After the Wrexham meeting GAIA kindly invited the BFCC to give workshops on tournament and full line distance casting at their autumn meeting. Mike Marshall accepted the invitation which meant he and I have spent a weekend in Wales at Caer Beris Manor. The meeting is part of  GAIA’s CPPD ( continuing personal and professional developement) and Mike and I gave two of the several workshops available to the sixty GAIA members who attended.

 Mike gave the tournament workshop and a demo of casting a five weight DT in the morning and I did mine on distance with full lines in the afternoon. I think it’s fair to say that the majority who attended our workshops are primarily river orientated so the sight of eighty feet of fly line being held up by a five weight rod wasn’t something they were used to seeing, nor was the sight (or lack of it ) of a T120 disappearing into the distance like a launched rocket.

 I think I am safe in saying both were well recieved and generated quite a bit of interest. I know for certain Mike and I thoroughly enjoyed doing them.

 I managed to attend a couple of the other excellent workshops which certainly have contributed greatly to my own CPPD and were worth the the trip on their own.

I don’t know why I am always surprised at the friendliness and enthusiasm of the fly fishing fraternity, especially fellow instructors. You would have thought I would have got used to it by now.

 Thank you GAIA for the invitation and your generous hospitality.

  Mike Heritage

Here is alternative viewpoint of last weekends meeting by Roger Miles. I think it’s a bit rich of Roger to talk about Tomo grabbing the gold in his grubby little hands when he spends half his time at meetings pursuading us to part with our money…… Ah, CHUBBY, sorry Rog, I misread that bit. 

Mike H

 When Mike Heritage told me of his intention to change the format of the competition of the BFCC to bring it more in line with international standards, I got quite excited.

 Then I thought hang on a minute our own Jonathan Tomlinson will be up there to grab gold in his chubby little hands,

 Anyway it all got off to a flying start and as Mike’s own report says it went extremely well. The way it was organised by Mike Heritage & John Reynolds was flawless.

 Now last year Jonathan Tomlinson was hitting very big numbers in all distances, but on the day he was so hung over (I suspect he was nobbled the night before)  he could not even see the casting lane let alone throw a line down it, so he was very disappointed in the BFCC 2009 meeting.

 Therefore it was no surprise when every few minutes Jono came up to me and kept saying “I am sober today Rog”.  I thought, here we go, he is going to win it all.

 But big Trev saw him off in the Salmon. John Reynolds, showed him what to do with a bit of fluff in the accuracy, Lisa Isles gave him a fright in the T38. James Evans beat him by feet not inches in the T38, so well done to all you guys and girls that took part.

 Anyone that looks at the results on our website will realise that in England we have some of the best in the world.

 Now here’s the rub, Jono was the overall winner, it just goes to show that world class is world class. You are the man Jonathan.

 Next year we will start drinking two days before, so enjoy your spoils Jono, because we are coming for you.

 To sum up our event for the BFCC October meeting 2010 I have to use the words of the boss Michael Marshall, who has hosted scores of meetings over the years. He said “this is the best meeting ever”.

 Again, well  done everyone, see you at the Spring Show in March next year.

I know all my event reports start off by saying what a fantastic/successful/enjoyable day it was but most of you were not members three or more years ago when it was only me, John Reynolds Mike Marshall plus the odd stray dog that turned up for meetings. Yes, I know I am exaggerating, slightly, but there is a buzz and vibrancy about the club now that is just so pleasing to those of us that lived through the doldrums. Especially pleasing for Mike Marshall without whom the club would probably have folded ages ago.

 With everybody’s help the new system of casting different events in different lanes at the same time worked really well and the accuracy comp seemed to be very popular, I even managed to hit one or two myself. In fact things ran so smoothly that we managed to cast all six of our events.

 I suppose I should feel sorry for Tomo because if this had been the club championship event instead of a dress rehearsal he would have been crowned champion by a country mile. It isn’t natural for one person to be so good at every discipline, he won three events and was well placed in the others, as you will see if MM can make head or tail of the results sheets.

