Another weekend, another game fair and, this time, the game fair world saw the Game Angling Instructors Association at the North Wales Country Fair in Bala, North Wales where we ran a casting workshop for both experienced anglers and for those new to the sport. As always, the kids took to it like professionals, blank canvases easily picking up both overhead and roll casts within the 20 minute sessions, and with some even becoming quite proficient in roll cast pickups.

After a three and a half hour/130 mile drive, the weekend started rather wet and miserable but saw instructors from throughout the UK attending in order to provide professional game angling and fly casting instruction to those either new to/experienced in fly fishing. Needless to say, it was a busy weekend and, thankfully, the weather improved meaning Saturday’s waterproofs were happily replaced with rolled-up shirt sleeves on Sunday with very warm conditions.

Of course, having such a bunch of anglers/instructors get together for a whole weekend guarantees a healthy amount of sarcasm and, as such, the evening conversations at the hotel over a few beers were firmly routed in either fishing, casting or tying. The biggest personal highlight was in meeting legendary fly tier, Roy Christie, and chatting to him about his inspiring and pioneering fly pattern, the Reversed Parachute Emerger (see below image). Simply wonderful, and a joy to watch Roy tie.

A fantastic weekend and one which saw many smiling and happy punters, as well as a constantly laughing bunch of instructors thanks to the hysterical comedian skills provided by Dai Jones, Chris Aldred, etc. Chris, thanks for the photos mate!

My thanks to the tips and advise provided by all the instructors throughout the weekend, these sort of weekends are treasure troves of information for those undergoing training, and it’s fantastic to see how the pros do it. A big thanks must also go to Chris Price for taking the helm on the long drive there and back. Top man!

I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Yours truly under the watchful eye of Chris Price

Chris Aldred in Extreme Instructor mode

Snowdonia National Park during our approach to Bala, North Wales

Louis Noble hard at work

The casting pool…is 2′ considered deep?

Chris Price and a sweet roll cast

Chris Price and Alun Rees hard at work with two competitive friends

A gift from Roy Christie: an RPE, tied by the man himself

Saturday and the rain clouds move in

Chris Aldred and Alun Rees at the end of Day #1

Break time and the guys get together (L-R: Chris Price, Mark Roberts, Me, Louis Noble, Alun Rees and Paul Ainsworth)

End of Day#1: After the punters have left for the day, Chris Price shows us how a distance cast is done

My good friends at the Gwent Angling Society will be running their annual Junior Academy at Cefn Mably Lakes on the 28th and 29th August. The course is designed for young people aged 10-16 who are new to the sport, or would like to seek further understanding of the most participated sport in the UK, and all coaching will be undertaken by members of the Game Angling Instructors Association.

This is set to be a very good weekend indeed and, if you are interested in finding out about the flaura and fauna of our rivers and stillwaters, would like to see trout food up close and personal, have a go at fly tying, casting, fishing techniques and much much more, this will be a fantastic introductory event for you. At time of posting, there were only 16 places left, so hurry hurry hurry!

To view the full size flyer just click the above image or, for more information on this event and to book your child a place, please visit the Gwent angling society website by visiting www.gwentanglingsociety.co.uk.

It’s finally here; the UK’s biggest and bestest game fair opens it’s doors this Friday and is set to pull in approximately 140,000 visitors…it’s going to be a busy one! I’ll be there working, so if you happen to pass by, feel free to say hello!

Report and photos too follow but, for those wishing to stay up to date with the show’s progress, feel free to check out FFISW’s Twitter feed by clicking the Twitter tab at the top of the site (updates will be published in realtime and will include quick news snaps and the odd photo).

Alternatively, if you have your own Twitter account and would like to follow FFISW, feel free to visit my Twitter page at www.twitter.com/ffisw.

See you all next week!

UPDATE

An amazing weekend with amazing people and for the benefit of an amazing organisation and it’s clients. We were up at 05:30 every morning and back to the hotel at the earliest of 21:00 every evening. We ran 757 one-to-one coaching sessions, I learned some fantastic tips and tricks from the mentors and coaches present and I’m hugely surprised I resisted the urge to buy anything at the show.

Most of all though, I’m still tired…

GAIA Adult Area HQ

The crowds enjoy Fishing Village

The Adults hard at work

One-to-one casting instruction

The tools…

Junior instruction

Regular readers of Fly Fishing in South Wales will, on multiple occasions, have heard me talking about the Monnow catchment and that of the Monnow Fisheries Association. I’ve long tried to convey the truly inspirational passion that these guys have for their river system and the huge amount of unrelenting hard work that they put in. Ongoing habitat improvement for wild brown trout and the eradication of invasive fauna are just two of the jobs the MFA face and this is where I’m hoping you guys will be able to help.

