Some more fishing in black and white

• I have been messing around again with converting some of my photos over to black and white, and here are a few of the latest results. It does seem that the steelhead fishing over in BC (Canada) really lends itself to black and white, due mainly to the incredibly moody conditions, staggering backdrops, and long double-handed fly rods. It was monsooning it down in the photo you can see above, but the swirling mist and clouds with a vast mountain surround really made the place light up through the viewfinder. I believe that the black and white conversion has emphasised the moodiness of the photo - comments most welcome.

• Just a brief glimpse of sun was enough to light up the snow-covered peaks behind the angler (Pete McLeod of Aardvark McLeod) as he really goes into the power stroke of another smooth Spey cast. I have gone for a very deliberate contrasty conversion to highlight the fisherman, the cast, and the mountains behind.

• Still one of the most impressive places on this earth that I have ever had the good fortune to photograph, British Columbia is on a scale that I don't think I ever really got my head around during my brief visit. The type of area that stuns you into a kind of submission the first time you go, it really is that special, and one of those places that I so badly want to go back to and see it again. Steelhead fishing is a cult thing, and I completely understand why so many anglers give themselves over to it. Still the only place I have ever photographed that arguably looked a whole lot better the worse the weather was. And we got the lot when we were over there !!

• One of our own UK rainbow trout, and a shot that I always reckoned would look good in black and white - from the moment I framed it up in fact. I just like the way the highlights on the body of the trout allow me to really bring the shadows down and still make for a photo with a degree of simple impact.

• You can see a load more of my black and white photos right here, with some new ones loaded up. I am having a new website built at the moment, so there will be more news on that as and when it is done. The stuff I have seen so far looks very cool indeed....

FieldSports front cover

• I just received a copy of the latest issue of the fantastic FieldSports magazine, and I was really pleased to see that they have used a photo of mine on the cover - this strange looking fish is a milkfish, one of the fastest things I have ever seen on the saltwater flats. There is a feature of mine in the magazine about fly fishing the ultra-remote Seychelles atolls of these milkies as they are known. I always wanted somebody to pick up on this particular shot to use as a cover, and I applaud FieldSports' bold decision to use it. But then I might be a little biased......!!

• Fishing like this ain't even close to cheap, but I have yet to see any better saltwater fly fishing anywhere. I go on these trips because they are work for me - this might not sound quite right I know, but it's what I do. These atolls are freaky good for fishing, and if you can do this kind of thing, you need to speak to the fly fishing travel company Aardvark McLeod. These guys represent the awesome South African based FlyCastway company here in the UK, and I can not speak highly enough of their operation. You can see some photos here.

• I have just got back from photographing a job around St. Ives down in Cornwall - early this morning I boarded a boat at Hayle and headed out with three guys to photograph them netting sandeels. They caught masses and when I have sorted out the photos I will get some up here on this blog. The north coast of Cornwall was stunning early this morning, and we were only a few hundred years off the beach at St. Ives. What a great bunch of guys to work with.

• Photographing this kind of fast moving action requires that you get in amongst it and shoot the hell out of it, knowing that the moving boat and constantly shifting light will kill a percentage of the photos for you. But if you are prepared to work around the guys as they go about their work then you can come away with some really cool stuff. This is not a job for anybody who likes to spend ages planning their shots or doesn't like getting their cameras and lenses wet - get right in there is the key. Full details of this bait operation next week - are there many better things to use for bass than a live sandeel ?

Winter blue sky front cover

• I was really pleased to get the cover of the latest issue of Trout Fisherman magazine, as you can see above. Check out my photos on pages 14, 18, 19, 20, 21 , 22 and 23 - Nick Hart wrote all the words. The blue skies on the cover were like what we had down here over the weekend, but they are forecasting a decent storm coming in later today. We shall see....

• I am sorting out an exploratory bass fishing trip down to Brittany in north west France - there is a particular area that really interests me, and some of the people I met at the Salon de Peches show the other weekend down at Nantes are helping me out with tides, contacts and dates. I can not tell you how much I am looking forward to the chance of photographing and fishing for bass in France, it is such an awesome country, and I hope that this trip might be the start of another love affair - like I have for Ireland and the fishing over there.

• I told you yesterday about the bass that were caught by my friends over in Ireland over the weekend - check out the photos on Graham Hill's new bass blog. Keep an eye on this one. Over time I fully expect his blog to become a place that I am going to have to avoid looking at too much in case I do what I keep thinking about - dropping out, moving over there to live, and just fishing my socks off until the day I die !! Not very realistic I know, but hard not to think about doing.........

• I have just been sent a PDF of a photo essay of mine that is in the awesome Norwegian fishing magazine Alt om Fiske - I really like getting my work in this publication. Granted, I don't understand a word of it, but it looks fantastic !! The salmon photos of mine were shot out on the Gaspe peninsular over on the east coast of Canada - pure sight fishing for Atlantic salmon in the clearest rivers I have ever seen. What a lot of fly anglers don't know is that most of this east coast Canadian salmon fishing is really cost effective, and it takes hardly any time to get over there. Flights are usually dirt cheap as well. Talk to Pete or Charlotte at Aardvark McLeod about going there.

• I also received a copy of the German fishing magazine Blinker yesterday, and in there is a big feature of mine on the frankly scary-awesome lure and fly fishing for giant golden dorado in Argentina. I am especially pleased with the big double-page spread photo of mine that they used, of a jumping dorado with a popper in its mouth. Heading to this particular location that is in the feature is not cheap, but they are virtually fully booked up because it is THE best place on earth to chase the biggest golden dorado. These magnificent fish are still one of the most impressive freshwater species I have ever come across, and I really want to do a lot more with them. Again, if this kind of fishing floats your boat, talk to Aardvark McLeod. I would never do this kind of thing if it was not an important part of my work, and I never thought for one second that when I started out working in fishing that I would get to see things like this. But as I always say, it ain't ever close to what it seems.........

Tough day yesterday

• It feels a bit stupid to be talking about problems with the weather out here in Belize when back home in the UK they are having the worst snow for ages - but yesterday morning especially out here were some of the toughest flats fishing conditions that I have seen for a while. Howling winds and scudding grey skies make it really difficult, so the big jack you can see above was even more of an accomplishment by James. Targeting either permit or tarpon yesterday was never going to happen. We saw a few nice snook lying very close to some mangroves, and James landed a small one, but the bigger ones don't get big by being stupid. We were told of some snook landed on the fly the other day out here to over 20lbs.