 James Evens regrets having a warm up cast with the nine weight, it went 151′ which, unfortunately, he couldn’t repeat once the clock started. It also allowed Tomo to cast what I think is a new club record.

 We probably have at least one new ladies record when new member Lisa Isles cast 166′ with the T38, note the T38 is the mens event, women can cast a slightly lighter outfit, but we didn’t have one handy.

 Jaw dropping moment of the day was new member Trevor Bourne who picked up the T120 for the first time in his life and threw five consecutive casts over 200′ with a best of 225′ to win the event. I have never topped 200′ in all the years I have been a member!

There were quite a few who turned up just for some instruction and they were all given the Mike Marshall treatment assisted by Roger, Alex, Mark and Steve. The club is very fortunate to have some outstanding coaching talent which has been the backbone of our recent success. While talking about instructing, the club would like to thank Steve for the donation of a five weight rod. It is prove very useful for all the instructing we do these days

 From a personal point of view it was nice to have John Reynolds back and firing on all cylinders and I was especially pleased that all the members willingly joined in to help run casting lanes when asked. Thank you all very much.

 I will probably need to come back and edit some of this when MM has put the results up, I am terrible at remembering names. It’s an age thing.

 Mike Heritage

 Ps. since I wrote the above I have recieved several complimentery messages about the event and I gather so has MM. Thank you, we appreciate it.

This years Brentwood meeting will be used as a dress rehearsal. I would like all competitive members to be involved with the running of the event so that the work load is spread a bit more evenly and everyone has the chance to have a few practice casts before their turn on the mat. The idea is that this meeting will become a championship event, someone will be crowned club champion based on overall performance in all events at the meeting. We hope to add an accuracy component so that those of you who are not necessarily big hitters are in with a chance. I also hope it will give those of us who are not particularly good at some of the events the reason to go out and practice them so that we are at least competant, if not fantastic. I, for instance, might accumulate a good score in the five, seven and accuracy elements only to see my chances fall away because my T38 and T120 are abysmal.

 Instead of all casting one event at a time there will be three lanes, 5,7 and accuracy. The person who draws No1 will start on the five and move straight onto the seven and then the accuracy. Three minutes for each event.  The person drawn No2 casts the five as No 1 casts the seven and so on. After the draw those that are first off can go away for a ten minute warm up. Those drawn last will be asked to be time and lane judges. Your places will be taken by those finishing their events so that you will have your chance to warm up before you cast.

There will be a short break after the first three events while we organise the lanes for the heavier events and then we start the whole thing again with the T38 and T120. The nine weight will only be included if we seem to have the time .

 This is really a taster to see how it works so please bear with us.

 See you Sunday

 Mike H

 PS. I have Tomo’s report on the recent world championships in Norway and will put it up after Sunday

Here is a nice on the spot report, from Tomo, of the recent CLA Game fair. It will soon be followed by a report on the very recent World Championships in Norway. I missed both so, ‘nuf said.

 Mike H

 How do you gauge success? If from a numbers point of view then yesterdays event at Sportfish might seem a bit disappointing, if from a casting and instructing day then I believe it was one of our best. I believe the forecast of the hottest day of the year probably put a lot off people coming. Yes it was a hot one but luckily there was a nice SW breeze coming straight down the lake to keep us from frying. It also meant that our back casts were into smooth air rather than into the turbulent air we can get when the wind has to go over trees and bushes. Turbulence can play havoc with back casts.

 Those of us instructing had the time to give some real help to aspiring distance casters, and the club now has a few who have great potential.

There were some amazing casts in the competition as well. MM will confirm this when he posts the results, each event was hotly contested right up to the last cast. We even had an appreciative audience that whooped and hollered and clapped when a really good one went out. I have to say I particularly enjoyed that aspect. I will have to make sure we whip the audience up to a frenzy at future meetings. The encouragement was brilliant, thanks guys and gals.

