Author name: Rob Fletcher

I’ll be straight with you. When I first heard about the Echo Traverse kit, I was sceptical. Another imported rod being marketed to UK anglers who fish our typically tight, overgrown rivers? I’ve been burned before by outfits designed for wide open American streams that are about as useful as a chocolate teapot when you’re […]

I remember my first proper day chasing trout on a small chalk stream in Hampshire. I’d turned up with a borrowed rod, a box of flies that looked about right, and absolutely no idea what I was doing. The experienced angler fishing upstream from me landed three fish in the time it took me to

I still remember my first proper day on the River Test, standing waist-deep in water that looked about as promising as a puddle, watching a bloke upstream landing his third trout while I’d barely managed to get my fly wet without tangling the line round my neck. If you’re just starting out with fly fishing

I’ve spent enough mornings on the Test and the Usk watching newcomers make the same mistakes over and over. It’s not their fault, really. The internet is full of conflicting advice, and half of it seems written by people who’ve never fished a British river in their lives. After twenty years of chasing trout and

I still remember standing in my local tackle shop seven years ago, completely bewildered by the wall of fly rods in front of me. The prices ranged from sixty quid to well over six hundred, and every angler I’d asked beforehand had given me different advice. One mate swore by his nine-footer, another wouldn’t fish

Right, let’s talk about getting yourself sorted with fly fishing gear without sending your bank account into meltdown or ending up with a garage full of kit you’ll never use. I’ve watched plenty of newcomers turn up at my local river with gear that’s either completely wrong for the job or so expensive they’re terrified

Right, let’s get straight into this. Fly fishing isn’t nearly as complicated as some folks make it out to be, but there are a few things you need to understand before you start thrashing away at your local river or reservoir. I spent my first season doing everything wrong, and I mean everything. So hopefully

Right, let’s talk about fly fishing without all the mystique and nonsense that usually surrounds it. If you’ve been thinking about having a go but feel a bit intimidated by the tweed-wearing types on the River Test or the Instagram heroes chucking perfect loops in crystal-clear chalk streams, I get it. But here’s the thing:

There’s something deeply satisfying about standing knee-deep in a British chalk stream on a warm June evening, watching mayflies dance above the water while trout rise steadily in the glide downstream. River and stream fishing for trout is where most of us cut our teeth as fly anglers, and it remains the most rewarding form

The washing line method isn’t exactly new, but it’s one of those techniques that far too many UK stillwater anglers overlook in favour of more fashionable approaches. I reckon that’s a mistake, because when the trout are feeding at multiple depths or suspending in the middle layers, this setup can absolutely save your day. Gear