• Above you can see James's jack being landed by our guide - this place is an awesome location. El Pescador lodge where we are staying is simply fantastic, and when the weather is kinder they have some outstanding fishing here for serious numbers of tarpon (some truly huge fish as well) and permit, plus stacks of mainly small to medium sized bonefish. Some fly anglers never look twice at big jack crevalle, but there are lots out here -anybody who ignores the chance to fish for them needs their heads examined. Belize is a country that is really growing on me, and the more you speak to the locals, the more you realise just what an incredible fishery there is out here. There are big numbers of resident tarpon around all year that do not migrate, but during July, August and September there are a scary amount of migrating tarpon moving through here, and it is not uncommon to land numbers of them every day. All we need is some half-tidy weather and we have got a decent chance........and the forecast is giving it to be a lot better for today.

• The moment James and I got back in off the boat yesterday, we jumped straight in the kayaks and paddled out into the backcountry behind the lodge. We found some shelter from the wind and James smashed a few bones on a deserted flat, including this one above. Nothing very big, but proper fun - I saw one shoal of decent bonefish moving around, but they were not in a feeding mode. We did see a few tailing fish, and James also saw a spooky permit.

• Messing around on the kayaks is a blast, even though we got lost for a bit and could not work out where to go in the maze of mangrove channels out here !! With the sun rapidly going down, I did not fancy getting stuck out in the backcountry when the mozzies came out to play. It's before first light as I am typing this and we have two full days left to get this properly nailed - if the weather plays ball then I hope we can show just how good it can be out here.

• As regards some fishing that is more in keeping with all the snow I keep hearing about back home, check out this mad Norwegian ice fishing at this link right here. Scroll down the page a bit and you will see my mate Cato and a friend of his with some proper pollack and coalfish that they nailed through a tiny hole in the ice - check out the size of the fishing rod !! This looks like class fishing, and Cato tells me they had pollack to 12lbs through the ice, mainly on various soft plastics fished on jigs.

Out here in Belize

• James and I arrived at El Pescador Lodge out here in Belize around lunchtime local time, and within half an hour we on a couple of kayaks and paddling out to some pristine mangrove flats. The serious fishing starts early tomorrow morning. but even so, James hooked a nice bonefish this afternoon, and we saw a fair few tailing and feeding happily. Just seeing those tails glinting in the sunshine gets the heart going every time,and it's great to be back on the flats. "Skinny water" is just so special.

• This place is seriously cool, and I am writing this blog as we are sitting outside having a drink and talking about fishing - obviously !! If the weather remains good then we are going to have a proper go at nailing some tarpon and possibly permit on the fly tomorrow, and then when we come in off the boat, James and I will head straight back out on the kayaks to fish and photograph until dark. Might as well use all available hours while we are out here. We are here via Aardvark McLeod and I have a feeling that Belize is going to make a real impact on me - already I have heard about more and more areas out here opening up, with some outstanding fishing..........

• These photos are hardly going to win any awards, but it is always good to get out on the water and check that all is working fine. Hopefully I will able to get some decent shots up during the week.

This weather has been due......

• If you have got the weather we have at the moment then welcome to the club - mist, grey skies, drizzle and generally a complete lack of sunshine is all I can see out of my office window right now. But we can't really complain that much with the (relative) amount of sunshine we've had so far this winter, in fact it's been pretty good. If I could be sent a little bit more of the giant golden orb for a photography job with Nick Hart on Thursday, that would be great - but the forecast says otherwise at the moment.......

• I have put a few photos up from the ultra remote atolls of the Seychelles to see what you think of them in black and white - photographing those huge blue skies on pristine flats is as close to somebody like me is ever going to get to paradise, and I hope you notice that I am not complaining (too much) about our current weather. That's because on Saturday I am heading off to photograph some flats fishing out in Belize. Bring it on !!

• I am convinced my end that huge blue skies can work well in various shades of black and white, if there is enough detail from the clouds to provide a load of depth and contrast. Don't get me wrong, I love the extremes of colour that flats based photography can provide, and I am really hoping for endless blue skies out in Belize, but I will also be looking out for any black and white opportunities that I see out there. On these kinds of work trips (might as well try and work in some cool places) I have to try to nail as wide a range of material as possible.

• I am travelling out to Belize with a friend of mine called James, and he just happens to be one of the most awesome fly fishermen I have ever worked with. The guy is extremely modest and would never acknowledge this, but he has got a serious talent for smashing serious numbers of fish on the fly, indeed I believe James has landed over 100 different species of fish on the fly so far. Now that takes some doing. I have worked with enough talented fly fishermen on this earth to know how well James can fish.

• The target species in Belize are going to be (weather depending) tarpon, permit and possibly snook, but we will wait until we get there and take into account our guides' advice. James and I are travelling via the international fly fishing travel company Aardvark McLeod - I do a lot of work with these guys and they always impress me in a big way. Not all fishing overseas has to cost an arm and a leg.....

• On Saturday, James and I are flying out to Miami, overnight there, and then we head down to Belize the next morning. We have four and a half days' for fishing and photography (sleep is not an option, that's for the flights home), and then we arrive back in the UK just in time for the first match in the Six Nations. English rugby worries the hell out of me at the moment, but surely a massive revival is just about due ?

That makes it four......

• I have just found out that a photo of mine is on the front of the forthcoming Hardy UK and Europe 2009 catalogue, as you can see above. That just about makes my day, for I have no say in any of their catalogue covers - I just submit my photos when asked, and then wait to see what happens. Getting my photos on the cover of something like the Hardy catalogue gives me a real kick, and once again I am really pleased with the shot they have used.

• The photograph is of their commercial director Martin Kelly doing rather nicely with a double-handed fly rod (I think he was using a Hardy ??!!) out in Norway last year. It's the kind of thing you shoot with a front cover in mind, but Martin never knew I was taking the photo. The trick with this particular photo was to dial in some minus exposure compensation to make sure not to blow the highlights out when they are set against the relative dark of the water and tree branches. That light blue Hardy shirt looks great, but when it is around any kind of bright light, a camera tends to want to blow it out. Cameras are great, but it is vital to know exactly when not to trust them and instead rely on what you know.

