No.1 Wed 6th June

gone clear again, and the word was that the fishing had been pretty good recently. But this evening sport on the Causeway and the Houses bank had been slow, although Kevin lost a small one here, while Frank had put back a fish on No4. Andrew moved to the SW Bay, where he managed a couple of fish on DI5 and a Cat Booby, but most of the others congregated around Frank, where he had started to catch on the West bank of No4. Tony had a couple of good fish while Kevin landed a four pounder but was unable to contact with another to make his brace. Although the last half hour had seen a amazing buzzer hatch, with frantic bird activity, fish were mostly taken on Minkies rather than nymphs. Spooned fish were found to contain a mixture of green buzzers and daphnia, which the overcast conditions probably encouraged to move nearer the surface, taking the fish with them. We’re hoping for more overcast conditions because there are obviously some good fish moving.

No.2 Wed 13th June

the edge, so with overcast conditions and light winds, we might have expected a prolific evening. But despite some good fish showing late, takes were hard to come by for most. Vinnie did well on the Houses Bank of No5, missing a couple on nymphs, then putting back a couple on the Booby when they switched back on later. Andrew lost one next to him, also hooked on a Booby on the drop, while elsewhere Tony was getting a few chances, with Gorka catching and Brian getting one on a Zonker on the floater. Later as the wind dropped more fish were seen moving, with John unlucky to miss three chances on a Foam Daddy and the washing-line. Vinnie lost a couple more, including a lunker which could easily have got him 10 points. As it was Tony turned in another consistent performance to take the top spot. It’s early days yet and with six more matches to go, anything could happen, but as the events of this evening proved, it pays to be versatile and adapt quickly.

No.3 Wed 20th June

things tricky this evening, but there were a couple of early fish to John and Brian on the East bank of No4, which was one of the more popular areas. Andrew lost a couple of fish on the Causeway before moving to the point by the SE bay of No5 where he had a couple on the DI7 and Booby. Back on No4, Kevin also scored, while Vince was getting a few chances, managing to land a 4-6-0 rainbow as part of a good brace to take the top spot. With Tony failing to catch, it has all got close again in the overall points. One thing we noticed was that these fish are going like trains, maybe because they’re gorging on a high-protein diet of large olive green daphnia, even though we’re seeing heavy swarms of buzzers in the last half hour, with fish moving on top. Should the weed increase, sinking line tactics are going to be frustrating, which could see everyone on the floater. We’re all hoping for last year’s humid overcast conditions which produced great evening sport on dries.

No.4 Wed 27th June

hoping for, but despite a stocking of 500 fish into each of the reservoirs, those on the Causeway of No4 reported just a couple which had come out to someone in the SW corner. Odd fish were showing here but mainly crashing a long way out. A while later John Ferguson had the unfortunate experience of having a fish in the net on the top of the bank, which managed to flip itself out and back down the bank into the water while John was going for his priest. Bad luck John. The Houses bank of No5 was also quiet, but there were fish moving in the SW Bay. Andrew had one here on the DI7 and Black & Green Booby, while Gorka had a better one from the SW corner of No4, also on a Booby. Tony had a couple look at a dry, Vince had the odd chance, but that was about it. Andrew takes a seven point lead, but given the unpredictable way the reservoirs are fishing, this could all be overturned next week. One thing we’re sure about is that there are plenty of good fish still in there, which maybe the recent stocking will have livened up.

No.5 Wed 4th July

and certainly this appeared to have had an effect, with fish showing well in several places. In the favourable overcast conditions, with light winds, many of us made a good start, returning fish because we thought these good conditions would continue right through the evening. Fish were caught along the Causeway of No4 and from the SW bay of No5, where the appearance of a cormorant appeared to put them off. Off the Causeway Dave had a fish take a Snatcher before it sunk, so replaced this with a couple of dries and had a couple more. Vinnie landed a good fish from No5, breaking off on two more, while Andrew lost one on the washing-line. We were seeing a lot of fast moving fish, which could have been chasing fry, in fact Tony did get some response to a large Minkie on No4. The overall scores now see Vince and Tony just one point ahead of Andrew, so with three evenings still to go, there’s everything to play for.

No.6 Wed 11th July

the occasional rain shower (or hail) and moving fish. But apart from the odd fish coming out, sport was slow to the washing-line. John went deep with Boobies and was rewarded with a succession of fish, keeping a four-pounder and putting back the rest, hoping for another good one which never came. Others along the Causeway of No5 caught on the Minky, which had also done well on the weekend, when John had lost a fish estimated to be in the 8lb region. Vinnie’s brace was enough to get him the win and a two point overall lead over Tony who also had a reasonable fish. There was talk of a nine-pounder coming out during the past week, so it’s good see that, despite the recent stockings, the bigger fish are still showing. If these unseasonal conditions continue, we could be in for a couple of cracking evenings to round off the series.

No.7 Wed 18th July

fish to be had off the Causeway with Brian getting a full-tailed four pounder early on a Cat’s Whisker. Others were doing well down the end by the sluice, with John keeping a nice couple of fish here, and Kevin also catching. Vince had a fish here then added another from the West bank of No5, after being broken off a couple of times. Once again, although there had been a few fish moving earlier, later fish were caught deep. With the three front-runners not getting big weights, people further back had a chance to catch up. With one match to go, it looks as though the overall top spot is between Vinnie and Tony, with just three points separating them. Should they end up with equal points, as has happened a few times in the past, the winner is whoever has the biggest total weight from the matches they scored on, so once again this one could go to the wire.

No.8 Wed 25th July

but despite reports of reasonable fishing to Crunchers, Diawl Bachs and Minkies in the days leading up to this evening, on the day the effects of our heatwave were only too obvious, with only a few fish showing in certain places just beyond the weed, which appeared to have got worse. Andrew dropped in by a gap in the South East bay on No5 and had one which took a Cat’s Whisker Booby static on the DI7, having cast at a fish which moved. Kevin was unlucky to miss four fish which took his dry, Tony also had a chance on dries, and that was about it. Vince hung onto his lead to take the Ken Gunn Trophy with two points to spare over Andrew who pipped Tony by one point. There’s no doubt there are plenty of fish in the reservoirs, we just need weather conditions to improve. We are looking at having working parties to clear fishable channels in the weed if this persists, but amount of sticklebacks and hoglice this contains shows there is plenty of food for the fish, on top of the normal daphnia and buzzers.

Back to 2012 Archive >>