Hi Leigh, yes I’ve subscribed and my season has just got going. Was out on the water bank fishing last week and there was a fall of tiny ants and every fish in the lake rising to them. I only sussed out what was happening when I noticed about 5 of the little rascals sat on my fly line as I inched it back. Fishing eh??. Cheers
Funny enough I was out on Grafham on Monday and only saying that I need to get Snowbee as mine is just about to give up! taking into account the amount of use and abuse it gets it has done really well, must be 3 years old!
Hi leigh, what I would like to know or you maybe show on a video is when you turn up to a venue, what makes you decide what method and what flies you would use, i often get to a water and think what line to use first? What method, washing line? Straight line? Single fly? 3 fly? Or even dry fly, any help would be great, and keep up with the great videos 👍🏻
Most days i will set up at least 2 rods with different lines on so the transition is quick, bit of a competition thing with me i guess but does not take long to change over lines if you are only using one. When i get to the water i look for the obvious clue's i,e fish moving rising , if so i would defo try dry's first then if no good probably fish a slow glass (intermediate) or midge tip line and work my way down the water layers until i bump into the bottom or a fish! love the bung also great method on small waters also and i would probably give it a try with an app's worm or buzzers depending on the time of year, as you know rainbows love a chase so maybe wizz a lure at mid depth for 5 mins changing the depth and retrieves to try and induce a take, hope this helps Leigh
Great video, as always. Have you done any previous videos about fishing deep in the summer months with DI3/DI7 etc. I know that Booby’s can be devastating in these circumstances but I get confused about retrieves, Leader lengths and what flies (if any) are best to team with Booby’s.
Wow good question and would make a great video ! there are a few different deep water fishing methods one which can believe it or not be fished on a floating line and heavy buzzers but can only really work with little or no wind if fishing from a drifting boat, the other as you rightly say is a di 7 or 8, the one we all use now is a booby basher which is a bitch to cast but sinks like a stone! i have another method which i developed with the use of a free running bung set up, basically its fished with the heavy buzzers set close together so they sink quicker if that makes sense and the bung is set with a simple stop knot at around 25 foot great when the fish are setting in really deep water! i do offer a guiding service which would be the best way to demonstrate these methods go to 'Leigh pond fly-fishing srvices' but great idea Mathew will do one on this subject thanks for your input and support Leigh
Thanks Leigh, You’ve opened up a can of worms with the bung. It’s another set up which I’ve seen fished in so many ways - one of the most successful was a day at Ellerdine where the guy next to me was fishing a blob (point fly) 2’ under a bung which was effectively sat between the point and the first dropper??? I’d never thought of fishing it that way but it worked for him with a fish per cast. Maybe that’s something for a separate video!
Did a vid on the bung a while back but fished it on the big waters with buzzers, used a lot now by the small water guy's who seem to hang just about anything under it! have you tried the shammy yet??
@@leighpond5928 I do have a question which might make for a good video. I have returned to Fly Fishing/Fly tying after 20 years of Coarse/Match Fishing (I Fly Fished/Fly Tied a lot when younger), so I am experienced in that respect. Within the Coarse Fishing world mono/braid is mainly spoken about in terms of diameters and not really breaking strain. So for example, a Feeder Fishing setup would be say 0.10 Braid mainline (from the Reel), to a 0.25 Shock Leader with a 0.16 Hooklength, this roughly translates to a 10lb mainline (but very thin as it's braid), 12lb Shock Leader and 5lb Hooklength - obviously different manufacturers have different tolerances so a 0.25 line from Company A will be different to a 0.25 line from Company B. Now, since returning to Fly Fishing I keep reading about a Line measurement in terms of "X", so a 4X, 6X. I am still confused as to what 4X, 6X, etc actually means in terms of Diameters/Breaking Strains - what does the X stand for? A quick video on explaining the rating system for Fly Tippets/Lines would be really useful, I have already tried searching on RUclips, etc but there doesn't seem to be much out there.
