Precision casting

• I started work yesterday on a new series of casting features with Nick Hart - these will come out in Trout Fisherman in due course. Nick is working on putting the technical aspects of fly casting into regular fishing scenes, so that the fisherman can take the various casts and learn more about when to actually use them to catch more fish. Casting is obviously a hugely important part of fly fishing, we all know that, but the aim in my mind is always to learn how to smash a few more fish in a given situation. The same could be said of sea fishing could it not ?

• To start the process off, we needed to try and find a "look at this" opening photo to run across a couple of pages (DPS), and by pure luck the weather was with us from the off. There are lots of different ways to shoot casting, and a lot of them are set by the weather and background you have, but the moment I saw the light and situation I could "see" these photos in my head as strong opening shots- the photos above and below are a couple of examples. I made a really contrasty black and white version to see what it looked like, and I really like it, but it is up to the designers at Trout Fisherman as to what they use from yesterday's shoot. Nick is a complete pro at what he does and he is an incredibly easy guy to photograph.

• The photo above is a more "regular" casting shot of Nick roll-casting a line along the margins, but even then these things take a lot of thought and pre-planning. I am always on the lookout for different angles and views, and I thought this photo worked pretty well with the orange line coming down through the frame. The aim is to provide a photo that can say a lot in regards to the words that Nick writes, and this kind of thing does that.

• With a more technical shoot like this, it is vital that my creative attempts marry up properly with what Nick knows is technically right and wrong in a cast. This is the beauty of digital photography. On a shoot like this we can photograph a load of stuff and then check everything on my laptop to make sure any glaringly wrong stuff is deleted. Not that Nick would ever make a bad cast !! Imagine me doing the fly casting ?!!

• As I have said before, working in fishing is never what it seems. This job of mine really gives me a huge kick, and I love almost every part of it (except for paying taxes especially), but my own fishing time now compared to pre-kids and pre-fishing work is somewhat of a scary reduction. In all honesty though I have never loved fishing more than I do now, and just getting to be around it all the time does me just fine. The world's a fascinating place. I am off to Belize at the end of next week on a photo job and I can't wait.......more details in due course.

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 !!

Now this is proper hardcore fishing

• I just had an email from Cato over in Norway, the drummer for one of the finest metal bands on this earth - scroll down to my post from yesterday and you will see exactly what I am on about. Not only can the guy drum like a human spider, but he is also a madly addicted and seriously good fisherman. I still owe him big time for the Norway programme we filmed a couple of years ago - without his knowledge I doubt whether anybody here in the UK would ever had heard of Rost to this day (see here for photos of the mad fishing).

• I thought my flounder job a week or so ago was properly cold (see the post here), but I now see that this was virtually a nice summer's day when you compare it to what Cato and his mates have been doing over in Norway. Look this at this page right here to see a photo or two of what they have been catching - I don't understand a word of it, but the fish speak for themselves.

• Proper ice fishing - I mean going out on the sea ice, cutting holes in it, and smashing some seriously good fish. How about thornback rays to 19lbs and spurdogs to 16lbs ? Awesome fish by anybody's standards, but now bear in mind that a couple of days ago they were fishing in -20 Celsius, right through the ice - no need for any casting either. Now that is serious cold, but the fishing sounds spectacular. Put me into cold like that and I reckon I'd curl up into a ball and start crying, but there is a big part of me that really wants to see this kind of fishing being done, and especially when you consider the fish they have been catching. Looks like very cool stuff to me.

• Cato also tells me that Enslaved have been nominated for a Norwegian Grammy for their outstanding album "Vertebrae" - if they don't win it, I'll be astounded. You see, as I always say, fishing and metal mix together just about perfectly. But perhaps not at -20.........

The best music of 2008

• Let's get a few things straight here - in another life I would have been a rock star, travelling the world, and ripping stages and audiences to pieces with the ferocity of our extreme metal assault. But there is one tiny problem, and that is that I never had more than an ounce of musical ability. I could but dream though, and believe me, I did. I used to have a recurring dream (no, not those kind) at school that I was a guitarist for Slayer, and waking up was always a complete let down.

