.......Hanningfield Reservoir - 11.05.11

Picked Wes up around 10.30 and drove to the rezzie. Always with high expectations. Now Hanningfield these days is an all method fishery which means just about anything goes. We arrived to see all the charming ducks in the car park and managed to avoid all before making our way to the lodge. Once inside the lodge one could see plenty of Wychwood Gear, which I guess is made in the far east, for sale. Now that was about it apart from the Power Bait on sale.................

This stuff always seems to send a shiver down the backs of our Northern friends but here it doesn't seem to be that popular.

We paid for our boat tickets - £70.00 to fish including a boat for two inclusive but there was no mention of the catch policy. I mentioned to the guy on the till that it would be wholly C&R and he acknowledged but the price still stood! Just how many fish are you allowed to take on this ticket Essex & Suffolk Water? We boarded boat No.0 and Wes seemed to be happy at taking the engine end. This was the first time we had shared a boat I think. Having been to the inlet and a enjoyed a drift along the eastern section with the wind coming from the West/South West it began to get choppy. Wes was looking uncomfortable so we motored back to the Lodge Bay which is mostly sheltered. We had a few spots of rain but otherwise enjoyed the sunshine (14.0C) when it came out and the clouds playing cat and mouse with the sun - perfect fishing weather.

I lost a fish just eastwards of the lodge along the south Hanningfield bank on a yellow/green gold ribbed nymph. Wes lost one just outside Lodge Bay with a cruncher. A joy however to see the swifts circling around picking off the buzzers both green and brown that I saw.

And of course they were skimming the surface providing good entertainment with their acrobatics.

Found this in the boat presumably to deter thieves.

Some sort of bag to house the anchor I was guessing.

Wes was not happy with the waves hitting the boat and jarring his injured back so we headed back to the lodge. We moored up and turned the life jackets in to one of the rangers who was chatting to a potential customer about beginners lessons (££££££££!). He appeared shortly in the car park to say how sorry he was that we had abandoned our day and gave us a signed compliments slip as a voucher for a free boat for our next visit. Now that was impressive as we had not asked for anything or explained our plight. Will be returning for sure.  

.......The Brook - 04.05.11

The Brook is a carrier of the River Loddon on the Wellington Estate at Stratfield Turges Farm. The Loddon rises from Basingstoke and flows north to join the Thames near Wargrave. The Brook is managed by one guy who lets it to a small syndicate of around sixteen. I am guessing it's just short of a mile in length. It runs from quite shallow to around chest height and flows on a bed of clay/chalk and gravel so can be milky in places and dark in the shadows. Considering we have had little rain the flow is good.

Roy called and advised that the Mayfly were 'up' and that we should pay a visit. Bags and rods were scrambled and off I went to meet him.



Not another one - had one of these the other week from Andy!



Only joking!

We started from the bottom of the South beat and worked our way up. Missed two or three fish to either striking too soon or indeed two late. Roy had one that we were spying whilst a hare in the next field came up to us for a look before bounding off. He must have been only ten yards away.

Roy managed to pick up a few I forget how many but probably four or five fish. The fish were being selective with some on the Mayfly and others taking their chances with others.

We spent probably three quarters of an hour on one fish between the high bank, the over looking trees above and the bushes on the other side of the bank casting at one fish with a whole arsenal of flies but only to see the fish come up time and time again for some other food source. Plenty of small chub nibbling away at my flies. The French Partridge Mayfly was probably the best fly of the day.
A hot day with temperatures getting up to 24.0 C and with only one bottle of squash between us it was off to the Jekyll and Hyde pub nearby for refreshment before setting off. Thanks to Roy for a great day in lovely surroundings. looking forward to the next outing.

.......River Misbourne (Misborne)

Flotti and I took a stroll along the banks of the River Misbourne a chalkstream in Buckinghamshire that rises just outside Great Missenden and flows all the way to join the River Colne at Denham. The river is a 'perch' lake according to wiki - a stream, flowing over a bed of impermeable material on top of a porous substrate. This state is only quasi-stable, since in periods of low rainfall the water table drops below the level of the impermeable layer. If ground works are then carried out which damage this layer, the river can sink into the porous substrate and disappear.

