Saturday

After dropping family at Gatwick, I was impatient to get to the water. Crawley and Horsham had changed since I last negotiated the dual carriageways and roundabouts. It was a late start. The river level and colour looked challenging and after thirty minutes of watching the river, I decided that my time would be better spent at the lakes. With limited opportunities to fish at Leconfield, I was not prepared to wait for a possible evening rise. A few mayfly hatched beside an overhanging tree and were picked off by a chaffinch waiting in the lower branches.

At Little Bognor the water was calm and the surface debris was gradually shifting around the lake. Fish were rising everywhere sipping down buzzers, the choice of fly was obvious. I decided to use the Sage ESN 10′ 6″ #3 even though I was surrounded by tip breaking beech and holly trees.

A small fish rolled over close to the bank and attempted to seize my fly but I raised the rod too soon and it swam away unmolested. I resolved to slow down and treat the takes gently. After an hour spent flicking the buzzer to cruising fish without results, I decided to change to a dry fly. The parachute Adams was ignored, the fish spooked and moved along the bank under dense tree cover. I followed.

I changed to a parachute Pheasant Tail and crept to the stone steps on my hands and knees. I concentrated on the tippet but was distracted by a fish swirling further along the bank. As I looked away there was a big splash, I lifted the rod, a long golden flank flashed just under the surface and a big brownie departed for the centre of the lake. The fight was dogged, the fish stayed deep and tested the rod to its limits.

The fly had taken hold in the scissors and was easy to remove. I judged it’s length to be 23″ by the width of my landing net and it’s weight about 4lbs+. It was in good condition and had a very broad tail. The fish shot out of the landing net as soon as I dipped the rim, job done.

A few minutes late I lifted out of a smaller cruising fish. The rise stopped and I left the lakes at 7:00pm. A leisurely glass of wine and some cheese rounded off a very successful evening.

Sunday

Overnight rain raised the level of the river and I chose to fish at Springs. Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon, glorious weather; I expected to meet a few members. I was amazed to find that I had the lakes to myself. Perhaps everyone was watching Ferrari win at Monaco.

The gusty wind veered around from all points of the compass making casting tricky. I used the Hardy 10′ #4 which is better in windy conditions. Trout were leaping vertically, not feeding but trying to dislodge lice. I spent an hour fan casting around the deep water, trying to get a decent drift in the fluky surface ripples. When the wind dropped a few mayfly spinners were dancing and I spent a while taking photos rather than fishing !

I thought that the wind at the top lake would be stronger but from one direction. It was perfect; left to right and slightly towards me. Fish were swirling in the floating tree debris, testing the particles for food and sipping down nymphs. I put a size 10 mayfly nymph on a light tippet and let it drift around under the willow tree on my right. I had a take but the fish slipped the hook after a few seconds. I had another take in open water but lost the fish. I rested the trout and went hunting for mayfly.

The wind had drained me and I left pleased that I had contacted a couple of fish but tired. The hunt for mayfly had been more successful.