• It is this kind of "eyes in the back of your head, be prepared to shoot wherever and whenever" attitude that you need to get anywhere close to succeeding in working in fishing. Am I anywhere close to getting to where I want to get in fishing ? Not yet, but I'm working hard to get there......

• With this latest cover shot, that makes four for me - four of the Hardy & Greys 2009 catalogue covers have my photographs on them. That is what you could refer to as a result in my book. Above is the Greys 2009 Game cover with a photo of a decent steelhead taken in the wilds of British Columbia. I am somewhat pleased !!

• Above is the Hardy 2009 Game catalogue that is out in the US. I shot this photo in Montana last summer, and I so badly want to go back and photograph a load more US trout fishing. In fact there are an increasing number of fishing related things that I want to do out in America. Check out a load of photos I shot in Montana right here.

• And above is the new Greys 2009 Sea catalogue. There are stacks of my photos inside as well. The light in the photo really reminds me of a typical winter's day of sunshine and showers, but in fact I took this photo up in north Cornwall in July. You can't beat an English summer !!

• You have to check out this insane saltwater fly fishing, see the video right here - these are the outstanding South African based FlyCastaway guides that I have worked with on numerous occasions, and without a doubt they are some of the most talented fly fishermen on this earth. This video is all about fly fishing for the world's largest tarpon off the coast of Angola. I remember sitting on the beach there some years ago, watching the tarpon and threadfin rolling around, knowing that we were not kitted out to fish for them, and vowing one day to get back there. These guys catch monsters on the fly, plain and simple, and you can fish with them by talking to Aardvark McLeod right here. Stuff like this does not come cheap, but the FlyCastaway consistently put their clients over some of the best fly fishing on this planet.

• Nick Hart and I are out tomorrow to shoot some new casting stuff for Trout Fisherman magazine, so we will see what the weather brings and take it from there. I really like doing this kind of stuff with Nick, he is so easy to work with, and the fact that he can cast like a dream kind of helps. He is without doubt one of the busiest and best-respected fly fishing guides and instructors around, so make sure to get in early and book him up. I guarantee that your fly fishing will come in leaps and bounds - I guess I need to take my own advice and book Nick up myself, as anybody who has seen my cast a fly rod can attest to !!

New bass photo gallery online

• I have put a new bass fishing photo gallery online - you can see it by clicking here. These are selected photos from when I was over in Ireland in September - we had generally outstanding fishing and some very cool light for photography purposes. Is it just me or have we had less grey days in the last few months than we usually do ? Suits me just fine...
• There are loads of photos over on my website, and especially on this page here. On the right hand side of this blog page there are also some links to various online photo galleries that I have created this year. My website is currently being completely rebuilt and will go live sometime early next year. I am looking at offering various ways to purchase different kinds of prints (plus postcards, canvas prints etc.) of some of my photos, but I will not do this until I am totally happy with the end results.

• The photo above is the kind of thing that I reckon would work really well as a big print - it is a black and white conversion of a mountain range in British Columbia (BC), towering above the Copper river where we fished and photographed for the mighty steelhead last year. Check out a load of photos right here. I always liked this shot in colour, but it also really gets to me in black and white. Basically, BC would get to anyone.

• I noticed that over on the Aardvark McLeod website that the people we worked with over there have moved into a fantastic looking new lodge, check here for the details. I am going to do all I can to get myself back over to the west coast of Canada next year, for it is truly one of the most special places on earth, and fishing for steelhead and big Pacific salmon is about as cool as it gets. As a place to photograph, I have to stop myself hyperventilating all the time in a state of complete overexcitement !! Loads of coffee tends to do the trick.

• The photo above is also from British Columbia - now this is one that I reckon would work really well as a really big canvas print, for these is a huge amount of detail and depth to the photo that might not be properly visible here on the blog. I am sold on the merits of a shot like this in black and white. If I am feeling flush after Christmas I might pull the trigger and order a big canvas print for us here at home in Plymouth - my wife is not really into shots of fish or extreme metal (women eh ??!!), but she loves this photo. It is now up to me to keep looking harder and harder for shots like this when I am out and about. Just as fishing is a never ending learning curve, so I am continuing to find new things out about the art of photography that really keep me buzzed up. The only problem is that my brain goes into such overdrive (yes, I still have a brain after all my younger years' headbanging) that I keep waking up at silly o'clock times in the morning. As above, coffee is the key.

Front cover and some Irish bass thoughts

• Above is a current cover photo of mine on the front of the US magazine Destination Fish - this strange looking fish is a bumphead parrotfish that was caught by South African fly angler Rob Lewis out on Providence atoll in the ultra-remote Seychelles. I believe that I might have been the first fishing photographer to document these creatures being successfully targeted and captured on the fly, on the flats, and I have got a bunch of awesome photos. I really like their choice of my photograph for the cover (well I would, wouldn't I ??!!), and I imagine that it certainly "jumps" at you from the newstands. There is only one guiding company on this earth that I trust to put you onto this kind of world class saltwater fly fishing, and that is FlyCastaway. Fishing like this does not come cheap, but if you can do it, talk to Pete or Charlotte at Aardvark McLeod. Check out a bunch of my Seychelles photos here, here and here.

• I have naturally been thinking a lot about my recent trip over to Ireland - was there anything more we could have done to nail a few more bass when the weather went really still, clear and settled ? Usually I would have fancied our chances big time on the baits, but the weeks leading up to my most recent trip had seen insane amounts of rain, and a lot of the bait marks were far too coloured up to produce the goods. I have just heard that in fact they are starting to fish well again as the freshwater starts to clear away. Sod's law !!

• I know that Andy is just about coming to terms with his first Irish experience, and I hope to get him back over there next year. On our penultimate morning he got hit on his lure, and then immediately saw a huge bass jump behind it. This fish came at his lure a couple more times, but would not take - Andy nearly fell off his rock, and put the size at "well into double figures", and bear in mind that this guy has personally witnessed fish to 13lbs plus being landed over in Cornwall, so he knows his bass. Much like Graham back in July, Andy proceeded to talk fluent Swahili for about an hour after he saw that huge bass......