Our walk went from Amersham to Little Missenden past Shardeloes a country estate house. A bright sunny day temperatures 22.0C we did see some Mayfly (Danica) coming off the river.

The pic above was taken with a struggling Danica caught in a cobweb and we placed the Sycamore leaf behind to give the shot some contrast and left my fat thumb in for some perspective.

I now know that I am not having a grave or a bench to rot on Redbourn common - I'm having a plaque like this when they let the ashes drift down on the Ver.

The river was enchanting. And on one single stretch of about 250 yards I saw more fish in a chalkstream than I have ever seen apart from the river Test.

A 'guerrilla' raid at about 4.00am one morning is just crying out for these fish!

Nice walk about four miles after which we retired to the Hen and Chickens at Little Hay - a pub we haven't been to for nearly forty years!

.......Elinor - 30.04.11

A Complete Fisher social event that I gatecrashed just for half a day. It was good to catch up with those guys who I managed to speak to. But you always feel at these functions that there is an element of clickyness even though it was an improvement on the last one I attended here. Very bright sunny day, temperature 23.0C, with a moderate north easterly (11mph) blowing it was most comfortable to fish off the dam and with a point fly and a dropper on which I managed to catch one. Elinor is a fifty acre lake with an average depth of ten feet.

You can make out the cars and tents along the hedge in the background which was the CF village for a few days. Had another diagonally opposite again on a buzzer a bit later on. The boys seemed to all be catching and if there was anyone struggling effective help was being offered. Damsels, buzzers, sedge and crunchers seemed to be the order of the day. Wes turned up in the afternoon but had an awful journey - don't know how long he stayed for. As well as the bank and boats for hire float tubing is allowed.

Here is Rich (whistle killer) just about to set the lake on fire with his float tube a strenuous task in a wind but effective in catching fish.

This was a funny sight........

A father and son team both wading in their socks and long trousers to the right of me! Son is putting his shoes on over his wet socks. Not seen it before but the son assured me that it was OK and that all that was happening was they were getting wet. Asked them where they were from and was advise somewhere in the Fens - I guess that was the confirmation I was looking for.

.......Patriotic Mayfly

.......River Wye at Bourne End

Went to find the Buckinghamshire River Wye  this morning as has been a topic of conversation among the St Albans and Harpenden Fly Fishers for a while and there is a meeting this week of that group in a couple of days time.
A beautiful chalkstream that runs for about nine miles from the Chilterns (Edward Dashwood's estate), underground through High Wycombe to Bourne End and then the Thames above Cookham Lock. Believe that it became polluted in 1996 with cyanide!
Found the recreation Park and the six hundred yard stretch but the water was running fast and heavy bank growth restricted casting. A much better stretch is the one between Wooburn and Bourne End where Fi and I spotted lots of trout and still no No Fishing signs.

Caught the blue flash of a kingfisher - a lovely sight. But a bit more research before jumping into this river is required I reckon.

.......Fishing the Ver - 19/20.04.11

The picture on the left is where my Grandfather Bert tickled trout in the River Ver and Fi and I saw rising fish at the weekend. But having stayed there for an hour early evening I reckon that I put a fish down after two rises and that was that! Left the car at the Chequers Car Park and walked back there over the field against a backdrop of a beautiful sunset.

The following day today I met up with Wes who drove over and we went and fished at Redbournbury. I let Wes have the stream exclusively as I felt it was home territory it would have been a bit mean.

Wes caught three brownies and was absolutely delighted as I sat back so to speak. He caught his on a small black tungsten nymph - the fish were being spooked by the goldhead nymphs apparently. So I waited for the evening to arrive and took Sebastian down to ***** where we waited for nearly an hour for the sun to go down and the last 4x4 to go through thr Ford and that sort of thing! No wind and a sultry 18.0C. His third cast hit the mark so to speak and a wild brownie took the Murray Bluebottle (a swap fly I had previously tied on a #18 hook) confidently. I was very proud of his accurate cast to the fish and proud that he had managed the task well and enjoyed it.