And there were some outstanding casts to applaud. New member Tom Festing threw over 128′ and James Evans wasn’t far behind with just over 125′ in the seven weight contest. Tom would probably have done better but he just loves casting so much he can’t be bothered to allow many to actually land and record a score!

Tomo and I had a good tussle in the five and I managed to pip him with my final cast.

 As many members know, my real passion is full line casting. The club records for these events are world class. We can now add a nine weight event, a reintroduction to cater for the salties among us. Yesterday was the first time we cast it. We are limited at Sportfish to just the full line events, there are insurmountable insurance problems because of space, so the nine was re-introduced here to help fill the void.

The BFCC used to cast eight and nine weights in the old days. I don’t know what the records are, it doesn’t matter because at least three of us smashed them into oblivion. I believe we all held the record for a moment or two until, the next guy cast. The over all club record was not created until, literally, the very last cast of the day when 15 year old Joe Avery-Harris did a truly amazing 143′ to win the event by about four feet. Gutting and astonishing at the same time. Well done Joe.

 The full line event records are now held by a 15 year old, a forty year old and seventy something year old. Hence the title.

All Badge winners deserve congratulation but Don Andrews deserves special mention because he is a left hander and the wind wasn’t kind for lefties but perseverance and a slight alteration to the course was enough for him to nail his 30yd. badge.

 The BFCC, where there is hope for everyone.

 Mike H

From our on the spot roving reporter Roger ‘the dodger’ Miles

Wrexham

 It all started several months ago when JR (our own John Reynolds) said “What about Wales”.

Now I know what Mike Marshall is like, in a previous life he must have been a sniffer dog, because when he is on the trail, nothing distracts him.So it was with hundreds of telephone calls, scores of meetings and a lot of arm twisting that the Wrexham meeting was nailed down, by the boss.Off we went, myself,  Mike Heritage and Alex Titov, trekked on Saturday 12th June to Wrexham.We eventually got there five hours later, via looking at rivers, motorway cafes and goodness only knows how many smoke breaks.

 I should have known it was going to be a special meeting as we stayed at the “Beeches” Premier Inn at Wrexham on Saturday and also dined there.Alex and Mike found a bit of grass (Lawn) outside the restaurant so we went out there at eight o clock at night and started swishing around. There was a small crowd gathering as they probably have never  seen anything like this before. I am sure I heard someone mention me, in as much by saying “that short chunky one holding the rod has had one too many puddings”.Mike ended up trying to teach someone the roll cast only to be told by me “he cannot hear what you are saying Mike” “why not” Mike says “He’s deaf” I said. It ended up a real hoot.

 Mike Marshall has documented the sequence of events on Sunday at Wrexham and I can say that it was truly an extraordinary sight to see so many people with their fly rods “having a go”.

 Now on to a slightly different view on that day. A lot of the fly fishers out there, see and have always seen Qualified Instructors as sometimes unapproachable, that is probably, due to the fact that they cast so much better.

In the BFCC we have GAIA, AAPGAI, FFF, and other qualified instructors, so we encompass the whole spectrum of instructing and instructing bodies.At the Wrexham meeting there was a very good representation of the GAIA instructors, indeed some of the top guys.From the word go they got stuck in with helping out, laughing and joking and having a go at the competitions and badge schemes, and all the time encouraging the others to join in, in other words very very approachable.Although they are experts in their own right they were all humble enough to take a few pointers to improve their out and out distance casting.They still showed everyone that they could cast more than a 30 yard line on a five weight not an easy thing to do especially  given the conditions.On the subject of Instruction I think this was probably our biggest turnout as far as the amount people that was being taught at any one time.It is very hard to convey the sense of fun everyone had, but more than a few people asked if we could another one this year, so that alone speaks for itself.Mike Marshall has already given thanks to those that made it possible so I can only echo that with a few additions.

