Reports
Rutland Water Thursday 10th May 2007.
What a day!! We had another excellent turn out for Rutland 16 anglers travelled to Rutland which is by far the furthest venue we travel to. The closer we got to the reservoir the more windy it got and it was clear it was not going to be an easy day. At the lodge we were told the wind speed was about 22mph and that was expected to drop to about 16mph after midday. It was also considered to be to rough to allow a single angler out in a boat, so Mick Cooper fished with Dave Allen and Gary Fowles. So it was clear that we would have to find shelter from the Westerly wind.
Also with the wind, the water was starting to develop colour to add to our problems. So the day started, options were divided with some anglers heading up the South Arm and others the North Arm, the basin was too exposed in the early morning for that to be an option. Bob Vass and I chose the North Arm and shelter in Carrot Creek there was a boat anchored and we tried our luck. Using a Wet Cel 2 and two lures Orange Blob and Black and Green on the point. No offers at all, so we moved along the bank towards to top of the North Arm stopping regularly but still no interest. We then crossed over to Dickensons Bay where we found good shelter and the water was relatively clear. First drift I had a couple of takes but could not convert them. We repeated the drift and Bob was into a fish he starts to apply pressure and gets that sickening feeling is the fish running straight towards me or is it off the hook. Neither, cunningly the fish has untied the hook and swam away. This wouldn't be to bad but it happened again, Bob was not pleased. To rub salt into his wounds I managed to land a fish on the Black and Green lure. We spent time in the bay but as the day went on the water just coloured up and any action we had faded away. We moved back towards the basin and saw Dave, Gary and Mick in Barnsdale Bay. They told us there were plenty of fish about close to the bank, this proved difficult because of the wind, we could only get two or three decent casts in before the bank was causing me problems getting the engine started and manoeuvring away with the drogue. We moved down to Willow Bay and Ernies Point where there was a little more shelter. Here there were plenty of fish still close into the bank and we could see them rising, some jumping clear out of the water in spectacular fashion. Here Bob had some takes but could not convert them to fish in the boat, I managed to catch three at this location and much to Bob's disgust I caught two at once, and to my surprise managed to land them both.
When we returned to the jetty it was clear it had been a difficult day for everyone, those who had gone down the South Arm had managed to catch a few Brownies, but the catch return reflected the difficult day. Only Dave Allen managed to bag up with eight fish.
The stats for the day were 16 anglers catching 34 fish a rod average of 2.13
The results were 1st Dave Allen 8 Fish for 18lbs 15oz, 2nd Gary Fowles 4 Fish for 9lbs 10oz, and 3rd Mick Cooper 4 Fish for 8lbs 15oz
No big fish of note caught.
Ian Wood
Brenig 15th June 2006
As you are aware, we had to share this particular day with the International Ladies Competition. All boats were booked and it looked like all of them were trying to fish around the area of the cages. It is clear that there were fish in this area, but with the principle of the day being find the fish and method for the eliminator the next day, we all set off and scattered around the reservoir trying to locate some fish. We didn't really achieve that objective and the least said the better.
It was a poor day for Brenig, with the fishing rock hard and very few fish about giving the appearance that it was hardly stocked! Brenig can do that to you, you would swear there was no more than a dozen fish in the whole reservoir! I think the reality was that it had been fished hard all week because of the Internationals and without a doubt, there were not the numbers of stupid stock fish that we are accustomed to bashing, given the chance.
Of the twelve anglers, five blanked. The rod average was 1.6, which I think is the worst I can recall for many years. The average size was good at 2lb 6 oz. The results were:-
1st Dave Allen with 4 for 12lb 4oz, 2nd Ian Wood with 3 for 9lb 4oz, 3rd Mike Wellman 3 for 5lb 8oz.
Following on from his success at the Nationals, Ian had the heaviest fish at 5lb 4oz.
The usual autopsy revealed that my fish had been feeding on small black beetles, which Mike confirmed as the same in his fish and the fact that they looked like water beetles rather than blown on.
The method seemed to be small lures fished quite slowly on a Wet Cel 2, but to be fair, I could not say that any of us really found either a special fly or flies or the killing tactic. This did not auger well for the main event the next day, as it had potential to become a lottery.
Northwest Eliminator, Llyn Brenig Friday 16th June 2006.
I was slightly concerned when we had only 9 anglers fishing for Cheshire when the team allows for twelve. It is clear that we need some fresh faces to develop for future competitions to keep our excellent PSUK record going. Fortunately Lancashire did not show and Merseyside could only provide 5 anglers (what is happening to NWPSUK Sport?). I know from speaking to the reps from other areas that their competitions are fiercely fought with some regions having as many as six different forces fighting for one place!
Once again it was a very, very difficult day. The place had been thrashed, the weather was against us and clearly the only fish available were around the cages, very twitchy and wised up. However, we managed to pull off the victory which means that we have now won the Northwest Regional Final for ten consecutive years, which is quite some achievement!
Cheshire had a combined team weight of 35lb 10oz and Merseyside were second with 14lb 5oz. So in the end it was a comfortable victory. However, there were a few blanks and a few scares when I saw a couple of the Merseyside team land big fish in the opening half hour.
There were only 4 blanks (two from Merseyside) and a total of 27 fish were caught by 14 anglers, a rod average of 1.9. The average weight of fish was 2lb.
The top four weights for Cheshire were :- Dave Allen with 6 fish for 12lb 0oz (Inc. time bonus of 2lb)
Chris Webster with 4 fish for 9lb 2oz
Ian Hodgson with 3 fish for 8lb 8oz
Mike Cooper with 4 fish for 6lb 0oz
Dave's method was the 'washing line' with a black booby on the point and two black diawl bachs on the droppers fished on a slime line just below the surface. Most fish came to the booby. Webbie fished with small black flies like cormorant and viva just subsurface fished slowly. Oggy had a nice fish of 5lb 8oz, which he caught early on and set him up for the day.
Mick Cooper and Ian Hodgson both stated that they will be unable to fish the Nationals next year, so the two reserves (5th and 6th) will fish. That will be Ian Wood and Anton Duerden (thanks Mike and Ian!).
The finals are at Rutland Water, first Thursday in June. The team will be Dave Allen, Chris Webster, Ian Wood and Anton Duerden.
Dave Allen and Chris Webster will represent England at the Internationals at Lake of Menteith in September 2007.
Once again the stomach contents of my fish were closely examined and I have never seen anything like it! There were black (terrestrial) beetles, several heather flies, several hover flies, others that I could not ID and even a wasp! Every item was terrestrial. Don't you sometimes wish you tried a dry fly!
See you at Rutland
Cheers
Anton
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