This last week has seen temperatures soar and put an end to the 3rd cold Spring in successive years!
Water temperatures have reached 22.5 degrees on Chew but the fish are still feeding happily and oxygen levels are fine - water clarity is also excellent.
On Chew the main trout areas have been the deep water at the Dam - but don't think these fish are deep - quite the opposite. On overcast days Dry Fly is the best method and in other conditions it is Washing Line or simply straight lined nymphs.
My clients have had superb sport in recent weeks with lots of limit bags and hard fighting trout.
Pike
After weeks of rock hard fishing, the pike have finally started to feed with a vengeance on Chew and loads of big 20's plus a few 30's have been caught on the fly. Jake Belgium has had an awesome year so far and topped it off last week with a 25lb 4oz pike - taken on a competition size Cats Whisker Booby intended for trout while fishing - wait for it - at the Dam!
My clients have all had good sport recently but we seem to be hitting doubles rather than 20 or 30 pounders. Luck of the draw I suppose, but I am also sure some biggies will follow in the coming weeks.
England duty and the Grafham Trophy
Last week was spent in Ireland on the wonderful Lough Lein near Killarney fishing in the International Loch Style Spring match. The wild brownies were small but plentiful and the rules were that only fish measuring 10" from tip of snout to INSIDE fork of tail would count. On the first practice day, Richard Slater and I boated 43 trout and only 1 was sizeable! We knew then that numbers in the match would be low.
However, with great team practice and top angling by my England team mates, we managed 18 fish for the team and brought home the covetted Gold Medal. Wales were 2nd with 13 fish, Scotland 3rd with the same number and hosts Ireland were 4th with just 8 fish.
I also had the honour of being top English Rod and brought home the impressive Grafham Trophy.
Guided Days
Now I'm back until September (when I leave for Vail, Colorado and the World Fly Fishing Championships) so most of my days will be spent on Chew or Blagdon guiding for trout and pike. I still have plenty of places available in July and August, so simply drop me an email to book a day.
