We had a very good competition this year even though some could only fish a few of the matches. It was also a year with quite a few people not taking part still fishing and joining in the festivities in the Ferry Boat. Steve Mills, Roy and Tony Fox, as well as Jerry Pearce, were among those joining us regularly; either fishing or in the Ferry Boat. Indeed Roy and Tony were doing all they possibly could to get us to catching on their preferred method, the Cul de Canard dry-fly; a method that brought success for many of us. It was a really good laugh; the thrills-and-spills of a highly competitive match complemented by excellent fishing and excellent company. Many will be keen to commence hostilities again last year!

Well done to Andrew Green who has once again put his name on the trophy. Frank Daley did very well again this year. Andrew and Frank demonstrated very different tactical approaches. Frank mainly fished a floating line and dry-fly while Andrew used a variety of methods including Boobies on a sinking line and sink-tip washing-lines. Special mention should be made of the two very big fish Andrew caught – 8lb 2oz and 6lb 2oz. We normally have a few four-pounders but we have never had fish like this before in our summer competition.

Another highly successful event; well done to all competitors for your excellent sportsmanship. After the competition had ended, Wednesday evening continued as the Club evening at the reservoirs and in the pub for a month or so afterwards. When the Autumn league was announced one evening in the Ferry Boat there was a roar of support from competitors present. We wouldn’t mind betting that there will be a good turn-out for the Autumn League this year.

No.1 Wed16th May  - Calm before the Storm

The swifts were going mad and plenty of small buzzers were coming off, but lures seemed the best option – Andrew Green eventually catching his winning fish on a Black Booby on a DI5, and Phil Smithson catching his fish on a gold-nugget Cat’s Whisker in the closing stages of the match. Jim Dillon lost a fish on a lure and Pat O’Neill saw the white of a trout’s mouth open behind his fly. Gary Inwards also had a chance on a Cul in the last 10 minutes but missed it.  Tragically, John O’Regan, who returned a fish in the fish few minutes of the competition, did not catch another – there is a lesson there.

Autopsy revealed the fish had been feeding heavily on daphnia, small green buzzers and larger black buzzers. A large emerging sedge was also found. It was very strange that with so many buzzers found inside the fish that the conventional three buzzers fished on a floating line did not score.

A Booby down deep seemed to be the best method but there was also a little bit of activity on the top of the water as well. The weather had been unsettled and the impending downpour could have upset them (water temperature 15°C).

The hottest day of the year so far – bright sunshine and only the slightest of breezes -not exactly ideal. The water temperature had increase by 4°C and was now 19°C and there was a greenish tinge to the water.  Plaques of green algae floated on the surface in places making fishing difficult.

Andrew Green gave the buzzers ago first but a quick chat with a nearby angler alerted him to the possibility that they were not the best option. Switching to an Airflo Expert DI5, he immediately caught a fish on a Cat’s Whisker Booby. Gary Inwards caught a glimpse of this happening and started fishing nearby. On his first cast one of the newly stocked brownies seized his Light Pink Booby. Fortunately it did not swallow the fly so he was able to slip him back.

Things went very quiet on the Causeway, so Andrew moved to the Houses Bank where he caught his second fish on a Cat’s Whisker Booby. Gerry Hanley did well to catch a fish on a Buzzer and then went home early so we were not able to weigh his fish.  

So in conclusion it was a very tricky evening. Andrew Green’s Booby was by far the most consistent of methods. There was discussion about it in the Ferry Boat. There were incredulous murmours when Andrew said he’d been fishing a 21’ leader with a dropper 9’ from his point fly (he was fishing with two Boobies on an Airflo Expert DI-5 using a slow figure of eight).

Andrew autopsied the fish he had caught and they had been feeding on buzzers and daphnia. One of them had eaten quite a few hog-lice. It seemed strange that although feeding on natural food – representations were not working as well as lures. Gary Inwards certainly felt uneasy about this year’s contest. We would normally be catching on buzzers but this year, the fishery was very different.

Gary took a bit of barracking for putting back that brownie. It would have been within fishery rules to keep it (they can be retained between 1st April and 31st October). To him there seemed little point in killing a 10-12oz fish which has the potential to live 10-15 years, and grow to a decent size. However, he did take their point that not many fishermen will put them back.

