Fishing The Fly Scotland
Index => Main Discussion Area => Topic started by: Terry Coging on 10/08/2018 at 18:52
-
Blobs work. Real stockie bashers. But why use them at all? Boat partner and I watched two contest fishermen hauling out one fish after the other yesterday. The reservoir has been dour of late due to heat and no fly life, but weekly stocking had continued. So there were a lot of stockies about that were bred on pellets and with no experience of flies. Surface temps were lower yesterday and the fish moved up. The blob murdered them. We asked ourselves why should anyone want to do this inane, repetitive thing and feel good about it?
-
I have to ask myself why people do upstream nymphing and dry fly 🤣
-
James. Although I don't do upstream nymph and dry work these days, there is far more skill to it than repeatedly casting a none fly out and boating a load of stockies. After a dozen they should have moved on and practised for the days that are harder, or gone to the pub.
We caught a lot less but we did get a couple of over wintered fish. Far more rewarding.
-
I usually go fishing A LOT when the dreaded Blob is about, because I don't get shouted at...
:z1
-
My understanding (and somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) is that 'the blob" represents daphnia, which is naturally occurring.
I have fished twice this week on a local reservoir and caught more than I ever have on small diawl Bach's and yellow owls - which are supposed to represent naturals but aren't an exact representation of anything.
I really don't want to be controversial, but how many wet flies do we use that are exact representations of natural fly life?
The cost of a fly fishing day ticket on a stocked fishery these days is not cheap, and there may be the fisher who wants fish to eat, or those who do it for "status" ("I caught xxx today" etc etc).
I learned by pulling cat's whiskers, boobies, humungous etc. I'm now trying to be more of an angler than a fisher by using smaller "flies" and being patient.
For me, the competition is with myself now and how I "outwit" the fish, maybe some people aren't at that stage yet?
I'm probably rambling, so please correct any misconceptions or inaccuracies in my thoughts!!
-
Now I think about it there is more to fishing a blob than buzzers under a float ..
-
Probably right James. At least you get some casting practice with the blob. In fact from observation repeated casting with short retrieves seems the most effective way of attracting fish. Two in a boat. repeatedly casting within a few yards of each other must represent pellets hitting the water at feeding time. I watched a guy (another competition angler) fishing our clear club lake and could see the new stockies turning towards the plopped blob from several yards away.
It's an endless debate "What is fly fishing about"?
-
I guess we need to ask if the blob is a fly? Is it an artificial tied on a hook with material either synthetic or natural that can be presented with traditional fly fishing techniques and equipment. So that so far is a yes to the blob. Is it something that I would add to my armoury in my mostly wild fishing Loch and river preference? Probably not. However all of my fishing these days is purely pleasure fishing and not competition fishing. Many years ago when I did a fair bit of competition fishing often on recently stocked waters, if the blob or any other of the many lures that have been introduced by the likes of Sid Knight or Bob Church and others which were primarily designed for efficient removal of stickies would give me an advantage then I would certainly have used them. In line with other posts it is a case of different strokes for different folks. Many of our other
Flies which I do use often like emerging buzzers Dawk Bach’s etc were also born out of the competition arena. So we should not scorn the diversity within our noble art but embrace which ever Avenue suits us as individuals and live and let live with the other guys. As with anything if they are happy with their interpretation of sport so be it. I will still be happy shortlning down a highland Loch or pitching a dry or a nymph on the river. However that does not mean that I am doing things right or morally better than anyone else. Each to his own.
Eddie
-
I started fishing about 1959 (year not time :wink) course fishing on the local pond, we only used worms, bread or maggots now course fishing uses all sorts of baits, it is still course fishing. My first encounter with a fly fisherman was in 1969 when I went for a job interview in the City of London for a merchant bank, I had put fishing as a hobby, the interviewer put me down and said the ONLY REAL fishing was with a dry fly on a Scottish river. I decided then that I did not want the job and that fly fishing was the realm of rich ar....les and not for me. A lot has changed from then I am pleased to say, I have been fly fishing for a couple of years now, the reason I fish is to catch fish, I only do catch and release as I have done since I first started nearly 60 years ago, I see nothing wrong with a blob or a buzzer under an indicator, why is a dry fly in a team OK, or do we pretend that is not why we use it. My son and grandson had a great day fly fishing with a "dog biscuit" imitation fly for carp, they caught 5 in 3 hours and it looks like my grandson is now hooked, how can that be wrong or has nothing changed since 1969.
