In the autumn of 2004 a representative of the Swedish Tourist Board came to Langley and gave Iver FF a presentation on fly fishing in Lapland, Sweden, for Char, Trout, Pike and Salmon. It was accompanied by some nice brochures with pictures of the waters, the fish, the accommodation, etc. Together with some Swedish delicacies (jams, cheeses, etc) it all looked good and provided the enthusiasm to go.

In early spring 2005 Ken sent various emails to the Swedish contacts regarding lodges, licences, flights, car hire etc and started the ball rolling.

6 Iver FF persons had decided to go and so Ken made all the appropriate bookings. Those going were Ken Williams, Stan King, Martin Tinald, David Blanchard, Frank Bayley and John Weaver. Allen Dixon had originally intended to go but when he discovered via email that there were no salmon in the higher reaches where they were going then he bowed out.

A hearty thanks goes out to Ken for the marvellous organisation.

The trip accommodation and weather :-

All was set and on Sunday 26^th June the six gathered at Heathrow for their flight to Stockholm and then an onward flight to Umea. On arrival at Umea they hired two cars for their onward drive to the lodges at Saxnas. Because the fishing was so poor at Saxnas that aftwer 4 days they decided to travel to the lower reaches of the river Byske near the sea where the salmon were located. However, accommodation at Byske was unavailable so they settled 28km upsteam

Accommodation at Sasnax was poor (someone sais a ‘shed’), so poor in fact that that they changed to the local hotel, ‘Saxnas Garden’. It was not much better when they moved nearer to the coast.

The weather at Saxnas was cold (6 degeees C) and cloudy. At Byske it was more acceptable being warm and sunny – with a little cloud.

The fishing :-

At Saxnas they fished 3 rivers and one lake. The river water was cold, perhaps because of ice-melt from the mountains. Fishing was very disappointing at Saxnas with several blanks. 3 very small grayling were caught and David managed a 3lb pike and a half pound perch

The largest, and only, trout was a small brown of half a pound, courtesy of Ken.

It had become apparent that it was unlikely that fishing would improve so after a mini conference it was decided to head downstream nearer to the coast and try their luck there.

On reaching their final destination upstream from Byske they prepared for hopefully better fishing there. There were some big salmon to be seen and hopes were high that someone might strike it lucky in the remaining n days fishing. However, it was not to be although Frank, with a weighted salmon fly, did get one very big take. Three of them also tried further downstream but fishing was difficult in the fast flowing river. Heads drooped, they returned to England.

Not to be completely outdone it was decided to have a match at Bushylease and the winner would be the person catching the SMALLEST fish. This match was on Thursday 7^th July and the winner was Frank with the smallest fish of around 2 lbs.

Fishing on the main lake was non-existent because the fish were all shoaled up in the small bay at the north end surrounded by trees. There was only one vantage point and it was taken in turns to limit.

Somehow I think that they might try another venue next year!!!!

This will re-commence this September at club meetings (Tuesdays) and continue during the winter months.

For beginners without equipment (vice, reel holder, reel of cotton, etc) there will be a limited amount available on the night to get you going and discover what is required. The tying materials (feathers, wire, foam, etc) for that evening’s fly/lure will be provided. Expertise will be on-hand to demonstrate and guide you through the process.

At each meeting a different fly or lure will be subject of that evening’s tying. The programme for the first four sessions is as follows :-

Sept 13^th Hare’s Ear (Gold ribbed)

Sept 27^th Hopper (Dry)

Oct 11^th Booby (A lure)

Oct 25^th Silver Invicta

A day of mixed fortunes.

The weather :-

The fishing that week had been bad – the sunny/hot conditions. Everyone expected it to be cloudless and sunny and the fishing hard. How wrong they were.

It started off completely clouded over with a nice gentle cool breeze and ripple. It was good conditions compared to the previous days. Many were glad that they had brought pullovers. However, as the afternoon got underway the clouds dispersed, the sun came out in force, the heat went up, and the fishing deteriorated.

The boat teams :-

Ray Simpson & John Weaver

Ken Williams & Frank Bayley (Ken & Frank retired at 4.00pm to get home)

Roy Palmer & Keith Jones

Allen Dixon & Malcolm Golding

The fishing :-

Allen tried a DI8 line and Malcolm a floater. After Allen caught two and none for Malcolm it appeared that sinking lines were the technique of the day. Every one else quickly discovered this too but not before Keith had caught one on floater, the only such fish of the day.

The boil was going and there was a mass of boats in that area. However, I believe that few fish came out of the boil itself, with most of them coming out in the nearby vicinity. But with that many boats around that area perhaps it is not surprising.

In fact Allen & Malcolm caught all their fish well away from the boil, but deep down and well out from the bank. Perhaps the recent hot weather had pushed them into deeper water.

Lines used varied from intermediates to Hi-Dis but NOT floaters. Flies varied from boobies (John caught 4 fish this way) to small flies (Ray went small and Roy caught 4 on a minkie and 1 on a Dahl Bach). Allen caught 4 on a black boobie and one on a white dropper nymph, Malcolm on an orange boobie. So anything went if you were in the right place at the right time although perhaps small flies had a marginal lead.

