Author: Nigel Rainton

The bright Autumn morning and chilly breeze promised a perfect day by the river. The weather forecast was good and the river level had dropped. Had it dropped enough ? I stood in the middle of the bridge at Rotherbridge and looked down into the water. I couldn’t see the sandy bottom, the river was still too coloured. I went to Keeper’s Bridge, it draws me like a magnet. The variety of pools and ever changing currents ensure that no two days are alike. The shallow runs and the riffle would be fishable. There were three cars already there so I drove up the old railway line to the top beats. Another car. I returned to Rotherbridge and explored the shallow water immediately above the bridge. There was no response so I walked up to the New Riffle and spent thirty minutes working the water down and across.

I was just about to leave the riffle when a group of children from Coldwaltham school arrived on the far bank. They sat for a while, watched me fish and asked lots of questions. The children left and I walked back to Rotherbridge. I saw a Trout rise below the bridge but I couldn’t cast the fly far enough under the bushes. Another fish jumped but it was not interested in my nymph. Either it couldn’t see the fly in the coloured water or it was irritated by lice and not feeding. I decided to have lunch at Great Springs and then fish Luffs.

The view across the Rother valley was spectacular. The air was clear and rain clouds welled up over the Downs before drifting north. The moving clouds threw shadows and highlights over the hills. Everything looked bright and clean, even the sheep. The hedgerows were heavy with berries and the Chestnut trees were unloading conkers which hit the ground with a solid thump.

I had a sandwich and a bottle of beer while sitting on the wooden bench at Great Springs. I disturbed a Buzzard in the big pine tree, it spiraled up near the cloud base and mewed at me until I left. I set up my rod under the big Oak tree at Luffs and walked around the top end of the lake to the south side.

My previous visits to Luffs were both from the same script, I was adamant that the afternoon would be different. The water was clear and calm with only occasional ripples as the wind strengthened. I quietly covered the margin at the shallow end with a weighted GRHE nymph. I gradually extended my casts and covered a wide area. A fish rose in the centre of the lake and I dropped the fly about a yard short. A few seconds later the fly line slid away and I was into a Trout. Briefly. It threw the hook. I couldn’t believe  it, ‘The Luffs Trilogy’. I moved down into the gap in the trees where I had previously caught a Roach. I caught a Roach. From the centre of the lake. I laughed out loud. The next scene included catching a Trout. I saw a feeding fish rise on my left in the centre of the lake. I dropped the nymph close to the rise and as scripted, the line began to tighten. I lifted the rod, confident that I would hook the Trout. The fish swirled and dashed towards me so quickly I had trouble stripping the line and keeping contact. The fish calmed down and I wound the loose line back onto the reel. That was a mistake. The Trout tore away from me in a big arc towards the middle of the lake. The reel couldn’t release line quickly enough and the fish pointed me, snapping the line at the hook. I cursed.

I’d scared the Trout along the south bank so I moved towards the road end to see if there were any feeding fish down the centre channel. The wind was behind me and I thought a static nymph would produce a take. As I was preparing to cast, I flicked the line into the water and pulled line off the reel. The leader dipped and I was into another Trout. The fish went on a very fast run up the lake but I was able to feed it the loose line. The main belly of the line disappeared and the fish kept going. It ran about twenty yards. I was determined to land the fish and I treated it gently. I was surprised to see that it only weighed about 1lb 8ozs, it fought like a three pounder.

The batch of size 12 GRHE nymphs that I tied a few weeks ago have been very successful. The copper wire ribbing and the guard hair hackle imitate the legs and segmented body of an olive nymph or buzzer. I will have to tie some more.

 For my birthday I had been given a day fishing on the syndicate water at Albury Park, the Duke of Northumberland’s Surrey estate. We decided to make it a relaxing occasion with a midday picnic or pub lunch to interrupt the proceedings. We were fortunate that our day coincided with the syndicate’s end of season barbeque.

We arrived at 10:30am and signed in then wandered down to the lake. The blustery Autumn wind was ruffling the surface of the water and the mature trees around the lake made the wind swirl. The wind seemed to be against me wherever I went. There were beds of weed surrounded by shallow, crystal clear water. The lake looked like a very wide chalkstream.

Downwind in the shallows I saw three trout patrolling the edge of a weedbed and cast a weighted GRHE nymph infront of them. One fish briefly followed the nymph but then turned away and they all moved out of range. After a few minutes the group of fish returned, I cast to the nearest Trout which approached the fly. It’s mouth flashed white and I lifted into my first fish of the day. It fought hard and made several long runs into the centre of the lake. It was a brownie which weighed about 2lb. It was a very dark bronze colour along it’s back, hence the name.

I moved round to the opposite side of the shallows and saw a much bigger Trout circling a small weedbed. I carefully positioned the nymph about a yard infront of the fish and it changed course slightly to intercept the fly. It shied away at the last moment. I waited for it to circle around again but the next cast was clumsy and the Trout disappeared at high speed up the lake.

I found a wooden bench next to a Willow tree and sat in the sunshine watching the fish and waiting for a monster to come within casting distance. A brownie about 4lb cruised past just under the surface. It did a few circuits around the area and then headed towards me. I dropped the nymph right in it’s path, saw the flash of white as it inhaled the fly and promptly yanked the fly out of it’s mouth. Rats. The fish gave me a dirty look and departed.

A group of four Trout wandered into range from my right and I quickly cast the nymph into the middle of the shoal. They were competing for food and one of them immediately grabbed the fly. The fish fought long and hard but just as I was about to reach for the landing net, the fly came adrift.

A few minutes later a single fish cruised past at the limit of my casting range. I double hauled and put the fly down about a foot infront of the Trout which obligingly took it and dashed away. It fought like a four pounder and a small crowd gathered on the far bank to watch. Thankfully it didn’t come off. With a brace in the net it was time for a break. Lunch was very civilized. Sunshine, wine and cake.

I returned to the wooden bench and I was soon into another good fish. I got it within reach of the net several times but it shot off across the lake. A knot in the fly line and a tangle around the reel handle were probably due to the wine. It was another brownie about 2lb.

The rain arrived and we sheltered under a huge ornamental fir tree. I was able to side cast from under the tree but because of the rain drops, I couldn’t target any trout. The rain eased and I walked around the lake to get a better view of the fish in the bright sunshine.

A group of very large Trout, some about 6lb, were milling around in the centre of the lake. I was standing in a small gap between mature trees and the gusts of wind made casting tricky. I fired a long cast into the middle of the fish and one of the fish took the nymph. Why is it always the smallest fish that gets there first ? It was a rainbow and after ten minutes battling with it, I thought it might be foul hooked. The fish was cleanly hooked and in nice condition, very bright colours.

It had been a lovely day. Autumn weather and colours. A relaxing lunch and four very hard fighting trout. Excellent.

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.