• I manged to get a bass over the 6lb mark on this penultimate morning, but as Pat grabbed the lip of the fish, it turned and shed the hooks. It hit me right next to a rock and really put on the gas, but these red Tenryu rods have serious power in reserve for when you need to play them hard. So we did not get the photos, but at least the fish went back just fine, that is always the most important thing to me. I de-barb all my treble hooks on my bass lures as I believe it is far better for the fish, and unhooking is just so much easier and more efficient. The less time spent trying to remove hooks, the better the fish recovers. I do not believe that I have lost any fish due to doing this - the bass that got away would have got away with or without barbs, and I would hope that the majority of bass anglers crush the barbs on their trebles.

• That morning also saw a rather excited Pat doing his best not to fall off another rock with excitement - with all this nearly falling off the rocks, you probably think they are all overdoing the Guinness, but in fact Pat saw a bass he reckons was nudging 14lbs swim right beneath him in the crystal clear water. The fact that the fish was not interested in his lure was mildly frustrating to say the least.

• Whichever way you look at it, this recent Irish trip was still a huge success - we saw plenty of decent fish, and for the most part the light was excellent and I managed to get a load of photos that I am really happy with. The photograph with Pat and Graham being hit by a big wave is in fact one of my favourite I have shot this year (see this post here). I could see that Pat had a fish on, and I knew that Graham would get right in there to help his mate land it. Moving as fast as I could over some seriously treacherous ground, I dialled in -1 stop of exposure compensation to my Canon 1D MK111 camera/70-200 f4 L lens combination as I walked/crawled/scrambled over the seaweed covered rocks, to prevent blowing the exposure with all that white water against a dark rocky background, and the result was an awesome sequence of shots that in my mind show the kind of bass fishing on the edge that a whole load of us enjoy. Being in the right place at the right time comes from a lot of practise and a certain amount of luck, but mostly it comes from knowing when not to fish. Believe me, I want to fish all of the time, but this is my job, and I need to get the kind of photos that are going to sell for me time and time again. Nailing a photo like that is as much of a thrill to me as catching a decent fish - yes, I am in love with my job, and I am proud to say so. I am also lucky enough to work around some fantastic people, and I am forever in their debt.

• I am flying out to South Africa on Thursday evening, so I had better get on with clearing some work and then getting ready for this trip. It has been far too long since I was in Africa, and I can't wait to see those vast skies and smell those unmistakable smells of the most awesome continent on earth............

Front covers and packing for Ireland

• Hardy are really going into the US in a big way right now, and to help with this they decided to launch a North American version of their catalogue for 2009 - it will be available at the Fly Fishing Retailer Show that is taking place 14th-16th September over in Denver. I am really pleased that the cover of this catalogue is a photo of mine from my recent Montana shoot with Nick Hart (check out a whole load of photos from that trip right here). Yes, that's the back of his neck you can see there - he is a great bloke to work with, and in fact it was Nick who suggested shooting this kind of photo. To be able to work with people who have such a positive and creative input into what I do is a real help. I really like their choice of the front cover here as it is not a shot that one would instantly go for, but in my eyes it kind of gets to you and pulls you in. I hope the catalogue goes down really well in the US, and there are a stack of my photos inside as well.

• Above is the cover for the forthcoming Greys 2009 Game catalogue, and again it is a photo of mine on there - this time the shot is of an autumn (fall) steelhead from the Bell Irving river in the wilds of British Columbia. Check out a bunch of photos from that particular trip here, and then talk to Aardvark McLeod about heading out to target these truly magnificent fish. Steelhead are a species on which I could spend a serious amount of time, and I have plans to photograph a lot more in the future. It's always a real kick to get a front cover of a magazine, book or catalogue, and I really like the publications that the people from Hardy & Greys produce. I might do a lot of work with them, but I have no say at all over which photos make the various catalogue covers.

• I am getting my gear together for this Ireland bass fishing trip that I am leaving on tomorrow. Obviously I am going to be taking my ultimate lure fishing rod, the Tenryu Red Dragon Express, and both Andy and Graham also have these things. I still have not found a rod on the UK market that comes near to this thing for out and out lure fishing. You can get them right here. These red rods are without doubt my fishing tackle find of the year so far.

• For the bait fishing side of things, I will continue to use my Greys BZe rods - they are fantastic for light touch ledgering in the estuaries and surf zones, and they do all I ask of them repeatedly. For casting 4oz weights and nice crab baits, I have yet to find better rods, but perhaps their new Platinum Bass rod might be the one.........

• I am also taking over a pair of new Greys waders and wading boots that are due on the market I believe early next year - we are going to give them a proper working over, and they look excellent. Mobile bass fishing is a great way to use and abuse products to their limits.

• I will do all I can over in Ireland to keep this blog updated with our bass fishing exploits - we have some fantastic tides, and the weather forecast is looking ok, so if everything goes to plan then we should see some decent fishing. All one can do is push it as hard as possible and then hope that the fish oblige........

Back from Canada

• Pete and I arrived back at Gatwick yesterday morning after a short flight back from Canada - a 30 minute hop from Fredericton to Halifax, an hour on the ground (so I've sort of been to Novia Scotia !!), and then only just over five hours back to London. Just time to pop a couple of sleeping pills, grab a couple of hours kip and then drive back to see my family. As ever, it is about the biggest thrill possible to get back to my wife, two girls and of course my sheepdog Jess - her paw is fully healed up and that means I can take over to Ireland on Saturday.

• What an awesome trip it was - this was my third time over to Canada, and every time I get back I start thinking about just how much there is to see and do over there. We got chatting to a couple in the airport who had been over to check out some houses prior to emigrating there in a year or so. The amount of house and land you can get for your money in the Quebec and New Brunswick areas is staggering.......

• The thing that really got to me the most was the astounding amount of world class salmon fishing that these areas have, from pure sight fishing in crystal clear rivers to double-handed work on the famous pools of the mighty Miramachi. Some of the all-inclusive trips over there can work out a lot cheaper than heading up to Scotland, and I am amazed that this stunning part of Canada is not receiving a huge influx of European salmon fishermen every season. What I really love is the the fact there is simply no class system attached to the salmon fishing over there at all - you either fish or you don't, whoever you are and whatever you do. Fly fishing happens to be the way that it is done, and everybody seems to do it. I would highly recommend that you talk to Pete or Charlotte at Aardvark McLeod as soon as you can about a trip over there.

