Chew Valley Reservoir - 21/03/2010

Entry posted by Nicholas S March 25, 2010

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Well this is the start of my fishing blog. I must admit I never saw myself writing one of these but after being inspired a bit by some of the other excellent blogs on AN I thought I would start one myself. Even if no one pays any interest to it (quite likely) it will be a good record of the trials and tribulations of my fishing escapades!

Right seeing as the first entry in is the close season I got my fly fishing underway on Chew Valley Reservoir. It was my first time fishing there for the trout (I had a particularly unsuccessful but nonetheless enjoyable day there after the pike back in Feb 2010) and it is a particularly daunting and large water to start on. Anyway, after misreading the start of the fishing times in the fisheries magazine I turned up all eager and excited at 7am on a beautiful and unseasonably warm spring day only to find that boat fishing wasn't allowed until around 0930!! Initially I was pretty annoyed (I didn’t'[t get much sleep the night before) but decided to glean as much information as possible off the bank fisherman, get my tackle ready and just enjoy the delightful morning that I was lucky enough to be awake for.

The next few hours passed very quickly and after enjoying a nice cup of tea in the cafe I paid for my boat, spent FAR too much in the tackle shop (not for the first time!) and got as much information as possible of the shop assistant. Soon I was out on the water and heading over to an area that had been recommended. It was sheer delight to be on what is really a stunning reservoir. You really can’t beat the sensation and excitement of boat fishing.

I actually anchored up slightly North of the exact spot that was recommended partly because it was a beautifully tranquil and quiet area and I figured if I didn’t catch there I could always drift down the suggested area. I set up 2 small black lures on an intermediate line and after some initial rusty casts I was soon getting into the swing of things and starting to really enjoy myself. After approximately half an hour I hooked a good fish near to the boat, fish on! I was over the moon when I eventually managed to get the fish over the net (they do fight hard) and let out a little yelp of joy. I had told myself that morning that if I didn't blank I would consider it a good day. The fish was a lovely Rainbow just under 2lb I would guess and was duly dispatched for dinner that week. Incredibly about 10 minutes later I hooked a second fish which turned out to be a similar sized Rainbow. Now I really was over the moon, never in my wildest dreams did I expect this sort of start! At this point I had a good look around and suddenly noticed that a few boats had crept up on me possibly after noticing the success I was having! It seemed like no one else was catching which I must admit made me feel rather smug! This feeling was enhanced when another boat pulled up beside me and asked what fly I had been catching on. Seeing as I am usually the one asking this question I felt very pleased with myself. I still hadn't cast out since catching that second fish and with a few boats quite near to me I cast back out and started to slowly figure of eight the line back. Hold on, was that a knock, yes, another! This was getting ridiculous now, a third fish caught on the same fly and with everyone else watching with what seemed like a tinge of envy! I was delighted, three fish caught on the same fly in my first hour on chew, a perfect start.

I stuck it out there for another hour at least but caught no more, neither did anyone else surprisingly. In the afternoon my friend James joined me and despite my initial luck it seemed like the fish just weren’t interested. However, after switching to a Booby I managed to tempt one more slightly smaller Rainbow and lose two more later in the evening. James was a bit unlucky and lost 2 fish including a lovely Brownie that shot up and took a Diawl Bach but threw the hook all too quickly.

It had been a fantastic day, 4 trout caught (equalling most I've ever caught in a day from a large reservoir) and on my first time trying too. I went to bed that night a happy man reminiscing on what had been a perfect start to the fly season.