tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86533150928930321812024-03-05T13:20:52.540+00:00Angling and DrammingGreat Whisky and Angling in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Islay and the Highlands of Scotland.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-38465405783581711942017-08-16T16:38:00.002+01:002017-08-16T16:38:34.148+01:00Fly Fish IslayIf you are looking for information about our Fly Fish Islay trips please go to our new website and blog at <a href="http://www.flyfishislay.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.flyfishislay.co.uk </a>for all the information about our Guided Islay Fly Fishing Experiences.<br />
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Hosted by Wychwood Game's Glen Pointon and myself David Wood, our bespoke fly fishing experiences are for small groups of experienced and novice fishing alike.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirETp1oJsbmhrcCsVooS88E_UmLqLa-lc5QA0aSxiDKibXH7x0gHZmJAQ8NQAyedxblMOTjYREY4hxjqqKBj16pmCmc_vjeTtHzvpv18ACjNHQMhw35f_RJGf1n8O6444uPQB_XMalD-JK/s1600/glen+ace+sea+trout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1487" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirETp1oJsbmhrcCsVooS88E_UmLqLa-lc5QA0aSxiDKibXH7x0gHZmJAQ8NQAyedxblMOTjYREY4hxjqqKBj16pmCmc_vjeTtHzvpv18ACjNHQMhw35f_RJGf1n8O6444uPQB_XMalD-JK/s400/glen+ace+sea+trout.jpg" width="371" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-71754408253458168442016-06-26T10:08:00.000+01:002016-06-26T10:09:21.761+01:00Back on the Churnet with the Sheffield<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Managed to get out on to the river for the first time in a while yesterday. I wanted to explore a new stretch of the Churnet at Alton on the Fenton and District ticket. I opted for the lower tree lined beat with Pugin's Alton Castle overlooking the lovely, the Rhineland of Staffordshire.<br />
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The Fenton and District ticket is amazing value at £38 per year and as well as this cracking stretch of river they also have loads of other waters for both game and coarse anglers including the Dove, the Trent and an array of carp pools.<br />
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It was also the first time I'd been out with my new reel, the Okuma Sheffield which I've been wanting to try for a while and I wasn't disappointed. I was able to control my float perfectly and even though the reel would begin to spin immediately after the cast, and continued to spin forever, I never got into one tangle which happened to me all too often with my old centrepin.<br />
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I trickled a few maggots in to the riffle in front of me and set my first drift. Bites were immediate and every cast saw me land or bump off a grayling. The Churnet is absolutely stuffed with grayling these days. When I started fishing in the 70s the river ran all the colours of the rainbow due to pollution from the now vanished dye works upstream in Leek. The clean water suits the grayling and they are back in abundance, along with a run of their relatives the salmon after a campaign of parr stocking by the Environment Agency.<br />
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We are so lucky in this part of the United Kingdom to have so much fishing available to us at very reasonable prices. This ticket is amazing value. A beautiful river full of fish in breathtaking scenery and still not another angler in sight.<br />
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Slainte<br />
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DavidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-38460195858225180642016-05-31T20:18:00.001+01:002016-05-31T20:49:46.560+01:00Richard and Richard (AKA Dave) on the river Churnet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm lucky enough to live 5 minutes walk from a beautiful trout stream, the river Churnet. On Saturday I was joined by two chaps who I last met when guiding for them on a wild loch on Islay a year or so ago and they had asked me if I'd mind showing them one of my favourite local rivers.</div>
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Fishing on the upper Churnet is tricky, but if you are stealthy and you don't mind getting on all fours and crawling through a few bushes and under one or two fences then the angler can be rewarded with some lovely hard fighting fully spotted wild browns, and the odd grayling too. The scenery is as good as any and the wildlife is incredible, kingfishers fire up and down and the river is home to many dippers and other beautiful birds. </div>
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Choosing a short rod is definitely an advantage here. I like to use my 6ft 3wt Hardy glass rod, this allows me to get a cast in without getting in to too much of a tangle and feels lovely when playing a fish. Richard was using a 4 and a half foot split cane rod and he was able to put a lovely line out with it. It wasn't long before both lads were landing fish and both were clearly enjoying the afternoon.<br />
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The lads were using a few different fly patterns but I find that the klinkhammer always does well. There were a few mayfly coming off in the warm afternoon sun and I'd be tempted to stick one of those on at this time of year. There were plenty of large dark olives coming off and quite a few swarms of gnats and the fish were slashing and jumping at them, particularly in the upper reaches of the beat.<br />
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The lads caught a few few fish between them, most quite small but beautifully spotted, but a couple were much bigger, one in particular that gave Richard a right good run around late on in the session was closer to the 2lb mark.<br />
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Sam enjoyed sitting on the bank watching the anglers landing the fish but later on started to wonder when his owner might start thinking about arranging his tea so it was with heavy hearts that the lads packed up, having had a great afternoon and we made our way back home and then on to the Earl Grey for refreshments, the favourite of which seemed to be Union Hop from Moor Brewery!<br />
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Haste ye back lads and I hope to take you up on your offer of fishing with you down Worthing way sometime in the near future.<br />
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Slainte<br />
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David<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-90106385382498613542016-05-27T11:47:00.001+01:002016-05-27T16:29:56.548+01:00Ruffell in the Riffle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Had a great afternoon out on the river yesterday with my pal Sean Ruffell. I've fished with Sean many times but mostly on Islay for the wild loch browns on the many occasions that he visited the Islay. He's a huge fan of float tubing the lochs and of Islay single malt whiskies.</div>
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It was an overcast afternoon and a little cooler than it has been of late. The air temperature was around 14 degrees c. We soon started to see lots of fly life as we walked down the river and also started to see rises.</div>
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Eager to get on to the fish I was set up before Sean so thought I would have a cast to a spot where I had seen a large trout taking olives a couple of days before. I put on a new tapered leader with a Jingler tied to the business end.</div>
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I cast to about a foot above where I had seen the trout feeding and he walloped my jingler on the first cast.</div>
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We fished out the rest of the pool, missed a couple of slashy rises and decided to make our way back to the car to enjoy a dram (Caol Ila 2014 Islay Festival of Malt and Music limited edition the casks for which specially selected by yours truly), a cup of tea and some posh cake. I told Sean about the rest of the beat and where we should fish and then made our way to the upper stretch of the beat.</div>
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There were many hatches of olives coming off and the odd mayfly, all of which the trout were more than happy to feed on and the river was alive with rises.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fp9_TiAobi67oFNxOh-4vBnWlCGnn6EjZqYHKMWjK8I3dKdHYIpIE_LweUxvh4p61AXGxZRMOh6mw3mua1HZadwAdj3e8jNFC30Rxgy4PQA9QU4kgK7V38XgghbIhxED5_Kaxa18lW2K/s1600/mayfly+on+water.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fp9_TiAobi67oFNxOh-4vBnWlCGnn6EjZqYHKMWjK8I3dKdHYIpIE_LweUxvh4p61AXGxZRMOh6mw3mua1HZadwAdj3e8jNFC30Rxgy4PQA9QU4kgK7V38XgghbIhxED5_Kaxa18lW2K/s400/mayfly+on+water.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I switched to a Fulling Mill Mayfly Flyine size 14 and started to attract rises.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFAzZNBelgd71W4_W1upYA4a-7JuYfyWDrVkbTuNoAMsvqTAKFfnv04e8BZ7LOSTwP7hgVV0zqksBb4ktqO3pcE-pocCfFBDy8zYzz2rd6Mc0_80xp-gqHsyr3ukcTqBJiRqtNDUBlVs3/s1600/pic+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFAzZNBelgd71W4_W1upYA4a-7JuYfyWDrVkbTuNoAMsvqTAKFfnv04e8BZ7LOSTwP7hgVV0zqksBb4ktqO3pcE-pocCfFBDy8zYzz2rd6Mc0_80xp-gqHsyr3ukcTqBJiRqtNDUBlVs3/s400/pic+6.jpg" width="366" /></a></div>
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In all we had 4 fish all around the 2.5lb mark. A splendid afternoon in good company. Things are really starting to warm up on the river now and before long there should be plenty of mayfly about.</div>
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Slainte</div>
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David</div>
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PS nice to see a pair of woodpeckers at the bird table in the fishermans car park today.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-84794774279692397102016-05-25T08:46:00.001+01:002016-05-25T08:46:22.284+01:00Upper Falls Pool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivX0K5MkqYoaNf02jb_wcPwZVsWc3R7xXRBom-2kK5136fw2a6VZYKRD954J7-1yKhXeNbzfD3eoTD2p1-PQShNnYVrbQIC6FzXpkxISWFH5ekr_Lov1nPA6rvMPb-XAIlMCce9KE36nqy/s1600/Upper+Falls+Pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivX0K5MkqYoaNf02jb_wcPwZVsWc3R7xXRBom-2kK5136fw2a6VZYKRD954J7-1yKhXeNbzfD3eoTD2p1-PQShNnYVrbQIC6FzXpkxISWFH5ekr_Lov1nPA6rvMPb-XAIlMCce9KE36nqy/s400/Upper+Falls+Pool.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Waiting for the rise at the Upper Falls Pool, river Dane. Lots of hatches this week, one or two may fly but mainly large dark olives and smaller olives. Lots of swarms of gnats just off the surface making the wildies slash and go crazy. Missing lots of takes and am wondering if the fish are trying to sink the fly when they are rising.<br />
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DavidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-2761124993058763552016-05-14T19:09:00.002+01:002016-05-15T08:57:26.195+01:00An afternoon on the Dane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I walked the whole stretch today. it was lovely to see the bluebells out. 14 degrees so warmer than the weather man said, and lots of fish were showing up and down the river.<br />
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The hatches in the late afternoon sun were quite spectacular. The fly life at the moment is abundant.<br />
