Was away in Norfolk for a few days for a work related course and after researching potential fishing opportunities in the area was pleased to find out there was a small trout lake nearby that offered a catch and release evening ticket, perfect! The first day I got there as quickly as possible after having an early dinner and found the place all to myself, bliss! However, despite the fact there were clearly fish everywhere the fishing was hard work, in fact I hadn’t caught anything by the time the light was fading. However, after moving to the other end of the lake the most spectacular rise occurred with fish toping literally everywhere. Much to my annoyance I had a paltry selection of dry flies but in the end managed to hook one on a small black wet fly that I had ginked up. It felt like a poor effort given the rise however.

The next day I got there even earlier to find a couple of other fisherman and the small tackle shop on site open. After arming myself with a selection of dry flies and various bits and bobs in anticipation of another evening rise I felt confident! However, like the day before I struggled again only managing to hook one fish on a buzzer. Annoyingly everyone else couldn’t seem to stop catching! Eventually I got chatting to a really friendly guy who seemed to be having a lot of success and he showed what he was doing. As it turned out, a lot of the stocked fish had ended up in the bottom end of the lake and were so close to the surface you could see their fins sticking out. A dry fly fished static didn’t elicit much of a response but ripping it back as fast as you could made them go crazy! It was fascinating and exciting at the same time, not a method I had ever even tried and to be honest, probably only works only newly stocked (slightly dumb) fish. Still, it was great fun and I must have caught almost 10 pristine Rainbows in a couple of hours. This time I went home feeling very satisfied!