Good Fishing Everywhere!
This is very special and favourite time of year. Early Spring with the increasing warmth and more daylight stimulates the natural food supply of the trout which, in turn, is stimulated into more activity and more frequent feeding so that fish are likely to take a fly at anytime during the day.If it’s cool and wet with a bit of breeze lures catch well and so do Hare’s Ears. If the sun comes out, buzzers are favourite. I like a bushy bob fly with a black buzzer on the point but I’ve had increasing success with CDC buzzers fished singly on a long leader.
Trout seem to be really hungry after the long dark Winter. Last week, up in the hills at Laneshaw Reservoir, I was broken by a fish that took a weighted GRHE as it was dropping. This was the first cast of the day in windy conditions about ten yards out from the bank. I’m not sure whether I over-reacted and snatched at the unexpected take. I was fishing on a 4lb tippet but I remember that last September I was broken in almost the same spot when fish took a dry Black Spider the instant the fly hit the surface. I’m sure that on each occasion the fish saw the fly seconds before it landed and was ready for it. It was an odd coincidence because, apart from these two incidents at Laneshaw, it has been a long, long time since I have been broken.
FISHERY REPORTS
Every fishery in the area reports good sport and, as mentioned, lures, buzzers, and dries are all having their moments. On bigger waters the fish may be at unexpected depths but a little experimentation will lead to positive contacts.
Stocks Reservoir, Lancashire (01200 446602)
I sent my e-mail address to Stocks and I’ve received in return e-mail reports on fishing conditions, flies, fish locations and best methods. This is an innovative move and one that is very useful to anglers. Stocks is not the kind of place you visit for a brief couple of hours. Set aside a full day and really give a go. It’s a big water with big fish and the fishery staff will point you in the right direction for some good action. Stocks attracts a lot of fishermen but it’s big enough to cope easily and the surrounding moorlands are quite majestic.
Barnsfold, near Longridge (01995 61583)
Buzzers are favourite at this prolific water but nymphs and lures will take their share of the fish, many of which are fit, overwintered rainbows. I look for the corners and bays where food gets blown by the wind. These will also be productive on the dry fly if the warmer weather comes along and holds for a few days.
Upper Roddlesworth, Belmont, Bolton (01204 811218)
I’ll be buying a day ticket for this water during April. It’s a well looked-after fishery with good quality trout and it offers peaceful, near idyllic, conditions if you like solitary, tranquil days. It sounds almost too good to be true. It fishes well early season with buzzers and nymphs being favoured by most.
Roughlee, Pendle (01282 613416)
A smallish water with big, eager fish. I’ve only fished here a couple of times but I enjoyed each visit. A friend tells me it’s on good form at the moment when fished with a floating line, long-ish leader and a team of buzzers. He tried ‘buzzers under a bung’ and caught several good rainbows to near double figures.
Ladybower, near Sheffield (01433 651254)
A ‘must’ for all trout anglers, this magnificent fishery can be great early season especially for boat fishermen. Given a stretch of settled weather with day-time temperatures around 12/13C you will have a good day. Try to take advice from ‘locals’ and ‘regulars’ to find which spots are fishing well or you may have a frustrating and fruitless session casting into ’empty’ water. If I lived nearer to Ladybower I would love to fish it regularly, a least once each week. Take warm and waterproof clothing with you, though, just in case……
Raygill West Yorkshire (01535 632500)
The rainbows have wised up to the Zonkers with just the occasional ‘slow learner’ taking the bait. If the weather eases and the wind drops a little, a size 16 Klinkhammer will catch fish. Alternatives are a small Wickhams dry or a CDC Shuttlecock with some green in it. There are always good fish to catch at this friendly fishery and when the top lake comes on stream it will be a really good day’s fishing.
Laneshaw Reservoir, Colne, Lancashire (01282 697679 for memberships details)
This club water lies on top of the Pennines above Colne but on Tuesday 26th March I was fishing in shirtsleeves by midday! It was hot and bright and a welcome change to the previous week when I wore a thermal, a shirt and a thick fleece topped off with a Barbour Solway jacket plus clip-in lining and gloves. And they say a week is a short time in politics; ‘They’ ought to try fishing.