Great video Leigh well informative for all with a few refreshers in there, Fluoro is a mixed bag as all prefer different brands and all dislike same ,it’s all down to knots I reckon?!
Quite right Peter if there was one that was the best we would all be using the same! its all down to confidence, I was out with Paul Davidson today at Draycote and got a master class on the midas and on dry fly fishing a true pro and really nice guy, we talked about leader material and came to the conclusion that it is pretty much confidence at the end of the day!
Good video Leigh,is there any chance you could give advice on the roll cast sometime,the water I regularly fish has a long bank with trees behind so is hardly fished,any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Don't know where you are situated in the country but an hour on the bank having a lesson would be so much easier and quicker for you Craig? The roll cast was the second thing my Dad showed me how to do when i first started to fly fish more years ago than I can remember! lol The roll cast is made by lifting your rod to a position slightly behind your ear, and then lowering the rod in the direction you want your fly /line to end up, some anglers describe the motion as 'chopping the log' a loop is made and then it feeds out in front of you when executed . It does not really work unless you have water in front of you really as its the surface tension on the line that allows you to load the rod during the forward cast! Hope this helps a bit?
If I am on a reservoir and on dry's 6lb fullingmill on the smaller waters with smaller fly's i would drop down to maybe 4 or 5lb , 10ft for a single fly if using 2 probably 8ft and 5ft if 3 fly's 6x6x6 as a rule of thumb and somewhat dependent on the conditions, got another video of exactly what your asking for Chris coming out soon but you can also look at one we have already done at Rutland hope this helps?
Good stuff Leigh, really enjoying the videos from Ireland. Hoping to get out to give this a try during the week. Just one question from myself, When you cast and have your fly sitting right, do you leave much slack out so it has a natural flow or do you try to keep as much contact as possible? Thanks again and keep the videos coming 👍🏻
I try to keep as much contact as possible and try not to move the dry fly or let it drag on the wind if i can, in saying that last week on Pitsford most of the fish i caught were when moved back to the boat, different days need different approach and no two days are the same, had a belter on Grafham last Weds and went back to the same mark the next day and it seemed the area was void of fish!!! re structure and re think! Leigh
I tried using flouro once, every knot I tied came undone then when I thought I had it my fly came off. Also when dry fly fishing I'm never able to hookup. Only been fly fishing 2 years any help would be fantastic.
I find different fluorocarbon different, I personally use airflow g3 8lb, and use a 5 turn blood knot with no problems when I go down to 6lb g3 then I use a 4 turn knot, just trial and error and find out how many turns you need for a secure knot
PS with the dry fly fishing, for me I just give the fish time to take the fly and roll on it, im sure there are more experienced on here that will tell you more
Been using Fluoro for years and tried many different brands, find fullingmill hard wearing very strong great knot strength but its all a matter of confidence you have to find a leader material that you are happy with and build a confidence with it I have found, Idon't
Not tried the shammy. Heard talk of them about a year ago and had a ‘panic buying’ session because I realised I didn’t have any (I must be a salesman’s dream). Another fly I’m not sure how to fish - is it a point fly? Something you’d fish on the dropper on a washing line? Down deep or high in the water? More questions than answers...
Ok the shammy is amazing and I have not found a fishery where it does not work yet? I fished a small water a few weeks ago and there was already quite a few guy's fishing with little success's I tried the normal set ups and did not have a pull! put the smammy on and had take after take, probably only hook up with 1 in every 3 takes but it is amazing how or why it works??? My point fly on the washing line would be a booby or a fab blob as both are buoyant and will hold the rest of the droppers up, my favourite point fly at the moment would be a size 10 or 12 pink eyed tequila booby .