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Found a lovely glide below some water falls and many trout were smashing emerging flies. One or two were topping and tailing. It was great to see so much activity.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4e6n9eZn-8wUWCkZN8b6k2fiRKxnXIAfZJ1SdO9EQAFvUDB09U70Od7k4awzF2XReSHbWvPzcUDw3G0-OI85kGlqPHrWudc9BVbrUvM4A9CwHmhq2Ubomdt-mqpGItyN95XuWaS_TpqW/s1600/rise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4e6n9eZn-8wUWCkZN8b6k2fiRKxnXIAfZJ1SdO9EQAFvUDB09U70Od7k4awzF2XReSHbWvPzcUDw3G0-OI85kGlqPHrWudc9BVbrUvM4A9CwHmhq2Ubomdt-mqpGItyN95XuWaS_TpqW/s400/rise.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This large trout came to a Fulling Mill mayfly 'flyline'.<br />
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As far as I could tell most of the hatches coming off were olives but there were one or two mayfly coming off and all the fish I landed or missed takes from were whilst fishing a size 12 Fulling Mill Mayfly 'Flyline' (rear of the pic below). I've also stocked up on size 12 Fulling Mill Mohican Mayfly for when the hatches start to be more prolific.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YU3zL5F0E6d6EbZpe09qiQ_oICe_FxWVCv0ZYAQgnomP6Xvlsg7AgZyRAe0EZikBXp_Why8FYIvXAAOCS-ucqKJFd8SmRsJyaca875rd3oIH0TSPXFPKGt-LLlYUjtjed_mjVrDlBQMq/s1600/Mayfly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YU3zL5F0E6d6EbZpe09qiQ_oICe_FxWVCv0ZYAQgnomP6Xvlsg7AgZyRAe0EZikBXp_Why8FYIvXAAOCS-ucqKJFd8SmRsJyaca875rd3oIH0TSPXFPKGt-LLlYUjtjed_mjVrDlBQMq/s400/Mayfly.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Quite a bit of the upper Dane is in a very narrow steep valley so quite sheltered. On days like today when the air temperature is quite cool for the time of year, there are quite a few pools that benefit from quite a bit of sun and I think these factors have encouraged long and plentiful hatches where anglers on other local rivers are reporting short sporadic activity.<br />
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Anyway, off to enjoy a Caol Ila Distillers Edition 2015 in front of the fire and to reflect on the fishing.<br />
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Can't wait to get back on the river!<br />
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David<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Staffordshire, UK52.8792745 -2.05718679999995451.651074 -4.6389737999999543 54.107475 0.52460020000004581tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-54241394848021266202016-05-14T11:23:00.001+01:002016-05-14T11:23:34.406+01:00New River to Explore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The trout season is well under way in sunny Staffordshire. I'm missing the sea trout back on Islay and I've been struggling to decide where to fish and which clubs to join for the season. I love fishing the upper Churnet but I've been keen to supplement that with some other waters. I definitely wanted to find a stretch that where I could not hear traffic and off the beaten track.<br />
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A couple of weeks ago I took my lab Sam for a long walk from Rushton Spencer following the River Dane right up through Danebridge, over The Roaches and back down in to Leek. The Dane valley was beautiful, I'd never walked these beats before and I was surprised just how wide and deep in places the river was. It looked to me very much like a Scottish West Coast river, deep, dark peaty pools and long sweeping shallow glides with riffles aplenty.<br />
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After a while I spotted a small 'private fishing' sign and noted the details of the club. I managed to get in touch with the club and was really happy to find there was a space available and so I joined.<br />
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I enjoyed my first outing greatly and whilst the fishing was hard I did manage to catch a few lovely little wild browns. I timed the journey from my house the river and it took 12 minutes. I can't believe I've never walked the stretch before and to have this gem on my doorstep is fantastic.<br />
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Usually at the end of May I'm tied up with all things Islay Whisky Festival but for the first time in more than ten years I'm looking forward to fishing during the mayfly hatches.<br />
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More pics to follow in the coming weeks.<br />
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Slainte<br />
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David<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-90020444557346127212016-04-10T10:58:00.003+01:002016-04-10T10:58:54.899+01:00The End of One Adventure and the Start of Another<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well what an amazing 3 years and 5 months that was. We are now back in the Staffordshire Moorlands after having an amazing adventure on the Isle of Islay, the longest Fly Fish Islay trip yet!<br />
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I moved to Islay in July 2012, lived in a lighthouse keeper's house for 3 months then in the exciseman's house at Caol Ila overlooking the Sound of Islay (Caol Ila) and the Paps of Jura.<br />
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I moved to Islay when I was appointed Brand Home Manager of Lagavulin and Caol Ila distilleries, a job I enjoyed greatly which mostly involved talking all day every day to visitors about all things Islay and whisky. After just a year I was moved up to Caol Ila as Manager which made me very proud given that Caol Ila has always been and will remain my firm favourite single malt whisky.<br />
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I'm now working at a great Craft Brewery which makes some of the world's best beers. This means now able to get back to fishing my favourite Staffordshire and Derbyshire rivers with trips back up to Islay for Fly Fish Islay events.<br />
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I'm about to bottle one of the casks that we filled back in 2005 (See top pic) which is creating a lot of interest, so get in touch if you would like to reserve a bottle.<br />
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Great to be back.<br />
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Slainte<br />
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David<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-31780352574286035192015-01-09T17:15:00.000+00:002015-01-09T17:19:03.731+00:00Off to the Loch (and the river!) in 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy New Year! I'm back on Islay after having been down South for a bit of grayling fishing and a catch up with pals on the river bank. The wind is howling outside but the fire is in and a warming peaty dram will be to hand shortly. I was lucky enough to fish a stretch of the Churnet down stream from my usual beat, where the last time I'd fished was with my Grandad more than 35 years ago, when the river was running all the colours of the rainbow with the dye from the dye works in Leek. </div>
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I'm hoping to blog a little more in 2015, the season will certainly be longer as I intend to be back on the Staffordshire and Derbyshire rivers a little more this year as well as fishing the lochs of Islay for brownies and the sea for my favourite fish of all, the sea trout.</div>
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The pic above was taken after a session on Loch Drolsay in May 2014. Glen and Woz were walking back through the heather discussing the fishing, in particular the very large brown trout that Glen had dropped in the margins.</div>
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I have no pictures to post of the lovely grayling that were being caught last week as I've managed to lose my camera in the back of Glen's van, but watch this space as I hope it'll be full of fish in the months to come!</div>
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David</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-27843758666921634302012-12-01T18:01:00.001+00:002012-12-01T18:35:22.583+00:00December Islay<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Four months has flown by since I moved to Islay. Five successful Fly Fish Islay trips, a house move and a fantastic new job...phew what a year! The weather has been amazing today. I took these pics while out and about with the dog. We've seen some rough weather too and I've had a few interesting moments from scary plane landings to killing the car in a flood. The weather man keeps threatening snow but it's unlikely we'll see much of it here on Islay. I'm sure there will be a good dose of it in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Every time I go back down South it is always a good few degrees colder there. When I bump into people on Derby Street they always ask if I'm glad to be back for a warm such is their misunderstanding of West Coast weather.</div>
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It won't be long until the first Fly Fish Islay trips of 2013 will be under way. Glen, Léonie and I are hoping to arrange a trip for late April. Last April Glen and I hosted a trip based at Loch Skerrols and the lunchtime rises of the Brown Trout were something to be seen. Please be in touch if you would like to join Glen on our trips in 2013, to enjoy the magic of Islay, it's amazing fishing and of course a few wee drams....</div>
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Slainte</div>
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David</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-81447916938159395132012-08-26T09:58:00.000+01:002012-08-26T09:58:25.673+01:00First Month Living In Islay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few pics from my first month living on the beautiful Hebridean Isle of Islay. Fly Fish Islay trips kick in again next season, please be in touch if you would like to join Glen and I for a magical trip fly fishing for wild brown trout, sea trout and salmon.....<br />
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Slainte<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-23022299703423220162012-08-04T22:15:00.000+01:002012-08-04T22:14:55.588+01:00First Islay Sea Trout<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz8fHR9QoPF0BgIXkzDtst0q3hUAcu9waZq3ohOGfw1BHeud6ZMGKbdS1W875q-yNmH66YVjCxOqwldYd76hlcxKPvCLMJViDBeE3gxdwrPHDYP_CSsI6NQjFVNuxvfwgO899twLmX73E/s1600/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FQXJneWxsIGFuZCBCdXRlLTIwMTIwODA0LTAwMDQ5LmpwZw%253D%253D%253F%253D-795590"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz8fHR9QoPF0BgIXkzDtst0q3hUAcu9waZq3ohOGfw1BHeud6ZMGKbdS1W875q-yNmH66YVjCxOqwldYd76hlcxKPvCLMJViDBeE3gxdwrPHDYP_CSsI6NQjFVNuxvfwgO899twLmX73E/s320/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FQXJneWxsIGFuZCBCdXRlLTIwMTIwODA0LTAwMDQ5LmpwZw%253D%253D%253F%253D-795590" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5772929522421957762" /></a></p>Sent using BlackBerry® from OrangeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-51935938516313393872012-07-16T21:29:00.000+01:002012-07-16T21:29:39.981+01:00A Cracking Start for Fly Fish IslayBlimey! What a busy start to the summer. The weather has been terrible in the Staffordshire Moorlands, so it is with great fortune that Glen and I found ourselves spending much of the early summer enjoying the fine weather on the magical Isle of Islay with 3 separate groups of guests, all determined to enjoy themselves through catching a few wee broon troots and enjoying a wee dram or two...<br />
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We were joined on our Fly Fish Islay trips buy 3 groups of smashing ladies and gents from all over Europe. Some new to Islay, some new to fishing, some experienced anglers, all up for a good laugh.<br />
