Saw my first UK salmon

• Right after I read about Nick Hart's salmon that he caught early on this week and then posted on his blog, he called me up to tell me that conditions were once again looking perfect - could I make it up there for Tuesday late afternoon/evening for another crack at them ? What do you think.......? Clear some stuff here at the desk as fast as I can for the rest of the day, chuck the photo gear in my bag and head on up there. The only way that Nick and I are going to nail some decent photos of UK salmon is if we can remain flexible, or so much as our diaries will allow.

• We were fishing/photographing a stunning stretch of the River Exe that runs close to Exe Valley Fishery where Nick and Neil Keep teach various fly fishing skills to many hundreds of clients. Conditions looked very good indeed for a salmon or two. I feel a bit daft that the only time I have photographed Atlantic salmon is over in Canada (see here for the photos), and I really wanted to rectify this here at home. The westcountry is a great part of the world for so many kinds of fishing.

• Nick successfully nailed this salmon in the early evening, on a Kylie Conehead fly and a Hardy Demon rod and reel. I was over the moon to see this fish, and although it might be a little coloured, who gives ? My first sight of a real English salmon, and I am so pleased it came from a westcountry river like the Exe. There were a few other fish moving around as well. You really should get in touch with Nick and Neil and ask about being guided for stunning fish like these.

• If time and conditions enable another quick trip like this, we'll do it again. Such special fish to see. Of course the salmon was successfully returned after a few photos. If you keep fish close to the water and remove them for as short a time as possible, no harm ever comes to them.

• In the meantime, Nick and I are both getting far too overexcited about this trip out to Montana that we leave for on the 15th of this month. I can't wait for the chance to photograph such an incredible place.

• If you want to catch monster tarpon right now, then check out this link here. My mate Rodney Goodship of Fish the Dream has had a last minute cancellation for a week's tarpon fishing later this month - it is on a half price offer right now, first come, first served, so get hold of Rodney if you can make this week. As you can see on this blog back in early May, I fished and photographed with Rodney out in their base in the Florida Keys and we had an awesome time - this guy does tarpon fishing big time, as well as everything else down there. If I wasn't going to Montana, believe me, I would be booking this up myself.........

First bass of the year - small but beautiful

• I managed to get few hours in plugging yesterday afternoon before I needed to be back to babysit my two daughters for the evening, and it turned out to be a blast. Just me, my sheepdog Jess and a deserted coastline, with the strong NE wind off our backs and what seemed like fairly good conditions. I knew something was looking up when the first rock I waded to had a nice, perhaps 4-5lb bass rooting around just behind it - but the fish saw me and promptly legged it !! You simply can not put a value on decent polarised sunglasses, and I wear what I believe are the best on the market today, Maui Jim. It was flat calm and the water was verging on being almost too clear (weeks of east winds), but when a proper sized pollack turned on my Maria Chase BW (check the lure here) right at the edge of the rocks and showed me that big, predator eye, I reckoned my luck might be in. I then had numerous follows from plenty of other, smaller pollack, plus a small bass, before moving to another set of rocks close by and landing three small pollack. Together they might have struggled to reach 1.5lbs, but at least there was plenty of life around.

• About two hours after low water I went and snagged my Maria Chase up properly and lost it, so I re-tied a short 30lb Varivas fluorocarbon leader on and picked out another great shallow-diving minnow, the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow. I really like this lure, but it dives a little deeper than the Maria and I had to retrieve for the most part with my rod held high to get it closer to the surface. I also reckon it works better with a slower retrieve than I use for the Maria. But it worked......

• The bass you see above is my first this year on a lure, and although it might be "slightly" on the small side (!!), I could not be happier to see one - seriously overjoyed in fact. A typical smash into the lure typifies these magnificent fish. It went back fine after a few photos taken with the aid of this great little tool, the Berkley TEC Pistol Trigger Grip. I picked it up in the US a few weeks ago, principally to enable me to at least get a few photos of fish I might happen to catch when I am fishing on my own. It is designed for gripping a fish like a bass for unhooking - no harm comes to the fish and no more will you end up with spike and cut marks all over your hands. It sits in a little holster on your belt and I would not be without it now.

• I also saw a big wrasse follow my lure right in to my feet before I caught the bass, and after I moved to another finger of rock and hooked the bass, on virtually the next cast I caught this one you can see above. Around 3.5lbs I reckon, it was great fun on this Tenryu plugging rod and it put up a typical wrasse kind of scrap. It had stunning markings and went back fine. I love these fish and I am really pleased to have nailed one on the plug where I was fishing. On a Bank Holiday weekend, I saw nobody - amazing. To have that kind of good looking water to myself was a real treat.

