Sonik SK4 XTR Fly Rod

On a recent blog I commented on the fantastic new XTR reel, well here is a view of the new Sonik SK4XTR fly rod.  As with all Sonik's, the rod arrived in the robust cordura zip top tube which is clearly marked with the discription, size and rod rating.  Inside a neatly sectioned cloth sleeve ensures sound protection for the rod within.
First views of the sections imediately lift the spirt, a well finished blank of olive gloss set off some very fine gold highlighting to the whips.  Rod connections are very neat with the now standard "dot to dot" alignment system , a great aide for a swift set up. I had the 9ft 5/6 rod which for a middle to tip action has a surprisingly fast action that delivered some very tight loops,  yet it remained forgiving enough to recover the odd waver or miscast .  The rod delivered well at both short and medium range, but, it simply sung with absolute ease when delivering a long line. I was using Snowbee's XS plus. 
The rod which comes in 4 sections, is a great all round stillwater rod, and well worth considering if your looking for a step up to a faster action. A powerful blank with sensitivity, its a perfect transition rod for advancing and experienced anglers.

Children of Porchester School 2013

How quickly these event return each year...  but none is more enjoyable than that of the students from Porchester Community School.    This year saw the return to the now established venue of Meon Springs Trout Fishery.

Harry and the spoils of a Champion.



Cleo and the girls hatching a plan..!

This years event would follow that of the passed, offering the angler who catches the biggest fish to claim the spoils. Always a competitive event, this years winner Harry Adams, took a fish of 5lbs 8oz to secure the title, chasing off close competition from  Regan Laing and previous enthusiastic champion angler Joshua Sparks. 
Twelve anglers, took part in the event, supported by mentors from the Partnership Fly Fishing club and the brilliant staff of Meon Springs .   Fishing proved top notch , beautiful Rainbow trout lead a merry dance throughout the day .  Well done Harry and thank you all involved, special thanks to Chris Read who's vital charity,  A Smile for a Child supported the day.

Fishing for Forces 2013

Fishing for Forces, take to the water once again,  with a great bunch of troops.   This clip  captures some fantastic angles  while reinforcing the real message...    Well done FFF.

https://vimeo.com/74498695

Near UK record Grayling

Beautiful rivers share beautiful fish...  no better way can describe when the ledgendary River Test produced this fantastic Grayling that tipped the scale at 4lb ..... not far off a potential  British record..   It's captor completely stunned by the bankside attention remained quite unaware of the achievement that had just unfolded before our eyes. 
Fishing a dry daddy, the specimen rose from the fast water to engulf that fly.  There ensused a dogged battle until the fish was finally and safely guided over the waiting net.  Quickly photographed and weighed the fish was swiftly slipped back to the water.  Perhaps next time it will top the scale as a magic record breaker..

What a sight, and a fishing moment I will not be forgetting .

Stunning Grayling from the River Test.

Fly Fishing Florida USA





As anglers fish, pelicans catch..!!!  Bait fish are bombarded all day around Naples Pier Florida.

  

Youngsters enjoy an action packed day....of fly fishing

1st Prize, Ben collects a complete outfit from the club chairman.

As the youngsters take on their parents it was fish all round. 

Fishing action was hot as temperatures soared in the Meon Valley, (Saturday 20 July)....  Fishing took place a Meon Springs, this being our the first event following Keith Poulton's departure for a well deserved retirement, (all the best Keith). The new team did him proud as they catered and assisted though out the day.  Following an introduction and safety briefing Dads and children set off with their mentors for the day.

Rebecca showing the girls have what it takes

With the youngsters setting the pace, it was not long before the first fish came to the bank.  Dad's did try to keep up but the order of the day saw some great fish to 4lb being landed.  Top spots went to Ben Sizer  15, for the boys with Rebecca Bland 10, showing girl power..  

Finally Dad of the day and first time fly fisher, Basil Sheppard, took the adult honours with as super rainbow in prime condition.

Finally a huge thank you goes to all the supporters who made the day possible.