No.3 Wed 30th May – Cooler Weather Starts

Reservoir No 4 seemed to be the place and anglers sheltered from the wind in the bay by the Hut. The fish were definitely high up in the water – small flies that rode high seemed to be the method; Richard Mosek catching on a Pearl and Black Widget, Mike Sternfeldt on a Hackled Hare’s Ear, and John Ferguson on a small Black Muddler. Further along the Causeway in the slightly rougher water, Phil Smithson had a fish on a Cat’s Whisker and Gary Inwards had his fish on a Booby/slime line combination.

Frank Daley fished the first bay of No 4 and had his fish on a Diawl fished on a washing-line.  Everyone was impressed by the quality of fish coming out of No 4 reservoir. John Ferguson was certainly in celebratory mood in the Ferry Boat after banking a superb four-and-a-half-pounder. John didn’t have a touch until the last hour but was saved when the big-one took. Disaster then struck when a gust of wind blew a coil of line around his reel when he was playing a second fish. However, as it happened, he didn’t need a second fish to win.

Jerry Pearce was also fishing by the Shed. He was doing well on Widgets. Walking off the lake, he encountered Frank Daley struggling to catch his second fish on Culs. Gerry decided to stop and help Frank by fishing near–by. According to Frank’s account in the pub, Jerry cast out and said “You don’t want to be using Culs you want to using Widgets like thi-i-i-i-i-i-i-s”. Jerry’s last word blending perfectly into the sound of fly-line hissing though his rod-rings, as a trout attached itself to his Widget. 

No.4 Wed 6th June

The water temperature had dropped to 16.5°C which was promising. Most started on No 4 but there were few fish showing and the water was very green. No 5 seemed to have come alive perhaps because it was less green.  A rumour that Tony Fox had caught a near 6lber on a dry soon had anglers switching their allegiance to No 5. Gary Inwards arrived on the causeway of  No 5 just as Richard Mosek landed a fish on a Diawl Bach fished on a washing-line. Gary had soon managed to lose one.

Everything went quiet until last knockings when Richard caught his second and Gary at last landed one. Further down the Causeway Frank Daley had two fish on a Diawl fished between two Hoppers. Mike Sternfeldt also landed a fish on a Buzzer fished close to the surface. Tony and Roy Fox were also out fishing; Tony catching two and Roy one on Cul de Canard dry flies.

It was a really cold grey evening and we were glad to get inside the Ferry Boat.  Gary spooned all the fish caught. A couple had nothing in them but the majority had been feeding heavily.  Large Daphnia was the main item discovered.  If we said they were the size of marrow-fat peas we would be exaggerating but they were certainly large. It was supposed that the daphnia were feeding on the algae that had turned the water green. There were also the occasional small green buzzer (with vivid orange cheeks) and the odd large black buzzer.

The overall conclusion was that the fish were generally up in the top layers of the water. To take them you had to be fishing on or just under the surface. Andrew Green had fished Buzzers down deep and the Booby with little success. If he cannot catch them deep down no-one will. They seemed to feeding mainly on daphnia but their liking for the odd buzzer perhaps made them vulnerable to the Diawl Bach. Trout seem drawn to like these sparkly green little flies; even when they are not feeding on buzzers.

Tony and Roy once again were catching on Culs. We have commented on this phenomenon before. Although the fish caught contained no emerging or adult chironomids they don’t seem to able to resist a Cul.

Weather: Wind Light-Moderate SW. Sky had been clouding over more during the afternoon, and conditions looked very good for moving fish when we first arrived at the reservoirs. Tony Fox reported a couple of fish on dries from the point on the West Bank of No 4 with Roy also getting the odd chance.

Most people went in along the Causeway fishing into No.4, but apparently this was quiet with just the odd fish showing and only one fish caught. Andrew Green went along the West Bank of No 5 reasoning that if there were fish moving along the West Bank of No 4 they should be doing the same along the West Bank of No 5, which Basil Guy, fishing about a third of the way down, confirmed. But a period of rain seemed to put them down.

After the rain had passed the fish that were moving seemed to be crashing after fry, large shoals of which could be seen in the margins. Fishing about two thirds down the West Bank, Both Frank Daley and Andrew Green landed a fish at the same time, Frank's on a Diawl Bach fished slowly on a floater, Andrew's on a White Minky fished deep on a Slow Glass 6th Sense. A couple of fish came out of the SW Bay - one to Basil on a Pheasant Tail - again fished deep, and another to a chap fishing a 2½ inch White Minky (who also lost a better 5-6lbs fish).