• I now have a couple of days here before I head over to Ireland with a friend from Cornwall. Once again we are going to be fishing and photographing along the deserted south east coastline with my mate Graham Hill. The weather has been appalling recently, but all the forecasts I can get hold of are all pointing towards a good, settled spell of weather that should be just about perfect for the bassing. I love this kind of fishing as you can most likely tell, but it is also work for me as I need a huge amount of photographs to illustrate all the bass related features that I am writing for various magazines at the moment. Yes, I love my job, but then why not ? Life's too short to spend this much time doing something I hate.

• Andy and I will be driving up to Fishguard on Saturday and taking the fast Stena Line ferry over to Rosslare. I love this journey because the anticipation builds in me all the way, to the point where I get so excited that I rarely sleep much on the first night there. Told you I was a fishing junky !! Whatever happens with the fishing, I love every minute of my trips over there, and perhaps if I ask nicely, Graham might pull on his dancing shoes and sing for us (sorry mate).

• The photo above was from my most recent Irish trip, and perhaps if I ask nicely the skies might be that blue again ? Here's to dreaming......

Truly wild salmon fishing

• Yesterday over here was one of those days that I will remember for the rest of my life - we were taken into the middle of nowhere to fish for these famous salmon, miles up some logging trail, down what might loosely be termed a "track", and into the deep recesses of the woods !! Kind of sounds a bit like Deliverance I know, but it was truly special. We came upon this magical pool on the Little South West, a tributary of the Miramachi river, and for photos it was sublime. It is a big holding pool for the salmon, and with some rain the day before, our guides reckoned we should experience a bit of wild Canada. I am so lucky to have been to a place like this.

• To get to the remote salmon fishing out here, you need a serious four wheel drive vehicle, a compass in your head, and a deep understanding of your surroundings. I would get so lost out here. The guides that Country Haven Lodge work with are first rate, and salmon fishing runs through their veins - numerous generations of famous local guiding families have been involved in salmon fishing for ages around here. There is so much fly fishing for salmon out here that you could spend a lifetime fishing and still have more water left to discover - if you want to experience some hugely affordable (yes, salmon fishing does not have to cost the earth), world class salmon fishing, get in touch with Aardvark McLeod as soon as you can. This whole area is a hidden gem which we in the UK know far too little about.......

• There were a few salmon moving through the pool yesterday, and Pete managed to hook one on a dry fly - this is about as exciting as salmon fishing can be, taking these magnificent fish off the surface like a trout. The sun even came out to light up the scene just about perfectly.

• Here is Pete McLeod with his fish prior to release. What a special trip it has been out here - we fly back tonight, getting into Gatwick sometime on Wednesday morning UK time, and then I am heading back home to see my family. A couple of days later and I will be packing my gear up to head over to Ireland on Saturday to photograph some more of the awesome bass fishing. I hear that the weather has not been up to much, but surely that will change for me ? What a "summer" we have had !!

• More fly fishermen need to check out this eastern part of Canada, for there is so much awesome stuff out here. It staggers me that I have heard so little of rivers like the Bonaventure, Cascapedia and Miramachi - why is that so ? Easy flights from the UK, the fishing is not very expensive, and the salmon are all over the place. There is also great trout and striped bass fishing, plus whale watching, wildlife tours, and of course, the finest coffee in the world - Tim Hortons. Their coffee is my new addiction - far too nice !!

• Part of the reason that yesterday was so special was because we were give the most awesome barbecue right out in the middle of nowhere, on the side of the river. I have heard plenty about how good moose is to eat, and finally Pete and I got the chance yesterday to have some. This was the whole experience rolled into one perfect day. Our guide expertly cooked a whole hunk of moose on a portable barbecue, and it was one of the finest meats I have ever eaten - easily as good as everybody over here says it is. Just look at how civilised the whole thing was yesterday. These people out here really know their stuff big time. I really fancy wandering off into the woods to hunt me a moose of my own and bring it back for the freezer, but considering that the big bulls can weigh over 1200lbs, I think it might be a little hard to fit it all in my hold luggage !! Perhaps just a leg then......

Dry fly fishing for salmon

• We had an awesome day yesterday on the Bonaventure river. Eventually the cloud cover gave way to big blue skies, and the rise in temperature really switched the salmon on. The water out here is crystal clear and you can see the fish lying up in the pools - the fact though that you can see them does not make them easy to catch !! These fish take real skill to nail, so it's good that I'm taking the photos and not fishing for them - my fly fishing ain't exactly pretty.

• Pete McLeod caught three fish, lost another, and rose perhaps ten more to his flies. There was nothing massive landed, but seeing salmon come up and take dry flies right off the top is seriously exciting stuff, and is a very unique way of fishing for them. There are some US clients here in the lodge who have been coming for this style of fishing every single year for ages now, it is that good. One of them had a fish around 25lbs yesterday on a dry fly.

• We saw some huge fish lying in the pools, some salmon had to be around the 30lb mark, and a couple of really big fish did rise to Pete's flies. The heart stops momentarily every time !!

• The dry flies are generally enormous bombers that sit high on the surface of the water and obviously annoy the salmon into having a go occasionally. It's very technically demanding fly fishing, something for the angler who really likes a proper challenge.

• Here is Pete leaning into one of his salmon as our guide Jean-Marc gets ready with the net. Such an exciting day and by the time the end of supper came I was falling asleep in my chair - the lack of sleep caught up on me big time. We are just about ready now to grab some more coffee and head out onto another stretch of river.

Arrived in Canada

• We arrived at Camp Bonaventure around 11pm local time last night, after an easy flight from Gatwick to Fredericton via Halifax (Novia Scotia), and then a five hour drive north up onto the Gaspe peninsular. The weather when we arrived was stunning - warm, huge blue skies, and then we drove north as night came in. The roads out here are seriously empty and the people are as friendly as ever. Canada is an awesome country.

• Bearing in mind that we arrived here at Camp Bonaventure around 4am UK time, obviously the body clock is a bit off, so I collapsed into bed last night and went straight to sleep. But it was less than four hours later when I woke up, thinking I had somehow had a lie in, when in fact it was 3am local time. So I have been pacing around waiting for breakfast while other more normal people are asleep, doing my best to keep quiet (yeah, right), sorting out my camera gear, doing some work on my laptop (as is the norm, it's free wireless access here - why is there not more of this in the UK ?) and thinking plenty about the job I am here to do. Plus drinking lots of coffee to keep the brain engaged. The first day on a trip like this is always done on adrenaline anyway.

