Bumper catches with naturals working best. The sun and east wind have been ever present all week which has stopped dry fly fishing being an all day event. You had to choose your time. Buzzers and Diawl Bachs have been by far the best flies. At times fishing has been non-stop.
On the top two lakes, Ben Blake landed 20 cracking fish – “casting out a midge tip, leaving it to sink for 10 seconds and wait for the line to twang tight” were his comments. At one point it was a take a cast, which died down later in the day.
Also using buzzers and joint top rods for the week were Jack Metcalfe (21) and Barry Nicholson (21). Outstanding fishing lads. Sandy Robertson narrowly missed out on a podium finish, catching 18 on buzzers and Diawl Bachs. Pete Davidson also had 18, this time on dries. Alec Harvey used buzzers and his own Nothing Fly (a small black dry) to land 16 more. Derek Steel (16), Mick Kelly (13), Steve Bilborough (13), David Bilborough (12) Stuart Weir (12) and Rob Frame (11) also had superb days, mostly on buzzers. Take a guess how many catches of 5-10 there have been?
Our final heat of The Big One competition was held at the weekend. Practice paying dividends for many of the qualifiers:
1st Derek Steele
2nd Rodney Burn
3rd Barry Nicholson
4th Peter Crowe
5th Alec Harvey
6th Colin Spillard
There were 164 fish caught for a rod average of 5.8 in less than perfect conditions. Superb fishing to everyone concerned and thank you to all the marshalls who helped make the event possible.
The weather for the next few days looks similar to recent times, although we are turning to a fish friendly westerly breeze for a while. This is really good news and the fishing should go up another level as a result. Have those dries on high alert if a cloud covers the sun. If there is nothing on top, have a go with buzzers in the first half of the day. Floating line might do you nicely, but a midge tip is probably the best overall buzzer line.
Try a buzzer with a little bit of tinsel to reflect the bright sunshine to help draw attention to it perhaps, paying particular attention to your point fly and how heavy it is. A beaded buzzer will fish deeper obviously, so if you are only catching on the dropper, swap the bead for an unweighted pattern so everything stays higher in the water for longer.
Finally, we have started to put an end to the Dunnydeer bog issues with the installation of a temporary crossing. No more wet feet or anglers needing a 4WD!
See you soon.
David, Gemma and Lauren
NOTICEBOARD
Fly Fishing Lessons
If you consistently struggle to catch, why not book a lesson? Suitable for those on holiday and absolute beginners as all tackle is included.
Half day or full day 7 days a week. Next short lesson date is 19th April.
To enquire email stuart@cadencefishing.co.uk or telephone 07887 556693.
£3,000 Big One Competition
– Sat 26th April. Dunnydeer and Ross will be closed to day ticket anglers on this date.
Ladies and Juniors Day with Lucy Bowden
– Sun 13th April
£20 per person. Booking essential. Very limited places remaining. Call fishery to book. This will be sold out, so act quickly.
Caravan Park and fly fishing
Why not combine fishing with a spot on our caravan park next to Chatton Lake? Imagine for a few seconds finishing some fishing and then sat with a beer next to your caravan! Also perfectly located for day trips to many local Northumberland attractions
Call the fishery to book.
Please keep an eye out in the Events section of our facebook page and future reports.