July Competition date and venue changed

At our our club meeting on Monday 9th July it was decided that the date and venue for our July competition is to be changed.

We were due to visit Fernworthy on Wednesday 18th July but it became clear that Tuesday would be more convenient for most members and, given the fact that it is fishing really well, it was decided we would stay 'at home' at Burrator.

So, officially, the July competition is Tuesday 17th July at Burrator. Only fish caught after 12 noon will count.

See you there.

Burrator back 'On Form'

Since our somewhat dismal showing at the last club evening (see the previous post), Burrator has quickly got back to fishing well.

On the Friday 22nd June, only two days after our 'washout', Ken Hindley fished it and had his limit on dry fly (a small black gnat) in the bay on the north side of the peninsula. This has been followed by reports of lots more fish coming to anglers' nets, including two six pounders (best 6lbs 10oz).

I fished today and in a short session between 12 noon until 5 o'clock caught six fish, of which I kept only two, releasing the other four. I also lost two or three others including one that I played for what seemed like five minutes at least, and which eventually bent out the hook on my black hopper fly, having taken out the best part of my 30 yard fly line. All the others were typical Burrator rainbows of about a pound and a half, but full tailed and good fighters nevertheless.

My brace of 'keepers' - typical Burrator rainbows

I chanced to meet the 'Two Alans'; Alan Behan and Alan Lawson who are regular fishers at Burrator and both have taken on the role of volunteer bailiff. A nicer couple of chaps one couldn't wish to meet and, it turned out, they are the two anglers who caught six pounders in recent weeks. If you are fishing Burrator this season you are bound to come across them. Please cooperate with them if they ask to see your permit. This initiative is, in my view, very welcome and,with luck, might really help to reduce 'poaching' on the water.

As to flies, most of my fish today were taken on a small black hopper (size 14) that, in the end, was so busted up from being attacked by the trout that it lost its 'legs'. I also had a couple of fish on a fly that has no official name, but I call it the 'Orange Hill Special'. It was tied by Tom Hill who runs Fishing for Heroes down here in Devon (see website link).

The 'legless' Hopper

The Orange Hill Special

The other thing about Burrator at the moment is how high the water level is. I can never remember it being so full at this time of the year. Here is a picture of some more of the stuff going in.

Black Snatcher wins the day - or at least the wine.

The afternoon and evening of Wednesday 20th June was the time arranged for our monthly club competition. Frankly, we couldn't have picked a more unsuitable day if we had tried. The weather was appalling with constant winds of more than 20mph and gusts up to twice that. From four o'clock onwards this was supplemented with heavy and unrelenting rain.

Only one fish was caught. It was a rainbow of 1lb 14oz. The killing fly was a Black Snatcher and the fish fell to the rod of Tony McCoy, who, shortly after, packed up a went home, saying that he was allergic to rain.

A Black Snatcher - The fly that won Tony the bottle of wine

Tony, Mike and I arrived about four thirty just in time to meet Linda who was packing up, having had enough of the inclement weather and the seriously slow fishing. But she left us a fruitcake she had baked earlier. We then found Terry Denley hiding under a bush to keep out of the, by now, torrential rain. He went home shortly after that.

We persevered but with only a few tugs and pulls to show for our efforts. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the fishing was the wind with its frequent strong gusts and its sudden changes of direction. The highlight was certainly our alfresco buffet supper of sandwiches, pork pies, scotch eggs and, the undoubted 'piece de resistance', Linda's fruit cake. It was worth getting drenched for. However by eight o'clock we were back in the car greedily consuming the last of the sandwiches and with the heater going full blast. Let's hope for better weather at Fernworthy next month.

Good sport thanks to the Hawthorn Fly

Today at Burrator there were Hawthorn flies on the water throughout the middle of the day. They were being blown from the surrounding trees and bushes and the trout were very keyed onto them, making big splashy rises to take the flies off the top or just below the surface. The Hawthorn is a terrestrial fly that for a few days or weeks in May and June can be an important food item for the trout.