• That was it, I had to head back home and take on the babysitting duties so that my wife could go out on the razzle. How badly would I have loved to stay on fishing, but I could not even get any mobile phone reception to try and call and tell a little lie about my car breaking down or something like that !! Not that the thought has ever entered my head...........

• Below is the lure that did the business, the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow. It does cast a little better than the Maria and it "rolls" incredibly seductively through the water - I like having different options in my lure box. I just have to remember to slow down on the retrieve when using the Flash Minnow.

• The more I am using this stunning Tenryu Red Dragon Express plugging rod, the more I can see just how advanced a fishing rod it is for this kind of bassing. You can see my initial review of it here, and my views have not changed at all. It is the single best plugging rod I have ever picked up, and I feel totally confident of getting the upper hand on any bass that might come my way (setting myself up for a fall I know !!). But I do know that I am working my lures effectively from the moment they hit the water.

• And as for this Varivias braid I am using - wow !! Yes, it costs more than most others, but it is sublime to fish with. The bright green Avani Sea Bass Braid in 23lb is awesome to use, and I love the colour, but the Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE in 20lb is a class apart. I just wish they did it in a really hi-vis colour like yellow or orange (hint, hint). I have yet to find another braid that feels like this - you will not believe how thin and easy casting it is. I used a different Varivas 8-strand braid out in the Florida Keys the other day and it did great, so I guess I am sold on the merits of this stuff. I know you can get both the Varivas braids I am raving about here. If you are seriously into your lure fishing, you will no doubt be prepared to pay to get the best.

Learning more about fishing

• What awesome weather to get back to - summer is properly here now. Out come the shorts !! I love my trips overseas, but nothing beats getting home and seeing the family. I had a great trip to the Keys and I learnt more than I could possibly imagine - one of the real advantages to travelling for my work is the chance to see so many different kinds of fishing and fishing methods. I like to and need to keep learning all the time. This trip to the Keys has really made me think hard about the different kinds of rods and reels we use for our fishing, and especially the strength of modern spinning (fixed spool) reels. What we can do with these kinds of reels now is amazing, indeed here in the UK I reckon we have a lot to learn about where to use them.

• Take the reels in the photo above. The new Fin-Nor Offshore Spinning reels are only around $160, yet they offer insane levels of power and huge line capacities. Plenty of guys use them for smashing huge tarpon and also various kinds of big fish sport both inshore and offshore. Don't get me wrong, I love using multipliers (called conventional reels in the US), but more so I am seeing just how stable and efficient it is to fight big fish with a decent spinning reel. The kinds of spinning and conventional inshore and offshore rods you can get in the US cover a huge range of fishing, from the largemouth bass up to and beyond species like amberjack and tuna. I reckon the Fin-Nor 65 Offshore reel is an incredible bit of kit for the money. Simple, strong, reliable and designed to beast big fish.

• If I simply stood still and did the same things all the time, I would get nowhere with my working in fishing, and my own interest would begin to wane. I don't care if it happens to be on my doorstep or thousands of miles away - doing different things in fishing is vital to me and I am going to keep embracing change and adaptation as much as I can. Take the two guys I was out in Florida with, Scott and John - both of them think nothing of going bass fishing one day, then trout fishing the next, and then say barbel fishing after that. True all rounders, very good anglers as a result, and a complete blast to spend time with. I hear they have been catching some more big tarpon, Goliath groupers, wahoo and amberjack after I left, so well done guys. Rodney Goodship of Fish the Dream is a true gent and puts his clients over some outrageous fishing. Get out there as soon as you can. You would be surprised at just how cost effective this world class fishing can be.

• Here is Rodney with that tarpon I photographed the other day. Words really can not do justice to how special these fish are, but you would be surprised at how relatively light you can fish for them. It is not only the power of the fish that tends to smash you up, rather the places you fish for them - big fish around bridges and structure are a handful, plain and simple. We were using mainly US style spinning rods, rated for lines up to 30lbs, with those Fin-Nor Offshore 65 spinning reels and 0.50mm/30lb line. Next time I am going to change over to 50lb braid for them - my dream would be to use a Shimano Stella 8000FA for this kind of fishing, but we shall see. I did meet a local guide who uses a Stella 5000 and a light kind of inshore spinning rod for his tarpon fishing, but he has been doing it all his life. I'm not quite there yet !!

