Windermere Lake

Directions: Take the A591 Crooklands to Keswick Road from the M6 motorway and after about 16 miles you arrive at Windermere and follow the signs to Bowness and you reach the lake. Access can be gained at various places with public access such as Cockshott Point (near the Glebe in Bowness). Access is available at National Trust and South Lakeland District Council owned land. On the west side access is much more restricted as much is private property so a boat is a big bonus as you can fish the entire lake unhindered.

The lake is 10.5 miles long by about 1 mile wide so a very useful publication to obtain is a lake chart available from the Lake Wardens at Ferry Nab. This gives all the lakes depth contours, shallow shoals, bays etc and is a must to enable you to find fishy areas.

Most anglers start off  Trout fishing in March by ‘top lining’ which is trolling a plug, usually a Rapala

Fly fishing can take off in April and is improving as insect life is coming back after vast improvements to control sewerage pollution and nitrates. Good hatches of buzzer are again occurring and often plenty of olives. The lake also gets a genuine Mayfly hatch.

Most fly fishing is sub surface with nymphs, buzzers and tradition wet flies and early morning or evening is the best time with the fly. It usually slows down after June until September and fly fishing is rarely easy but fish are taken each year to 3 or 4lb.


GENERAL TIPS

Remember that fishing line degrades so at least once each season safely discard all old leader line and replace it. If you don’t it could cost you the fish of a life time.

Balance your equipment by remembering that a 5 weight rod is for use with small flies and light leaders and that a 9 weight is for lure fishing. If you try using fine leaders on, say, a 9 weight rod you will leave the hook in the fish on the strike as the rod is too powerful for the leader.

If you are killing fish remember to spoon the fish for clues as to what they are eating. By doing this you can put on a suitable imitation and catch plenty of fish.

OBSERVATION

This is probably the most important aspect of any fishing and particularly for fly fishing. Look around you and see what insects are in the air and water.

That should give you a clue as to which fly to start with. When actually fishing watch the end of your fly line. Any sudden movement, no matter how slight, will be a fish – so strike.

If you wait for a tug you will miss most fish which have taken your fly.

CASTING

As a rough rule of thumb hold the handle with your thumb on top then – during your cast – keep your elbow tucked in to your side. Do not break the wrist too much or the rod will drift back past where you wanted it to stop and all power of the cast will be lost.

Start the cast with the rod tip close to the water and the line straight. You should have 7 to 10 yards of line beyond the rod to allow the rod to load on the back cast.

Lift the rod steadily until it is at about the 10 o’ clock position and then flick it back briskly, stopping it as the rod butt reaches the 1 o’ clock position. Done correctly the line will travel past you and flex the rod.

Once the line is extended straight behind reverse the back cast by taking the rod briskly to 10 o’ clock, let the line go forward and lower the rod tip towards the water. Take your time in the cast as flailing quickly will get you nowhere.

You will hear a gentle swish if it is done correctly. If you hear a great big whoosh then you have got it all wrong. Do not push with your shoulder on the forward cast thinking it will gain you distance. It will not.

Remember – the rod does the main work and there is no need for multiple false casting to gain good distance.

FLY LINES

Most modern line is made out of a form of plasticiser which covers an inner core. There are some lines made in a different way but these tend to be non stretch and are often susceptible to horrific memory problems.

Lines are normally about 30 yards long and shooting heads about 10 to 12 yards long. The normal format is double taper which, as the name suggests, is tapered at both ends and has a long level middle section. In theory it is possible to turn these round when a section gets worn but in reality the end nearest the backing will be lightly coiled after months or years stored on the reel.

The other main type of line is called weight forward. This line has its main weight in the first 10 or 12 yards and only this section is aerialised. Then the rest of the line is shot out on the cast.

This is a very easy line to use as long as you remember to only put the heavy front section in the air. A useful tip is to mark the line where the fatter head begins and this will be your reminder that the optimum amount of line is out for casting.

A lot of fine cracks in a weight forward line in the thin running section means you have been casting with too much line in the air making it hard work for yourself.