Hawthorn Fly (Bibio marci)

Having realised what the trout were feeding on I fished a two fly cast of size 10 Bibio on the point and a  size 10 Clan Chief, another black palmer hackled fly, on the dropper.

Size 10 Bibio

I had sport more or less directly from the start at just after 12 noon. When I finished at 4.00pm I had caught around a dozen rainbows (of which I kept only two) and hooked and lost nearly as many again. The light varied between being bright and quite overcast and the wind from a light breeze to quite a stiff blow, but the hawthorn flies continued to appear on the water and the trout continued to take them. At around 4.30pm the rain came again in  another of the torrential downpours that have been so prevalent this week. So I packed it in and got back to the car as quickly as I could. I had hoped to call in to see Neil Reeves the SWLT Burrator Ranger but he was nowhere around. 

All in all a good bit of sport 

Still fishing well

Recent reports suggest that Burrator is still fishing well. my friend Jon and I fished it on Monday evening. When we got there at about 4.30pm there were a number of anglers around three sides of the water. We fished the Longstone Manor peninsula and met a group of visitors from the Bath and Bristol area who had all caught fish, including several on dry flies. 

It has to be said, however, that the overwhelming majority of the fish are rainbows of about 1lb 8oz to 2lbs, although I did make contact with a much bigger fish which I eventually lost. Neil the Ranger reports that a six pounder has been caught a couple of weeks ago. It would be useful to know if there are significant numbers of brown trout being caught. Perhaps we will find out when we have our postponed meeting with SWLT in the next few weeks.

Three rainbows from the 'Manor'

A bit of local history to go with the fishing

First Burrator Evening - Wednesday 18th May

Six members turned out for our first evening visit to Burrator this season. They were Ken Hindley, Mike Duckett, Terry Denley, Frank Dunlop, Tony McCoy, and Peter Macconnell.
This was Ken's first fishing trip for quite some time so it was good to see him get right back into the swing of things with a couple of nice rainbows taken on a scruffy looking little black fly, the name of which he couldn't remember.

Ken keeping out the evening chill

and looking pleased with his fish

Most members saw a bit of action and, in the end, the results were:

Ken Hindley two fish for 2lb 15oz.

Peter Macconnell two fish for 2lb 14oz.

Terry Denley two fish for 2lb 11oz.

Tony McCoy one fish for 2lb 0oz.

Mike Duckett and Frank Dunlop blanked but had a few takes.

So overall it wasn't bad and a bit of sport was had because all the anglers had numerous other takes and hooked and lost fish. As dusk approached there was a flat clam and some surface movement from fish that proved particularly hard to catch. 

Some more pictures (Double click on any picture to see them enlarged as a slide show):

Last of the Summer Wine? 

Terry Denley, Frank Dunlop & Mike Duckett

'It was this big...' 

Tony McCoy describes the one that got away

In a tangle...? Mike Duckett sorts out his 'knitting'

Next Burrator evening 

Wednesday 20th June 2012

5.00pm onwards.

Three Fly Competition - Hard Going

This year our 'Three Fly Competition' took place as planned on Saturday 14th April at Bake Lakes. Unfortunately our planning was not very good and neither was our luck.

In years past Terry Buttle tied the flies for members to use, but this year, Terry having left the club, our other 'expert' fly dresser, Tony McCoy, offered to do the honours. Unfortunately he forgot to tell us that he would be in Gran Canaria soaking up the sun and the wine during April. So in the end we fished with bought flies. After lengthy discussion Peter and Mike decided that the flies for the day would be a lure (Viva), a nymph (Pearl Daiwl Bach), and a traditional wet (Goat's Toe). these were duly handed out to the half dozen or so members who turned out, and with the exception of Tony Vallack we all managed to blank! to be fair, it was a difficult day weather wise and very little was being caught by other anglers.

So congratulations to Tony for his fish of just over three pounds. Also welcome to our newest member Peter Phillips who came along for the first time.

Tony with Bake Lakes rainbow

Our next event is our first Burrator evening on Wednesday 16th May.