Blagdon Lake on Top Form

Two recent trips to Blagdon Lake, the first with Martin Lowe, the second with Toby for his birthday, have produced some fantastic fishing. Overcast, breezy days have found the trout eager to feed in the mid to surface layers with most fish falling to my washing line set-up, consisting of a pair of nymphs and a booby on the point. Rainbows between 2lb and 3lb have made up the bulk of the catch with the odd bigger one approaching 5lb. Best areas have been Cheddar Water to Rainbow Point and Peg's Point, although fish have been coming from all over the lake. Chew Valley Lake is also fishing very well, as is Barrow Tanks. More information on all Bristol Water run fisheries can be found at www.bristolwaterfisheries.co.uk

Getting Back Out There

I've been getting out a bit since I last posted on here. Sea fishing trips have produced a few bites, with wrasse, mackerel and dogfish providing some sport. I didn't catch a new species like I said I wanted to, although I did catch several starfish one afternoon! Not sure if they count though!? On the coarse fishing side of things, carp, tench, bream and roach have had the rods bent over in a way I've not seen for a while. Good fun! Only a few weeks to go until I travel to Spain for a week of fishing in the sunshine (hopefully!) Catfish and big roach are the targets. A full trip report will appear here upon my return.



A spring brace

Fly Fishing at Kennick Reservoir in Devon



Kennick is set in superb surroundings
 

I was told about Kennick Reservoir sometime ago. So, on Tuesday I set off, with fellow BRFFA member Rick, to explore what the fifty acre venue had to offer. The fishing here is controlled by the South West Lakes Trust with both catch & retain and catch & release tickets available. Very few reservoirs are as picturesque as Kennick, the scenery is stunning and after taking it in and chatting to a few locals we headed to the far side to get fishing. I set up a 9' 5# rod with a slow intermediate line, a 7lb fluorocarbon leader and a pair of damsels, my favourite set up when fishing a new venue for the first time. A couple of hours passed in the blink of an eye, Rick missed a take, but other than that, no joy for either of us. We headed back to the lodge for a cup of tea and to re-think our tactics. I opted to change to a homemade viva booby on the point and a small hares ear on the dropper. This produced instant results and a hard fighting Kennick rainbow was soon in the net. I took another fish on this set up before changing to a floating line and a pair of size 14 holo nymphs. Fishing these almost static, one of my favourite methods, produced three more trout. All fought well above their weight and were in excellent condition. We fished on, but with the cooling wind putting the fish down we packed up at 7:30pm and made our way home. I was very satisfied to have caught fish from a new venue. For information on the South West Lakes Trust visit their website at www.swlakestrust.org.uk   

A plump Kennick rainbow