Basil receives his prize

Three Fly Challenge- raise money for the Wild Trout Trust

Partnership Fly Fishing Club raise £2,400 in aid of the Wild Trout Trust

Saturday 22 June saw the fourth annual 'Three Fly Challenge' held at Meon Springs, organised by Neil Mundy and in aid of the 'Wild Trout Trust' .   25 anglers fished to score points using three different flies to catch four trout each.  David King (above) won the competition with 28 points catching all of his four trout on a dry fly, he won a brand new Sage Fly Rod and an engraved tankard, Tim Kennard (far right) came second with 26 points.  Neil Mundy and Shaun Leonard (left, Director of the WTT) presented the prize.
Shaun gave an informative and interesting over view of the WTT and its important function adding that the funds raise from today would be used for further projects on the River Meon in memory of Pasco James.

Safety Afloat- and a great day too..

Deep water at the best of time can be a risk, but when bobbing around in open water while fishing then that risk just went higher. 
On a recent trip to Farmoor 1,  Chris and Neil, had a blast as the water fished it's socks off.   Gleaming bars of silver all fully finned led the guys a merry dance during their session.  Alway competive the battle ended 12-9... (catch and release).  Don't worry, I'll save you the embarsment Chris...oops.
But the main point of this blog, is the picture, which I felt depicts good water safety. While Neil plays a nice rainbow on the choppy water, he is well position on the seat and in full control of the equipemnt and fish, around his neck, a life support system, and of course the standard cap and glasses.
Well done guys , a great day all round,  nice looking Hardy reel too.

Sonik XKR 5/6/7

Sonik have certainly hit the spot with their new range XKR Reels - Large arbor with a V shape spool, (to ensure an even line lay) the reel is produce from bar stock aluminium.  A tone of gunmetal and gold highlights add the most perfectly balanced style to a beautiful piece of engineering.
The spool change is a quick affair by unscrewing the central nut , give a firm pull and bingo... push back and the spool beds in without any movement around the housing.



Sonik XKR, loaded with the XS plus from Snowbee

A fully adjustable drag is pretty well protected from the elements and it delivers the most taming smooth application of pressure, controlled by a large knob which enables easy instant adjustment during your fight should you require.
The reel was delivered for left hand wind but changing to right is achieved swiftly and without the need of any tools- excellent if coaching or providing clients with equipment to use.
Supplied in a neoprene case and with size options the reel offers excellent value and looks and feels a million dollars,  a great buy for the price.
Follow the link from the blog or www.soniksports.com

Chris's 1st Redfish on fly...

It all started with a long planned family holiday in Florida. We were taking our two daughters and their three children to Orlando for a week and then sending them all home, then my wife and I taking a further two weeks on the Gulf coast without them.

My old fishing buddy, Dave King, had given me lots of advice about fishing the Gulf, so my number one target was to be Snook off the beach. However, I also wanted to catch a Red Fish on fly and reports on the area looked promising.  

We had booked a Condo on Siesta Key just west of Sarasota with it's own private fishing dock, bayside and private beach ocean side, plus swimming pool and shops locally to keep my other half content.                                          

We encountered some very heavy thunderstorms on the 2 hour drive from Orlando, typical for the time of year.  The first day was sunny and bright, but the ocean was very murky and full of weed. Not what I had expected! June 1st is officially the start of the hurricane season. The next three days were all downhill on the fishing front as the first tropical storm of the season, Andrea, got its act together in the Gulf of Mexico,
hitting us on Thursday June 6th with 7 inches of rain and strong winds. 

My fishing for the first five days was a disaster confined to  trying to catch Sheephead and Mullet from the dock on the bayside. Both seemed totally unimpressed with the fly so I have to revert to fishing for grunts off the dock with shrimp.  

The local  residents told me stories of Redfish being caught from the dock but for the first 11 days I never saw the hint of a Redfish. After the storm the ocean calmed down and fishing started to pick up considerably. I started to catch Snook, Spanish mackerel  and Ladyfish off the beach. Each morning a large heron would join me at day break and wait to be fed a couple of Ladyfish for his breakfast. Fishing was a lot better. The weed had gone and the water started to clear and I always seems to manage to catch a snook at sunset. I was happy at last. But after at least 30 visits to the fishing docks I am now thinking Redfish of the Dock are an Urban Myth or maybe it's the wrong time of year?

