BEWL WATER: HOW TO FIND THE TROUT ON WINDY DAYS

There are literally thousands of trout in Bewl Water.  However, because of its size sometimes it can be a bit of a challenge to find the fish.  Normally, one would ask Janet or Coral at the Lodge or speak to one of the fishery team on the jetty.  They want to help you because they want you to catch (happy fishers come back!).  You can also help yourself by watching other boats (binoculars can be useful) and trying the locations that regularly hold fish, like Rosemary's Lane, Canoe Club Corner, The Nose, the top of Hook Straight, Monty's Seat, etc.  Now the fish tend to go where there is food so a northerly wind blowing over the top of the main dam pushes the surface water away from the dam and that draws up water and potentially food from the depths.

 

If the wind has been blowing in the same direction for several days really experienced Bewl fishers can usually predict where the fish will be.  Usually they fish on the drift (loch style) with a drogue (underwater parachute) out to slow the drift down and keep the boat at right angles to the wind.  This means you are always covering fresh water.  If I can I like to start my drift from a known point like a buoy.  This is so that if I find I am travelling over fish and hopefully catching them when the drift is exhausted or I stop catching I can motor back and repeat a similar drift.  If you see another boat on the drift catching then you can motor in behind them (allowing plenty of space) and follow their drift. What you must not do is sneak in front of them as that is regarded as poor form and will probably get a verbal response!

After my last session at Bewl where I actually saw the fish being stocked, Vince Brooks who works at the fishery and fishes for England, kindly stopped and gave me the following advice on how to speed up the process of finding the fish especially when it is windy:-

• Use a sinking line
• Tie on a large lure
• Don't use the drogue
• Cast and retrieve like crazy!

Doing this you drift fast and cover a lot of water but it speeds up the process of finding the fish. Having found them you may want to try a more subtle approach.  I am looking forward to trying Vince's approach on my next visit!

 

However, now I am being tempted by the chalk streams and the mayfly.  My next post will be about that.

Bewl Water: Stocking in progress and the latest fishing report

Last Monday Malcolm and I were struggling to connect with fish in the strong variable winds and then we spotted Vince and Howard in the stocking boat. We had a brief chat with them as they were seeding Rosemary's Lane with 250 blues.  I was impressed that they were actually counting the fish in as they released them.  Needless to say I managed to hook up to a couple in that area after they had settled down. They gave me the arm wrenching response as they took a cats.

 

As we were leaving Vince kindly stopped for a chat and gave me some advice on how to find the fish in Bewl when the wind is up and swinging from all quarters!

 

I will put that in another post as soon as I find time.  Meanwhile here is the latest Bewl Fishing report from Janet.

Strong winds and heavy rain deterred most anglers at the end of last week and the weekend. Those who did brave the elements were rewarded with some good fishing. Rod average for the week was 2.7 and the fish have started to go deeper in the water and have been 4-5 feet down.

1000 blue trout were stocked on Monday and all trout are spread out across the water. Best areas for boats have been Hook Straight, The Nose , Hatheralls and Rosemary Lane.

Best areas for bank fishing are been Ferry Point, Seven Pound Creek, Dunsters and the Oak Trees.

Successful flies haven't changed much again - Cormorants, Boobies, Damsels and green and black flies such as Vivas and Montanas.

LIFE JACKET AMNESTY:

With weekends very busy, we need all the life jackets we have. 40 have gone missing already this season which has added a further £2,500 to the fishery's running costs. Removal of Bewl Water

property from the site should be treated as theft, however we accept that many of these may have been removed accidently and so would ask that you check cars, sheds etc and return any found immediately to the Fishing Lodge as they must be checked before they go back into use.

Water temp. 13.5c water level

Total Contrast at Bewl Water

One of the amazing things about living in the UK with its temperate climate is that the weather can change completely in a short space of time. In my last post I told of the strong winds and heavy rains experienced whilst fishing at Bewl, a week later and it was blue skies, gentle breezes and "sun burn"!  Yes I came away with 5 rainbows and rosy cheeks.

