The Complete Fisher Forum

Limpet · User is Offline Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 87

[quote="Allrounder"]

The other was a post of Facebook this evening from BWF mentioned that an angler reported 6 fish from Woodford bank this morning. I KNEW I should have turned left at the T junction , not right! Rolling Eyes

I'm not sure what part of Woodford that was Alan
I arrived a Chew on Tues at about 09.00 and was the first onto Woodford and fished off the stones at the end nearest the small car park. I was hopeful after a few minutes when I had a nice sized trout follow me in, then eye up my hanging fly before turning away. I stayed at that spot or near for almost 3 hours. A chap 100yds to my right had a pike and 1 trout, another chap to his right had a few pulls. A couple more chaps did fish nearer the lodge, so they may have caught.
I tried floater with weighted lures and small flies, intermediate with same and HD line along the bottom with boobies and Fabs. I had 2 more follows up to the edge but only 1 half hearted tug.
I left for pastures new just before 12.00. I was going to Walley, but a chap in the car park said he had just come from there and nothing was coming out!
I therefore opted for North Shore. I was amazed at the state of erosion since I haven't fished there for about 3 years, with the grass falling into the water in many areas. I did climb down, but with the high water level, it was easier to cast off the top. Visibility there was not as good as Woodford, but I persisted. I caught a 6lb pike on a white booby and lost my daiwl bach dropper to another.
A chap appeared from the bird hide end with just rod in hand, dropped down into the corner and started fishing with a floater and damsel nymph. With 10 minutes he had his first fish on! He said he had caught 4 in that spot earlier in the day. he had a few more on and off before he skipped off home again.
I eventually managed to pick up a fish - thinking it was the bottom, but another few taps and then a solid take at last. It was a fine fish which went 2-13. I had one more knock which I missed.
I tried in the hot corner after the chap left, but to no avail.
It was good to get out, weather was mild and I still can't cast straight!
'till next time (hopefully opening day 4th March on Chew and 11th on Blagdon 2021) if we are able
Stay Safe and Happy Christmas Very Happy

Limpet · User is Offline Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 87

Fish now filleted, dry rub in salt/dark sugar for a day, overnight in the fridge to firm up, 5 hours of cold smoke and pin-boned, just in time for Christmas Very Happy

Allrounder · Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 12:19 am Post subject:

Allrounder · Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:04 pm Post subject:

Ian (Bovver) and I arranged a post Christmas visit to Chew today , meeting at Woodford for 8am. I wasn't quite sure what to expect this morning with possibly snow forecast but in the event all I had to worry about was scraping some frozen rain off the car windows. However there was a light dusting of snow on the surrounding hilltops when I arrived at the lake, and the day was as cold as it looks ... Sad

Ian was already fishing when I got there along with a couple of other anglers but the word was the going was slow despite the calm conditions and friendly wind direction. However that made sense when I saw the water clarity was a foot at best from all the rain and run off since my last visit but we gave it a good go. One of the guys next to the wood had a few pulls from pike and Ian managed to get one in his net but the most I could report was the slightest of tugs on my floating line set up which didn't develop. By 11 am we were both ready to move. Sad

Next stop was North Shore which was quite busy when we arrived. Again the water clarity was poor at around a foot but we were told that most of those fishing had caught so we got in at the end of the line, fishing from the high bank. Clarity was a little better here but it didn't make any difference whether I fished the Fast Glass or floater. We never saw another angler catch while we were there and as they slowly started to depart Ian and I had a go in the vacated spots. I got in by the rushes by Picnic area 1 where I was told a couple of fish had been caught earlier but had no joy so as I had to leave at 3pm, I decided to spend the last 30 minutes back on the high bank.

I felt sure that casting a pair of Boobies out as far as possible on the Fast Glass, counting down then tweaking them back slowly would get some interest but nothing happened until my very last hang on my very last cast, when a nice naturalised Rainbow grabbed my fly as it started to ascend. To say I was stunned was an understatement but after a very spirited fight Ian successfully netted my fish which allowed me to escape a blank by the skin of my teeth!

