PLEASE NOTE: In order to post on the Board you need to have registered. To register please email paul@sexyloops.com including your real name and username. Registration takes less than 24hrs, unless Paul is fishing deep in the jungle!

New and happy to be here!

If you are new to the board please tell us about yourself...
rickoshea
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:22 pm
Answers: 0

New and happy to be here!

#1

Post by rickoshea »

hi all, my names Richard Morrison and I think I first discovered sexyloops "a few" years ago. I live in Donegal, Ireland (originally from Belfast) having lived in N Ireland, Scotland, the USA and France (yup, I'm sort of "unsettled" :laugh:)

Michael Rebholz (of bonkerspey fame) and I are good mates plus casting and fishing buds dedicated to having a load of fun at all times and developing, learning and playing with flycasts.

I've fished since about 5 years old (let's say 45 years ago :p) mainly now for Salmon and am a worryingly keen flycaster. So I'm taking my APGAI Ireland instructors double handed assessment in November and live, eat and breathe casting at the minute .... loving it all :D

Thanks Paul for the add and I'm looking forward to being part of this, having some fun and learning loads :)

oh yeah .... if anyone has any tips on the APGAI DH assessment - I'm all ears :laugh: :laugh:
User avatar
Paul Arden
Site Admin
Posts: 19528
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:20 am
Answers: 2
Location: Belum Rainforest
Contact:

Re: New and happy to be here!

#2

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Richard,

Great to have you on the Board!!! I’m fairly “unsettled” too :D

I had a fantastic time casting, fishing and meeting Michael. I thoroughly enjoyed his lessons on BonkerSpey :laugh: Pity you weren’t there but I’m sure we will meet in the future!

I’m not really very familiar with the Double-Handed Dildo but I’m sure it’s lots of fun. Someday I might chase some fish that requires it, in which case I’ll thoroughly engage myself.

Best of luck with the APGAI Ireland. I’ve met a few of the guys and always enjoyed their company very much. I think that it might be a wonderful association. I look forward to hearing more about it. There are quite a few guys on the Board who I’m sure can help with any questions you might have.

The Board is desperately in need of “new blood” since the regulars here have pretty much discussed everything that we can think of over the past 20 years :laugh: So please do start some topics so that we can find something interesting to talk about :p

I had a great time recently in Ireland. A wonderful place and truly fantastic people. And if you like rain then it’s perfect :D

Welcome to the Board!!

Cheers,
Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
rickoshea
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:22 pm
Answers: 0

Re: New and happy to be here!

#3

Post by rickoshea »

I'm sure I'll dredge up some topics for discussion Paul worry not :laugh:

yeah, Ireland's a great spot and we tend to get on with everyone!

The APGAI Ireland group are great people. A lot of fun and friendship plus very high standards in tuition and casting. I'm starting with "qualified" status which distance wise isn't a hassle, but the casting assessment involves demonstrating tuition expertise, fault finding, breaking down every cast to the finest detail etc etc ... here's a link to the syllabus :

https://apgai-ireland.ie/join-apgai-ire ... -syllabus/

once I get the qualified status (hopefully :laugh:) I'll go onto single handed and advanced double handed which involves longer distances, more detail and that left handed stuff which I'm a clutz at at the minute!

I'll be out with Michael this weekend I'm sure for "a bit of craic" .... come back soon and have a laugh at one or both of us falling in the Lough whilst distance spey casting ..... yup, we've both been for a swim :laugh:
User avatar
Paul Arden
Site Admin
Posts: 19528
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:20 am
Answers: 2
Location: Belum Rainforest
Contact:

Re: New and happy to be here!

#4

Post by Paul Arden »

I was a member of the original Association of Professional Game Angling Instructors which I joined in ‘96 before the various splits. Stayed with that association which morphed into AAPGAI until they threw us out because of one of Bernd’s FPs 😂

There always becomes a problem with me and any association at some point. So now I just compete, teach privately and guide. I keep away from the Bollocks. That said there are some very nice chaps in APGAI Ireland and I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun and learn a great deal.

Hopefully you and Michael can find your way over to Malaysia sometime for some tropical jungle fishing. :)

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
rickoshea
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:22 pm
Answers: 0

Re: New and happy to be here!

#5

Post by rickoshea »

now a wee trip to Malaysia would be hellish good .... we'll work on that!

I'm not great with officialdom either Paul (to say the least :p) but the guys and girls in APGAI Ireland are great. So easy to get on with, one hell of a lot of fun, great chat and very (very!) good teachers and casters. Dunno which of them you've met but I've been mentored by Gary Bell, Conor Arnold, Keith Cole and of course Glenda Powell. Plus Michael has taught me one hell of a lot and ironed out my (many :laugh:) initial faults.