I was boat fishing with my pal Chris who had not fished Bewl before and who casts a modest distance.  In spite of that he had 3 fish on a single cats whisker before I had caught my first fish!  I was fishing a 3 fly team with a booby on the point and a couple of black buzzers on the droppers (known as the "washing line method").  Eventually it dawned on me that the fish were deeper, well below my flies but in range of his cats.  I switched to a lure and caught up with his total.  Then I thought I would experiment a bit so I fished 3 black buzzers approximately a metre apart under a "strike indicator" with the heavier gold headed  buzzer on the point. That technique caught me 2 more fish but both were caught on the point fly. I think the bright sun was keeping the fish deep. When we both left at around 5pm we each had 5 Superb rainbows and a suntan!

EXTREME Fly Fishing at Bewl Water

Well we knew the weather would be wet, so we had the right gear on but it was still a bit challenging and when the heavens opened (which it did every time I said "I think it has stopped raining) it really poured and I ended up operating the bilge pump!
The good news was that Rob Barden (fishery guide/ranger and team England fisher) was on the water planning to fish,  and he offered to show us where it had been fishing well.  He also said the fish were on black buzzers. So we started at the top of Hook Straight.
I learnt a lot just watching Rob and how close he fished to the bank from the boat on the drift. We all found that strong winds and heavy rain put the fish down, but that as soon as the wind dropped and the temperature rose a degree or two, the hatches commenced and the fish were showing on the top.
Rob found it hard too and after a couple of hours he had touched several but only landed one. He had to go but we worked our way around the water looking for signs of fish. By this time we were really damp and a bit despondent. However as the saying goes "failure cannot cope with persistence" and we found fish off of Chingley Wood. So Malcolm caught his first trout from a boat and then got smashed by a monster and I came home with a brace of beautiful fish feeling shattered but pleased I had endured to the end!

Tough Day at Bewl

Well the company was good, Malcolm, Bryant and Gerald, the latter being a seasoned fly fisher.  It was Malcolm's first bank session at Bewl (he boat fished last week)  and the waders I loaned him fitted a treat.  It was Bryant's 3rd fly fishing session and his first on a big water.  He found out the snag of trying to wade deep whilst wearing my thigh waders!!  Fortunately he is a tough cookie and didn't complain about his wet foot.  The weather was over cast and cool but mostly the water was flat calm.  We fished both banks at Rosemary's Lane and right round into Tinkers Marsh with hardly a touch.  The only action was Malcolm pulling in a pike.  There seemed to be a lot of fry disturbing the slight ripple about 40 yards off of the north bank of Rosemary's but there were no trout disturbing the fry!

 

One chap had a pull whilst dragging a lure along the bottom but didn't keep it on.  We saw another catch a trout from a boat but apart from that it was very quiet. We started a bit late (10:00) and finished around 16:00. 

 

The night before I had been watching the World Fly Fishing Championships on You Tube and was amazed to see that even the experts sometimes "blank"! So that's why they call it fishing and not catching.

 

Now that's a nice Pike Malcolm!!!!!

BEWL WATER FISHERY WEEKLY REPORT week ending: 27-Mar-14

Janet in the Fishing Lodge has kindly sent me the weekly report, so here it is.

The 2014 fishing season - Bewl Water's 37th - got off to a good start on Friday 21 March, with many anglers catching their limits and very few nil returns. Rod average for the week is 4.86.

A weather change and colder winds just hours before the season started meant some areas on the north shore, such as Seven Pound Creek and in front of the playground - usually opening day "hot spots" - proved to be rather more challenging this year. However sheltered areas such as Rosemary Lane, Goose Creek, Dunsters and Overys Farm have fished consistently well from bank and boat. The far end of Hook Straight is also worth a go. Fish have been feeding on midge and top flies have been Cormorant, Viva, Montana and Damsel.

6000 of the popular Bulldog Trout Farm 2lb rainbows were stocked pre-season to add to a good head of overwintered fish and a further 1500 went in this week. A system has been set up where fish delivered from external farms can be loaded into a holding net allowing us to distribute to all areas of the lake as we always have done and this worked well.

The usual reminder: The more returns we receive, the more accurate the fishing report, and of course the chance to win the monthly prize draw for permit and boat hire vouchers up to the value of £79.50.

