wozzamozza

I know, I dont think I've ever seen so many on a water before.

I went up to Walthamstow on Sunday and from the reports no one had been catching for the last few weeks. There were plenty of fish around but nothing taking. I tried different depths, different retrieves, lures and buzzers. I ended up with 2 trout that fell to a tiny gold head pheasant-tail fished in the weeds and lost 3. it really was a case of, after trying different approaches out in front, observing the fish feeding close in on tiny insects, and going for them. Marvellous. It’s great when it comes together. wozzamozza

Hello fishy friends, I have a little question. I’ve been flyfishing for a few years now and over the last 8 months or so have really started to fine down my fly choice, the smaller the better, buzzer, hares ear, pheasant tail etc. I haven’t thought about putting a cats whisker or humungus on for ages!!! It started when I was fishing Walthamstow fishery just before Christmas. It was cold and the rod rings were freezing up. Everyone was fishing sinking line and booby and catching the odd fish. I refused to give in to the booby and persisted with small flys on a floating line and long leader, but nothing. Maybe I’m stubborn. Is this usual, I don’t want to turn into a purist and find myself only fishing for wild brownies, but rather be comfortable with all aspects of the sport. Maybe there is a time and a place, for every method of attack and I’m still learning. I really have enjoyed fishing light and as delicate as possible. Anyone else been through this????? Marvellous. wozzamozza

same here i thouht it was my account for a while. wozzamozza

brilliant. i'll hopefully try to get up there agian soon. i'll keep an eye for the chap with the advice. wozzamozza

I live in london and would love to know where this little gem is hidden! wozzamozza

exactly. my casting isn't perfect but everytime i go out fishing, i enjoy the friendly chat from others, learn and develop more and more confidence. keep at it and enjoy every minute and when it all comes together, it's magical. wozzamozza

Hi Ian, I've only realy been seriously fly fishing for just over 2 years so not quite 40 years, but I have always used a 9ft 5/6 weight. I recently upgraded to a greys GRX which has been a good investment. I've found this length and weight very comfortable and a pleasure to cast out a good line with lighter patterns in most conditions. There is more concentration needed if you put on heavier flies, which is when a step up to a slightly heavier weight comes into play. I have used a friends 10ft 8 weight, which to be honest, I found a little clumbsy, but that is probably down to my own preference. I hope this helps. Cheers, wozzamozza

Hi Dabbler, free flies, how can i say no as for advice, it's good that the pictures of the flies are increased in size when you click on them although i woyld lighter coulerd stones in the back ground to bring out the colours in the flies. the milder colours like brown and grey seem to get lost. i would also suggest keeping to one font through out the website and only increase the font size for a title or heading. cheers wozzamozza

Thanks for the help although i've just had a look and it appears to be a course fishing mainly carp i've had a browse around and found a place called Willington Lake Trout Fishery, which looks very nice and is open all year. i'll send a report in of how i get on. if anyone has been there, i'd appreciate any tips cheers wozzamozza

I have been out of the loop on the forum for a little while, but as I have received some great advice in the past and started quite a heated discussion about fishing in stocked lakes compared to wild trout on rivers, (which was unintentional) I new that this was the place to come. I was planning to go up to fish Colwick lake in Nottingham at the end of February, until I realized that it was closed for the winter. Can anyone recommend an alternative lake, maybe a smaller fishery with scenic appeal that is not too far from Nottingham? Any advice, tactics etc would be very appreciated. Cheers wozzamozza

Dear Sewinman, I am quite new to fly fishing, as I have only seriously been going out devoted this year and a half. I have been fly fishing on a tributary of the river Cam and caught ‘wild’ brown trout as well as chub and small pike. I am now at a stage where I am confident with my fly fishing approach and am very keen to learn and develop my skills. My fishing partners that I go with are also new to the sport and we are all learning together. It’s great to go to a new fishery and spend a little time chatting to the locals on their tactics and to learn from the more experienced. The anglers that have taken the time to talk to us and pass on their knowledge, have come in all sorts. Some might be fortunate to have top of the range equipment or clothing, others like myself, make do and are comfortable and happy with this and bear no grudge or prejudice. I really enjoy my fishing and trying new techniques and new environments. I’m sure that I will experience and develop my river fishing in the future, but for now I an happy with the challenges the lakes have to offer. And yes I did say challenges. There have been times when I have blanked, as have others around me when the fishing is hard or my approach has been slightly wrong, but that’s all in the learning process. Thank you for the advice on local rivers. I joined this forum to learn from others. wozzamozza

The birds are still there, although I didn't find them as off putting as the planes. It might have been because I had my cap, woolly hat and then my hood over my head stopping my ears from freezing, so I didn’t really hear them. Is this the only fishery that has such a collection of ‘exotic wildlife’? Cheers wozzmozza

