The Chew Valley trout fishing keeps getting better! I fished today with my good mate Martin Cottis and our limit bags of rainbow trout weighed an average of 3lbs 2ozs; for reservoir trout, this is an incredible weight.
We didn't start until after 11:00am and on my first cast of the day, I hooked and landed a 3lb rainbow. We drifted all day - not even needing a drogue - mainly close to the margins and the reedbeds and had follows, takes and hook-ups all day.
In my 20 years as a Pro Guide on the Bristol Waters, I have never witnessed such incredible trout fishing at this time of the year. Martin has been out a lot recently and enjoyed top class fishing on every single occasion. Much of my recent guided trips have been for pike, but I was itching to get out for these fin perfect rainbows.
We both fished just 2 flies - something black on the dropper and a minkie on the point. I tied a few Brown Minkies last night and found a Humungous hiding away in the corner of a lure box, which I put on the dropper. I used a DI3 Sinker while Martin opted for a Kelly Green Intermediate fly line. In fairness, we could both have fished floating lines, as the fish were so high in the water.
Trout stuffed with shrimp, hoglice and daphnia
At this time of the year, you would expect the trout to be feeding hard on fry, but all the fish we spooned had hoglice, shrimp, daphnia and snails in them. As it is so close to the Winter months, trout normally like a bigger fly, so even though nymphs will work, they will always make an effort to take a bigger fly or lure. Having said that, local angler Rod Newton recently weighed-in a 6 fish limit bag of rainbows for 33lbs - an average weight of over 5lbs per fish - and all took tiny Black Buzzers fished at anchor off Moreton Point using a Floating Fly Line.
My best fish weighed 5lbs 4ozs and came close to the trees in East Shore, near the Bird Blind. Martins best rainbow weighed just over 4lbs. I also caught and released a superb Brown Trout of over 3lbs.
Boats are still available for trout fishing during all the Pike Trials dates and those when the pikers are not on the water. Booking in advance is a good idea, especially when the Pike Trials are on.
Guiding still available until 30th November.
As the trout fishing is so good, I have decided to extend my Guiding Services until the end of November. It seems that even during days when the winds blow and the rains come; the trout fishing is still fantastic.
I have never known the back-end trouting to be so good, so I would advise you to have a crack at it before it is too late - you won't be disappointed!