Always clean your lines with a special cleaner every 3 or 4 trips to keep them in good condition. You will be rewarded by much easier shooting properties and they will last longer

DROPPERS

When fishing with more than one fly you attach a point fly to the end of the leader and tie on droppers.

These are short lengths of nylon which can vary in length from about 4″ to 12″. 8″ is a good starting point bearing in mind each time you change flies you shorten the dropper.

There are several useful knots; you can normally use the Blood Knot or the 3 or 4 turn Water Knot. We prefer the latter as it is easier to tie and seems more reliable. Remember that when using the Water Knot you use the lower section of line for the dropper and cut the top off.

Droppers have a habit of catching around the main leader. One way to reduce this is to stroke the dropper out until it stands at right angles to the leader, then pop a dab of fishing glue over the knot and the very base of the dropper.

Some people who can not master knots put droppers on by tying tiny metal rings to the leader and then tying the droppers to these rings. The disadvantage is that their weight tends to pull the flies quickly out of the fishing zone

SINKANTS AND FLOATANTS

SINKANTS

It is vital to continually degrease your leaders as it helps them sink. It also helps get rid of the shine which is very important in bright conditions. There are lots of different products and the ones containing Fullers Earth and detergent seem to work the best.

FLOATANTS

Modern fly lines do not need floatants to float as they contain minute bubbles in their construction.

However when using dry flies you want your flies to float and you will need to put a floatant on them. This is vital in streamy water. Lots of makes are available but our favourite is Gink which lasts for ages from one small application. Do not put too much on, however, as you will often want the fly to sit in rather than on the surface film.

Normally you do not grease a leader but if you want to fish a fly just sub surface it is very useful to do so. In this case lightly grease the leader up to the depth you want the fly to fish at. If you want to be 6″ under the surface do not grease this last bit.

ROD & LINE BALANCE

Rods are often broken during assembly, particularly fly rods. To prevent this happening to you hold the rod low with the reel handle uppermost and double the end of the line over.

Pull line up through the rings and then pull about a rod length in a straight line out of tip. If you pull line down from tip it puts an unnatural bend in the tip and can result in breakage.

By keeping the rod low when pulling the line out it will not all fall back to the reel if you accidentally let go of it.

ROD & LINE BALANCE

It is essential that your fly line matches the rod’s optimum casting weight which will be marked on the rod just above the handle. Normally buy a line of the same size.

There are exceptions and if a rod is dual rated and you use a double taper line then use a line of the lower rating. For weight forward line use the higher rating. For shooting heads you can generally go one size above the weight shown.

FLY LINE CARE

When out fly fishing we all stand on the line or let it drop into the mud. Gradually a layer of dirt builds up on the line and dramatically reduces its efficiency. the line becomes much harder to cast and possibly even starts to sink.

The answer is very simple. After every 6 or so outings treat the line to a special cleaner and conditioner. Simply pour some on a soft cloth and rub onto the line. You will be horrified at how filthy the cloth will become. Repeat and then buff the line. Try casting and it will be as if the line is turbo charged.

Get into the habit of cleaning your lines often. It helps prolong their life, keeps them supple and vastly improves casting distances. If you don’t believe us then try it. We know you will be amazed at the results.

FLY CASTING IN AWKWARD PLACES

Do you never bother to fish parts of rivers or lakes when there are steep banks, bushes or trees to interfere with castings and making the back cast impossible?

The solution is incredibly easy and will enable you to cover fish that are unlikely to have been spooked by other anglers and these fish are often the older, wiser fish.  All you need to do is perform the roll cast and if  done correctly your flies will be sent a long distance and into the path of fish.

Every fly fisher should know this cast because if you fish with a sinking or intermediate line the easiest way to get your fly to the surface at the end of the retrieve is to execute a roll cast immediately prior to the overhead cast.

Practice it and then try it out on those fish that think they have found cover that is away from all the anglers.