Was on Grafham twice last week guiding had some of the best fishing ever! fish are in the top 2 foot and moving around following the vast daphnia blooms like i have never seen there before! even in bright sunshine and 33 degrees the fish just kept on coming! and the quality was insane lots around 4lb many over 3lb best method was slow 12ft tip small12 booby on the point, 2 size 10 cormorants on the droppers and a 12 fab tequila on the top dropper unbelievable sport best drift was A buoy to the plummers end of the dam and also B buoy hope this helps
Thanks for the tip Leigh. I’ll put it to good use. Thinking about having a guided day at Pitsford at the end of August - fished there twice and pretty much blanked twice. It would be easy to blame it on the water but I know that’s not the case as I’ve always heard good things. Saw your video and tried the sailing club but I think you pulled all the fish out of that hole! 😂
I was on Pitsford as well last week and had 6 on the dry's it was not as easy as usual but came off early I,m sure i would have done better if we had stayed on? there was fish at the sailing club but the corner of the dam was good also, nothing around the boiles ? was the same at Grafham
Using a 7 weight gray's competition special bit of an over kill for what we were doing Thomas but this is what i would use on a bigger water normally use a 6 weight sage for this type of water with a 6 weight Snowbee line!
@@leighpond5928 I agree but then airflo G3 at the same thickness will give you 8lb breaking strain. Grand max will give you 12.5lb breaking strain for the same thickness. Anyway, it's what works for you 👍 enjoy watching your videos and tight lines for the next time you're out on the water
Get your point Ben if there was just one that worked we would all be using it and nothing else i guess! its all down to confidence i think its like a relationship you start to doubt it when you brake up lol
Hi Leigh, yes I’ve subscribed and my season has just got going. Was out on the water bank fishing last week and there was a fall of tiny ants and every fish in the lake rising to them. I only sussed out what was happening when I noticed about 5 of the little rascals sat on my fly line as I inched it back. Fishing eh??.
Cheers
Thanks Leigh that was a nicely instructive video. Everyone should learn something from it.
Cheers Dave Willacy
Thanks Dave appreciate your comments and input, have you had the chance to subscribe Dave? and how's your season going?
Lee took your advice on the snowbee lines got the snowbee specter line great job thanks
Funny enough I was out on Grafham on Monday and only saying that I need to get Snowbee as mine is just about to give up! taking into account the amount of use and abuse it gets it has done really well, must be 3 years old!
Hi leigh, what I would like to know or you maybe show on a video is when you turn up to a venue, what makes you decide what method and what flies you would use, i often get to a water and think what line to use first? What method, washing line? Straight line? Single fly? 3 fly? Or even dry fly, any help would be great, and keep up with the great videos 👍🏻
Most days i will set up at least 2 rods with different lines on so the transition is quick, bit of a competition thing with me i guess but does not take long to change over lines if you are only using one. When i get to the water i look for the obvious clue's i,e fish moving rising , if so i would defo try dry's first then if no good probably fish a slow glass (intermediate) or midge tip line and work my way down the water layers until i bump into the bottom or a fish! love the bung also great method on small waters also and i would probably give it a try with an app's worm or buzzers depending on the time of year, as you know rainbows love a chase so maybe wizz a lure at mid depth for 5 mins changing the depth and retrieves to try and induce a take, hope this helps Leigh
Great video, as always. Have you done any previous videos about fishing deep in the summer months with DI3/DI7 etc. I know that Booby’s can be devastating in these circumstances but I get confused about retrieves, Leader lengths and what flies (if any) are best to team with Booby’s.
Wow good question and would make a great video ! there are a few different deep water fishing methods one which can believe it or not be fished on a floating line and heavy buzzers but can only really work with little or no wind if fishing from a drifting boat, the other as you rightly say is a di 7 or 8, the one we all use now is a booby basher which is a bitch to cast but sinks like a stone! i have another method which i developed with the use of a free running bung set up, basically its fished with the heavy buzzers set close together so they sink quicker if that makes sense and the bung is set with a simple stop knot at around 25 foot great when the fish are setting in really deep water! i do offer a guiding service which would be the best way to demonstrate these methods go to 'Leigh pond fly-fishing srvices' but great idea Mathew will do one on this subject thanks for your input and support Leigh
Thanks Leigh,
You’ve opened up a can of worms with the bung. It’s another set up which I’ve seen fished in so many ways - one of the most successful was a day at Ellerdine where the guy next to me was fishing a blob (point fly) 2’ under a bung which was effectively sat between the point and the first dropper??? I’d never thought of fishing it that way but it worked for him with a fish per cast.
