Regular readers of this blog will know how much I enjoy contributing occasional articles to Eat, Sleep, Fish, the monthly not-for-profit ezine published by my good pal Pete Tyjas from his base at the Devon School of Flyfishing.

For most of the 2015 season I’ve been fishing a Vision Kalu reel, as part of a range of rigs that’s also included the Sunray lines which I wrote about a few weeks ago.

And frankly I’ve been loving the subtle heat it’s helped me bring to landing a whole shoal of different fish – from swaggering south London trout to personal-best French grayling – all culminating in that unsolicited 7lb Scottish salmon on (wince…) 3lb tippet.

So, when I thought I could see space on the interwebs for an in-depth review of the Kalu’s features and benefits…

… the 4th birthday issue of Eat, Sleep, Fish looked like just the place:

Weighing in at 121g, the 3/4 size is heavy enough to balance the latest generation of long, light dry fly and nymphing rods, as well as shorter rigs. I’ve enjoyed hanging the Kalu off the Greys Streamflex XF2 10 foot 2 weight, the Sage ESN 10 foot 2 weight and the Marryat Tactical 10 foot 3 weight this season, and it’s proved a great match for all of them… 

For the full low-down, please click on over to issue 48 of Eat, Sleep, Fish to read my full review of the Vision Kalu.

(And then, while you’re still in the mood, check out my review of Vision’s new Urban boots on Urbantrout.net too!)

Anyone who’s fished with me will know that I like to take a light line approach whenever possible – fishing with ultralight rigs matched with 3-weight lines or lighter – for their uncanny ability to deliver delicate presentations, cushion vicious strikes on fine tippets, and still land hefty fish of all species with speed and safety.

I’ve had a few conversations about this approach with fellow practitioner and West Country guide Pete Tyjas, so he ended up asking me to write a feature about ultralight fly-fishing for his not-for-profit monthly ezine Eat, Sleep, Fish.

Other commitments got in the way for a while, but finally here it is, fronting up issue 17 of Eat, Sleep, Fish.

Please click over to read and enjoy!

A day on an urban river can start just like any other day on the water, but that’s sometimes where the similarity ends. Because whereas your average rural fishing idyll usually means heading out of town to places where few other people ever go, urban angling often takes you in the opposite direction: right back into the beating heart of the city…

West Country guide Pete Tyjas’ not-for-profit Eat, Sleep, Fish ezine is rapidly setting the standard for UK-focused digital fly-fishing publications, so I’ve been delighted to contribute a feature on urban fly-fishing techniques for his latest edition (issue 7, no less).

Click on over to Eat, Sleep, Fish to read and enjoy!