First Cast ... Welcome to your February 2015 edi on of ‘The Big Puddle’. This month without any fishing on the lake we concentrate on Fly Tying with features on the RWFF visit to the Bri sh Fly Fair Interna on- al, our Winter Fly Tying night and other RWFF winter presenta ons.
RWFF chairman (Welsh Expat) Chris Evans has wri en the first part of a fascina ng and con nuing series on the Diawl Bach nymph, commen ng on its history, its varia ons and an ambi on to use only this deadly li le fly for the whole 2015 season…good luck Chris! We look forward to hearing how you get on.
To honour John Seaton in his re rement year, we have an interes ng feature on him and his fish- ing life. If you missed some of the winter evening events, we report on them all here, plus we’ve a few more ar cles for your entertainment.
RWFF will be having a significant presence at the Rutland Fly Fair, Burghley Country Fair, the Rut- land Show in addi on to our own open day on March 14th so come along and join the fun. The Rutland Water Fly Fishers draw members from all over the country. Club members include anglers who have a passion for bank and boat angling, those who fish in local and interna onal compe ons or those who just have a love for the sport. The Club runs a very pro-ac ve youth programme. RWFF are also the only fly fishing club in the East Midlands to have achieved Club- Mark accredita on.
To our members we say thanks for your con nued support, come and join in with the friendly get- togethers and events we are holding throughout the year. The Monthly Sunday bank meets will be con nuing to encourage youngsters into the sport. There will be prizes and cash pools to be won at the club compe ons which we’ll be planning. There’s a chance to beat Gra am Water Fly Fishing Associa on on their own reservoir this season and we’ll also be announcing some more events for 2015. It’s not too late to book your place at the club’s pre-season dinner in April (see details in this edi on) to see who’s won the trophies and to enjoy a good meal with a jolly bunch of fishermen (a er a glass or two of Rutland Ale!)
Membership of the RWWF club, at just £22 a year with 6 FREE ‘Big Puddles’, a packed FREE Winter programme and numerous FREE events, it’s definitely the best value on the water. We have a line of communica on with Anglian Water and the other users of Rutland Water so get your friends, wives and fishing mates from near and far to join the club, even if they are only visi ng Rutland anglers, they can s ll be ‘in the loop’ and get the latest news and views on the fishing at Rutland Water. The more members we get, the more influence we’ll have on your behalf to maintain the quality of this amazing fly fishery. We l have some exci ng developments and high ambi ons for the club but we need your con nued support.
Keep sending us your pictures, as good quality as possible please. It doesn’t have to be just big fish, happy fishermen or women with their catches is what we want. Plus send in your ar cles, stories, ideas, comments and your fishing trip reports from other parts of the UK and worldwide. Let’s create an entertaining and informa ve magazine and a thriving effec ve club. Kindly send anything of interest to the editor of or the club at [email protected].
Here’s a short video worth looking at on the controversy over the building of Rutland Water h ps://vimeo.com/15089108. We hope that this edi on gets you in the mood for the new 2015 season … Rob Waddington Editor. [email protected] 2 The Lake - Report from John Wadham Due to water quality problems in the source rivers Nene and Welland, pumping did not commence un l later in the year and by Christmas the water level was s ll more than a metre down despite input from local streams off the land.
However, since then, pumping must have been at a maximum as we are now – February 12th - full. Despite the huge influx of very coloured floodwater during pumping opera ons the water is now nicely se led and beau fully clear. Hopefully, this will give the marginal ecology the opportunity to re-colonise. Luckily, this li oral zone has not been exposed to the icy elements for too long. At 4.5C the water temperature off the harbour wall this season is much lower than last year. As we know previous seasons, a cold start is no bad thing; as the water temperature in April can only go one way: and that is up!
The disadvantage of star ng with high early-season water temperature is that, given a cold snap in April - as in 1998 - the water temperature can fall and have a disastrous effect on the quality of the fishing. This season the whole of Whitwell Creek, par cularly the top end including the now aban- doned conserva on area, a very produc ve early-season fishing spot, will be available for fishing.
John Wadham has been fishing Rutland since it opened and
has a wealth of knowledge on our lake. A fountain of knowledge, he has wri en a number of excellent books on the subject, including RUTLAND WATER: BANK ANGLER'S GUIDE in conjunc on with the late Henry Lowe.
