The Complete Fisher Forum

[Allrounder]

[Bongoch]

If you've not already seen on Facebook there's been a bloom of blue-green algae on Tank 3 at the Barrows so fishing is currently suspended on it. Does seem strange for a bloom to be occurring so late in the year though temperatures have been quite high until recently.

Bristol Water Fisheries - News

[Allrounder]

I had my last Friday session of the season on the Bristol reservoirs today, starting on the North Shore at Chew. I arrived around 10am to find the conditions very promising with a light onshore ripple which wasn't an issue and unsurprisingly the water level has risen around a foot since a week ago. Unfortunately the water clarity was also no more than a foot which was far from ideal but I gave it my best shot for an hour with no joy. I thought the Pikers were on today but I couldn't see any Bivvies so I decided to have a look at Walley bank. I obviously got it wrong as there wasn't a Bivvy or rod pod to be seen although there were a couple of trout fishermen down by the dam. The pipe and outlet structure is now underwater although its presence was given away by the flow of water that is still being pumped into the lake and the presence of a few Gulls hoping for a quick meal. There were also predators in and around the flow as occasionally the water would boil and small fish would leap but I suspect they were mainly jack Pike rather than trout. I gave it an hour but nothing happened so I decided to have a look at Blagdon in the hope that the water clarity there would be better than 18 inches.

I arrived at Butcome at Noon and was delighted to see the water clarity was as good as I hoped at around 3 feet or more. The wind was coming from right to left but I could still put a long line out so I started on the stone embankment. I didnt have to wait long for my decision to be rewarded when a fine 3-11 Rainbow took my beadhead White Tadpole and it duly ended up in my net after a good fight. I was convinced there were more where that came from but despite spending the rest of the afternoon fishing the bank up into the bay, the only other pulls came from a tiny pike that stayed attached and another that didn't. It was a shame as it was a lovely day to be out fishing but unfortunately no one told the fish!

On a different subject the bank clearing dates have now been published on FB by Kirsty Dunford from BW. If anyone want to give a few hours please let Kirsty know by email. I am planning to attend both sessions.


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

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[Bongoch]

Was out on Chew on both Saturday and Sunday over the weekend.

Arrived at Wick on Saturday just before dawn, the water has now come up a significantly as the stumps on the spit to the north of Wick are now completely submerged. There were already 3 anglers fishing away when I arrived and as they'd already had some sport, I decided to slip into the water just to the left of them past the bird hide. Started of with my usual setup of a washing line with a hot pink FAB on the point and a couple of Crunchers on the droppers. The guys to my right were picking up fish fairly regularly but despite my best efforts all I could muster was a couple a couple of half-hearted tugs and a follow to the FAB over the first hour. The others were all fishing much, much quicker than me (the guy directly to my right would generally have 3 casts to my 1) using a roly poly retrieve with a what they described as a white lure. After a further fruitless 30 mins I put a beaded black tadpole on the point and couple of Cormorants on the droppers (shamefully I didn't have any white coloured lures in my box! ) and started fishing a lot quicker. This proved a lot more successful and within 20 mins I had a nice fish take the Cormorant on the middle dropper. Sadly, as it was just about played out it shot away on a final run and my dropper snapped off at the knot with the main leader. I continued on and eventually managed to winkle out a couple of nice fish, both of which took the black tadpole. By this time a stiff Southerly had started blowing and by 12.15pm I'd had enough and decided to head home.

On Sunday, I again decided to head to Wick but this time arrived a lot earlier and was in the water in front of the bird hide and fishing just after 7am. I knocked up a few beaded white tadpoles on Saturday night and stuck one on the point with a couple of Cormorants on the droppers. Employing a quick figure-of-eight retrieve brought a couple of fish to the net (both took the white tadpole) before 8am but after that things became a lot slower. I landed my third and final fish (again on the white tadpole) just after 10am and what a cracker it was, a lovely fully finned silver bullet around the 4lb mark. I continued on to around 10.30am but decided to call it day as the the bank had now got busy and I felt it was a good time to call it a day.

Been an interesting and enjoyable season. Caught plenty of fish and a few crackers amongst them. Looking forward to next season already!

[Allrounder]

I have a couple of reports to complete the season although the first one won't take very long ...

Monday 28th November
I arrived at Woodford bank at around 11am and decided to have a look before committing to fish. Once I saw that more colour had dropped out since Friday I didn't need convincing to give it ago and that decision was confirmed when I saw 4 members of the' early morning crew' walking down from the car park. They had been fishing Wick but unlike at the weekend they had found it hard going so had elected to move. They were fishing before I returned with my rod so I got in to their right. I fished my usual sink tip with a white beadhead tadpole then a washing line with DBs, alternating the point fly between white and black boobies but despite giving it my best shot I never had a pull. However the others managed 4 fish between them with one catching two so they were obviously out there. After a couple of hours I decided to have a look at Walley where I found one person fishing. He was also blanking but there were fish actively chasing fry and taking them off the top, although we suspected they were Pike. That was confirmed then we both got bitten off but it allowed me to hatch a plan for the last day of the season on Wednesday...

Wednesday 30th November...
My cunning plan for today was to fish a 'split shift' for trout in the morning then pike in the afternoon. The weather suggested an Easterly wind so I elected to start on the North Shore from first light, arriving shortly after 7am. The morning was misty with no wind and I was delighted to see the colour had dropped out still further leaving clarity of 3 foot or more so I was very confident I would catch. I started with my usual sink tip and White beadhead Tadpole approach and for once my confidence was rewarded. On my 3rd cast I received a very solid pull and after a pugnacious fight a 3-8 rainbow was in my net. I was hoping more would follow and they did with another 2 gracing my net although I lost 3 more by 9am, but they soon became wary of the White Tadpole and the pulls were replaced by tail nips and swirls on the hang without locking up. To counter this I changed to a washing line with a red and a green DB on the droppers which resulted in two more fish to the red DB with a couple more lost before I gave them best at 12 noon with 5 in my bass bag. After that I changed to my Pike fly fishing gear and moved to Walley.