 

I plan to be there Monday!                                       

Report on this years first outing to Bewl Water

 

Well I could not wait, so I just had to go to fish Bewl a couple of days after the opening of the new season.  I had three pals, two of whom I had been teaching casting on grass, who I had promised some serious fly fishing.  So Malcolm, Niel and Reece (the latter two from the USA) joined me on a cool but bright morning.  Having given Malcolm and Reece a brief demo of what to do, with their boat moored to the jetty, I let them loose.  When Niel arrived he was glowing having just passed his driving test and we set off after the others. Having been briefed at the lodge and jetty we knew where to go.  Fishing on the drift was a bit tricky because we wanted to be close to the banks and were hindered by the wind shifting all over the compass!

 

 

Still cats whiskers, gold headed daddies (with rubber legs) and even a minkie booby did the trick.  The boys learnt all the things not to do, like fishing slack lines and lots of fish were touched and lost but eight did come to the boats and boy did those fish go.  The fish were nearly all 2lb plus and some were nearer 3lb.

 

 

Let the pictures speak.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know about the others, but I just cannot wait to get back!  As we are all doing voluntary work at the London Temple, near East Grinstead, we will have to wait till next Monday, as Mondays are our one day off.  Roll on Monday.

 



Boat fishing Bewl, last days this year: The where and the how!

Yes the boats come off the water at the end of November but there are still a few days remaining to hook up from a boat.  I went down today and caught 3 beauties, the largest of which I thought was going to disappear over the horizon! It weighed in at 3lb 8 oz and was perfect in every respect.  The where is: around the cages.  The how is: Cats whisker or simillar lure.  It was overcast and calm and the fish were near the top but only showed when they were on the chase.

 Just look at that perfect tail!

The head looks pretty too.

 

I understand that bank fishing will be available right through to February.  You can always check their website (see link at side of page).  Why not join the Bewl Bridge Fly Fishing Club, brilliant value for money and you get the famous magazine with all the marvelous tips.  See the link for that as well.

 

A big thank you to everyone who follows the blog and sends me e mails and comments.

Bewl Water:Temperature dips so change of tactics required!

My friend Rowland and I were fishing Bewl and I thought that the floating booby and hopper techniques of a few days earlier would still work.  However, after an hour on the water drifting over the recent "hot spot" there was no sign of action.  So we motored round to the upwind side of the cages and tied up to a buoy.  We soon noticed that another fly fisher was hitting fish.  Not being proud and wanting to make sure Rowland connected I called across and asked what they were on.  He kindly replied that it was gold head daddies a few feet down. 

I switched immediately and on my third cast was rewarded with a fish.  Then I went on to have some more takes and I got broken and lost my last Daddy.  Rowland kindly gave me one.  I think he gave it, but he might only have lent it!  Anyway I have still got it! 

 

This is the gent who kindly tipped me off as to what to use and how to fish it.  By this time another boat had moved on to a buoy the other side of us and they were immediately into fish. Then a chap with his girl friend turned up.  She must have been very devoted to him because it was quite cool and a bit breezy and bumpy!

 

I came away with four good fish and Rowland had his share.  Back at the car I spoke to the guys from the other boat, one had eight fish using a cats whisker and the other had four.  Thinking back I realised that the fish I had caught had all taken the daddy when I was retrieving quite fast.  I think if you retrieve a daddy fast it tends to look more like a lure imitating fry, so maybe I could have caught simply using lures.

 

A cats whisker fly

Osprey seen at Bewl Water?

See the osprey top right. We do get ospreys at Bewl Water as they migrate through but I must own up to the fact that I scanned this picture from the front of the latest Bewl Angle magazine.  Ray French, the editor, always manages to photoshop in an osprey in somewhere on the front cover of the magazine.  I must confess that he had me fooled the first time I saw it.

 

On a more helpful note here is the latest fishing report.  Please note that boats will be available for use on the water till late November.

BEWL WATER FISHERY WEEKLY REPORT week ending:  10-Oct-13

The good fishing has continued for another week. Conditions haven't really changed since last week. The fish are still high in the water but do need a bit of work to catch them at times. This week's rod average is a very good 3.99 and average fish weight up to 2lbs 2ozs.

