My French Leader set-up

I had tried the so called French Leader Method a couple of years ago without success.
After obtaining as much information as I could from the Internet, down the Clyde I went to give it a go.
Well!! what a mess I got into.
"How are you meant to cast this thing without the need of the fly line" I thought.
I could not get my line out whatsoever, it ended up in a tangled mess around my rod and feet.
After a half hour or so of exasperated and embarrassing effort, not wanting to be noticed by my fellow anglers, I packed it in and went back to more conventional methods.

Then-at the beginning of last year I decided to have another go.
I had come to realize that my lack of success was part due to my rod  and set-up.
This time I had opted for a 10ft #3, this would give me the required length and softness to be able to cast my extra long leader.
With further small modifications and lots of practice, I was finally able to apply this method quite easily with some confidence.
 It is now my main method of nymphing and I am using it on the Clyde with great success.

My rod is a  10ft #3 Marryat Tactical and Orvis Battenkill reel loaded with #3 flyline.
The lightness of this set-up enables me to fish with an outstretched arm for long periods.
Attached to the fly line, loop to loop, is a 9 metre Hends Camou tapered leader.
I cut- off about 2 metres from the small end of this leader and tie on 2 metres of 8lbs bs mono.
The reason for this is that the small float stops need to be a nice tight fit to enable you to adjust the group of stops to the right position for the sighter.(a lighter line would not have the required diameter )
Attached to this (loop to loop)  would then be your tippet section.
The distance from the loop to the first dropper, I set at 1m, which is about the shortest distance from the sighter that I would want to position it.
While fishing, by sliding the stops up the 8lb mono section I can increase this distance to suit the depth and angle of the sighter.
I fish 3 nymphs with the heaviest on the point (the heavier the point fly the easier it is to cast.)
I don't want to go too heavy with the nymphs, as they need to travel down stream naturally and not like a set of anchors.
As I want all my nymphs to be hugging bottom the maximum distance I would set them apart up from the point fly would be 60cm.

So thats the set-up,but you may need to twiddle around with it to meet the conditions of the day.
The whole idea of this method is to be able to present your nymphs to the fish,at distance, at the speed of the current.
I make an upstream cast and while holding the rod up high let them trundle down past me.
The sighter would be held half out of the water, any dip or stop could indicate a take, most cases will be the nymphs snagging  bottom, but after a while you can identify what is a bite or not.
I fish this method on the upper Clyde at Lamington,Abington and Crawford.
Its not a massive water but nor is it a little stream.
Whilst shallow wading, using this method, I can almost present my nymphs near to the far bank.


I would normally enter the water at the tail end of the swim and work my way upstream on a short line
I may only be using  half of the 9 metres of leader (czech nymphing its probably called)
Depending on results at the end of the run, I would then go back down stream maybe on a different line, this time using the full extent of the leader.

I have had a lot of good days using this method and I hope to continue, this coming trout season.
However when the season gets into swing and the water temperature rises, I am going to concentrate on the wee dry fly on a shorter rod to see if I can hook up with our resident monster broonies.

A nice cold winters day for grayling.

The day looked almost perfect,maybe a bit bright, there was a hard frost on the ground,very little wind and the river had dropped to its normal winters level.
A good day to go after the grayling.
As Lamington section had closed I decided to venture to Ucapa water at Crawford.
I have been up to this area a few times without much success,a couple of nice trout at the end of the season but no grayling.
Starting off at Camps Bridge I decided to go upstream having my first few casts at the first run--no luck and then up to the pool by Crawford Castle with the same result.
I moved a bit further upstream, going along a steep bank,I peered  into the water to see if I could spot some fish, but the light wasn't very good, I couldn't spot any
This was a place that I had seen fish before, so I thought that I would give it a go anyway.
My tactics were to fish a couple of weighted nymphs on a long leader and a pimp indicator.
Starting at the bottom of the run I carefully entered the water and gradually, making my way upstream,fan casting as I went.
I knew that I was fishing correctly,there was very little wind, so I was able to cast upstream and bring the flies back trundling them along the bottom at the speed of the current.
After an hour of hard fishing I had reached the top of the long run,without a single take.
Its hard fishing in the winter-the water temperatures are low-the fish semi-hibernate becoming inactive,just hugging the bottom.
To be successful I think you nearly need to plonk the fly right on their nose.
I went back downstream and had a few more casts,sat down had my sandwich and coffee.