Maybe that’s something for a separate video!
Did a vid on the bung a while back but fished it on the big waters with buzzers, used a lot now by the small water guy's who seem to hang just about anything under it! have you tried the shammy yet??
Thanks Leigh.
Thanks for your input Mike if there is anything we can help you with just let us know?
@@leighpond5928 I do have a question which might make for a good video. I have returned to Fly Fishing/Fly tying after 20 years of Coarse/Match Fishing (I Fly Fished/Fly Tied a lot when younger), so I am experienced in that respect. Within the Coarse Fishing world mono/braid is mainly spoken about in terms of diameters and not really breaking strain. So for example, a Feeder Fishing setup would be say 0.10 Braid mainline (from the Reel), to a 0.25 Shock Leader with a 0.16 Hooklength, this roughly translates to a 10lb mainline (but very thin as it's braid), 12lb Shock Leader and 5lb Hooklength - obviously different manufacturers have different tolerances so a 0.25 line from Company A will be different to a 0.25 line from Company B. Now, since returning to Fly Fishing I keep reading about a Line measurement in terms of "X", so a 4X, 6X. I am still confused as to what 4X, 6X, etc actually means in terms of Diameters/Breaking Strains - what does the X stand for? A quick video on explaining the rating system for Fly Tippets/Lines would be really useful, I have already tried searching on RUclips, etc but there doesn't seem to be much out there.
Great video Leigh well informative for all with a few refreshers in there, Fluoro is a mixed bag as all prefer different brands and all dislike same ,it’s all down to knots I reckon?!
Quite right Peter if there was one that was the best we would all be using the same! its all down to confidence, I was out with Paul Davidson today at Draycote and got a master class on the midas and on dry fly fishing a true pro and really nice guy, we talked about leader material and came to the conclusion that it is pretty much confidence at the end of the day!
Good video Leigh,is there any chance you could give advice on the roll cast sometime,the water I regularly fish has a long bank with trees behind so is hardly fished,any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Don't know where you are situated in the country but an hour on the bank having a lesson would be so much easier and quicker for you Craig? The roll cast was the second thing my Dad showed me how to do when i first started to fly fish more years ago than I can remember! lol The roll cast is made by lifting your rod to a position slightly behind your ear, and then lowering the rod in the direction you want your fly /line to end up, some anglers describe the motion as 'chopping the log' a loop is made and then it feeds out in front of you when executed . It does not really work unless you have water in front of you really as its the surface tension on the line that allows you to load the rod during the forward cast! Hope this helps a bit?
@@leighpond5928 Cheers Leigh,if I get chance I'll l try and get across from west yorkshire for lesson.
Love that leigh , would you use 6lb fluro most of the time you fish ? And on average what length leader ?👍👍👍
If I am on a reservoir and on dry's 6lb fullingmill on the smaller waters with smaller fly's i would drop down to maybe 4 or 5lb , 10ft for a single fly if using 2 probably 8ft and 5ft if 3 fly's 6x6x6 as a rule of thumb and somewhat dependent on the conditions, got another video of exactly what your asking for Chris coming out soon but you can also look at one we have already done at Rutland hope this helps?
Leigh Pond brilliant thank you leigh 👍
Good stuff Leigh, really enjoying the videos from Ireland. Hoping to get out to give this a try during the week. Just one question from myself, When you cast and have your fly sitting right, do you leave much slack out so it has a natural flow or do you try to keep as much contact as possible? Thanks again and keep the videos coming 👍🏻
I try to keep as much contact as possible and try not to move the dry fly or let it drag on the wind if i can, in saying that last week on Pitsford most of the fish i caught were when moved back to the boat, different days need different approach and no two days are the same, had a belter on Grafham last Weds and went back to the same mark the next day and it seemed the area was void of fish!!! re structure and re think! Leigh
I tried using flouro once, every knot I tied came undone then when I thought I had it my fly came off. Also when dry fly fishing I'm never able to hookup. Only been fly fishing 2 years any help would be fantastic.