Best areas for boats - from the dam across the Main Bowl and into Hook Straight . The cages and further down Hook Straight. Bank anglers are catching well from the dam wall. There are also plenty of fish at Chingley and Bramble Point which are starting to come in closer as the water cools.

Successful flies have been Minkies, Minky Boobies, Sparkler Boobies , Cormorants and Hoppers. All fished on a floating line.

Request from Vince Brooks: Please could anyone wishing to take part in Vince's Annual Boss's Day Charity Competition on 26th October, and hasn't yet done so, please give him a ring on 07955 174210, so that he has a reasonably clear idea of numbers.

Water temperature 14degC - water level (now falling quite quickly) 65%

I like to fish Bewl this time of year when the fish are on the top and hunting the fry, but I will have to wait as I am off now to a La Gomera a small unspoilt island in the Canarys.  If I get a chance to fish I will give you the full report.

Some tips on boat fly fishing for trout at Bewl Water, Kent, UK, and success with a magic Booby!

Let me start off by saying the best thing you can do is to join the Bewl Bridge Fly Fishers Club (see link at side of page) where you will get loads of help especially via their bi-monthly magazine the “Bewl Angle”.  As you will see if you stagger to the end of this post it was through reading the magazine that my trip yesterday went from failure to success.

On the practical front here are some suggestions you may already be aware of or you might like to try.  Firstly the whole object of having a boat is to have the ability to be mobile (like the fish) and to be able to cover the whole water (except the bird sanctuary where the really big fish hang out)?  If you’re not seeing fish, and catching, then move.

So you have hired a boat and been given a boat number, before you set off, check it out.  The staff are very good but they often get to clean and check the boats just as it is getting dark. 

Look for an anchor (it is attached to a red buoy so that if you get it caught on the bottom you can untie the anchor rope and leave the buoy marking the spot where the anchor and rope are.  The rangers can then try to recover it.  Oars are a useful plan B, although most of us have the fishing lodge number in our phone which is a better plan B.  Many years ago as dusk was falling at Rosemary’s Lane I foolishly let a beginner operate the engine to take us back to the lodge.  John tried the other way of stopping and sheered the pin that holds the prop on, then he announced that he couldn’t row.  Exhausted, I slept well that night!

 Note the small G clamp I have attached to the edge of the front seat, with the drogue rope attached to it (more about drogues shortly).   Note the landing net with the long handle, I got that idea from the competition boys.  If I am on my own in a boat I usually set up two rods (you are only allowed to fish one at a time).  I will set them up with different lines (say a floater and an intermediate) so I can quickly change my method if required.

 

The drogue is an underwater parachute enabling the boat to drift down wind slowly.  It is called loch style fishing and it means that you are covering fresh water all the time and hopefully another pod of fish.  If you don’t have a drogue then you have to anchor, tie up to a buoy (if it’s allowed) or drift free (a problem in strong winds).

The orange bailer is essential for fellers fishing as it enables you to discretely urinate whereas the ladies have to grit their teeth or motor back to the lodge.   The red cord is the “kill cord”, solo anglers are encouraged to attach the end of it to themselves so that in the event of them falling overboard the engine is killed and they a) don’t get chewed up by the prop and b) have a chance of swimming to the boat and hanging on.  I don't have a fancy armchair type boat seat.  What I do have is a foam one that velcros to the wood seat.  An occasional boat fisher could use an old cushion from home in a strong plastic bag.

The bilge pump (black handle on the left) is useful especially after a heavy downpour. You can also see the second G clamp for the drogue in the left hand corner.

So yesterday, having had a chat with Janet in the lodge, paid my dues and been assigned my boat I had a helpful chat with James, one of the fishery rangers.  He suggested I drift from Beaumans to the cages and used very small flies.  He said the fish were on the top swimming around in small shoals and that I should watch for any disturbance of the ripples and cast to them.  I thought that given the time of year the fish would be on hoppers and daddies so I spent the first few hours fishing them to no avail.  Eventually I gave up on what James had suggested as it got quite wet and windy.  I motored over to the corner of Chingley Wood to get out of the wind.  Within a few casts I had my first pluck on the daddy or hopper but did not hook up.  I tried a number of different drifts and even the corner of the damn, where I saw the odd fish.  Eventually as the weather improved I decided to try round the fish cages.  Whilst drifting between the cages and the grass at Ward’s Lane, right in front of me half a dozen fry leapt out of the water followed by a big rainbow and I realised the fish were on the fry!.

