
http://www.gameanglingscotland.co.uk...s-Aut-2008.pdf

A day on the fly for salmon

i am going to spend the day trying out using my pike rod which holds a nine weight line and is 9-6in in size for and salmon left in the lower reaches of the kelvin up to as far as the Great Western road bridge and just maybe a little further up to check one or two pools out but I'm sure the water will be starting to get lower again as their has been no real rain for a few days and although i would prefer the water a little higher i am also quite excited about trying new conditions etc!! as i may just find parts of the river that fish well in lower water conditions and even though I've not had a salmon in three weeks I'm pretty sure I've as good a chance as any other time I've been out as their will be fish holding up in certain area's and that can make for good fishing if you can get the cast right, so where will i start ,of course it will be at the extreme reaches of the lower river right down at the long wall that stretches for a few hundred yards behind Yorkhill hospital and does hold allot of fish at times when their is low water so that's a must try ,oh god telling my secrets I'm going to be regretting this next season as i know a few of my tactics have paid off for a few people this year and I'm happy for them .and so I'm off to the river its 13.42 and times running out as you know its getting dark nearly 10 minutes early each couple of days so I'm going to get in as much fishing as i can before the season end creeps up ,will let you people know how i got on tonight OK ,and wish me well .............

#FUDK as you see i did not enter any further notes last night as it turned out to be another fruitless day on the river for me but that fishing ain't it and today i may even just give the browns a go as I've been neglecting them of late with all those big fish in the river i like to call it silver blindness as i do this each year and miss out on some great trout fishing no doubt ,i just cant make up my mind what rod to take as i can take my 9 half ft scierra rod which hold up to a 7 weight which i can also use for grilse if i spot any or my 8ft diawa which is a soft action and very nice with it but more a dry fly rod and i like to get down a little from time to time in the deeper pools with nymphs and wets so its another day of dilemma so I'm just taking my scierra as it covers more options but i just remembered it has a make shift ring job done on one of the lower rings and i need to strip it tonight and do it right now i have epoxy resin at hand what i really need is a new 6-7 weight reel and with spare spools about 3 would be nice as i have a floating a inter and a sinking for a reel that size but i must say the floater and inter are in need of re-placement soon for next season probably so that's more money ,but i never seem to mind spending money on new gear ,and if only the bills could be dropped then i would get some more new things he-he-he so onto the river and I'm going to wish myself good luck ,oh and anyone still reading this thing please let me know as sometimes without comments i feel I'm being silly just writing for myself although it is a great year diary to look back on....

milngavie fly dressing club

here is a link to the well known milngavie fly dressing club which i will be going to this year as I've heard great things of it and I'm always wanting to learn new methods and tips ,it should be great for a chat and passing on fishing tips and stories of course folks..

http://www.gameanglingscotland.co.uk...s-Aut-2008.pdf

feeling all alone

boo hooo I'm not getting any comments anymore and now I'm feeling sorry for myself ,naaa just kidding ,but i would like a few comments always helps to keep up the writing and in that what i mean is ,if i had comments everyday then i would add a new post as much as possible as really you can use this for 2 reasons i think ,the first being to keep yourself a good diary of your fishing and also you can have it for the reason of having people follow your fishing adventures and have them leave comments about what you have been doing etc! ,and the latter is the one i was hoping would turn out to be the way this blog went ,but if not then ill be happy with the other and have myself a great comprehensive diary of my years fishing with OK a good few days missed out here and their. but you guys should give a blog a go yourself and see what you come up with........

dissapointment at the end of august

well it is now September and the winter draws near ,it will soon be golds and yellows along the river bank and their will be those days when everything looks just right and for some those days will happen and will bring with it some of the best days fishing their is to be had .
I love every season that comes around and winter holds its own as far as I'm concerned although the trout season finishes it also gives me a new incentive to fish for species that i would not fish for otherwise ,so it is not all doom and gloom and anyway their is still a month left for most of us and for some the season never ends if you fish for rainbows during the winter which can be really good stuff as most of it is lure fishing and the takes are very savage ,so to say that winter is the saddest time for a trout fisherman is sad in itself and any angler who cant get off his backside and find himself somewhere or something to fish for is just afraid of the cold and for me isn't a die hard fisherman ,so all you guys i will see out in the winter months i give you my hand and wish you all the best on your adventures to catch fish at these difficult times.
winter is another reason i took up fly tying as i used to sit around most of the winter twiddling my thumbs and wondering how i could shift time and space to around spring time when the trout fisherman sour face cracks its first smile and those first rays of sun warm our backs ,but i could never work it out so it was what will i do and a great man called Davie Mc phail made me sit up and realise just what an art fly tying was and he made it look so easy ,which i soon learned had took him years to master and master it he certainly has ,you can find David Mc phail on Utube under his name .
Ive been quite disappointed with the fishing towards the end of last month as i thought i may have had a few more fish than have had ,although i can not complain with having 5 salmon to my name with 4 being to the flying c and 1 and my first to the fly and the fly i was using was a cascade ,yellow and orange and it was caught at the back of the art gallery's at the waterfall and was around 6lb and did put up a fight but i must say i was surprised at how easy it came to the bank.
So until I've been fishing again i am all out of words ,well in fact I'm not I'm just tired and need a Kipp so its goodnight fellow anglers and who ever else should cross paths with my perfect pastime.