I find different fluorocarbon different, I personally use airflow g3 8lb, and use a 5 turn blood knot with no problems when I go down to 6lb g3 then I use a 4 turn knot, just trial and error and find out how many turns you need for a secure knot
PS with the dry fly fishing, for me I just give the fish time to take the fly and roll on it, im sure there are more experienced on here that will tell you more
@@paulwhite8812 thanks very much for the advice I appreciate it, it was sightfree g3 I tried using and it kept snapping aswell. Maybe just a bad one.
Don't forget to spit on it before pulling tight as the friction with cause heat and weaken the line👍🏻
Been using Fluoro for years and tried many different brands, find fullingmill hard wearing very strong great knot strength but its all a matter of confidence you have to find a leader material that you are happy with and build a confidence with it I have found, Idon't
Not tried the shammy. Heard talk of them about a year ago and had a ‘panic buying’ session because I realised I didn’t have any (I must be a salesman’s dream). Another fly I’m not sure how to fish - is it a point fly? Something you’d fish on the dropper on a washing line? Down deep or high in the water? More questions than answers...
Ok the shammy is amazing and I have not found a fishery where it does not work yet? I fished a small water a few weeks ago and there was already quite a few guy's fishing with little success's I tried the normal set ups and did not have a pull! put the smammy on and had take after take, probably only hook up with 1 in every 3 takes but it is amazing how or why it works??? My point fly on the washing line would be a booby or a fab blob as both are buoyant and will hold the rest of the droppers up, my favourite point fly at the moment would be a size 10 or 12 pink eyed tequila booby .
Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a go at Grafham this week (hopefully)
Was on Grafham twice last week guiding had some of the best fishing ever! fish are in the top 2 foot and moving around following the vast daphnia blooms like i have never seen there before! even in bright sunshine and 33 degrees the fish just kept on coming! and the quality was insane lots around 4lb many over 3lb best method was slow 12ft tip small12 booby on the point, 2 size 10 cormorants on the droppers and a 12 fab tequila on the top dropper unbelievable sport best drift was A buoy to the plummers end of the dam and also B buoy hope this helps
Thanks for the tip Leigh. I’ll put it to good use.
Thinking about having a guided day at Pitsford at the end of August - fished there twice and pretty much blanked twice. It would be easy to blame it on the water but I know that’s not the case as I’ve always heard good things. Saw your video and tried the sailing club but I think you pulled all the fish out of that hole! 😂
I was on Pitsford as well last week and had 6 on the dry's it was not as easy as usual but came off early I,m sure i would have done better if we had stayed on? there was fish at the sailing club but the corner of the dam was good also, nothing around the boiles ? was the same at Grafham
Nice one buddy, I have subbed.
Likewise buddy thanks Linsay
Rod weight are you using ??
Using a 7 weight gray's competition special bit of an over kill for what we were doing Thomas but this is what i would use on a bigger water normally use a 6 weight sage for this type of water with a 6 weight Snowbee line!
Fulling mill fluorocarbon. 2X is only 6lb. That's not great. Airflo sightfree G3 at 6lb is 4X and Grand Max 6lb is 5X. Even thinner again
My take on it Ben is as its thicker and more dense i.e heavier so should sink quicker?
@@leighpond5928 I agree but then airflo G3 at the same thickness will give you 8lb breaking strain. Grand max will give you 12.5lb breaking strain for the same thickness. Anyway, it's what works for you 👍 enjoy watching your videos and tight lines for the next time you're out on the water
Get your point Ben if there was just one that worked we would all be using it and nothing else i guess! its all down to confidence i think its like a relationship you start to doubt it when you brake up lol