Don't Let Them Of The Hook!
Total FlyFisher|October 2017

GAIA instructor and regular river angler Trevor Heyliger explains how to get more fish in your net when out on the river.

Trevor Heyliger
Don't Let Them Of The Hook!

During my time spent receiving and observing fly fishing tuition, I can recall only one instructor who properly covered hooking and playing a fish before allowing his students to actually start fishing. Most tend to wait until you ‘rather surprisingly’ hook a fish and then try to talk you through the process of playing and landing it. 

My first fly fishing experience was a traumatic one. The instructor was very softly spoken and his mumblings were lost in the commotion caused by my first fish thrashing around on the surface and my blind panic. It wasn’t until I’d yelled: “For god’s sake man, just tell me what to do!” that I got any meaningful assistance.

Eventually, though, more by luck than anything else, a tired fish glided over the rim of the net and I would never be the same again! 

On a recent day trip to the Derbyshire Wye, I lost two very good fish within minutes of each other. A few years ago I would have spent the following week replaying the tragedy over and over again with my head in my hands, wailing: “Why? WHY?”

These days I am less tortured because I know that I was totally at fault and I know exactly why those fish were lost.

As novice flyfishermen, we become obsessed with rods, reels, lines, leaders, casting, presentation, watercraft, fly selection; in fact, anything that we think might help us catch a fish. Then we get to the water and we hook one… now what? It’s been my experience that most novice anglers lose their first few fish because they simply have no idea what’s going to happen next. 

Keep A Bend In The Rod

So what does happen after you first hook a good fish? In short, the fish will go mental! That gentle sipping take or the sight of an indicator simply coming to a halt is in complete contrast to what happens when the fish realises that it can no longer move freely and normally.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2017-Ausgabe von Total FlyFisher.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2017-Ausgabe von Total FlyFisher.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS TOTAL FLYFISHERAlle anzeigen
Fly Fishing The Other Side Of The World
Total FlyFisher

Fly Fishing The Other Side Of The World

Greys Pro Team member Lisa Isles describes the beautiful locations and magical fishing to be had in New Zealand.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
April 2017
Diary Of An Everyday Angler
Total FlyFisher

Diary Of An Everyday Angler

Our Everyday Angler Jem Packer meets the resident expert at Rib Valley and dreams that one day that will be him…

time-read
4 Minuten  |
April 2017
An Evening Well Spent
Total FlyFisher

An Evening Well Spent

Yorkshire Game Angling’s Warren Langridge makes the most of the summer evenings as he targets Toft Newton’s resident rainbows as the light fades…

time-read
8 Minuten  |
September 2017
Total FlyFisher

Flies For All Seasons - The Olive Hopper

Les Lockey brings you a dry fly for those educated, fussy feeders, sipping dries in flat-calm conditions… the Olive Hopper

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2017
Total FlyFisher

It's A Family Affair

With a decline in the number of young anglers coming to their junior courses, GAIA instructors Colin Turner and Tony Richards changed their approach, targeting families, with their courses fully subscribed for 2017.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
September 2017
Total FlyFisher

Size Isn't Everything

Airflo’s Ceri Thomas and Tim Hughes highlight the beauty of summer small-stream fishing, where the fish may be small but fun and enjoyment are enormous.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
September 2017
Armchair Fly Fishing
Total FlyFisher

Armchair Fly Fishing

Destination fishing, big fish and exotic locations are on most fly anglers’ bucket lists. England international Steve Smalley had float tubing on his and shares the magic of armchair fly fishing.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
October 2017
Big Perch On The Fly
Total FlyFisher

Big Perch On The Fly

Dick Walker described the perch as “the biggest fish of all.” David West Beale shares the tactics and flies that have seen him catch numerous specimen stripeys.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
October 2017
Bring Back The Cane: Part Two
Total FlyFisher

Bring Back The Cane: Part Two

Clark Colman revisits a favourite moorland beck to see how an old faithful in his split-cane fly rod collection compares to a modern arrival from bespoke rod builders Tom Regula.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
October 2017
Total FlyFisher

Deadly Dries

Autumn can bring exceptional dry-fly fishing on our small stillwaters. Ben Bangham provides useful pointers to target fish off the top.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
October 2017