Took in the scenery and a shot of the castle.
Had a chat with one of the locals,he had just returned to Crawford after years away in Norway.
A nice lad-- Hi Rider.
Back into my warm van and home.

I think I had a good year

Well! thats it, 31st January and Lamington waters on the Clyde are now closed until the start of the trout season in March.
I think I have had a good year finishing with 80 trout and about the same amount of grayling.
No big trout or monster grayling but good quality fish.(not many sprats)
All released to fight another day.
Probably not a lot compared with the experts but I am happy--I'm still learning.

My most successful method was the trio ---Which consists of:
A big klinkhammer fly on a short dropper to act  as an indicator,then another ptn on a dropper fixed at one and a half times the depth of the swim- then  a heavier ptn 50cm further down on the point.
When I am using this method I don't like the nymphs to be too heavy, as they will only keep dragging the indicator fly under-I want the flies to look like natural food coming down the river- I don't want them to drag like anchors.
This method gives you 3 options to catch fish.
They can take the klink as a surface fly or one of the 2 nymphs.
This method needs a lot of adjustments because one day can be different from the next.

Later on in the year when the surface activity stops I change the klink. for a pimp indicator and add one more dropper below.
When the river is a bit high and I need to fish heavy to get to the bottom I use a drops style indicator as a sighter with three flies below.
Usually its a sighter--then 1.5metre approx. to first dropper then 50cm to the next dropper and 60cm to a heavy point fly.
All the methods above are attached to the end of a 9 metre tapered leader
 (the fly line hasn't been through the first eye of my rod for most of the season.)
For the above methods I use a 10ft #3 Marryat rod.
Its light-its sensitive and that extra length when held high makes it easy to keep the leader off the water = good presentation with very little drag.

When I  get to a section of river I wish to fish I will usually decide to enter the water at the top of the run and work down.
Whether i'm using the indicator fly or the sighter the fishing method would be the same.
I prefer to get into the water where possible (I'm not a deep wader) to cut my silhouette down to a minimum.
I let the required amount of leader out by firstly making a short downstream cast and using the tension of the current on the line,I then make my upstream cast.
I am now fishing.
Keeping my rod up high trying to keep all the line out of the water I let it trundle down past me--hold a few seconds on the swing and then re-cast up stream.
Three fan casts,to cover the water then one step down--and the same again until I have reached the end of the run.
Don't forget there is no fly line out of the reel,I am just using the 9 metres of tapered leader.
On reaching the bottom of the run I then decide whether or not to go back up
(depending of course you are on your own )
However I will usually have a go, moving upstream doing exactly the same.
My opinion is, that a lot of anglers go through a run too fast,they don't cover enough of the swim.
Without hogging one spot, I like to give it a thourough going over before moving on---and especially in the winter months, I may return later in the day-because fish at this time of the year may only feed once a day.

All ready for a winter grayling stint

Well here I am, all togged up for a winter grayling stint,being mid January its a wee bit cold and as I will be standing in the water all day I have made sure that everything is water tight.
I wear thermals under a good quality wading jacket,with a nice woolly hat on my head to keep the heat in and as I will be traveling  light (I'm only bugging for grayling) there is no need to take loads of gear, As a safety issue-- the banks can be wet and icy so I have fitted  studs in my felt soled wading boots to give me a bit more grip
I had a slip and tumble the other day--not a pretty sight--I'm a big old lump to come crashing down.
Had the river been running a bit high I would have worn a safety vest and used a wading staff.
If I look a bit bulky in this shot, I have a small flask of coffee and a sandwich stuck away in my pockets. That's my excuse anyway.
Its nice to have a sit down and have a hot drink and a bite after a couple of hours and as I will be travelling searching for the grayling, it may be too far back to the car.
The weather today is dull,damp and a bit cold with a varying wind of about 15-20 miles per hour.
Ive opted for my 10ft #3 rod,with an 8 metre tapered leader. ( I wont be fishing any fly line off the reel today)
I will start off with a drops style indicator then 6ft of 4lb mono to - 2 size 16 beaded droppers to a  14 tungsten bead point fly.
Pink on the point red on one dropper and plain ptn on the other.
Should I find it difficult to control the set up because of the wind or I have difficulties because of the light ( my eyes are not as good as they were) I can remove the drop ind. and replace with a bright coloured pimp.
So thats my set up and plans for the day.
Its now 12noon and I will be fishing the Clyde at Wolfclyde Bridge ( in the background)
I know a few likely spots that have produced fish in the past.
So away I go.