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I haven't had time to write blog posts after each of the trips, excepting the first in April but here follows a selection of pics....(There are many more on the Fly Fish Islay page on Facebook).....<br /><br />
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Loch Gorm proved to be a favourite of many of our guests. Fished from boat with an outboard so as to cover as much of this vast machir loch as possible, Richie enjoyed 2 days on the loch and enjoyed some spectacular sport.....<br />
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A first for Fly Fish Islay was an outing to 3 hill lochs by way of Islay Estates' Argocat. Guests were guided by head game keeper Scott Brown. One of the lads had never fly fished before our May trip but he still managed to land a couple of stunners to around 2lb from these remote hill lochs.<br />
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Popular as ever as a fishing venue was the beautiful Loch Finlaggan, not least because Finlaggan House was our base during the May trip. On the last day we held a small comp....the winner would be the angler who landed the most fish in 4 hours. Kev Pollard came out tops and went away with a nice couple of drams and some cracking fishy memories.<br />
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A month later and another set of guests arrived. Glen had his eye on the sea fishing, he new that come June there would be more fish near the shore on the sea lochs. This our base was at Octovullin by Loch Skerrols.<br />
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Sean Ruffell carefully selects his weapon...a 28g Dexter Wedge.<br />
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We arranged a clay pigeon shoot for the guests at Octovullin House. It was hilarious watching Pointon firing at clays with a semi automatic shot gun. Scott the keeper couldn't keep up with loading shells as Glen was firing it like a machine gun and still managing to miss.....<br />
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Plentiful brown trout were had from all of the lochs that our guests fished throughout the 3 trips, and all were amazed at the differences that could clearly be seen between the different strains of fish from each loch.<br />
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On the final day of the last trip we bumped into Justin Ruthven-Tyers at Islay Studios. Both Glen and I had recently finished reading his new book 'Phoenix From the Ashes' which is a belting read.......Justin lives on Islay with his wife Linda and their boat 'Caol Ila' can often be seen moored in Lagavulin Bay.<br />
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Justin was never really a joiner / carpenter before his house burned down and he decided to build a new one....oh, and he also decided to build a beautiful boat...'Caol Ila'...the book tells all and is an incredibly enjoyable read.....<br />
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The most memorable moment of all the trips this year has to be Glen catching a 2.5lb sea trout. I am proud to have shared the moment with him...read all about it on his blog....www.glenpointon.blogspot.com<br />
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I hope to update this blog on a more regular basis, but may just post pics and a few words from now on. Expect many more pics from Islay because as of this Saturday, I'll be living there....:-) :-) :-)<br />
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Slainte<br />
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Woody<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4A846, Isle of Islay, Argyll and Bute PA45, UK55.838313522108209 -6.201782226562555.552252522108212 -6.8334962265625 56.124374522108205 -5.5700682265625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-234706110115331322012-04-30T15:52:00.000+01:002012-04-30T15:53:16.646+01:00April Trip 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So that's the first of our Fly Fish Islay trips of 2012 complete and what a way to start the season. We had 6 guests, all eager to catch a few wild broonies, one guest who had never caught a fish before and it looked set to be challenging conditions. I'd been checking various weather websites only to see that the week ahead saw temperature predictions of - 6c!<br />
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Glen and I decided to drive up to the ferry through the night. We were originally booked on the 1pm ferry on the Friday which would mean that we would leave North Staffordshire at 4am. I was working at a wine tasting on the Thursday night and we thought that it might be a good idea to leave straight after that. It was a clear night as we belted up the motorway and Glen and I shared ideas about the week to come and wondered what the fishing would be like. If it was anything like as poor as it was at home then we'd be in for a tough week for sure. Would they be rising? What would they take? Was the trip too early in the season? What would the guests be like?<br />
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We arrived at the ferry at about 4.30am and tried to get a little kip to no avail. At about 6am the ferry office at Kennacraig opened and we enjoyed freshly brewed coffee and waited for the boat, once aboard, we would grab a little rest.<br />
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We boarded the ferry and eventually we made our way up the Sound of Islay and Port Askaig came in to view. Islay was enjoying a spell of stunning weather and the sky was cloud free and there was a real warmth in the air, quite different to the dull and drizzly weather we were leaving way behind us back home.<br />
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We arrived at our lodgings at Octovullin Farmhouse by Loch Skerrols and, still with the intent of trying to catch up on our sleep, we noticed dozens of rising fish on the beautiful loch before us and Glen and I just couldn't resist launching the boat from the pier and getting amongst the trout.<br />
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Although the rises had been plentiful, once in the boat we struggled to hook up with any, trying a few different fly patterns that we had specially chosen for the trip. During the weeks previous to the trip, we had given much thought about flys, stretching the fly budget this way and that over numerous currys, arguing about which would work and which wouldn't.<br />
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Initially we became worried, why were they not taking? Why had the rises stopped? Was it too early in the season? Would our guests go home having caught no fish? Were we looking at a multiple guest blanking situation?!<br />
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We moved a little further into the loch and over the weed bed and selected hoppers and LTDs and the fish began to take them confidently. Fly life was abundant and we noticed dozens of fish feeding in the margins under overhanging trees and bushes, smashing insects falling from the branches and quite undisturbed by our presence. It was a joy to see so many fish moving and feeding and we knew that we were in for a cracking week ahead.<br />
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The following day, having arrived on the 3pm ferry, we were joined by Tim, Peter, Fred, Wayne, Harrison and John. All had fished before excepting John. Wayne and Harrison were new to fly fishing but were long time carp anglers. Tim, Peter and Fred had fly fished before and had extensive fishing experience. Glen was really looking forward to helping John land his first fish, and what a place to do it, wild fish on a wild loch on the Hebridean Isle of Islay...doesn't get much better than that!<br />
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Our accommodation was at Octovullin Farmhouse which was perfect for a large group of anglers. A huge drying room was available and each evening after fishing, the guests would rack their boots and waders and by the morning they would be dry. The large living room had a huge open fire with plentiful logs supplied and each evening we would retire in front of it, drams in hand and have good fun filling in the days catch returns and having the craic.<br />
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As a nice touch to our itinerary, Tim (who works for Cellar Trends, agent for Bowmore Islay Single Malt) had kindly arranged a tour at Bowmore distillery which was greatly enjoyed by all. Glen in particular enjoyed the nosing session at the end of the tour. He employed all of his skills that he has learnt of late and was nosing and tasting like the best of them....his little finger up in the air he was clearly enjoying the session, but I knew that he just wanted to get the guests back out on the loch and in amongst the fish. Cheers Tim for a great tour and tasting.<br />
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The weather during the week was quite amazing. Clear blue skies with a stiff Northerly breeze made a welcoming change from the poor weather at home and every time we saw the weather forecast on TV, we saw that our friends and families down South were getting a pounding by the elements.<br />
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Glen gave John a few casting lessons early in the week and he was soon out and about fishing from both bank and boat. We'd kitted John's fly box out with all the fly patterns that we think he might need...hoppers, bibios, zulus, snatchers and the trusty LTD. Right from the first session John was attracting fish to the fly but he failed to hook up with them and started to get more and more down and frustrated as the days went on. Glen took him out on the loch, determined that he would catch a fish, and guided him as he waded up a tree lined bank on Loch Skerrols. After an hour or so, there was a huge shout, accompanied by laughter and swearing and John had landed his first ever fish, and one that was as wild as the hills at that, all were chuffed to bits and later, in front of a roaring, spitting fire, we drank whisky to John's health as he sat and ate his catch. Magic.<br />
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John's week didn't end with his first ever fish. He's a keen birder and had a long list of birds of prey that he wanted to see, and he wasn't disappointed as during the week he managed to tick off both male and female hen harriers, golden eagle, merlin and sea eagle amongst others.<br />
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Towards the end of the week, Glen decided that we ought to have a fishing competition on Loch Skerrols and things started to get very serious indeed. Each angler seemed determined to employ all of the tactics and skills that they had picked up from Glen during the week. Fly sales rocketed and I sold out of tapered leaders! oops.<br />
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At 1pm, "All in" echoed around the tree lined loch and each angler entered the water and began to cast their chosen fly. The wind had changed to a South Westerly during the night and this had knocked all of the rises off and made the fishing very difficult indeed. Wayne (above), dropped a couple of fish early in the match and Tim had caught a couple, but we knew from the banter on our walkie talkies that landed fish were certainly not plentiful. Fred and Peter elected to use the boat and Glen volunteered to Ghillie and row for them, something that he deeply regretted later on as he battled against the waves, out of breath and sweat pouring from his forehead. Peter and Fred took the opportunity to change flies etc whilst Glen set each new drift, and once the drift was set, Glen enjoyed a well earned fag and relayed Peter and Fred's abuse over the radios to the other, it has to be said, struggling anglers.<br />