-
I agree with Eddie and Clive. Maybe this thread should have been 'Relentless Stockie Bashing' rather than the Dreaded Blob.
I go coarse fishing regularly. Always have. I will take my trusty Elephant bike down to the canal early in the morning, with my rod strapped to the bike in the time honoured way. I am after the elusive 2lb roach. 1lb 15oz so far. No snobbery with me. I just enjoy seeing fishermen set some sort of values in what they do. Spending 10 hours on a boat hauling stockies out with the blob is not my idea of fishing or sportsmanship.
-
I usually go fishing A LOT when the dreaded Blob is about, because I don't get shouted at...
:z1
I take it mrs Euan does not read the forum :z4 :z4
-
To me fishing is about wandering about with my rod casting here and there and sometimes catching a fish. Others want to fish to prove they are better at catching fish than others good luck. Catching recently introduced stockies certainly rainbows very little if any skill is required and to me is pointless.Having said that I spend a large amount of time after the silver tourist which each year is getting more and more pointless.
Bob.
-
Bizarrely, I've just watched an old fly fishing "tutorial" from 1983 (in conjunction with Benson and Hedges no less) with Arthur Oglesby. One of his guests was Bob Church.
Bob was trying to introduce Arthur to "a new fly" which was called a dog nobbler, in very controversial, loud colours such as pinks, oranges and whites.
A great day seemed to be had by both fellows, and even the introduction of a sinking line was seen as new and revolutionary.
To me, the sport is continually evolving and new methods such as sink tips, midge tips, flurocarbon, fast action rods etc are advances in technology which all sports adapt to.
It was great to see the not too distant past and be given a reminder of how far technology has brought us.
Unfortunately, it was totally spoiled for me when, at the end, the camera cut to Arthur and Bob on the bank - with around 20 or 25 Rainbows lying next to them.
To me, that's where competition angling and recreational angling differ. I will take fish from a stocked fishery, but even if there was no limit on the number of fish that could be taken, 20 or 25 just isn't sport in my eyes.
-
Pulling a heavy bright bumble through stockies will get same kind of results as a blob - Only the blob will out fish it by a mile on its day!
Seams a snobbish comment to put down a blob :z6
If fish were hard on buzzers and you were getting fish after fish would you then take of your buzzer and fish something different, I think not.
A blob is not just for fresh fish. When fished in a team of nymphs it can make the nymphs perform better, they may not want the blob but it brings them into your cast and in turn induces more takes and fish.
Moral of the story - Give the fish what they want on the day :z6 Times change as do flies :z18
-
Yes Barry. Perhaps you missed my subsequent post about relentless stockie bashing. I did qualify my post a bit away from the blob towards unsporting attitudes. I have used Blobs as an attractor but don't do it any more, just does not seem like fly fishing. If my attitude towards relentless stockie bashing is snobbish - then so be it.
On Saturday I will be fishing in a club coarse fishing contest. Senior and junior partnership. Don't know who my junior partner will be but I will try to teach him/her sportsmanship, finesse and above all, respect for their quarry.
-
Ahhh, the Blob.
I find it a bit of an enigma. There are days I fish and it's nice to be on the water and enjoy it all. A fish is a bonus.
Sometimes I fancy a day of catching, and catching lots! All my fish go back, so from a conservation perspective, I have little impact. Nothing wrong in wanting to catch lots of fish after a lean spell on the river.
Have I used the blob? Once, for a bet, and I caught a Grayling on it!! :)
Do I criticise people using the blob?..Hmmmm. If it is solely to fill the freezer with as many fish, then probably.
If it is to have a days catching rather than casting and the fish go back, no real problem with it.
If it is being used by one of those chaps that sees you catch a fish and suddenly appears right next to you and casts three blobs into the area you have been fishing with a small dry fly of delicate buzzer set up...he is going in head first lol.
-
To me, using blobs on a stocked fishery is as bad as sitting all day with buzzers under a strike indicator.
Seems like it’s all I ever see on the very rare occasion I go on one of these waters.
To me, its not really sporting, but then is it sporting anyway fishing on a pond that’s stocked for our pleasure, with fish that will probably be caught many, many times in their life?
Personally I find buzzers under an indicator an incredibly boring way to fish, however I do upstream nymphing with a Klink so maybe I’m a hypocrite :z8.