SPINNING REELS

The biggest cause of problems with spinning reels is that anglers under fill the reels. To ensure easy casting, line must be loaded on until it is between 3/16″ and 1/8″ from the lip of the reel spool. If the level is lower than this then when the cast is made a lot of friction will be created at the spool lip and the cast will be greatly reduced.

Also remember that the finer the line diameter the further you will cast as the spool level will reduce much more slowly so the friction effect will be much slower.

Elsewhere in our tips we mention the need to change your line at frequent intervals. This advice is not given to boost the line manufacturers` profits. Line deteriorates so it is pure common sense to change it sometimes during the fishing year. There is another very good reason why you should do this with a spinning reel. The line is wound around a narrow diameter spool and it takes on memory. If you do not belive us then leave line on the reel for a month or two and then pull it off. After the first few yards the line will just be fairly tight loops – not really good for fishing with !

ALWAYS back off the drag after a fishing trip. If you do not and keep the drag in its fishing position then the drag washers will be permanently compressed and this will lead to a very jerky drag. This is the last thing you need when that extra big fish bites. The spool needs to begin turning instantly the fish wants to take line – with a jerky clutch much more inertia is needed for the spool to turn and if your drag is set tight then its bye bye fish !!

Catching Salmon

CATCHING SALMON FROM RIVER BANKS THAT ARE TREE LINED

Salmon, or any other type of fishing where perhaps you would use a lure can be very frustrating when you walk along a river bank and find a superb lie.  The only snag is that there are lots of trees or bushes so you are unable to cover the fish because the water is too deep to wade or branches hang fairly low.  The fish are there and showing but what should you do?

We have found that Salmon, Sea Trout and Brownies are all suckers for a well presented plug such as a Rapala and this is the answer.  Put on a FLOATING Rapala of the appropriate size and colour that you think should work.  Now comes the crafty bit.  Get upstream of the lie to a position where you can get a cast out and cast the Rapala across the river.  DO NOT CLOSE THE BAIL but instead feed line until the Rapala floats down to where the fish are lying and then close the bail and fish the Rapala normally and with any luck you will hook a fish especially if it is a freshly run.

LEADERS, LEADER MATERIAL & BRAIDED LOOPS

LEADERS, LEADER MATERIAL & BRAIDED LOOPS

Use the longest leader you can comfortably cast with as the more
distance between line and fly the less chance you have of spooking the fish.

Leader materials come in nylon, copolymers and fluorcarbons. For normal use, nylons in the 2lb to 8lb breaking strain will suffice. Use the light strain with small flies and the heavier if casting out large weighted flies. For normal fishing, standard monofilament is suitable.

In difficult conditions use a copolymer such as Daiwa Supershinobi. It is about half the diameter of standard mono and if the water is clear it
should give better presentation.

Fluorocarbons are almost invisible in water and being heavier than water actually sink much better than nylon. They are ideal when the fish are very shy and are also great for dry flies and suspender buzzer fishing.

Tapered leaders tend to give a better presentation and you can buy them ready made or make your own by stepping down three or four different breaking strains by about 2lbs to 3lbs.

You can also get braided leader and poly leaders to which you attach a short tippet of nylon. These act like an extension of your fly line and come in different densities enabling you to easily present flies at different depths even with floating lines. It’s always worth carrying a slection to match changing conditions.

BRAIDED LOOPS

These are a very easy means of attaching backing to fly line and fly line to leaders. Place one on the end of your fly line and leaders can be added or changed very easily using the loop to loop knot.

Float Fry

FLOATING FRY

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Tying:

Hook 12-6 longshank
Thread Black
Body Pearl mylar piping (packed)
Back White ethafoam
Beard Red cock hackle

Fishing Method:

Floating line and long leader – usually June to October. This fry pattern is superb when trout are bashing fry and coming back for the stunned fish. Usually best fished static and allowed to drift on the wind. In Autumn it produces outstanding surface fishing on windy days (it can’t be too windy!) even on waters where there are no natural fry.

Fish often slash at the fly, presumably to stun it, and then come back and mop it up. At other times the take is a very confident sip – now you see it, now you don’t! Under these latter conditions a firm lift usually results in a well hooked fish.

