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Nicholas S

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Blog Entries posted by Nicholas S

  1. Nicholas S
    A very hard day on Blagdon Reservoir. After my success on the previous trip here I felt confident that I would again be able to get a few but the wind made fishing a nightmare! It not only caused all manner of casting problems, but also meant that rowing for me was painfully hard work and most annoying of all, the blooming anchor kept on slipping! A few friends who I recognised eventually took pity on me and offered to tow me (they had an electric motor) up to the top end and into a quiet bay. This was a godsend as I was quite worried about how I would manage to row back to the lodge. After being dropped off and finally anchoring up properly (no slipping this time) I had a chance to fish properly, I should point out it was about 4pm at this point and I had caught nothing! I didn’t feel confident in the bay I was in but persevered fishing a few spots. After a while I noticed the wind dropping and decided to venture out of my calm bay into the maelstrom! Actually the wind had dropped enough to allow me to row and anchor reasonably comfortably so after trying a few spots with no luck I decided that enough was enough and I would row all the way down to where I had had my success from the last time. It turned out to be an inspired decision, I didn’t manage quite the same success but caught three whilst the bank anglers nearby didn’t seem to have a touch (this was quite gratifying after seeing them endlessly catch on my first visit!). Eventually as darkness fell I decided to call it a day and faced the long row back to the lodge. A hard day but in the end perseverance paid.
  2. Nicholas S
    The fair weather continued and I couldn’t resist two more evenings fishing after work. I had recently got my membership for a stretch of the Box Brook, a lovely limestone river not far from Bath which I was looking forward to fishing. The river was running low and clear and from the road bridge I could see a number of Trout and Grayling. The occasional splashy rise from a small Brown Trout added to the excitement and I couldn’t wait to start. The first evening was not hugely successful; I think I only managed one beautifully marked small Brown Trout but felt that I was beginning to get the hang of how to fish the type of river. It certainly helps to be as stealthy as possible as these fish are very spooky. The next evening I went back feeling more confident and it turned out to be a wonderful evening. I think I caught around 6 feisty small Brown Trout and one of season Grayling with another lost. A number of trout were caught on the dry fly providing exhilarating action, they were all small but they certainly fight hard! The river really is delightful and I couldn’t wait to go back.
  3. Nicholas S
    A spell of nice weather prompted me to have an evening fishing after work. I decided on fishing Publow Lake, one of my new clubs (Knowle Angling) waters and one I was not familiar with. On arriving I could see plenty of fish swimming around in the shallow end of the lake and managed to tempt two on a Damsel and a dry fly. I decided to move down to the other end of the lake to not disturb the fish too much at the shallow end. Although I tempted a few fish to nibble, no positive bites were forthcoming but it was still an enjoyable evening and lovely to be outside at this magical time of year.
  4. Nicholas S
    A lovely day spent fly fishing on a stretch on the Lambourne that I normally trot in winter with my fishing partner and good friend, Alan (AKA 'Thames Oddity'). We were both looking forward to the day and were buoyed up after meeting and chatting to Matt Hayes at the Sportsfish 10 year anniversary show that morning. Incidentally he’s a thoroughly nice guy who much to our disbelief, happily chatted to both of us for ages!
     
    Neither of us were/are particularly experienced at river fly fishing and were hoping today would provide a both of us with our first fly caught wild Brown Trout. The river looked magnificent, absolutely gin clear, possibly the clearest I had ever seen it although it was surprising how well the Trout and Grayling conceal themselves even in the clearest water.
     
