Saturday – Great Springs

The weekend was probably my last chance to fish in Sussex until next season. The previous week had been mild for mid October but the morning was chilly and the lawn was silvery with dew. The south westerly wind brought torrential rain on the drive to Petworth and I considered turning back. However, the bright sky over the Downs convinced me that a break in the weather would give me a few hours beside the lakes. The rain was forecast to return at 2:00pm. No pressure.

At Great Springs the trout were rising for buzzers and a good fish took my imitation second cast, it was about two and a half pounds and swam away from the landing net strongly, back to the cold deep water near the bank. I expected to catch several more trout but the disturbance had put all the fish down and the surface of the lake remained flat calm for several hours. It was good to see swallows skimming the water, something I’d not seen all year.

Later, as the rain clouds swept across the Downs, a trout surged towards my fly making a wake. I slowly lifted the rod to induce a take and connected with a solid fish which was identical in colouring and weight to my first. I drove to Luffs but as I was about to cast, heavy rain started to fall and I left the rising fish for the following day.

Sunday – Little Bognor

The weather forecast predicted a sunny day with a breeze. It was no surprise to find a still, dull overcast morning. I deleted the Met Office app from my phone. I watched the water at Great Springs while I had a cup of tea, nothing moved. There were fish moving at Luffs but they were well out of casting range and I drove to Little Bognor.

Little Bognor was deserted and a few fish were moving. The lake was calm and the surface had a scattering of autumn leaves. I dropped a black spider ahead of a fish cruising slowly past in open water. It saw the fly and veered away. A trout rose very close to the bank, next to a fallen branch. I took a risk and flicked the fly close to the twigs, then twitched the leader. I hooked the fish and held it until it had splashed itself away from the snag. The autumn colours along the flank of the brown trout matched the colours of the beech mast and leaves. I dragged the branch out of the water, it was a lot bigger than I thought.

Extracting the trout and the branch, had driven the fish away, towards the stone steps, below Rex Vicat-Coles long dead chestnut tree. As usual a fish was cruising inside the curtain of overhanging branches. Another risky cast landed the fly just inside the tree canopy and after a couple of tweaks, the leader rose from its curve and I lifted into another trout. A brace in ten minutes ! I crept along the stone path and watched a fish from behind a wall of ferns. I extended about ten yards of line along the short mown grass and waited for the trout to come within range. The tippet landed awkwardly across a floating leaf. I repeated the process a few times until the fish saw the fly and grabbed it. It came unstuck after a few seconds. As I walked around the lake I saw another fish feeding near the outflow but decided that two and a half fish was enough for one afternoon. It’s always good to end the day on a high note.

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