Guiding, teaching and competition sounds a bit like heaven to me ... I'm not jealous, ohhhh no :laugh: :laugh:
User avatar
Paul Arden
Site Admin
Posts: 19528
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:20 am
Answers: 2
Location: Belum Rainforest
Contact:

Re: New and happy to be here!

#6

Post by Paul Arden »

Yep I feel pretty damned lucky actually. I had a foray into guiding in my early 20s but didn’t like people very much back then - which is not good if you are guiding them :D Normally of course you need to be the local expert to guide, which in my mind is 15-20 seasons fishing every damned day, or 3000 days on that water.

There are a couple of places I could do that - namely UK Stillwater stuff and NZ Backcountry - but neither would appeal to me nowadays because I feel that I’ve done them both. And if I’m bored by the fishing then guiding would be even duller! :D

Here I’m about half way through that learning curve, but the great thing is that no one else has done it yet either, and so it’s really a case of the one-eyed being king :laugh: But that’s also cool because that makes everyone who fishes here a pioneer!

Anyway guiding and teaching fly fishing and casting is a hell of a good job and I hope you find the same. It took another quarter of a century but now I really like people too, so I haven’t killed anyone yet :laugh:

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
rickoshea
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:22 pm
Answers: 0

Re: New and happy to be here!

#7

Post by rickoshea »

haha!! Well seems the ideal job for me, it MORE than beats my day job of staring into and fixing mouths and teeth :laugh:

NZ is somewhere I'd love to go. My best mate lives in Maunganui after moving there from Scotland 17 odd years ago and keeps insisting I visit. I grew up reading magazines about UK stillwater fishing ... Arthur Cove was a massive influence on my fishing. Was it Abington that had the massive trout? International Flyfisher was a great mag .... articles on dry coch-y-bondu fishing in NZ spring to mind. Did you write for them? I seem to remember reading stuff by you?

This is why I'm doing APGAI ..... more time outdoors on the rivers and lakes is the goal ;)
User avatar
Paul Arden
Site Admin
Posts: 19528
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:20 am
Answers: 2
Location: Belum Rainforest
Contact:

Re: New and happy to be here!

#8

Post by Paul Arden »

I wrote one article on NZ that was published in ‘94 I think in Fly Fishing and Fly Tying. It had a black Bob’s Bits that I was using for the Manuka Beetles. I don’t know if that makes it the same article or not :D

Aveley, or Avington, or Dever Springs? We used to discuss going down there and catching a 20lber just to say we had, but never did! I grew up fishing Ardleigh Res where I got my first job at the age of 15.

‘My Way with Trout’ was definitely one of the most influential books I’ve read. Written in that fish catching no nonsense style. As a mate of mine used to say “there are anglers and there are danglers’!!! I’m still not sure which I am :laugh:

How do you find the salmon fishing? I’ve caught one salmon, that was about 16lbs in Nova Scotia. I caught it on an orange Booby on a six weight and HiD line. I always thought that you had to wear tweed underpants so I never got into it :laugh:

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
rickoshea
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:22 pm
Answers: 0

Re: New and happy to be here!

#9

Post by rickoshea »

I'll try and hunt that International flyfisher mag out. Used to have articles on bonefish on the flats, I think in Belize, too ... mental.

Avington, that's the one, I always wanted to visit there. Biggest I caught was a 13lbs rainbow from Sandyknowes fishery just outside Perth in Scotland. Like dragging in a bag of cement so I went back to hunting wild brownies in the hills around Perth and Dundee :laugh:

Salmon fishing .... challenging and utterly frustrating in equal measures :laugh: With the decline in stocks the frustration is maybe overcoming everything! I love it. To be honest I can get out on my local river here and fish for a day without seeing a soul in staggering scenery. I think Mick said he'd taken you to beat 7 when you were here (the Owenea) escapism like that suits me just fine.

Bigger rivers like the Tay can be just hard work and I don't like em too much, the fun there is wading and spey casting :laugh:

Have to say my favourite fishing is in a flat calm, buzzer hatch and casting suspenders and dries to rising fish, plus hunting wild brownies with dries on my wee 8' 3/4 rod.

Tweed underpants are de rigueur. Essential wear. A trifle itchy and they chaff a bit but strangely it makes you man up to the task :laugh: :laugh:
User avatar
Paul Arden
Site Admin
Posts: 19528
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:20 am
Answers: 2
Location: Belum Rainforest
Contact:

Re: New and happy to be here!

#10

Post by Paul Arden »

The one thing I used to miss about Stillwater trout was fishing the windlanes, but then I discovered 4 and 5KG Gourami running them eating termites! That was and still is extraordinary. For me I just can’t get enough of sight fishing. It always adds to the intensity of the moments.

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
Post Reply

Return to “New to the Board, Introductions”