Auction Catalogue now available at  Wild Trout Trust website

------------- 17 Jan 2012 ---------------

Exclusive fishing, art and tackle is available in the WILD TROUT TRUST

CHARITY eBay AUCTION 2012, including a limited edition Jubilee reel.

The Wild Trout Trust's annual eBay and postal auction will take place between March 5th and March 15th 2012.

The money raised in the auction supports the Wild Trout Trust?s excellent work in delivering practical advice and habitat improvement projects with clubs and owners, as well as programmes such as Trout in the Town and sea trout projects in East Anglia and on the South Coast.

The auction is packed with around 200 exciting lots to suit all pockets and interests, including shooting, artworks, books and tackle as well as fishing. Guide prices start from £15.

The star lot is a Hardy Jubilee reel

. One of a Limited Edition of 250 reels commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the 140th anniversary of Hardy Bros., and marking 100 years since the introduction of the ?1912 pattern check'. The funds raised from the sale of this reel will be used to support the restoration of the River Dibney in Northern Ireland via the River Dibney Conservation Trust

, a community-led group committed to involving young people in caring for and restoring their local river.

Fishing lots range from the very best of the Wessex chalk streams to wonderful wild trout fishing in rivers and lakes throughout the UK. Much of the fishing is exclusive and donated by private clubs and syndicates and amny lots include guiding by professional guides, river keepers and fishing writers or by enthusiastic and knowledgeable club members.

Lots donated by Hardy & Greys Academy

members include:
Jeremy Lucas, River Eden
Howard Taylor, Hampshire chalk streams
Ian Hockley, casting lesson and fishing at private lakes in Oxfordshire
Stevie Kennedy, fishing on Strangford Lough.

The fishing extends beyond the UK to sea trout fishing in Patagonia and bone fishing in the Caribbean.This is a superb way of booking your perfect fishing break and donating to an excellent cause.

Unique collectable lots include a prototype hexagraph salmon rod, developed and owned by Hugh Falkus, an an exquisite image of trout head in pewter, gold leaf and brass by artist Sam McDonald and flies tied by Oliver Edwards and John Goddar.

For the auction catalogue, postal bid form and link to the eBay auction, visit www.wildtrout.org

For a paper catalogue call 023 9257 0985 or email the Wild Trout Trust office

PICTURED:

Hardy Limited Edition Jubilee Perfect (Face)

Secret Stream: John Pearson

Trout head in pewter, gold leaf and brass by artist Sam McDonald

Upper Itchen in May

Hardy Limited Edition Jubilee Perfect (back)

Wild Trout Trust Logo

A Passsion for Tarpon has been described as 'the book the fly-fishing world has long been waiting for' and guides the reader through the entire strategy of catching Tarpon on a fly rod. The book is priced at £125 and now available from our Compleat Angler store in Alnwick, in person or by mail order - call 01667 602 771 to order your copy now.

The book covers strategies for reading the fish, choosing effective flies for each situation, selecting the right tackle, honing your casting and presentation techniques, tricks for feeding the fish, critical advice on how to set the hook, the secrets to fighting tarpon efficiently and quickly.

The book also features plenty of stunning photography and in depth interviews with renowned professional tarpon guides and rabid anglers-a veritable "who's who" from the world of tarpon fishing.

This epic volume would grace the coffee table of any angling enthusiast and has already caused great excitement among those who've read it, with comments including:
"This book is the most technical and up-to-date book about how to catch giant tarpon with a fly rod. It is a master class with no short cuts. Andy's knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the sport shine brilliantly." -Lefty Kreh

Andy Mill first became world-famous as an Olympic downhill skier known for his speed and daring. For eight years, Mill created and produced the Sportsmen's Journal television series for the Outdoor Life Network. A lifelong angler raised in the Colorado Rockies, the author has spent the last two decades in furious pursuit of tarpon on the fly. He has applied his stamina and grace as an athlete, his intense ability to focus, and his exceptional instincts as a hunter to reach the pinnacle of this exciting sport. Mill has won a record 11 tarpon tournaments-and is the only fly fisher to ever win a tarpon, a bonefish and a permit tournament. He divides his year between Aspen, Colorado and Boca Raton, Florida. This is his first book. Andy is also a consultant for Hardy & Greys helping with product development and testing, and was a key influence in the development of the Hardy SINTRIX Proaxis

high performance saltwater fly rod. 

 March 2nd 3rd and 4th sees the return of the popular Glasgow Angling Centre open weekend. The weekend is the largest free fishing event in Scotland.

Hardy & Greys will be there, with Ian Gordon, Stevie Munn and John Henderson on hand to help and advise on all our new products, with the opportunity to 'try before you buy' on the range.

Along with the new Marksman2 rods, the full range of Zenith Sintrix rods will be on display (and available to try before you buy) including the much anticipated Zenith double handers.

All this along with great offers, casting competitions and many more activities make this a weekend not to be missed.