• Current reports are of some good salmon fishing - we are going to be on a couple or rivers around here where it is all about sight fishing for them, and then in a few days we will drive further south and spend some time around the huge Miramichi river system. There have been Atlantic salmon taken to over 50lbs fairly recently, so we shall see what happens !! That is a serious lump of fish.....

• The place we are staying at is fantastic - right on the banks of the Bonaventure river on the edge of the wood. I know Pete is really keen to check this place out properly for his clients, so make sure to check back with him here in due course about trips out here. The lack of people out here is simply incredible, I love it.

• Nick Hart's Open Day last Saturday was a roaring success, and I was sad not to be able to make it. They had perfect weather and had stacks of people around to check out what was going on. Nick has put a full report up on his blog here.

• I am hearing fantastic feedback about this new online "Catch Magazine" that I posted about a couple of days ago - reports from the guys in the US are more than positive, so that is great news. I am proud to be involved with something like this.

• Anyway, it's about breakfast time here, so it's time to get something to eat, load up the trucks and then go and nail this stuff properly. I will put some photos up when I can. You have no idea how excited I am to be able to call this kind of thing my job.

Awesome new online fishing magazine

• Check here for a brand new online fly fishing magazine, concentrating primarily on outstanding, inspiring photography from the world of fishing. "Catch Magazine" has been created by Brian O'Keefe and Todd Moen over in the US, and considering that Brian is one of the fishing photographers who I most respect, I naturally jumped at the chance to become involved when they asked me. This publication is just awesome - the guys have pulled away from pages and pages of "look at how well I can write" text and instead have filled the online pages with "look at how scarily impressive fishing is" photography - kind of like fishing porn for the connoisseur. And I reckon the thing looks simply breathtaking - well done guys, I am proud to be involved.

• This is the premier issue, and they will be bringing a new issue out every two months I believe. I love this new kind of online publishing where there are loads of video clips and hotlinks inserted throughout the pages, meaning that there is far more than meets the eye if you are prepared to look. For those of you not up on these new forms of publications, there are full instructions on how to get the most out of Catch magazine if you click on the bottom of the cover page on "click here for navigation help". The pages "turn" just like a paper magazine if you click on the "Forward One" button on the bottom right of the page. You can also click on any of the features direct from the contents page.

• There are a whole load of breathtaking photographs in there from some outstanding photographers in the world of fishing, proving once again just how impressive fishing can look if it is done properly by people who really love the sport. I seem to be the only Brit in there, so I am doing my best to keep our end up strong !!

• Check out my "Greatest Hits" feature in there from page 17 onwards - I love what they have done with my material, and click on the "i" symbols on the bottom right of the pages to see more info on the photographs. As I said, few words, loads of awesome images, and a hell of a good concept. There is some seriously cool stuff throughout the magazine, including a couple of film shorts - it certainly opens up one's mind to where this kind of thing might go.....

• You can subscribe for free here - what have you got to lose ? It costs nothing, and when the nights draw in and the temperature drops towards winter (ok, so we've hardly had what might be called a summer), fire up your computer and drool over this new online magazine. This kind of thing really inspires me and I know that there are plenty of people out there who will really enjoy this new magazine.

• I am packing up for my trip to the east coast of Canada tomorrow - I am travelling with Pete from Aardvark McLeod, and current reports are of some outstanding Atlantic salmon fishing at all the three lodges we will be visiting. I will do my best to keep this blog updated throughout the trip. I am seriously looking forward to this one. The few days we had over there on the Gaspe peninsular last autumn were hugely special (see the photos here), and I am told this time that there is a real chance of seeing some salmon coming up to dry flies. Bring it on as they say !!

• Pete has got hold of some very good looking new gear from Hardy for this trip, and I know he is really looking forward to putting the stuff through its paces - not that he is a tackle tart or anything like that, but the guy has got a lot of rods and reels.

• My wife is much better now and I have been released from looking after my girls full time, so that makes it a whole lot easier to get myself ready and go away on this trip. Nothing in life is more important than family, and while I love everything about my job, it can be hard to spend so much time away from them all. Come the middle of October and I have plans to try and be around here for a proper length of time. But with what I do, work is work, and you never quite know what is going to come up from time to time.

• Anyway, next time I update this blog I will be over in Canada, so I wish you all good weather and stacks of nice fish. Please save a few for me.

Monday morning - back to it

• By rights I should be posting a photo of the current dire weather conditions, but I can't face that on a Monday morning. Instead, here is a shot of one of my most favourite places on earth, the Isles of Scilly. Yes, we love to talk about the weather here in the UK, indeed some would say that we are mildly obsessed with it, but come on, let's be honest here, just how bad has this "summer" been so far ? Can it get any worse ?

• I had an awesome week on the Isle of Wight with my family, taking full advantage of any sunshine we got to head to the beach and go fishing for crabs, blennies and prawns with my two young girls. Luckily they still think their dad is quite sane when he jumps into the water and comes out clutching a crab in his hands !! How long they will think I am relatively cool for is anybody's guess though. But we had a blast - on one day we would all be whacking the suncream on, and on the next my wife and I would be walking across the beach in a bracing 50mph breeze. We got the lot and I loved it.

• The week started off fairly costly though as my sheepdog Jess cut her paw really badly on a rock and we had to take her to the vet to get the wound stitched up properly - not cheap, but vets know we'll pay virtually anything to look after our pets. Jess is still not allowed to go for proper walks, it was not a nice cut at all, but hopefully soon she will be fully healed so I can take her fishing again.

• Anyway, back to work with a vengeance, and life is about to get properly hectic again. I am off over to Jersey to photograph some bass fishing later this week for a few days, flying straight out of my local airport here in Plymouth - very handy.

• Another week or so here after Jersey and I then head over to the east coast of Canada to photograph some more of this awesome Atlantic salmon fishing they have in these incredible crystal clear rivers. Sight fishing for these fish blew me away last year, and I can't wait for this trip. There are a load of photos from that trip here, and you can find a photo essay here. Like last year, I will be travelling with Pete from Aardvark McLeod. And I rather bet Pete is hoping that we will not be sharing rooms so he can get some sleep - I tend to take a while to adjust to time differences and I seriously struggle to keep quiet when I wake up at 3am all the time. All I want to do is get out there and get the pictures, and I can't stand having to wait for dawn !!