It was then that I remembered that Ray French had written in the latest edition of the Bewl Angle that competition anglers were having good success using tiny booby flies.  I also remembered I had tied 2 the night before.  So out they came and on they went and I came away with three nice 2lb rainbows.    Thanks Ray!

 

If you look closely you can see the tiny Booby in the corner of the fish's mouth. Now I am going to try and tie some more.

 

BEWL WATER FISHING WELL: THE FISH ARE ON THE TOP TAKING DRIES!

 

 

This is the news we have all been waiting for.  Having exhausted myself on the chalk stream over the last two days I thought I would check on Bewl.  I spoke to Rob Dixon, one of the fishery managers and he said a change in wind direction has brought the food and the fish to the top of the water and anglers are catching on dries! Apparently the best action is along the dam and both bank and boat fishers are getting pleanty of action.  My guess is that hoppers and daddies will do the trick.  You heard it here first, now I need to get down there before you do!

Lovely company and dragon boats, but frustrating fishing at Bewl Water.

My internet access at home is down and I am trying to post this from the local library pc. They have just up dated their systems and now I can add pictures.

Tony Hern of Fishability and Ian Thomas of Telereal Trillium



Last Saturday I had an interesting but frustrating day at Bewl Water.  I was supporting a “Fishability” event organised by Tony Hern, the Fishery Manager from Albury Estates (a splendid fellow).  Fishability is an organisation that supports people from the military services who have suffered trauma resulting in mental or physical challenges.  Tony had a dozen or so military or ex-military folk sharing boats with an equal number of experienced guides. 

I drew the long straw having Martha, a charming military nurse, assigned to my boat.  (This was a far more attractive proposition than sharing the boat with some tough and rugged squaddie!) 

 

Having had a bacon bap for breakfast we loaded up the boat and set off, conditions looked perfect, overcast, reasonable breeze rippling the water the temperature of which had dropped to 17 C.  However, Rob Dixon, one of the Bewl staff had warned me that the fishing would be hard.  Apparently, there was a tremendous amount of aquatic insect life in the water and the fish were stuffing themselves with naturals and avoiding anything suspicious!   This was confirmed by the number of house martins working the water.  Rob recommended drifting between the cages and the dam, so that’s what we did.  The good news was that, in spite of it only being her second go at fly fishing, Martha, who was bursting with enthusiasm, could cast quite well, certainly well enough to cover fish on the drift.

Well Martha maintained her enthusiasm and we fished our socks off and all to no avail.  At one point Martha spotted a pike on the top of the water right in front of her, when she moved her rod it spotted her and did an impressive “crash dive”.  We saw fish but in spite of changing flies, lines, locations and speed of retrieve we didn’t even get a touch.  The trout definitely had other things to distract them.

 

However, entertainment was provided by the dragon boat races down by the dam.  We must have heard the Hawaii Five O theme tune five hundred times!  Lunch was excellent, and the whole event was kindly financed by Telereal Trillium, with Ian Thomas signing the cheque and him and Richard Becksmith both from TT also acting as fishing guides.

 

Desperate to provide some excitement for Martha I asked her if she would like to drive the boat.  Well she jumped at the chance and we did a grand tour of the lake at full speed.  She even brought us into the jetty with finesse!   I was sad I had failed to deliver the goods, and get Martha hooked up with bar of pink or blue silver, but she did not complain once.  She has a bright future as a fly fisher.