Do not use a very light leader.

Beaded Nymph

Bead Marabou Nymph

Materials required:

  • Shrimp (or curved) hook size 12

  • Black 6/0 tying thread

  • 4 Black beads

  • Black Marabou

Tying:

1. Put 4 beads onto hook and ensure first bead is snug against the eye.

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2.  Tie on thread behind the beads and tie in a bunch of marabou and simply tie off.

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Tying Tips : This fly can be tied in a great variety of colours and a version with red beads and red marabou is an extremely good blood worm pattern.  Other variations of this extremely simple to tie pattern are olive, yellow and white beads with appropriate coloured marabou.

Fishing the Fly

This nymph is a really lethal pattern and is a fantastic fish catcher throughout the year.  It is extremely effective when fished under an indicator at varying depths depending on where the trout are feeding.  It is equally at home drifted around on the breeze with an extremely slow figure of eight retrieve with the occasional twitch.

Redhead Buzzer

Red Head Buzzer

Materials required:

  • Curved Hook Sizes 10 – 16

  • Black 6/0 tying thread

  • Fine Silver Wire

  • Bright Red Floss

  • Hard as Nails or Epoxy

Tying:

1. Tie in Black thread behind the hook eye and take down in touching turns down the hook shank and partly around the bend.

2.  Catch in the silver wire and the thread back up the hook shank leaving just less than the top third of the hook for the thorax.  Wind the wire up the shank in open turns and tie off when reaching the thread.

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3.  Tie in the bright red floss and form a bulbous thorax.

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4.   Whip finish behind the eye and coat with several coats of Hard as Nails or epoxy to form a shiney red head and this gives a fly which sinks quickly.

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Fishing the Fly

This buzzer is very versatile and can be fished under an indicator, it can be left to drift around on the breeze or can be figure of eight or strip retrieved at various depths.  It is particularly good in the cooler weather as it can fished deep if the Trout go down.

Hoppers

This useful dry fly can be tied in a variety of colours including olive, black, claret, yellow, brown and orange and can also be tied in many sizes from size 10 down to 16’s. Our dressing below shows a black hopper which we have tied on a size 12 hook.

Materials required:

Choose a fine wire, medium shank hook, black tying thread, fine pearl lurex, seal fur dubbing, 8 cock pheasant centre tail fibres, knotted, black cock hackle.

1. Tie on the thread near the eye and work towards the bend in close, touching turns.

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2. Tie in the pearl. Dub the seal fur onto the thread and wind up the hook shank towards the eye leaving enough space to tie in the hackle. Rib over the seal fur body with the lurex and tie the lurex off near the eye.

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3. Tie a knot in 8 pheasant tail fibres about 3/8″ from the tip and then tie in four at each side so that they are longer than the hook and hang down below the body.

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4. Finally tie in a black cock hackle and using three turns of the feather form a hackle. Tie off and complete the fly with a neatly varnished head.

This fly can be fished as a traditional dry fly floating high on the water or can be fished lower in the water by clipping off some of the underhackle and then left to drift around with the breeze. This last method is particularly effective when terrestrials are being blown onto the water.

Takes can be savage – beware !!

Black Marabou

THE BLACK MARABOU

Materials required:

  • Long Shank Lure Hook Sizes 6 – 10

  • Black 6/0 tying thread

  • Body – silver flat tinsel ribbed with heavy silver wire or silver oval tinsel

  • Beard – Bright red cock hackle

  • Wing – black marabou overlaid with 4 strands peacock herl and 4 strands of pearl crystal flash

Tying:

  1. Catch in black thread behind the eye and take down shank in touching turns to opposite the point.
  2. Tie in heavy silver wire or oval tinsel and then silver flat tinsel or silver lurex.
  3. Rib shank with flat tinsel taking up and down shank in touching turns and tie off  behind the eye.
  1. Take wire or oval tinsel in open turns over tinsel to form rib and tie off behind the eye.

