Boats now available for booking

Mark Clark with a twelve fish double limit taken by Mark and Peter Macconnell in July 2013

At last the water level has dropped enough for us to begin to use the boats during the 2014 season. 

Just to remind you that there are two boats available; a fifteen foot GRP rowing boat (usable with either oars or an electric outboard motor), and a Wheelie Boat for any one with significant disability that might make their use of the ordinary boat impractical. The rowing boat is available for Burrator Fly Fishing Association members, their guests, and members of a couple of other clubs. The Wheelie Boat is available for anyone who is disabled. Both boats are bookable only through Peter Macconnell, BFF Chairman and he can be contacted at 01752-560538, 07738-378227 or email psmacconnell@gmail.com

The daily cost of the boat is £15.00 for two anglers and this is in addition to the normal Burrator Permit  Prices.

For more details and to make a booking please contact Peter on the phone numbers or email address given above.

Pat Power with a four pound boat caught rainbow

I have been catching a few fish on muddlers recently and tying a few as well, so I thought I would post one of my latest attempts to copy a Rob Denson style muddler.

Also does anyone fancy going to the "Rise" film festival in Exeter. It's being screened at the Exeter Picture House on the 21st of May. Details can be found here. I live in Exeter and will definitely be going. The program looks good with a mixture of temperate and tropical freshwater and sea fishing. Maybe if a few people want to go we could meet up for a Pizza before going on to the Picture House.

A life on the ocean waves?

Looking back at the Jurassic Coast

We all may be very dedicated trout fishermen, but sometimes it is nice to have a bit of a change. Burrator members Tony Vallack, Mike Duckett and Peter Macconnell have, in recent years, been regulars aboard the Blue Lady, an old wooden fishing boat operating out of Beer in south-east Devon. Blue Lady is skippered by the redoubtable Cyril Newton and days out with him always bring a few fish and some good ‘craic’ (or whatever is the Devon equivalent of that Irish term). The trips are organised by Keith Steward a well known local angler, though not a fly fisher (yet). A few months ago Keith was looking for a couple of extra anglers to make up the six who are needed to charter the boat; he asked if any other Burrator members might be interested.  Mark Clark and Kelvin Nikulin volunteered for a trip out on Tuesday 29^th April 2014.

The original plan for the day had been to fish for plaice in the morning and whiting in the afternoon, but all did not go as hoped for. Once the boat with us all aboard had slid down Beer’s lovely and very steep shingle beach, we set off in gray and overcast weather for the sandbanks where many plaice were reported to have been boated. However, it was not to be; another case of ‘you should have been here yesterday’ I guess. Only one small plaice was caught, by Mark, in over two hours of concerted fishing. We had all the baits; lovely big ragworms, squid, and mackerel, but plaice were not to be had.  We decided to move early to the ‘whiting grounds’ where numerous whiting were caught though most were quite small. Again Mark appeared to be the lucky one in catching fish of a better stamp. Peter had perhaps a dozen but none weighed more than half a pound and all went back alive. Others had similar luck except for Keith and Kelvin who boated several unwanted dogfish. During this period the weather was pretty mixed; full waterproof gear was needed and we got a fair soaking. A least the wind was slight and at times the sea quite calm.

In the afternoon both the weather and the fishing looked up. The sun came out, we could strip down to our shirtsleeves and, at the skippers suggestion, we moved again  to fish for pollack over an inshore reef. At last we saw some action and got decent bends in our rods. Kelvin and Cyril the skipper had the best fish though we all managed to hook up a time or two. Generally the pollack seemed to be in the range of three to seven pounds.

So in the end a good day out was had by all except Mike who, at the last minute, had to drop out because his wife Mary had been taken ill the day before. We missed you Mike and we hope Mary is feeling a bit better.

Blue skies and calm water for Tony

Kelvin with a good pollack

Not quite so big - for Mark

Peter & Cyril with fish typical of those caught on the day

Cyril & Keith waiting for that bite

Wise Boat Seat and some recent home tied flies

I have been thinking of buying a boat seat for some time having made my own last year. They make a big difference in terms of fishing comfort. However my botched up seat made from an old helm seat and some marine ply, whilst comfortable, took an age to fit to the boat, and going through this fitting process whilst having to listen to my regular boat partner, our venerable chairman Peter's helpful remarks on my workmanship led me to look for a professionally built replacement. The other reason was that when Peter and I were in Scotland last year the seat started to break and was in danger of tipping me into the water! I spent ages researching different seats, I decided I didn't want a traditional thwart seat as these position you quite high up creating a high centre of gravity which some say is dangerous in rough weather. The Airflo TDL seat seemed to be the best bet as it came highly recommended is quick to fit and safe. The only downside is the price, at £129.99, the best price I could find online at Fishtec it seemed pretty expensive. I had assumed online would be the cheapest option however last time I was in Exeter angling I asked if they had any seats and they showed the seat in the picture.

Though this looks identical to the Airflo TDL seat, its actually made by an American company called Wise and it was priced at £99.99, they gave me a further £10 off so at £89.99 it was too good to miss and I bought it. On closer examination I am sure it's the same seat as the Airflo one, it has a ratchet strap system to attach it to the boats thwart quickly and safely and looks well made. I have yet to try it out but I think this was a bargain. I only saw one on these on the shop floor, so if you fancy one of these give Exeter Angling a ring first.

