Week by Week reports

Overcast conditions and a moderate S/SW wind looked promising, but those of us who started on No5 found this relatively slow, even in the SW Bay where there was plenty of fry. As we soon found out, there was lot more activity along the Causeway of No4 as the rainbows constantly battered the big shoals of roach fry lined up all along here. Billy, though, had a run of fish from the NE corner of No5 on his Suspender Minky floating fry fished on the floating line, but put most of these back, not just because he thought he was going to carry on catching, but also because a lot of these were under two pounds, and already a three pound plus fish had come out from No4. Dave and Billy soon concentrated on the SE corner of No4, with Dave managing a couple of nice fish. John had an early fish on Boobies from the Railway bank, while Andrew had one off the middle of the Causeway on a fry pattern before this went quiet. Meanwhile, Frank stayed put near the culvert in the NE corner to weigh in one of only a couple of two fish bags recorded today, with Dave beating him by just half a pound. Many of the fish, though silvery, are lean, but as long as they carry on with this fry diet should soon start bulking up, and be in good condition for the Fur & Feather.

With a few of us off chasing grayling on the River Test, we had a slightly depleted turnout today, but the good news was that another 750 fish had gone into No5 (with 250 in the East Warwick). Not surprisingly, No5 was where all the other fishermen had headed for, but Frank, Jim and John Ferguson decided to start on No4 where fish could be seen crashing into shoals of pin-fry. A gentle ENE wind made fishing from the Railway Bank and East Bank relatively comfortable, and fish were not long in coming, with John Ferguson putting back a two pounder on his second cast, in the hope of something bigger. John O’Regan, who had started on No5, found he wasn’t getting any touches, so moved to the Steps on No4 and was soon rewarded with a couple of fish, as well as numerous perch, all around 3-4 inches long. The fishing was harder for Frank, halfway along the East bank, but he still managed to weigh in two good fish. While Jim, having kept just the one out of a succession he caught earlier, found he had to carry on right to the last knockings to get his second keeper. In short, the fishing is still hard, but the outlook is promising, with plenty of tight lines still to come.

Settled overcast conditions, with hardly any wind, meant that any surface activity was easily spotted and from the start the NE corner of No4 was alive with fish attacking the big shoals of fry along the edge, and further out. But although most of us headed here, action was slow, with just one or two fish hooked. Suspender Minkies fished on the floater worked, as did Charlie Farleys on the Intermediate, but the fish seemed to wise up to any new approach very quickly. You’d get a couple of chances, landing a fish if you were lucky, then have to find some other tactic as the fish got resistant. A few smaller fish were put back, as we hoped for something bigger, only for takes typically to slow up in the afternoon. On No5 Jim Dillon found more consistent sport, reporting a good bag of 11 fish, and weighing in one of only a couple two-fish bags returned on the day , to take the ten points a few ounces ahead of Andrew. John O’Regan and John Ferguson both caught in the NE corner of No5, but elsewhere Frank and Dave found the going harder. John Ferguson currently has a 7-point lead, in front of Frank and Jim, but we’re not yet halfway through and things can easily change.

The weather forecast predicted virtually constant rain all day, so it was not hard to see why the reservoirs were only sparsely populated with fishermen. Having said that, it was not as bad as we had thought, with a few dry spells in between the showers. No5 received some attention early on, with the South East Bay and Houses Bank producing for Andrew early, on the DI7 and Boobies. Thinking there was still plenty of time to go, he put back both of these fish, losing another in the South West Bay around mid-day. The others were finding it slower, but John managed a good looking 3-7-0 specimen from No4 on the Causeway, on a Cat’s Whisker Minky, adding another from the West Bank of No5 a little while later. Jim was getting plenty of takes, and got one to stick later, also from the West bank of No5, and that was about it. John has a good overall lead, but there are still two matches to go, so it’s certainly not all over. It seems the fish have moved a little deeper but could still be on the fry, and are not easy to tempt. We do have excellent water clarity in both reservoirs, so with dropping temperatures we are hoping the fish will switch on, especially in time for the Fur & Feather.

Pleasant sunny conditions, with clear skies early on soon gave way to chillier weather as the clouds moved in later. These colder conditions, along with the good water clarity, have probably helped in improving the fishing, though, with good numbers of trout coming to both Boobies on the DI7 and fry patterns on the Intermediate. Jim Dillon kept a couple of decent 3lbs+ fish from the West bank of No5, while Pat O’Neil, unlucky to lose a fish early on from the SW Corner of No4 on the floater, made up for this with two cracking fish later on. Over in the SE Bay of No5 Frank was doing well on Boobies, even if he wasn’t able to contact any of the better fish, while Billy found fishing into the wind along the Causeway productive. Overall, Jim Dillon now has a two point lead over John Ferguson, but with one match to go, the result is far from certain. The good news is that both reservoirs have switched on in good time for the Fur & Feather, just two weeks away.   

With not the same number of roach fry evident along the Causeway, it appeared dropping temperatures had driven them deeper. As often happens this time of year, Boobies on the DI7 brought plenty of takes in the first couple of hours, although an estimated 6-7lbs fish to Peter Gulliver (not in the competition) on the floater from No4 produced some early excitement. With many of us looking for that elusive three pounder, plenty of fish were returned, only for takes to slow up in the afternoon. Along with the top of West bank of No5, the South East Bay was producing, as well as the Causeway, where John O’Regan landed a near-5llbs rainbow later in the day on his favourite roly-poly on the DI5. But it was Jim Dillon’s two decent fish that brought him another 10 points, and the overall title, ahead of John Ferguson 2nd overall, and Frank Daley 3rd. Thanks to everyone for supporting another close Autumn Series, and let’s hope the Fur & Feather sees some more of this good winter fishing.

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Final Positions