Fishing

[SCSB79]

Any anglers on here recommend a decent place to fish within say 50 miles (South) of London?

Also, anyone know any fisheries that hire equipment? Not fished for a while and fancy getting back into it but don't fancy shelling out a wedge on some expensive gear for it to not get used if I don't fancy it again...

[huncamunca]

Coarse/Game/Sea?

[SCSB79]

Coarse fishing, but possibly a bit of fly too?

[huncamunca]

coarse = surrey quays day ticket

Fly - the Wandle - yes, there are wild trout up to about 2lbs down croydon / merton way

[Alan Medic]

It's a long shot but have any fly fishermen out there heard of a fly called the Red Arrow?

[Marmora Man]

When Marmora Son No.2 was younger we used to enjoy fly fishing at Meon Springs. Would fish one evening, camp overnight, early breakfast and fish early morning.

It has become a bit "corporate" these days as the farmer has branched out - but used to be good value.

[MrBen]

Alan Medic Wrote:

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> It's a long shot but have any fly fishermen out

> there heard of a fly called the Red Arrow?

I have. Although I had to check an old flytying book. It's an Irish or Scottish traditional wet fly pattern typically used on a three fly cast. I have the dressing pattern if you want it.

Hunca has spoken of the Wandle which I'd love to try if I knew a local who could show me. I fished a West London stream under a flyover once that had lots of splashing trout gobbling Mayfly and it was as good as any fancy chalk stream. Syon Park near Kew is ok for a central london day out to get you back in the swing of fly fishing. It has rainbows. Extend that 50 miles a bit further and you get some good fisheries in Kent and of course the famous Hampshire streams. Not all of those posh tickets are worth the money though but if you PM me I can give you some good ones.

[Alan Medic]

I know next to nothing about fishing. My interest in the Red Arrow is a curiosity about how a fly gets a name and why it sticks. My Dad used to tie his own flies. One time after a particularly good day on Lough Arrow he and his fishing pal were approached by the local Trout and Salmon correspondent. He asked my Dad what the fly he was using was called and his friend piped up, that's the Red Arrow. Though my Dad invented the fly his friend named it. Anyway the guy wrote an article about this chance meeting and the magazine in that particular issue gave away a sample of the Red Arrow. I still have the magazine though it's in the attic. Must have been published circa 1980. I noticed the name comes up when google'd on a fishing forum and wondered is that my Dad's Red Arrow.

[MrBen]

That's a great story. Hang onto it!

[Alan Medic]

It may be a good story but I still don't know the answer to my question.

[MrBen]

Flytying is creativity. You invent a fly. You try it out. It catches fish. So you give it a name. In this case referring to the colour of the flies body and its birthpace (Arrow). Man who's not catching any asks about it and you tell him. It gets passed on, is successful and perhaps even published. And there you have it.

One of the oldest dressings (150 yrs+) is a Partridge and Orange spider but you'll find it dressed slightly diffeently in Yorkshire than you would say in lowland Scotland where they dispense with the gold rib. This is geeky stuff....I'm obsessed but will spare you!

[Alan Medic]

So it is my Dad's Red Arrow then from what you say. When he competed he was national champion twice. Represented Ireland in Scotland too for the Home Internationals. Always held in the same lake (loch) I believe which would be somewhere between Edinburgh and Dundee. I'm guessing that but you probably know.

[MrBen]

That will be Loch Leven. In its day one of the best wild brown trout fisheries with its own silvery strain of Leven trout. You're dad must have been a good - did you not fancy it?

[Alan Medic]

I liked going out on the lake with him but I was never into fishing. It was interesting how he knew, given the conditions, where the fish were likely to be. He used to river fish too on the Moy.

Did you pick up the habit from your Dad?

[MrBen]

Yes I did. He wasn't ever into football or the pub - he liked being away from it all in the outdoors. When I was about 2 he'd take me up to fish different lochs on his back and he'd cast for trout from the shore whilst puffing a pipe full of St Bruno. We still manage to hook up about once a year to fish and this is the main time we have together.

This topic is all strange timing given what I'm doing this week. I've been quietly saving my for the last few years to treat him to a once in a lifetime trip to fly fish in the Slovenian mountains. We're leaving on Thursday and I can't wait. He's rarely fished outside of Scotland so it will be an adventure for us both!

[Alan Medic]

That sounds fantastic. It's funny my Dad was a pipesmoker too. Condor though. Is he looking forward to it or nervous about it?

[MrBen]

He's both. As a conservative Scot with godfearing presbyterian roots, its all a bit flash from the boy on a lucky roll down in London. He also has a hidden fear of flying which is not spoken of openly. That and it would seem, bears, which still roam freely in Slovenia. He's actually asked if he should bring bear spray.Once he gets over all of that and gets out the comfort zone I think he'll have a great time.

[Alan Medic]

Oh dear. My old mans solution for something new was to drink whiskey. That man got lost in some of the finest cities in the world, Dublin, Seville and Oslo. I'm not sure which is worse in your situation. Not drinking at all or drinking too much! I'd suggest getting rid of the bears would be easier with a supply of fish to feed them with. Fish for your lives!