I fish once or twice each week right through the year, mainlyLancashire and Yorkshire stillwaters. My work takes me to Ireland andup to the north of Scotland and I always find time get down to theriver and lochs in the majestic settings of Connemara or Sutherland.
I will send regular reports of fishing in these locations alongwith any advice from local anglers that I manage to acquire duringthese visits.
Last week I fished at Raygill in Yorkshire, a lovelyfishery just over the hill from Colne. There are two trout lakes andthey are just about as different as you could imagine. The bottomlake is a tree-fringed water with but with excellent ease of casting.The water clouds quickly after any heavy or prolonged rain and thefishing slows down markedly for a few hours.
There are some huge rainbows in this lake, going to over 15lbs,and plenty of good conditioned, hard fighting fish in the 2 to 4lbsrange. Daytime fishing has been slow in the recent good weather buthas picked up later in the evening with fish being taken on buzzersand dry fly. I took a rainbow of just over 10lbs on a GRHE earlier inthe year in the very productive corner to the right of the new stonelodge.
The second water at Raygill is in a quarry and is only reallyfishable from one side due to the steep, high walls. The water isvery clear and there are rainbows and browns to around 15lbs, andsome magnificent, light-coloured char to about 7lbs. I tried to temptone particular char with a variety of small dry flies. He kept comingright up to the fly to investigate but, frustratingly, he refusedeach time just at the last split second.
Good results are to be had with a bushy bob fly and a small buzzeron the point. Small dries are better than larger ones most days.There is no need to fish particularly fine; a four or five poundleader is recommended in view of the potential big fish on offer.
I enjoy my visits to Raygill and one important factor is thehelpful and expert advice from the regular bailiffs, Bernard and Jim.On occasions in the past I thought I knew better and ignored theiradvice about flies and locations only to have a fruitless hour ortwo. These cheerful chaps know just what is moving and where and howto tempt the fish to the fly.
On Monday of this week I went to Barnsfold near Chipping inLancashire. This is a first rate fishery with two large lakes ofabout 14 acres each. Plenty of room with marvellous views and astunning variation of wildlife on and around the water. Frank Casson,the fishery owner, keeps a watchful and caring eye on the place andhas some very sporting fish for his regular customers.
‘Local knowledge’ tells me that Barnsfold fishes best “early andlate”. This not only means during the day but also during the year.I’ve always found it more productive in the Spring and Autumn but alook at the returns books shows plenty of fish brought to the net allyear round. Hot, sunny weather slows fishing down but this applies tomost fisheries.
This week, Barnsfold is fishing very well. I went on the far bankof the second water and had very good returns to a black and greenMontana fished only five yards out. I initially cast as far out intothe wind as I could but only made contact with fish at the end of theretrieve. For an hour or so I cast nearly parellel with the bank andlet the fly drift. The result was four fighting fit rainbows in the2-3lbs range.
As the light began to fade around eight thirty I moved on to thebottom bank over the drainage outlet and switched to a GRHE CDC sizesixteen. This provoked several fierce takes but only one fish to thenet. Excellent fishing and there were still several rods making themost of the rising fish as I drove away at nearly 10 p.m. I lookforward to more visits during the early Autumn when the biggerrainbows come closer in to satify their appetites. A warm Septemberafternoon will bring some good fish to the fly and then, hopefully tothe net.
I’m away to Northern Ireland next week followed by a trip to thefar north of Scotland in early September. All work and noplay……….
Fishery Facts
Raygill Trout Fisheries
Lothersdale
West Yorkshire
Tel: 01535 632500
Bailiffs: Bernard and Jim (friendly & informal)
2 lakes
New lodge due to open soon, otherwise no facilities
Fishing 8.30 am to dusk
Open all year round
£2 per hour and pay for fish taken approx £1.50 per lb
Barbless hooks only.
Barnsfold Water
Barnsfold Lane
Goosnargh
Nr Preston
Tel: 01995 61583
2 lakes of 14 acres each
Lodge, shop, wc.
Owner: Frank Casson, again very helpful and friendly
8.00am to dusk
Open all year round
£!2 for half day ticket (2 fish)
£7 for evening ticket after 5.00 pm (1 fish)
Sporting tckets available.