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At the end of the match the catch was weighed and all had a good laugh as the winning bag came in at 8oz. Tim Roberts won the day and was congratulated by all. Tim's name will go on to Fly Fish Islay Quaich trophy and will be joined by the names of other winners from competitions to come, all taking place on the last day of our future trips.<br />
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The guests enjoyed a cracking week of weather, fishing, whisky and having good craic with the lads. I'm hoping that they will join us again on one of our trips because they were a great group of people. They had over 100 fish between them quite a few of which they dined on throughout the week washed down with quality single malt whisky.<br />
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The pic above was taken on Saturday morning. As the guests headed off for their ferry, it was time for Glen to put the boat back into it's moorings, always a sad moment as it signifies the end of another trip. Glen managed to squeeze in a few casts though and he landed a couple of lovely wee brownies. We were sad that the trip was over but have our May trip to look forward to which will be an absolute cracker!<br />
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In a few weeks time we meet up with good old Terry "Ten Men", Ozzy Mark, the two Jameses, Bassy, Snapey, Wesser, Richie and Kev....lets hope we once again enjoy great weather...a little warmer maybe!<br />
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If you would like to join us on one of our trips we are now taking bookings for our July and September trips. Please get in touch as soon as possible if you would like a chat about our trips, the costs and whats involved...search for 'Fly Fish Islay' on Facebook and ask other people who have been on our trips whether they have enjoyed them...........<br />
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Slainte<br />
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David<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-41889708140557474732012-04-19T15:23:00.001+01:002012-04-19T16:12:33.728+01:00First Fly Fish Islay Trip of 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVftvF3HTDhAFc1PH4hPUmjPzWy8RsIgJZIeZbRo76ATZ5EZbfLWvsSfXrKeZqQ0M4Z5281YLpCU09JyaLD0n4fGjXZFOc8nwBsLMSNfEOoY5JnZQXZTj5l55R8mQoATz6BotUzO3hS7Nn/s1600/ffi+logo+fbk+only.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVftvF3HTDhAFc1PH4hPUmjPzWy8RsIgJZIeZbRo76ATZ5EZbfLWvsSfXrKeZqQ0M4Z5281YLpCU09JyaLD0n4fGjXZFOc8nwBsLMSNfEOoY5JnZQXZTj5l55R8mQoATz6BotUzO3hS7Nn/s320/ffi+logo+fbk+only.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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At last, the moment Glen and I have been waiting for, all the prep has been done, the tackle has been purchased and the car is packed and ready to go. Six new trout rods and six reels, six new sea rods again with six reels, and blimey what fun we had, arguing about which fly patterns to order over a curry, what would be best for the dead calm loch or for when a gale was blowing, we eventually agreed and no less than 432 flies that surely contain some killer patterns!<br />
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We leave tonight at 10.30pm, booked on the 7am Calmac ferry bound for the magical Isle of Islay. On Saturday we are to meet up with our six guests, some who have fished before, some who have never, all have never fished an Islay loch in a classic Islay sunset.....<br />
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Our trips during April, May and June are now fully booked and sold out. The next trip that we are taking bookings for is the 14th July, please get in touch if you would like to join us. We can arrange bespoke trips for those wishing to book as a group, our fishing / whisky weeks make a perfect combination for a mates trip away and ace for a stag do! We provide rods, reels and carry consumables for you to purchase whilst you are there. Please give me a call if you would like to discuss...07875 405 980.<br />
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We hope to post pics throughout the week both on here and on Glen's blog. Lets hope that the angry wee broon troots of Islay are ready to take the fly.<br />
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Slainte<br />
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Woody<br />
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PS it has taken a while for us to get round to making Fly Fish Islay a serious offering and we'd like to thank those who have joined our trips and encourgaged us to make them a more regular, and dare I say it, more of a professional venture. Cheers to Snapey for the pics, Heathy for the encouragement, GP for the fag smoking, and GP's Uncle Mark of Repeat Repeat for the cracking logo!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlni6ZfDZGvG6coUq1aGh9eRXuNgBRRsY6oXfqjWeXZZJ3V6Wr4pUyG0-LklewPaBYWdqviy5ZQsLL1TosRVpIr5E8yO5qXo9Dkhmm3EB7MyaSu2YXy6DcZ-YbJetqj0K7vinqzbG9WPn/s1600/glen+ace+pic+fixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlni6ZfDZGvG6coUq1aGh9eRXuNgBRRsY6oXfqjWeXZZJ3V6Wr4pUyG0-LklewPaBYWdqviy5ZQsLL1TosRVpIr5E8yO5qXo9Dkhmm3EB7MyaSu2YXy6DcZ-YbJetqj0K7vinqzbG9WPn/s320/glen+ace+pic+fixed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-38301681626205384432012-01-20T12:19:00.005+00:002012-02-08T14:01:21.420+00:00Fly Fish Islay Packages 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgnOKfU8SXwv8169efxAlIwaH9pzRoIVaja6TnouUMJkniCyDsXmPIRshmLYLj0IwBZjjDMmTukqF5R99-vr7sFJRKed_0OFh2cUcsbljkQ1X2mjMqbveRbgHVS3dQCsmW3uqhEYHFYiu/s1600/fly+fish+islay+profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgnOKfU8SXwv8169efxAlIwaH9pzRoIVaja6TnouUMJkniCyDsXmPIRshmLYLj0IwBZjjDMmTukqF5R99-vr7sFJRKed_0OFh2cUcsbljkQ1X2mjMqbveRbgHVS3dQCsmW3uqhEYHFYiu/s320/fly+fish+islay+profile.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>I've been fishing since I was 7 years old when my Grandad used to take me fishing with a quill float for sticklebacks and small perch on the river Churnet in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands. I fell in love with the sport and the beautiful parts of the country that it took me to. I've fished for all kinds of species of fish throughout the UK but it wasn't until my work buying and selling whisky took me to the magical Isle of Islay that I began to truly appreciate what wonderful places that angling for wild brown trout can take you to. I still fish the pools and lakes for carp, perch, roach and all manner of fish but most of all I like to fish for wild brown trout and for grayling.<br />
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Islay is a small island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides with a population of around 2000 people. It is famous for the eight distilleries that it is home to, which produce some of the finest single malt whiskies in the world, and for its incredibly diverse flora and fauna. The island has many remote lochs and lochans full of angry wild wee brown trout that will give any angler good sport and there is also the famous spate river, the Laggan that has a very good run of salmon and sea trout.<br />
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I have been taking groups of people to Islay for a number of years now, whether they be anglers, whisky enthusiasts, or a mixture of the two, they've all enjoyed the experience immensely and many of them return year after year. I'm often asked what is included in the trips so I thought I would put together a list of what is included for those interested in joining us on one of our future trips.<br />
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In May 2012, we are taking a group of anglers to Islay, some of whom have enjoyed previous trips with us and are returning with extra guests. Here is what the cost of their holiday includes:-<br />
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<b><u>Quality accommodation for 7 nights at Finlaggan House on the shore of Loch Finlaggan.</u> </b><br />
Finlaggan is one of the most important historical sites in Scotland from there, the whole of the Scottish West coast was ruled by the Lord of the Isles. All towels and bed linen provided and a comprehensive range of facilities for the comfort of all guests. Accommodation for future trips will depend upon the size of the group.<br />
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<b><u>Complimentary Islay malt whisky tasting.</u> </b><br />
No visit to Islay is complete without nosing and tasting all 8 of the single malt whiskies that are distilled and matured there. For those who would like to take their interest a little further, visits to distilleries can be arranged.<br />
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<b><u>Complimentary casting Lesson.</u> </b><br />
For those new to fly fishing there is the opportunity to attend a complimentary casting lesson before the trip commences, hosted by Peter Arfield of the Bakewell Fly Fishing Shop. This gives guests a head start on the loch and means that they are able to spend more time catching fish than trying to master the art of casting. Guests will have the opportunity to stock up on any consumables that they may wish to purchase prior to the trip.<br />
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<b><u>Fishing Guides</u></b><br />
Whether guests are experienced anglers or new to the sport, one of our guides will be on hand to give help and advice and to locate the fish. Each trip will have one guide for up to 6 guests and two guides where there are 7 guests or more. Guides will carry extra consumables such as flys, tippet, leaders and floatant.<br />
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<b><u>Equipment</u></b><br />
We appreciate that for some guests this may be the first time they have ever been fishing, and others may have fished before but not for trout. Rods, reels and line will be available for those who wish to borrow them and consumables such as flys and tippet will be available to purchase from your guide.<br />
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For those wishing to sea fish from the rocks, there will be a number of spinning rod and reel outfits for guests to borrow. Consumables such as lures and spinners will be available to purchase from your guide.<br />
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<b><u>Wild Brown Trout Fishing</u></b><br />
Fishing for wild brown trout on a number of lochs will be included in the cost of the trip. For those wishing to venture further afield, or who wish to fish from a boat or fly fish for salmon, permits can be arranged. There will be the opportunity to take a brace of fish from the loch.<br />
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<b><u>Other Activities</u></b><br />
Other activities can be arranged for guests some of which will attract extra cost.<br />
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Stalking<br />
Salmon Fishing<br />
Wildlife excursions and sea safari<br />
VIP distillery tours<br />