• Virtually straight after this trip to Canada, I am turning around and heading back over to south east Ireland to get a load more bass fishing photos - plus some fishing of course !! As always for this kind of trip, I will be getting the Stena Line ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare. This is such a good way of getting to Ireland as you can carry all the gear you need and not worry for one second about weight restrictions etc. Check out a load of photos from my trip there a while back, see here.

• I have been keeping in close contact with Graham over in Ireland, and when the weather has relented they have been catching some fantastic bass as always. Jealous, me ? Never.....

• I am getting back from Ireland in time for my eldest daughter's 4th birthday - where does time go ? Then a week or so here at home before heading off to South Africa for ten days to photograph some rock and surf fishing near to the Mozambique border, and then some fly fishing for yellowfish on the Vaal river. See here for some yellowfish photos that I shot a while back. I can't wait to get back to Africa, it has been too long. There is no place on earth that feels the same as Africa.

• And then in October I am trying to plan it that I will be here in the UK for a decent length of time. It's all very well shooting all this material, but I then need time here to sell it properly, and I am also rather hoping that an Indian summer might just come along to give me a few more weeks on the bass fishing around here. Not much is happening right now with near gale force onshore winds, but a friend of mine had a load of nice bass on bait early last week before the monster winds. The fish are there, but too often we can't get at them. I am hearing of a few fish to plugs as well, but again, only when the weather allows it.

• I heard last week from my mate Cato over in Norway that a friend of his had just landed a 50lb halibut on the fly !!! I am really pleased to hear of this being done in Europe, so well done to the angler concerned - to actually go out and do this far out fly fishing takes some doing, believe me. I know that big halibut on the fly are a real possibility out at Rost, where we made a fishing programme and also I shot a load of monster coalfish on the fly, see here for the photos. April, May and into June are your best times for a go at the halibut.

• Make sure to check out Nick Hart's blog here. Not only has he gone and revamped the look of it, but you should check out his post here about an open day he is holding at Exe Valley Fishery on Saturday 30th August. Get yourself along for the day, it will be a blast.

Front cover

• I just received the latest issue of Sea Angler magazine in the post with a shot of mine on the front cover - it is a photo of Graham Hill over in south east Ireland with a nice bass from a shoot we did last autumn. It is always a kick to get a cover, especially with a photo of such a nice guy. I would not be fishing that part of the world if Graham had not contacted me out of the blue a few years ago now, so I am eternally grateful to the man.

• Check out the feature that goes with this front cover on pages 112, 113, 114, 115 and 116 - I really like the DPS shot they have used that covers 112/113. I like to shoot off-angles when the light and situation enables me to, and it is great when a designer picks up on it and uses the shot. Guess how many other anglers were about when we shot that feature ? Yes, you've guessed it - none, nada, squat, zero.

• For fear of moaning any more about the #':*"^&! weather, guess what ? It's raining and blowing hard outside yet again. Seriously, come on, surely we can't be having a summer like last year's ? On a more positive note, I reckon we are going to get a cracking late summer/autumn and the bass will be crawling up the line...............(somebody wake me up please, I'm dreaming again).

• I spoke to Danny Parkins yesterday and he told me about some nice bass he and his dad caught on lures on Sunday morning, when they had rather different sea conditions to the ones I faced. They also caught a scary amount of decent wrasse, with most going over the 4lb mark, and topping out at 7lbs !! Nice one guys, please can I come ? That is some fantastic fishing, especially considering the wrasse were all caught on heavy spinning rods.

• My mate Cato Bekkevold over in Norway sent me a link to some insane photos of a swordfish that was seen swimming in shallow water close to Oslo the other day, and he tells me that they are seen fairly regularly in the summer months. See here for one of the photos. That is far out.

• Scroll down the page of this Norwegian fishing forum here and you will see some scary photos of Cato in hospital the other day with a dirty great pike treble stuck in his hand !! I seriously hope that this does not affect his awesome drumming, for his band Enslaved are heading off at the weekend to film a video for one of the tracks off their forthcoming album. It will be called "The Watcher" and it will be in shops from 29th September. You can expect a full review on this blog of course. Now it is a case of counting down the days until the monster metal release...........

• It is great to be at home for a while, seeing my family and catching up on all the stuff I need to do, and on Thursday I am heading off for a week with my family, away from computers, fishing talk and the phone. We are off down to the Isle of Wight, and it is such fun to mess around on the beach with my girls and take my dog for long walks. Then things get seriously hectic again......

• Later this month I am going to head across to Jersey to do some bass photography from the boats, and then in early September I am off to the east coast of Canada to photograph Atlantic salmon fishing with Pete McLeod of Aardvark McLeod. I then head straight across to Ireland again to photograph some more bass fishing, back home for about a week, and then it's off down to South Africa to photograph some rock and surf fishing, plus yellowfish on the Vaal river with the guys from FlyCastaway. Phew !! I am not sure how life gets so hectic, but I am just happy to be working and making a living in fishing.

The countryside is alive and kicking

• What an incredible three days at the CLA Game Fair up at Blenheim Palace - the sheer numbers of people wandering around was staggering, indeed I heard rumours of close to 100,000 on Saturday. To see this number of people at a countryside show really does make you feel good about the future, for however hard our successive governments try to stamp all over the rural way of life, it is still very much alive, and kicking very hard indeed.

• Nick Hart and I had a blast doing our demonstrations each day, even when the sound went down on the first one and we had no choice but to shout ourselves hoarse just to be heard by the grandstand !! The response from people was fantastic, and my thanks of course to the hundreds of audience members who sat through the half hour demos, and a special thanks to our volunteers who came up and worked with us.

• I spent most of my time in and around the Fisherman's Village, and it was great to meet so many different people who kindly came up to me and said they enjoyed the TV programmes of mine - firstly it staggers me that people are still prepared to sit through them (my thanks), and secondly, the fact that half hour shows of me wittering on in a high state of excitement does not drive people completely demented has to be some kind of bonus.

• What really made my three days was the number of kids and female viewers who came up to me - anybody who knows me knows how embarrassed I get at being "recognised" by the people who watch the shows, but on the other hand I am so honoured that people enjoy what we do. The fact that so many female anglers and kids told me they loved the programmes left me brimming with pride that our little shows can give off such a good vibe to such different audiences.