Fly Fishing Bewl and the Benefits of Fly Fishing Forums

Robert Sorenson visitor from Utah on the water at Bewl

Following my challenging last session at Bewl and because I had a visitor from the USA coming to fish with me I thought I would access the expertese in the club via the club web site Forum. So here are the posts:-

My question: Challenging Boat Fishing caused by bright sun?
I took a pal out on Monday 27th May (Bank Holiday), it was bright and sunny and the fishing was really hard. We fished for 10 hours! For a full account and a map showing where we fished have a look at my post at http://breakingrods.blogspot.co.uk
I would be very interested in receiving any tips on how to cope with bright sun and clear water please? I am taking another pal (from the USA) tomorrow and I would like him to have a fishey experience. Regards Alan C

Donkey replied
Bright sun clear water? Use finer, longer leader, smaller flies. Drift don't anchor and fish slower than normal on any flies (blobs or buzzers) Even in the sun fish in the top 4ft. The clear water means fish can see anything above them and will come up for your fly. Trout don't look downwards, so the chances are they never saw half of of your fishing. The fish may well be deeper but fishing at depth is bad advice. Eeeeeooor!

Roadrunner 1000 replied
The problem you had on BH Monday was bright sun AND a strong wind. Never good at Bewl. Coupled with the fact that the wind had blown from a different direction for the previous few days didn't help either.

Donkey responded
Roadrunner is right about wind and sun at Bewl generally, but not this year. So prolific are the buzzers at the moment, the fish are stuffed with them off the wind feeding quietly on the high flooded grass. Sunday's rod average was 5.5, mostly on buzzers. Monday we brought 11 fish to the boat on the drift and a couple of other club members did better. Method in our boat was slow sink tip with two size 14 green Buzzers and a Small FAB Blob on the point, fished slowly. This was also the method used by the Scots team to take Gold medal in the Home International at Bewl two weeks ago. Advice, fish at the top known spots that are off the wind if it is strong and follow what I said in my previous commentr. Bewl is different this year, it is a new experience !! Eeeeoooor!

I replied
Donkey and Roadrunner, You are both stars, thank you very much. I will follow advice and try harder! Alan C

Pigsypete joined in
Can I ask what's a FAB Blob ? I also hear a washing line is a top method but I have no idea how this is fished, I looked it up on tinternet it showed the set up but not how it is fished.

Roadrunner 1000 responded
FAB = Foam Arsed Blob.
I've never used one myself as I've heard that the foam can bump the fish off. I'm a big fan of a standard orange blob as an attractor fly on the top dropper though.
I'll fish a washing line using an intermediate line, mixing up my retrieve and size of booby eyes. I can't recall when the washing line 'technique' become well known but back in the early (?) 1990's when Airflo brought out their first 'Clear Glass' intermediate range I used a similar set up. Early season I would fish a booby/fast sinker/short leader and if I felt that the fish had moved up in the water I used the Fast Clear Glass with a six foot leader, booby on point and a Black Pennell on a dropper. The technique usually produced a few fish.
I remember when the booby first became 'known' and reading of anglers using a fast sinking line, long leader, booby on the point, buzzers on droppers and using long slow pulls to make the buzzers rise and fall through the water.
There is rarely anything 'new' in flyfishing, it's usually an 'evolution' of a technique/method.

End of posts

Meanwhile I had looked up FAB flies on the net and found a YouTube demo and tied four.  See
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNuu8VratPc

 

My American fishing buddy (a friend of a friend) Robert Sorenson, and I duely fished FABs with buzzers on Friday 31st May at Bewl and we both caught on them.  Robert caught his first blue on one.  The fish ignored our buzzers, maybe they were too big.  We found the fishing hard again after a calm start the wind got up and favoured drifts got a bit bumpy.  I did manage to hook one fish in the bumpy stuff.  A particularly favoured corner got one chap at least a dozen fish.  We saw him catch 2 beautiful browns.

If anyone knows him please direct him to this post as I said I would send him the picture and then failed to get his details.

Around 6pm when the wind had dropped we saw some fish moving in a tiny bay in front of Hook House.  Robert targetted a fish and the video shows the action (have your sound on).

Robert mainly fishes from a float tube in the States so he was interested in our drift technique in the boat using the drogue (underwater parachute) to control the drift.  He is thinking about the possibility of developing a float tube drogue!  I am off to the Seattle area on the 6th June for 6 weeks of fishing, float tubing, babysitting and working down my daughter in laws project list!  I will try to keep you posted!  One of the first things I will do out there is visit the Washington Fly Fishing Forum!