In conjunction with the Wild Trout Trust, the MFA’s Patrick Lloyd and Robert Denny will be attempting to raise money for ongoing river restoration projects by taking part in a sponsored ‘Fishathon’ which will see Sirs Lloyd and Denny fishing from the Monnow/Wye confluence at Monmouth all the way to the source of the river Monnow at Craswall. The distance of this journey I hear you ask? That would be in excess of a cool forty miles!

Please support the MFA by making a donation via the Just Giving website by clicking on one of the ‘Donate Now’ buttons below as any amount given will help fund the betterment of a truly magical catchment. If you have ever met either Patrick or Rob and have been lucky enough to fish the river Monnow and/or any of its tributaries, you will fully understand the passion they have for this river.

Taken from the Monnow Marathon’s Just Giving page:

THE MONNOWTHON – 2 men. 40 miles. A fish too far?

You may ask what on earth possessed two supposedly rational gentlemen to undertake this rather unusual (and some suggest impossible) fishing adventure up one of the most little known – yet incredibly beautiful rivers in the British Isles – the River Monnow.

And, as is often the case with these things, what started as a chat in a pub – has in fact become a fascinating logistical challenge: to fish every stretch from Monmouth where it joins the Wye and head 40 miles upstream through the Parishes of Skenfrith, Ewyas Harold, Walterstone, Longtown and to its source in the headwaters on Cefn Hill at Craswall below Hay Bluff.

Now this may hardly seem like some Boy’s Own adventure to the headwaters of some uncharted secret African river – but make no mistake – this is no easy challenge. The river twists, turns and crashes through some extremely rugged terrain in the Monnow Valley – much of which is overgrown and inaccessible.

Foolhardy? Perhaps, but if you have the good fortune to meet either Patrick Lloyd or Robert Denny on the river – as you are quite likely to do – then you will realise this river is their passion – and this is not some frivolous bet.

Both have been responsible for some of the most extraordinarily successful ongoing river restoration projects – raising substantial amounts to protect and improve the riparian habitat and to restore it to its former glory. Inspired perhaps by The Field Magazine which once wrote that it was ‘one of the best trout streams in south Britain” – their challenge to us – is to help them raise funds for the Monnow Fisheries Association (MFA) to continue to improve the river and its tributaries within the Monnow catchment. This not only benefits the indigenous population of wild brown trout – but also helps to raise awareness of this glorious part of the country and to bring in much needed trade to local businesses.

So please dig deep and donate something now – and join us as they navigate their way from Monmouth to Craswall – hopefully catching a fish or two along the way.

For more information regarding the hard work of the Monnow Fisheries Association please visit their website at www.monnow.org and, in the unlikely event you are not already a member, please consider joining the Wild Trout Trust at www.wildtrout.org.

For anyone yet to hear of an event I’ve attended for a fourth year, and known simply as ‘The Monnow Social’, it’s somewhat of a mystical, starry-eyed affair spanning two full days and including a ton of fishing and (usually) two nights of extreme drinking socialising with other like minded fishing-obsessed weirdos gentlemen.

As is always the case after a social, I find it pretty damned hard to put the weekend into words, but needless to say the usual (and rather hysterical) suspects were present, with the added bonus of Egor/Norman Bates, Gandalf the Grey and the catchment’s very own ‘Monnow Cowboy’ making an appearance this year. The weather felt almost January-like for the first two days before the sun kicked its way into Sunday, but spirits were high throughout as old friends caught up and new friends were ‘initiated’ and consequently scared away forever. Fish were caught, tales were told and lots of one or two drinks were drunk.

The Saturday Night Auction was, as always, terrifying with Mr Auctioneer Denny able to palm off just about anything to anyone brave/stupid enough to simply look in the wrong direction. God couldn’t have been smiling when a certain individual released the (now famous) ‘£50 Fart’; it, quite possibly, could have been the most expensive expulsion in history. Needless to say, it was hysterical.

The fishing was tough due to the chilly temperatures, and conditions which I would normally associate with winter grayling fishing seemed to want to stay around all weekend, even prompting two usually tough-as-old-boots-fishermen to abandon their fishing thirty minutes early in order to hunt for the nearest warm pub. A beer jacket is the only jacket you need in such situations.

Home, two weeks on, and it all seems a distant memory. Sadly, I neglected to take many photos this year, but I think others will agree that this was the most successful Monnow Social to date, and with a fantastic amount raised for the fantastic Monnow Fisheries Association, a tireless and truly inspirational bunch. It was great to meet the new faces and, as always, was fantastic to meet up with old friends. A special and huge thanks must go to Rob, Patrick, Neil, Dave, Frank and the Kitchen Crew. Well done guys, and I’ll hopefully see you all again at the same time and same place next year, if not before.

For a few extra sights of the weekend, feel free to visit the Monnow Social (2010) photo gallery.