• I did get a chance to see some other parts of the Game Fair, and as always is was utter class - so many things to see and buy, and such a good feeling about the whole show. Great weather (seriously cooking on Saturday), loads to do, but not enough time. I am already looking forward to next year.

• For people like me who work in the sport fishing industry, the Game Fair is also a good chance to see lots of different people and talk shop. A lot of fun is had when the crowds clear out in the early evening and the people working there can wind down a bit. There were some sore heads on the Saturday and Sunday mornings................

• The Bass Lures guys were doing a roaring trade with their demonstration tank and their Slug-Go and Lucky Craft lures - well done for coming along to what too many people wrongly perceive as a being game fishing only thing. We all went out for supper on Saturday night (thanks guys, I owe you), and they were in a slight state of shock at how well it had all been going. I am so glad a company like this had the guts to come along and prove that something really different could work so well at the Game Fair. I was unsure how they would do, but their success at the show has made me sit up and take even more notice of this explosion in bass fishing interest currently going on.

• You would not believe the number of people who wanted to talk about bass fishing, from the sea, fly and coarse fishing worlds, in equal numbers it seemed - there is an increasingly loud revolution going on, and the companies at the forefront of modern bass fishing in the UK really deserve a great degree of respect. I did a forum on Saturday morning with John Bailey and John Wilson, on the subject of UK saltwater fly fishing, and of course the main topic was the bass - where, how, why etc., and we had a packed audience. It seems that everybody wants to be a part of it.

• My friends at Aardvark McLeod and The Latin American Fishing Company had stands next to each other, and they were all saying how well it was going, with fantastic interest from all kinds of punters in fishing around the world. Selling this kind of overseas fishing takes great dedication and passion, all done with a great degree of approachability, and these two companies have exactly what it takes. If you want access to the best fishing this world has to offer, come and talk to these two companies - I work with people I like and trust, and who offer the kind of attitude I go about my work with.

• The Hardy Greys stand was smothered with interested punters seemingly every minute of every day, and the retailer stands were reporting a roaring trade going on. So where was the credit crunch this weekend ? We had a fantastic barbecue at the Hardy stand on the Friday night (huge thanks and credit to Steve and Lucy, you both deserve medals !!), and the guys were all buzzing at the amount of interest in their huge range of fishing gear.

• Anyway, I got back home to Plymouth yesterday, and now it is eyes down in my office to get a load of photos processed and fishing features done for various magazines. I am really pleased to be here for a while now and spend some time with my family - I might even sneak out for some plugging later this week as well !!

• A couple of friends, Rob Yorke and Mark Bryce, have been nailing some good rays recently off the shore, including blondes to over 16lbs, small eyeds to nearly 12lbs, and some spotteds to over 6lbs - nice fishing guys, but then they seriously know their stuff. Great to hear that the fishing is switching on so well around here.

OK, joke over - give us back our summer

Canon 1D MK111, 70-200mm f4L IS lens (at 90mm), ISO 200, f11, 1/500

• Above is a photo looking across to Constantine and down the north Cornwall coastline, from Wednesday morning this week. I was on the beach with the kids and managed to get a few photos of the big skies and rough conditions just before my two young daughters turned totally blue from the cold wind. But as I said the other day, we are nothing if not hearty us Brits, and my girls were swimming/paddling in a rock pool as I took this photo, in little wetsuits of course. With the sea running at less than 15C, I reckon that is pretty hardcore - but you won't find me swimming in these temperatures, it's far too cold.

• I am really feeling for our charter skippers at the moment - this is a busy time of year for them all right now, and the weather is dire, plus it is forecast to get even worse. They are saying that we might get gales to severe gales tonight and tomorrow. These winds are playing havoc with their trade, and I only hope that we get a prolonged settled spell sometime soon. The fish are out there, but we can't get at them.........

• I am off over to Norway on Thursday, to photograph some salmon fishing up near Trondheim. I believe that it will be 24hr daylight when we are up there, so it should give me a chance to really push things hard and get some awesome photos. I have been wanting to photograph the salmon fishing in Norway for ages now, so this is my chance to get things started. I am travelling with a couple of guys from Hardy & Greys Ltd., so it should be a blast.

• I then get back to the UK four days later (the 14th), and the day after that (the 15th), I am driving over to SE Ireland for this bassing photography trip. It's not too bad a drive at all from Plymouth, about four hours to Fishguard, jump on the StenaLine fast ferry over to Fishguard, and then less than hour over to where my mate Graham Hill lives. I have done this journey loads of times, and I expect to be doing it plenty more in the future - the fishing is that good over there.

• I am travelling back from Ireland on the StenaLine Dunlaoghaire to Holyhead route, to do a couple of jobs up in north Wales, which I can't wait for. I will have more info in due course, but you can guess that it revolves around bass fishing !!

• And then straight after I get back from north Wales, I am heading up to Blenheim Palace for the CLA Game Fair, where over the three days (25th, 26th, 27th July) I am doing some fishing demonstrations with Nick Hart. The Game Fair is always huge fun, and if you have any interest at all in the outdoors (fishing, shooting, hunting, animals etc.), then you should try and come along. Please come and find me if you do, I will mostly be around the fishing area. If you have not been to the Game Fair before, you will be staggered at just how huge this event is, and there is far too much to do and see in just one day.

• I have just found out the exact times of our fishing demonstrations, and these are :

Friday 25th July : 12.15 - 12.45

Saturday 26th July : 13.00 - 13.30

Sunday 27th July : 10.45 - 11.15

• Remember to check out the photos from my recent trip over to Montana, check here for them. What a place, and both Nick and I are itching to get back over there sometime soon. In the meantime, speak to Aardvark McLeod about a trip somewhere nice and warm, with plenty of good fishing !!

• To sit perfectly alongside this vile weather, how about some old school, classic-style death metal to warm you up ? Hail of Bullets play it proper, and that means awesome riffs, sick vocals and a warming glow of nostalgia working its way around your body. If you remember the band Asphyx, you will recognise the vocalist immediately. "....Of Frost and War" is the title of the new album from Hail of Bullets, and you can listen to a couple of tracks here. Track this one down and I assure you that any die-hard metal freaks among you (and I include me here) will be banging your heads in time to this one. Ah, they don't make 'em like that anymore.............