The FM Southern Trout Day

Although Peter Jacobs first posted the idea of a Southern Trout Day on 1st April, it was no joke, more of a compliment to the successful annual get together ‘up north’ at Press Manor.

Nice rainbow for Neil

So with a good initial response, the hunt was on for a suitable venue. We ended up at Haywards Farm near Theale in Berkshire. Its central location just off the M4 and the combination of two decent sized lakes also offering Catch & Release turned out to be an excellent choice. Our choice of the Bank Holiday Saturday was a gamble but was limited by individual and venue commitments as well as the hectic FishingMagic events schedule.

Part of PJ’s collection of flies

On the buzzer

Class act by Colin

And a good result

I arrived at the fishery to find Sue and Colin North peering expectantly over the locked gates, we were just a little early! We were soon joined by Peter and Claudia and then by Simon. A few others were expected but for various reasons couldn’t make it. The gates were soon unlocked and we proceeded to tackle up full of expectation. The ticket options allow for a variety of combinations, most of us opted for the Sporting Ticket giving us 2 fish from the main lake and then C&R from the other one.

Sue the Fisherwoman

Peter’s 5lb 5oz fish of the day

Whilst Simon, Claudia and I were studying Peter’s immaculately presented fly collections, Sue and Colin were already casting to rising fish. Sue managed a nice rainbow on a dry fly, losing another and Colin had several takes before the rest of us had cast a line! Inspired, we hastily made our way down the left hand side of the lake finally spacing ourselves out in a likely looking area.

Simon in action

Smile please Claudia

Simon (“I only fly fish once a year”) was into a 3lb+ fish almost straight away (a new PB) and Peter also lost a nice rainbow. It seems we had stumbled upon a few fish in what turned out to be a slightly deeper part of the lake. I had a couple of follows and taps on buzzers but failed to connect with any of them. Simon (“what was the limit”) soon doubled his catch with a 3lb+ rainbow and Peter had a spirited fight with what turned out to be the biggest rainbow of the day at 5lb 5oz.

Nice and easy does it

Peas in a pod

In the middle of this mini fish fest, Claudia was trying to master this “fluff chucking” business, possibly hindered more than helped, by the advice and assistance of Peter and myself! She was encouraged by a few follows and nudges and was getting the occasional excellent cast out there when she finally connected with a rainbow well over 3lbs. This was Claudia’s first ever trout on a fly from her own cast and retrieve, well done!

Another one for Simon

Nice brownie for Sue

Meanwhile I had my first rainbow and Simon (“maths is not my strongpoint”) had another, both good conditioned rainbows averaging 3lbs+. Sue and Colin had been wandering around the lake but had not had too much success; they finally arrived at the FishingMagic bay and joined in the fun. Colin had a rainbow nudging 4lbs and I must say “the one-armed bandit” is a hell of a fly angler. The technique he has developed is inspiring.

Relaxed Colin

A nice brace

I completed my limit with a near 4lb rainbow and Simon (“how many is that”) slid another over the rim of his net. Sue also completed her limit so we decided to wander over to the C&R Lake. Now I had fished this lake several times before and knew it to be somewhat harder than the main lake but held some fighting fit rainbows and browns for those that persevered. It proved to be the case as the residents stubbornly refused to cooperate. I did eventually have a savage take on a buzzer that resulted in another 3lb+ rainbow.

It was lunchtime so we temporarily adjourned to the very local pub to debate the rights and wrongs of the world and to brush up on Simon’s maths skills. Some while later after plenty of good pub food and a pint or two we returned to the fishery. Simon, Sue, Colin and I made our way to the C&R leaving Peter and Claudia to try and complete their limits.

At just over 5 acres, the C&R Lake is about half the size of the main lake and is often best tackled by a roving approach. The wind proved troublesome but generally the fish started to show a bit more interest. I momentarily connected with a couple of fish as they attacked my buzzer approach. I finally stayed in contact with a nice rainbow and while Sue was watching, she also had a fish on which turned out to be one of the resident browns. A short while later Sue almost had her fingers ripped off with the speed of the take from a rainbow that resulted in her first ever trout on a buzzer. I had my 5th and final fish on a similar approach; buzzers fished deep and slow on a long leader on a floating line.

Sue’s first fish

Meanwhile Peter and Claudia were still on the main lake. I wandered over to see how things were progressing and once I’d recovered from the blindness created by the flash of the huge orange thing on the end of Claudia’s leader, I tried to convince her to change to a buzzer. Just to prove me wrong (again) the line was ripped from her fingers as a very decent rainbow headed towards the middle of the lake. Now in front of the assembled paparazzi Claudia expertly played the fish and was giving quite a detailed commentary when….. it was gone! Peter captured the moment on his new toy beautifully.

We all carried on fishing but eventually decided enough was enough and again adjourned to the pub. We all agreed it had been a successful day with some stunning trout, mostly in excess of 3lbs, some of which were exchanged for a few pints with the obliging landlord! Despite Simon’s maths dyslexia, I managed to pip him by one fish for the trophy. Hopefully we’ll do it all again this time next year.