Highlights of the day :-

1. Ken – and many others for that matter – lost many fish at the net. Lots of lost fish!
2. John lost a BIG one. It went around the back into the drogue and in spite of Ray’s efforts to free it, it was lost.
3. Frank started the motor and moved off. But his line was slightly in the water. The line caught around the prop which did not stop. It wound off most of his line and, because his rod was laid in the gunwales, his rod started to disappear too. His rod broke although he did manage to save the bottom part and ¾ of his line.
4. Got sun burnt!!!

The weigh-in :-

John Weaver 8 fish 13lbs 12ozs heaviest bag

Ray Simpson 4 11lbs 7ozs heaviest fish 3lbs 8ozs (joint)

Ken Williams 2 5lbs 4ozs

Frank Bayley 0

Roy Palmer 5 11lbs 12ozs heaviest fish 3lbs 8ozs (joint)

Keith Jones 3 8lbs 8ozs one on a floater!!

Allen Dixon 5 10lbs 13ozs

Malcolm Golding 1 2lbs 4ozs

Iver Flyfishers is a friendly club where it is hoped that everyone will enjoy them selves with the true spirit of fishing in mind. However, there will inevitably be the occasional dispute that will arise from time to time, especially when fishing with a competitive spirit. A dispute may or may not be justified.

When such incidents do arise then it should not be pent up but discussed with committee member(s) who will adjudicate in an open and fair manner. In the case of such a dispute occurring during a match then it MUST be put to the match stewards before match completion, preferably before weigh-in.

Complaints not raised on the day MUST be put in writing to the secretary within 24hrs of the incident.

Sue fished recently in Ireland and did rather well. Consequently there was a write up with photo in the Slough Express on Friday 15^th July 2005. Should anyone wish to read the write up the please refer to a committee member – or library etc!

There will be a personal write-up from Sue about this trip in the next newsletter.

Watch this space in the next addition for Sue’s summary of her marvellous trip.

This match was held at Chew (near Bristol) on June 4^th 2005. It was Bristol’s home ground so it was anticipated that they might do well. They did!! Bristol came first followed by Iver. Fortunately Iver, who had done well in previous matches, are still top in Group 2 but all eyes are on Bristol who are pushing hard in second place.

The fishing on that day was VERY hard (one team only had one person of the six catching a fish!!). Iver managed three of the team to catch 10 fish but Bristol, on their home ground, stormed away with 25 fish, an average of 4 fish per person with no blanks. Iver pipped Queen Mother by 4ozs for second place, shored up by a good bag (the best of the day) by Clive Collier of 13lbs 4ozs.

On the day the wind was so strong that several areas were ‘no-go’. Not many floating lines were in evidence and nymphs were a good fly to try.

Individual catches :-

Ron Lusardi 2 fish 4lbs 4ozs

Peter Goadby 0

Clive Collier 6 13lbs 4ozs

Simon Newman 2 3lbs 15ozs

Jeff Hickson 0

Roy Palmer 0

Congratulations go out to Clive.

This next match was held at Eyebrook. Unlike the recent club match on this water that had been hardish, this time it fished exceptionally well for Iver FF. Many of the Iver contestants caught their 8 fish early and were given a time limit credit.

The end result was that Iver again finished first with Bristol again finishing second. These Bristol guys must be watched!!! Bristol were lucky in that one of them caught the best fish of the day (8lbs 12ozs) which pulled them into second place by 4lbs.

Our Clive had a fish of 3lbs 1oz.

Results were :-

Eddie Gray 8 fish 16lbs 4ozs including time bonus of 5lbs

Clive Collier 8 17lbs 3ozs 4lbs

Ron Lusardi 8 14lbs 2 ozs 3lbs 8ozs

John Weaver 8 13lbs 8ozs 1lb

Danny Peet 8 19lbs 0ozs 5lbs 12ozs

Ray Simpson 6 10lbs 9ozs

Position after round 4 :-

1^st Iver FF 18 points

2^nd Bristol Reservoirs FA 15

3^rd Bewl Bridge FC ‘B’ 9

4^th Queen Mother FF 9

5^th Invicta FC 9

Danny lives in Sheffield etc, etc. He fished round 2 of the AMFC match and did exceptionally well in catching the heaviest fish in a bag limit of 8.

He is chairman of the Disabled Fly Fishers Club.

Peter Goadby lives in Reading etc etc. He fished in both rounds 2 & 3 of the AMFC matches.

Keith Jones lives in Stoke Poges and is an automobile mechanic. He likes course fishing although he is not a carp fanatic - he just likes to throw in a line and see what comes. Keith has a son who is a ‘casual’ fisherman although being the teenager type that he is he has ‘other’ interests at the moment. Keith joined us this year as a novice and is gaining experience – he had his biggest bag in the Draycote match. Let’s have more of it!

Watch this space in the next edition where you will be able to see a further three new/old faces.

If you have any topic that you would like included in the Newsletter then please contact the editor as below or else the secretary. Topics can be about members (and non- members), day trips, future shows, POTENTIAL MEBERS to whom we can send our newsletter(s) – we always welcome new members, event requests, news of old members, etc etc.

This is YOUR newsletter so let’s have some input please.

Allen Dixon, Newsletter Editor, Allen_dixon@care4free.net tel 01628-541-804.