And that is exactly a year ago to the day that I last caught a wild brownie from the Ver on the same stretch of river - uncanny!

.......River Windrush - 13.04.11

    Met up with Andy Grey a fellow forumite and a member of the Cotswold Fly Fishers Club (CFF). Haven't fished with Andy for a couple of years or so now so it was good to meet up. Temperatures fell today hitting a maximum of 12.0C with a slight SSW 9although it was blowing well along the River Windrush and some rain just we were leaving. Rendezvous was just past the Maytime Pub in Asthall and we managed to meet up at around 09.30am.

Asthall is not very invigorating place but it did hit the headlines in 2007. In the summer of 2007 a hoard of 110 gold angel and half-angel coins were found during building work at Asthall. The coins were minted at dates from 1470 to 1526, most of them in the brief second reign of Henry V1 (1470-71) or the reign of Richard 111 (1483-85). The hoard is believed to have been buried in the latter half of the reign of Henry V111 (1509-47). The village sits beside the River Windrush where we had arranged to meet.

The Windrush forms part of the catchment of the River Thames and rises in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds North East of Taddington and flows for about forty miles from west to east through Windrush to meet the River Thames at Newbridge. The river is host to fish, including trout, grayling, perch, dace and other coarse fish. It held good populations of native crayfish until at least the 1980s. River waters were used in cloth and woollen blanket making in Witney from mid 17th century.



^{Met up with a cock pheasant just behind the village. They are stupid birds but do provide wonderful feathers.}

^{The bridge at Asthall................}

Having parked up Andy arrived and we donned our waders and walked into the field. Andy wanted to do a bit of a casting tutorial with me, he is studying for the GAIC certificate. I had explained that I was a bit of a hopeless case but after a few minutes he said he had noticed I wasn't holding the rod handle firmly enough and soon the back cast the wrist was being 'brocken' and hence a not tight enough loop was being formed for the forward cast. Otherwise he said there wasn't too much wrong. I think he was being polite! Across the sheep field walked.

Having walked downstream of the bridge for about half a mile we came to a small weir sitting by a dilapidated farm in the throws of some renovation. The wind with a cool tinge was whistling down the river. On went the olive Goldheads that Andy had suggested I tye in lieu of the trip.

Having had a couple of takes above the weir and lost a fish I manged to hook up with a wild Cotswold Trout. Nothing to shout home bout in size but it would win first prize in most beauty competitions.

Andy caught a couple of stockies - I had given up by this time as my waders had leaked and were full of water.

We stopped for a bite to eat - Andy had brought steak pasties from a butchers shop and we ate them whilst I dried out. Then we drove into Widford and parked up to venture into another part of the Windrush with again lovely scenery and a little more manicured than earlier.

This bit of the river played host to some large weir pools and we fished the one next to the stock pond. A tight cast was needed and Andy manged to hit a few and I lost one and enticed one for a short period.

Time for a glass of lemonade and a drive back to the Swan Inn at Swinbrook - gastro pub.

.......Rib Valley Ware - 06.04.11

Fishing with Wes again at Ware. Good to see the lad. We seem to get along OK even bearing in mid the age gap. The silly sod paid for a ticket for me as he obviously noted my dob from one of the forums! We met at around ten o'clock and proceeded to fish the lake which was very calm and flat and bearing in mind the temperature had risen to 24C by lunchtime it was hardly surprising. There was some cloud and a light ripple away from the margins.

I managed to hook one at the top end (that is to the right of the rod tip) but it slipped the hook at the net. The fish took a white lure with dumbell eyes which I found in the trees. Wes topped up his box of flies with six buzzers found on different trees - mind you he can reach them!

