Week by Week reports

Autumn sunshine and a light Southerly made for some pleasant conditions, but the trout proved tricky. Despite a recent stocking, and plenty of fish showing, both topping and jumping, they were not easy to tempt. Jim Dillon, fishing a ‘Charlie Farley’ Cat’s Whisker Minkie Tadpole, got some to stay on, keeping a couple and returning a few more. Throughout the rest of the field, however, there were plenty of stories of lost fish and missed takes. One person who appeared to have cracked it, though not in the competition, was long-time Walthamstow FFC member Micky Smart. Fishing a team of buzzers round in the wind on a floater from the Houses Bank of No.5, he took several grown-on fish, with Ron Fry also scoring next to him. The numbers of moving fish, with some sizeable ones among them, promise good things for later matches in this series when they really get down to feeding.

Jim Dillon had a field day with his Cat’s Whisker variant, the ‘Charlie Farley’, banking over a dozen fish overall. Generally thought, anglers found it hard in the very weak and variable wind, and the flat calm conditions made anglers struggle. Richard Mosek managed two fish in the afternoon - also on a Charley Farley - while others managed to bank just the one. Montanas, Orange Boobies and Zonkers the successful flies.

A cold South Westerly wind saw fish caught in the first hour but as this increased, fish became hard to find. Both Nos 4 and 5 reservoirs were coloured. Frank had his first fish from the West bank of No 5, and his second in the bay of No 4 near the Car Park. Both Kevin Blackwell and John O’Regan had fish late in last hour of the match, as did Mike Sternfeldt. Kevin had his second on a Cul fishing the same bay as Frank, while John fished the top SW bay of No 5, close to the East Warwick. Great excitement resulted when Jim Dillon bent into what he thought was a match-winning specimen only to find he had foul-hooked a 4lb eel in the tail (later destined for Pat’s frying-pan).

Despite cold conditions and a strong North Easterly, those of us who started on the Causeway of No.5 found the trout co-operative, with frequent signs of moving fish. In comparison, the Railway Bank of the clearer No.4 was relatively quiet. Andrew Green, Jim Dillon and Gary Inwards used mostly Cat’s Whisker, Black & Green and Red Boobies to land 26 fish between them, including some good looking silver specimens with full tails. Sport slowed a little once the rain had set in around mid-day but by experimenting with depths and retrieves the odd fish could still be tempted. Spooned fish have apparently been feeding hard on corixae and bloodworm, so both rainbows and browns – which have also been showing – should overwinter well.

A week later and although the wind had turned round to a South/South-Westerly, for a lot of the time it was just as wet. Even so, this didn’t affect the sport, with fish being caught in most places around No.5. The South West bay was popular, with Kevin, Jim, and the two Johns doing well here, mostly on Boobies. The North end of the West bank also saw Frank and Gary catching regularly, also on Boobies. While the Causeway saw one of our beginners on the course land a trout on a floater and mini Cat’s Whisker. Frank’s winning brace was the best from 20 fish, while other big catches included Jim with 14 and Gary with around a dozen. Watch your footing on the concrete slopes. The level on both reservoirs is being lowered, leaving a dark green slippery band just below the normal level. Negotiate this, and you’ll find firmer footing nearer the water, but do be careful.

After a few slippery moments last week, water levels on both reservoirs were rising again. This saw No.4 not as clear as No.5, which possibly contributed to slower fishing here, in any case No.5 certainly saw more action. The usual swims along the West bank did well, but fish were also caught from the South West bay and the Houses bank. Frank weighed in the two reasonable fish he needed for a win, which gave him the overall top spot for the Series just one point ahead of Jim Dillon. John O’Regan put in another consistent performance to finish 3rd overall, while Shaun, one of our beginners, did well to get one of the few fish caught from No.4 today. Mild conditions saw spells in the afternoon when fish were definitely high in the water, with one or two coming to floaters and intermediates.

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