Something a little diffrent

The Forth and Clyde Canal .
Well to be honest I've never really given it much of a chance as far as fishing goes ,just the odd hour or so spinning and one or two bait fishing with the worm for perch which are in fact one of my favourite fish as they always bring with them many great memories of being a youngster and fishing Barrhead dams were their where some great perch to be had on the worm and on the best of all baits i think for them minnows as you seem to weed out the big one's from the smaller fish and that can make all the difference when perch fishing .
The real reason i was back on the tow path of the canal was I've got a new pike fly outfit and i managed to get it all for just over 110 quid which was not bad considering ,OK the rod is not the bling bling some people have with it being a Ron Thomson ,but it is a specialised pike rod meant for the job at hand being a 9 weight to 10 weight which will give it enough back bone to subdue anything unexpected along the canal banks as most pike seem to be very small and to me that only says one thing ,bigger pike must be getting killed by inexperienced fishermen or other means not thought of by myself ,also the real i got in my hand picked outfit is an airframe 8/9 and has just the drag needed for those big runs that pike can make when in the mood ,as for line well i nearly chocked at the price as I've always been a shakey buyer and this time i knew i had to think of the fish before my pocket as I've heard i true pike line is a must if you mean to subdue these fish quick in order to getting them back in the water and released to fight another day , which I'm hoping will be done by all who fish for pike that visit my site as in waters were pike are they are a big part of the Eco system and food chain and if killed by people who know nothing better than they kill other fish then we will have a bigger problem than you would if you were allowing especially the larger caught fish to return to keep their counter parts smaller pike numbers down as this is something i don't think people realise is that pike are very cannibalistic and it is this that keeps numbers of pike down in waters were pike flourish ,so instead of killing those lovely creatures that grace our canals return them to fight another day I'm sure in time you will see the results of which i am speaking ,anyway after being side tracked their by matters more important than the price of my new Rio fly line which is a nine weight and cost 30 quid which I've never paid out for a fly line before ,but as i said and have now realised as I'm getting older yes the fishing and the catching is still a great buzz but its the fish i more than anything else often find myself thinking of and this can only surely be a good thing ,so ill give myself a pat on the back for splashing out that extra 15 quid in aid of the pikes return to the water alive and well.
I am going to spend the next few weeks of Autumn trying the canal at different times on different locations ,i have however been given some really good tips from a fellow angler of the kelvin and canal Alistair who runs another website dedicated the the river kelvin called urban fly fisher.com I'm sure is the name and i take this guys advice on board as it has never ever let me down ,so a big thanks to you my kind sir, and may the luck of the devil follow you in all your fishing adventures,thanks.
And so it was last Saturday just after picking my sons up i decided to have a go with the new fly rod and straight away i found i was going to find this a little difficult ,casting those big flys as they hinge when in the air and become extremely dangerous attack weapons ,so i decided that i would start of with one of my smaller pike /sea flies and i was off and casting this fly quite well and easily getting across to the far bank were i was sure their must be pike and after a while of cast after cast i decided to put on the bigger fly again ,but this time i had cracked the way in which to cast these bigger flys and so on i fished for another hour or so trying different depth and retrievals to see if i could induce a pike into taking my fly but the only thing with pike fly fishing is your arm does get sore after a while so i decided enough was enough and by the look on the boys faces they thought the same ,so off we went home .
I did however enjoy my day out and it gave me some insight into this type of fishing ,for one it was not going to be easy and i was going to have to give the hours needed to get the reward i am so desperate to get from pike fly fishing so ill just need to plod on try harder and wait just wait until i get that first take on a pike fly ,i cant wait I'm off fishing now wish me luck and if i get a pike ill try to get a picture for the blog and if not some pics of the canal at least OK so see you all soon bye and keep fishing..

food for thought

i have come to a dilemma as my main tool that i have been using this year with all this high water to catch salmon has been the fantastic flying c and fantastic it is as a fish catcher but this is my dilemma their has been 2 fish and no returns and its not for the lack of commitment in returning fish although my first fish of the season i always keep for the mother inlaw ,but even if i had wanted to return that fish i could not have done it as it had took the lure deep and was bleeding profusely and today with another fish of around 6lb which i was looking to return and yet again it had been badly hurt by the treble hooks on the flying c which was very sad to see, so I'm wondering is this quite common with this type of lure as the damage that was done today was to the gill plates which if damaged in any major way their is no chance of survival i don't think as this is what I've always been told so reluctantly i had to dispose of another salmon with only one person smiling out of the sad situation and that's the mother inlaw oh well at least it is not going to waste on the riverbank ,but i must admit it is sad to see such a lovely fish dieing in such an awful way I'm thinking of putting on only a single hook on my flying c from now on and seeing how that works out as i know of others who have done that and it has worked for them so i think i owe it to the fish to at least give it a go as i don't think i can justify the use of trebles on them any longer ,give me your thoughts please.......

