2013 Opening Day and After

Friday 15th March 2013 was opening day at Burrator and, as is traditional, it was a competition day. The weather was not our friend. It was bitterly cold, very windy, as the day wore on, it rained 'cats & dogs' as well. From the reports coming back it would seem that only five members turned out, the rest having more sense. The intrepid fivesome were new members Jon Perry and Pat Powers, together with Tony McCoy, Mike Duckett and Peter Macconnell. Only two of us caught.

There were other anglers about and we met up with Alan Behan one of the volunteer bailiffs and he had landed three or four rainbows. As to our competition it was won by Jon Perry who had his limit bag of five rainbows for 9lb 11oz. Runner up was Tony McCoy with a single fish of 2lb 10z. Mike, Peter and Pat were the ones who failed to land a fish.

Deep wading and casting into the wind was needed

 

Jon with his 'limit'

Alan Behan ready with the net

Whilst Opening Day was something of a washout for most of us the following few days proved more reliable. Reports came in of several limit bags taken on Sunday 17th of March and Pat Powers reports that on the following Wednesday he had his five fish limit for a total weight of 14lbs. This is a very good bag indeed, with an average weight of 2lbs 12oz per fish. Peter Macconnell fished on Tuesday and had a limit bag in two and a half hours with several fish lost; some almost at the net. By comparison, his bag weighed only 7lb 2oz.

 

Since last weekend the weather has become very cold with strong easterly winds, so only the most hardy souls will have been making the effort to get out. However, early catches suggest that once the weather settles down we should be in for some good fishing.

 

An early season limit

 

Pat plays and lands a fish on a bitterly cold day

 

2013 to see Boats at Burrator - A club exclusive

The Wheelie Boat at Burrator - Rowing Boat to follow soon

We are pleased to announce that following discussion between ourselves, the Burrator Fly Fishers, and South West Lakes Trust, a decision has been taken to have a couple of boats on Burrator for the 2013 season. These boats will be, firstly, an ordinary 13-14 foot boat as used at Kennick and Siblyback and, secondly, a wheelie boat for use by anglers with significant disability such that they cannot easily access either the bank fishing or an ordinary boat.

This initiative comes about following representations made by the Burrator Fly Fishers and others who have, for some time, pointed out how limited the bank fishing access at Burrator is, especially when water levels are high as they were for almost all of 2012. Additionally, water levels notwithstanding, there are areas of Burrator that are too rocky to safely walk and wade, have soft mud which is too difficult to walk through, and have no room for backcasts. We have been aware that SWLT staff have been sympathetic to the difficulties of Burrator anglers and wanted to be helpful. They have now come forward with this proposal for some boat access and we are strongly supportive of it. It seems that in the past the main sticking points for SWLT have been the cost of caring for and booking the boats when there is no full-time ranger on site at Burrator, as well as some health & safety considerations. The proposed way around these issues is for Burrator Fly Fishers to deal with bookings and look after the boats, and for them, in the first instance, to be available only to club members Our understanding is that 2013 will be an experimental season to see how this all works out.

Matters remain to be finalised between SWLT and the club but, in outline, the use of the boats will be managed as follows:

• Membership of the Burrator Fly Fishers will be a prerequisite for being able to book a boat. Applications for membership will be available from the Club and from SWLT. The annual subscription is currently £12.50. This will not apply to acompanied juniors.
• Boats will be booked and permits issued by a nominated Burrator Fly Fishers member or their substitute. In the first instance this will be the Chairman Peter Macconnell, whose contact details are on this site and will be circulated by SWLT.
• When only one boat is being used there must, for health & safety reasons, be two persons in it.
• Juniors (under 18yrs) must be with an adult.
• The Club will issue and receive payment for the boat permit. Permits to fish will need to be purchased in the usual way. The club will remit all payments to SWLT on a monthly basis (at minimum). No financial benefit will accrue to the club.
• Oars, anchors and bouyancy aids will be provided. Bouyancy aids, either the ones provided or the angler's own, must be worn when in the boat.
• Electric outboard motors will be allowed but not petrol motors.
• SWLT will have the final decision, on any particular day, about whether conditions are safe for the boats to be used. For example boats cannot be used when water levels are very high and the dam is overflowing.
• Boats must be treated with care and rubbish removed after use. This is especially important to protect wildlife. The Club will clean and check the boats on a regular basis.