    Losing a small Brown Trout on my first cast set the tone for the day as we both caught a number of small Brown Trout to a mixture of dry flies and nymphs as well as a few out of season Grayling (also our first caught on the fly). The icing on the cake was catching a gorgeous Grayling of about a pound on a weighted nymph. Even though it was out of season it was a splendid fish that I was delighted to catch on the fly.
  5. Nicholas S
    A lazy days fly fishing spent sampling my new clubs still-waters. Fished three in total, none really in earnest, and ended up with three lost fish. Particularly liked the 5 acre reservoir (Chew Magna) that is the largest still-water the club has. It seems like difficult fishing but it is a pretty reservoir with lovely wooden platforms extending out into the lake. Looking forward to trying to crack that one in the future.
  6. Nicholas S
    My second visit to Blagdon reservoir with James. Despite good fishing conditions (overcast and a bit rainy) the fishing was very difficult for most of the day. James who only fished till the early afternoon caught a cracking Brown trout of about 2lb (released) but apart from that we struggled as did everyone else it seemed. However, in the evening I noticed a proliferation of boats in one area down the bottom end of the reservoir. I set off toward them hoping that this was a good sign. It was. As soon as I got there and started casting I had a pull. What followed was one of the most satisfying experiences I have had fishing. After not catching anything all day I managed to get 7 in the next 2 and half hours or so. I desperately wanted to get my limit (8) and even managed to hook the 8th fish in near darkness but alas it came off. Oh well, I couldn’t complain, it was my best result from a large reservoir and had turned out to be a fantastic finish to a hard day.
  7. Nicholas S
    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!
  8. Nicholas S
    Another short session back at Newton Park this time with my friend Jack who hadn’t really done any fishing before so I had promised him we might be able to catch a carp! Typically it was quite hard and the fish were being quite coy when rising and were not easy to hook. Jack pulled out of a good take early on and we had to wait to it was virtually dark to get another opportunity. Luckily this time it resulted it a nice carp of about 6.5lb which slurped up some crust from virtually under out feet. Pleased we managed to catch one in the end, for some reason whenever I take a friend along the fishing is always difficult!
  9. Nicholas S
    My first time out on the famous Blagdon reservoir, the home of Stillwater fly fishing apparently. The reservoir itself is stunning, set in the Mendip hills with the lovely village of Blagdon overlooking it. It really is a picture and a real pleasure to fish. The day itself started brilliantly with James and I seemingly anchored up right over a shoal of Rainbow trout: we immediately started getting knocks whilst everyone else seemed to be struggling! By lunch time James had managed 5 compared to only 1 for myself! At that point James had to call it a day so we vacated our good spot and rowed back to the lodge to meet James’ Dad who was coming in the boat in his place.
     
    The afternoon was slightly frustrating. Another boat had anchored in the spot we were in that morning and were catching quite regularly. We, on the other hand were struggling. What made it infinitely more frustrating was the master-class being demonstrated by group of bank anglers who were catching trout with almost robotic regularity whilst we looked on in amazement! In the end I managed to pick up two more trout but that was nothing compared to the numbers that were being caught from the bank. In the end we called it a day but before rowing back I plucked up the courage to ask the bank anglers what fly was doing the damage to which I heard just one word: Damsel! Typically the one fly I didn’t try, oh well, food for thought for next time.
  10. Nicholas S
    An enjoyable and hot day spent on Sutton Bingham reservoir in Somerset with my friend James and his Dad. It was my first time on this reservoir but I had heard good things from James who had fished it many times in the past. As it was the fishing started brilliantly with both of us catching good trout almost straight away! As the day wore on the fishing got almost too easy and we both had to try to use flies that we thought would reduce our chances of catching! In the end we got our bag limits and due to no catch and release (I hate that rule) we had to call it a day. Managed to up my trout pb to 4.75lb which I was very pleased about.
     
    The day was soured a bit at the end after I got in an argument with the Neanderthal who runs the place about his rules. Don’t think I will be revisiting in a hurry.
     
  11. Nicholas S
    Another short evening session after work, this time fishing for carp at Newton Park Lake. The lake itself is lovely; set in Capability Brown’s magnificent landscaped grounds with an old Georgian manor house overlooking it. Rather unfortunately the estate has now become a University who clearly have no regard for keeping to the original architecture of the place and some of the accommodation blocs are a little bit of an eyesore in what was once clearly a majestic setting. Still, the lake is at the bottom of a small valley which provides some seclusion and provided I fish with the accommodation blocs behind me the view across the lake is stunning.
     
    On this particular occasion I was lucky enough to have the lake all to myself, just how I like it! Although ‘standard carp tactics’ dominate here, I find it terribly boring and like to travel as light as possible and stalk the carp off the top with bread usually, a tactic that seems quite productive on this particular lake! After walking most of the way round the lake and not seeing any signs of fish I was beginning to question my judgment in attempting to fish off the top so early in the season. However, I soon stumbled across a large group of fish milling around near the surface much to my excitement! After getting them confident feeding off the top I flicked out a large chunk of freelined bread and waited in anticipation. Sure enough it didn’t take long before a big (estimated mid-double) greedy Mirror Carp was resting in the net. I think 4 more followed, all a good size, capping off a fine evening. On my next trip here I will bring the fly rod and attempt to catch my first carp on the fly!
  12. Nicholas S
    Bit behind on blog updates! Starting with a delightful short evening fly fishing in early April spent as a guest of my friend James on the banks of the Midford Brook (a tributary of the Bristol Avon) just outside of Bath. Spring had appeared to arrive and whilst the flora wasn’t in blossom yet, the warm temperature and sweet smell to the air reminded why I love this time of year.
     
    Only spent about an hour fishing, the river was fining down and had recently been stocked with Rainbow Trout (wish that money was spent on improving the habitat for wild Brownies and Grayling but oh well). Managed to catch one small rainbow on a small gold head Hares Ear whilst retrieving it upstream! All in all a very pleasant evening on a water I hope to fish again.
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