Pondering if i should go or not

with the river level being very high I'm sitting here pondering if i should take the chance and go try my luck with the tool being my spinning gear and a flying c hmmmm!!! ,is it to high or will their be fresh fish on the take like the other week when the river was high i managg-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ed to bank myself a nice grilse on the flying c which was black with a red head and gold blade ,the real dilemma is that i don't have available transport at hand were i can just step down stairs and climb into the front seat turn the key and foot to the floor or i would already be on my way their now, no its a sad journey in get yer self seen fishing gear that the whole world want to have a good giggle at not that i really mind as I'm going fishing and when I'm going nothing really matters ,but when I've got to get one bus then the other that's when it get to this point of should i or should i not and again hmmmm!!! ,so i go over what i need to take to be able to cover a session using spinning gear and yes i could probably keep it very light with only 5-6 flying c and my rod and reel with my waders and then of course i should take some worms just in case and then it takes over ,I'm talking of the madness that is compulsive tackle worry that you wont have the said stuff to enjoy your outing so i then add worm and hooks and weights and that means two boxes of tackle to be added to my bag and now I'm packed and I've not even made up my mind if I'm going ,of course i am ain't i,am i and then one last look at water levels on the sepa site just in case it has changed ,so i have checked the sepa site i know the river is high and probably unfishable and now i have no more excuses i have to make a decision will i go or not ,,,and then my final decision,,"i might " tell you later if i went or not...well it is now 9.30 pm and guess what i didn't go as i thought it through again and realised that if the rain stays off tonight then tomorrow would be a good day for the flying c and the worm so ill keep the bag loaded and set off as early as permitted too by the misses ,got to be keeping on her side as I'm getting a nice wee 100 quid bonus for gear and don't want to rock the boat as I've got my eye on one or two things id like and what i buy ill let you in on a.s.a.p OK bye for now lads

a confession to make

well it was Sunday yesterday and i was fishing the usual haunt the kelvin and with my 9ft sierra fly rod i set out onto the water my set up was to the limit and i used a size 10 woolly bugger hoping to get one of those big trout that seem to come on the feed just after a period of heavy water as I've had a few at these times in the past ,anyway as i said i was wading into a run just behind the transport museum and had be have some fun enjoying casting my fly line into the now clearing waters of the kelvin and had only had about 4-5 casts when ,well you know don't you pull not a bang and i know what a slow but heavy sharp pull means and i was right ,i had just hooked my first salmon on the fly and off it went across to the far bank when it seemed as if it was quite willing to commit suicide rather than give itself into me as it propelled its self out the water and nearly onto the embankment on the far side what a sight it was and then it made a screaming run up into faster water were it try,d to hold itself low and deep which i knew i had to stop as i could not rest this fish i was trying to get it in so i could release the fish but the fight on the small 9ft rod seemed to begetting the better of me never mind the salmon or it may just have been a lack of expertise in the playing and landing of larger fish on fly fishing gear as i wanted to touch the fish as it meant i had caught it but i was worried all along i would end up having to kill an exhausted fish which sadly turned out to be the case as when i managed to bank the fish with another guy and his son around the fight had already took over ten minutes and on gathering the salmon to remove the hook i noticed the hook was stuck fast into the back end of its tongue which was now detached from the bottom of the jaw i then did what i thought was best and chapped the said fish on the head ,the fish weighed around 6lb and made my day and showed a great account of himself and why we all love to catch these wonderful fish as they are fantastic..