14th February at Rose Park

The best fish of the day - for Peter

Thursday 14th February 2013 began with torrential rain, However by the time our competition started at 10.00am the sky had cleared and the rest of the day was dry but pretty cold. Only five well wrapped up members managed to get themselves from in front of the fire and make it out to Altarnun to fish at Rose Park. There were fish to be caught, however, and all but one angler managed to do so. The competition, as ever, was for the best brace and this was won by Peter Macconnell with two trout for 6lbs exactly. The other catches were:

 

Mike Duckett  - 2 for 5lbs 4oz.

Tony Vallack  - 2 for 4lbs 6oz.

Tom Turner    - 1 for 2lbs 7oz.

 

Linda James had the rottenest luck of the day, having numerous takes and fish lost, only to come away with an  empty bag.

 

Three of us packed up early (Mike, Tony & Peter) and decided to visit the splendid tackle shop at the Homeleigh Garden Centre in Launceston. To quote Arthur Ransome of Swallows & Amazons fame:

 

"The pleasures of fishing are chiefly to be found in rivers, lakes and tackle shops and, of the three, the last are least affected by the weather. The sight of rods in a window brings a fisherman to a full stop...In such weather as we have been having, when fishing is all but impossible, a fishing-tackle-shop has a magnetic power that can be felt over a considerable area"  (from Rod & Line by Arthur Ransome, Oxford University Press, 1929).

 

Suffice it to say we came out poorer than when we went in.

 

The next competition is on Friday 15th March which is opening day at Burrator. See you there.

 

 



Meeting & Competition Dates for 2013

 An early Bake Lake fish of 5lbs 6oz

 

Once again Mike Duckett has produced a list of event and meeting dates which we hope will prove convenient for all and will also provide a variety of fishing venues for members to visit.
The club meeting dates: are all on the second Monday in the month except for December when it is the third Monday. All will start at 7.30pm except the Christmas meal which will start at 6.30pm. The meetings will continue to be at the Travelodge (next to the Jack Rabbit Pub) Derriford. The actual dates are:
11^th February
11th March
8th April
13th May
8th July
9th September
14th October
11th November
16th December Christmas meal at Jack Rabbit Pub

Please note that there are no meetings in June and August.

The club competition dates are:
Thursday 14^th February Rose Park – From 10.00am
Friday 15th March Burrator Reservoir (Opening Day) - From 10.00am
Saturday 20th April Bake Lakes (Three Fly Competition) - From 10.00am
Wednesday 15th May Burrator Reservoir Afternoon & Evening
Saturday 15th June Burrator Reservoir Afternoon & Evening
Wednesday 24th July Burrator Reservoir Afternoon & Evening
Thursday 5th September Sibleyback Reservoir - From 10.00am
Thursday 26^th September Burrator Reservoir - From 10.00am
Thursday 24th October Burrator Reservoir -  From 10.00am
Wednesday 13th November Temple - From 10.00am
Saturday 14th December Bake Lakes - From 10.00am

Please note that there is no competition in August but there are two in September.

There will also be a prize (probably a bottle of spirits) for the best fish caught from any venue during 2013.

Any queries about the meetings and fishing events should be directed to Mike Duckett.

BFF 2013 Annual General Meeting

Burrator Fly Fishers’ Annual General Meeting Monday 14th January 2013

At the Travelodge, Derriford.

Present: Peter Macconnell, Linda James, Frank Dunlop, Terry Denley, Tony McCoy, Tony Vallack, Tom Turner, and Mike Duckett.

Apologies: Geoff Riley, Ken Hindley, and Peter Phillips.

Agenda

Treasurer’s Report – Tony McCoy provided copies of the final accounts as at 31st December 2012. He reported that we had a closing balance of £132.24. This was a very substantial fall since December 2011. There had been a number of extra expenses for club events and for a new lock at the Burrator gate. He recommended an increase in the Subscription to £12.50 pa. This was agreed by the membership present.