With three-quarters of an hour to go, Andrew moved up to a third of the way down the West Bank where he'd also seen moving fish earlier. He went on the double Black & Green Booby on the DI5 to hook a big fish in the last five minutes. This took him up a way up the bank, but he was finally able to walk it back to where he'd left his landing net. Conservatively estimated at 5lbs+ it actually went 8-2-0 on the scales. Roger ended a run of 6 blanks with a fish that took a Diawl Bach right in the edge (from the West Bank of No 4), but apart from a few missed takes to John O'Regan that was about it.

Stomach contents: not much in Andrew Green's smaller fish, but the big one had two dozen 1" fry packed inside it. Despite Tony Fox's claims that Andrew would find one of his dries inside it (Tony having released a similar-sized fish in previous weeks that had swallowed one of his Culs), nothing was found. This fish was on a high-protein diet, why would it bother with a little low-calorie dry?

Although Andrew thought the tail on his big one wasn’t all it could have been John Ferguson commented that it was a fantastic fish, and that Andrew like a true pro had kept up the pressure to the last minute and been duly rewarded. It is rare to see anglers fishing at Walthamstow with sinking lines during the summer – even when the fishing is difficult. The potential of Walthamstow has once again been demonstrated but the hard truth is that to unlock it, mastery of broad spectrum of techniques is sometimes required.  Club competition anglers drew inspiration from Andrew’s performance.

No.6 Wed 20th June – Andrew Blanks

The water looked good: crystal clear, fry either visible or dimpling the surface, plenty of small buzzers coming off with the occasional big one amongst them. Sedge also skittered on the surface as the swifts whirled overhead.  

Fishing conditions were not too bad either. The breeze was cool but it felt warm when the sun came out.  The strong South-Westerly saw Andrew and Richard making a beeline for the South-West Bay at the far end of No 5. It looked pretty crowded down there but young Vinnie King (not in the competition) had had some fish on the washing-line. It can be a game of nerves down there with the fish moving into the bay then out again. You can only hope one attaches itself to your line when they are in. Andrew didn’t catch anything but Richard had one on a Green Buzzer on top dropper.

The Causeway on No 4 near the Shed was also popular. Dave Jarvis and Ron Fry, who were packing up when we arrived, had had some on Hoppers. The fishing on the Causeway was tricky – the fish had obviously had enough by the time we arrived. Roger Eglinton did well though, fishing a washing-line with a Booby on point, getting numerous follows before one finally decided to bite down upon it.

When Gary Inwards arrived he found Roy Fox (not in the competition) had caught some fish in the first Bay as you come onto No 4. Deciding to start near-by, he fished a foam-headed Dry supporting two Diawls on a washing-line. He had a swirl and take on the Dry but action slowed up. He decided to try a smaller Dry but it sank. Nevertheless he fished it as if he was straight-lining; giving his nymphs a minute or two to sink down.  When the fish took he assumed that it had taken one of the Diawl droppers but, to his surprise, it had taken the Dry which he assumed was fishing quite close to the bottom. Tony Fox (not in the competition) arrived and caught a few on Cul de Canard dries sight-casting to fish. 

It was another cool breezy evening. Most were along the Causeway. Frank Daley was fishing Culs and catching well, as was John O’Regan. Andrew Green and Richard Mosek were fishing washing-lines. Andrew using a midge-tip washing-line with a Booby on point. These midge-tip lines are all the rage on the loch-style scene at the moment but apparently are seldom used as their manufacturers recommend….the competition anglers having found more efficient ways to use them.

John Ferguson had a nice fish from the South-West Bay of No.5. Gary found the Causeway rather hard going but had one from the Railway Bank of No 4 on a Booby/slime line combination.  At 9pm the wind dropped and fish came up in a wind slick along the bank. Gary was all on his own, and managed to lose one and miss many others on Culs. The water temperature remained at 19-20°C.

No.8 Wed 4th July – Warm in the Ferry Boat

We understand a good evening was had by all in the Ferry Boat at the end of this year’s epic competition.

Back to 2007 Archive>>