Shooting<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ3ZI7IMHsS9paZ9D0OHV1SflcnbjMgcnmnwG-dyzrPc0sFsyGWVmHum40a61VhzEoAVa7uuXyeNmUnUeqXKiZQPzQ0iW8n_FMsXRYwVz8g5vIissVDulIKpKH2F1ZDMS4ImsL4MtUfx0/s1600/casting+finlaggan+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ3ZI7IMHsS9paZ9D0OHV1SflcnbjMgcnmnwG-dyzrPc0sFsyGWVmHum40a61VhzEoAVa7uuXyeNmUnUeqXKiZQPzQ0iW8n_FMsXRYwVz8g5vIissVDulIKpKH2F1ZDMS4ImsL4MtUfx0/s320/casting+finlaggan+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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If you are interested in joining us on a fly fishing trip to the magical Isle of Islay, or you would like to discuss the trips further, please don't hesitate to contact me on 07875 405 980. There are more pics and info on our Facebook page, search for 'Fly Fish Islay' and click like to subscribe. If you would like to contact me by email my address is <a href="mailto:david@rarecask.com">david@rarecask.com</a>.<br />
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It would be great to see you on one of our trips.<br />
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Slainte<br />
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David<br />
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</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-62850518892165711232012-01-14T11:31:00.004+00:002012-01-14T11:49:57.863+00:00Make Way For The Supermarket<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSgocoRcFeoh09a8zszmU1aimTF8n6gzHaTxF0op58hGwwEWg49wqKK9IVUdLa0-6TeE0jnQIImZdNWkbIGVxtYGMA8YypXRFS9CGpWgiUxdbDDGdROBbU34ZdV3S4G5RxWIUZiMptcqg/s1600/Churnet+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSgocoRcFeoh09a8zszmU1aimTF8n6gzHaTxF0op58hGwwEWg49wqKK9IVUdLa0-6TeE0jnQIImZdNWkbIGVxtYGMA8YypXRFS9CGpWgiUxdbDDGdROBbU34ZdV3S4G5RxWIUZiMptcqg/s320/Churnet+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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We have a new supermarket coming to Leek and it has caused quite a stir. When it was announced that the new supermarket was coming and the plans revealed that the intention was to build outwith the town centre, many protested saying that shoppers would be less likely to spend in the existing shops and that the independents would suffer as a consequence. Most fuses were blown however, when they announced their intention to make improvements to the road layout in town, and when it was suggested that the roundabout at the bottom of Derby Street, heaven forbid, might be removed.<br />
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Supermarkets are unfortunately a fact of life. None of us will stop them coming to our towns. We already have a Coop, a Morrisons, a Netto, an Aldi, and a Farmfoods, and the owners of the new supermarket are just after market share. Whether our businesses survive or not will largely depend on how positively we react and adapt to the situation instead of adopting a Canute style stance of trying to stop them coming at all. Certainly a bigger threat to all retail business is the increasing tendency for all of us to shop online rather than locally, the money leaving the local economy immediately and not even keeping local folk in jobs in the supermarket down the road. The message that we as retailers are shouting about through worthwhile schemes such as Totally Locally is don't do all of your shopping in the supermarket and if every adult in Leek spent just a fiver a week in a local shop then that would bring an extra 4.1 million pounds into the economy, safeguarding the jobs of local folk, and maybe even creating a few.<br />
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However.<br />
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When any business comes to town, they should be incredibly careful about how they treat the environment. Historically, Leek was a very important town to the textile industry. The town was at the centre of the arts and crafts movement, Morris and Sugden both having offices and businesses here. At one time, Leek factories were responsible for the dying of cloth for the entire Catholic Church right across the globe. Consequently much industrial waste was poured into the River Churnet and at one time it was said to be the most polluted in Europe. All this has changed and with legislation in place to protect rivers from industry, the Churnet has found some of it's former glory.<br />
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I'm lucky enough to fish our great rivers in Staffordshire and Derbyshire, the Dove, the Wye, the Derwent and the Manifold being my usual haunts. Anglers throughout the world are jealous of us who fish in these parts because of how blessed we are in scenic countryside, and in the diversity of flora and fauna that exists here, especially our wild brown trout, our grayling, and now, our salmon. I can honestly say though that of all the fishing I do in this part of the country, the upper Churnet is my favourite of all places because it is simply beautiful.<br />
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The small stretch of water in the picture above is a bend in the river Churnet right by the side of the road beside the Churnet works where the supermarket and it's related developments are to be built. Before the trees were felled in this spot, I would regularly stop and stand and watch free rising fish dimple the surface of the water was they smutted after small insects that had dropped their or that were emerging from below. The river was under the cover of 2 or 3 trees whose canopy afforded the fish shelter from predators in the form of Herons, and their roots would be a safe place for the smaller fish to hide from the bigger. This canopy was the home of many birds, and regularly, down the tunnel formed by the overhanging branches, kingfishers darted about between their favourite fishing pegs, now disappeared, and so too the birds.<br />
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Whilst we are all arguing about not wanting more supermarkets (at least not the ones that sell everything dirt cheap, bring us an Aldi Megastore any day of the week), and about our roads and a roundabout, these people are doing whatever they like, and I fear this is the sign of worse to come. The Churnet in Leek is only just recovering from a major pollution incident that happened within the last few years, it's trout and grayling have returned and along with them kingfishers, salmon and otters that haven't been resident in these parts for decades. I fear for their future.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-89132587867726682502012-01-04T17:50:00.000+00:002012-01-04T17:50:16.815+00:00Angling Resolutions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYHCzal1uA-barnrhAwjsB4QEmrWwVwH4mBLVThz0JPTYYa97gsWY_1r20jlCCnL8HSWYeADCFhg7RnnY2yo3tHl_SnCXgB4hB6K9MDxgwMecqCYkepumNgwK2d3Cnh9T5MdLUyHs82Un/s1600/Jase+Dovedale+Autumn+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYHCzal1uA-barnrhAwjsB4QEmrWwVwH4mBLVThz0JPTYYa97gsWY_1r20jlCCnL8HSWYeADCFhg7RnnY2yo3tHl_SnCXgB4hB6K9MDxgwMecqCYkepumNgwK2d3Cnh9T5MdLUyHs82Un/s320/Jase+Dovedale+Autumn+2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Happy New Year! It's been a while since I've updated my blog, mainly because I've had very little angling or dramming related to talk about. 2011 wasn't a good year for my fishing in and around the Staffordshire Moorlands. Islay was superb, as usual, despite wetter conditions than usual, the lochs gave up their troot without too much of a fight. In truth, Islay is one of the reasons I've not been out on the rivers of late, it has totally spoilt me, I love the island for it's whisky and it's fishing and it is truly angling and dramming heaven.<br />
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I have big ambitions for 2012 and my new years resolutions are built around these. Firstly, I aim to take groups of anglers to Islay on a much more frequent basis. Many of the anglers who joined us on last year's trips have booked up again for this year, and they're bringing more people with them, once you've been to the magical Isle of Islay, it is difficult to get it out of your system. So from March to October, we'll be running a trip at least once every two months so get in touch if you would like to join us. There is sea fishing involved too now as well as the loch fishing for truly wild angry Scottish brown trout, salmon fishing on the Laggan and even a little stalking can be arranged if required....look up and like 'Fly Fish Islay' on Facebook and you will kept up to date of all of our forthcoming trips.<br />
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I also intend to fish more back home in the Staffordshire Moorlands during 2012. I really enjoyed my Islay fishing last year and each time I returned home, the rivers were either empty of water or in flood so it wasn't good for the trout season. I've had a re-jig with my fishing tickets, I really enjoyed the Wye but couldn't justify it again purely because I feel that it is just too far away for me to nip out for a couple of hours fishing, consequently I didn't get my money's worth last year. I'll be rejoining LTDFFA, the little syndicate on the Staffordshire bank off the river Dove at Dovedale ('The best parts of Derbyshire are in Staffordshire'), there is a good crowd of anglers in that club and I really enjoyed the craic last season. I've dropped DRAC, again due to waters being too far away, and I've kept LADFFA. This year, the plan is to get out and do a little more coarse fishing especially when the rivers are out of sorts. I want to get back to the waters where I fished when I was a lad and challenge myself to try new techniques and methods that I've never dabbled in before...help!! To this end I've rejoined Leek and Moorlands Fishing Association and Fenton and District so that I can fish Heron Marsh and most importantly, Knypersley Reservoir where I fished when I was at school and loved the place. <br />
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My camera has broken which is another reason that this blogger has been quiet, this is a situation that will be put right quite soon, when, with a little help from my mate Jason Snape who took the superb picture above at Dovedale in the autumn of last year, I will purchase a new one.<br />
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Here is to a 2012 full of angling and a little dramming ;-)<br />
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Slainte<br />