Chairman’s Report – Peter Macconnell said his report was very short and mainly focussed on the relationship that the club has with SWLT. He said that this had improved a lot and the most recent evidence of this was the provisional proposal from SWLT that we have one or two boats on Burrator for 2013. Peter said that he was due to meet with them about this in the next week (16/01/13) to find out more details of this. The membership present was unanimously supportive of the idea and we went through in detail some of the key issues that will have to be sorted out such as insurance cover, buoyancy aids, use of motors, management of monies, etc. Peter will report back at the February meeting.

Fishing Coordinator’s Report – Mike Duckett reported on the success or otherwise of the 2012 events and had produced a draft programme for 2013. Some time was spent making minor modifications to this. Mike will produce an updated version and Peter will post it on the website/blog.

Election of Officers - Linda James agreed to continue as Secretary, Tony McCoy, Mike Duckett, and Peter Macconnell agreed to continue in their roles also. Despite all four of them offering to stand aside for 'new blood' there no other proposals. Consequently all four were thanked for their work so far and re-elected for a further term.

Bank Account – For the last year we have been without an operational bank account. Peter said that now we seem likely to get an influx of members who will come because of the availability of the boat(s), we need to be able to accept cheques from new members. It was agreed that Peter and Tony will open a new account with Lloyds TSB and that they will be the two required signatories.

Burrator Prices for 2013 – SWLT have produced their price structure for 2013. Terry Denley and Peter Macconnell had received copies because they are season ticket holders. They can also be seen online at the SWLT website. In due course there will be the usual booklet. Peter will post the information relevant to us on the website/blog.

Farewell to Frank – Frank Dunlop announced that this would be his last meeting because he and his wife were moving to Lincolnshire early in February so as to be living nearer to his son and daughter-in-law. Everyone wished him well.

Christmas Meal

Following on from our Christmas fishing competition held on Saturday 8th December (see previous post), we met for our Christmas meal at the Jack Rabbit Pub, Derriford, on the following Monday evening 10th December. Officially this was meant to be our last club meeting of the year but we soon got our one bit of business out of the way and settled down to a very decent meal and a few glasses of wine and beer.

It has been an interesting year for the club so everyone was in a positive mood about the future; a very marked contrast to this time last year. The fishing at Burrator has been the best for some years, a positive working relationship between the club and SWLT seems to have been reinstated, and there are one or two more postive developments on line for 2013 (more details at the AGM). Anyway this was an evening to to be cheerful and for one or two awards and raffle prizes to be handed out.


Tom & Linda share a joke

'Merry Christmas' Gentlemen

Tony with one of his many prizes

Tom with his prize for 'Best Fish Of The Year'

Mike says 'It was that big!' Frank is more interested in the menu.







Christmas fishing and a bit of Lunch.

On Saturday 8th December we held our final club competition of the year. It took place at Bake Lakes and was won by Tony Vallack with the best brace of 5lb 12oz. The day itself was beautiful with the sort of brilliant sunshine that occurs on some winter days. It was a wonderful treat after all the days of rain and floods so recently experienced. The effect of this rain could be seen  in the slight tinge of colour in the water; though there was not enough to make fishing too difficult. However, it was a day for bright flies and pulled retrieves

In the event, all but one of the six members who attended caught their brace. The fish were of a good size, fully finned, and hard fighting.



Peter's Brace

The members who fished were Peter Macconnell, Terry Denley, Tony Vallack, Mike Duckett, Frank Dunlop and Linda James. Terry, who was obviously very keen, got there shortly after 8.00am and had landed his brace before any of the rest of us turned up at around ten. He seemed happy to spend the rest of the day sitting by the fishing hut dispensing both sage advice and killing flies. Linda caught both her trout on one of Terry's flies.



Terry & Mike



Linda plays her fish while Terry and Mike offer 'helpful' advice

 

Ready with the net

In addition to the very pleasant fishing we had a bit of a lunchtime feast because Linda brought along a great big Dundee Cake and a Bread & Butter Pudding laced with Whisky and Marmalade; Fab-u-lous (as Craig-Revel-Horwood would say)!

 

Shall I be Mother?

 

Time for Lunch