 A BIG congratulations to our very own James Evans for winning the five weight event. I know how long he has strived for this, so we all feel really happy for him.Thank you from myself, personally, to Louis Noble and Mike Roden for spending their time with me on Instructing matters.Thanks to Vera and  Bob for being so charming and witty, and of course helpful.To all you girls and guys that turned up to “your meeting” the BFCC says Thank You.

Mike Heritage tells me that he is thinking of learning sign language so whomever that guy was at the restaurant, watch out as “We Will Be Back”.

  Roger Miles 

Well, what can I say about the BFCC and the Sportfish Reading Open Show?
Jan (my beautiful and long suffering girlfriend) and myself turned up on a grey Saturday morning at 8.30 a.m. with a slight drizzle in the air.

We went into the giant marquee,  to be greeted by the boss (Michael Marshall) with a big grin on his face.
That lifted my spirits straightaway, as with all our other  instructors away on other commitments, or far too ill to take part, I was a bit nervous, as to how we would cope.

Sure I can get the clients to have a lesson, but Mike who was our only instructor for the day is not a man in his early thirties, so I would have to pace things out. I was about  to be proved wrong.

It was very slow to start with but by 11 a.m. when people realised that it was going to be a dull weekend, weather-wise, they probably thought “stuff  this I am not going to let a bit of rain beat us”, the whole place started to buzz.

Mike Marshall took up his starting position, made up his trusty rod with the same care that an old battle weary warrior would do with his weapon of choice and then shouted out to me “send them out Rog”.

It was then that the British Fly Casting Club swung into action. I have done this a few times and it was with the ease of familiarity that myself and Jan started to take our eager clients out to meet Mike.

I was staggered that by 4.p.m. when things eased off,  he was not only still standing, but turned and said to me “is that all you got” with that same big grin on his face that he had from 8.30 a.m.
Mike had not had a single minute’s break

Sunday was virtually the same as Saturday, but with the arrival  of Alex Titov, another of our instructors it meant that we cranked things up a gear, which is just as well, because there were three times as many people to get through.

Truly an astonishing weekend.

I cannot leave this report without warm thanks to the following:

Firstly to my girlfriend Jan for the smiles to our clients, endless  cups of tea and also selling some of the books.

Matt Hayes for letting me drag him over for a picture session. Thanks Matty.

Gary Coxon of Sage. Thanks for the pics Gary (from your favourite West Indian)

Jerry Siem of Sage. I tried to get the girls (Jan and Tracy) to wriggle against him during the pics, but I did not get a free Sage Rod. What a nice guy.

Simon Gawesworth, who stopped his book signing session to be photographed on our stand, and also stayed for a cup of tea and a chat. Quite a unique person.

Alex Titov, has recently qualified AAPGAI, what a feat. He has only just returned from teaching in Russia. Over there you have to be extremely  good as they will still send you to Siberia, or worse, make you recite all the words from the film Taras Bulba.
Congratulations  Alex.

BFCC Members  James Evans and his lady Tracy Thomas for being there and helping out. Thanks Tracy and James.

Gilly Bate, a friend of Mike Heritage. Thanks for stopping by Gilly and making me laugh. By the way Gilly, the BFCC has its eye on you for the future.

Thanks to Richard Tallents of Masterline-Cortland for his donation of a Flyline to the BFCC.

Thank you to new members:
Mark Kirkhouse
Sally Taylor
Mick Copeman
Alan  Corker

A very  big thanks to all our new clients, you are the real stars of the show, we hope to see you at other “friendly” get togethers at the BFCC.
Sometimes the guys say to me “what is your secret to getting people to stop and talk to you”.
The answer is there is no secret. Fly Fishers, along with most anglers are kind, friendly, patient and very approachable, that is why they are the stars of the show, it makes what I do a real pleasure.

I will close now by saying that none of this would have been possible without our man on the inside, Jonathan Tomlinson, who worked like a beaver  to make it all happen

Thank you very much Jono.

Roger Miles

I am really sorry I missed this event. It coincided with a long standing comittment.

