Saturday 8 November 2008

"yobs with blobs"

Can this be true?
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I read this article in the Telegraph a long while back and I just can’t get it out of my mind. I had to ask Tony over at “Time by the River” what a “Yob” is, although I guess the article explains it pretty well. What do you think? Is there such a thing as too deadly a fly?
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From the Telegraph:

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The world of fly-fishing has been rattled by the use of a controversial lure which is being blamed for spawning "yobbish" behaviour in the sport.
Traditionalists claim that the brightly coloured "blob" trout lure is unsporting and should be banned. They accuse its users of adopting aggressive tactics, with the new breed of fishermen described as "yobs with blobs".


The highly effective, ball-shaped blobs, made from various fibres, promote an aggressive, chasing reaction from trout when pulled quickly through the water. Unlike traditional flies, such as "nymphs" or "daddy-longlegs", they do not resemble a living insect.


Purists argue that blobs, which are permitted in major contests, give an unfair advantage over conventional methods and make trout fishing too easy. England fly-fishing champion Chris Ogborne was so opposed to them that he left the England team, and says he has received hundreds of letters of support.

Mr Ogborne, from Wadebridge, Cornwall, says the blob technique is tantamount to cheating and should be banned. He claims to have seen blob fishermen heckling opponents using traditional flies in competitions.

He argues that the blob undermines the very essence of fly-fishing, in which anglers imitate a trout's prey with a hand-tied fly made from natural fur or feathers.


Blobs are used only on stillwaters, not rivers. Some blobs look like the pellets fed to stock fish before they are released into lakes and reservoirs. The technique involves ripping the lure swiftly through the water, as opposed to twitching gently an artificial midge or mayfly.


Mr Ogborne said: "Fly-fishing is about imitating things that fish eat. Blobs are fundamentally bad for the sport. It's a very easy way of catching a lot of fish and takes the skill away. Any idiot can use them."


Russell Hill, editor of Trout Fisherman magazine, said: "The blob craze has made trout fishing very easy. They are absolutely caning fish and winning every match. Gone are the days when you hear of a man winning a match with a dry fly or a nymph, because the younger anglers are going to these reservoirs and ripping blobs back at breakneck speed and catching their eight-fish limit in half an hour. There's a massive debate going on."


England fly-fisherman Jeremy Lucas said while the use of the blob and the booby – a brightly coloured lure with polystyrene "eyes" – could encourage novices, it was "repulsive" to see them used by experienced fishermen. He said: "Most of us would wash our hands of it. It reflects fly-fishing in a very bad light."


But Howard Croston, game product manager for Britain's best-known fly-fishing retailer, Hardy, and a member of the England world fly-fishing team, said blobs still required skill.

"The method has come from people trying to catch as many fish as possible as quickly as possible to win competitions," he said. "Younger people getting into competitions are not getting the chance, or not needing to fish the more skilful methods as often as pulling a blob."


Blobs are banned at Brook Farm trout fishery at Cranham, in the Cotswolds. Peter Turnham, the fishery's owner, said: "If you are that desperate you might as well use a net. Everyone now wants everything quicker and easier, rather than using a technique that is the most aesthetically pleasing."
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What do you think?

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6 Comments:

Blogger Random Phrump said...

Looks like a Wooly Bugger on LSD - certainly there is a precedent in Atlantic Salmon fishing for designing gaudy flies that resemble nothing. It must be the action imparted to the fly that is being challenged.

Fast stripping of flies is a deadly technique - think back to Buckle's Point. The two-handed retrieve was all about increasing the speed of the fly. It seemed to inspire sea trout to give chase without giving them much chance for a careful inspection of the fly.

If it works as well as they say, then "yobs with blobs" might be a modern hybrid of "sour grapes".

RP

9 November 2008 at 02:29  
Blogger Steve Dobson said...

Sour grapes indeed; that would be a great name for a new fly.

I'm going to try a few blobs for sure. I've had salmon and trout too, attack a bug during the drag as I was picking it up.

Interesting to speculate.

Cheers,
Steve

9 November 2008 at 23:57  
Blogger Tony said...

We have all sorts of yobby lures over here , I will post a few sometime . One of the favourite stripping lures for still water is a
''Cat's Whiskers'' not sure if you are familiar with it? it has a marabou wing and tail the original used the whiskers of a cat to stiffen the marabou which could wrap around the lure . I will post a photo it's a killer when trout are on fry .

11 November 2008 at 01:34  
Blogger Steve Dobson said...

Thanks for the comment Tony.

I would like to see the flies. This is all new to me but I am intrigued.

Cheers,
Steve

11 November 2008 at 03:55  
Blogger Mike (Doc) Monteith said...

Hmmmm. I quit using the Doc Spratley 'cause I was finding it to easy to catch trout with it. I look at fly fishing as the next evolution in fishing. It's a mental thing just as much as a physical thing. Personally, if there's nothing more than stripping it in as fast as you can for presentation, even if it does work that well, I wouldn't use it.

13 November 2008 at 07:50  
Blogger Steve Dobson said...

Well Doc,

I hear ya’.

All Fly Fishermen generally go through an evolution.

First they just want to catch a fish on the fly but then as their skill increases, they catch so many fish that catch and release becomes the obvious next plateau.

As they master different techniques the quest for growth takes them down paths of exploration, all designed to challenge and enrich the experience.

Strangely, the number of fish caught stops being a measure of success with any relevance. They quality of the experience becomes the only measure of any importance.

At the point where you are as an angler, it is a case of the rest of us falling into two categories; the ones who get it and the ones who don’t.

I am still naive enough to hear about something, be it a new technique or a new fly, and wanting to give it a try. Just to see if it works in my area or if it is interesting or just because of the novelty.

The world of “Yobs with Blobs” and competitive fishing in general has no appeal to me at all. In fact, fishing and competition seem like such contradictory terms to me that I ascribe it to some foreign influence that I am not culturally equipped to understand.

Still, I just can’t hear about something so unusual and not try it out.

BTW- I had a similar experience with the Doc Spratley in my early years fishing the mountain lakes and creeks of BC. It stimulated me to try and figure out terrestrials. Never quite figured them out but started catching much larger trout.

Cheers,
Steve

BTW-Check out Doc's new videos at Doc's Ol' Blog House

15 November 2008 at 20:26  

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