When I arrived at Walley the pipe was still pumping in water but there were no signs of fish feeding on top or gulls mopping up fry, just a solitary bird standing guard. My cunning plan was to fish a popper fry on a floating line in the flat calm which I'm sure would have worked on Monday, but the bl**dy Gull had other plans, continually dive bombing it as I tweaked it across the surface. It even kept pecking my floating line when I changed to a subsurface fly and I blamed it for distracting me when I was caught unawares by a very solid pull, but it was my own fault really for not setting the hook firmly enough. I carried on and was finally rewarded by this very chunky fish that spewed 5 inch Roach out in my net before being safely returned.



Nothing happened after that so I gave them best at 3.30pm. It is such a shame that after weeks and weeks of Southerly winds and storms the season has now ended just as some settled weather arrives.

Until next time .... which will be next season now!

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

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[lakefisher]

Did you weigh the chunky one Alan ?
Gotta be pleased with that, especially on a fly, and from the bank

Congrats ...... Tony
_________________
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

[Allrounder]

[BristolFlyer]

Nice one Al! Respect for keeping at it and finishing your season on a high!

[blondie]

Great finish to the season Alan
Thanks for all the reports from you guys throughout the season Certanly kept me going during my recovery
Looking forward to fishing a lot more next season. Tight lines.Steve.

[malerogue]

New prices! Brace yourself!
https://www.bristolwaterfisheries.com/fishing/how-to-get-involved/season-permits-and-pricing?fbclid=IwAR2ME4zqk-1BGepMPwG1J2mUnqo5hgxlaMLxsX2LbgXlsTr0gvO8GqCoQeI

[Allrounder]

Brace yourself indeed! Not had time to run a calculator over all the price increases but it looks like an increase of just over 13% on the permits I use. It's disappointing but at the end of the day I have two choices, and the one I will choose is to renew my Mid week 5 day concession season ticket ticket with the lower 125 fish limit. I had good value out of it last season and the increased season ticket holder boat discount from £15 to £20 per day / £8 to £12.50 per half day for 2023 will help to take some of the sting out of the increase. I also note they have reviewed the cost of their Blagdon pike fly fishing and have reduced the permit price from £450 for two anglers per day to £230 a boat. That is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime!

The bank clearing session at the Ash Trees on Blagdon took place today. It was a frosty morning but us few hardy stalwarts and BW staff got stuck in and made good progress.

Kirsty from BW has said she will arrange for a tractor and flail to remove the brambles that have encroached on this area and following suggestions from those present she will look at organising another bank clearing session after Christmas on a weekend with Sunday being the most likely day, rather than mid week. Hopefully that will enable those who work during the week to join in. I'll copy the details on the forum when they appear on Facebook.

I had a look at Herons on Chew on my way home and it is filling up nicely although there is still a long way to go. The sharp eyed among you will notice that the Point and pegs to the right has been given a trim. Like last year on Nunnery, there are plans for contractors to come in over the coming weeks to remove some of the more substantial trees and shrubs from the Point and the area by the old staging near the top car park so this should free up more bank fishing.



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

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[Bongoch]

In the current environment with prices for fuel and feeding pellets increasing considerably it's not really surprising that prices have increased and all things considered I'll probably renew my weekend season ticket next year. However, £108 or £112 for a 2-man boat on Chew or Blagdon is very high bordering on extortionate in my opinion. Being Scottish I always tend to compare boat fishing prices to the gem that is the Lake of Menteith. They haven't announced their 2023 prices but a 2-man boat on Menteith fishing C&R during the week was £53 in 2022, weekends were more expensive at £64. Why is there no C&R option or lower fish limit ticket option on Blagdon when boat fishing? In short, I'll probably new my weekend season ticket but boat trips will be few and far between and always at weekends from now on to take advantage of the discount.

[Allrounder]

Some fair observations there, Bongoch.

I note that Angling Water's approach is to keep price increases to between 7 to 10% by reducing the size of most fish stocked from 900 grams ( around 2lb ) to 750grams (around 1lb 10oz) so I wrote to BWF to ask if their stocking policy for 2023 would remain the same as in previous years. This is their reply ..

The stocking plan for 2023 will be the same as the 2022 season. As well as this we are committed to continuing with our gold standard of trout stocking. This will mean average sizes of 2lb+.
So you can expect the same quality fish that we are known for.

In other words, a larger increase in permit prices in order to maintain the usual stocking policy.

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

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[BristolFlyer]

I took a walk around Chew with the dog yesterday. There was a veritable feeding frenzy off the pipe at Walley with about 200 seagulls, cormorants and other birds diving and picking fry off the surface. I got to play the expert and explain to two birdwatchers what was happening. Thanks Alan

All of a sudden the activity stopped and all the birds drifted away.

[Allrounder]

There was a little snow where I live a few days ago followed by increasingly bitter frosts down to -8C so I decided to have a look at Chew this morning. I was surprised to find no snow with a few areas of the lake still clear of ice, although Herons was completely frozen over. Hopefully BW's contractors will follow up the initial bank clearing we did behind Bobs House to open this area up further. ...


There were a few clearer areas in the deeper areas towards Denny and Walley but it will all be gone by Monday if the weather forecast is correct.


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

If you see me on the bank, say hello!