Find out more at the GAC blog

 Hardy & Greys Stevie Munn and Tom ?Doc' Sullivan will be at the marvellous Ireland Angling Show 2012 which is held at The National Show Centre in Dublin on the 11th &12th of February . This is an excellent show for the angling enthusiast whether he or she is into Game, Sea or Coarse fishing - this show caters for them all.

Tom and Stevie will be fly casting in the main arena at the casting pool, and will be inviting the public in to ?try before you buy' Hardy & Greys rods including the Hardy Sintrix rods.

You will also find Stevie at the meet and greet area with angling personalities incusing TV's most famous angler John Wilson.

Alongside the casting demos, the show will feature talks, the Interactive Youth Zone, cooking demos, top fly tying demos, and free casting and fly tying lessons from APGAI-Ireland. There's something every angler and angling enthusiast.

Hardy, Greys and Chub fishing tackle will be available via the show's trade stands.

Find out more about the show on the Ireland Angling Show website

. 

 Hardy & Greys Academy member Stevie Munn

has just returned from the 4th National Fly Fishing Meeting of the Rio Grande -Tierra del Fuego, held at the Lodge: Maria Behety, where he was a special guest of the Association Riograndense Fly Fishing, sponsored by INFUETUR (Secretary of Tourism) and hosted by Mr Angle "Goma" Carrillo.

Stevie was among only two Europeans asked to give a fly casting clinic at this high profile event and was interviewed by Argentine T.V and sampled the fishing on the World famous Rio Grande River. The other was top caster Danish caster Henrik Mortensen. The show was a great success with Stevie showing fly casting with Hardy rods and reels which the local guides and anglers also tried and enjoyed. Stevie would like to thank all involved with this marvellous event and hopes he can return.

The second part of his trip Stevie stayed at The Estancia Despedida lodge, hosted by Danny Lajous and Ozzie, this is where Stevie landed his biggest ever Sea Run Brown Trout which tipped the scales just over 24lb, taken on a fly given to him by his show interpreter and now friend Jorge Luis Calvo Laubli or Tato for short.The deadly pattern was a Black & Red Articulated dressing.

Stevie tells us the Despedida Lodge is "lavish and relaxing" set in a beautiful wilderness with not only fishing on the Rio Grande but also the beautiful rivers Rio Menendez and Rio Mc Lennan. Stevie said Danny and Ozzie are the ultimate lodge hosts: "Their kind nature coupled by a rich fishing knowledge made me feel right at home. As the only owner-operated lodge on the Rio Grande, Despedida has the comforting feel of staying with your fishing family.

"Danny's son Tommy and his friend Jorge are fantastic guides with an uncanny ability to find big fish that will take. Ozzie's entertaining conversation at the dinner table ranged from Argentine history to rock, Jazz and blues music to world affairs. Chef Oscar served excellent four course meals with elements of Argentine and European cuisine that were well-matched with best Argentine wines"

Stevie definitely will be back hopefully as a guest again to the show and also Despedida Lodge have asked him to promote and host trips to this wonderful destination to U.K and Irish anglers, so anyone interested in sampling this magnificent part of the world and its great fishing contact Stevie Munn by email

 The team at Woodford fly fishery

have a hectic schedule of competitions throughout the year - including the Greys Woodford Winter League. Here's the latest report from Woodford...

November was a quite a busy month for competitions at Woodford Fly Fishery. First up we hosted a fund raiser competition in aid of the TAFI Northern Ireland Commonwealth Fly Fishing Team, to help with the costs of travelling to Tasmania to compete in the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in February 2012. This is the first year that a team from Northern Ireland has taken part in the Championships. A total of thirteen anglers made the day and rose over £600, including a kind donation from Lee Beverland of Otterburn Trout Farm. Top rod on the day was Huw Morris with 5 fish for 205cm; Huw received a Greys GS2 fly rod which had been kindly donated by Greys Fly Fishing, Alnwick. Dundalk angler David McCabe was 2nd and received a Hardy Fleece donated by Campbell Baird, team captain.

Next up we had the Ulster Stillwater Bank Fly Fishing Championships. This would be the third year of the Championships and it is growing in popularity. This year had nineteen anglers competing to make the 6 man Ulster team. The fish where feeding very high in the water making the top tactic on the day size 16 dry flies! The crown of Ulster Champion went to Darren Haggan with 8 fish for 6760 points, in 2nd place was Brian Kerr with 7 fish for 5980 points, 3rd Campbell Baird with 5 fish 4720 points, 4th Stephen Allison with 5 fish 4520 points, 5th Gareth Morris with 4 fish 3740, 6th Gary Crothers with 4 fish 3620 points, reserve Harry McAteer jr. The team will compete in the Inter Provincial in Leinster for the chance to make the TAFI Ireland Team to compete in next years Four Nations International hosted by Wales.