I tried Vale end last month and the fish were the same high standard. Yellow and black seemed to be working well then. For picturesque settings Vale end wins hands down. The planes flying into Heathrow over Syon park took a bit of time to get used to.

hi Chuby, After getting on the wrong train at waterloo at 7.50am, which headed to Portsmouth we finally arrived at Syon park at 10.30!! when we got there, the fly that everyone was on was the cats whisker. My fishing partner and I both went for a floating line and gold head cats. Reuben caught almost straight away. After he had 4 and me 0, I noticed that my fly was riding higher in the water, probably only 3 feet down. I changed to a sinking line and got right down and had immediate contact. We finished off with 8 rainbows to 2 ¾ before heading to the pub at 3pm. All on cats apart from one off mine which fell to a yellow and black nomad. Even though these were not the biggest fish in there, they really put up a god fight. wozzamozza

ha ha, yeah, that will be the first thing on my mind, although the weather looks a bit better now. I was going to give a team of buzzers, pheasant tail, diawl bach on a floating line a go. But if there is a certain colour or pattern that’s working well at the moment I’d love to know. wozzamozzza

I’m trying Syon Park west London, for the first time this Sunday. The weather forecast at the moment is overcast with slight 6 mph wind. Has anyone fished there recently? Any top tips, would be appreciated. Cheers wozzmozza.

Hi Sportsman, These look great. I'm off to Colwick lake on Saturday with an friend who's from Australia. he's just starting to get to grips with Fly fishing, but once he's more confident, this is just the sort of thing that he'll trying to organise and trying to rope me into. he likes to take things that little bit further. I would definitely be interested to hear more in the future, when things are more finalised. maybe even interested to get some practice in before then. Do you know if there is anywhere in the london or Nottingham area that supports and hires tubes? cheers wozzamozza

Cheers Dave, I thought as much. I've tracked down the Tackle shop and I'm now trying to see if a replacement end section can be sent out from OZ. fingers crossed. cheers wozzamozza

Dear All, I'm new to this forum and have appreciated the advice that has been passed on to me so far. I recently split the end section of a rod I bought in Australia over Christmas. It's a 5/6# 2 piece and was a pleasure to use. not sure of the make and I don't recall that there was a guarantee with it. Does anyone now where to get this fixed at a reasonable rate. I tried my local tackle shop in east London and Sportfish, with no joy. I’ve glanced through google, but all I find is how to build a rod, rather than who can fix them. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers wozzamozza

cheers Kev, I’m planning to return there at the end of September, when things should have cooled down a bit. I’ve never felt water so warm! I tried Walthamstow a couple of times last week during the hot days and had nothing, tried all over the two lakes in all the usual places and the usual flies, but nadda. no-one else caught either. although it's nice to get out in the sun and the warm weather, I’ve learnt not to expect much. do you fish Colwick much? cheers wozza mozza

Just to report back on my trip to cowlick. I didn't have a sausage, not even any attempts. my fishing partner lost one using buzzers, a knot on a dropper didn't hold. The water was so warm that you could have gone swimming in it. so we headed out to the deepest part in-between the two islands. There was a lot of fish jumping through the day, but they were more likely to be fresh stockies than feeding. i think my problem is that I’m too quick to try different patterns. next time I’ll stick with buzzers, they seemed to work for the other guys on the boats. I haven't been put off the place and will return again soon. If anyone else fishes there, I’d be grateful for an update. P.S. no sign of algae! wozzamozza

I don't think there is a problem with the algae at the moment, but for some reason Colwick has had problems with it in the past. thanks for the advice, if it's there tomorrow I’ll be ready the weather has now changed from a pleasant sunny intervals to thunder showers all day, don't you just hate it when the weather changes so much when you try and plan a fishing trip. cheers wozzamozza

Thanks for the advice. The first point of call will be the shack to get an idea on how it's been this week. I have not fished from the bank near the car park before, I’ll definitely give it a go before we board the boat. I've got a good mix of buzzers, nymphs, dry's and lures, so I’m covered for every eventuality. the last time I fished it the fish were taken on a sinking line and dark nymphs. I can remember a friend telling me about the problem with algae, it was thick and very off putting. I'll report back on how the day goes. thanks again, wozzamozza

I'm going up to Nottingham to fish at Colwick park this saturday. The weather report at the moment is 21C, sunny intervals with a 10mph south westerly wind. Can anyone give me any pointers to hot spots and patterns to try. the last time i fished there was in 1999. I'd appreciate any info. I'm also taking a friend who has never been fly fishing before, so the more prepared that we are the better the success. I hope! Cheers Wozzamozzza frosty frosty