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Friday, 26 October 2018
Tying the Perdigon Nymph with Davie McPhail
Perdigon nymphs are small, heavily weighted nymph patterns designed to be streamline and to get down quickly in fast flowing water. They were developed for a specialist kind of river fishing known as Spanish nymphing, but they can be used with other nymphing techniques and are really effective for Grayling.
All of the materials needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre as listed below, but as always if you need any help finding materials or substitutes then we'll be happy to help. But now it's time to learn from Davie McPhail. Time to learn how to tie the Perdition Nymph.
Materials Used:
Hook: Fulling Mill Jig Force Size 12
Thread: Uni Thread 8/0 - Orange and Brown Micro Glint
Tail: Coq De Leon Fibres
Bead: 2.5mm Gold Tungsten
Tag: Fire Orange Uni Thread
Body and Thorax: Brown Micro Glint
Thorax Cover: Brown Marker Pen
Coating: UV Resin
Additional materials: Additionally, Davie made use of some Varnish to finish the fly using a dubbing needle for a more accurate application.
Davie's preferred type of whip finish tool can be found HERE!
Thursday, 25 October 2018
Daiwa Interline Fishing Rods
As the line is distributed evenly along the entire spiral structure of the rod blank, this results in decreased torque, providing smoother retrieves, friction-free casting, and ultra-smooth even drag pressure.
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Interline Configuration |
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Daiwa Aird Interline Baitcaster Rod |
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Daiwa Tournament Interline 7ft Rods |
Tuesday, 23 October 2018
Winter Pike Fishing Tactics
With the trees losing their leaves and temperatures dropping, predator anglers are prepping their pike fishing tackle in anticipation of some fantastic pike action. With razor sharp teeth, mottled camouflage, and lightning fast acceleration, pike sound more like something from Jurassic Park than a modern species of coarse fish. Sport from other species starts to slow down from November onwards, however, this freshwater predator can provide brilliant sport throughout the colder months. So in association with Improve Your Coarse Fishing Magazine, here are the simplest tactics that will reward you with plenty of bites.
Find the Prey Fish
Pike can live in any type of water from a weedy farm pond to a massive tidal river. The key to locating them is to find the prey fish – pike will never be far away. On canals, silver fish will begin to shoal up in certain stretches so start by targeting obvious holding areas such as boatyards, marinas, bridges, and ‘dead’ arms. The same rules apply on rivers. Find silver fish hotspots such as tributaries or any junction point between a main river and a tributary. Also look for slack water where pike can rest up out of the current waiting for prey fish to swim by.
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Find The Prey Fish |
If there are pike in your swim, you’ll get bites fairly quickly. If you haven’t had any action after an hour, move pegs, even if it’s only 100 yards along the bank. At this time of year, pike will still be found in shallow areas such as bays and close to dying weedbeds. As the temperatures continue to drop, they will start to head to deeper water. To make moving swims easier, carry only the essential items. One pike rod, a landing net, an unhooking mat and a rucksack carrying your end tackle and unhooking tools including short and long-handled forceps is all you need.
Make Sure You Carry The Right Tools
Good quality forceps and Long nose pliers are essential. This will allow you to remove hooks and lures safely. Pike are more sensitive than you would imagine, so make sure you know how to handle a them properly
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Forceps & Pliers |
There is still likely to be plenty of blanket weed on the bottom which has yet to die off. Pike will use this as cover to ambush prey so fishing in or near the weed is an excellent place to target.
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Pop Up Deadbait |
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Preparing Mackerel |
Pike are incredibly fragile and must be handled properly on the bank. Failure to do so can result in both you and the fish coming to harm. Always carry a selection of forceps and the use of semi-barbless trebles will make the job much easier. These only have a barb on one of the three hook points which is placed in the deadbait to secure it. If you are unsure, try and fish with an experienced pike angler until you feel confident.
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Unhook A Pike Properly |
Step 1
Place the pike on a padded unhooking mat. Make sure its fins are flush to its body and gently sit astride it to prevent it thrashing about
Step 2
Run your fingers into the underside of its jaws avoiding the gills. Apply light pressure with your thumb to secure a firm hold
Step 3
Lift the jaws gently upwards towards you and the pike’s mouth will open. You can now carefully remove the trebles with forceps.
Always Carry Some Lures Sometimes pike are only interested in moving baits. For this reason it is always worth carrying a small selection of hard lures and soft lures. A simple copper spoon is one lure every pike angler should have. They can be cast long distances and, once sunk to the bottom, they can be twitched and reeled in at various speeds. The other advantage of spoons is that they don’t cost a fortune.