At last ive got one

well today i managed to get myself a nice grilse of around6lb which made a good account of himself in the fast water in which he used every little bit to aid his chances at a release ,but after about 7 minutes he was ready and was netted by another angler who was also fishing the same stretch and who had just landed another grilse of around 3lb ,both fish were bars of silver and when first looked at didn't seem to have any lice but on closer examination at home i noticed they were their .the water was running relatively clear and i started off with the fly i was fishing a cascade size 8 double on an intermediate line with a 10 ft leader which i fished through the run for around half an hour when David a new friend on the river showed up with both fly and spinning rod in hand and proceeded to set up his 10 ft fly rod and after watching someone else get a fish on a flying c i said " i wished i had brought my spinning gear as well to which he replied you can use mine and no longer had i set up and on my 3rd cast was into said fish ,and if looks could kill id be dead as a door nail "kidding2 David being the person he seems to be was very happy for me and shook my hand and congratulated me on my first of the season which was caught on a flying c black with red head and gold spinner of which I'm going to be buying tomorrow for when the water is like it was today ,so all that is left to be said is thank you David for the kind loan of your fine fishing tackle and lure it made my day and one day ill make it up to you ,and now I'm sure that the boggie is broke ill be getting some more fish in soon ,but my intention is to release as many salmon as i can after today as I'm really getting in touch with my target and am now seeing them for what they are and that is beautiful living creatures what need every help they can get to survive,until next time tight lines and get on the river you wont catch if you ain't their

3rd Anniversary today

well today is mine and the dear wifes 3rd anniversary and im having family over so it is striktly no fishing today folks and to tell you the truth im not missing it today as today is for my wife i owe her that as she is the one who incuraged me back into the fishing and for that i owe her it big ,so this is just a wee message infront of the whole world

"I LOVE YOU ANGELA HONEY"
"I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT BECOMES OF THIS WORLD , YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING THE ONE I NEED DAY AND NIGHT MY LIFE GIVING SOURCE ,MY SWEETHEART , MY WIFE FOREVER MY LOVE ,YOUR HUBBIE DEREK".

just a wee word of advice to all you fisherman out their that are lucky enough to have a wife left ,dont neglect always give time and remember who is their when you get home.

decorating and fishing dont mix

decorating the house at the moment so just when their is a chance of catching myself a nice fresh salmon on the kelvin the wife stands in and demands the wallpapering is done this morning so what do i do ,i tuck my tail bettween my legs and do it dont i or it will be daggers for the rest of the day ,well really its to be done for its our anniversary tommorow and family and freinds are coming so im wearing the ball and chain today ,well at least till ive finished the wall thats left to be done, so all you guys out their that are going to the river this fine day ,have a wee thought for me with pasting brush in hand sweating like mad in the heat of the day hanging wallpaper ,hopefully ill get it finished by this afternoon so i can get a couple of hours fishing done.
if you all want my address you could come along and demand my release or else.....please help me im begging you ,help me please.

see you all soon...........

well managed a couple of hours on the river ,water still coloured and high ,fished the worm to no avail ,but im sure by wedensday the river will be in great shape if the rain stays off ,oh well until then as they say ..

waiting for tourists

Hello ,well i was at the river today just after the torrential downpour which was like something from a Taiwan news report on the monsoon with small streams appearing in the street and people running for cover in every direction luckily i was on the bus for the worst of it which i was very glad of ,so after getting of the bus at kelvinhall i proceeded to walk down to the river along past the transport museum were i noticed a nice fish in the shallows which with a flick of its tail was gone under a tree on the far bank ,thinking the river will be on the rise very soon i made my Way to the falls at the old mill at yorkhill were i met a couple of kids fishing and a guy who was fishing under the bridge with the worm ,i ask if he had seen any sign of the grilse but their had been no sign of them so i made quick stuff of getting my gear set up and was soon fishing and almost straight away i had what looked more like a line bite with that sharp pull and release which i had a lot of last season. I stayed for another hour but soon noticed the river was rising fast and was becoming dangerous so i made my way from the falls and spent some time watching the falls for any sign of fish moving in with the rising water which i only seen one crashing across a section of water which was around 2 ft deep ,so I'm thinking that it might be worth a try tomorrow to see if any fish came into the river during the night time tide which is meant to be a high tide ,so i think i will take my camera and try to get some good pics of any fish i manage to see jumping the falls, so until then take care folk and good luck with the fishing..

my first go at a step by step

Paraloop Emerger

by D.Graham.





First wind thread down half way around bend of hook and then return to
around the half way mark in open turns .



next catch in some fine copper wire on top of the hook shank.



wind thread over wire to half way around bend of hook catching in copper wire.



now apply dubbing around thread with the pinch and twist method.



take the dubbing about two thirds the way up the hook in even turns trying
to keep the body slim.





now wind copper wire in open turns over the dubbing to aid strength and durability
whilst catching in some 2 or 4lb mono which i don't find any need to be in a loop.




now take a relative sized cock hackle and tie in at base of mono.



add pinch of dubbing and create a thorax to match fly.



wind hackle around mono which for ease should be held in a gallows tool which will make this process easier to master.



now take fiber and stroke towards the bend of the hook and pull mono forward
and tie down and finish with a whip finish and trim any stray hackle fibers
that point downward or effect the eye of the hook.


well that's my fist step by step which I'm hoping i will be showing much more of when i have a better set up for lighting picture ect! until then bye for now.