Boat Fishing Report - Report from Rob Waddington The winter fry feeding frenzy didn’t live up to its earlier promise. In fact the fishing from boats was rather disappoin ng throughout the extended winter fishing period. A fish or two was considered a good day. Some fish were seen rising sporadically in the North Arm open water feeding on corixa but aggressive fry feeders were notable by their absence. Indeed on certain days it seemed like there were no fish le in the water. The harbour wall was about the best chance but the coloured water in January hindered that also.
The few boats which did go out were fishing for Zander and Pike and even the Zander seemed lethargic in the cold, foggy gloom. RWFF have suggested to Anglian Water the idea of holding a few fish back for the winter this year; Let’s see how it progresses in 2015.
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The sight of a flo lla of Kayaks loaded with numerous jigging rods greeted a few hardened winter bank fishers in Whitwell Creek last month. This was a one-off trial by the Predator Fishing Kayak Club. Apparently not many fish were caught. Would this be something to try for trout? It would certainly enable us to get nearer to our quarry. Let us have your views. Watch out also, for the invasion of ‘super strong men and women’ for the forthcoming Iron Man and Vetruvian Challenges around the lake :- Swimming, cycling and running the equivalent of many marathons.
Perhaps we should s ck to our fishing! By the me you read this later February edi on, there will not be long to go before the Rutland Season begins on March 13th. Check out the website for news of any bank restric ons this March. Stocking will commence in early March. So let’s look forward to a great season’s fishing on Rutland Water.
Rob is a well known Rutland guide and qualified trout and spey cas ng coach and Orvis endorsed guide.
Some members have expressed interest in fishing in Russia, the latest news is that places are ge ng booked quickly for next year, anyone seriously interested please contact Rob as soon as
Members News RWFF members enjoyed a full and enjoyable winter programme this year. One of the benefits of joining our club are these excellent free evenings during the winter months. A chance to get out of the house and enjoy a pint or two with like-minded fishing fans, having fun and maybe learning some new tricks to help you during the season.
Big Dave’s Trip to the 2015 Bri sh Fly Fair Interna onal
“What a Great Day!” said the 33 adults and 16 youngsters who joined the luxury coach trip to the BFFI Fair in Staffordshire on the 8th February. ‘Big Dave’ Porter did a sterling job organising this event.
The lucky trippers were treated to an amazing FREE raffle. Top prize was a fantas c new Hardy Greys GTEC 10’#7 rod which won by RWFF’s new member Karl Karmen.
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There were 12 other prizes including a free day boat on Rutland Water, 3 bo les of wine, choco- lates, a signed ‘Passion for Trout’ book, and a tackle box rod clamp and oak tool racks made per- sonally by Dave himself. The day was an unmi gated success with members and friends alike com- men ng on the pleasure of mee ng new people and gaining many new ideas, and fly tying meth- ods and materials, and enjoying Dave’s very special raffle. Always looking for a bargain! … The RWFF team descend into Staffordshire at the BFFI. Send your funny cap ons to the editor. High- lights of the day included:- Marc Pe tjean tying his speciality CdC’s in ny sizes; Perfect for very wily trout also his innova ve ‘gurgler’ fly, this would work well on Rutland.
Swedish Mayfly wings which were virtually indestruc ble, ed with synthe c polythene. Veniards presented their brand new fly tying materials. Our group were amazed at the intricacies of tradi- onal ‘paired wing’ salmon flies. This is a true work of art. Some wonderful perch fry crea ons featuring chain linked ar culated bodies were shown with some large ‘Muskie’ flies from the Cana- dian North, again these would work on our Rutland Pike. So plas cs and rubber is being widely used and the wriggly worm rubber is a must-have material for the future.
Salmon flies from all over the world were demonstrated including the latest Norwegian cone heads and turbo cones (note: The Editor has ed a few cone head sparkler tubes for rudder fishing and these create a turbulent wake behind the head. Cone head salmon flies were designed so that fast water doesn’t push the so marabou wing materials flat and therefore creates an en cing pulse when retrieved. Without the cone head you need to use a s ffer material such as Bucktail or calf tail. This idea works equally well in a big wind when fishing with a rudder.) One interes ng new material is Gaskill’s Floa ng Glue. It makes anything float, even your hook!
If you are interested in Fly Tying, and who isn’t, this is the best show in the UK and Dave is already making prepara ons for next years trip in Feb 2016 with a complete Fly tying Kit as one of the FREE raffle prizes. Put it in your diary now!
