WILL PUT TOGETHER A PLAN FOR YOU TO ENHANCE WHATEVER YOUR ABILITY

CASTING TUITION IN NORTH WALES GUIDED FISHING IN NORTH WALES FISHING TUITION IN NORTH WALES FISHING TUITION FLY FISHING LESSONS COACHING IN ANGLING FLY FISHING COACH

INTRODUCTION

Call me a tackle tart if you like but my affinity with ‘Hardy’ dates back over 50 years ‘Hardy Brothers’ as it was known then, to when I was a young lad viewing over some Palakona and Gold Medal cane rods balanced and married up to Perfect reels with silk lines, hanging off the coat pegs on the hallway stand at my home and watching as they were powdered, polished and re greased ready for the next escapade among the Seatrout and Salmon. The gentleman owner, an Irishman ‘ Jim Sullivan’ who lived in Manchester, a friend of my father’s who visited on a seasonal basis to coincide with great runs of fish…..oh!!, those days were special. Jim Sullivan took time out to explain rod and line weights and the importance of balanced outfits together with care of the tackle to me, and I was ‘hooked’ forever, that has never left me, but enhanced and I have owned, swopped and renewed ‘Hardy tackle’ ever since as progression came with development and the use of new materials, this now includes Greys and Fishpond equipment.

Within the scope as an apprentice with the ‘angle’ I delved into the competitive side of fishing and achieved my dreams and most important to me was awarded a place in the ‘Hardy Brothers Hall of Fame’ back in 1983.

So what of the ‘Hardy Fly Fishing School’ then? How did that come about? and Why?. As a member of the Hardy / Greys / Fishpond / Chubb Academy I became involved in introducing ‘anglers’ to the equipment available. Whilst I supported this wholeheartedly I felt I had more to offer and also the need to put something back into ‘angling’ on the skills front, it made sense to tie the two up together…..so I decided to start the ‘Hardy Flyfishing School’.

‘HOW TO GET THE BEST USE OUT OF THIS FISHING TACKLE’

In the form of tuition and guided days, corporate events days, weeks, one or two lessons / guided days that actually grew into months of mentoring with some clients, it effectively became a ‘School’ where each structured stage was covered carefully from the initial ‘Tackle Selection’ and ‘Casting Skills’ all the way through to methods with Trout / Grayling / Sea trout / Salmon / Bass / Mullet and also Cyprinids on Fly, ensuring that the ‘clients’ succeeded in their quest, a package, that short circuited the lifelong learning curve within the angling game, something that the client could fall back on in most eventuality’s of actual fishing. There isn’t an angler out there that I know of that knows it all, I learn something new at each outing, that is the game, it is my ‘experience’ of this that I strive to instil in all my clients and is one of the reasons why the ‘Hardy Fly Fishing School’ was formed during 2008.

Gwilym Hughes

SO! HOW IS IT GOING THEN? HERE ARE SOME RESPONSES FROM CLIENTS

Hi Gwilym,

Once again many thanks for what was a very good day out on a lovely section of The River Dee, although at times I must have driven you mad with some erratic casting.

I was recommended to you by several anglers from Corwen and District A.C. and as someone who is new to the sport I found your tuition second to none. By learning the correct rigs and presentation, I have now caught every time I have gone out on the Dee.

After using your rods and reels, the Streamflex especially, I am now purchasing the same one myself. Thankfully they are at the cheaper end of the market, so your helpful advice has saved me a few bob.

My casting is improving thanks to you and I am covering a lot more ground. I can`t wait for winter to have a really good go at czech nymphing now that I know what I am doing.

A personal best Grayling on the day was the icing on the cake!

When I'm ready I'll be in touch to book Salmon casting sessions!

Many thanks for all your help.

Tight Lines

Barry Cubbins

On the two occasions I have spent some time fishing under the guidance and coaching of Gwilym, apart from enjoying the locations, once on the upper reaches of the River Dee for Grayling, and on another occasion Fishing for Wild Brown Trout in remote Welsh lochans, he made me realize and appreciate my surroundings working as one with nature enabling me to not only enjoy my favourite pastime, but also to improve my ability to catch fish and return same effectively and properly.

He has infinite patience, and a wonderful way of using a trip to a restaurant as an example of the food chain that exists within our rivers and in doing so making you appreciate what you need to do to progress.

