This 4lb plus fish I took from the Adur Saturday morning an hour after low water which leads me to think maybe not all bass go back to the sea in between tides. I know there are resident mullet in the river. Wouldn’t it be great if bass took up residence too? Fishing buddy Adam also had a nice 5 pounder earlier in the morning plus 2 schoolies.
Andrew asked me for a guided session for mullet. Although being a very acomplished angler as he’d yet to catch on the fly. I set him up with a toast/bread fly on the top as an indicator. Then a 4ft leader tied to the bend of the hook. I think is know as French style? and attached a home tied mud shrimp pattern for a point fly. We set off to one of my mullet marks at a junction in the Adur where the mullet wait to run up with the rising tide. First cast, the toast fly was engulfed and the fish was on. 5 minutes later we landed a good 2lb plus, lovely golden grey mullet.
Well done Andrew.
Hi Howie,
Just a quick note to say thank you for inviting myself and Adam along to go fly fishing for carp with the Sussex Fly Dressers Guild a few weeks back. It has put the spark of excitement back into fishing for me and I have had quite a few ‘carp days’ this summer now and am truly hooked. Especially during those hot summer days when trout fishing gets very difficult and often boring, watching a 10lb carp suck down your fly and then go off like a bullet train is truly amazing. The excitement and adrenaline make me feel like the 12 year old, over-enthusiastic little boy chasing tiddlers at the local park all over again and I am loving it. Just that now it’s not about catching tiddlers but fish that are bigger and much stronger than anything I have ever caught before. The best fish I have caught so far was a 14lb common carp that day at Jenny’s lake, here is the picture for your blog.
There are a few things I like about carp fishing and I never thought I would say that as I have always been quite a snob about carp fishing. Pound for pound they are by far the hardest fighting fish I have ever caught. My 7wt trout rod is no match to a fish over 10lb and I have been trawling the internet for a suitable 10wt rod which I can use on the river to better cast the huge bass flies.
The other thing I really like is how well carp fishermen treat their fish. Each fish is handled with so much care and set back into the lake to be caught again another day. I never knew you could buy carp antiseptic drops to promote healing of the little hole the hook leaves in the carp’s lip. Last but not least fly fishing for carp really trains your casting accuracy and reactions. In most situations you need to cast into the tightest little spots underneath bushes and right into the path of moving fish and the window for striking is very narrow and you have to be lighting fast to set the hook. The only thing I won’t mention here are the dog biscuits.. J
After an afternoon of 1-on-1 casting tuition with you in Shoreham, Adam’s fly fishing has truly taken off, it is great to see how quickly a few hours of good casting lesson can propel a total novice to a very accomplished fly caster. Looking back I wish I had started with tuition rather than years of struggling until I finally figured it out and will recommend your help to anyone who wants to hear it.. I should probably still book a lesson in at some point to iron out some of the mistakes I have picked up over the years.
I have been doing some more research into fly fishing and especially fly patterns for carp and have tied a variety of carp flies which I am keen to get wet before the summer is over. The next challenge is to catch one with wet fly or streamer which should be quite a challenge since carp don’t usually hook themselves like trout do.
I still have unfinished business with the river Adur as well as I have not been able to extract a single fish this year. The tides are looking great for this weekend so I assume I will see you down there over the next few days. I really want to catch a good size mullet down there before the summer is over as much as I want to catch another bass for the table, it’s been two years since I last caught anything down in Shoreham.
Fingers crossed for a fishy autumn, tight lines and see you on the river bank!
Julian
Another day out with the Fly Dressers Guild (Sussex Branch) This time at Jenny’s lake, Newdigate. It was a fine day and most anglers seemed to kick off the day with a fish almost straight away. Then the carp seemed to wise up to our biscuit flies and things went quiet until after lunch when they came on the feed again. I had to leave at 4.30 but managed 5 fish for the day and glad to say the 2 biggest a 9 and a 10 pounder fell to my own tied black beetle flies. Again, the afternoon into the evening seemed to be the most productive.
I revisited Passie’s Pond again with the Fly Dressers Guild yesterday. On our last trip I had a large double figure fish broke my rod. This time I took along my saltwater 8# rod with a bit more back bone and fighting butt and grip as I now know how these fish can pull. The morning started quite slow but still landed 4 great fighting fish. As before the action cranked up in the afternoon and landed another knuckle rattling 20 fish up to 10lb. Next week we visit Jenny’s lake which should be enough time for my arm to recover. Here’s a few of the species they stock at Passie’s. Thanks to Paul Davis for organizing the event.
Ian Mintram with his first bass on the fly taken from the Adur today at the end of the ebb tide. The smile says it all. Well done mate you saved the day. Howie
Yesterday I joined my club (Fly Dressers Guild) for a day out on Passie’s Pond lakes fly fishing for carp. This was a first for me and my mate Paul we were really not sure what to expect. Armed with 8# fly tackle, dog biscuits and flies to match we set off onto Passie’s match lake which we had booked for the day. We picked our casting platforms and and fired out a few biscuits out to the far bank and watched and waited. After a few minutes fish began showing and taking in the floating bait. I cast out to the cruising fish but they hoovered up the bait and refused my fly. I’d greased my fly and noticed it was riding much higher in the water than the biscuits but after a clean it began to sit down in the water film. Then I started to get takes but knowing when to strike and setting the hook was the next problem. Then I connected with a fish and battled for five minute or so and landed a common carp about 5lbs. Even with an 8lb leader you can’t bully these hard fighting fish. I finished the morning with 3 fish and Paul with 4 fish to about 7lbs. We all stopped for lunch over fishy tales, fish lost and discussed tactics but everyone had caught. Being a large water to fish we set off away from the others and tried our luck where no one seemed to fish for some reason. Before long we were both into bigger and harder fighting fish and landed another 8 carp of varied species but all in lovely condition. My heaviest went off my weighing scales which 
only went to 14lbs and Paul’s heaviest fish the same. I did hook a larger fish which after about a 20 minute battle it ran under the staging I was standing on and my rod broke trying to stop it. With no rod that was the end of the day but what a day. We have another day booked for August and can’t wait. This carp on the fly game is really a heart stopping and rod bending action of a day.
Whilst waiting for two clients for a fly fishing lesson I cast a fly on the Adur just before low tide and took one bass 2.5lbs then got hit by a monster which gave a hell of a fight then decided to head up river towards me. Running backwards and winding like crazy the fish came very close to the bank. I’d fitted a new 17lb leader and knew my knots were good so felt pretty confident about winning the fight. Then the fish thrashed madly and the fly came out and he she was away. I checked my fly and saw that the hook had straightened. I’m sure it could have been a double figure fish but I’d tied a test batch of clousers on off set hooks . I’m pretty sure this proved to be the problem and the off set was a weakness?? Anyway here’s the one I caught and the destroyed fly. “Tight lines n tu
ff hooks” Howie
Had a spare afternoon yesterday so skived off to Chaulk Springs as my wife needed trout for a dinner party tonight. (things we have to do hey) Arrived to bright sunshine and anglers struggling to catch with floating lines and small flies. I tackled up with a fast sinking line and black zonker and ended the afternoon with my four fish. Two decent rainbows and 2 brownies: a 6.8 and 6.10lb. Still shaking now.
Fly Fishing Sussex 