I had the pleasure of spending some time with Paul Owen on the river and he sent me a piece about his fly fishing experiences
I can stand up in a room of fly fishermen and say proudly that I have been a fly fisherman for two months and I love it, I’m addicted, I’m hooked, I go fishing too often!
Having been an angler since a boy, I have wanted to try fly fishing for a while and I tried it at a trout farm which was offering a discounted rate on a few hours tuition. I enjoyed it, it felt hard work but I liked it, I bought a 7 weight rod online afterwards and went to my carp lake. The rod has never been used since, it felt wrong in my hands, clunky and there was no enjoyment. Two years later I went to the same trout farm with the same deal they had repeated. This time the owner was the tutor and when he found out I had been on that deal before he wasn’t impressed. Gave little assistance and I was pretty much left to myself. I caught fish on that day because I’m stubborn!
Skip forwards a year. I overhear a fellow father at my daughter’s football match that he is a fisherman and he mentions trout. As soon as there was a lull in his conversation I say "hi" and find out that living in Tiverton, I can buy a very cheap ticket to fish the River Exe for a year. I’ve lived in Tiverton for 18 years and never knew this!
So I decided I was going to do this, that little bit of information, a chance conversation, my first bit of luck, and the excitement a kid feels going to Disneyland was in me. I went to Fly Fishing Tackle in Credition, I’d done my research and read the reviews on the shop. I asked to be fitted out with a rod and whatever else I needed and I didn’t know what was good or bad, please help. My second bit of luck. I was given great advice and I still love the gear I was sold. I say I was sold, as it came with advice, conversation, and recommendation. Buying is what we do online. The third bit of luck was being told of a free annual event that was coming up locally that was run by the shop, attended by guides and manufacturers at a fly fishing venue. The only fee was the lunch. I just had to keep a look out online for the event so I could book my place.
Armed with new gear and fishing ticket, I went to the River Exe and in January tried to catch a grayling. I discovered two things: one, I needed waders, wellington boots don’t help; two, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing! But I wanted to learn more.
My partner was now being dragged into this and we had a family outing to Roadford Reservoir where they were having an open day and it was fly fishing focussed. A very nice day, lovely place, loved the cakes and I bought a raffle ticket to help support them. The annual event I had recently learned about was advertised there with dates and location, The Fox and Hounds at Chulmleigh, so when I got home I booked my place. A week later I got a call, I had won a prize in the raffle, two hours tuition at the Fox and Hounds in Chulmleigh with their guide! Like most people I never win at raffles so this was definitely my fourth bit of luck, it was the same location as the free event I had just booked so I could check out the location and what the guides were like prior to going.
I’ll stop counting my lucky breaks now. The free event was fantastic and filled me with enthusiasm, I could do this! A week later I went back to the River Exe, fished another beat and as it was now May, the river was very different. First time out I caught a stunning brown trout on a nymph. I went the next day and the next day and was catching beautiful brown trout and the odd grayling. This is why I have to stop counting how often I am lucky as each fish I caught added to that total. Then one trout took my dry that had the nymph suspended below it. I missed the take but I realised I could actually become a “proper” fly fisherman with dry flies.
I tried using the dry fly for a couple of evenings and I did it, I caught my first brown trout on a dry fly. Now I was a Fly Fisherman! I booked my prize of tuition with the Fox and Hounds and it was Pete who took me out and I soaked up every word he spoke and concentrated like I have never concentrated before. I loved it and being on a different river it gave me an insight into mine. I went back to the River Exe and I was trying locations I’d overlooked before and the number of takes I had went up, although the number I landed was still a lot lower!
Since my tuition, Pete has been kind enough to give advice and answer questions I have and now, I am a fly fisherman! A technically terrible one, but one that loves standing in the middle of a river in the sun or rain!