The Ifish Fly Fair is a new event and the only one in the south of England. There was a nice range of fly tying materials on display from various companies, books and tackle plus lots of fly tiers displaying their art. It was a very well run and friendly event and, we hope, the first of many to come in the future. It’s great to bump into people you don’t see from one year to the next and catch up. There were fly casting demo’s from Mike Marshall, Charles Jardine and Scott Simmonds. The BFCC and GAIA were there to provide fly casting lessons and we had a pretty brisk trade all day despite the cold weather. I am sure I speak for all the instructors when I offer our thanks to the organisers for providing plenty of tea and coffee and going that one extra step by bringing us out some sandwiches and mince pies. Nice touch.

I am still a bit surprised when someone comes over to check out the rods and lines we use and their disbelief that it is just bog standard fishing equipment. Most of them just don’t appreciate the potential of their own gear when it comes to casting distance. I would like to think we opened a few eyes. Mark Surtees and I were certainly kept busy all day with everything from beginners to some very useful casters who just wanted to get a few tips and tricks to gain a few extra feet. I would like to hope that they all learned that casting for it’s own sake can be (almost) as satisfying as going fishing and the benefits of a bit of casting practice will also enhance their fishing experience.

Many thanks to David Fisher and Mike Marshall for staying in the warm and sending out a constant stream of customers to Mark and I out in the cold.

All in all, a really nice day among some really nice people.

Slightly knackered,

Mike H

Sat. 30th November 2013 10am – 4pm.

 Ifish Fly Fair, Clair Hall Perrymount  Road,                                                                          Haywards Heath, W. Sussex, RH16 3DN. Entry £5.oo.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The BFCC will be performing casting demonstrations and teaching at the usual fee of £5.00 for 20min. throughout the day. For more information please e-mail Paul Davis: flytyer@inbox.com

Who would have thought that an October meeting would still be shorts weather? But it was and Trevor Hayman wore them to prove it and several others of us wished we had done the same. Along with the sunshine however came absolutely still conditions, the very slight breeze that occasionally got up was just a baby’s breath and neither helped or hindered us. We didn’t get the dead air dumping we had in Glasgow but we still couldn’t get the lines to fly, especially in the morning when the grass was covered in dew that wouldn’t disappear. Despite that we had an enjoyable day with some stiff competition. John ‘machine gun’ Reynolds shot himself in the foot by suggesting we do dry fly accuracy instead of wet fly so his usual rapid fire technique had to give way to a more refined style and he only came third instead of his usual first. Mark Surtees however found that refined suited him perfectly and proceeded to win the event.
No big casts in the five or seven events but Dan Shillabeer and Danny Keane acquitted themselves very well for their first time competing. One other name you might not recognise is Roger Simeon. Take my word you will be hearing a lot about him in the future. He is a 12 year old lad with a huge potential. He set a new J13 record of 104′ 7” while casting for a distance badge, a phenomenal cast in those conditions.
I cocked up in the st27 by putting the wrong tip on my rod and I broke my trusty old Bloke XL50 when casting in the seven. Not that either made any difference to the results with James Evans winning the st27 and relative new comer Steve Parkes winning the seven after a shootout with James because they had tied in the competition. John Reynolds showed us the way home in T38 and Steve Parkes thumped out a winning 192′ 11” in the T120.
Trevor Hayman took the honours in the B100 and Mick Copeman won the B110. Dan Shillabeer qualified for his 25yd badge and young Roger Simeon qualified for his 30yd badge, very well done both of you.
James Evans won the overall event.

The BFCC would like to thank everyone who attended for helping out with all the tasks that are so necessary for the day to run smoothly.

So, that’s another casting season done with.

We hope to see you all again next year.

Please see below for an interesting addition to this post:

Member Dan Shillabeer shot this short movie clip of BFCC coach John Reynolds  making double hauling look so easy.  John was using Dan’s Shakepeare Trion rod loaded with a John Norris WF7 line.

Click on the link below to see the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVUkh1L3aao&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Here is another short clip of John putting out a full line with just a single haul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVUkh1L3aao

For the first time in living memory we held a meeting without the presence of Mike Marshall who was unable to make the trip. This presented a unique logistical problem because Mike usually drives to all the events and transports all of our equipment with him. This year meant getting it there by other methods which was personal luggage, delivery service and local assistance. As it turned out it all arrived, with the exception of cast markers which we improvised. For once the weather seemed kind to us, no torrential rain and no prelude to a hurricane, as in previous years, but the sting in the tail was some very ‘heavy’ air and a fickle breeze which caused the majority of the casts to dump short of where they might have gone in kinder conditions.