More bad news folks

just a short wee note that is going to be quite disturbing for the people who fish the upper Clyde as its now going to be the holder of Europe's biggest wind farm ,meaning large scale construction and damage to surrounding environment which is bad news for the area, will need to read up on it properly before i can give anymore details folks so here's hoping I'm totally wrong but i don't think so....

Tesco

I would like to invite people to my new forum on the river kelvin which i hope with the amount of members with a yearly permit we can get a forum up and running just for our use and only on issues about the kelvin so here is the link.

http://rivertroutfishing.myfreeforum.org/


i have recently heard of a new large Tesco being built at the very lower reaches of the river kelvin which will no doubt have an effect on the annual salmon run with all the heavy machinery ,drilling and not to forget the sport of easily accessible tipping into the river by workers etc! this is a really worrying finding as the river as my site is called is on the return and anything that seems to threaten that is going to start alarm bells in my head so i will be like some others keeping a close eye on that part of the river when building starts for any signs of deterioration in that habitat as i know that said salmon and not to forget Seatrout use these lower stretches to hold up awaiting the rise in water levels to aid their accent of the river which at times can be for quite some time ,i may be wrong but i am not taking the chance and as i said i will be keeping a close eye on it ,and so on to the river again and whats happening, their seems to be a good run of small to medium sized Seatrout running at the moment with regular fish of around the pound mark being caught regularly and some of 3lb plus also in unmentioned areas and all these fish or well at least most of them are being caught on worm ledgered with a running ball weight which does work well on most parts of the river ,but if you ask me whats the best way to catch these Seatrout and their is really only one firm answer and that's with a fly rod as their is nothing quite like the take on a fly and if you have the nerve to do a bit of night fishing then you might just get a real trophy as Ive seen fish easily into double figures jumping after dark in some of the deeper pools the kelvin has, and these fish if caught will be a fish you will always remember and a true prize for the kelvin .Good flies for Seatrout on the kelvin are bloody butchers sizes 12 up to an 8 at night time and then their is other flies like the squirrel and blue which is just deadly in sizes 12 / 10 /8 mostly i fish these at the back end of a run and right through the run on a slow retrieve through the slacker water at the edges of the run were fish tend to lie and their are a few others that are good patterns to use like the Zulu which I've tried in different variation and had good results and their is also the wake flies of which i like deer hair flies that skate or fish just in the surface film and if fished with short and long sharp pulls which cause disturbance can often produce big takes and these fly can often be used at night to help locate fish as often the fish will miss these flies but leave their were abouts known to the angler in which time can be taken to chose another fly and set ones self for the fight already knowing the fish is in a taking mood so good luck folks and remember the fisherman that puts in the time and effort are usually the one who are rewarded with the special catches.

working with the team

well the last couple of times I've been at the Ive i have been trying out new flys I've tied and also trying my hand at using teams of 3 with a bead head on the point and a nymph or grub on middle dropper and a spider pattern on the top dropper which has had its moments and has brought 7 trout to the net over the past few visits although the biggest was around a pound which was a really lovely fish which was a lovely golden colour with large black and red spots a typical river kelvin trout .
their is also a steady growth in the numbers of people on the banks of the river with the up and coming salmon runs which from what I've been hearing I'm hopeful will be a big one with larger fish than last year as one or two in the 30lb mark have already been seen clearing the lower falls but at the moment their is plenty of good sized sea trout to be had and for me they are the best of the two so I'm going to try to get myself on the river more over the next few weeks to see if i can beat my last years record of 12 salmon to the net and also around 14 sea trout with the biggest salmon being around12lb and the biggest sea trout being around 3lb so as you can see the kelvin is a real up and coming river which deserves the help it needs to return to its former glory as both a great salmon and sea trout river, so all anglers that fish the kelvin it is up to us to keep the river as good as we can and to report any suspicious happenings on the river as their has been signs of nets found on the river last year and i am not going to point the finger here but most of us will know who is doing this.
i will probably be back on the river on Wednesday at around mid afternoon and if anyone would like to meet up for a good search of the river with the fly then i would be glad to meet them at the falls at the back of Yorkhill at around 3 o'clock .

i was at the kelvin today with my eldest son who is nearly 10 and the river was in a good condition after all the heavy rain the water seems to have cleared and is now in a prime fishing condition with plenty of small seatrout making their way up the river with most of them being around the pound mark and some a bit bigger which gives me a good level of interest which i will take back with me later in the week when i will stay on the river until dark to see if i can manage to get my hands on a good sized seatrout as this is one of my aims this year as is my aim in getting a salmon of over the 15 pound mark which would be a great achievement for anyone on the kelvin so i look forward to the first sign of a good sized salmon run as ill be checking the river frequently over the next few weeks for those first signs of tourists on the march upstream and then it will be long days with rod in hand chasing what must be one of the best fights you will ever experience in fresh water that's for sure .

