Over sixty fly fishers descended upon Wimbleball for the opening day of the fishery’s season and they were not disappointed with excellent sport savoured by the anglers with bent rods and screaming reels a plenty.
WIMBLEBALL – OPENS MARCH 1st –
A New Season gets underway at Wimbleball Reservoir where expectations are high for some superb early season sport with hard fighting rainbow trout that have been stocked in good numbers. With mild conditions running up to the seasons start the trout should be moving well and eager to feed. Lure anglers will probably do well over the opening days with black often the most successful colour.
The fishery enjoyed a very productive season last year with excellent catch returns despite difficult weather conditions that saw the lake drop to very low summer levels. The lake is now close to full and should give sport from both bank and boat.
An imaginative pricing policy gives excellent value with a five fish ticket just £25 or catch and release at £25 with two fish to kept at the start of the session. For full details click on the advert below…
Spring Trout Sport at Blakewell
Ed Rands enjoyed the spring sunshine at Blakewell Fishery catching this stunning 5lb + brown trout along with another brown trout and three rainbows for a pleasing five fish bag totalling 15lb 8oz.
Don’t forget the fishery are offering a five fish loyalty ticket for just £30.00.
Great cold water sport at Exe Valley
With the snow melting fast outside it seems like a good time to show some of the stunning fish that anglers at Exe Valley have been catching. The cold spell has far from slowed the fishing with anglers having great success on a variety of flies and tactics. The fish are in great condition & fighting hard.
(Below)John Ratcliffe from Exmouth visited on a very cold day and used a variety of different patterns and depths with a slow retrieve. He caught all six of his fish including a lovely Blue Trout.
(Below)Andy Dade from Berrow visited and caught 4 fish including a cracking 6lb 1oz Rainbow Trout noting “Good day again, all fish on Apps Bloodworm. Deep and slow retrieve” A few days later however Andy returned to Anchor Lake and landed a stunning 12lb 2oz Rainbow Trout using an Apps Bloodworm on a floating line. This Rainbow was Andys personal best Rainbow Trout – well done Andy!
(Below) Colin Nice from Exeter visited with a friend during last week and enjoyed bacon rolls on arrival & soup by the lake for lunch – available from our the fishery pre order menu. Colin caught 6 fish including a nice 4lb Rainbow Trout. Colin said “Very good – enjoyable all aspects. All fish on small flies P.T.N, D.B, Bloody William & floating line – 6”-12” down.”
ROADFORD FLY FAIR 2019
The Roadford Fly Fair is a very popular event at the Start of Spring coinciding with those first forays to the waters edge in search of wild trout and salmon.
Winter Trout at Blakewell
On a cold winters day rainbow trout can provide some exciting sport! With only a month to go until the start of the salmon season why not get a bit of casting practice in, an appetiser for the main course ahead…
Some very nice, hard fighting Rainbows coming out at the moment, all methods are taking fish but surprisingly they are still up in the top couple of feet so floating lines still working, but bigger flies and lures seem favourite, like the black or viva woolly bugger…
Winter Trout Sport at Exe Valley Fishery
Well done to Ben Cheeld who fished at Exe Valley today. Ben is the first angler on our Winter Permit Special Offer to receive his free permit.
We now have a date for the Exe Valley Fishery Troutmasters Competition which is Sunday 14th April 2019.
It is hard to believe that we are over halfway through January already. Even with the colder wintery weather it has been lovely to welcome so many anglers both regular visitors and some that haven’t fished since early 2018. We have also announced the date for the Troutmasters competition (more information below).
Anchor Lake Tactics
With the weather being a bit cooler this week the fish have been sitting a little deeper at around 5 foot however on Thursday the sun warmed the lake quickly and by mid-morning the fish were happily cruising just below the surface. Most people are continuing to use floating lines although with the cold spell forecast it may be worth using an intermediate line.
Popular flies this week have been Orange Blob & Damsel patterns, but by far the most successful again this week have been Bloodworm patterns. Jonathan Moore from Exeter hasn’t fished at Exe Valley Fishery for over 6 months but took full advantage of the very popular Catch & Release ticket and caught all six of his fish on Bloodworm patterns. Also caught on a Bloodworm was a 9lb Rainbow Trout weighed in by Simon Metters from Exeter.
Winter Trout at Exe Valley – Catch and Release a great option
Anchor Lake has started 2019 in glorious style with more beautiful sun rises and producing some stunning fish. John Gilmore from Willand caught five cracking fish and also released four fish with his heaviest fish weighing in at around 6 1/2 lbs. John said ‘Great day again Sue. Very good quality and hard fighting fish’. John was joined by four other anglers and between them had 26 fish making an average of over 5 fish per person.
Ben Cheeld has continued his success. On his recent visit he caught 8 fish up to 7lb and is currently on his third permit on the new permit offer (more details below).
Winter Permit Offer
We have been thrilled by the number of anglers taking up the Winter Permit Offer and are keen to see which angler earns the first free permit. Full details below.
