We Fly Fish coaches went to the London Fly Fishing Fair, a very successful event filled with fly fishers, tackle manufacturers and representatives from fly fishing destinations near and far. Pictured is Mike Heritage, holder of several British Fly Casting records giving a demonstration of technical distance casting on the casting pool at the event. Mike is an authority on casting technique and gave plenty of of tips on how to achieve greater distance casts. Find out more on distance casting here http://www.thebfcc.co.uk/
Another demonstration from Hywel and Tanya Morgan titled ‘fly casting made easy’ covered teaching techniques and highlighted common faults that some fly fishing beginners have. Tanya has been fly casting since the age of 3 and when you start that young and have lessons from Hywel you get very good!
Top equipment brands were on show too. Simms were behind Mike in the picture. Orvis, Sage, Hardy and Patagonia all had their latest kit to try. You don’t have to have top of the range equipment to get into fly fishing, the fish can’t see whether your rod is the latest Sage model or something more humble. That said, improved design and materials mean clothing and tackle continually evolve offering better protection from extreme conditions and improved fly presentation.
Fly fishing destinations exhibiting at the Fair reflected the diversity of the modern sport. These range from classical bucolic venues where the forefathers of fly fishing developed the sport, to adventurous tropical destinations.
Traditional English venues offering Trout and Salmon fly fishing were there including favourites of ours such as the Arundell Arms in Devon and Albury Estate in Surrey. These offer river and stillwater fly fishing in beautiful countryside locations that are easy to get to.
Several short haul destinations were there, including Slovenia and Ireland which we recommend highly. Just a short flight gets you to fabulous fishing on the West coast of Ireland which offers a great range of species for the fly angler including the salmon family, bass, pollock and mullet. Adjoining Italy and Austria, Slovenia has crystal clear rivers holding trout and grayling, and some huge local species,the marble trout and hucho (Danube salmon).
Guatemala, Argentina, and the Bahamas also had representatives for long haul fly fishing travel. Don’t forget your sunscreen for those destinations!
This is just a selection of the destinations available to the fly fisher able to travel, and the We Fly Fish team can coach you to develop the skills you will need. Between us we’ve been lucky enough to have fly fished in many of the top global destinations. We can advise on what to expect and specialist techniques such as the Belgian cast and strip strike. In case you are wondering, the Belgian (or constant tension) cast allows you to fly cast safely in very windy conditions such as tropical saltwater destinations, it isn’t a cast for fishing in Belgium!
Contact us to find out more. We can help whether you want to get ready for trout in Surrey, or bonefish in the Bahamas.