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DavidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-9796723275656748322011-10-11T15:57:00.001+01:002011-10-11T15:58:15.822+01:00Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bruichladdich Ed XXXVII<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZmKhQppl1n8wkVbfFZxS55mFirVbB-MShkQjjaSL9_js8qQj_I5fGomxS4c8Y29uN8H_sG86TSjxLD9Clv1DDLDiht-JjSiS-briD_CxvSWJ9ES5dL0H9qPKxh4_lhspCuqHYjVD5BW4/s1600/lighthouse+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZmKhQppl1n8wkVbfFZxS55mFirVbB-MShkQjjaSL9_js8qQj_I5fGomxS4c8Y29uN8H_sG86TSjxLD9Clv1DDLDiht-JjSiS-briD_CxvSWJ9ES5dL0H9qPKxh4_lhspCuqHYjVD5BW4/s400/lighthouse+2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm sitting in the bay window of lovely old house on Islay. The view over Loch Indaal towards the Big Strand and Port Ellen beyond is breathtaking. For the last couple of days I've been busy applying labels and duty stamps to our latest edition to the Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask range and it's been one of our most exciting finds to date, not least because of how we found it and what an extraordinarily beautiful dram it has turned out to be.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A couple of years ago, we were approached by a somebody who had been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to own one of the very first casks that were filled when Bruichladdich was taken over by it's current owners after having been silent, mothballed for many years. He wondered whether we'd like to buy the cask and offer it to our customers under the Rare Cask label. The whiskies that we bottle under our label always have to be the best possible example of each particular distilleries house style so, in order for us to approve it, excellent wood policy would have to be apparent. Back in September 2001, these first few casks at Bruichladdich were primarily first fill ex sherry hogsheads, very well made, clean, tight casks, the staves of which had all been seasoned with a fill of rich, dark olorosso sherry.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The original owner of the cask and I have kept a close eye on how the whisky has developed with the wood over the last couple of years. The first time I nosed and tasted it I new it had the potential to be one of the very best drams I have ever tasted under an independent label, and a Bruichladdich that hasn't been matured in wine casks which seems to be the distillery's cask of choice these days.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Bruichladdich whisky under the new ownership became 10 years old at the beginning of September, and so it seemed fitting that, provided the whisky had reached maturity, that we would bottle the cask shortly after. I'm convinced that this whisky is the first single cask single malt to be released from Bruichladdich since it's 10th anniversary of the new ownership....a proper wee laddie at 10.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So last Friday, my daughter and I made our way over to the Isle of Islay. All being well, the cask would be bottled that day too. There would be a long wait over the weekend until I could pick up the bottles on Monday morning so that I could get them all labelled up on onto the van and ferry to ship back down south.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On the Saturday night I thought we'd head down to the Loch Indaal Hotel to see if we could persuade the landlord to let us watch the football, my favourite Stoke City at home to Manchester United in the premier league, a game I was sad to be missing given the probability of an unbelievable atmosphere at the Britannia Stadium. All the local lads in the pub were watching the rugby but they kindly switched over and joined me watching the heroic potters hold boring Man Utd to a 1-1 draw. I was having a pint with a lad called Craig and I noticed he was wearing a Bruichladdich sweatshirt. He asked me whether I was holidaying on Islay and I explained that I'd just had a cask bottled at Bruichladdich. He turned out to be the very man who had bottled the whisky for us the previous day. Islay is a very small island.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Sherry hogsheads like these are very difficult for distillers to come by these days especially given the fact that they will often need batches of 80 to 100 at a time. Bourbon barrels have often been preferred by scotch whisky distillers because they mature spirit very consistently and because of their shape and size. Bourbon barrels are smaller, and easier to handle. They are also uniform in size so make warehousing more efficient. Hogsheads however, do differ in shape and size so can be difficult for small distilleries to use their storage efficiently. Most hogsheads are made up from staves from ex bourbon barrels and it is rare to find a hoggy that has been made up from the staves of ex olorosso casks.</div></div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Our cask was a first fill, and given that peaty whisky can mature exceptionally well in a second fill, it is destined to be filled again for another lucky private individual. We'll look forward to sampling that over the years to come ;-)</div></div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The whisky has been bottled at the natural cask strength of a whopping 62.5%. Bruichladdich don't tend to water the spirit down to 63.5% as other distillers do, and the casks tend to be filled at around 70% which is why our whisky's strength is so high. We have not chill filtered the whisky, nor have we added any colouring.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So, the whisky is bottled, the labels designed, cut and applied, we are just waiting for our printed tubes to arrive and then we'll be starting to ship it out to our customers. There will be 100 bottles available at The Wine Shop in Leek and 100 at <a href="http://www.whisky-online.com/">http://www.whisky-online.com/</a> for those customers further afield. Whisky Online specialise in shipping overseas. Both the Wine Shop and Whisky Online have started waiting lists so that customers may pre-order their bottles. To avoid disappointment, please contact us ASAP to add your name to the list and secure your bottles.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Number of bottles: 200</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Filled to cask September 2001</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Bottled September 2011</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Strength: 62.5%</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Cask: First fill ex sherry hogshead</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Price: £80 per bottle</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Tasting notes:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><em>"This is Bruichladdich as nature intended, honest and uncluttered by overt wood technology. The colour is a rich mahogany in the glass. Then come the aromas, intense raisins and woodland fruits at first, then sticky toffee pudding, simmering spices and a deepening complexity. The palate follows the lead of the nose but develops further with flavours of liquorice and salt. A keen oily mouthfeel keeps the whole in balance and paves the way for a toothbrush defying finish. An uncompromising, memorable and beautiful whisky."</em></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We're proud to have been given the opportunity to bottle and sell The Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bruichladdich Edition XXXVII....thanks Peter!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Cha'n 'eil e soirbh!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">David</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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Had a quick look at Dovedale today. The river is carrying a fair bit of colour but clearing at the edges. According to the car park attendant, who apparently has a measuring stone (?!) the river is about 10 inches above it's usual levels.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFZAvHHQwqe260TO-zV0fh4fFdpi_bk7wqfudy1xNJWqtqmlwbSi_wGhpFrOQRSnLqoCXvz5ioldh7b5FKykd80Su_3eGsH4a9kn_SdbMn1LBx6raC7XuPA7kcqGKs_LMoaStwTbIo90j/s1600/100_0403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFZAvHHQwqe260TO-zV0fh4fFdpi_bk7wqfudy1xNJWqtqmlwbSi_wGhpFrOQRSnLqoCXvz5ioldh7b5FKykd80Su_3eGsH4a9kn_SdbMn1LBx6raC7XuPA7kcqGKs_LMoaStwTbIo90j/s320/100_0403.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-61685598450292862702011-09-21T14:25:00.003+01:002011-09-22T11:18:42.328+01:00Islay September 2011: Trip 1, Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhij2bQW08ioyeH13MJgC5DReYvMuWxai5MPtJ58KhOXXbvMT4vr0zub2zyfcEtEoxV6xnVoRuaDgZmtqZvU9mlANIEf7acyHqg5oR880SFLKNDUWQ4MpD5XTqUsk58p29x-7ZMv_1n1TBA/s1600/100_0293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhij2bQW08ioyeH13MJgC5DReYvMuWxai5MPtJ58KhOXXbvMT4vr0zub2zyfcEtEoxV6xnVoRuaDgZmtqZvU9mlANIEf7acyHqg5oR880SFLKNDUWQ4MpD5XTqUsk58p29x-7ZMv_1n1TBA/s320/100_0293.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Last week I returned from our latest trip to Islay. I was joined by a very experienced group of anglers and a number of the group were as eager to give the sea fishing a go as much as the usual loch fishing for wild brown trout. Our bunch of merry men for this trip was made up of master of the dead drift Glen Pointon, John Tyzack, Ron Trevis, Andy Heath and Wesser. Andy was a very welcome member to the group, for along with his trusty hound 'Mooch', he provided much of the meat for the table, which in turn was prepared in such an appetising way by our brilliant chef Wesser.<br />
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We arrived on Saturday afternoon leaving mainland on the 1pm ferry having left the Staffordshire Moorlands at 3.30pm. All were tired but we knew that we would have to get a fishing session in on Loch Finlaggan that evening as the weather prospects were not good for Sunday and Monday as the tail end of Hurricane Katia would make a visit to the West Coast of Scotland. All had a fine few hours on the loch, and we caught on all manner of dry flys and one or two traditional wets.<br />
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The weather on Sunday wasn't quite as bad as threatened by the BBC but we still thought best to seek a sheltered spot on the Eastern shores of Islay, choosing Bunnahabhain bay as our destination as other anglers on previous trips with us had enjoyed quite a bit of success there.<br />
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On the point, just around the bay from the sad wreck of the Wyre Majestic, Pointon, Wesser and JT began to cast and it wasn't long before they were in to fish, mackerel at first, the biggest I've ever seen. It soon became clear that we would not be short of food over the days to come.<br />
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Every so often, huge shoals of small silver fish would make massive boils on the surface of the sea, thousands of silvery flecks being chased, cornered up by packs of hunting fish, and occasionally, these predators would leap out of the water, huge olive green pollock feet from the rocks where we stood. Quickly the lads focused their attention on the pollock, casting precisely with their heavy lures, and quite soon, pollock and laithe began to come in to the 3lb mark.<br />
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When we first arrived at Bunnahabhain distillery, we were lucky enough to watch a sea otter feeding close in, and earlier in the day, Andy, Ron and I had watched a pair of white tailed sea eagles hunt, kill and eat a hare near to our accommodation at Finlaggan. As if these close encounters with Islay's abundant wildlife were not enough, we were about to experience another of the islands rare inhabitants.<br />
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Andy Heath has long been a keen bird enthusiast, and I've never met anybody who knows as much about them, and as much about how to handle them. When we arrived at the rocks, he'd commented about the gannets that he'd seen fishing just a little way out from where we were, and we were all amazed by the way these gigantic birds were making steady rising flights to 80 to 100 feet above the sea then making a short flick of the tail and wings before diving vertically for their prey in the waves beneath.<br />
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JT had just made a long arching cast with his lure, a good distance out from the shore, and from nowhere, one of these huge gannets dived into the water, 20 feet into the water according to John, and reappeared seconds later with the lure in its beak. We would all panic, swear, and shuffle about on the rocks where we stood and we wondered how the hell we would avoid hurting this beautiful bird, all that is except Andy. Coolly and calmly, JT and Andy brought the bird in, and after a very careful retrieve (with no side strain), the bird was in Andy's hands and the hooks removed. They look big in the sky but you cannot truly appreciate the size of these graceful hunting birds. An event that I shall never forget, and neither will the gannet.<br />