I have not had official word from ‘the horses mouth’ but Mike has just posted a general email and I think it is well worth putting up here.

I can only say that I am staggered that Mike survived to tell the tale and I am glad Alex was was able to help out on the Sunday or we may have been looking for a new chairman.

I think this proves conclusively that the BFCC are heading in the right direction and just a bit of tweaking to get the split between instructing and competing right and we will have a winning formula.

Right, over to Mr Marshall.

 Mike Heritage

Hello BFCC Casters,
 
In spite of overcast skies and drizzle with a nagging, cold northeasterly, the event was well attended by anglers keen to see an extensive show which was very well put together by our hosts. Apart from the usual tackle stands there were casting demonstrations, tackle testing, float tubing on the lake and, even, a cooking demonstration for the trout caught.
 
From a BFCC perspective we have never been so busy with tuition and our small team, at times, only just coped, but we did! Roger did his usual welcoming performance to get people involved, assisted by Jan who added glamour to the proceedings and Alex, newly returned from teaching in Russia, taught on Sunday. As a club we owe them a lot for their efforts and the funds raised, which will be very useful in future.
 
Of personal interest was, really for the first time, there were repeat visitors who had been to previous BFCC Meetings and also brought friends this time, which shows we must be doing something right! As an example, one client from July last, had improved so much that I just wish we had the space to do ‘the have a go for gold badges’ – he would have managed 30yds for certain, whereas last year he was in the very low twenties. It just goes to show what a little encouragement and practise will do. Anyway, all is not lost as he could not be kept away from this July’s Meeting.
 
Please have a look at Roger’s pictures of well known demonstrators on our stand. Mike, also returned from a trip north of the border, will post these on the website as soon as possible.
 
Following our exploits at Reading I am sure you would like to join me in welcoming four new Members to the Club. They are: Sally Taylor; Mark Kirkhouse; Mick Copeman; Alan Corker.
Their casting sessions were very rewarding because good progress was made, and with more to be expected. To this end it is my sincere hope that they will be able to come to the July Meeting when, hopefully, things will be less frenetic so they will have time to chat and so find out yet more about casting.

 
Our next meeting is at Wrexham on Sunday June 13 at 10am, so please let me know if you can make it. I will be very grateful if you can pass the word around as The BFCC is trying
very hard to spread its geographical range and this is published in Trout Fisherman Magazine.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mike Marshall

Roger Miles posted this as a comment to my piece about Newark. I think it’s too good to waste there. So here it is.

Everyone did a great job.

John Reynolds showed what ‘True Grit’ was, turning up and checking us out for safety etc.. and continued instructing even though he was not his usual 110%. Thanks big fella.

Mike Heritage worked all the time teaching and still had a joke for everyone. Now that he doesn’t eat breakfast anymore he turns up even earlier, putting us all to shame.

Jono managed to thrill all the crowd with his one man shows and still found time to help us out with teaching (oh! and beat Mike Heritage in the shootouts LOL). I have known some of the great demonstrators at shows over the years, and I will predict here and now that Jonathan Tomlinson is going to be amongst the best of them.

Alex flew all three flags. Russian British and Polish, what a guy, thanks Alex.you are the ??????? (for you english speaking only that is Russian for Man). Alex did not even get time to buy a coffee, as he was busy teaching.

Mike Marshall did what he does best, make sure it all runs smoothly and was, as usual, the last man standing.

A special welcome to Mark Surtees, he stayed on the field 100% in all weather and taught effortlessly to the newcomers – really put them at ease. What a find Mark is for the BFCC, I hope he joins us full time.

Lastly but not least, I must thank Dr. Vernon Wood for his help on the stand. Vernon was professional, witty and had a very gentle way of persuading potential clients to try us out. More than once or twice the ladies stopped and listened to his charming voice. The only trouble was that he then gave them to MM for lessons, as Jono said earlier. Oh! and he got his 30 yard badge, congratulations you old dog.