the fly fishing i will also need to get my act together with too as I've spent allot of money on this type of fishing and if I'm really honest I've not been doing as much fishing as i intended to be doing this year ,but I'm sure this will be sorted out in the next few weeks with the seatrout and salmon in the river as well as good brown trout fishing all at once its one of the highlights for most of the fisherman on the river kelvin and i look forward to meeting the same old faces and hopefully some new ones to as i love to hear of new methods and different opinions about how to fish the river whether it be with bait or fly i am always looking to pick up any new tips to add to my little book ,i am also intending to get back into my photography as i want to have an indepth photographic diary on pools and riffels that the river has to offer so when the river is up i know what lies under the surface as ive found that really helpfull in the past for fishing nyphs and wet flys so until next time bye for now i i hope that i can offer something abit more exciting for you to read as right now im just trying to keep the words coming as you can probably see .....

Rain Rain Rain

well its been raining for quite some time now and the river is high and as I've said I've not been down at the river for q while and would love to know if their is any development on the salmon front ,has anyone seen any running and if so what sort of size are the fish ,i am waiting for the rain to cease and the river to start dropping to a fishing level so as i can wet a line which will probably start with me getting my worming rod out and giving the lower reaches a try for some fresh run salmon and sea trout which I'm pretty sure that with all this rain their will be some in the river .this year I'm hoping to get my hands on a nice sized sea trout as I've yet to get a sea trout over the 3lb mark and for me sea trout fight that bit harder than salmon and seem to have the vote on good looks too ,but give me a salmon any day and ill be happy .i have been missing the usual suspects to from the river that I've got to know over the years like Andy and Nicky who are die hard bait fishers that fish the lower stretch and theirs chubby and the other young team who are also into their fishing allot and its great to see Ian I've not seen yet this season accept a brief meeting in march and also Vinnie who is what i would calla well informed kelvin fisherman who seems to know everything their is to know about the river so if you know him he is a good source of information, their are many more guys i know on the river all their names I've not mentioned as their are too many but all good guys and all who love their fishing so hi to you all if your reading and you should be reading right "lol" look I've not really much else i can add just now as I've not been their or done that at the moment so ill say bye for now and wish everyone all the best on the river, oh i will be showing off some of my home tied flies soon so be nice as they might not be the greatest but one thing is for sure they catch fish and that's what matters...

lost my internet connection

well i lost my connection to the net for a few weeks and I've nor really been doing much fishing with other things that have come up but you guys lucky enough to have enjoyed the new lease of life the rain will have brought id love to know whats been happening as I've not really seen much of the river at all ,was down just after the rain and the water had risen by about a foot and a half and their was plenty of small sea trout getting caught in the lower reaches of the river which always seems to do well for sea trout at this time of year ,but I'm sure that all the rain over the past few days will have all but made the river unfishable so I'm not to gutted at missing out but I'm sitting here thinking i bet those diehards are getting some salmon for their trouble and i have even heard of a 30lb fish being caught up at kirky and returned only to belly up at kelvin bridge a real pity would love to have seen such a fish in the river but it makes for exciting times to come during the fair weekend and the weeks after when we should have some nice runs of salmon so ill try to look forward to this time ahead and hope that the rain gives us a break for a few days to let the silt clear and the river become fishable as I'm really missing the river and its at times like this that you realize the fishing is what you go to the river to do but its the life of the river that i miss it gives me the time to think and also forget if i want so all in all it does it all for me and its this that makes the fishing so attractive.

a day to rmember forever

today was the best day Ive had in a long time and i didn't even catch a fish but the thing is my son did and all on his own after managing to get out a 20 ft line and after using a slow retrieve more than a few times using his hairs ear nymph he must have remembered the chats we have had about changing your retrieve etc! which he then did and with an almost pro look about him he began a fast twitch slow retrieve and then as i watched the rod tip which he also had close to the water their was that definite tug,tug,tug on the rod and i was awaiting this little 3 inch trout coming flying out the water near faceless with the sheer force but no the boy had listened and instead of a forceful strike he lifted into the fish which i soon noticed was no 3 inches long as the rod tip began to bend into the middle section of his 7 and a half foot rod it was then i thought of drag etc! but he said the drag is too tight I'm going to lose it dad and by helping him control the fish for less than a couple of seconds we were able to give the fish some line and returned the rod to him my heart beating as if it was my first i watched for the first sight of the fish and then it came it was a lovely fish of around a pound and the good news was it looked well hooked which was a relief giving him the word that i had the net ready he continued to play the fish and with hearts pounding and palms sweating the trout slid into the landing net and then the sad part i remembered i didn't have my camera but who needs one when the memories will always be their , god it was a good day and just a few days after i had helped my younger son to his first trout on the fly too just need some rain and just maybe i can get a few fish too who knows and it wont be long till im fishing the worm for salmon and the fly for seatrout at night i just cant wait...

