Iain Barr is World Champion!!!!

You may have noticed that my blog has been pretty much non existent for the last couple of months, well most of the year really! I have a ton of stuff to get up here but the news I received yesterday morning on my way to a session on Chew Valley lake means I have just got to get something up now .... if you have not heard already ....

IAIN BARR IS WORLD CHAMPION AND THE ENGLAND TEAM WERE GOLD MEDAL WINNERS AT THE 29th FIPS MOUCHE EVENT HELD IN SCOTLAND!

(Above) New world champion ... Iain Barr with 14lb 9oz of Exe Valley Rainbow!

An amazing result guys and an incredible achievement Iain. Huge congratulations go out to you from all the crew here at Hart Flyshop and to the other members including John Horsey who achieved 10th place, Dave Parker, Simon Robinson, Baz Reece and Howard Croston. All English rods were inside the top 30, astounding given the very tough venues and conditions experienced.

See more about the England Fly Fishing Squad here and more about the World Fly Fishing Championships here including official results. Of course we put it down to the practice Iain received while demonstrating at our Open day event held here at Exe Valley on Sat 2nd May 2009 .... it seems like yesterday! I will report some more, promise! During the open day Iain took his personal best Trout of 14lb 9oz (see above) while giving a demo and also wowed the crowd with some river fishing mastery. It was this ability that helped him catch 5 fish in one incredibly tough river section which witnessed some top names in the world drawing a blank! These fish were added to more eeked out from venues mixed between river and lake. Consistent good angling across the board is the only way top succeed.

BREAKING NEWS! If you want to meet double world gold medalist Iain Barr he will be with us on our stand at the CLA gamefair at Bevoir Castle Leics ... Iain will be our guest on the stand on Saturday. We have been selling Iain's "Captains Choice" flies pretty much since we opened up Hart Flyshop ... now you can fish with the World Champions Choice! See a huge selection at the CLA plus much more ... like I said ... more soon!!!!! Right now I am so excited about this news that I think I may need a lie down!

Once again .... WELL DONE ENGLAND!

New Pike & Carp Episode Online

Have you ever fancied a change from Trout with the fly rod? They are an awesome fish, my trip to Chew with Jon Hettle on Friday was testament to that (read report here) ... but variety is the spice of life. So what do we do for some string pulling action with a fly rod when we have had our fill of Trout? There are of course all sorts of options such as saltwater Bass on Fly or even a trip abroad for some Bonefish ... but how about something much closer to home?


Most of us have a canal or lake nearby and you can bet your bottom dollar that often there will be a Carp or a Pike in residence ................ and both love flies. I am addicted to Fly Fishing for Pike in particular but the thrill of a Carp sipping away at the surface and then, once hooked, charging towards some hidden snag is also pretty special. In fact so much so that I made a programme all about it for onlinefishing.tv last year. You can see the trailer here at Nick Hart Fly Fishing School - Carp And Pike On The Fly The show was shot at the King Sedge Moor drain in Somerset, a favourite Pike venue and a beautiful Devon Carp lake that Henry Gilbey introduced me to. Check it out and go flex your 10 weight!

Its time to Chew ...

Thanks to Wayne Thomas who pointed out that I incorrectly billed the Hart Flyshop open day as 2nd March, of course our open day is on Sat 2nd May 2009 .... we look forward to seeing you there!

On Thursday and Friday I began winding up into the season, in fact just glancing over my diary I can see that silly season is here! But what a great way to get going. Day 1 was spent with Jon Hettle on Clatworthy where a slow start eventually gave way to a hectic spell and several well conditioned Rainbows. Successful tactic was to fish a Scientific Angler Kelly Green Intermediate and a long fluorocarbon leader. Despite feeding on Buzzers none of the fish went for our imitation, opting instead for a Mini Huey with gold body fished on the point. Fish seem to be holed up in very tight bunches, our success came at the North end.

After supper at Woods in Dulverton (which never fails to impress), Jon and I headed home for some rest and then met up early the next morning for the journey up the M5 to Chew Valley. What a venue this is, the moment I arrive in the car park my adrenalin goes into overdrive ..... and I was guiding! However guiding Jon when boat fishing is always extra special for me as I get to fish with him .... another reason for my state of excitement. I am the first to try and calm guests down when fishing, slow their reaction to situations etc., in the hope that they make the perfect cast. If only I had heeded my own advice then I may not have hurriedly ended the life of my beloved Hardy Demon 10'0" # 7 rod in the tail gate of my truck! Fortunately I had another equally favoured rod as a back up, the Greys G Tec equivalent and so pride just about intact we headed to the boat.

Upon arrival at the jetty I was in complete astonishment at the amount of fly. Buzzers were everywhere including up my nose and in my eyes. Checking above the tree tops the tell tail signs of a massive hatch were only too evident as what appeared to be smoke hovered above. In fact the mass was thousand upon thousand of flies. Although slightly chilly in a lifting fog the fish were right up in the layers and Jon was soon into them using Iain Barr Diawl Bachs (particularly the holo red version) on a floating line. Top areas were North shore, the picnic area, in behind Denny island and Moreton. The fishing was awesome but I have a new toy and it is not fishing tackle. Purchased on the recommendation of my good mate Mike Boniface I was trying out my new digital camera, a Pentax Optio W60. Now I know nothing about cameras really but what I like about this product is that it can be used underwater, for both photography and video. I have had no real time to play with it properly, but did dunk it under for a quick test during the Chew visit as Jon brought a fish to the net. For such a low priced bit of kit I am dead chuffed with the results, all be it I am no BBC cameraman! As soon as I have time to practice I have a whole host of ideas about how this could help me and therefore my guests understand more about what goes on below the waters surface. If you just have to have one then I can highly recommend the company I purchased it from Clifton Cameras

Jon sadly had to depart by 4pm, but I just could not resist the temptation of a boat for the evening on Chew. Returning to the mouth of Heron bay and then zeroing in on a pod of rising fish off Moreton point I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Fish after fish fell to the buzzers until eventually I decided to go for a totally top water approach and switch to Hoppers, taking several fish in quick succession off the surface. Truly stunning fishing that Chew has become rightly famous for and while shaking to sort leaders, degrease them, fluff up flies and make casts to moving fish I realised that more than ever I have the fishing bug ... bad! The sunset was the icing on the cake, an evening I will remember for a long time.


Loads more news for the blog soon but if you are thinking about bagging a heavyweight Exe Valley maybe your venue, here is Mike Hole from Bampton with a stunning 8lb 5oz specimen taken on Saturday. And check out Henry Gilbeys blog for a truly magnificent Pike taken by lure fishing guru Danny Parkins.