I’ve never considered fly fishing to be a competitive sport, amongst anglers that is. It’s the fish you have to battle with after all, so another fly fisher can only really be considered company on the water…

I’ve never considered fly fishing to be a competitive sport, amongst anglers that is. It’s the fish you have to battle with after all, so another fly fisher can only really be considered company on the water…
It’s been a bit of a mother-in-law year, in that we all want to see the back of it, but we can’t honestly say that we haven’t learned a lot from the last 12 months. This time last year, murmurs of a new contagion once again emanating from behind the great wall were rife, but it wasn’t anything new to be taken seriously…Bird Flu, Swine Flu, hell it might as well have been DonkeyKong Flu for all we cared, ‘another storm in a tea cup’, was the average consensus. This…
A few anglers thought that the Trout were adhering to the Covid regulations this last weekend as they certainly were reluctant to come within casting distance, let alone out to play. Weather is always a go-to excuse, but 34-degree heat and Trout do not mix well, let alone the toll it takes on fly fishers adrift in a tube for 10 hours in the blazing sun. It’s why the TOPS Corporate Challenge is traditionally held at the beginning of Winter and despite 270 fish being recorded in the 1st Leg…
What makes big Trout suddenly come out to play? The weather obviously has an impact, as barometric pressure is unequivocally one of the few legitimate excuses in every fly fisher’s bible of reasons why we didn’t trouble the scorers.
There are many elements that will determine how successful any fishing outing is, least not of which is our attitude. In the lead up to any trip, it’s that element of excitement, finally being able to get back on the water, receiving the nod from your boss and better half (which hopefully aren’t the same thing) or as of late, ‘Big Brother’.
Yellow fever is not to be trifled with. It starts off with mild itching, that at some stage you have to scratch, which needless to say only makes it worse. Pretty soon your heart is racing and before you know it you’re sweating bullets. You really should have stayed in bed…..such can be the frustrating and very infectious pursuit of yellows on dry.
Waiting for the turn of the season is what you do as fly fishermen, knowing that with each one, a particular species will appear on our radar. And whilst we couldn’t claim to be men of all seasons, come Winter it’s the TOPS Corporate Challenge that every angler is clamoring to enter. And judging from this year’s grand final you can understand why. A glass of not so serious was truly embraced, with the Bains read more
What’s the collective Noun for a gathering of anglers? An Enthusiasm……..A Festivity………An Anecdote…..pick any one, because each would be appropriate to describe the atmosphere at the 3rd Leg of the TOPS Corporate Challenge. Captains of industry and businessmen from all walks of life refresh old friendships. Watching captains of industry and businessmen from all walks of life refresh old friendships and make new ones is reminiscent of the start of a new year at college. read more
The dilemma that every fly fisher faces at a TOPS Corporate Challenge will never change. The object of the weekend is to rekindle long-standing friendships that are all too often marginalized through digital communications. read more
It would be an understatement to say the festivities outweighed the fishing this last weekend, with the legendary Notties living up to it’s reputation as the pub with a exit that is impossible to find. read more