Despite this we still had a very good competition that had some new faces in the leading positions. Scott Louden and young James Hek are certainly names to watch out for in the future. It was great to see Andrew Toft taking an interest in single handed fly rods and trying out the double handed tournament gear for the first time.

James Hek improved the J17 #5 record to 116’1” and set the J17 benchmark. Tracy Thomas continued her advance through the women’s records by adding the T120 event to her list of achievements.

I would like to thank everyone who helped with all the work needed for the event to run smoothly, so that’s all of you. And special thanks to Ben Dixon and Alberto Laidlaw for all their help in making sure all the equipment we needed was delivered and returned.

So, not a lot to report really. It all went well and everyone enjoyed themselves. ‘Nuf said’.

The next meeting is the last of the season at Shenfield (Brentwood) so see you there.

Mike

Learn to cast the fun way.

THE British Fly Casting Club (BFCC) puts on a series of annual meetings around the UK – see: www.thebfcc.co.uk under Calendar, where any casters can expect a friendly welcome and to improve their casting.

At the meeting at Oswestry on June 15, member Nigel Rogers achieved a superb result by casting his 7wt outfit 87ft 8in from his wheelchair and won himself a 25-yard badge. But perhaps, more importantly, he vowed to return again to achieve the 30-yard badge he so nearly won.

Chairman Mike Marshall said: “This is an example of the BFCC working at its best and exactly as it was originally envisaged.”

Hi guys,

A situation has arisen where Mike Marshall will not be able to attend the Glasgow meeting on the 8th of September. As you all know Mike usually drives to each event bringing all the rods, reels and other equipment necessary. On this occasion it is proving difficult to make alternative arrangements, especially for the heavier tournament rods. If any of you can offer either help or a useful suggestion could you please email or phone Mike and let him know.

Many thanks,

Mike H

I have heard it’s quite grim up north but from what I saw as I drove up the A1 wasn’t grim at all, quite lovely in fact, and Alnwick is quite a picturesque little town. I normally turn left at Scotch Corner so when I didn’t I was in entirely new territory. This was the first BFCC event in the North East so it was a bit of a shame that all Peter Thains efforts to get a good turnout didn’t quite materialise but we had the benefit that because we were so far north we had the pleasure of a few of our Scots friends making a trip south so all in all we had quite a good event.

The wind might have been a bit kinder. The direction was steady but varied from zero to gusty  in the space of one false cast to another but generally blew  quite strongly all day, it was a real rhythm breaker, you thought you had set yourself up for a decent cast and then a gust would blow your back cast out or it dropped away just as you hit the delivery. Despite this there were still some creditable casts and Peter did increase the ST 27 record to a more respectable 161+ft. Not out of sight so still all to play for. In fact the only events Peter didn’t win was the #7 (me) and the B100 which was won by Mike Barrio, who seemed slightly disappointed he hadn’t come last. Better luck in Glasgow Mike.

That is the bare bones of the meeting but there is a slight sub text in that all the members who had driven up from down south were generally so busy that we didn’t have much of a chance to meet and socialise with the locals which is a great shame because we do pride ourselves on being a friendly club. Surprisingly one of the places we do get to know each other and can have a bit of banter is marking the lanes. The event can’t happen without markers and it’s a great place to look at how the different casters cope with the conditions, offer the odd word of encouragement or take the piss. At all our other events this isn’t normally an issue because everyone chips in but for some reason I can’t put my finger on it was an issue here. I appreciate this is a new area for us and this was the first event so no-one knew how we operated on the day. We do rely heavily on the people attending all mucking in and sharing the workload where they can. It makes the event come alive.

Well done Tracy for taking the five and seven women’s records and to Wendy for extending her S50 women’s record.

Really well done to Peter Thain for nearly getting a clean sweep and for getting us to Alnwick in the first place.