To end the month we held Round 2 of the Woodford Greys Winter League. Twenty-eight anglers from across Ireland turned out to battle with the windy freezing conditions, with the changeable weather over the past week the fishing had turned a bit hard, meaning that the competitors had to work for their fish and a dropped fish would turn out to be very costly indeed. Most of the competitors started off on floating lines but within 30 minutes they had nearly all had changed to intermediate or fast sinking lines to try and find the feeding fish. As the day progressed the wind eased a bit and a few fish started to be caught but nobody was running away with it and by the final whistle no one had bagged up with their five fish limit but none of the competitors threw the towel in and gave up everyone of them fished to the whistle! Top tactic for this round was a black lure fished slowly on an intermediate line. Best bag on the day was three fish and only five anglers out of the 28 didn't catch including round ones winner. Five anglers had three fish with the best going to last years Champion Brian Kerr, 2nd Eamon McGoldrick, 3rd Lenny Magee, 4th John Kellegher, and 5th Joe Hughes.

Winter League Table Top 5;
1st Brian Kerr, 8 fish 327cm
2nd Joe Hughes, 8 fish 301cm
3rd John Kellegher, 8 fish 285cm
4th Ciaran Mellon, 7 fish 298cm
5th Lenny Magee, 7 fish 275cm

Over £1,500 was raised by the Northumbria branch of the Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA) at their annual dinner, auction and raffle on Friday 18^th November.

Hardy & Greys attended the event, held at the Britannia Hotel in Newcastle, and donated a Hardy Uniqua Rod as a raffle prize.

Following the dinner, International Fisheries Consultant, Peter Gray gave an informative speech prior to the raffle and auction.

Although the total amount raised at the event is yet to be fully confirmed, it is likely to be over £1,500 and will be used for the Associations' junior fishing days.

Hardy & Greys Marketing Manager, Steve Peterson said;

"The Salmon & Trout Association is a fantastic organisation and we are pleased to be able to help support them and our local branch."

 On 19th and 29th November, a host of the world's greatest fly tyers and Angling celebrities will once again gather at the Galway Bay Hotel, in Salthill to participate in the 2nd Irish Fly Fair and Angling show.

The show is organised by Mara Media in association with Hardy & Greys Academy member Stevie Munn.

Visiting anglers to the show will have the opportunity to see some of the greatest Fly dressers from around the world practice their art , while champion fly casters will be available to demonstrate and advise on fly casting techniques and fishing tactics.

Last year's Irish Fly Fair was a fantastic success with over 3,000 visitors to the show, and the feedback was exceptionally positive, with many saying it was the best game angling show they have ever been to!

The tackle trade will be well represented at this year's event with even more trade stands than last year. Mara Media's Grace McDermott said:

"Building on the success of last year's show, where business was brisk, the 2011 show has attracted trade from all over Europe who are keen to come to Galway and exhibit to the market... vast amounts of tackle, outdoor clothing and fly tying gear...something for everyone!"

Returning to the show are angling celebrities Hywel Morgan, Glenda Powel, Stevie Munn, and Peter O'Reilly who will be demonstrating and advising on all aspects of fly fishing! We also would like to welcome our new fly casters, World Champions, Hans-Ruedi Hebeisen and Scott Mackenzie.

We also have tuition from APGAI-Ireland who will give free casting and fly tying lessons during the two day exhibition. Experts from the Inland Fisheries Ireland, The Wild Trout Trust, Dr Ken Whelan and many more will be hosting talks and seminar on various angling related topics.

New to the show, will be a "Youth Fly Tying Competition" giving the kids a chance to show the "Pro Fly Dressers" what they can do!

The Irish Fly Fair has already been hailed as one of the finest shows of its kind in Europe, a great weekend to meet up with old friends and make new ones! This show is a must for all Angling enthusiasts. Special rates for angling clubs and accommodation can be arranged.

For more details visit www.irishflyfair.com

or http://anglingclassics.blogspot.com

Hardy Academy member Gwilym Hughes is hosting another of his popular Fly Fishing School weekends later this month.

Anglers can learn about Grayling and fly fishing for Pike, in this two day course which includes tuition and fishing on private waters in North Wales.

For more information or to book, please contact Gwilym direct (contact details below)

GRAYLING AND PIKE FLY FISHING WEEKEND WITH GWILYM HUGHES AND STEVE JAMES
TO BOOK PLEASE email ghughes2@btinternet.com

or call 01490412731 or 07889423986

ITINERARY:

Friday 25th November 2011
Arrive at Dolgadfa for 5pm on Friday
Evening meal at 6pm followed by whiteboard presentation and flytying.

Saturday 26th November 2011
Breakfast 8.30am
9am Fishing Dolgadfa Private beat for Grayling.
12 30pm Packed lunch.
1pm Fishing Dolgadfa Private beat for Grayling.
4.30pm Dolgadfa
7pm To ?Caerau Uchaf' for evening meal debrief re Grayling and discussion all things Pike fly fishing related.
11pm Return to Dolgadfa

Sunday 27th November 2011
8.30am Breakfast and vacate Dolgadfa
9.30am Pike Fly Fishing on a Private Mountain Lake ?Caerau Uchaf'
12 30pm Packed lunch
4pm End of Course

Pricing structure:
4 Persons (Minimum) £270 per person all inclusive
5 Persons £246 per person all inclusive
6 Persons £220 per person all inclusive