I never once found his teaching boring, but more an encyclopaedia of information that I have been able to take away and use to great effect on rivers and lakes elsewhere.

Needless to say I will continue to keep in contact with Gwilym because not only has he inspired me, but he has given me more confidence to go forward and enjoy the sport further.

ScottMcFarlane

I first became aware of Hardy Fly Fishing Tackle 24 years ago at the age of 18, admiring a smuggler rod in a rosewood presentation box, is all I can recall, the cost being prohibitive. For the following 24 years, fly fishing, remained something I would do “one day”.

During the summer of 2007, I had waited long enough. I did what most people do, I suppose, nearest tackle shop with a credit card. Despite being pushed towards “Sage” and advised against “Hardy”, I decided upon a Greys G-Tec 9’6” 7#,GRXi reel complete with floater, intermediate and sinking lines, GRXi fleece, GRXi waist length fly vest, GRXi full length jacket, GRXi waterproof trousers.

Arranged a lesson via the tackle shop for the next Thursday.

4 hour lesson with 4 people present, covered the roll and overhead casts. Following the lesson, somehow I caught 3 rainbow’s and was “hooked”, although a hopeless caster. I wanted to improve my casting and recognised that instruction was essential, I went back to the Hardy Web Site.

I did not feel that the Hardy Web Site provided me with enough help and information as a novice, complete beginner to the sport. After all, potentially, I was a good customer for Hardy. If Hardy looked after me, then surely I would be more likely to buy their products.

I was very lucky, the Hardy Web Site led me to Gwilym Hughes and had a link to www.gwilymhughes.com. This was more like it, personal history, qualifications, links with Hardy, where to fish, still water, river, sea (fly fishing in the sea!!!), fantastic, testimonials from clients, great, had to meet this Gwilym Hughes, as soon as possible and arrange some tuition.

The lessons were more than I had bargained for, before casting we were into physics and the mechanics of how a fly rod works. The practical eagerness to cast, had been replaced by the fascination with the theoretical. As the lessons progressed, so did the exposure to the wealth of knowledge and experience held by Gwilym Hughes.

Without doubt, my first fly rod would have been a Hardy Marksman 9ft 5#, with a Marksman 4/5# reel, if I had consulted Gwilym in the first instance, it is now my pride and joy, on the river or small water. The G-Tec gets its share of use for Sea Trout, again, thanks to Gwilym, I have caught a Sea Trout, I have a friend who has strived to catch a Sea Trout for 15 years, without success. Soon to be rectified, when I introduce him to Gwilym, I am yet still in my first year of fly fishing. My G-Tec will be replaced soon, as Gwilym has introduced me to the Hardy Zane Rod and Reel. The Zane is not only beautiful, but is a joy to hold and use. So on my shopping list is a Zane 9ft 7# and in time I will be hoping to add a Zane 9ft 9#.

Not only has my casting improved beyond my wildest dreams with Gwilym’s help, but numerous people have commented and questioned the improvement in my ability, at several fisheries. I always reply www.gwilymhughes.com.

As Gwilym improved my casting skills, not only roll and overhead casts, shooting line, hauling single and double, reach casts, snap C, snake roll, single spey, double spey…., a process of continued learning, development and improvement.

Christmas 2007, on a whim, I booked a holiday in the Bahamas to fish for Bonefish. At the end of my next lesson with Gwilym one week before my flight, Gwilym taught me to double haul and explained to me the conditions I would face (in particular the wind), the habits of Bonefish, etc… One fish would have made my holiday, but to Gwilym’s credit, 15 fish were landed in 10 days, need I say more?

My best catch to date was 19 trout in a short session of only a few hours on the River Dee.

Single handed rods progressed to double handed with my use of a Greys Greyflex M2 Double Handed 15ft 10# with G-Tec Reel and spare spool set up for floating and sinking lines. This has resulted in my first salmon being caught in my first year of fishing, something I never imagined possible.

I never dreamed of having the ability to cast a double handed rod and to fish for Salmon without years of practice, but Gwilym made the transition from single handed to double handed a seamless experience, employing the same principals.

Now in the river, I am very happy with my EWS deep wading fly vest, EWS deep wading jacket, EWS breathable waders. I also have a pair of EWS over trousers, although the cut of these trousers is not as generous as the GRXi trousers. My wading boots are not Hardy’s, as Hardy EWS stop at size 13, no use for my size 14 feet.

