This is about fishing so sorry if that's a disappointment! On Saturday I cashed in my first evening ticket for halliford mere, this was my first outing as a fly fisherman and must confess to a degree of apprehension on the way there. However after a few practice casts I was on my way and started looking for my quarry. I didn't catch but learned plenty like adapting my backbeat to avoid grass seed and flower heads, low branches etc. One of the biggest issues I had though was with the flies (dries) getting drenched and sinking after a couple of casts, is this normal? After a couple of dips they looked nothing like they did when I tied them on. Is weed snagging a common complaint too? Seemed like every two or three casts I was pulling in clumps of weed. And finally I was fishing a 9' airflo stillwater 6/7 kit and found it perhaps a little long especially when I spotted a target within six or seven feet of where I was standing and there was no opportunity to step back a few feet, is that just the way it goes? On the lookout for some clear glasses for the final half an hour before dusk when my sunglasses worsen the deteriorating light, any suggestions? Safe to say though that I loved very minute and now have two half day sessions burning a hole in my pocket! Sorry if that was a lot I tried not to gush too much!

Ok 67 I get you now ok space limited you gave yourself a difficult start as a newbie low trees,grass high banks wow but as often is the case the fish know its difficult for the angler so tease you as I said in other post if able move along the bank and cast parallel to the shore at looks like about 12' out then you will be covering the fish.
If dries are your choice you may well need to treat them with a floatant there are loads of different types sprays,liquid,dry powder some need regular re applying,you will normally need to degrease about 6" of your line before the fly also with fullers earth or similar .Not an expert there are much better dry fly folks on here that will advise.

Pete

__________________
Thanks to all who donated to 999 comp 2011
New rainbow PB 22 lbs Bangour 23/10/2011

Just had a look on google maps at your fishery you certainly didn't make it easy that is challenging even for experienced casters! Looks good though
Which lake were you on?

Pete

__________________
Thanks to all who donated to 999 comp 2011
New rainbow PB 22 lbs Bangour 23/10/2011

posted my advice in your other thread,but for low light conditions you want glasses with yellow lenses

Neil

Just to encourage you to keep going. Would happily meet up with you for a fish if you were in the devon area? Not that i'm claiming to be a pro or ought
So much info on here and on the net, hywell morgan does a couple of dvds aimed at beginners that are super cheap now through most shops. Any questions keep them coming some very experienced fishers on here, all the best cheers jon
p.s defo get the polaroids never fish without them,both for protecting yours eyes and spotting the monsters

Thanks pete, I started at teachers corner on lake 1, avoided 'the point' and spent most of my time here halliford mere - Google Maps right where it says 'halliford mere'. A few weeks before I'd started fishing I'd walk around the lakes and saw fish in this spot then, so I'll probably head for there next time. I thought starting on a still water I was making life easier for myself! Reckon I'll gravitate towards rivers eventually and not necessarily for trout, the River Colne on Staines Moor holds a fascination for me.

---------- Post added at 10:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------

******! that map wasn't very accurate! Try this <iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&amp;q=halliford+mere&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=51.399551,-0.477446&amp;spn=0.020507,0.056871&amp;t=h&amp;vpsrc=6&amp;output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&amp;q=halliford+mere&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=51.399551,-0.477446&amp;spn=0.020507,0.056871&amp;t=h&amp;vpsrc=6&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>

mick

---------- Post added at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 AM ----------

Grrrr, maybe this... halliford mere - Google Maps

Thanks for the offer Kenster, I'll give you a shout next time I'm down that way.

---------- Post added at 11:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 AM ----------

Nice one! I was going to be the weird bloke in the safety goggles! Yellow lenses sound more like it!

Yep, you chose a challenging fishery for your first outing! I had my first session there recently and found it hard to navigate around the low hanging trees and weeds. I found that there's not actually that many places where you can get a good decent long cast out. I also found that the fish in lake one were rising right in the middle of the lake. Somewhere where even the best distance caster wouldn't be able to reach.