[Derek Roxborough]

A really nice Cassette reel from a gentleman on another forum, 5 cassettes a reel and case for £47 delivered,a nice disc drag reel , easgach1

[Andy Finlay]

I treated myself to a Guideline Fario at the beginning of the year and I must say I'm more than happy with it.

Also a fly tying kit and tying my own flies for the first time, mainly Bob Wyatt DHS and CDC and Elk and catching fish with them.

Serious thanks to Rabbitangler for the step by step guide which he sent me for the DHS, way beyond what I had expected.

Best thing ever though was finding a place between Aberdeen and Inverness which has great wild brownies. I used to go to there when I was a kid to paddle in but fished for the first time this year at least 6 times when travelling between here and there, bring on 2012.

Oh, and a float tube.

[Loxiafan]

Also a fly tying kit and tying my own flies for the first time, mainly Bob Wyatt DHS and CDC and Elk and catching fish with them.

...good flies, eh ? ! Tying a whole bunch of these just now (well a DHE, which is almost the same) to represent March Browns, Olives, Sedges etc. CDC and Elk gave me my best Don Sea Trout and Brown Trout in 2011. Might just get away with fishing a DHE/DHS and CDC Elks for most of next season...

My 'inspired' purchase (after much deliberation) was..

Grey's Streamflex XF2 10' #4..............does everything asked of it and more.

Other 'discoveries' ( in no particular order) :

Barrio GT90 #4
Lamson Konic 1.5 Reel
Dynaking Supreme Clamp Vice
Varivas 2200 BL Size 14 hooks

Lindsay

[Loxiafan]

rubberised micro scoop net for my McLeans net (unlikely but true)

Where did you order the micro mesh for your McLeans Iain ? I have the 6.5lb short handled net and find that the fish's jaws get stuck in the meshes quite frequently so I am looking to replace with a micro.

Cheers,

Lindsay

[Euan Innes]

Best thing ever though was finding a place between Aberdeen and Inverness which has great wild brownies. I used to go to there when I was a kid to paddle in but fished for the first time this year at least 6 times when travelling between here and there, bring on 2012.

Oh, and a float tube.

That sounds like one of those places that is "up north", somewhere between X and Y. They are usually quite good...
And yeah, float tubes are ace  Especially now that I have a Shakey. Man, I cannot wait for the thaw 

 

[Iain Goolager]

Lindsay,

I like my short handled weigh net but the last few seasons have seen me getting a bit miffed with the standard net bag...............
it gets caught up on gill covers
it gets caught up on jaws
the length, or should I say depth, of the net has it snagging on all sorts as you wander the banks
the 'standard' material is also less able to fend off foliage

The rubberised net is well deep enough to hold a decent fish and the fact that it has small mesh that retains its' shape makes it ideal for getting quickly to and releasing Trout, not to mention the reduced chance of a fly getting stuck or falling through the holes.

Continual improvement is the name of the game and for something as seemingly insignificant to some, the transition to this type of net bag has been fantastic.

Now the down side. I trolled the interweb thinking that finding a mesh 'pan' type rubberised bag would be like shooting chimps in a stockade but alas I struggled. I tried lots of coarse fishing sites too but nothing fitted the bill.

I resigned myself to purchasing a Greys Scoop net and removing the net from that. They sell them in S, M & Large and for the life of me I can't remember which one suits - if you go this route you'll have to measure your rim (cheeky). I think I got one for £19.99. Might seem expensive but it should bring me less grief for many seasons to come, plus I placed my original bag onto the Greys handle & frame and gave it to Young Gun so it was good to help others too.

http://www.fishermanstacklecompany.co.uk/index.cgi?product_id=Greys%20GS%20Scoop%20Net&d=1&details=on&mid=MM12&xm=1&tp=1&smp=1&cid=1&ref=FROOGLE

You seem mad keen on your Don Browns so I think it's a good move - Hope you find one cheaper.   

Iain

[Loxiafan]

Hi Iain,

Cheers min will have to check that out. McLeans do apparently offer a micromesh for the short handled net but I have a feeling it may have to be ordered direct from NZ ?? I'll maybe ask Sportfish if they can get one. I also have one of the Wychwood scoop River nets and this has micro mesh but no in built weigher ! Actually the Wychwood is a fantastic little net, under £20 but the McLeans is way more robust and better quality.

Yes, had quite a few Brownies getting jaws, gills and pectorals poking through and stuck in the larger mesh on the McLeans so would like to avoid that next season if I can.

The shorts nets are great when wading but I had a couple of sea trout when I was on the bank where I was wishing for a bit more 'reach' !

Cheers,

Lindsay

[Iain Goolager]

Everything's a trade off Lindsay,

I too feel that there are times when a longer handle or extender would be more desirable and for that reason I bought the flip up longer reach McLean weighnet but I hate carrying around cumbersome stuff when I'm playing at Trout Bums so don't use it.
I predominantly fished dries this season so had contact with far fewer Sea-Trout than I'd have if fishing a nymph and spider but last year I hit a reasonable few and although I experienced a high percentage of dropped fish there was only one that I can think of that was at the net and therefore could have been nabbed if I had a greater reach.
For this reason I'll stick to my sort handled McLean and risk the nettle stings and possible soaking.

Iain

[Loxiafan]

I actually had more Sea Trout on the dry fly this year, whilst targetting brownies, than I did in the 2002 Season when I was actually targetting sea trout (at Kintore funnily enough) ! I did put a lot more effort in this year though I suppose..

I fished down a pool behind someone that had fished (real) hard with a stoats tail to no avail only to have a sea trout gobble down my CDC Elk at first pass. Season lows were that I lost two 'monster' (for me) sea trout too, one was 4lbs and lost at the net the other took all the fly line out and most of the backing before the line went slack - nothing I could do but 'hang on', sidestrain had no effect at all ! Thanfully they were on different days and I caught decent fish both days so not too bad.

Great fly, even greater fish  

Lindsay

[Noel Kelly]

Wish I could catch some of these kintore sea trout  interesting chat about the McLeans nets. I agree that the nets are 2 deep. I bought 2 of these this year. A short handled large scoop net and a telescopic folding triangular. Both weigh nets. Planned on using the scoop from the tube but never tried it. With the depth of the net I would want 4 ft long arms to weigh a fish! So a pan style mesh could be the answer there. I used the other one on the river all season. It's a cracker and I will probably use one for the rest of my days. Its packs away to a scabbard which hangs off your belt and will win yout no fashion shoots but other than a tendency to tangle a bit when you want to use it in anger it's a great net.  A mesh scoop net would once again sort that problem.