• Fishing is what drives me, both as a passion and for my job, but my other obsession has always been music. I mean seriously obsessed as well. I have spent nearly seventeen years trying to convince my wife (then girlfriend many years ago) that there is no better music than metal, and that all other music means nothing at all. Seventeen years of trying, and still she dislikes it as much as the first time I played here Slowly we Rot by Obituary and told her that this had changed my life for the better. And she agreed to marry me !! Women eh ?

• 2008 was an epic year for metal, but then I feel this every single year. Just when you think that nothing can top your latest favourite album, another one comes along and blows you out of the water. Many awesome bands released great albums last year, such as Amon Amarth, Septic Flesh, Opeth, Keep of Kalessin, Deicide, The Haunted, Martriden, Meshuggah, Nachmystium, Satyricon, AC/DC, Hail of Bullets - you name it, I bought far too many as per usual, but they all give me countless hours of listening pleasure. Rest assured that many a fishing feature is written this end while nodding my head in time to the music. Writing about deftly casting a fly in some remote little river mixes just great with the mighty Amon Amarth pouring forth from my speakers......

• But there is one album from 2008 that stands head and shoulders above the rest. A release so good that I am still getting my head around it now, and that is after so many listens I know virtually every single drum beat off by heart. Norway's Enslaved are of course one of the most respected bands in metal, but even they have managed to surpass their previous efforts with the mighty "Vertebrae" - from the very first spin of the CD my eyes were popping out of my head. Can metal really be this layered, this textured, this subtle even, and just so damned good ? Anybody with any interest at all in heavier music should get hold of this CD, I can't praise it enough. A part of me thinks that I should be trying to find fault with the album because I know their drummer Cato through fishing, but I can't. Rarely does an album just keep on growing every single time you listen to it, but this one does. Cato's drumming is just immense.

• Don't just take my word for it - listen to a few tracks right here. Then listen to them again, because this music requires plenty of time to breathe. There is that much to it. Then get hold of the album here. There is no benefit to me saying where to buy Vertebrae, and there is no financial incentive to me saying it is as good as it is. I bought a copy of the CD, as I do with all my music, but it gets me going that much that I want loads more people to realise just how awesome Enslaved are. They have taken the term extreme metal and spun it so hard on its axis that I reckon many other bands are wondering what on earth to do next. Anybody with any interest in metal should have this CD in their collection.

• You could even stop working for a minute or two and watch an outstanding video off the new album, click here to see it. I see that the extreme music magazine Terrorizer also has this new Enslaved album as their no.1 release of 2008 - great minds think alike !! If they had not chosen it, I would have cancelled my subscription as a protest.

• So there you have it - 2008 was an emotional year on the music front, and I reckon there is a whole load more to look forward to this year. The new Kreator album is already on its way to me for starters. Rarely does an album rise so far above the rest though, but Vertebrae is just that. Enslaved are where it's at.

Sneak peak at the new look Sea Angler magazine

• On the 22nd there will be a new look Sea Angler magazine in the shops, and I have managed to get hold of a "sneak peak" at this important relaunch. Not only the cover, but a couple of features that will be inside the mag, including the next one in my bass fishing series. I hope you like the look of it, because I have to admit to being really excited about what the Sea Angler people are doing with the magazine............

• I have worked on a freelance basis for Sea Angler for many years now, and they continue to use really high quality photography to illustrate the sport we all love. I am sure that most of us read sport and hobby related magazines for a mix of "wow, doesn't this look awesome, gotta do it" and also "I want to learn how to improve my own hobby/pastime/sport" - I know I do, and I do not envy the powers that be at the numerous magazines out there for having to create this kind of mix every month. I know I am a little biased towards the people I work for, but I reckon that the Sea Angler guys are pretty much spot-on.