Mike H

We should be very grateful to Tracy Thomas and James Evans for organising our meeting at Aldermaston, because the new venue provides all the facilities and space we need to function really effectively. This was so clearly demonstrated on Sunday, a day when it seemed the Carribean came to Berkshire and the air-conditioned club house was hard to leave! In fact it was by far the hottest casting day I have ever experienced and says much about the BFCC’s tenacity of purpose, that our programme was completed, but how, goodness only knows? The only downside was that the hot weather caused a depleted turn-out.

On the coaching front we were very lucky when Brian Wickens passed on his knowledge of double handed speycasting on grass, which was fascinating to see and for Members to try. Also, on the single handed front, I was kept fairly busy throughout the day.

The competitions started with Accuracy, which was won by Tracy Thomas with 95 points, who showed the men how it should be done! This was followed by other events, of which the following were worthy of special note: James Evans won the #5 distance using a new AtomSix rod built for us by Steve Parkes; David Fisher won the new B110 class with 4 inches more than Mick Copeman; Steve Parkes won the T120 with an excellent 189ft 7ins, considering the conditions.

There is no doubt we will return to Aldermaston in 2014 and it is now time to look forward to Alnwick on Sun. 11 August.

Mike M.

With deep foreboding I drove north. The forecast gave dire warnings of storms,  heavy rain and wind. Deep joy. Even Wendy’s  App proclaimed heavy rain about lunch time. Pretty much none of it happened, yes, the wind was a bit blustery on occasion and we did get a few spots of rain, but that’s all. We did not have to drop our rods and run for cover once.

The wind did cause a few problems for those that CAN’T FORM A LOOP on their back cast (you know who you are) but generally the standard was as good as ever and some good distances were achieved. Wendy Bath proved her womens record from our last event was no fluke by consistently getting into the ninety foot plus bracket. Andrew Bagshaw could be up there with the best if he practiced a bit and Ni Rogers proved you don’t have to have two good legs by hitting some pretty impressive casts from a wheelchair. Tracy Thomas and I increased our respective ST27 records. John Reynolds hit an S60 record in the seven event, nice to see the old boy can still cast a bit.

I would like to mention everyone as they all contributed to a really nice day so please all give yourselves a pat on the back, you deserve it. As do our hosts who once again excelled themselves by providing us with great refreshments as usual.

Well done those of you that achieved your distance badges and welcome new member Steve Parkes.

Unfortunately I will not be at the Aldermaston event because I will be on holiday and enjoying the benefits of inside information from John Dunmall who has just come back from the same place. Thanks John and well done on your 25yrd badge.

Mike H

Yes indeedy, I do remember the day’s when a BFCC meeting consisted of two men and a dog, and sometimes even the dog didn’t turn up. This was one of those rare days for the new and revitalised BFCC when overall turn out was only twelve, which would have been classed as a red letter day five or six years ago. It just goes to show how far we have come in recent years. However the benefits of a relatively small turnout was that it turned into a very relaxed day where several records were broken. For instance; Wendy Bath achieved her ambition of getting into the record books with a cast of 94′ 4” in the five weight, which just pips Sue McNivens  previous record. Tracy Thomas is the Women’s record holder in the new ST27 (27g head event) class. Mick Copeman not only blitzed the B100 class but has recorded V70 bests in the #5, 7 and ST27 events and I managed to pop the ST27 just a bit further than anyone else and get the record for that. I don’t expect it to last long so I will enjoy it while it’s mine.

There were some other notable casts but the one that impressed me (because I had to leap out of the way of it) was Brian Szukala getting the T120 to 195′ and it’s the first time he has cast it. God help us if he actually gets good at it. He was only just beaten by Mike Marshall who, uncharacteristically, didn’t quite get over the 200′ mark.

There were badges for Wendy Bath (30yds) and Brian Szukala (35yds) and Brian also qualified for his 65yd badge.

Surprise of the day was to see Mark Surtees compete in the T120 and T50 D/H events and, seemingly, enjoying it.

You may notice we did cast the T50 event but there isn’t a class for it yet. We have yet to finalise the rules and equipment, mainly the line, yet. Once we do it will become part of the competition.

Many thanks to all those that helped out with marking and timing. Special thanks to Alan Bath for taking over the timing, it’s nice to see him recovering so well from recent illness.

And finally thanks to Willesborough Cricket Club for hosting us and Bobby Ades for providing us with superb refreshments.

We will book the event again for next year so all of you who missed out on some really good casting can come along and see what you missed.