Add Flavour in Coloured Water
If your chosen venue is still carrying a tinge of colour, boosting your bait with flavours or colour will help to draw pike to your bait. The simplest way to boost your bait is to inject it with bait oil. Look for winterised oils which are thinner and will release attraction in the coldest of conditions. When it comes to colours, red is one of the best. Simply brush on red food dye, or use liquid predator plus additive prior to casting.
How to Hook A Deadbait Place the first (below) treble into the root of the deadbait’s tail. This provides a firm hold.
Extend the trace to its full length, and then put the second treble in the flank of the fish
Twitch Before Reeling In When it comes to reeling in, instead of retrieving your deadbait all the way, pick up the rod, strike softly and wind a couple of turns on the pike reel before putting the rod back in the rod rest. This burst of activity will often entice a take.
Use Resistance Rings Pike will quickly drop a bait if they pick it up and feel something is awry. Setups that produce minimum resistance will therefore result in more positive bites. A pike float rig is hard to beat when fishing at distances of less than 50 yards. To fish at longer range you will need a straight leger presentation. Running rigs with a minimum lead of 2oz and a large bore ring will provide excellent bite indication whether a hooked fish swims towards you or away from the bank.
Strike Quickly
Set your float no more than 12in overdepth and strike firmly as soon as the float moves away. If the float is bobbing about and not moving away, it’s likely a pike is sat on the spot engulfing the bait. Tighten up to the rig gently and if you can feel movement at the other end, strike firmly. When legering, use a standard bite alarm at the front and a drop-off indicator at the rear.
If you fancy giving pike fishing a try for the first time or simply need to upgrade your kit, check out the awesome products available instore at Glasgow Angling Centre, or online at fishingmegastore.
Always Carry Some Lures Sometimes pike are only interested in moving baits. For this reason it is always worth carrying a small selection of hard lures and soft lures. A simple copper spoon is one lure every pike angler should have. They can be cast long distances and, once sunk to the bottom, they can be twitched and reeled in at various speeds. The other advantage of spoons is that they don’t cost a fortune.
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Carry Some Lures |
If your chosen venue is still carrying a tinge of colour, boosting your bait with flavours or colour will help to draw pike to your bait. The simplest way to boost your bait is to inject it with bait oil. Look for winterised oils which are thinner and will release attraction in the coldest of conditions. When it comes to colours, red is one of the best. Simply brush on red food dye, or use liquid predator plus additive prior to casting.
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Coloured Water |
How to Hook A Deadbait Place the first (below) treble into the root of the deadbait’s tail. This provides a firm hold.
Extend the trace to its full length, and then put the second treble in the flank of the fish
Twitch Before Reeling In When it comes to reeling in, instead of retrieving your deadbait all the way, pick up the rod, strike softly and wind a couple of turns on the pike reel before putting the rod back in the rod rest. This burst of activity will often entice a take.
Use Resistance Rings Pike will quickly drop a bait if they pick it up and feel something is awry. Setups that produce minimum resistance will therefore result in more positive bites. A pike float rig is hard to beat when fishing at distances of less than 50 yards. To fish at longer range you will need a straight leger presentation. Running rigs with a minimum lead of 2oz and a large bore ring will provide excellent bite indication whether a hooked fish swims towards you or away from the bank.
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Resistance Rings |
Set your float no more than 12in overdepth and strike firmly as soon as the float moves away. If the float is bobbing about and not moving away, it’s likely a pike is sat on the spot engulfing the bait. Tighten up to the rig gently and if you can feel movement at the other end, strike firmly. When legering, use a standard bite alarm at the front and a drop-off indicator at the rear.
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Strike Quickly |
Thursday, 18 October 2018
Tying a Floating Fry Fly with Davie McPhail
Autumn is the season of the fry. During the Autumn months, Trout become aggressive feeders in an attempt to fatten up for the coming Winter. Baitfish flies are known to be a favourite during this time of year on rivers, streams and even Stillwater reservoirs. This Floating fry is sure to make Trout turn their heads towards the surface and strike!
The materials used or equivalent alternatives needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre check out the links below, but as always if you need any help finding materials or substitutes then we'll be happy to help. Time to tie his Floating Fry fly, with the guidance of Davie McPhail.
