Enfin les premieres sorties avec le raft. 19 brocs en deux sorties, mais 39 de loupé....Pas facile quand ils prennent du bout du bec...Les niveaux sont biens montés, mais les eaux sont bien claires.
Dommage pour Pascal qui a loupé une très grosse mama....Il va y arriver un jour c'est sur!
Le raft est superbe, confortable, stable, parfaitement conçu pour les rivières de la region.
Finally i get to go out and take my first clients afloat. They landed 19 pikes, but sadly missed a further 39 fish in a two day trip.One of them was an absolute brute of a fish, but was lost at the first head shake.Better luck next time Pascal!
The raft performed flawlessly, it's comfortable, stable, very safe, easy to manoeuvre.Its like it was built to match the local rivers here.This is my favorite way of fishing and guiding.
Finally the raft has arrived! It wasn't an easy process. First the choice of raft, something that is suited for the local rivers, not to expensive, robust and practical.
I purchased the River Boss jacket from Smithfly earlier in the year, and it was a pleasure to deal with Ethan. So i tried my luck to see if he wanted to export one for me. And to my surprise it was not problems. I was a bit worried if it was a good idea at the start, because i had other companies that were asking for so much money to import it here, and this before paying any import tax...
I'd like to take the other that tried to help me in this quest, Grant Fraser at Killeloop, Toby at Funky fly tying and Mark from Smartlures in Holland.But i found a perfect balance, in price and quality with Smith Fly.
Here's a quick video of me collecting the raft from Dublin port. Next i will film it on the water!
Ca y est! Le raft est enfin arrivé a l'ile verte! Ca n'a pas été si facile, entre le choix du raft, le prix, les taxes d'importation, le cout d'envoi.
Il y a quelques mois de ca j'ai acheté une nouvelle veste respirante ,la River boss de chez Smith Fly .C'est la que j'ai eu les premiers contacts avec Ethan, propriétaire de Smith Fly.
Son raft et parfait pour les rivières du coin. Les guidages commencent bientôt, et deja une bonne partie de septembre 2018 est réservée. Ces séjours commencent en juin jusqu'a septembre et pour deux personnes max.
Merci a ceux qui m'ont donné un coup de pouce pour importer un raft ici, Grant Fraser a Killerloop, Toby a Funky fly et Mark a Smartlures.
Une petite video de la bonne reception du raft au port de Dublin:
Flies With Attitude on tour....This time going down a river. A day off is rare at the moment for me being in full season at the lodge, so when the opportunity rises i just have to get out...
I just love river fishing, no matter how many times i fish the same rivers, i still get a great kick at being there. I just cannot wait to finally get my hands on the Big shoals raft to fish these spots in total comfort. Every time i go out on a river its different. The scenery changes, water levels are different, and you never know whats waiting round the bend, could be a new PB.
This time, the levels are still low, even after the bit of rain we had. Water was a bit coloured but nothing bad.This is why i kept fishing a large wiggle tail for most of the day.Giving plenty vibrations to tickle that lateral line.
Fishing was slow, but we managed to get a few fish on the day, i think a couple of feet higher and the fish would've been more responsive.
Flies with attitude is changing and developing at the moment, keep an eye on my social medias and on this blog for updates and news of these changes.
Here's vlog number two, hope you guys enjoy! And as usual, thank you for the support.
Its been a hard few weeks trying to secure this raft...But to cut a long story short, the PAC1300 from Outcast is no longer on the cards...Partly due to two things. Firstly, its a very expensive raft from the start, put on top of this the shipping and VAT, it's basically the price of a small car...After speaking to a few guides that regularly guide State side on this type of boat, the majority said the same thing..its expensive, and its a nightmare for catching fly lines due to the shape of the frame. So back to my search and this time i finally have found something that looks fantastic.The BIGSHOALS raft from SMITHFLY. A lot lighter than the Pac1300, (120 lbs compare to 225lbs). This means many things, ease of transport, rides higher on the water and if we need to carry the raft over some obstacles that we may find on wild rivers (drift wood, fallen trees, shallow stretch of water).
Plenty of room for every one, plus gear.
One other big thing that i like about the big shoals is the smooth frame, far less bits to catch your fly line. Space is greatly improved too, especially for the angler sitting in the back.
The model being sorted out for me will have an arched supports under the seats, meaning a higher sitting position for the anglers.
Arched seat supports. Front and back lean bar.
Ethan from Smithfly is very easy to deal with, professional, and knows the needs of guides.The raft will be ready at the end of the month, so i'm hoping to take the first bookings at the start of july.
For any inquiries mail me directly:norbertfwa@gmail.com More details will be revealed as soon as i have fresh news.
Apres plusieurs semaines de négociations pour arriver a me procurer ce nouveau raft pour les guidages en rivières, je laisse tomber le modele de chez Outcast (le PAC1300). Pour deux raisons, premièrement le prix, entre le prix de vente, l'importation et la TVA, c'est presque le prix du petite voiture neuve!
Puis après avoir discuté pas mal de fois avec des guides aux Etats Unis qui travaillent beaucoup avec ce genre d'embarcations, ils m'ont donnés pratiquement la meme réponse...le Pac est lourd et son armature en metal est un cauchemar pour coincer la soie.Donc de retour sur le web...Recherches, e-mails, textos, messages..pour enfin trouver le raft qui me convient. Le BIGSHOALS de chez Smithfly
En effet le big shoals est beaucoup plus approprié, plus léger, 120lbs comparé au PAC1300 qui pèse quand meme 225lbs.Ceci est un énorme avantage, il se déplace dans très peu d'eau, facile de transport, et on est jamais a l'abri d'un arbre couché au milieu de la rivière...
L'armature métallique du Bigshoal est très bien pensée, il y a très peu de coins pour emmêler la soie.Il est un peu plus long, ce qui donne un avantage énorme, surtout pour le pêcheur placé a l'arrière. Le modèle que j'ai choisi à des support de sièges courbés pour donner une assise plus haute et plus confortable.Ethan , directeur de Smithfly est très professionnel et connait bien les besoins des guides.Le raft devrait être prêt a la fin du mois.Normalement les premieres sorties sont prevues pour le mois de Juillet.
Pour plus d'infos sur des séjours de guidage en rivières, vous pouvez me contacter par mail: norbertfwa@gmail.com