• The relaunch in my opinion makes this all look a whole load better again - very "fresh, clean and hands on", and I like that kind of thing in this kind of magazine. The kind of feature you can see above does what it says on the tin. Bear in mind that all kinds of anglers of all kinds of skill levels read a magazine like Sea Angler, and it is vital to cater to your readers with a strong mix of features. They have done a good thing I reckon in bringing back the dedicated Boat Angler section.

• I love it when a magazine designer picks up on a particular photo that I just know is going to work well in a certain way the moment I have pressed the shutter. The photo you can see above in my feature is exactly that - in my viewfinder I could see my mate Graham Hill bringing a bass to hand, and at the same time I could see the photo running across two pages in my head (DPS, double page spread), allowing enough space to place text around it if needs be. He's a handsome chap isn't he ? Hell of a bass angler, all credit due.

• This is exactly how I would like my current bass features to be turning out - a mix of good looking fishing action together with plenty of "how to". I am in no way a "fishing expert", indeed anybody who knows me knows how much I despise the word "expert", but I get to work with some of the best anglers you could ever hope to meet, all around the world. What they do rubs off on me, of course it does, and I like to bring this knowledge and what I know myself together in a way that I hope is easy to understand and also very accessible. Fishing is an easy thing to do, and I reckon the new look Sea Angler goes a huge way towards making the sport more and more approachable. Look out for the new issue when it comes out on January 22nd.

My best (red) fishing rod of 2008

• Being perfectly honest, I don't end up buying many fishing rods these days - working as a consultant for Hardy Greys means that I get to use and abuse plenty of different rods, but good as most of their gear is, they would be the first to admit that (at the moment), they do not make specialist bass plugging rods. Loads of UK tackle companies make very good spinning rods that will work just fine for a lot of bass fishing, but none that I am aware of actually make what I would now refer to as a "specialist bass lure rod", or in our terms, a plugging rod.

• But do you really need to get into all this specialist kit ? Entirely up to you, but let me say that 2008 saw me finally come around to realising just how much we have to learn about ultra-modern bass fishing, and on that front I am referring to the gear as well. My friend Graham Hill and I have spent far too long over the years talking about what we would ideally like to see from a plugging rod, but neither of us really knew who to turn to. I was hearing more and more about bass fishing over in France, and I had seen plenty of catalogues, but still I had never actually held a rod that I felt was a proper "plugging" rod. I mean a rod that is purpose designed to work with modern lures, not an all round spinning rod that is designed to chuck virtually anything.

• I have to give a lot of credit to Mick at Mr.Fish over in Jersey for putting me onto my ultimate plugging rod. There are various people that I talk to on a regular basis within the tackle industry, but it was through Mick that I first started to hear about these red Tenryu rods. Mick took himself off to France and did his own research - remember that the man is a serious bass junkie himself. We spoke a bit, he told me how good he believed they were (and bear in mind here that there are a lot of talented, forward thinking bass fishermen in the Channel Islands), but still I had not actually held one. But I had spent enough time and effort looking for the rod that I felt had to be out there, and I decided to take a punt on it - "go on Mick, here are my card details, please send me over the Tenryu Red Dragon Express". It was like a light bulb going on in that head of mine..............

• My thoughts have not changed one bit from when I first got hold of this awesome fishing rod - in fact the red rod keeps growing on me every single time I use it. Few rods I have owned over the years have given me as much pleasure as this one. See my original thoughts on the rod right here, from when I first got hold of it. I stand by everything I said. They are not cheap, but I am so into my bass fishing that I would have paid more if required - this rod does exactly what I want from a plugging rod, and sometimes I actually try to prevent people I fish with from picking it up, because I know that one wiggle and one cast and they'll be getting one for themselves. It has happened on several occasions. I still get emails from anglers asking me "I am using so and so spinning rod and it works just fine, so can the Tenryu rods really be that much better ?" Take it from me, they are a whole different world apart from what we have been used to. The sooner we accept that here in the UK we could really learn a whole load more about our bass fishing, the better we are going to get at it.