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The gannet safely unhooked by Andy<br />
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The gannet takes to the air.<br />
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The tail end of the hurricane arrived on Monday and seemed to last most of Tuesday too but a good deal of fly tying, eating, drinking and generally being merry was achieved. I took Andy and Ron on a couple of distillery visits and I managed to make final arrangements for a cask of Bruichladdich Malt Whisky to be bottled in readiness for me to collect later this month. A few drams of this amazing whisky was enjoyed in the evening...more news about this to follow.<br />
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On all of the fishing trips I've organised in the last few years, there has always been at least one person who enjoys cooking for the group and the food has always been very good but this time we had Wesser. His attention to detail was amazing, whether he was cooking the brown trout we'd caught that day or local meat, all agreed that his food was incredibly good. All the veg was Islay grown from the walled garden at Islay House, all the meat was local and fresh. All washed down with a good Islay dram made for a truly unforgettable experience.<br />
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Can't wait to be back.....next week!<br />
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Thanks lads<br />
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Slainte<br />
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DavidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8653315092893032181.post-82706476916544414602011-09-09T09:50:00.002+01:002011-09-09T13:11:22.840+01:00Islay Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcVt8ZMgPvYqkX1sHZK573XY4Ej6UhlhVxHbsLsRED9pw4Qmx-JGavN6b08p3BigSJzgfkdsV9qPd-HCYRrMFyhTve0c2gDY-iaOVuwU1Tkt7Yi4Qrnv39pEl4xY_I5xoQfckjn2dl-Zr/s1600/glen+and+kev+boat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcVt8ZMgPvYqkX1sHZK573XY4Ej6UhlhVxHbsLsRED9pw4Qmx-JGavN6b08p3BigSJzgfkdsV9qPd-HCYRrMFyhTve0c2gDY-iaOVuwU1Tkt7Yi4Qrnv39pEl4xY_I5xoQfckjn2dl-Zr/s320/glen+and+kev+boat.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Well it seems a fair while since I've been to Islay but thankfully, the waiting is now over. I've been over to Islay a couple of times this year which is less than I usually do but now I'm set to visit twice this month. The first of the two trips begins today and is largely a fishing jaunt with pals Pointon, Wesser, JT, Andy and Ron. There is plenty of experience amongst the group and if this bunch can't bag up on the lovely Islay lochs, no one can. We're hoping to fish for Brown Trout, Sea Trout, Salmon and all manner of sea fish.<br />
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I'm also there to have a final check on a cask of whisky that we are hoping to bottle in the next couple of weeks for our Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask range. I've been keeping a close eye on it over the past couple of years, and this stunning Islay sherry matured whisky could be one of our best bottlings yet. If all goes well and It tastes as good as I expect it to from the cask, a few hundred bottles of this amber nectar will be heading back to the Staffordshire Moorlands with me in a couple of weeks time. <br />
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I have 5 spare seats in the van so anyone who would like a lift to Islay and back, please let me know...<br />
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Keep an eye on this blog, and Glen Pointon's to see how we get on with the fishing and how well we cope with Hurricane Katia and Pointon's bad habits.<br />
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It's just over a week now since we got back from our amazing trip to Islay. I thought I'd post the remaining pics on the blog and once again it's thanks to Jason Snape for most of them.<br />
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Right through the weekend, the weatherman had been warning us of a gale that would hit us on Monday, and he wasn't wrong. I was up at 7am to get myself ready for a day's work at Caol Ila Distillery's festival open day, where I'd be pairing Caol Ila 12 year old single malt with smoked salmon and Caol Ila Distillers Edition moscatel finish with Catriona's amazing clootie dumpling. As ever, good old Terry was up making sure the stove was fired up with a good sized tray of sausages cooking within. Outside the wind was blowing and it was sure to be a wild day. It was gusting up the loch straight towards the house and the trees around Finlaggan House were bent right over in the 80mph breeze. It was sure to be a wild day, a day for folk to be at the tying table in front of the fire I thought...we'd got no one mad enough to fish on a day like this with us this time.....<br />
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Later in the week I was invited to a whisky dinner at Lagavulin Distillery where I was chatting to a whisky enthusiast. I told him that my party was staying at Finlaggan and he said that he'd visited the castle on Monday during the storm and he remarked that he'd seen two crazy anglers attempting to fish the loch amidst the chaos of the storm....it was Pointon and Kev....desperate to get on the loch to prove that a fish could be caught in such conditions, and they did. There were a few times during the week when I found myself thinking that there would be no way on earth that I would be fishing in some of the conditions we were experiencing on Islay, on our rivers back home, it would be pointless. However, when the wind is up and their are huge waves on the loch, the fishing can be spectacular. There's no problem getting a line out and the fish are on the hunt for terrestrials blown off the heather on the banks of the loch. These were ideal conditions for the lads to try the newly developed LTD 'mouse pattern', a scary looking fly that you would imagine using to catch huge angry Rainbows in the wild rivers of Kamchatcka or Alaska. Sunday and Tuesday, for me were ideal conditions and it saw all the lads taking fish. They were certainly my best two days and I wouldn't be surprised if we had a 100 fish between us.<br />
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Sometime during midweek, 'Islay time' prevents me from pinpointing exactly which, we headed out in search of a little small stream fishing and ended up gazing at the Atlantic rollers on Saligo beach. It is always a beautiful place to be but we'd just hit conditions right in the early evening for the light to be beneficial to our resident photographer, Snapey, who ran about all over the dunes taking hundreds of snaps.<br />
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It wasn't long before Pointon was seen gazing West into nothingness and beyond like a lost poet....posing for the camera basically but some nice pics were had nonetheless.....<br />
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We'd asked the landowner if it was ok for us to wet a line on the narrow Saligo river that spills out onto Saligo beach. A river that when in spate has a plentiful sea trout run. Today there was a fair amount of water in it and it's many small, dark, peaty pools made sure that my heart was in my mouth every time an angler gently flicked a wet fly into them. Pointon turned to me whilst drifting a tiny fly through the depths of a pool with a look of excitement on his face...."you know what could happen here brother!".<br />
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A take from a sea trout holding up in one of these small pools would give a fisherman the run around of his lifetime. If one of these strong fish of 3lb or more smashed at one of our flys, all hell would break loose.<br />
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It wasn't long before Glen got a take. Alas it was no monstrous sea trout but it was the most beautiful tiny wild Islay river trout that I've ever seen, and a real achievement to catch it in such a snaggy small stream.<br />
Later on, James missed a take from a much bigger brownie that came up from the depths and displayed a swirl of gold as it smashed at his fly. We were all gutted that we never saw the fish come to hand, but there would always be another day.<br />
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The wee troot gave Snapey some great opportunities and he's hoping to get something out of Greys and Loop for this magazine cover shot.....<br />
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Later on in the week it was time to get Herman on to the loch for the first time. It was a real dreach day but he was determined to catch a fish, even though it had been years and years since he'd wet a line. <br />
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I set him up with a single fly set up with a bibio on the point, a fly that had been performing well all week. He soon began to get takes but struggled to connect with the angry wee Finlaggan trout. Glen spent a good hour with him which saw Herman drop a good size trout and then, finally, his first Islay trout.<br />
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Ace Islay angler David Morris was on the loch preparing for the open competition that was due to take place at Finlaggan a couple of days later. He was keeping his team of 5 flys a secret, incase we told any other of the local lads what he was catching fish after fish after fish on. I was lucky enough to be taught the basics of fly fishing by David way back when I first started to visit Islay, he had me out on Finlaggan, Skerrols and Ballygrant and it was fishing alongside him that I caught my first wild brown troots. There's no pretence about these local anglers no Orvis gadgets, no fly fishing fashion just all the stuff that is required to catch and dispatch a fish quickly and to win the competition. He is a regular choice as a ghillie by the Scotland fly fishing team when they visit Islay to practice for their own competitions.<br />
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And so the final pic....and it was always going to be one of GP with the biggest fish of the week...although not the best for that was the wee one from Saligo. This fish was taken from a stretch of bank renowned for harbouring a few bigger trout. Whilst only being around the 1.5lb mark, these angry loch trout put up a huge fight and landing one is a real achievement. Well done youth!<br />
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Another great week spent with a fantastic bunch of lads, who, I'm happy to say, should all be returning with us next festival time when we'll reunite to fish the lochs of Islay and Jura, and have a laugh and a drink or two along the way!<br />
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Slainte<br />
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We've just had a great week on the Isle of Islay. How do I know that it was great? Well you only need to look at some of the comments that are being left on Glen's blog and my blog to know that there will be one or two extra folk returning to the magical Isle of Islay during Feis week 2012. I sent an email out to all attendees asking if they'd seen my fishing cap that I'd accidentally left in the cloak room of Finlaggan House, our home for the week, desperately hoping that someone might have picked it up. The response I got gave me a wee giggle and summed up the week in a nutshell....<br />
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"ps...didn't find cap, but had to throw away someone's pants from cloakroom floor !!??!?;-)"<br />