• And another good thing about going away is that I usually come back to a CD or two that I have ordered - if metal is your thing (and it should be !!), you seriously need to check out the new album from the Greek band Septic Flesh, called Communion. Listen to a few tracks here. This is awesome metal, nearly up to the standards of the other mighty Greek band, Rotting Christ - naturally you have noted that they released my favourite album of last year, see here.

• If you have been into extreme metal for ages, you will have known all about an incredible old band called Exhorder - they released two outstanding albums, "Slaughter in the Vatican" and "The Law", and then promptly spilt up. I personally reckon Exhorder were a better band than Pantera ever were, so it is with great joy that I recently heard about Exhorder getting back together to tour and record. This is seriously exciting news. But not quite as monumental as the mighty Immortal reforming last year - you don't know how much I am looking forward to them releasing another CD, although how they could possibly better one of my top five albums of all time is going to be tough. "Sons of Northern Darkness" should be in every single metal fan's collection.

• I have just heard that the winds have shifted around in Norway, and that has put the pike down a bit - if it all comes right, I head over to take photos, and if it doesn't, then there is always next year......

Last gasp tarpon in the boat

• Around 5.30am this morning, Scott hooked a good tarpon down at Seven Mile bridge, and this fish decided to indulge us and head for open water - after giving us a few nightmares around the bridge pylons of course. I have to admit to being a nervous wreck through the whole fight, but Scott did so well, and Rodney did exactly what was needed with the boat.

• And we got it !! Success is sweet, well done to Scott for hanging on for over an hour to tame this magnificent tarpon, around 100lbs we reckon. Rodney did a great job on the leader as the fish finally came close enough to the boat to grab, and after a very quick couple of photos we managed to slip him back unharmed. What a great end to my few days to be able to grab a few proper tarpon photos - the fish did me good and proper this year, but that is tarpon fishing. You had to see the power the fish above had this morning to understand how incredible this fishing is.

• Scott described it well this morning - this is world class fishing for a world class fish, but at sensible money. Come out and do this Florida Keys stuff if you can, and contact Rodney Goodship of Fish the Dream to do it. I can not recommend the whole set-up wholeheartedly enough.

• Anyway, I am just off to Miami airport now to head home - hope the bass are in and feeding now !! There is actually a high chance that I am heading out to Norway next week to photograph some insane shallow water pike fishing, but that very much depends on day to day conditions. Already they have had pike to 25lbs in a metre of water, on a surface fly. Too much to do, too little time......

Chewed up and spat out - part 2

• I have rarely had fishing kick me so hard - the Florida Keys have decided this year to teach me a lesson !! We headed down to the Bahia Honda bridge today, a place stacked full of tarpon that feed throughout the day because of the deeper water under the road bridge. But the trade off is that Bahia Honda is an extremely difficult place to actually land the tarpon. These mighty fish might well be hungry, but nine times out of ten they head straight for the various line-busting structures that festoon this area and smash you up with a scary degree of ease. With a fish this powerful there is simply nothing you can do to stop them - ok, so we have been losing some good fish this week, but big powerful fish that want to make your life hell are going to from time to time. It's one of the main reasons we keep coming back for more......

• Check out the photo above for the kind of tarpon fishing that goes on down at Bahia Honda - hook the fish, fight it hard, trust your skipper to be able to weave in and out of the pylons, and hope to hell that the fish doesn't do you in. But tarpon are not the silver kings for nothing.

• I got done four times today - and I mean done properly. On one fish the hook simply pulled, on another the leader parted, and on two others the mainline parted like a rifle shot on the running fish. I wish I knew why the mainline parted, but that is fishing I guess. On at least one fish I felt I had the upper hand from the first minute, but of course that was simply false hope - this is tarpon fishing after all. I am totally in awe of these fish and it seems like a long time ago now that I did actually successfully land one of nearly 150lbs up at Islamorada. The soothing fog of distant memories !!

• Scott came the closest today, on a really big 150lb plus fish that hit him hard, ran around some structure, came free with some seriously excellent boat manoeuvring by Rodney, and then snorted out into the bay to do its stuff. After about half an hour we thought that this fish might well be ours, but the brute decided to edge its way back to the bridge. Scott did all be could to turn the fish (check the photo below), but suddenly it ran straight for one of the pylons and broke the line. I say it again - you simply can not stop these fish if they want to run. You simply have to hope that they run into clear water. To say we were gutted would be nowhere close to how beaten up we feel at the moment. John also got done a couple of times on structure. This is some of the most exciting fishing on earth, and the levels of sport are incredibly consistent in the Keys - each year the huge numbers of migrating tarpon offer months of extreme sport fishing to countless anglers. Get yourself out here as soon as you can - contact Rodney Goodship here.