• I am not saying that every single angler who fishes with lures for bass should go and get one - make up your own mind, assess what you want, and take it from there. There must be something about them though, for more and more of these red rods are creeping into all the photographs I take of bass fishing. See here for example. Of course there are lots of spinning rods out there that will do the job really well (check back through my blog in 2008 for some thoughts on these kinds of rods), but it just depends on how far you want to take it.

• So without a doubt, my fishing rod of 2008 is the Tenryu Red Dragon Express - but I am now thinking about getting the Tenryu Rod Bar 270 as well, and I'll explain why. The Red Dragon Express does me perfectly for my shore based bass fishing, and I feel totally comfortable with the length of it - roughly 10' long. But I have used the Rod Bar 270 a fair amount as well, and it is an incredible bit of kit - and it is roughly 9' long. My own personal opinion is that the modern soft plastics that we are really getting into can be worked that little big more effectively with the 9' rod and a tiny bit more give in the tip. The Rod Bar 270 is as lightening quick as the Red Dragon Express, but as an overall bass rod I think perhaps it offers a more rounded solution to some of our bass fishing. I would be really happy to own both, and I can see myself using the different rods on different spots. Come on, I'm a fisherman, and I love fishing gear as much as the next man. My lure addiction shows no sign of abating for starters......

• So I had better start saving up for the Rod Bar 270 then !! This is serious money to spend on rods, but it is what I do and love, and I reckon they represent excellent value for money. I spend a lot of time with outstanding fly fishermen all over the world, and they have no problem accepting that if you want the best, you have got to pay for it. Take a top of the range Hardy, Sage or Loomis fly rod - they cost that much because they really are that good. Same with a rod like the Tenryu. Traditionally us UK sea anglers do not tend to like spending much money on spinning rods, for to us they have tended to be mere "add ons" to our more regular (and sometimes very expensive) high-tech beachcasters. But the world is changing, and a load of technology and thought is being poured into lure rods the world over. And us UK sea anglers are slowly but surely catching up................

• Del rang me from the Isles of Scilly with tales of more big mullet, including a stunning fish of 6lb 10oz - to any of us this is a proper mullet, indeed I have never caught one that big, but Del did say that that particular fish managed to grab his bait just before a very interested 10lb plus fish got there. These are problems I would love to be dealing with, believe me !! I know so many good mullet anglers over here, yet so few of them seem to get their head around the potential for huge fish over in the Isles of Scilly - and I can say that about Ireland as well. Too much to do, and too little time.

• I had a good day up with the guys at Hardy Greys on Monday, and what came out of it could be really exciting further down the line. Plans like we laid of course will take time to come to fruition, but if all goes well then we should be doing some cool stuff. Further news as and when I can say will of course come through this blog.

First front cover of 2009

• I am not completely sure when the current issue of Trout Fisherman hit the shops, but since it's a new year, I'll claim the above as my first front cover of 2009 - the photo is of Nick Hart at Blakewell trout fishery, and I have got to hand to the powers that be at the magazine. I really like the way they have used this particular photo.

• Check out the feature inside, on pages 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 - the photo that runs across pages 6 and 7 is one that I remember shooting specifically for this kind of use, and all credit to their designer for picking up on this. It's hardly an award winning photograph that will be gracing London galleries, but in my job you have to keep thinking all the time to make fishing look different and exciting. Sometimes the weather and light allows you to really go a little creatively crazy, and sometimes you are more restricted. Whatever happens, you have to nail the job, and I thrive on the challenge this presents.

• I am flying up to Newcastle early tomorrow morning, to spend the day up at Hardy Greys in Alnwick, and then I fly back down to Plymouth on Tuesday morning. On this blog next week I will talk a bit about my rods and reels of 2008 - I am not really into the ins and outs of fishing tackle (believe it or not !!), but last year it really hit home to me that here in the UK we have a long way to go on the tackle front when it comes to making effective, modern bass fishing gear. It is not a criticism at all, simply a fact. Modern, high-tech bass fishing is rapidly growing in interest in the UK, and the anglers that are really interested in it are increasingly looking to Japanese, French and US designed and built products.