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  1. Tie in bright red cock hackle behind the eye under the hook to form a beard.
  2. Tie in a large clump of black marabou on top of the hook shank behind the eye to form a wing.

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  1. Take the 4 strands of peacock herl and pearl crystal hair and tie in on top of the wing.   Tie off and form a neat head and varnish head.

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Fishing the Fly

This is one of those flies that excels all season but particularly in winter when water temperatures are at their lowest and food supply is not usually over abundant.

Fish on a sinking or intermediate line and prospect depths until you find fish. The black marabou usually fishes best with medium to long pulls followed by brief pauses as this lets the wing pulsate enticingly. In cold water do not make the mistake of pulling the fly as fast as you can because unlike mid summer trout are not inclined to rush after a fly.

This is one lure that works very well on Brown Trout as well as rainbows and if you fish for Sea Trout then again it is a fly well worth putting in your box.

Bright Pink Tadpole

THE PINK TADPOLE

Materials required:

  • Long Shank  hooks sizes 12- 6

  • Black 6/0 tying thread

  • Body – Shocking Pink Chenille

  • Under Body – lead wire – medium or fine

  • Head – Peacock herl

  • Tail – Shocking Pink Marabou

Tying:

1. Catch in the thread behind the eye and proceed down hook in touching turns to a point opposite the barb. Catch in lead wire behind the eye  and wind down shank to just ahead of point

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2. Catch in a bunch of marabou opposite the barb to form the tail and also secure the chenille at this point making sure it buts up to the tail

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3. Wind thread back up to behind the eye and then wind the chenille up towards the eye in touching turns. Stop short of the eye to allow for the head. Tie off the chenille

Take three strands of peacock herl and tie them in ahead of the chenille. Twist the strands to form a spiral and wrap around the hook three times between the chenille and the eye to form the head. Tie off.

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4. This simple tadpole can be tied using any colour combination and in a number of different sizes. However we find that the shocking pink version tied on a long shank hook works extremely well in the winter months when the water tends to be extra clear. The colder the weather the better this fly is and if you keep having to scrape the ice from your rod rings then this is a fly that is very well suited to the conditions.

Fishing the Fly

We fish the shocking pink tadpole usually on intermediate or slow sinking lines and generally use a straight through leader of 6lbs clear mono or fluorocarbon of 6lb breaking strain. It is essential not to use dark leader materials when the water is so clear.

A normal slow strip retrieve works best but by late March trout tend to be willing to chase this particular fly at faster speeds.

Give it a try and we think you will find that shocking pink really is a winning colour especially for the winter months

Black Foam Beetle

The Black Beetle (Foam Beetle)

Materials required :

  • Wide Gape hooks sizes 12- 16

  • Black 6/0 tying thread

  • Black plastazote (close cell foam)

  • Black cock hackles

  • Black dubbing (seals fur or substitute

Tying  :

Tie in thread behind the eye and wind down the shank to approximately opposite the barb. Cut a slim piece of plastazote (foam) and secure on top of the shank. Make sure that the foam is a little longer than the hook. This foam will form the beetle back and make it float.

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Dub the seals fur or other dubbing material up the shank to just behind the eye but remember to leave a little space here to take the foam back and the hackles which are tied in later.

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Tie in a cock hackle just behind the eye on the underside of the hook shank to form a beard hackle with the fibres pointing down to the hook point. Trim off the excess. Then tie in another cock hackle on top of the hook with the fibres pointing forward beyond the eye and trim off the waste.

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Bring the foam forward on top of the shank and secure behind the eye . There should be some foam sticking out and upwards beyond the eye. Trim the excess foam to form a blunt end.

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This fly can also be tied as a brown or a green beetle and is very effective from May onwards as beetles large and small get blown onto both lakes and rivers. If fish switch onto falling beetles they can become very preoccupied like they are when they are on caenis and a few beetles in your box will save the day. It is important to have both small and large beetles.

We normally find that the beetles work left static. Rises tend to be aggressive and sometimes the fish just miss altogether as they push the beetle away as they rise quickly.