Week by Week reports

Apart from a flat calm, our 2014 Autumn Series got off to a great start with fully overcast conditions and plenty of moving fish, thanks to a stocking during the week. On a day that saw both a Start Fly Fishing course, as well as a Thames Water Open Day, one would have thought that fish would have been queuing up to get caught. As it happened, they soon wised up after seeing a few flies retrieved past them. Kevin did well on No4 off the Railway Bank, putting back 9 or so, but made a tactical error in that these returned fish included a couple of three pounders, but that’s how this series goes. Over on No5 John was catching off the Causeway with Andrew in the SW Bay, both finding that flies and methods had to be switched around to keep the takes coming. Once the fresh stockies have settled down to some serious feeding we should be in for some great fishing, because there are still good sized residents around.

With some good catches reported during the  intervening weeks, we were confident of a good day, but the ten of that turned out found the going patchy, with fish only switching on intermittently. As usual, some of us put back a few early fish, hoping to get better ones later in the day, only to find that takes dried up. Others kept a small one, only to get better fish when we’d already got our brace. Dave Jarvis persevered to get a good 3-5-8 fish late in the afternoon on a Minky, while Hector was not far behind him with a couple of better fish on small Boobies fishing into the wind on the Causeway on a DI7. The secret seemed to be not to stay too long in one spot, because you could easily drop on a few fish, and get a couple of takes, before they wised up. No5 is slightly more brownish than No4 but with reasonable clarity nymphs are also working, and we saw fish caught on buzzers. Hector takes the overall lead with 15 pts ahead of Andrew and Kevin, but if we get some more good turnouts this could change very quickly.

An overcast morning with a light South West wind welcomed anglers for our third match. The West bank of No5 was a popular choice with all the swims in use here. Dave Jarvis on the 1st platform got the ball rolling very quickly, fishing a Booby on a DI3, and landing around five in the first hour. Kevin, John, and Sid were having less exciting sport, but still catching enough to keep them happy. Pat O’Neill, who fished No4 by the hut, hooked a good sized fish on a Corixa on his first cast, only to lose it at the net. Jim, who fished further up the bank, was catching at a steady pace, working his way through for better sized fish. Another popular place was the West Bay of No4, where a lot of fish were shoaling, patrolling only a few feet from the bank. Similar sport was happening here as well, with Frank and Hector being the main predators. Frank got his rewards fishing a Minkie, with Hector also landing a good fish. With another stocking expected this week, and the number of fish that are showing, a lot can happen with the points on the board in the coming weeks.

Following another stocking during the week, and the continuation of good clear water conditions on both No4 and No5 reservoirs, prospects did look very good. As it happened, the action was hectic from the off, especially to the first few swims down the West bank of No5, where a good number of stockies had obviously congregated. While Jim Dillon, John Ferguson and Sid McKee were doing well here, Hector decided to adopt more of a roving approach, in the hope that he might encounter a few of the residents, and it certainly paid off, with a couple of three pounders taking his Black Snake. Jim was using the Charley Farley to good effect, while John was finding the DI7 and Boobies worked well up the slope. Kevin was doing fine for quantity, but having trouble sorting out the better fish, while Frank also reported a run of two pounders. As it was, we all caught, so it’s all looking very good for the final two matches, and the Fur & Feather the following weekend.

The mild spell continued, with damp overcast conditions and light winds. The NW corner of No5 was the most popular area, and saw fish coming out from both the Causeway and the West bank. They seemed to be at all depths, coming to everything from Charley Farleys 3ft down on the Intermediate to Boobies on the DI7. With the excellent water clarity nymphs on the floater would probably also have been a good bet, not that many people tried them. The trick was to find the better fish and while some of the silvered-up residents gave memorable scraps many were all about the 2-4-0 to 2-8-0 size, which led to a very close finish. John, who had been looking for better fish on No4, had exactly the same weight as Jim, who had stuck to the No5 hotspot. With another stocking expected this week, our last match is set up nicely as the series goes right down to the wire. Everything also looks good for a prolific Fur & Feather the weekend after, even if the weather’s not too Christmassy right now!

An extra stocking on Tuesday, along with light winds which made all banks fishable, promised we would have a good finale to our series. As it happened, fish were caught in most areas on No5. No4 didn’t have same clarity, but still produced a couple of fish to Frank, even though sport here was slower. In the South West bay of No5 sport was brisk, even if many of these fish appeared to be stockies. The Causeway was also producing, as did the first platforms along the West bank where Andrew managed a couple of decent fish on a Fast Intermediate and Charley Farley, after starting off on the DI7 and Boobies. Jim’s brace got him 2nd place, just half an ounce in front of Sid’s brace, and saw him take the title ahead of John, who put back plenty of fish but just couldn’t get the sizeable ones he was after. The Autumn Series makes it three in a row this year for Jim, having also got the Final Fling and the Wednesday Evening Series, quite a feat.

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Final Positions