WHEN YOU HAVE TO FISH, YOU HAVE TO FISH, DO IT IN SPITE OF THE WEATHER FORECAST!

We had planned to fish on Monday so when the weather man said 5 degrees C, strong winds and the risk of showers we did hesitate!  But then you can wrap up, don fancy head gear, break out the finger-less mitts and wear two pairs of thick socks and if all else fails skin is waterproof!

In the end we had wind and sun, cloud and a 10 minute snow shower but we survived and we even caught.

Malcolm was the first to catch but Richard (pictured above and below) had only been fishing the Wood Lodge Pool for 15 minutes when he caught on a blood worm with long rubber legs. 

 Later we moved down to Mill House Lake and found some fish deep by the monk.  I caught on a gold head daddy with rubber legs.

 The monk (seen below) is the name given to the outflow structure one side of which features a series of wooden slats.  The level of the lake is controlled by the height of the slats.  When the lake is to be drained the slats are removed and the water flows into the structure and down a pipe at the bottom.  The monk is always at the deep end of the lake, where fish may hang out in very cold or very warm weather. 

 Malcolm (below), well wrapped up, survived the snow shower but missed his fingerless mitts.

So we all came away with a brace each.  The fish were all 2lb plus and one was a 3, all in perfect fighting condition.

I noticed on the Albury web site that there was an aerial video of the lakes we had been fishing. You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPF1W-ZyaxM&feature=youtu.be

I had the whole of Bewl Water all to myself fly fishing.

I finished all I could do on my garden fencing project around noon so I decided to treat myself to a bit of piscatorial R & R! None of my pals could make it so was free to choose between Albury or Bewl.  I was pretty sure to catch at Albury but Bewl won because it would be more challenging and a bit cheaper. When I arrived the weather was good, overcast but dry, south westerly breeze and air temperature around 10 C.  Vince Brook, one of the fishery staff kindly stopped for a chat and suggested Bramble Point?  So off I set on  the ten minute walk and arrived to find the water crystal clear with a nice ripple.  Resisting the temptation to wade I kept well back and started casting with a single black woolly bugger gold head fly presented using a 7 weight forward floating line with a twelve foot leader.  On my third cast I was rewarded with a lovely pull that signalled good fish on!  It had hit the fly round two rod lengths off of the rod tip so it was in quite close and I would probably have spooked it if I had been in the water.

Later I did go into the water as there was no more action from the shore, I also tried an intermediate line with the woolly bugger, then a cats whisker and finally a blue flash damsel. I fished for 2 hours, only had the one fish but I loved every minute of it! The sky, the breeze and the water lapping at my waders told me I was very lucky to be there, still able to cast a line and still able to land a fish, the first of 2015.  And to top it all I had the whole of Bewl Water all to myself!

I am pleased to see that I can still pull them out!

Vince had warned me that they lock the exit gates at 4pm this time of year which is why I only fished for 2 hours.  However, as I was leaving Rob Barden told me that if you park down by the Outdoor Centre you can exit from there whenever you like.

More Fly Fishing Fun at Albury and another big trout

My pal Malcolm has made so much progress with his casting of the fly that I decided to take him to the lakes at Albury Estates, near Guildford.  I also wanted him to see what a real fly fishing shop was like so we visited Peter Cockwill's Albury Game Angling tackle shop.  I need some fly tying materials and I wanted to make sure Malcolm invested in some blue flash damsel nymphs as they are deadly on the lakes.

Peter Cockwill is a splendid instructor, guide, author, lecturer and tackle shop proprietor. He has been guiding trips to Alaska every year since 1988. 

Peter's shop has everything you need to fly fish and fly tie.

We started fishing at Weston on the main lake, with me wanting to sight fish, but the fish were staying out of sight so we had a go at the Wood Lodge Pool where we could see fish, especially where the water flows in through the feeder pipe.  Malcolm caught on the blue flash and I blanked so after a sandwich we drove the mile or so to Vale End and fished the river pool. Malcolm positioned himself adjacent the tail of the pool (I hadn't told him that was where a couple of years ago our mutual friend Ashok had caught a 10lb fish).  I positioned myself at the side of a large tree, hoping to use it as cover because the water was fairly clear.  Whilst I was pulling a bit of debris from my fly Malcolm called out and pointed to the far side of the lake. I looked round the tree trunk and saw a very large ring rapidly expanding on the water about 25 yards away.  I quickly worked out some line, false casting like crazy and double hauling dropped the fly at the center of the ring.  Reckoning that the fish was probably still high in the water I started tweaking the fly in immediately and was rewarded with a firm snatch.  The fish splashed and Malcolm gave me one of his "I don't believe it looks"!  Ten minutes later having been taken back onto the reel, and having steered the fish out of reeds on both sides of the lake I managed to get it on the bank. It was in perfect condition with a lovely full tail. It weighed in at 4lb 8oz.

We both went on to have another fish each and ended a very pleasant winters day so glad we had gone fishing.

I tend to fillet larger fish as it is less trouble than gutting them, but note the filleting glove under the filleting knife.

Thought for the day: Bragging may not bring happiness, but no man having caught a large fish goes home through an alley!

Extreme Fly Fishing: Rainbow Trout on New Years Day 2014

Not having had the chance to fish for several weeks I decided to get 2014 off to a good start by going fishing on New Year's Day.  The weather forecast predicted heavy rain and strong winds all day, but I followed Boyd K Packer's maxim of "Do it in spite of the weather". My main concern was finding somewhere where the water clarity was clear enough to let the fish see the fly.  Muddy brown water does not suit fly fishing!  So I went on the Albury Estates Fishery web site, noted that the info had been updated the day before and that it mentioned that the large lake at Vale End had been isolated from the Tillingbourne (river) to safeguard clarity during the recent floods.  The drive was exciting as there were various flooded sections but eventually I arrived there and found a new closed gate.  The instructions said swipe your membership card and I did.  To my surprise (my membership card is very old) the gate opened.  

This access gate is a relatively new feature and is there I imagine to inhibit poaching.  Having got through the gate I parked up as near to the fishing hut as I could as I wanted to set up in the dry.  Another couple of brave individuals turn up and we swapped ideas as we got ready.  The rain did not ease off and the wind experimented with all points of the compass.  I did't mind, I was in the fresh air with a rod in my hand and water in front of me.  I fished a small cats whisker on an intermediate line counting it down to explore different depths.  Eventually I was reward with a sustained pull and lifting the rod found myself connected to a good fish.  Knowing it, if landed, was destined for the dinner table I played it carefully as it's performance told me it was on tip top condition!  As I was on a two fish ticket I decided to make things a bit more challenging by moving location and changing the fly.  Guess what, I fished for another couple of hours working my way right round the lake and I didn't get another pull.  As the rain was getting heavier and the wind more contrary I decided to head for home knowing that I could use the ticket for the second trout on another visit.  I thoughly enjoyed my fishing at Albury.  I regard it as a well run fishery for the following reasons:-

• The fish are raised in their own fish farm and are in excellent condition.
• Careful records are kept of catch returns so stocking can be appropriate
• The waters are well maintained and pretty
• Access and parking is good
• The ticket system seems fair and works well
• Tony Hern, the manager is a splendid fellow and his team are always friendly and helpful
• It is a good place to teach fly fishing and novices have a good chance of getting a fish
• The internet site is informative and kept up to date

At nearly 2lb 8oz it was a nice fish, you can see how wet I got fortunately underneath I was dry!