Things are 'Looking Up' in time for our late September Competition

Following on from my somewhat 'gloomy' post on 12th September I can now report that things are 'Looking Up' as they say. Pat Power, myself, and one or two others have both fish and better fishing conditions to report despite the continuing low water levels.

 

A September Brace

 

Whether a noticeable drop in air temperature, cooling the surface of the lake, has made a difference is not certain, but it is noticeable how fish are being caught once again, from the upper layer of water, on floating lines and even dry flies. The picture above shows two rainbows landed by me on Monday 16th September. One took a size 14 Cruncher and the other a size 12 black Snatcher within a foot of the surface. Pat reports having very good day on Thursday 12th September when fish were taking his Sedge Fly imitations with enthusiasm. 

 

The Snatcher & The Cruncher



Initially fish were mostly being caught early on in the day, from around 7 - 9 am, but this week they have also been active during the middle of the day. 

 

Over the summer the fishing from the boat has been more or less impossible. The constantly falling water levels have often left the vessel high and dry. However, bank fishing has had its small compensations, not the least of which has been the opportunity to use my newly purchased Kelly Kettle. After many years of 'stewed' tea and less than fresh coffee which has spent several hours in a Thermos flask, I now have the opportunity to brew a lovely refreshing cup of tea on the bankside using only a few twigs, of which there is no shortage at Burrator or Fernworthy. Here are a couple of pictures.
 

Nicely fired up

 

Almost 'Teatime'

Hopefully Burrator will be fishing even better by the time our late September competition comes around. Just to remind you all it is on Thursday 26th September from 10.00am.


Our October competition is also at Burrator and is on Thursday 24th October from 10.00am.

When will this difficult summer end?

Since our last posting events at Burrator have taken a very different turn. We have suffered with a lack of catchable fish and a remarkable lack of water. The picture below was taken in early August, and if you compare it with the picture at the top of this site (taken in May 2013 from the boat), you can see how much the level had fallen in just over two months. Since that time it has fallen still further and the pictures below  show the water level in the second week in September.



Burrator in August



Burrator in  early September 1



Burrator in early September 2

Alongside these drastic falls in water level had come the very warm and bright weather leading to very high water temperatures. So, despite SWLT continuing to stock the water on a regular basis the number of fish caught had fallen to very low numbers. Kit Hancock, the Countryside Warden for Burrator, reported that Kennick and Siblyback were in similar condition with, during a week in August, only one fish reported caught from Kennick and none from Burrator. Fishing was more or less at a standstill. During the last week of August the Siblyback Warden reported nine angler visits leading to a mere six fish being caught. Our own Tony McCoy had a day there on 5th September when, despite taking out a boat, had no fish and no takes. Let's hope things improve soon.