3 hours later.

Well I gave it a go without much success, I had one decent out of season trout and one tiny grayling, both of which shed the barbless hook just at my feet--therefore no pictures of fish.

So here is another shot of me with the old pillars of the railway bridge that runs next to Wolfclyde.
I enjoyed the day. I have let the grayling off the hook till the next time.

The grayling season is here.

Well the trout season has ended and we are now well into the grayling season
Unlike summer fishing, where you can nearly guarantee getting out on the river, grayling fishing up here in Scotland is a touch and go situation.
Flooded rivers.snow, ice, rain, and strong winds,all make it difficult in getting out.
So when you get a break in the weather you have to go for it,the next day may be totally un-fishable.
Its now nearing Christmas, ive been out a few times and have caught my share of grayling with a lot of out of season trout thrown in.
Most of the fish have been around the pound mark with only the one (pictured) which was  around 2lb and 17" long.
Using a 10ft #3 nymphing rod, size 18 ptn on a 2lb tippet I had a good tussle on my hands.
It took a bit of time to net, in the fast flow, but it finally conceded--a quick picture,then back in the river,where it swam off strongly.
It was only a wee one,for up here on the River Clyde the grayling grow to 3lb +

                                             A River Clyde winter grayling

Getting towards the end of the trout season

I was surprised that my favourite fishing spot on the Clyde wasn't mobbed today.
We had good weather, light winds and the river was just settling down after a bit of flood.
Where were all the anglers?--perhaps down river trying to catch a salmon?
 I dint care, I nearly had the river to myself.
Saw two other anglers in the distance but never had a chance to chat to them.
The conditions were ideal for fishing the trio,the breeze was up and across stream,which made it easy to present the flies.
My resulting catch was 6 trout and one grayling.
The trout, pictured above, was round about the pound mark and it showed its acrobatic abilities before coming to the net.
I lost quite a few fish,they just "shook the hook" as they say.
I use barbless,as I don't kill any fish from the Clyde- it makes it easy to release them.
Yes-It was nice to be out on the river today..
I had a couple of days fishing on my syndicate pond last week.
It was enjoyable but catching stocked fish just seems different to me.
Nevertheless I like a nice rainbow trout for my tea and I was fortunate enough to catch a couple, which were quickly chapped.
So its nearly the end of the trout season-only a couple of weeks to go.
I am going to make the best of the time left and get down to the river as much as I can.
This has been my best year trout fishing-- mind you! Ive only been at it 3 years so there is a lot to learn.
When will I catch a "biggie?"
 Ive caught a 5lb+ brown trout from my pond.
But to get one from the Clyde would be totally different.
Maybe next year?

September on the Clyde

The weather has been bad up here in Scotland,we have received the end of hurricane Katia after its 3,000 mile journey across the Atlantic it still produced 70 miles per hour winds.

Anyway today was a lovely day no winds-no rain and the river in top notch condition-a good day for fishing.
I was surprised that there wasn't more anglers around,taking advantage of the lull in the weather ( things are forecast to change tomorrow) there was a guy from Liverpool up here on a weeks holiday and I briefly saw one other chap,I don't think he staid long.
I walked downstream some 400 yards to a pool that in the past had produced fish at this time of the year.
I decided to fish 3 beaded nymphs under a braided sight indicator ( french nymphing I think its called)

Dropped a couple of grayling in the first six casts and then soon after managed to capture this small one for my photo.

Fished on at the same pool for another hour,hooking an acrobatic trout,he definitely didn't want to be caught---but here he is,not big but he was strong.
I continued fishing at different spots up to the bridge and beyond catching the odd little trout and grayling,finally calling it a day at around 5pm.
I had fished for about 6 hours, it may not have been my most productive day out.
But ,what a lovely place to be ,on a September day, on the banks of the Clyde.
I hope I have many more.