With the tuition, advice and guidance from Gwilym and the quality of Hardy and Greys products, it is difficult to describe the pleasure, relaxation and enjoyment I have received from fishing.

My shopping list continues, Marksman rod and reel 3# for my local streams and rivers, relatively unfished for Brown Trout and Grayling.

‘Hardy’ will benefit from my new found skills “worming” and “spinning”, Gwilym is now putting together a specification of tackle to suit my requirements, of course, Hardy / Greys is my choice.

Bass, Mullet, Mackerel on the fly, why travel thousands of miles for Bonefish when Mullet are waiting at home. I would have been happy to own a Hardy fly rod and reel and catch a trout, but Gwilym has opened my eyes to the world of fly fishing. More importantly, I believe, Gwilym has provided me with the opportunity to experience the range of Hardy and Greys fishing tackle, before I buy. My grandfather always used to say to me “buy cheap, but twice”, I know that investment in Hardy products is for life and appreciate the value of expert advice, prior to making that investment, this I have received from Gwilym.

Fly tying, is something to look forward to for the winter, fishpond products await.

I believe that the approach taken by Gwilym Hughes, who I have observed coaching all ages and abilities is essential to promote and safeguard the future of fly fishing for us all and for future generations to enjoy. I can only say, that I will forever be in Gwilym and the Hardy Flyfishing School’s debt. I sometimes wonder how much I would have progressed without this service, no, no doesn’t brear the thought.

Peter Weir.

(Peter you are a regular at the ‘Hardy Flyfishing School’ and have progressed beyond belief in a few months, I would go as far as to say that your approach is truly ‘professional’ and is a credit to you personally. Thank you Peter for being honest, but remember, you have ownership over your learning the art, everyone has, I can only assist in that. Gwilym)

Gwilym Hughes - Fly Fishing Tutor & Passionate about his craft - an endorsement for any beginner to consider.

When I first arranged to meet with Gwilym I had just come back for a long run of business trips and needed something that would allow me to de-stress, get some satisfaction in getting of my office chair and lastly re-establish a pleasure associated with game fishing developed in Ireland as a young lad.

What I had omitted to tell Gwilym was that in the intervening years I had abused my body to the extent that I was weak down my right side, from a neck injury in a previous sport, and of course had little patience for not being able to achieve the desired outcome first or second attempt.

As my first cast terrified only the onlookers and most of Chirk's greenery, was trout 1 - fly fishing novice nil! It was at this time that Gwilym could have looked at his diary and politely informed me that he was booked up for the next decade, however not to be the case. Over the coming lessons Gwilym worked tirelessly in sorting out something that resembled a casting technique, worked on equipment selection, indeed I was so impressed with his final selection of fly rod and reel for me that I now own it! A Greys Streamflex 9’ 5weight married to a Streamlite Reel and Platinum floating line that didn’t break the bank.

He is now my fly fishing mentor and newly appointed life coach combined - the stress has gone, some resemblance of a casting skill has returned and to cap it all we ended up catching an impressive brace of trout on my last outing. Looking forward immensely to now working on new river skills with him.

Anyone out there who believes that this fly fishing lark is all too technical and out of their reach could do no harm with a hour on the lake with Gwilym, at the end of the session you will go away with a rekindled interest in fly fishing - something I now regard somewhere between sport and obsession.

The river skills outing worked a treat with a number of grayling on 'Bugs'. In the second pic the 'wry' smile says it all.

John McEwan

I was first introduced to fly fishing on a corporate day. Given a fly rod set up by one of the event organisers I was told to climb into a boat with 2 others on Lake Tal y Llyn. The boat was moving that fast in the drift that needless to say I couldn’t keep in touch with the fly at the end of my line. As hopeless as I was on that brisk autumn day I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Some years later I returned to Tal y Llyn with my business partner to spend a lovely summer’s day again catching nothing more than his hat with my fly. It became apparent that casting a fly on the water seemed to be nothing more than an exhausting pass time. It was that day that I decided to take the plunge and take some lessons.

My first meeting with Gwilym was at Chirk fishery. it was back to the drawing board quite literally as Gwilym was able to translate the ‘angle of the cast’ into something I could easily relate to. Within hours the roll cast became second nature. The overhead cast quickly followed and I was shooting line and presenting the fly in the middle of the pool without any effort at all. It was all about “timing and technique” and totally bemused by my new found skill to my amazement I was also catching fish.