Wes lost his 'beaney' (pic of his new hat prior to fly finds today!) but a small price to pay for the buzzer patterns he collected perhaps.
A bizarre sign has appeared since we last went to Ware fishery - perhaps to deter some discarding their first fish within the grounds.

Finally a picture of the River Rib running along side the Fishery. Wes who is a gem at spotting fish which may have something to do with his height spied six chub before I had even noticed one!

.......A Selection of Flies on the Chalk

G/H Mayfly Nymphs.........

G/H Olive GRHE nymphs.........

Yellow CDC OWLS..........

Rhen Gerrig's Fly (Welsh Jobbie)..........

.......The Green Drake

A UKFD swap fly

Hook Orvis Dry Fly x2 Size 12

Thread Sheer 14/0 Grey

Tail P/T

Body Green Drake SF

Rib Yellow Floss

Wing Grey Hen (Orvis)

Hackle Peacock hackle with Grizzle hackle over

.......Fly Dressers Guild Auction Part Two - 19.03.11

Same time same place as the last one, a fortnight ago in Croxley. Met up with Graham (Salmo) and what a surprise but Roy Christie as well and went really for the fly tying stuff as I have decide that I am nearly reaching saturation point with regard to my books. There are probably no more than six books I am craving for now without counting the new ones that come on the market regularly. Also introduced myself to Chris Reeves a magic fly tyer from Surrey. The capes that were on offer went for prices much higher than I was prepared to go. A superb Jungle Cock cape was up for grabs quite one of the best I have seen - I thought I'd bid twenty pounds for it but it finally went under the hammer at £50.00. I went a bit silly and bought a jamboree box of tying stuff at £28.00 and was quite pleased when I discovered over six hundred hooks worth £40.00 inside together with copious amounts of seals fur and some great synthetic dubbing, a mink skin, a fox tail, a purple cape and a lot of other bits and bobs. So the trip was worth making in the end. But I've got to stop meeting up with Roy everytime I do so I end up crying with laughter.

.......Rib Valley Ware - 17.03.11

Met up with Wes finally at Ware and although quite bleak started to fish and managed to get into one at around 11.00am. No wind little ripple and a temperature of 9°C recorded in the car but felt a lot colder.
A four hour ticket costing £15.00 to keep the first and release another five can't be bad in any body's book. Managed another two fish and the third fought like it was on drugs - huge leaps and pulls. All fish were returned to this four and half acre lake called the Millennium Lake. Wes took one on a buzzer suspended below a sight indicator and mine came to a black and green nomad. The nomads do exceptionally well here from experience and I much prefer to use buzzers when it has warmed up a bit more. Wes took his fish and spooned it and confirmed it was full of buzzers. Unfortunately Wes's back began to play up so he had to go straight home and therefore no drink afterwards. Forgot the camera like the proverbial...........! Next time.

.......Stockholm, Sweden Fly Fair - 10.03.11

Mrs Loopy and I decided to take a short break together and the good lady consented to a visit to the Swedish Fly Fair which also encompassed outdoor activities and pleasure craft boats. The exhibition Centre was pretty big almost up to the dimensions of the Excel Centre in London. As I mentioned there were plenty of other activities going on apart from fly tying! There was Rock Climbing and Ice Sculpture and even a demonstration of panning for gold.

And loads of kayaks being demonstrated. But turning to the Fly Tying Exhibition there were superb examples being shown by Nicklas Runersson............ 

Check out his bicycle fly on the left.

Then of course there was the Green Drake fly and book signature by A K Best and here is the man with Roy Christie.............

The fly in question being a Green Drake................

In the meantime Niklas Dahlin was tying up some beauties and managed to place a few in my newly acquired Lars Anderson fly box.

Bought a frame of flies from Igor Stancev for £170.00 (gulp did I really pay that?) and received a contribution from Mrs Loopy for my birthday. The kid that inherits my flies better take some good advice if they want to sell.

All in all we spent six hours at the fair and both enjoyed it. Quite a lot of time was spent with Roy who had us both in hysterics with his great stories.