well fish coming to hand at last and to the dry fly too " Blue dun" fished up stream ,i actually missed this fish 3-4 times to my great frustration then eventually with the right technique i lifted into this lovely looking trout of around 3/4 pound which put up quite a scrap for its size and left me wondering if in fact it was a small sea trout due to its silvery colour but i then thought i cant see a sea trout of this size getting up over the falls at yorkhill so i put it down to being a brownie which I'm sure is the right description .

over the next few weeks I'm going to have a go at doing some step by step tying of a couple of flys I'm comfortable in tying now that i use to good effect on the kelvin and as a list i can probably say they will be the klinkhammer ,elk hair caddis, f-fly , pheasant tail nymph ,hairs ear nymph, in many variations and then the spiders of course i have quite a few variations of these to along side the better known ones so that should be interesting to say the least if only to give people a laugh and allow for much criticism which i will take with great pleasure if its to help my tying to get better but their are a few that I'm sure may not win the hearts of the pros but will satisfy the common among us "lol" so ill be of now to think what to wright in the blog later tonight as i am going to add to this thread later as I've got things to do just now thanks for reading and remember please leave comment on the blog page its what keeps people writing also over the next few weeks I'm hoping to be able to expand the places I'm fishing so as to give more reports on diffrent places....

dry fly for salmon

well the water was still very low and the trout shy so i decided that i would have a go at the one thing that has raised an eyebrow in me over the past few years and that's dry fly for salmon using flies like the muddler or the bomber skated across the surface or dead drifted to rising grilse but their were no fish to be seen so that was making things difficult right away as for dead drifting you really need to be able to see the fish ,so i started of with the skating method and spent about an hour doing this but to no avail but just maybe when the salmon are in ,in better numbers and the water is a bit higher i may just get my way and land a salmon on the dry fly which i just think would be amazing to experience and as if by magic the heavens open and the rain pours down bringing the much needed water to the kelvin i just hope it was enough to make the real difference that will bring salmon and sea trout running into the river as this can be the best time of the year fishing the kelvin as long as their is enough water with fantastic trout fishing to be had on most stretches so until i get a good look at the river for myself which will be tomorrow morning i wont know what kind of fishing ill be doing over the next few days ,but if the river is high enough but not overflowing ill have a go with the worm for salmon and maybe a wee go with the bomber again....

Itchy Feet

well over the past few weeks the river has slowly been getting lower and lower making the fishing difficult and the fish sluggish which means they are more at risk of ending up in real distress from the fight of being caught by an angler which was pointed out to me by a fellow angler who happens to run one of the best blogs I've ever read called ,oh here's the link http://theriverkelvin.co.uk/
this is a great informal site not only about the kelvin but many other adventures that he and his friend have taken and is just fab to read, any way don't want to give him too much bling as no one will read mine then but that probably doomed to be the case anyway with so many great blogs out their but i see mine as one with a difference as its from the perspective of a true beginner and I'm sure other beginners will want to hear that others are having the same problems and might be able to share some suggestions for correcting these difficulties we share among us ,as this is my main goal is to give the beginners something to read about their local introduce it to outsiders and of course it gives me a sense of worth if people would leave comments be they good or bad as I'm open to all side of the argument and so it goes back to the itchy feet problem I've been having and by that i mean I'm needing to start put out feelers and test other rivers to see what I'm missing as i know by other people s stories I'm missing loads of great sport on many of the other local rivers around the central belt and for me i think i must first of all look up the most local and find out if they are day ticket venues and give them a few days try out this season before buying into a season ticket which i would do no doubt if the fishing was good i also intend to get myself my first pike fly rod which i can use to fish the canal and a few other wee venues in and around Glasgow so I've plenty to keep me going this year if i want all i have to do is get of my desperately increasing butt and do some traveling the problem being i don't have a car so ill need to find the best way to transport from my home to these places i wish to try out which should be quite easy with being connected to the Internet but my real hope is getting my brother to pick up a fly rod again or even if he wants i will let him use one of mine and that is a privilege as I'm very very protective of my gear even if they be top of the range gear or not, their mine and their everything that gives me the little bit of sanity i have with all these kids around,so until i get on the river or we get some much needed rain bye for now and keep fishing ,tight lines..

