Month: September 2017

The river was muddy, racing along and still rising when I got to Rotherbridge. The weather forecast was bad. The strong southerly wind blew huge storm clouds over the Downs and they dumped their contents on the Rother valley. The rain was torrential until 2:00pm when the sun came out. It became a lovely Autumn afternoon. It was warm while I had lunch at Great Springs. It reminded me of a day in August last year when I fished at Luffs and blanked. It was unfinished business. I parked at Luffs and walked around the lake to the shallow end. I watched a good Roach sunning itself close to the footbridge over the feeder stream. It darted away as I crossed the bridge. The marginal weed was patchy and I decided to start in the shallows on the south side of the lake.  Casting alongside the remnants of the weed beds. The wind sprung up as I started to cast and it was so blustery I couldn’t get the fly line in the water. Just like last year I had to shelter under an Alder tree until the wind and rain stopped. It was the same tree as last August. When I emerged from under the Alder the sun was shining and a gentle breeze ruffled the water.

I cast the weighted Black Nymph across the ripples, a good trout immediately grabbed the fly and surged out into the middle of the lake. It flashed several times and then came off. The hook point held a scale from the foul hooked Trout. I was conscious that the afternoon was becoming a replay of my 2016 visit to Luffs. Spooky. The conditions were ideal and I felt confident that I would get another take. As I prepared to cast I flicked the nymph into the shallow water at my feet and a Roach took the fly.

The breeze dragged my fly line around towards the top of the lake and the weighted nymph worked a big area. After thirty minutes a few Trout started to rise. They were feeding not jumping to remove the irritating lice. I thought the nymph was fishing too deep so I swapped it for an unweighted version. A couple of casts later I saw the leader start to move away from me and I slowly lifted into a Trout. The fish didn’t escape, it was properly hooked in the lower jaw and weighed about 1lb 8ozs. It was in very good condition.

I moved around the lake covering as much water as possible but I didn’t get another take. The wind was a problem on the north bank. The front taper of the Rio line and the long leader of Fox Illusion fluorocarbon were too light. After several tangles I walked back to the Land Rover and signed out.

The sun was low and threw a golden glow over the hills as I left Petworth. I was pleased to have caught a Trout, unlike last year.

The river had settled to it’s normal level and the day was overcast with a breeze from the west. Perfect fishing conditions. Rain was forecast for the next day and over the weekend. I visited all the beats to have a look at the catch returns but I had a gut feeling that the top beats would be best. Rotherbridge and Keeper’s Bridge had been fished over the weekend and that morning so I drove up the old railway line to Taylor’s Bridge. I wanted to revisit Perryfields as I’d seen some good fish there. Neither Ladymead nor Perryfields had been fished much since my last visit and nothing had been caught.

I decided to fish the south bank because the overcast sky would prevent shadows and the banks had recently been mown. I would have good access to the water along the entire Beat. Just as I got to the first pool a fish swirled. A good sign, I was confident that it would take my fly. I started with a Black Nymph then changed to a nymph with bright red hackles. After thirty minutes of intense concentration I gave up and moved downstream. The plan was to fish the Perryfields stretch on the south bank, then swap to the north bank and explore the pools downstream towards Keeper’s Bridge. I walked to the bend above Perryfields and then started fishing. I searched under the trees along the far bank with a weighted nymph.

Things were going well until I pushed a cast a little too firmly and tangled the leader around an overhanging branch. I pulled for a break and lost the entire tapered leader. It would have been a long walk back to the Land Rover for my spare reel so I tied a length of 4lb Stroft directly to the end of the fly line. Luckily the breeze was behind me and the weighted nymph helped straighten the improvised leader. I flicked the fly across the river under a tree and let it swing round in the current. Half way across there was a flash from a Trout and I connected with a little wild brownie. I unhooked it and watched the fish dash back into cover. Normally that Trout would have been ‘lined’ by my tapered leader. The fine line might have made a difference. The sun broke through the overcast and made my approach to the water more difficult.