-
The only way round stocky bashing is to introduce new fish, fewer and more often, meaning there should be more ‘naturalised ‘ fish about as oppose to big schools of really hungry and uneducated fish, but this would be hard and more expensive to achieve I think. The only other alternative is have stocking densities that mean people catch less.. I can’t see me ever wanting to catch 20 identical stockies every day- I’d soon get bored (even if wild fish! )
-
Probably not the best time to admit i have fished a Blob under an indicator before :shock :wink :z12
-
Gave you a like Allan for candour :z4........and for knowing your reputation as a sportsman and master fly tier.
We all have to try things out and to accept or discard to suit our individual tastes. Yes, I have used blobs and bungs but not together. Had my fussy out of them and chose not to use them any more. Moved on to other, more interesting methods.
I am not against the use of blobs or bungs, but I am against hauling out stock fish one after the other like Mackerel. I have been there :oops
-
Thanks Terry, catching loads is fun for a wee while, then it can certainly get boring, to be honest i've even had this with dries and at times nymph on river however these tend to be few and far between and often short lived (hatch ends etc).
With stocked fish i tend to accept them for what they are, fish that have been hand reared to a size and newly placed into a fishery so i don't get excited by the size but do like them to be of good quality.
I used to fish through the winter for rainbows and up here we have some excellent fisheries, now i tend to only go out a few times and often then with friends for the social aspect but still find this style of fishing enjoyable (usually it's the craic amongst us that's the real draw).
As for the fishing style? Well i do like the indicator, it's visual (my favourite way to fish), relaxing and takes me back to watching a pencil float in my very early days chasing perch. I suppose essentially it's a case of each to his own and i look at it simply; if i don't like fishing a certain way then i just don't do it (i hate streamer fishing on rivers for example).
We're all Brothers of the Angle and we need to make sure we get as many bodies out there fishing as we can.
-
Well , at Glen Tanar I took a spanking, 15 fish to my one. My chum fished a squirmy wormy under a bung and I fished conventionally.
There were others on the loch who did as well as me...
God I hate rainbows.....
-
session on the bench getting ready for a trip to Forbes on Kinglennie in Oct...
(https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/11649-190918100628.jpeg) (https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=5188)
-
They really are very pretty James :z7
-
I've yet to see a hatch of those but if, and when I do, suspect I will run back to the car.........
-
session on the bench getting ready for a trip to Forbes on Kinglennie in Oct...
Last night pink and chartreuse did the biz 🤣
(https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/11649-190918100628.jpeg) (https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=5188)
-
Bright ....... :z12
-
A blob was just a short tied taddy unweighted to International Rules. Fritz has been on the go for near on 40 years, it’s not something new.
Obviously they are deadly, but there’s plenty other pulling patterns that slam fish.
If you want to just match the hatch with dry flies that’s cool, but each to their own.
Fishing has become a bit of a numbers game to many.
-
Fished the club contest today. On the last peg of the circuit I was joint leader (number of fish). I had bought a pink and chartreuse blob from the lodge before we started and tied it on for the last peg. Bang! It won the contest :X2
Credits to James Laraway chief blobber, Barrio Fly lines (#6SLX) and Mackenzie #6FX1
-
I hummed and ha'd on how I wanted to respond to this one but here's my take on it...
I like to be in full tweeds when I fish the Dee and I love the traditional side of fishing and country sports in general. Most of the rods I Salmon fish with or trout fish with "up north" would never dream of fishing blobs and the like (i'd argue many wouldn't even know what it was) and I am more than happy to be there and fish in the same "proper" manner as the rest of them.
Conversely however, I am quite happy on occasion to turn up at a trout fishery with my lets see just how many I can catch in 4 hours head on and will happily throw anything at them so long as its within the rules of the fishery.
Do I get as much enjoyment from both? No. I'd happily take 1 Caladail trout over 100 stocked rainbows but here's the thing for me.
I kind of liken it to eating in a Michelin Star restaurant vs Burger King. The food/ambiance etc in the Michelin Star restaurant is obviously far greater than that of BK but if i'm starving and I want something greasy, fast and convenient then I will happily wander in for my fix.
Would I want to eat at Burger King every day? Well no, but on the flip side I A) couldn't afford to dine in fancy establishments for every meal B) couldn't be arsed with the faff of booking tables and wearing fancy clothes etc .