June 13th I managed to make the beach before sunrise to be met with a head wind. Casting my white zonker with lead eyes was hard work, even my friendly heron gave up on me and departed. So I decided to try a shrimp fly on the dropper and small shrimp crab like fly pattern on the point and go back to the docks to try and tempt the barnacle crunching Sheephead. I fished the north dock with no success and though I would just walk up and down the south dock before going back for coffee, but again no luck and as  I turned to walk off the dock to my amazement  I spotted two Redfish in less that two feet of water.
Easy cast I thought. My  line was peeled off my reel quickly and with two false casts the point fly landed absolutely perfectly 30 inches in front of the lead fish, two twitches of the line and he was on the fly like he had not eaten all week. I lifted and the line and it went tight ( in hindsight I should have done the saltwater strip strike) but anyhow I am now connected to a very angry Redfish. My first thought was I don't  want to play this fish off the dock as he will run under the dock which would be only have one outcome line severed on the barnacles. 

Chris and the prize of prizes

So I run off the dock and along the bank to get as far away from the dock as possible. I applied as much side strain as my Sage Xi2 would allow to the fish to try to get Mr Redifsh away from the dock. Redfish are real brutes like a carp on steroids.They fight long and hard. The next five minutes the battle was the fish doing all he could to get under the dock and me applying maximum side strain  to try and stop him. He got very close on a couple of heart stopping runs before deciding to take the fight into the middle of the bay.  By this time I had been joined by two onlookers. Eventually I started to gain the upper hand and the fish started to slow with shorter runs.  This then gave me another problem, I am standing on top of a wall with  a five foot drop to the water. The only option was to jump in, which resulted in a comedy moment where my flip flops fell off my feet and started to drift out to sea. So jump completed with fly rod in hand  and flip flops recovered, I am still connected to the the fish. He weakened further so I grab the leader and he is mine. I lift  the fish onto the bank. Two quick photos and the onlookers discussing how nice Redfish fillets are to eat, I remove the hook from the scissors of its jaw and slip the fish back into the water to recover and watch him swim away. 

Ambition fulfilled.   Well, for the moment.....
words by Chris..

Great to see a plan come together Chris..., awsome... beautiful looking fish

Dock at sunrise

Fishing for Forces 2013 - Avon Springs

Fishing for Forces gets off to a great start this season with some 26 services personnel visiting the waters edge on Wednesday June 6. on the beautiful banks of Avon Springs.  
Blessed with some fine weather spirits were high as fishermen and women prepared for the day ahead.

Following introductions by Bill Howell ( Founder of FFF) and a hearty breakfast , provided buy an incredible Avon Springs Trout Fishery team, Britain's finest were ready for action.   Following a brief demonstration and safety talk the group paired up with the ever supportive mentors who kindly provide the vital assistance for the event.
To say the services are a competitive bunch would be an understatement, as yells of joy echo out with the first fish being landed seconds  after the line first hit the water. But all were soon to realise the real benefit of the day as individuals relaxed and enjoyed a peaceful and fulfilling experience that is fly fishing. 

By lunch time most had a fish or two,  including complete beginner Capt Matthews who's tally of fish earned him the prize of heaviest bag....

Capt Matthews on his way to a trophy holds a rainbow trout of 7lb 8oz .

As the day drew to a close one could reflect on the success of these ventures, introducing new people to a sport that we already love,  but more,  it is an opportunity to thank our Service personnel who put themselves in to the most dangerous situations , so we can carry on with our daily lives. 

If you would like to know more about Fishing for Forces, or feel you could be involved or could support in some fashion please do not hesitate to contact Bill at www.fishingforforces.org

'Nano Tech' by Snowbee

Nano , Nano!   no,  not a re-run of Mork and Mindy.... !!!
This nano is the new GEO 'Nano Technology' from Snowbee, if you have not tried one,  then I suggest you do at the next opportunity.
While fishing a group of beginners, I had the chance to try the rod during a lunch break. The first thing that stood out was the effortless ability to deliver a straight precise line. So light and balanced it is a rod that you could simply cast and cast with.  Next is the quality of the rod, finished to a very high standard the beautiful gunmetal grey and matching whips are finely presented and when the 4 sections connect (with the aid of dot to dot) you have a fantastic casting tool.
Snowbee suggest the blank to be as close to 'unbreakable' in normal use as possible and frankly with the feel of this rod I believe them.  So impressive, I bought the 6wt the very next day. (The rod you won't want to put down) !!!