Materials Used:
Hook: Fulling Mill Barbless Size 8
Thread: Uni-8/0 or 6/0 Fire Orange
Tail: Pearl Krystal Flash
Body: Egg White and Safety Orange Fritz
Wing: Olive and Black Tip Rabbit Zonker
Eyes: Small Silver and Black
Foam: 8mm Yellow Booby Cord
Additional materials: Additionally, Davie made use of Varnish, which he applied to the thread after completing the fly and Glue which he used for securing the eyes.
Davie's preferred type of whip finish tool can be found HERE!
The materials used or equivalent alternatives needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre check out the links below, but as always if you need any help finding materials or substitutes then we'll be happy to help. Time to tie his Floating Fry fly, with the guidance of Davie McPhail.
Materials Used:
Hook: Fulling Mill Barbless Size 8
Thread: Uni-8/0 or 6/0 Fire Orange
Tail: Pearl Krystal Flash
Body: Egg White and Safety Orange Fritz
Wing: Olive and Black Tip Rabbit Zonker
Eyes: Small Silver and Black
Foam: 8mm Yellow Booby Cord
Additional materials: Additionally, Davie made use of Varnish, which he applied to the thread after completing the fly and Glue which he used for securing the eyes.
Davie's preferred type of whip finish tool can be found HERE!
Thursday, 11 October 2018
Greys All Weather Jacket - Tackle Testers Choice
This three-quarter length jacket is ideal for bank anglers as it can be worn over thigh or waist waders or waterproof trousers to give a perfect shield against the winter weather.
The Greys All Weather Wading Jacket has a heavyweight Climatex (Polyester) outer layer with a DWR finish to maintain a high level of waterproofness. It is also breathable and windproof. A breathable Thermatex Polyester-fibred insulated layer is next, trapping and retaining body heat. The third layer is a Polyester lining which allows the jacket to slide seamlessly over your base or mid layers.
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Velcro Cuffs |
Double Cuffs
The sleeves taper down to the wrist with a slight articulation at the elbow. The double cuff design consists of a soft neoprene inner with a Velcro tightener to give a good seal around the wrist, and then the outer cuff pulls over the top and can be tightened with another rubberised tab and Velcro closure.
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Tapered Sleeves |
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Elasticated Cord |
Trout Fisherman Testers Choice Verdict:
The combination of the substantial outer shell and the insulating layer does make this jacket quite heavy, but you’ll reap the benefits on those bitterly cold and windswept autumn and winter days. It is quite a stiff material to start with, but this may soften with use. Good hood and cuff design.
This article was brought to you in association with Trout Fisherman Magazine.
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Tying A Chartreuse Baitfish Fly with Davie McPhail
Autumn is the season of the fry. During the Autumn months, Trout become aggressive feeders in an attempt to fatten up for the coming Winter. Baitfish flies are known to be a favourite during this time of year on rivers, streams and even Stillwater reservoirs.
All of the materials needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre as listed below, but as always if you need any help finding materials or substitutes then we'll be happy to help. Time to tie a Baitfish fly in a Chartreuse colour, with the guidance of Davie McPhail.
Materials Used:
Hook: Mustad O-Shaughnessy Size 1
Thread: Uni 6/0 Chartreuse
Tail: Krystal Flash Chartreuse
Body: Chartreuse Lite-Brite
Throat: Flu-Yellow Hen or Cock
Wing: Dyed Chartreuse Grizzle and Chinese Cock and finish off with some Peacock Herl on top
Eyes: Silver Chain Bead
Head: Chartreuse Chenille
Additional materials: Additionally, Davie made use of Varnish, which he applied to the thread after completing the fly and Glue which he used for securing the eyes.
Davie's preferred type of whip finish tool can be found HERE!
All of the materials needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre as listed below, but as always if you need any help finding materials or substitutes then we'll be happy to help. Time to tie a Baitfish fly in a Chartreuse colour, with the guidance of Davie McPhail.
Materials Used:
Hook: Mustad O-Shaughnessy Size 1
Thread: Uni 6/0 Chartreuse
Tail: Krystal Flash Chartreuse
Body: Chartreuse Lite-Brite
Throat: Flu-Yellow Hen or Cock
Wing: Dyed Chartreuse Grizzle and Chinese Cock and finish off with some Peacock Herl on top
Eyes: Silver Chain Bead
Head: Chartreuse Chenille
Additional materials: Additionally, Davie made use of Varnish, which he applied to the thread after completing the fly and Glue which he used for securing the eyes.
Davie's preferred type of whip finish tool can be found HERE!
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