Blagdon lake

Blagdon's Fantastic Opening Day

What a stunning opening day we had on Blagdon today!
The weather could'nt have been better - light winds and overcast skies - perhaps a tad warmer, but hey - it is mid March!

We couldn't get a touch for the first couple of hours, but by midday, when we moved the boat closer to the shorelines - we hit the proverbial jackpot.
Simon caught the first 3 rainbows - all on the pointfly; a Gold Head Montana, fished on a floating fly line.
I fished a team of nymphs on a floater and started to get take after take on either a Black Buzzer or a JC Black Diawl Bach Nymph.

We never changed from floating lines all day!

There was no appreciable difference in the weather conditions during the afternoon - it didn't feel warmer, but things started to happen.

By 4:00pm, we had both caught over a dozen trout each and had released most of them - the surprising thing was that the best areas were within 50 metres from the bank.
Bells Bush at the Top End was sensational, as was Wood Bay and Green Lawns.  Butcombe fished it's socks off and we did one last drift into Polish Water before going home - both of us releasing 2 rainbows.

If you are going to Blagdon in the next few days, I hope that you have as good a day as we have just enjoyed.

John Horsey Fly Fishing
John Horsey Fly Fishing

New trout fly fishing season only days away!

The new trout fly fishing season is only days away, with Blagdon Lake opening on Wednesday 16th March, while Chew Valley opens a week later on 23rd March. This season looks like being a bumper start, with Bristol Water holding back 000's of 3lb+ rainbow trout in the net cages at Chew all Winter long. These trout are in tip-top condition and should provide great sport for boat and bank anglers alike.

What we now need is a bit more rain to fill both lakes to capacity, then a spell of mild weather to promote some decent fly activity and get the fish feeding.  In recent years, floating lines and nymphs have been more effective than fishing sinking lines with lures... let's hope this trend continues!

Book a day now!

I still have a handful of days available for the start of the season, although Opening Days on both Chew and Blagdon lakes are fully booked. Contact me for any enquiries about availability.

Final session of pike trials

In between now and the start of the trout fishing season, I have a couple of days targetting the pike in the final week of pike trials and already there have been plenty of 30's caught.  Who knows, this last week might produce a fish over 40lbs 8ozs to break the previous Chew record - watch this space and I'll keep you informed via the blog.

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