BFFA Competition & BBQ at Burrator on Saturday 25th June 2016

Eight members of the club arrived at Longstone to fish the June competition.  The weather forecasters were giving a few showers with a cool north westerly breeze and some sunshine.  I took the water temperature which was about 16C.  The air temperature was a little less and had dropped farther by the evening.


We all fished around Longstone and as usual the wind was from the right along the south facing shore making right-handed casting tricky on that side.  Bob fished near the point and used a floating line with two buzzers.  He allowed the line to drift across in front of him in the breeze slowly taking the buzzers along.  He successfully netted two brownies for 2lb 5oz - both returned - and five rainbows for 5lb.


The rest of us were less successful: Myself - nil, Linda - nil, Terry - nil, Peter - 1 rainbow for 1lb 5oz, TonyV - 1 blue for 1lb 13oz, Pat - 1 blue for 1lb 1oz and I don't know what Ken landed.


After the weigh-in at 3pm we assembled near the Longstone Manor for a BBQ.  We were joined by Jenny & Ziggy the spaniel,  Gill & Honey the retriever and Sue who brought some of the food.


The dropping air temperature and northerly breeze was quite a bit colder than the water in the reservoir which is never good for trout fishing. (Except for Bob, of course!)


Two of Tesco's finest picnic bbq trays were lit and within an hour we were enjoying the first of the burgers & sausages.  The two dogs were extremely well behaved and despite the lovely smells wafting their way they managed to ignore it completely.  We were joined for a while by Neil who is the Countryside & Angling Manager for Devon based at the Burrator Discovery Centre.  We sat in Peter's gazebo for tea and coffee with some of Linda & Gill's excellent cake.  A great way to end a day at Burrator.

Bob had two brownies on the same cast - Pat helps to release them

Peter's rod bends into a rainbow

....which he safely nets

The BBQ at Longstone

Peter brought his gazebo

The Kelley Kettles boiling the water for a brew of tea and coffee



We try out the gazebo.  Ziggy on the left with Jenny & Honey with Peter & Gill



Longstone

Looking towards the Sheepstor Dam

Away Day to Bellbrook Trout Fishery, Tiverton Thursday 16th June 2016

Five members visited Bellbrook a fishery near Tiverton to sample the fishing in the six lakes.
www.bellbrookfishery.co.uk  There are a wide range of tickets available that started at £20 for catch & release to a 6 fish limit at £55.  One of the six lakes - Ironmill - is a specimen lake stocked with rainbows, blues & browns from 4lb up to very large fish that includes doubles.  The other five lakes are stocked with 2lb plus trout.

I was staying with Sue in our caravan for a few days near Tiverton.  It wasn't far to Bellbrook from the caravan site on the Grand Western Canal for the 10am start.  I arrived as TonyV was cooking the bacon baps (perfect timing & excellent, thank you Tony!).  Tony, Pat, Bob & Kelvin had travelled up from Plymouth. The fishery owner, Chris Atwell, arrived as we were buying our permits.

The fishery is based on two small valleys with the specimen lake in one valley and the other five in the next valley.  All of us headed down to the specimen lake where the fishing is from wooden platforms around the lake. At times we could see the trout in the fairly clear water and on several occasions I watched fish come up to my damsel nymph fly only to turn away at the last.  At lunchtime I walked back up to the fishing hut and then up the other valley to try another lake with Kelvin and Tony.   It was sunny and warm so we had left our waterproofs at the cars.  Needless to say, we hadn't been fishing on Exmoor Lake long before a very black cloud headed our way accompanied by a very heavy shower of rain.

I changed to a dry black daddy long legs alternating to a black gnat from time to time.  I had one rainbow on the dry daddy which later went 2lb 12oz.  At 3pm we met at the hut for the weigh-in.
Pat had taken one rainbow on the specimen lake and at 5lb was the winning fish. Bob had one for 3lb 13oz, and I had the one of 2lb 12oz.  Kelvin & I decided to fish on after the others had headed back to Plymouth and we went up to Sedgemoor Lake where Kelvin had a rainbow of 3lb on a floating black beetle.  I persevered with the dry fly but was quite unable to connect with all the swirls and pulls from apparently interested trout.


Kelvin & I packed up around 6.30.