I guess what I am trying to get at is that there are Michelin Star folks and Burger King folks and then there's us that will eat anything and I think a balanced diet is a good thing but more Steak than chicken nuggets for me please :z16
One other thing I would to add is that the level of snobbery surrounding many fly fishing circles is unreal. Yes I wear my tweeds and fish nice beats but I wear them and fish there because I like them not to conform to some superiority complex over mere "stocky bashers". Beings as we live in a world where the "Anti's" seem to be gaining more and more traction. I strongly feel that all anglers need to try and put this elitist bullshit aside, as without strength in numbers I can foresee recreational fishing for fun becoming more and more under threat.
Just to confirm having zero issue with the "dark side" of trout fishing here is one side of a particular "box of horrors" as my Dad would refer to them :z4
(https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/950-141118024826.jpeg) (https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=5309)
:z18
Steven.
-
I am currently bored on a boat 20 miles off Turkey so here's my 2 cents :z4
I used to think salmon fishing was elitist until I worked in the Banchory tackle shop and discovered who actually fishes the Dee. The average Anti has this perception of Lord and Lady Tweedy with nothing else to do with their lives but fish for salmon. The truth is most salmon beats are made up of mates of the ghillie, local business men, people who have grafted in the oil industry for a long time and made their money, doctors and dentist that don't golf and a small percentage of Lords and Ladies. I know one chap on the North Esk that sold his business when his wife died and spends the money on 100 days a year fishing! I do see less tweed than I used to (must fish with Steven more :wink) and see more "modern" salmon attire these days but that goes more along with who is fishing now. Certainly in the Inverness area I have met more chaps with really expensive rods that are not minted with old money. Now it is a case of "well I fish for salmon so I better have some nice toys to do that with".
It is probably still less expensive over a year than golf but golf doesn't get the same elitist view.
So, Blobs and their ilk? I can see where you are coming from Steven and I can tell you that we are in the same camp. HOWEVER, if I am fishing Glen Tanar and the fish are hard on the bottom and don't want to get caught on my 7' #3 then I have no hesitation getting the skagit caster out and chucking something shiny in to the depths. Cough, Mop fly, cough....
Sometimes trout aggression has to be catered for and my God are they aggressive towards that.
I know Fritz has been around a long time as I was a regular customer of Richard Walker when he made the IPN, so it is nothing new. Saying that it is nothing new is one thing but would you say that about a Peter Ross or a Mallard and Claret? They have been around a long time and still work and so do the offspring of the IPN, so maybe Fritzy things should now just be put down as authentic fish catchers and not just Christmas decorations for those that can't fish.
The Intruder pattern has the same effect on old school salmon fishermen and Jerry French was just short of death threats when he came up with it. But how many of you would now use one? How many of you would add gold sparkle Fritz to a Gold Bodied Willie Gunn? Fritz in a salt water pattern? Bloody right! A Sparkle Dunn dry fly has a shiny tail so is that OK?
It is a material for fly tying and I find it odd that it is OK to use it in some patterns but it is always condemned as a Blob. On a recent trip to fish for escapee Rainbows shiny stuff was the order of the day. The bigger and shinier the better. Is that OK? It certainly was for me and the Rainbows loved it.
I like the analogy about food Steven and I too prefer wild places and wild fish and I too used to love a greasy burger. The fish don't seem to care either way as all the patterns we use get eaten at some point so I don't think they are as fussy as people.
It is time we stopped the them and us, lure bashers versus traditionalists. I have heard the argument for a very long time now and it just goes no-where.
It does bring old farts like me out of the woodwork though!
Fish what the hell you want, just go fishing! :z16
Cheers,
Euan
-
A very thoughtful response Steven.
If I were to start this thread again I would head it 'indiscriminate stocky bashing'. I had observed a couple of instances where new stock fish were hammered relentlessly and all three anglers happened to be using blobs. So, for me, the blob represented a side of fishing that I did not like. One instance when a boat pair just followed the shoal of new fish around and whipping them out like mackerel. Then a few days later on our newly stocked club lake a member was doing the same from the bank. It was simply unsporting. As for snobbery - I fished the fur and feather on the canal last week. I go there often on my bike for a bit of maggot drowning. :wink My favourite fish is the roach and trying to catch the elusive 2 pounder.
-
Euan,
You have fished with the original tier of Richards Idiot Proof Nymph and I share the same surname :wink
:z18
Steven
-
Steven,
I knew you would get the reference! The more I think back the more I think I remember the original tier being in the shop drinking coffee with me, Richard and Magnus Angus. I also seem to recall three of us reeking out the shop with fag smoke. Imagine doing that now?
Good times!
Euan
-
Euan,
Guilty as charged :X2