Despite the changeable and challenging weather March has presented, we have seen some excellent and exciting sport this month. Spring is officially upon us, new life is beginning to show, and nymphs are becoming very active, this has resulted in the fish being very eager to feed. Catch returns have shown some amazing catches this month – including plenty of big browns which when conditions allow are willingly taking off the surface.
Although stalking conditions have still been quite difficult at times, this month we have had plenty of big fish gracing the banks – the key has been to keep moving, casting over reeds and under trees – a lot of the time the bigger fish have been right under your feet!
Top flies this month:
The classic Blue Flash Damsel never fails! As the water is still nice and cool the fish have been eager to chase, with varied retrieve this fly has produced some great results.
we have had many reports of Buzzers working well, fished deeper under the trees these have produced some of the biggest catches of the month – this makes sense now that spring is officially in the air.
Stalking bugs have been a killer fly especially for the browns when there has been less surface activity.
When conditions allows Dry flies have produced some great results – cast out and given a small occasional twitch has certainly got the attention of some of the browns, especially at the inlet and shallows of lake one.
Remember some of the busiest stalking months are approaching, April and May have traditionally produced a higher number of big fish as the light conditions improve. Now is the time to dust off your polaroid’s and get hunting for that fish of a lifetime!
April has thrown up a variety of contrasting weather conditions; despite this the fishing has remained excellent.
Our most favorable month is almost upon us where stalking conditions should be at their best and with any luck a spectacular early mayfly hatch!
Fly choice this month has bn largely dominated by lures, different varieties of damsel, especially the ones that have a little flash that catch a glint of sunshine… the ever-popular BFD.
There have been some impressive average weights this month with some beautiful specimens gracing the banks including some surprises. Well done to Mr. Ian Hunt on his first visit – a tiger, spartic, brown and a rainbow! All on a BFD, Also, well done to our regular visitor Richard Franc who managed t entice a resident tiger.
It’s hard to believe that we’re almost halfway through the year already! May has always been a fantastic month for fishing at Avington and this year has proven no different with plenty of big fish caught.
The mayfly has been a little sporadic this year with small hatches occurring daily but no spectacular hatch like we always hope for in May- There is still time however, given the forecast the coming week or so could see the hatch that we have been waiting for.
Stalking conditions have been good, and this has been reflected in the catch returns with a very impressive number of “doubles” visiting the bank. Successful patterns this month have been the typical lures, in particular any damsel variation, cats whiskers, nomads and humongous. The combination of white and a silver flash to catch the sunlight seems to be provoking some really aggressive takes.
If the afternoons are particularly bright, sight fishing is likely to be more effective than fast moving lures-small but heavily weighted flies dropped in front of a fish will rouse interest and perseverance will pay dividends.
The catch & release lake and carrier are fishing well at the moment with some lovely wild brownies and the occasional out of season grayling visiting the nets of those having a go.
Temperatures have regularly been hitting the upper 20’s and as you can imagine this has made the fishing much more of a challenge than it has been in previous months, despite this the majority of fishers are still going away with their full bag.
With fly life being abundant in the warmer temperatures Dry fly’s and nymphs have provided much action on those hot and seemingly impossible days, however big flies with a lot of movement are still catching a lot of fish, particularly in the morning period.
When the water temperature has risen in the afternoon it is worth going down to small buzzers with a lighter leader whilst remembering not to go below the 6lb limit. Smaller flies fished naturally will inevitably catch you more fish.
When it is warm and bright the first 2 or 3 hours of the day are certainly the most productive so my best advice would be to arrive as close to the 8am opening time as possible and get a couple of fish under your belt early on.
The water is very clear at the moment allowing for perfect stalking conditions. If it is big fish you are after, ensure to look under any tree or bush that offers a bit of shade, no matter how unsubstantial it may seem.
We are looking forward to the month ahead, hopefully blessed with some substantial rain to freshen things up.
August is synonymous with difficult stillwater fishing and unfortunately this year has been much the same albeit being blessed with much more water this year compared to previous.
The early mornings have generally been the most productive, however the afternoon’s have been very tricky with the exception of short unpredictable times during day when the fish would “switch on”, the timing of these feeding frenzies have seemed inconsistent but it has been noted that after a couple of hours of inactivity fish will be hooked almost simultaneously by those that have fished away. Quite what triggers this activity is unknown but it certainly keeps things interesting.