A view of the rearing ponds and Ironmill - the specimen lake

The specimen lake

TonyH at the specimen lake

A very heavy shower at Exmoor Lake



All quiet again at Exmoor Lake

TonyV fishing Sedgemoor Lake

Pat with his rainbow of 5lb

The fishing party - left to right TonyH, TonyV, Pat, Bob & Kelvin

Looking up Sedgemoor Lake

Kelvin casting a black beetle on Sedgemoor

and about to land a 3lb-er

Return to the Highlands - Part I

For the last three years fellow BFFA member Jon Perry and myself have made a trip north to fish for wild brown trout in the Scottish Highlands. In 2013 we went to Caithness, mainly to fish the famous Loch Watten. Our posting on here from June of that year, 'Watten Long Way to Go', tells the story. Then for the last two years we have based ourselves in the Lairg/Loch Shin area of Sutherland, about seventy miles north of Inverness. Both those trips are recorded in blog posts on this site. This year we went to the Loch Shin area again but with four key differences:

• We moved up-market in accommodation, from a fairly grubby caravan, to a rather splendid estate cottage.
• There were four of us as we were joined by Phil and Kevin Stuckey who are Jon's lifelong fishing pals. Very good anglers both, but fairly new to fly fishing.
• We fished rivers as well as lochs.
• I didn't end up in intensive care in hospital at Inverness. See last year's report  'Scotland 2015 - A trip with a difference' posted on 7th July.

The House and the Estate

Jon found the accommodation once we had decided that there would be four of us and that we would go for up to two weeks. I only stayed eight days, I didn't want to push my luck after last year, but Jon Phil and Kev stayed the whole of the fortnight; hence this being Part I. Jon will post about the second week in Part II. What Jon found was a four bedroomed house in beautiful scenery with both loch and river fishing included, set in a private highland estate. This proved to be fabulous value for money with absolutely heart-lifting surroundings and exciting fishing, though by no means specimen hunting.

The House

The white dot in the middle is the house

Boat fishing the lochs

This, previously our daily fishing when up north, played a much smaller role in our adventures. This was partly because, on the main loch we chose to book boats, Loch Craggie, the fishing was not up to the standard of  previous years. Loch Beannach, which Jon and I had fished only once before, proved to be a much better bet and and more enjoyable day out for four of us.

Sunset on Loch Craggie

Loch fishing from the bank 

Jon, Kev & Phil - about the set off for Loch na Stoine Luime

Kev fishing the hill loch - Snow on Ben More in the background

Access to the banks of Lochs Merkland and Loch  Ghriama were available free from the estate from whom we rented the house. Additionally numerous hill lochs could be reached by a mixture of off-road driving and walking into the hills. I only went to one, Loch na Stoine Luime, which was a tolerable walk, though over quite difficult ground in places. From these waters we took scores and scores of fish over the week I was there; all truly wild and those we kept were really delicious.

Tackling up by the roadside

Three for tea

Fishing the river

This, from my point of view at least, proved to be the highlight of the stay. Again this was fishing that came with the house. There were wild brown trout from an ounce or two up to a pound and a few a bit more than that. On at least two days I estimate that I caught more than fifty fish, frankly I lost count. The other three all caught at least as many as me and probably more.

A brace from the river - on Elk Hair Sedge dry fly

The River

Laying a ghost

Given that last year I had become quite unwell and ended my trip in the NHS Highland Air Ambulance on the way to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, I was able to return, enjoy myself immensely, drink a bit (not too much) eat fabulous food thanks to Jon's and Kev's efforts in the kitchen, and fish as intensively as I have done for many years.

To quote Paul Whitehouse

Friday the 13th - A Day on Burrator in the Boat

I booked the boat through Richard a few days ago.  The forecast for Friday 13th May was favourable but with possible thundery showers during the day.  Sue came with me but wasn't fishing.  We arrived at the new boat pontoon around 10am.  There was a stiff breeze from the northeast and threatening clouds headed our way.  I fitted the electric outboard and we set off to fish the bay between the Sheepstor dam and Longstone Point.  The rain wasn't long in coming and it was on with the waterproofs.  There were a few other anglers on Longstone and one shouted out that he had seen some trout rising along the shore.  I alternated between a dry fly and a lure fished deep.  I saw very little surface activity all day. 


Around midday the rain stopped, the wind died away and it became quite warm.  The first brew with the Kelly Kettle was on the south shore between the two dams. While we were there I saw the Evenden's from Milemead Fish Farm delivering a load of trout over at Longstone.  Richard later told me that there were about 180 trout that included around 50% blues.


I motored up towards the north and much shallower end of the reservoir.  I had nothing show any interest in my dry fly - a biggish black gnat - but hooked and lost three brownies or rainbows on the white Cat's Whisker or a black Nomad.  Later, I netted and returned two lovely brownies on a small Cat's Whisker with a sinking line just off the shore below the Burrator Discovery Centre.  I saw a few trout landed by anglers  fishing the shore at Longstone.   In the afternoon there were eight of them lining the shore but they had all gone when I went in.


In the evening I had some casts close to the shore between the two dams.  The Cat's Whisker on an intermediate sinking line was snatched by a slim but feisty blue trout that was an ounce over 2lb.