WINTER PERMIT OFFER – Buy 4 permits and have your 5th outing on us!
Don’t forget our Winter Permit Offer starts on the 27th December 2018
We are pleased to be able to announce a Winter Fishing Permit Offer *(subject to T&Cs) to those of you who would like to support the fishery when the fishing is great … but the weather isn’t the most pleasant!
From Thursday 27th December 2018 to Sunday 31st March 2019 inclusive BUY 4 PERMITS & GET THE 5th PERMIT – FREE!!! You are free to choose whatever 5th permit you like … the deal is you must visit and pay for 4 full price permits within the allotted time published above, that’s it!
* Terms & Conditions 1) Pre-paid gift voucher permits DO NOT qualify for this offer. 2) All permits MUST be completed in full to register as a visit. 3) Return slips MUST be completed at the end of each session to register as a visit. 4) A permit purchased and not matched to a return slip will not be counted. 5) ONE FREE PERMIT of the anglers choice (C&R, 2, 3, 4 or 5 fish) will be issued after 4 full price visits subject to the T&Cs 6) The FREE permit will be valid for one visit only which must be taken by 30th April 2019 7) This offer can be enjoyed more than once between 27/12/18 & 31/03/19 – e.g. Fish 8 times and receive 2 FREE PERMITS 8) The FREE permit is non-transferable and has no cash value.
Pre Order Food
I have been asked several times about bacon rolls/food since Christmas and am pleased to say that I am now offering a small pre-order menu through out the winter opening hours. If you are planning a trip to Exe Valley Fishery and would like something from the menu on arrival or during the day then please contact me to organise.
Many thanks for reading this post and I hope to welcome you to the fishery soon. A reminder of our Winter opening times are below.
Sue x
Telephone Enquiries: 01398 323008
(Above) The ladies didn’t miss out on the action either with Jane Young catching three stunning Rainbow Trout on a Hot Head Cats Whisker with legs.
Lobbs Lake
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by some of our regular visitors that Lobbs Lake seems to yo-yo between being empty and then full of water. I promise this isn’t as a result of me changing my mind each day but in fact the maintenance required so that it can become a fishing lake once again. Thanks to Nick and Blair Woodland (and a small amount of rake pulling by myself – there is evidence!) New Years Eve was Lobbs Lake clearance day with an extraordinary amount of weed removed. The pictures of the lake transforming through the day are incredible. Lobbs Lake is now refilled and ready for its relaunch in the Spring.
Wistlandpound Club enjoy a fine mornings Fly -Fishing
Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club visited Bratton Water for the second leg of their Winter Challenge Series. Members found the lake in fine form with a variety of flies tempting the hard fighting trout in the clear water. Club secretary Dave Richards won the competition with three fish for 8lb 2oz. In runner up spot was Nigel Bird with three for 7lb 6oz with Paul Grisley and david Eldred equal third with three for 7lb 5oz.
Andre Muxworthy three for 7lb 3oz, Colin Combes three for 7lb 2.5oz, Dave Mock three for 6lb 6oz and Wayne Thomas three for 5lb 7oz.
Whilst large flies and lures can work well at Bratton I personally prefer an approach with a little more finesse when fishing this picturesque water nestled in a peaceful Valley beside the Bratton Stream. Arriving at the fishery I selected a small gold-head PTN for the point and a small black buzzer on the dropper. Casting out across the lake I allowed the fly to sink for a few seconds before beginning a slow retrieve just keeping the line tight as it drifts in the breeze. The tip of the line was studied carefully and after a couple of casts it was pleasing to set the hook with a quick draw on the line with the left hand. I caught my three fish bag within an hour of starting as did virtually all fellow members. It must be very difficult to get the stocking balance right on these small stillwaters. Anglers vary greatly in angling ability and the trout fluctuate greatly in their willingness to feed. Combine the anglers ability, the vast variation in the British weather with the vagaries of the trout and you have a recipe that seldom suits all tastes. Too many fish and angler catches his fish too quickly, too few fish and anglers will grumble that they cannot catch. Generally Bratton Waters stocking policy is spot on as on its day it can offer challenging fishing yet very few days when anglers go home without a fish or five.
On a cool winters day Wistlandpound Club members enjoy the social aspect of a day by the water. Chatting about fish and life is a big part of the club angling scene and small still-water’s like Bratton are perfect for a Winter morning with members returning to families and home life after a bit of fresh air with a bag full of trout each for tomorrow nights tea.
Dan’s big brown ends long quest
Dan Spearman ended 2018 in style landing his first double figure brown trout on New Years Eve after many years trying and coming close on several occasions with browns to over 9lb. Fishing at Bulldog Fisherys catch and release specimen trout lake with his young son Rex they enjoyed qaulity fishing landing several trout including Dan’s double figure brown.
Bulldog s owner Nigel Early can be contacted on 447767492800 A catch and release ticket is £20.00.