There were lots of fish moving but only taking the flies when the gentle breeze got up enough strength to ripple the surface. When the breeze dropped and the water went flat calm the bites ceased. I landed six fish and each one was taken differently. The taking patterns in order from 10.00 a.m. through to 2.00.p.m. were:
A weighted GRHE size 14 on a floating line and 12 foot leader fished quite deep.
A Greenwell’s Glory size 16 dry fly that was taken as it touched the surface.
A size 10 Viva lure fished quickly and jerkily just below the surface and cast into the rise rings of a very active rainbow.
A size 16 black buzzer drifting in the light breeze and fished just under the surface.
And, finally, a size 14 CDC black buzzer fished in the surface film.
I started with a 4lb monofilament tipper (I tried both Drennan Double Strength and Maxima Green) but I did not get any pulls or tugs. I switched to Riverge Fluorocarbon 3.5lb tippets and got all my takes on this line and no breaks. Yes, even the dry fly was tied to fluorocarbon. The fly was hitting the very clear water nicely on this tippet and if no attempt was made within a couple of seconds I withdrew the fly and tried anew. Mostly, the dry fly is taken pretty quickly at Laneshaw or not at all and thus, the fluorocarbon line does not have the time to submerge the fly if fished in this manner.
Colne Water
The river is high and coloured and many of the approaches are very boggy and wet. I’ve only walked part of the length and there were no fish showing on a cool, wet and windy day – the reason why I walking the bank! A spell of settled weather will bring the river on to form with both nymphs and dry fly catching fish.
River Irwell
Much the same applied here on the Irwell in the Bury area and maintenance work at the weir in Ramsbottom is well under way. One or two fish showing about a hundred yards above the weir and at the bottom of Nuttall Lane in the pools. The winter rain has given the banks a good scouring and there has been a lot of debris in the water but it’s clearing and the water is in better condition.
Fly fishing members of Bury AC will give a casting demonstration on the banks of the Irwell as part of the country fair that is being held in Nuttall Park to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. I’m really pleased to see that what is essentially a very good coarse fishing club has a fly fishing section.
Do you buy your flies?
If the answer to the question is “Yes” then read on. Like all trout anglers, I’m willing to share the good things that happen to me. Fortunately, a lot of good things do happen and the most recent one was the arrival of a sales catalogue from ‘Sport Flies’.
Usually, I groan inwardly at the number of unsolicited items that come in the mail but I make an exception for anything to do with fishing. I looked through the ‘Sport Flies’ catalogue and was sufficiently interested to nip into the office and find their website. Then, like most fishermen, I could not resist temptation and was soon picking out likely flies to replenish depleted compartments in the various fly boxes and, before I knew it, I had put my order through. An email confirming the order came back within half an hour and delivery was promised for next day.
And I received my selection of flies next day. They were enclosed in a plastic fly box that had withstood intact the passage through the mail system. A nice touch, this, so often flies get crushed beyond recognition in the post because of poor packaging. The flies looked very good and there was even a compartment with three ‘free’ flies in it as a little bonus; another nice touch!
Not only did the flies look good but they fished well, too. I’ve tried the Klinkhammer Specials and the CDC Shuttlecock Buzzers and caught good fish. Next time out I’ve got some really interesting Vivas if the conditions are right and I’ve stocked up with Mayflies just in case……….
I do not tie my own flies. I did try for a while but they were not very good to look at and the fish thought so, too. I am always on the look out for good quality flies at reasonable prices that are easily obtained. If you cannot find exactly what you want in the catalogue give Al a ring or send an email and they will do their best to accommodate you. The ‘Sport Flies’ service is first class and that is why I’m sharing it with you.
Contact:
Sport Flies, PO Box 5786, Grantham NG33 4DN.
www.sportflies.com
Email: sales@sportflies.com
Telephone: 01476 585589
Tight Lines!
Eddie Caldwell.