The difference in colour beween a rainbow (top) and a blue.

Bewl Water: Challenging Fishing

 

Back in 2005 I gave a bank fishing lesson to 3 friends from church at Bewl.  Recently one of them called Rowland, having had a look at my blog, called me and said could we fish Bewl together again.  How could I refuse such an appealing suggestion.  I didn't know what to expect, would I be teaching casting again or had Rowland progressed?  I suggested we should use a boat so we were mobile and we fixed a date.  Now the challenge of fixing a date well in advance is that you are at the mercies of the weather. Sadly on this Bank Holiday Monday my prayers for overcast skies and a slight breeze were completely swamped by other prayers for clear skies, brilliant sunshine and a strong breeze. See the picture above.

Anyway Rowland turned up all kitted out with the right gear (see picture above) and advised me how another friend had helped him overcome some shoulder problems by getting serious about fly fishing.  Down on the jetty Bewl's Rob Barden warned me that the fishing would be hard as the water was crystal clear and with the sun beating down the fish were deep.  He advised on techniques and suggested some locations to drift. So off we went at 09:00 with a strong breeze from the south. The map below shows where we fished.

 

Where                                          Results

1. Canoe club corner                   I had a pull but 4 drifts later nothing
2. Monty's to Ferry Point             Saw one fish jump
3. Bewl Straight near FP             Saw one fish caught
4. Off the oaks close to bank      Quiet
5. Rosemary's Lane                    3 boats throwing metal, quiet
6. Tinker's Marsh                        Very quiet (first time I have fished there)
7. Enrance to Tinker's                Quiet but windy
8. Polecat Wood                         Quiet but windy
9. Corner of Bryants Wood         Quiet
10. Below Bewl Cottages             Quiet but windy
11. Top of Hook Straight              4 boats throwing metal, no action
12. In front of Hook House           Saw a fish jump
13. Back at Canoe Club               Rowland took a fish practically out of the bushes, Hurray!!!

So 10 hours on the water and only one fish to show for it.  Still I didn't feel bad about it Rowland had connected right at the end and in the recent International Competition quite a number of fishers had blanked.  We had tried almost everything in terms of lines (floaters, intermediates, di 3 and di 5) and in terms of flies, buzzers, minkies, boobys and even cats whiskers.

On the positive side, the boat and engine were good, the scenery wonderful and the weather, yes the weather was nice for the rest of the occupants of Southern England.

Well done Rowland!

BEWL WATER FISHERY WEEKLY REPORT week ending: 23 May 2013

 

Thanks to Janet Benny in the Fishing Lodge for this:-

Mixed fortunes this week with very clear water, changing wind directions and a fall in temperature. Although some anglers have found the fishing difficult, others have reported having plenty of good sport and catching up to 20 trout. The fish have moved slightly away from the margins, but the still cool water temperature has led them to stay in the shallower areas rather than in the deep water and trout are generally within the top 3 feet of the water.

Stocking resumed after a break for the Spring International with 1600 superb Bulldog rainbows of 2lbs plus and 437 home-reared 2 to 4lbs Bewl brownies, all stocked on Tuesday.

Best areas at the moment, for bank and boat, are on Bewl's North Shore. Canoe club corner, the shore in front of the playground, Bramble Point and further down Hook Straight have all produced fish. Successful flies have been Blobs, Boobies, Diawl Bach, Cormorant and Buzzers while Any Method angling has favoured spinners. Water temperature is 11degC and water level is 98.5%.

Bewl hosted the IFFA Spring Home International Match on Friday 17th May. Scotland were the winners with a total bag weight of 127lb 14oz. Rod average for the event topped 2.8 and full results can be seen on the Bewl website at www.bewlwater.co.uk

 

Also see my recent post "Fly Fishing Duel at Bewl".

BEWL WATER: RESULTS OF INTERNATIONAL FLY FISHING ASSOCIATION COMPETITION

Here are the official results of the competition. For my role in the excitment see my previous post!  The fishing was hard on the day due to a cold NE wind and the fact that most of the competitors had been flogging the water practising for several days!  Still the clever fishers produced!