• I am flying back to the UK tomorrow, but the timings allow me time to have one more crack at the tarpon in the morning. After that I head off to Miami airport to catch an overnight flight back to Heathrow. I hear that the weather is still great, so save some for me please. I can't wait to see my wife, two daughters and of course my sheepdog Jess. The UK in summer is a very special place - hopefully there will be a few bass around. Huge thanks to Rodney, John Aplin and Scott Rice for having me along on this trip, I have had a blast - and it ain't over yet. Tomorrow is always another day........

Bow to the silver king

• Around first light this morning, John hooked a steam train of a tarpon on a live crab. I reckon the fish jumped six feet out of the air within seconds of being hooked - every single time I see these fish I am reminded of just how seriously awesome they are. The silver king kicks you hard from time to time, but to see one close to the boat is something you can never forget. Rodney managed to grab the leader and I was just about to rattle off a few frames when the line broke and the huge fish powered away. It counts as a caught fish over here, but I didn't get the photos I was after. But I got a very cool wide shot of John playing his fish, with the tarpon jumping clear of the water as the sun was rising - see above. Rodney put the tarpon at around 150lbs, so it was a proper fish. John played it perfectly. What a result after yesterday's kicking.

• I got a couple of half-takes, when the fish hits the crab yet the line does not tighten up enough to go for a proper strike. I did hit one of the bites just as the tarpon let go of the bait, but the moment I did so I realised my mistake.

• And then we went after some permit again - and I broke my duck. Once again we lost a few good fish to sharks and breakages, and I was heartbroken when my 50lb braid suddenly broke right on the tip ring as a nice permit snorted off. Stupid of me really, I should have checked the rings before fishing, as after the breakage I found a damaged tip eye that had caused the line to snap.

• But take a look at Rodney holding my first ever permit below. Over 20lbs of prime Keys permit, taken on a freelined live crab fished behind the boat. This fish ripped off so fast a couple of times during the fight, to the point where I reckon smoke had to be coming from the reel !! Their pace is off the scale - how does this fish move so fast and so powerfully ? I can quite see why some fly fishermen dedicate their lives to nailing these spooky fish on the flats. Permit are such pretty fish and it happened so fast today that I am not really sure I took it all in. Guess I'll have to try and catch a few more.

• There were a couple of sharks landed today as well, including a nice blacktip of around 60lbs that put on a serious turn of speed when it picked up the bait. These blacktips create mayhem close to the boat, but both were successfully unhooked and released. We also saw some proper barracuda around the boat at one point, but they refused the livebaits.

• I hear the weather has been nice and warm back home, so hopefully this might do some good on the bass fishing front. I am having a blast out here, but I can't wait to get back and see my family, plus head out plugging of course. I need to go and use that new Tenryu rod of mine again. I have found a couple of really interesting looking lures out here that I reckon might do nicely for bass, so yet again I have added to my collection.

Chewed up and spat out

• Today was one of those days when fishing decided to show us just who the boss is - we got torn to pieces by big fish all day long. We have returned this evening with bruised bodies and shattered egos. It started at just after 5am when Scott hooked a really big tarpon under Seven Mile bridge, and then for over an hour he played it really well, almost to the point where it was time to grab the leader. You can see Scott playing the fish above. But tarpon are not one of the world's ultimate game species for nothing, and right at the last minute the fish took off on a huge long run and smashed Scott up on the bridge. Gutted. John then had a good bite on live crab but did not connect. Back for breakfast and a regroup. 1-0 to the fish.

• Later on this morning we headed out to a wreck to try for permit and amberjack, and the fish were on the feed. I have never fished for permit and was dying to hook one. I have seen one hooked on the flats on fly, and I have seen the Indo Pacific variety on the flats in the Seychelles refusing flies, but I have never fished for them myself. Down goes a live crab on 50lb braid and a very tight drag. A few minutes later and I get a gentle kind of bite, but after I strike it, all hell lets loose. Within five seconds of hooking this permit I can see what all the fuss is about - they are awesome fish. Their turn of speed is insane, in fact I have rarely seen a fish take off so fast against a seriously tight drag. And of course the fish went and did me like a kipper. OK, so it isn't fly fishing for them, but this way of fishing for them is serious fun. 2-0 to the fish.

