Join my good friend Howard Colmer as he dips a toe into the world of the fishing guide on behalf of the Wild Trout Trust
For the past two years I have donated my time for the annual Wild Trout Trust auction. I pitch the lot as a day’s ‘guided’ fishing on my home waters here in Devon, an exploratory adventure. However, I use the word guided rather loosely!
Why? Well, for starters I am not a full-time guide nor am I part-time either. But what I can do is certainly ‘show’ people my local streams and offer them an exceptional lunch!
The easy part of donating a lot is writing the description and sending it to the Trust for publication, although there are always anxious moments when the auction goes live. Will someone even place a bid?
During the weeklong auction hosted by a well-known internet site, a small bidding ‘war’ commenced and it was a delight to see the lot had reached a healthy sum and my small donation contributed to the Trust’s most prosperous auction to date.
The successful bidder was Malcolm, a south-east resident who enjoys the variety of fishing the Wild Trout Trust auction provides. From our first communication once the lot closed, I felt Malcolm was really looking forward to the experience of small stream fishing here in Devon. We conversed at length about what the day would entail, but our discussions also enabled me to tailor the experience to his requirements and importantly, come up with a plan.
A date in early June was chosen, which was prime time on our Devon streams when the conditions are right! The preceding weeks our rivers had been in fine fettle, if a little low due to an incredibly dry spring, and importantly the fish were looking up. However, three days before our planned trip the south-west experienced a deluge of rain, which was less than ideal. Our streams are very spate like, and they were likely to respond to the rain within a few hours.
The following morning and on my walk into work I passed the river Exe, which was surprisingly clear. However, within hours it was in spate, the colour of melted chocolate with flood warnings issued higher up the catchment.
It normally takes our rivers a few days to ‘fine down’ after a heavy downpour, but with the torrential nature of the rain, a large proportion ended up in our rivers from surface run off. Suspended solids and general detritus entering the rivers caused our trout to swim for bankside cover.
With a guest travelling some distance to fish and several weeks of organising behind me, blind panic set in. At what point should I cancel? Shall I wait until the last minute? Is more rain predicted? Pressure which I am sure all professional guides feel on a daily basis.
Local knowledge is hugely important in any fishing trip, but even more so when you are providing fishing to someone else. The cliché of best-laid plans spring to mind, and over discussions with Malcolm about the rain and conditions, it was reassuring to hear he was flexible and even if we couldn’t fish, ‘would enjoy a relaxing weekend in Devon nonetheless’.
Fortunately no more rain was predicted but by Thursday, the day before our scheduled trip, the rivers I intended to visit were still unfishable. I travelled from my Exeter home north to the River Creedy, which was heavily coloured and unfishable. I peered over Taw Bridge high up the catchment, which was similar.
When conditions are decidedly ‘iffy’, I always go with the ‘would I fish it’ feeling. And after discussing matters I decided to cancel the Friday session and re-schedule for Saturday.
The re-arranged Friday walk into work included the obligatory look at the Exe, which was fining down nicely. After work I drove back to the Creedy and peered over the bridge with anticipation. Was it fishable? And with rising fish noted and several feet of visibility into the water, Saturday was most definitely on.
A brief phone call to Malcolm followed to confirm arrangements for Saturday, before an evening at the tying bench in readiness for the following day.
Picking my guest up from his accommodation, it was a pleasure to put a face to a name. There are always anxious moments meeting new anglers, will they have that same understanding and perhaps passion for fly fishing? And chatting to Malcolm on our way to the upper River Taw, conversation between us flowed freely and I could sense the anticipation to get fishing.
Weather conditions were slightly against us, and from heavy rain and flood warnings came bright sun and a nasty, swirling wind making casting difficult. Heading to the bottom beat, the anxiousness to get my guest a fish was evident.
Malcolm is an accomplished angler, and although my offers of help were appreciated, he was happy to tackle up himself. We started the day on a small dry fly, and as we discussed tactics I noticed a small fish rise against the inside right bank. Slowly working our way into position, we covered the water systematically but to no avail.
Finally, after several casts and missed opportunities, Malcolm was rewarded with a small Devon brown trout. The relief was lifted from my shoulders and after another small fish I started to relax and enjoy the day.
The weather conditions made the day more challenging than I had hoped and after a hearty lunch we continued upstream. It took some considerable time to land a fish that afternoon. After searching my memory bank for previous fish holding spots, it was a pleasure to put Malcolm on a group of rising trout at the tail of a pool.
After a perfectly presented dry fly, he was rewarded on the last cast of the day by a spirited and determined wild brown trout of about 12 inches. It was a fitting moment to end proceedings and on our walk back it was reassuring to hear that Malcolm had enjoyed his day.
The following morning I received a heartfelt thank you and appreciation of my efforts from Malcolm, it was not expected, but something that I am sure all professional guides never tire of reading.
So my yearly ‘sortie’ into ‘guiding’ has been a refreshing change from my normal working week. But I respect professional guides the world over that place themselves under pressure on a daily basis and are judged, not on a season, but by that single day.
Howard is associate ecologist at Colmer Ecology in Exeter and a terrestrial ecologist working predominately on projects in southern England. Largely nocturnal from May – September, when not surveying for a range of protected species, he can be found chasing brown trout, bass and his treasured grayling.