An Away Day at Drift Reservoir, Penzance

We are on our annual family holiday at Porthcurno near Land's End.  There is not a lot of trout fishing this far west and most of the reservoirs have been stocked with coarse fish. Not far away though is Drift Reservoir which is stocked with rainbows and has a head of wild brown trout.  A few years ago Arctic Char were stocked but no one has landed one yet.

I have not fished there previously so read the info provided on the fishery web site - http://www.driftflyfishing.co.uk/ - and went there a couple of days ago.  As it turned out the weather was much more beach than flyfishing!  Glassy calm at times, no cloud cover and hot.

I bought my 3 fish ticket from the self service desk in the boathouse and walked up the west shore.  A little way out were two anglers float-tubing around the aerators.  While I was setting up one of them was into a fish - a good sign, I thought.  My first go-to fly was the Burrator favourite a Daiwl Bach.  I used a floating line with a flouro leader to sink the fly down a little way but after an hour had seen nothing rise and had no interest.

One of the float-tubers paddled over to introduce himself as David Williams the fishery bailiff.  He gave me a few pointers and said he was using the 'washing line' method and had taken several rainbows and browns that morning.  The washing line is two nymphs mounted on a long leader kept just under the surface by a large floating fly on the point.  In this case a virtually unsinkable booby.

I prefer a single fly but following David's advice I did what he suggested.  Tangles are commonplace using three flies especially with a big air-resistant booby on the end.  I did persevere but all to no avail.  While the float-tubers appeared to be have good sport out in the middle of the lake, I finished the day with a blank.  I stayed on into evening in the hope that there may have been a rise but saw nothing moving.  Perhaps an early start may have been more successful or fishing into darkness.

Next time perhaps.....

Lots of Canada Geese & a few Greylags

Fishing the West shore

Two float tubers.  The bailiff David Williams is on the right

Looking up the reservoir from the South

Looking back towards the dam

Another trout for the float tubers near one of the aerators