Richard has done some great work with the pontoon and boats.  Currently with the water level still quite well up it is not necessary to use the running mooring.  When I passed Richard in the Wheelyboat I noted that he was sitting in one of those 'director's' chairs that has a handy lift up table attached.  I guess the Wheelyboat would not be easily rowable but with an electric outboard it is a very stable platform.  Don't forget the chairs, though!

Ashore for lunch and the first brew

The Kelly Kettle in action again

Milemead delivering more trout at Longstone



Glassy calm but nothing rising



Ashore for another tea break opposite Longstone

2lb 1oz blue trout on a Cat's Whisker

Richard was out in the evening on the Wheelyboat

BFFA Competition Saturday 23 April 2016

Eleven BFFA members gathered at Longstone to fish the 'Three Fly' competition.  Two other members arrived later - Mark & Jon.  The breeze was very much from the north and the air temperature was only 6C while the water was a chilly 8C.  It was sunny with a clear sky up until the weigh-in at 3pm when it became increasingly cloudy. The flies had been tied by Pat - a Diawl Bach, Jon - the Kate McLaren which can be fished wet or dry - and me - a Black Nomad.


I gave it a go on the north side of the point while Bob fished right on the end in the wind and choppy waters.  I saw nothing at all and moved back to the lee side after a while.  Bob had one of 1lb 6oz before losing a much bigger fish that threw the hook.  I landed a stockie of 1lb 10oz and also lost one that threw the hook almost at the net, both on the Nomad.  Peter had the only other rainbow, one of 1lb 8oz.  We saw very little surface activity and I guess the cold water and bright sun kept most of the trout in deeper water. 


TonyH fishing the north side of Longstone



Ken & Pat

Peter also fishing the lee side

Kelly Kettle producing a welcome brew of tea

Across the reservoir from Ken a lot of tidying has been done around
the Discovery Centre 

 

Big fish as March ends

In recent weeks there have been some big (or bigger) rainbows reported from Burrator and elsewhere. However the last week of March seems definitely to have been 'Big Fish Time'. It began with an email from a friend of mine, Peter Reilly, with whom I worked for a number of years at Mount Gould Hospital. He is not a BFFA member but occasionally lets me know what he has been catching. Anyway on 29th March he sent me an email in which he described the capture of his biggest ever fish from Burrator. He wrote:
'I had just cast and was mending the line and felt just a faint pull before the line seized tight. The fish took a deep run and I was nearly down to the backing by the time it stopped. I never saw the fish for thirty minutes although it was all over the place and it was only later when it came into the shallows that it was visible in the very clear and calm water. The fish never jumped at all. I was using just a five pound tippet so didn't want to play it too hard. In all it took me about forty-five minutes to get it to the net. The killing fly was a small black gold-head nymph and I fished quite close to the old stone drinking trough on Longstone Peninsula. The photograph is one I took on my very low-tech phone so it is not the greatest. However the priest in the picture is a hammer handle eleven inches long so that gives some idea of the length of the fish. It weighed 5 lb 2oz.' 

Peter Reilly's best ever fish from Burrator - 5 lb 2oz.

The next report I received was from our own Ken Hindley who emailed me on 31st March to say:

'I was out at Burrator today and caught a 5 lb 8oz rainbow. I was fishing in the bay right next to the point at Longstone. In five hours of casting and retrieving it was the only take I had. It took a sparkle green fly with a white marabou tail, and took me about twenty minutes to land.'

One take one fish for Ken Hindley - 5 lb 8oz.

Our trip to Blakewell Fishery
In the meantime an outing to North Devon on 30th March proved to be a bit of a big fish bonanza for Kelvin Nikulin, David Lye, Terry Denley, Tony Vallack, Stuart Payne, Peter Phillips and me. The fishery, just outside Barnstaple, has a reputation for better than average sized rainbows and according to Peter and Kelvin who had fished there on a previous occasion the sport could be very good indeed. While Blakewell is far from being 'wilderness' fishing and has none of the beauty or ruggedness of Burrator it is nevertheless a very charming, well run, and pleasant venue, and the fish were certainly worth catching. In  the end we had twenty-six rainbows and two brownies between us. Not a one was under two and a half pounds and the best, which fell to Terry's rod, was over five. Here are some pictures from what was by common consent a lovely day out. Not the place perhaps where one would want to fish every day but great fun nevertheless. The bacon breakfast and afternoon tea were the icing on the cake (if you will forgive the mixed metaphors).

Some of the group and all of the fish

'Pedro' looking pleased.

Terry with the first fish of the day.

Remains of breakfast

'Everything stops for Tea' - a nice way to end the day.