Learning to tie flies

I have over the past 4-6 months been doing my best to get myself familiarised with the art of fly tying which for me is so therapeutic and relaxing that it has become just as important as my love of fishing ,and let me tell you their is nothing quite like a take on your own hand tied fly that you have taken your time to perfect to the best of your abilities and this is when your tying will become just as important to you and the desire to tie more patterns and learn different tying methods so as to extend your tying ability will kick in ,one thing i will warn you of and that's the likely case that your tying materials will eventually start to mount up just like fishing equipment and will slowly or in my case quickly eat away at the space in your house and if you are lucky enough to have a lovely wife you might not have one soon as it will drive her mad and all i get is those feathers smell horrid and oh my god whats that now you have in that bag ,all i can say is its all worth it and hopefully if you decide to go down this road you get the same buzz I've got out it ,their is so much to learn about tying flies from the history and the origin to patterns ,materials etc! and i love every minute so I'm hoping ill get the new vice i want for Christmas or even better my birthday that's sooner i want a c&r vice around 300 but I'm sure it will be worth it with a life time guarantee.
i have been tying nymphs , spiders klinks, and the odd salmon fly too I'm quite happy with my progress but if like me then i want to be the best or at least as good as the best and their are so many great tiers out their to give me pointers and that's just what I'm doing just now as i watch every step by step whether it be pictures or video with video being the best no doubt and the tips I've found on them are in valuable and things that have most likely took years to work out and we are lucky enough to have access to them as these people are kind enough to put their self's up on the Internet showing us how to better our tying so for me i give them a great big hand ,thank you guys and of course girls too as some of the woman tiers are fantastic too.

Time for a rain dance

An earlier season photo from march behind Yorkhill

The river is running low and clear at the moment which is in turn making the fishing difficult as i find fish are very easily spooked in the kelvin when conditions are like this ,however while at the river yesterday i did notice quite allot of yellow May's on the water and that was bring about rising fish that were slashing at the surface drowning the fly then taking them below the surface film ,well this is what i think they were doing and i never had any imitations in my box but did manage to get a couple on a blue dun size 12 and 14 as well as managing a couple more from the lower part of the river behind Yorkhill hospital on a 2 fly set up using a pheasant tail nymph on the point and a partridge and orange on the dropper, the river is in desperate need of some rain and for one i will be doing a rain dance in the hope that the rain will come ,so come on all yea fly fishers get out yer bongos and your ankle bells and do a rain dance tonight as it looks nice and overcast at the moment so I'm hopeful.

My choice 12 flies for the kelvin

Blue winged olive Greenwells glory Elk hair caddis




Black pennel Black spider Bloody butcher Invicta


Phesant tail nymph Hairs ear nymph Greenwells nymph

Wooly bugger

Flies for the river kelvin ,a beginners choice.
If i had to make a choice of 12 I'm sure it would be 3 drys 4 wets 3 nymphs 2 streamers, first of all the drys my first choice would have to be the one i catch most fish on when using a dry and that's the dark olive in sizes 14 and 16 fished on a tapered leader of around 8ft which i make myself secondly would be Greenwells glory which covers quite allot of hatches in sizes 12/16 also fished on a tapered leader size 8ft with my last dry i would be silly not to have an Elk hair caddis pattern which on its day out fishes most others for me anyway , these are the choice of someone that has only fished the river with the fly for just over a season ,more experienced members may very well have a much varied choice of dry fly and even may frown at some of my choices, but onto the 4 wet flys i would like to have in my box would be as follows first choice would be ,and i will be sneaky here and say a spider pattern with my second choice being a Black Pennel and 3rd a Bloody Butcher and my last the Invicta which is a palmered pattern also capable of catching sea trout which frequent the river now to the nymphs well theirs 2 must haves and that's the pheasant tail and the hairs ear both ribbed and which are great point fly when using wets and also i would choose alongside these Greenwells nymph these all catch fish regularly and are enjoyable to fish, then their are the last 2 which i hope I'm right in classing as streamers and they would have to be woolly buggers for use when the river is quite high and has a little colour in it as i have had some of my best fish on these ,i would chose one black and one brown both weighted with lead or copper prior to tying ,using these patterns will bring you fish on the kelvin and in the near future when more confident with my tying ascetics i will do a step by step for all the patterns i use on the river so until then have a great time fishing and tight lines everyone.

Urban revival

The River Kelvin at the vet school.

I have been fishing the river kelvin for just over a season now and i am constantly showed just how lucky i am to have such a great river so easily assessable for myself and others who live in my home town of Glasgow which has many other fantastic rivers in which good trout fishing can be had .
the river kelvin is a river on the return with a good head of trout and with an annual run of salmon which is increasing every year which in time Ive no doubt will bring the price of the permit up which is not a problem as far as I'm concerned with this brings concern as the kelvin i feel it needs real management to make sure of its constant revival and that's no disrespect for the current management but by appointing bailiff's with real powers and signs to show the river is a permit only river as with the current position people are getting away with saying i didn't know you had to pay a permit as their is nothing to inform you of that at the moment however the price of an seasons permit which is 15 pound a year for me that is just fantastic and in fact if the river was being run better i would be glad to pay double that for the security of bailiff's ect!.

i will be giving a run down of any fishing trips i make to kelvin in future and pictures of fish i catch if i have my camera with me that is, so until then bye for now and go fish people