Month: August 2018

I had a lot of things to do at the lakes and river before I could fish. It was just as well because the morning was hot and there was only a gentle breeze. It was 32 degrees at lunchtime but in the afternoon the breeze strengthened and the temperature dropped a little. The water temperature at Great Springs was 26 degrees in the shallows at the north end of the lake and 24 degrees on the bottom of the lake at the dam end. The water was not stratified, bad news for the Trout.

The cereal crops had all been harvested and the acres of stubble were decorated with various shaped bales of straw. I prefer the small, oblong shaped bales. It was good to see a lot of proper haystacks. The black plastic cylinders look like litter.

I plumbed the lower lake at Little Bognor and was surprised at the depth of the water. It was a uniform six feet over two thirds of the lake. It was mid afternoon before I set up my rod. I was tempted to fish the open water because the fish were rising all over the lake but I decided to sit in the shade of the Beech trees and move to the open water as the sun went down.

An amber and partridge nymph beckoned to me from the fly box. I hadn’t used that pattern at Little Bognor and the fish would have no reason to shy away from it. I sat at the top of the stone steps and waited for a fish to swirl. I didn’t have to wait long. A group of Trout were cruising close to the bank, occasionally rising for a nymph or buzzer. A few casts later I felt a sharp tap on the rod and lifted gently into the fish. It felt small and just circled around under the branches, unsure what had happened. It went on a short run along the surface to my right and I saw that it was foul hooked in the shoulder. Then the hooked pinged out.

The water had not been disturbed and I thought another fish might wander past. Eventually a couple of fish moved but refused the fly. I changed to a GRHE nymph and flicked it towards the next passing Trout. The fly dropped about a yard ahead of the fish and it took without hesitation. Unlike the last fish it went on a long run, through the submerged branches on my right and out into the lake. I bullied it back past the snags and into clear water. As I thought about a Trout supper, the fish escaped. I moved along the bank and stalked a good fish rising close to the bank but it disappeared after a few casts. Ultra fussy.

I walked up the slope to the top lake and had a few casts at rising fish from underneath the Oak tree. They also disappeared. I lost a fly in the lilies which prompted me to pack up. I think that I have lost the last nine Trout that I have hooked. Nevermind, it had been an enjoyable day.

 

Yesterday at Glorious Goodwood the heat, sun and racing had taken their toll. I needed a relaxing day to unwind. I went to the river via Little Bognor and then to the lakes in the northern part of the Estate. As I drove down the slope towards Great Springs I saw a Buzzard and two Kestrels hunting in the same field. Some of the sheep were nibbling the grass and disturbing all sorts of prey. The sensible sheep were asleep under the hedgerow.

The sun was unrelenting and it was not difficult to decide where to fish. The mature trees and deep sided valley at Little Bognor provided shade and the spring fed lakes cooled the air. I had a long lunch sitting on the wooden seat under the Beech trees. I watched the Trout taking a variety of flies all over the lake, mainly buzzers and damsels. As the sun moved round to the west the shadows on my side of the grew shorter and the fish became less active under the trees.

I found a hollow in the slope of the bank which would support my back and settled down to await the arrival of a fish. It was too hot to continually flick the fly about under the branches and constant casting would disturb the fish. I waited about thirty minutes for a fish to swirl, it was on my left and only a yard from the bank. I flicked the black buzzer infront of me and about ten feet away. As I slowly drew the fly towards me there was a thump on the rod and then nothing. I had bumped it off on a short line. The seventh consecutive Trout that I have induced to take and subsequently lost.

I was convinced that another fish would be along shortly so I prepared the rod and rested it on the moss and leaves ready for action. I had started the session with a 4lb bs Stroft tippet and a size 12 buzzer, reasoning that this would enable me to keep hold of the fish I hooked. My approach was partially successful because I had proved to myself that the fish were not shy of the heavier tippet.

I waited patiently but the fish had moved across the lake into the shade on the west side. I knew it would be several hours before the sun dipped below the trees completely and the evening rise started. I was too tired and dehydrated to wait that long.