A NEW FISHERY
I fished a new trout water once or twice towards the end of 2004 and I liked it so much that I quickly became a member. I prefer the more remote fisheries located away from the distractions of civilisation and, for preference, situated up in the hills. Fortunately, in my part of Lancashire, these hilly surroundings are not very hard to come by.
The fishery under discussion is run by Cowpe Fly Anglers and perches in a high valley overlooking Rossendale in east Lancashire. Remote and wild, it is, however, less than ten minutes drive from the end of the M66 motorway at Rawtenstall.
Blue Brown and Rainbow
Cowpe is a well stocked and well managed water with an abundance of hard fighting triploid rainbows, a seasoning of quality blue trout and an indigenous population of wild brownies, descendents of a stocking some thirty years ago.
The water is roughly triangular in shape and offers a good footing and an unrestricted area for casting all the way around. The one exception is on the dam wall near the outflow where, in winter, the footing can be treacherous. Otherwise there is almost unlimited space in which to cast your line. I’ve not visited at weekends but, during the week, I’ve been sometimes the only angler on the water.
Fishing methods
Until the pre-Christmas cold snap, the fish were feeding well up in the water and were taking buzzer and small dark wet flies, for example, black spider on a size fourteen hook. Long, slim leaders were favourite as the water was exceptionally clear. Some fish were attracted to and occasionally deceived by a will-placed dry fly but, because of the clarity, they were difficult to convince. On several occasions I netted seven or eight rainbows and the returns showed that several fishermen were catching double figure nets on each trip. As the frosts, snow and winds arrived the fish tended to sink down between six and nine feet and responded to slowly tweaked small black lures on an intermediate line.
All the fish were of excellent fighting quality and everyone landed was in first class condition. The heaviest I have landed was approximately three pounds and it took many minutes on a six weight line and six pound tippet to get him on to the bank. I anticipate some much heavier fish during the coming months once they all get on their feed.
Tranquility
What impresses the lone angler is the peace and quiet apart from the occasional sheep and some intermittent birdsong. Otherwise, you can hear the quietness! I’m looking forward to the spring and summer; I expect that there will be some very good hatches throughout the summer as there were some unexpected hatches in the sheltered bays around Christmas whenever the sun broke through.
Day Tickets
This water is accessible very easily by car with good parking facilities. It would make an ideal early season day out with the prospect of good sport. I recommend that you give it a try and, if you like it, you can consider membership. Cowpe Reservoir (with its bailiff resident by the bottom end of the dam wall) is available on a day ticket and these are available from:
Quix Newsagents, 63 Burnley Road, Waterfoot
Ted Carter’s Fishing Tackle, 85-89 Church Street, Preston
Membership information
Membership: currently £ 40 entry and £ 180 per annum and further information may be obtained from:
Ted Wilson 07786 181 636
Visit the website and have a look for yourself:
www.cowpeflyanglers.co.uk