Stillwater fishing was just the start. Gwilym introduced the double handed salmon rod during one of my session’s at Chirk. Again in no time at all out went a straight line across the water. The gentle running water of Chirk was followed by the challenge of guided fishing on the Dee with Gwilym. Catching wild brown trout and grayling on the nymph in front of the dry is incredible. However, in utter amazement during one session with Gwilym, I watched a dry fly land with precision, beautifully presented, on the surface of the fast flowing river and I had to pinch myself to realise it was me putting it on the spot. The anticipation followed by excitement of catching a fish in this way is breath-taking.

Gwilym you made me a promise that you would “get me a salmon” in my first season and that promise was an 8.5lb fish on the 28th of August, an experience I will never forget.

Don’t forget our next challenge. Taly Llyn. As for catching hats, well that’s no longer a problem, thanks to you Gwilym even the wind can be beaten with my armoury of casts, roll, overhead, single/double spey, snake roll, snap c …….

Incidentally, Gwilym now hosts our companies corporate days, which are far superior to the one’s I experienced and guess what, our clients catch fish!

David Haycocks

At the age of 14, I was introduced to fly fishing by an elderly family friend who, due to his advancing years, was no longer able to hike to the mountain lakes he loved and was even struggling to fish the Clwyd and Elwy. He provided me with my first fly rod, and I still recall the look on his face as he parted with it, as if he was saying goodbye to an old friend. It was a split cane Hardy Perfection 8’6” five weight. Ever since that day, I have associated the name Hardy with craftsmanship and quality.

When I was 17 another sport took over my spare time and it was not until last year, after a gap of over 30 years, that I decided to return to fishing. I went to my local Smith’s and picked up a few flyfishing magazines. What on earth was going on? Epoxy buzzers, emergers, czeck nymphing, New Zealand style, Di 7 lines, sink tips, braided loops, strike indicators, boobies, tube flies, double haul, snap C, fluorocarbon, woolly buggers!!!! This was a whole new world! Whatever had happened to the march brown, mallard and claret and teal blue and silver? How was I going to catch up on over 30 years of developments and not waste months or even years of precious fishing time?

The one thing I noticed hadn’t changed in this whole new world was the high esteem in which the Hardy brand was still held. So I started from there and discovered the ‘Hardy Flyfishing School’, run by Gwilym Hughes and offering instruction and guided fishing days on the River Dee. I phoned Gwilym and arranged a grayling day at Corwen. I gained more from this day than I would have done from seasons of muddling through by myself, and with spare time at a premium, this was a very important factor. Apart from the educational aspect, a day’s fishing in Gwilym’s company was a very enjoyable experience and not at all daunting, with mistakes, tangles and mistimed casts all being treated with his usual sense of humour. There were also a few of his little gems like “the best time to strike is when the hook is in the fish’s mouth” or “I’ve never caught one up there” when your fly ends up in an overhanging branch. This day was followed by a group instruction day at Chirk, a must for anyone either beginning the sport or wanting to improve their casting. Not only were the basics covered, but greater indepth instruction was also provided individually. All this was presented in Gwilym’s inimitable style. In no time at all, thanks to Gwilym, I was in possession of the correct tackle and knowledge to enjoy a great season’s trout and grayling fishing.

This May I decided to take up salmon fishing and again turned to the Hardy flyfishing School. Having never held a double hander before I received casting instruction from Gwilym and was soon casting well enough to be able to fish. Regular tuition soon uncovered the mysteries of the double spey and snap”C”. After trying out various rods and lines a Suitable Hardy Greys rod, reel and line was chosen.

In August I landed my first salmon. Whilst no one can guarantee success in salmon fishing, I can guarantee that without Gwilym’s instruction I would still be waiting for my first fish. It seems to me that one of the biggest things in salmon fishing is perseverance. I think without a self belief that you are doing the right things it is impossible to maintain the required level of perseverance. That self belief can only be instilled by someone showing you the right thing to do and telling you when you are doing it right. And who better than Gwilym to do the showing and the telling?

I would certainly recommend the ‘Hardy Flyfishing School’ to any angler of any level. From my point of view it has saved me time and money and above all avoided the frustration of not knowing whether your technique is right or wrong. I can’t wait to get instruction next on saltwater flyfishing, so Gwilym, I’ll be in touch soon!

Colin Jones

Email : Gwilym Hughes