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Pointon??<br />
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Thursday 19th May was spent packing the van with way too much stuff as normal...8 rods, one of which I'd use in the week to come. 4 reels, ditto. Far too many clothes and far too much booze. The weather has always been good to me during the week of the Islay Festival of Malt and Music, but this year, the weather forecast wasn't as promising so I'd packed enough to cope with the hottest of summer days, to the coldest of the winter months.....At 4am, Pointon and Snapey arrived at Highfield and, after a few load "Wooooodddddyyyy"s and an appropriate swear word or two, we pointed the van Northwards and off to pick up Kev from Macc, and then on to the Motorways 6, 74 and 73 calling in Glasgow to collect Glen's newly purchased Sage rod that he was keen to try out on the wild lochs of Islay during the week ahead.<br />
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I had agreed to work at the Lagavulin Distillery open day on Saturday which required us to be on Islay in time for my 8am start at the distillery, and so, we camped at Port Mor campsite for the night, our accommodation at Finlaggan House not being available to us until late Saturday afternoon.<br />
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During the early evening, Glen took Kev to have a look at a nearby stream, and began casting to the wee rising troots......the perfect start to their fishing week, although Glen managed to leave his new Greys scoop net that he'd desperate miss in the open fishing competition, the following day on the famous Loch Gorm.<br />
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The campsite was very convenient for the Port Charlotte hotel and later that night, whilst Snapey and Pointon caught up with some much needed rest, Kev and I met up with Mark and Helga Unsworth and Ian Gray in the pub and checked out the Islay ales and enjoyed some local music......I'd need the ale to help me to sleep as the wind whipped and whistled about the tiny tent in which I attempted to sleep and eventually struggle out of at 6am the following morn...the facilities are great at Port Mor, under floor heating in the shower blocks and red hot showers soon warmed me up and prepared me for the day's work ahead. I was really looking forward to getting in to Finlaggan House though, the van was full of the kit of 4 blokes, most of which were geared up for a week's wild angling and one of which was geared up with a multitude of photographic equipment....it had become impossible to find anything in the back of the van, that was if you could get in to the bl@@dy thing, the doors having decided to refuse to open. How the boys laughed as my OCD reached dangerous levels.<br />
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The lads took me down to Port Ellen and dropped me off at Lagavulin Distillery, where, during their Feis Ile open day, I'd host a whisky tasting for attendees, paring Lagavulin 16 year old with Catriona MacGillivary's home made treacle tablet and Lagavulin Distillery Edition with Rochefort and Stilton cheeses...winner...<br />
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Glen was itching to enter the Feis Ile open fishing competition on Loch Gorm and Kev had decided to join in too. The pair were dropped off at the designated meeting point on Gorm and they met up with the other local anglers....Glen had met some of these local lads before, among them some of Scotland's finest fishermen. These guys put us English anglers to shame....down our way, a lot of anglers chose fly fishing because they think it gives them a certain status, they chose to do it instead of golf...they talk about the 'ethos of fly fishing' whatever that is, and thankfully, these Scotch lads fly fish because there is no other style of fishing available, that's it, so they are all normal guys, not a jot of pretence amongst them, and that's why Glen thought it appropriate to walk in the the barn full of them and say....<br />
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"Well, I've met all sorts of blokes in my time, I've met Scousers, I've met Geordies and I've met Mancs but you Jocks are the biggest c@nts of them all!"....nice one brother....<br />
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I'll let Glen tell you / explain about (delete as appropriate) the competition on his blog....seemingly it was a near run thing. One thing I will say...all the lads were incredibly brave out fishing in those conditions which was basically a storm that had blown in off the Atlantic and was reeking havok on the loch. I reckon Kev must have thought he was in Heaven when he eventually reached the comfort of Finlaggan House, and tucked into his first Islay<br />
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I finished my day's work and headed of to Finlaggan. Throughout the evening, more and more members of our party started to arrive. Glen and Kev had much to tell us about the competition and, at about 9pm, we were joined by the Luxembourg contingent which consisted of Terry, Mark and James. Introductions were made, drams were had and later, Herman and Katey joined us for drinks in the large dining room where we planned the week ahead and shared our expectations. Pointon, as ever, giving it the big 'en, kept everyone's feet firmly on the ground and it was obvious from the start that we'd managed to bag ourselves a bunch of normal people, all wanted to fish, all wanted to drink, all wanted to have fun and all wanted to enjoy the experience of eating freshly caught wild loch trout, from loch to pan to plate all within a few minutes.....<br />
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Once again we were lucky enough to be joined by Jason Snape. All the good pictures on this post (and the ones to follow) are taken by him. Jase kept an eye on things for us whilst we were out on the loch. He made sure the house was warm and that the kettle was at the ready when we got back at the end of the day. He also kept Pointon under control and at times I wondered if he'd slipped some medication into Glen's tea, so uncharacteristically chilled out he appeared to be. <br />
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On Sunday we took it easy during the morning. It was a good opportunity to get a good breakfast, settle in to our wonderful accommodation and to sort through our fishing gear. Some of the group were keen to talk about and indeed tie some of the patterns that Glen and I were recommending. At about 12 noon we left the house. The conditions were looking quite good, although a little breezy, and after a team photo or two, off to Loch Finlaggan we went....<br />
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From left to right....Mark, Glen, Me, Terry, James, and Kev.<br />
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We all dropped in to the loch in the visitor centre bay and immediately started to see fish rising to our dry flies. Islay is great for dry fly fishing, in most conditions and the rises are often spectacular. Even if fish are not freely rising to insects floating on the surface it is worth casting a dry fly even during a gale as we'll see later on....<br />
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The LTD orange tag was a favourite and some had opted for the recently launched LTD Mouse variant which received much interest from the wee angry Finlaggan troots. Mark was the first of the Luxembourg contingent to catch and he was over the moon. It was great for me and Glen to see that the lads were catching so early on, it took the pressure off us a little, there would be nothing worse than the lads blanking all week having made so much effort to be there......It was ace to see the looks on their faces each time they landed a fish..<br />
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It had been a long day and we had managed plenty of fish between us. We decided that a good feed was required and we agreed to head in to Bowmore for a curry. It was 7.30pm. I could see that conditions were improving all the time and as we walked back towards Finlaggan Castle and the house, I remember turning to Kev and Mark and saying that Glen could be on for an amazing evening if conditions continued to improve. Glen decided to stay and fish and when we got back from our huge feast in Bowmore, Glen told us how he'd had 26 fish in an hour or so worth of electric fishing and I knew he wasn't exaggerating, I'd seen how the conditions were improving and have been on the loch before with David Morris and with Glen where there have been fish rising everywhere, battering the naturals in the calm warm breeze of a quiet Loch Finlaggan Evening...superb. Glen got back to the house before us and met Herman and Katey. Herman got the stove fired up and set about turning Glen's catch into a feast. Glen told me later that it was the best fish supper he'd ever had, and washed down with a glass or two of Black Bottle, he went to bed later in no pain at all.<br />
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What a start to our Islay trip May 2011, and there would be much more to come....<br />
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To be continued.... <br />
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LTD!!<br />
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Woody<br />
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PS nice video of the trip by Glen......<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqrfRbgwgHI">Click Here</a> <br />
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Sorry....had to raid Glen's comments again as Terry left this great message....<br />
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"What a week! Fishing Islay was incredible! First and only time in my life I've been able to shoot my entire line with only one false cast but then I suspect I won't be casting in Gale Force winds with gusts of 120 Km/H too often! The memories are incredible: Shooting the bull with Glen and the guys in the evening over numerous pints and drams while the wind and rain pounded against the windows, fishing up to my ass in water while the wind and rain pounded against me, Glen cooking eggs on the Aga with a headlamp when the electricity cut out, the looks we got when we walked into the curry house and the pub wearing waders and boots, letting myself be persuaded by Mark that an eight mile hike through the woods during a gale was a good idea, watching trees and branches come down in front and behind us while hiking, watching Jase striding along with his jacket wide open and no hat while James, Mark and I looked like drowned rats, those two nice kids who gave us a ride back to Finlaggan house so we didn't have to walk the last two miles, discovering the ultimate death sauce and, maybe just maybe, adding too much to my pasta sauce, (I did noticed that everyone was walking around bowlegged the next day) turning the air blue with curses when I lost those three lovely trout on Gorm due to my lousy tippet material, bringing that first lovely fish to the net on Finlaggan, the heart stopping rises on the infamous LTD SEDGE. tying my first flies in over twelve years, the pleasure of having fish take them, the torture of having Mark and James taking swigs of Laphroaig's Quarter Cask while I was driving us from the airport and couldn't drink and most especially the memory of a bunch of fantastic people who made this a magical moment in time! I'm there next year with a cheeky smile and a glint in my eye...."<br />
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