I walked to Perryfields Barn and as I arrived, I heard a big fish splash just above the bridge. I crept onto the bridge and ate a handful of huge blackberries while waiting for the fish to rise again. It didn’t. I covered the pool above the bridge but I knew the Trout wouldn’t respond. I stayed on the north bank and went downstream. I thought the line of trees below the Old Riffle and the Wide Pool would produce a Trout. The breeze was against me but the sun was in my face and I didn’t have to worry about shadows. As I arrived at the Wide Pool a Trout rose in mid-stream. The cast was simple and the fish took the nymph immediately. The Trout jumped and dashed around the pool for a couple of minutes. I thought it was ready for the landing net. As I lowered the net onto the marginal weeds the fish dashed off upstream under the Alder trees on the near bank. I laughed at the Trout’s antics, the fly line was tangled in the branches and it looked like a lost cause. I gained a little line but the fish went on another long run. It paused and then surged further upstream. The belly of the fly line had left the reel. I resigned myself to losing the fish and eventually the line went slack. I reeled in and was surprised when the line tightened, it was still on. When I saw the Trout clearly, I realized it was foul hooked in the shoulder.

I released the Trout which recovered quickly. The hook had a couple of scales on the point. The riffle and the pools below it didn’t produce another fish. I was tired and dehydrated so I made my way back to the Land Rover for a bottle of Lucozade. I had intended to visit the big pool at Ladymead but I was exhausted and called it a day.

Using a 4lb bs leader had been interesting. It was difficult in the wind but I think it improved my presentation. I will have to experiment with my leader, it might give me an edge with spooky, end of season fish.

The weather had been changeable over the weekend. Hot, dry and dusty on Saturday then cold, blustery and damp all day Sunday. The gauge on the River Lod at Halfway Bridge read 0.04m and rising. I thought that the river would be unfishable. As I drove over the North River below Billingshurst I was surprised to see that the level was normal and that raised my hopes. I went to Rotherbridge to check the colour of the water and looking down from the bridge, I could just see the bottom. However, the river was rising and I thought the lakes would be more productive.

As I drove over the crest of the hill towards Great Springs I could see rain clouds blowing over the Downs but the road remained dry. Midhurst and Petersfield would get the rain. When I arrived there were Trout splashing on the surface of both lakes. After a cup of tea and some chocolate, I walked down the path to Little Springs and hid behind the bull rushes. I watched a few small Trout moving around within casting range but they were not feeding. I tried to intercept the fish with a GRHE nymph but they were not interested. The Trout definitely saw the nymph, several deliberately moved away as it dropped across their noses. After a frustrating hour I returned to the Land Rover for more chocolate.

I decided to concentrate on Great Springs, the water was crystal clear and deeper. That would give me more options. There were a lot of fish splashing on the surface, both Trout and Roach. The gentle breeze behind my right shoulder helped with casting and presentation. I used a long tippet of 2lb Stroft GTM and worked the GRHE nymph in an arc across the breeze. After an hour I changed to a Black Nymph but there was no response. In desperation I swapped to a size 16 Red Buzzer and let it drift across the lake without any retrieve.

A good fish swirled in the debris falling from the Willow treed on my right. I presented the buzzer quietly and had an immediate take. It was a nice Roach with dark, Autumn colouring. The shoal was moving along the edge of the weeds under the tree and it was tricky to position the fly. I caught another four Roach and lost several. Some of the takes were very gentle, almost impossible to see. The takes petered out and my attention returned to the Trout. As the light faded several Trout began feeding at the surface, not exactly an evening rise but it was encouraging. I fished intently for another hour expecting that, at any moment, the leader would draw away as a Trout inhaled the buzzer. Although I was convinced that I would get a take, I eventually lost my concentration. It was time to leave.

I hope the weather settles and the river level drops so that I can explore the top beats before the season ends.