INTERNATIONAL FLY FISHING ASSOCIATION

BEWL WATER - 17th MAY 2013

SPRING MATCH

 

Winner SCOTLAND 63 fish lbs 14.000 ozs

2nd Place England 42 fish 79 lbs 8.500 ozs

3rd Place Wales 32 fish 61 lbs ozs

4th Place Ireland 21 fish 42 lbs 3.500 ozs

 

GRAND TOTALS 158 fish 311lbs 5ozs

 

BEST BASKET Peter Auchterlonie SCOTLAND 9 fish 20 lbs 5.000 ozs

HEAVIEST TROUT Richard Hooper WALES 3 lbs 3.000 ozs

English best basket Roger Trustcott 8 fish 16 lbs 1.000 ozs

Irish best basket Francis McSharry 6 fish 13 lbs 8.500 ozs

Scottish best basket Peter Auchterlonie 9 fish 20 lbs 5.000 ozs

Welsh best basket Jason Heath 4 fish 9 lbs 2.500 ozs

OFFICIALS' TROPHY George Mackenzie 4 fish 8 lbs 8.000 ozs

Best Boatman - no 23 Steve Collins 14 fish 29 lbs 9.500 ozs

 

 

For the full details try the IFFA Official Results website: www.iffa.net

 

FLY FISHING DUEL AT BEWL WATER 17 MAY 13

I have just enjoyed a most interesting day at Bewl.  No, I was not fishing myself I was watching others fish In the International Fly Fishing Association Spring Match.  My role was that of "Boatman".  This involved sitting in the boat for eight hours between two competitors to assist with things like operating the drogue, netting and dispatching fish if asked, and making sure the participants played the game according to the rules.

 

The whole event was very serious and professional with teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. I was impressed to see it started with a parade behind a Ghurka Piper. Please watch the videos.

 

 

The fishers I had to support were Con Malone from Ireland and Paul Lee from England.

Con was a splendid fellow with a lovely sense of humour and an amazing selection of flies!

 



A few of Con's flies!



Paul was equally splendid and worked hard at positioning the boat and helping me to perform my role.  Paul had an amazing array of tackle.

Paul's collection of lines all clearly labelled!

 

At 10 o'clock the horn sounded and 28 outboard engines roared alive and 56 fishers were off.  Paul took us just south of Bramble Point and we drifted there for half an hour before he picked up two fish in quick succession.  When it went quiet we went to the far end of Hook straight.  There were fish showing there and the house martins were working the water.  Buzzers were ignored so Paul switched to little, very buoyant dries (secret specials) and picked up two more fish. They then tried the open water east of the cages and a drift towards The Nose to no avail.  Paul said Tinkers had fished well earlier in the week so we motored down there.  Lots of birds working the water but only a couple of fish showing so no action apart from a rather nice perch.  Then it was back up Bewl Straight with a short pause near the woods on the north side.  A couple of fish showed but they were not feeding.  The next thing we knew it was 17.30 and we had to start heading back to the jetty.

 

The cold north easterly wind had definitely put the fish off as several fishers had blanked.  I didn't stay to find out who had won, I was just too tired, but one England team member told me he had caught one whereas his boat companion had caught eleven!  That would have upset me!

 

So did I learn anything?  Yes I did and here is the list:-

• A large long handled net helps get the fish in the boat quickly
• Using 12lb leaders helps reduce the playing time
• Caught fish need to go in a cold box with a couple of inches of water in it
• I should have put my water proof fishing trousers on to keep my legs warmer
• Paul recommends his Hardy 5000GLS reel

Would I have fished it differently?  Yes I think I would have done the following:-

• As the water was so clear I think I would have used 8lb leaders
• I would have fished buzzers more slowly and either as a washing line with a small booby on the point or the buzzers suspended under a dry or booby.
• If the above failed I would have put a team of small lures on an intermediate and tried that.
• If after 30 minutes a fish had not been caught or several seen I would have moved.

The competition organisers and the staff at Bewl need to be congratulated on a well- organised event, the fish should be reprimanded for not cooperating!

Possibly it was the sound of the pipes that put the fish off!