Many thanks to Ian for netting my fish from the high bank for me and for being great company as always. Very Happy

If you are thinking of getting out before the end, some of the colour should drop out providing we have settled weather and no heavy rain over the next few days. Wink

Alan

PS Pics on Facebook today show that both Blagdon and Chew are back at top level with water going over their respective spillways. Very Happy

_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello! Smile

tenet · Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 7:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks for posting Alan - did I see on FB a humungus brownie caught recently from Chew? You were lucky not to be snowed out, we had a few inches up here in the Cotswolds. Shock

Allrounder · Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:58 pm Post subject:

Allrounder · Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:05 pm Post subject:

As it was the last day of the extended season on Chew I had to fish it although it could have been a warmer day! The temperature gauge in my car didn't read higher than -3 C all the way to the lake and it was decidedly white and crunchy underfoot as I made my way to North Shore at 9.30am. There was also ice in the margins although the wind was non existent and the clarity was better than last time at 3 feet plus. Despite the bitter weather I felt confident that I would get something but by 11.30 I hadnt seen any action at all so I decided it was time to move. Sad

Next stop was going to be the Oak Tree but the car park there was full so I continued up to Nunnery Point. I quite fancied that fishing deeper water might do the trick but I had exactly the same result - or rather the lack of it - despite fishing all the spurs with my normally reliable floating line and fast glass tactics . With time running out I decided to walk down to to the Oak Tree where I met one of the top guys on the lake. I knew he was good but you could have knocked me down with a feather when he told me he had 9 so far on a washing line with nymphs and just to prove his point, he then released another 5 while I was there before he packed up just before dark! Not bad going for the end of December! Shock

I got in next to him and tried to copy his tactics but failed miserably so as the sun was about to set, desperate measures were called for. A change from the washing line to my 'get out of jail' fast glass with two boobies did the trick and over the next 30 minutes I netted two Rainbows averaging 2-8 and a similar sized jack Pike all on a White Booby to dodge the blank. Very Happy

It good to see a number of anglers out on all banks I looked at today which certainly suggests that over the Christmas period at least, anglers are willing to fish for trout on the reservoirs if given the chance. I have certainly enjoyed my December fishing and hope that in the future it will become the norm. Smile

A few pics from the day ...

A few cars at Nunnery!

My net agreed it was cold! Laughing

Top water at Oak Trees

Blank buster! My first fish as the sun went down ...

Well that's it from me for 2020. I'll get the new Bristol Water Reservoirs 2021 thread up by the weekend and in the meantime, I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! Very Happy

Alan
_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello! Smile

codfather · Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:39 am Post subject:

Happy New Year to all. Did everyone have a good season? I think I had one of My best seasons ever, regularly catching over 10 fish,
sometimes many more. I fished a few new marks at Chew and Blagdon and had a go at boat fishing, which I really enjoyed. I learnt
a lot this season, My first as a season ticket holder and can't wait until next season. Happy New Year.

Allrounder · Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 5:50 pm Post subject:

Best ever fly fishing season on the Bristol reservoirs for me too and by a long way. Very Happy

I caught more fish last season that the previous two seasons combined but I also fished twice as often thanks to my season ticket. However the thing that pleased me most was that for the first time ever I didn't blank once during a 'normal' season, although my good luck didn't extend to the December extension when I blanked twice! Rolling Eyes

Any more observations on the previous season before we close this thread and launch the 2021 version?

Alan
_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello! Smile

codfather · Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:53 pm Post subject:

Alan, BW haven't put up the opening dates yet. Are They usually consistent with the opening dates, ie Chew Valley 1st Thursday in March?
Lets hope Covid is under control by March, not just for the fishing but for living normally. I did like the booking online though and hope it
stays. Without it I probably wouldn't have fished the boats. Stay Safe everyone and tight lines for the coming season.

Allrounder · Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 8:21 pm Post subject:

Allrounder · Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 2:43 pm Post subject:

Many thanks to everyone who uploaded fishing reports and other posts related to the Bristol Water Reservoirs during 2020. You make this the place to go to for trout fishing reports on the Bristol Water reservoirs. Cool

A new Bristol Water Reservoirs thread has been started for reports and contributions during 2021. Very Happy

This thread is now locked.

Alan
_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello! Smile

	The Complete Fisher Forum Forum Index -> Fly Fishing Discussion -> Bristol Water Reservoirs	All times are GMT Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 37, 38, 39
Page 39 of 39