• We design and/or make some great fishing tackle in the UK, of course we do, but at times we could do well to realise that here in the UK we don't know everything about fishing, and it's a big old world out there with lots of different fish, fished for in lots of different ways. Plenty of guys I know are hungry for information from all over the world, and arguably the PC and the internet have become one of the most powerful tools there are for the learning and trading of knowledge.

• And of course there are plenty of anglers who have no interest in anything that is not in their backyard - whatever floats your boat I suppose, but isn't it such fun to learn about how other anglers do their thing elsewhere on this fascinating planet ? So much of it has applications for our own fishing that we do, both home and abroad. Never has so much knowledge and information been so accessible, and this kind of thing really drives me on and on. Learning is what fishing is all about to me, and I reckon I learnt more in 2008 than I have for a long time. For a lot of this I owe huge thanks to many people, and you know who you are without me having to name you. Thanks to you all. Here's to learning even more in 2009.......

My best fishing line of 2008

• There are many outstanding lines out there these days, indeed you have got to go far to find a really bad one I reckon. If I use mono lines, it has to be Sufix (Tritanium, Zippy, Synergie etc., all outstanding), but with the amount of bass fishing I do, more often than not it is going to be braid that I end up fishing with.

• If I had to put my money on the table and come up with the best all round "regular" braid, then I still reckon Power Pro is it. This braid will work for our bassing just fine, indeed I have used Power Pro all over the world and it keeps on nailing fish. I see that Shimano have recently bought Power Pro, so I will be interested to see what happens here, but whatever does, you can use it with complete confidence.

• But, and this is a big but - earlier this year I began using the top of the range, high-tech Varivas braids from Japan, and I can't help but say that these are another step up. A "regular" braid like Power Pro is fantastic, but these premium Varivas braids are in a class of their own. There are various reasons as to why I use them so much now for my bass fishing, but in reality I just like using them, plain and simple. They just feel right.

• Braids don't come cheap as well all know, but they do last for ages if you underfill your spool and avoid loads of the dreaded wind knots. The absolute top of the range bass braid from Varivas is on the spool you can see in the photo above - a dull kind of grey colour. When I first felt this braid, I could not believe it, indeed I have never felt a line like it. A true 8 stand braid (as opposed to 4 strand), it is something else - the exact name is Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE, and you can get it right here. I said it wasn't cheap, but it is unlike any braid you have ever used. I use the 20lb for bass fishing, and I also have a reel filled with the 15lb for mullet fishing - honestly, this braid is so thin you can hardly see it !! In fact my mate Del rang me from the Isles of Scilly later yesterday afternoon to give me the update on his mullet fishing - three fish up to 6lbs, and guess what line he is using for it (and raving about) ? Yes, this exact braid in 15lb breaking strain.

• But it is the very slightly thicker and more "regular" feeling Varivas Avani Sea Bass Braid that you can see on the reel above that I have been using most of the time. Cheaper than the Max Power PE stuff, you can get it here. I really like the 23lb breaking strain in the green colour, with a short length of Varivas fluorocarbon leader to my lure. This braid is outstanding to fish with, and one fill up lasted me most of last year without any problem at all. You can horse fish on it. In my mind this braid is a kind of "ultra premium" regular braid (sounds like unleaded), while the Max Power PE is plain and simple "the best".

• My personal favourite for the moment has to be the slightly cheaper Varivas Avani Sea Bass Braid in 23lb breaking strain - I know the Max Power PE is a better line overall, but it is just so thin that sometimes it freaks me out. It is up to me now to get my head around using a line as thin and different feeling as this, because I know it works better for my fishing. But in all honesty, you can use both with complete confidence for all your bass fishing - they are that good.