Thursday 2 November 2017

BFFA Competition at Blakewell Fly Fishery 19 October 2017

Six members made the journey up to North Devon to fish at Blakewell Fly Fishery. Despite early rain and mist on the way up, the day turned out to be dry and cloudy with virtually no wind which made casting very comfortable.  We opted for a variety of tickets ranging from 2-fish to 6-fish.

From the start we could see plenty of trout moving, mainly just under the surface.  Frustratingly though they seemed to be really sluggish, and despite our best efforts our flies were being ignored in the flat calm conditions.  Bob suggested that they may react to something to chase, and tried stripping back a black and silver lure at speed.  Within minutes he had a lovely rainbow of 4-3 in the net.  Pat and Tony switched to the same tactics and both soon had fish on the bank, and eventually I did too.  Ten minutes later Tony completed his two fish ticket and was left watching and netting fish for the rest of us!

Higher up the lake David and Stuart couldn't find the fish, but a move down improved their luck with Stuart landing what turned out to be the best fish of the day at 4-6.  Sport went quiet for a while but we enjoyed plenty more action after lunch, this time mainly on buzzers. As ever at Blakewell all the fish were in beautiful condition - hard fighting, fully finned and a very good size, averaging around three pounds with three topping the four pound mark. Unusually, no browns were caught on the day.

The results were:
Stuart Payne         5 rainbows to 4-6  (Winner)

Pete Phillips         6 rainbows to 4-4
Bob Eccles            4 rainbows to 4-3
David Lye              4 rainbows to 3-7
Pat Power             2 rainbows total 7-0 approx
Tony Vallack          2 rainbows total 5-12 approx


Bob worked out the right tactics

And here's his catch to prove it  - all three pounds plus, best 4lbs 3ozs


David searches for that killer fly

Tony bagged up too quickly!

Stuart's worthy winner - 4lbs 6 ozs.  David, Bob and Pat in the background

Pat concentrating hard

They all put up a strong fight.  David and Stuart in the distance.




Pete tries to bring his four pounder under control



The trout were in top condition

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