• John meanwhile has dropped a live pinfish down to the wreck on 80lb braid and a proper boat rod and reel. Above you can see what happened about five minutes after he put the bait close to the wreck - that drag is wound down as tight as it will go, I could hardly pull line off it myself, but the amberjack ripped him up big time. Look at how much pressure John is putting on the fish, but still he never stood a chance as it powered back to the wreck. The power level of this fish is simply impossible to describe. 3-0 to the fish.

• I then get done by another big permit - I wound my drag up even tighter, but still I could not stop the fish reaching the wreck and cutting me off. I am ashamed at my language when I lost that second permit !! I abused that fish, and still he did me good and proper. 4-0 to the fish and we are starting to wonder what on earth is going on here.

• John is next to be ripped up by a good permit, and by this time his body is suffering a little bit after getting abused so badly by the amberjack. 5-0 to the fish. We are bleeding here.

• We make a move to a different mark, and the permit are there as well. Sometimes you can see them swimming around, and Scott hooks up on a small jig baited with prawn. Things are going really well and the fish eventually begins to tire. This is it, nearly over, time for some photos of a fish I have wanted to see for ages. But then the permit suddenly charges to the surface with a number of sharks in hot pursuit, and then these sharks tear into the unfortunate fish and rip it to pieces in a complete frenzy. Seriously gutted. 6-0 to the fish. Pain time.

• I rush to change over to a little wire trace and a bit of cut fish bait, and within a few seconds one of the smaller sharks hits my bait and I set the hooks. The shark charges off and promptly bites through my wire trace. 7-0 to the fish and we head for home - broken, damaged, sore and humbled. What an incredible day. What else can humble like fishing ?

• The Florida Keys are insane. I know of no more cost effective way to get at this world class fishing than to get in touch with Rodney Goodship of Fish the Dream and book some time out here. We simply have no fish in the UK that fight anywhere close to species such as tarpon, permit and amberjack. Tomorrow is another day.

Goliath grouper - awesome fish

• We had a good flight out to Miami and got down to the Keys yesterday evening, after stopping at the vast Bass Pro store in Islamorada of course - all anglers love monster tackle shops, whether we like to admit it or not. I was actually very restrained. The fishing has been good out here, and it was great to catch up with Rodney and Helen Goodship of Fish the Dream. Rodney runs a fantastic guiding operation out here and he is heavily booked up with returning clients. His boat is always immaculate and I really enjoy fishing with him.

• I am fishing and photographing with two thoroughly nice guys from the west country, John Aplin and Scott Rice - Scott got married only a couple of weeks ago, so well done him for going fishing so soon !! These guys have caught some really large tarpon between them, so it should be a blast.

• Anyway, the fishing today has been pretty good - but quiet on the tarpon first thing when we headed out at 5am to fish until just after first light down at Seven Mile bridge. We saw a few guys hooked into some nice tarpon, but we got skunked. But after that we headed out into the gulf and anchored a small wreck in only four metres of water, and proceeded to smash a few of these awesome goliath groupers. Above you can see the kind of grief you have to give these fish if you are going to stand any chance of pulling them away from sanctuary. They are immense, and I can't get over the fact that so many fish like this can live in such shallow water.

• We got goliaths to about 80lbs to the side of the boat, but a couple of fish were simply too powerful and managed to reach the wreck. Great fun for us, but bear in mind that these are small fish - these monster grouper can weigh many hundreds of pounds, and whilst you are allowed to fish for them, they must all be released. These magnificent fish were close to being wiped out some time ago, but the US authorities brought in very serious recovery measures to protect them and the stocks are now flourishing. How cool is that ? I only wish these kinds of measures would be taken for our own bass stocks........

• Above you can see Rodney tackling with one of the groupers as he works on getting the big 20/0 circle hook out of the scissors - yes, you read that right, a 20/0 circle hook !! Big fish, big hooks, and big baits - stand up rods and 80lb braid as well. You have to give these fish proper grief on heavy gear.

• Look at the mouth below, and feel for any poor fish coming too close to the wreck we fished - it's like looking into an abyss when you stare down their throats. Imagine one of these fish at over 500lbs. We are heading out very early tomorrow morning to catch a different tide for the tarpon and I can't wait. Drifting live crabs back between the bridge gaps is seriously exciting, especially when you get hit. They are explosive fish, and there are few better places in the world to smash large tarpon than out here in the Keys. It really gets to me every time I come out here just how many people fish down here, and just how the whole local economy is essentially based around sport fishing. Give anglers lots of good fish to catch and they will spend what it takes to do it.