 Below are a few flies I have tied recently.Not a great photo but clockwise from the top are my version of a cul-de-canyard sedge, a silver invicta, a traditional invicta, two cripplers and two dabblers. The Crippler is a fly that was invented by a chap called Ron Denson. His site here  is excellent and I have been trying to copy his patterns with mixed success. A lot of them involve Golden Pheasant body feathers which was a new material to me and is a bit tricky to use. I think I am starting to get the hang of it, though my versions of his flies are nowhere as good as his.

A visit to Blagdon - OK but no big deal

Returning to the famous Blagdon Lodge

On Tuesday 22^nd April I made, together with Jon Perry, my first ever trip to the iconic Blagdon Lake in North Somerset. A forty-five minute drive from Plymouth found me at Jon’s home in Exeter, and from there we set off on the country route to this famous Bristol Waterworks reservoir. Jon, being a native of this area, knew the back roads like the back of his hand, as they say, and I soon became familiar with them also.

Eventually we arrived, found our pre-booked boat, and got down to the fishing. We had taken the precaution of also booking an outboard motor, a nice little four HP four-stroke; quiet, clean, and perfectly efficient, though we would probably have been OK with my electric motor. On another occasion I would not pay the extra £14.00 on top of the £62.00 for the boat itself.

Anyway, as to the fishing itself, it was not that easy. I boated five rainbows for a total weight of 12lbs exactly (an average of approximately 2lb 6oz). Jon had one fish of about the same size. We had numerous other takes but it was not exactly fast and furious. All fish were caught on an intermediate or a sinking line. Jon had the only hook up on a floating line by casting to a fish which showed in a small bay near the boathouse. Unfortunately it didn’t stay connected. The killing flies were mostly traditional lake wets such as Invicta, Claret Bumble and Golden Olive Bumble. Though we, more or less, went through our boxes. I suspect that it was not the fly which mattered so much as getting the right depth and speed of retrieve (two to four feet down and quite slow). Such flies as we saw on the surface seemed to be mostly Olives and Buzzers but hatches were few and far between.

The weather was very mixed. We got a really good soaking on and off during the day, and it was consistently breezy, with very overcast conditions most of the time, interspersed with occasional bright sunshine.

Given that Blagdon is famous around the world for the quality of its trout fishing and the fishing experience itself; it even appears in a book called Fifty Places to Fish before You Die, I would say that whilst I didn’t dislike the place, I was a bit underwhelmed by it. The fish, though bigger, on average, than we are used to at Burrator seemed in less good condition; there were damaged fins or worn tails on all the fish we caught and, though I may be accused of being a ‘tightwad’, I felt that £76.00 for a boat for the day was more than it was worth even though that price included an OAP concession for me. Having said that, it was not the most idyllic of days weather-wise and I will withhold judgement until a further visit, to experience the evening rise, in warmer weather; perhaps at the end of May.

I have to say that my best fish of the day was the large size cod (and chips) from the chippy in Churchill village on the way home - highly recommended, but more than even a man of my notorious appetite could finish. I'll have the smaller portion next time - perhaps.

Here are a few more pictures.

Fishing into the wind - key to success at the moment

The wind diagonally in towards the bank (sometimes it was a bit more gusty than this)

On Wednesday I had no difficulty in catching my five fish limit from the bank in addition to having a brownie of about three quarters of a pound which I released. The trick seemed to be to fish into the wind and to retrieve quite quickly. I fished from about 10.00am to 4.00pm and hooked a number of other fish than those I landed. It was quite clear that the fish were actively feeding just below the surface where food was being blown into the bank. My efforts to fish on the other side of the peninsula, and on the point,  with the wind behind me, meant easier casting but almost no takes. The sacrifice of distance, the effort required to point the rod down on the forward cast, and  to push the light (WF6F) fly line into the wind really was worthwhile. The weather was bright but still a bit chilly and the wind south-easterly. I fished the same cast all day; a Size 10 Invicta on the point and size twelve Cruncher on the dropper.

Five caught on the Invicta

A Nice Brownie from Longstone

Thursday 17th April 2014

I drove first around the reservoir before deciding where to fish.  I was pleased to meet Kit, the SW Lakes Trust warden, at the recently opened anglers' ticket hut and introduce myself.  Over at Longstone I was easily able to drive my mother-in-law's small Kia Picanto in through the gate and over the rutted ground left by the tree-felling contractors.  A little while later Pat and then Mark arrived.  They both fished around the point area while I stayed at the trough.

I saw very few trout on the surface but had quite a few unconnected plucks and tugs using a slow sinker and various flies - Montana, Diawl Bach, booby etc.  In the afternoon the light breeze increased and went around more northerly bringing cloud cover and an unwelcome drop in temperature.  I landed three rainbows - biggest about 1lb 12oz - and a lovely surprise brownie of around 2lbs on the orange booby.  After a quick photo it swam off strongly.

I was glad to have the use of my Kelly Kettle to produce four very welcome brews during the day - a great piece of gear.