5 Click here h p://www.bffi.co.uk/exhibitors to view all of the show exhibitors, as shown below.
AAPGAI Fishing For Heroes Czech Republic Fishing Prince Albert Angling Angling Trust Fishing Organizer John Fairgrieve Sculp- Society Atom Six Flies by Wendy ture PWW Designs Avon Dry Oil Spray Fly Fishing and Fly Kirkwood Salmon Reel Wings AXAMIT Agency Tying School RG France Bass Anglers’ Sport Fly Tying Bou que Leek and District Fly Right Angle Fishing Ltd fishing Society Fly Tying Company Fishing Associa on RM Jefferies Blithfield Anglers Fly Tying Shop Li le Wolf Flyfishing Sel Guesthouse, Ice- Cas ng for Recovery FlyTek Resort land Ceiriog Fly Fishers Foxy Tails Loughs Agency Selectafly Chevron Hackles French Nymphs Luke Bannister Cane SKB Fly Fishing Coch-y-Bonddu Books Funky Flytying Rods Spirex Aquatec Ltd. Cookshill Fly Tying GAIA Marc Pe jean Tenkara Centre UK Crystal River Gamefish Norway MD Imports The Fly Dressers’ Guild Czech Fly Fish Go Fishing Worldwide Medlar Press – Water- The Riverfly Partner- David Miller Art Go Fly Fishing Italy log ship Deer Creek Grayling Society Old Hall Confec onery Turrall Devonshire Reels Grip Hooks OnStream-Guide.com Veniard Fly Tying DG Fishing Hemingways Outdoor Eye Wear Virtual Nymph Prod- England Lady Fly Fishers Hooked on Angling Partridge of Redditch ucts Eyebrook Tackle Shop Izaak Waltons Co age Pearsall’s Wild Trout Trust FFM UK J:sonSweden AB Polish Quills World Sport Fishing Fish on Produc ons Jack Perks Photog- Po eries Fly Tying Club Fishery Management raphy (UK) Ltd Jan Siman-Fly
FLY TYING EVENING - January 8th
A record breaking 45 members including many new faces, a ended this interes ng and enjoyable RWFF’s Fly Tying evening at the Empingham Cricket Club.
The demonstrators were introduced to the audience by John Wadham who gave a summary of the flies and tying styles on offer. John Dracup, Peter de Kremer, Phil Longstaff and Nigel Woolnough were the exhibitors this year.
We also welcomed Peter Waterhouse up from Gra am to exhibit his own English- made fly tying vices and rods.
John Dracup is secretary of the English Disabled Fly Fishers Associa on and to- gether with chairman Jim Wa s requested that, should any members of the audience
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have any serviceable gear available, this organisa on would be very pleased to receive it. Items should be either delivered to the RW warden’s office or the Rutland Water shop and marked for the a en on of Jim Wa s or delivered to John Wadham at 6 Mendip Road, Oakham – telephone first. If you prefer, please bring them to any subsequent club mee ngs.
John ed some beau ful buzzers: looking really like the real insect. He made his pa erns available to members for a small charge and generously requested that any income from his efforts would be donated E.D.F F.A.
Peter de Kremer, who is well known for his skills with the dry fly, ed some “bits”, Klink- håmer's, and sugar cubes all very useful pa erns at our reservoirs. Enthralled mem- bers watching Peter De Kremer demonstrate his dry flies.
Phil Longstaff is a member of the Seighford Sharks fishing team who won both the Angli- an & Lexus team events in 2013.
He is also an England Interna onal, and he won the brown bowl in Ireland in 2014. Phil ed a few pa erns that have served him well. He showed great inven veness and great a en on to detail in his tyings and came up with some useful ruses for colouring.
Among other things were his very successful bloodworm pa ern and, as he was quick to point out the effec veness of “Boobies”.
The main fly tying advice Phil gave was regarding booby eyes; was how to get them perfectly round; the importance of this and how to secure them. He only applies a small amount of super -
7 glue to the underside of the eyes as he actually wants them to move around the hook. That way the fish cannot use the eyes to lever the hook out during the fight. Phil showed how he es a lot of his pa erns short. That way he can fish a smaller & skinnier pa ern without compromising on hook strength.
Phil says, he also thinks that a lot of pa erns look be er dressed short. This applies to his nymphs, blobs & boobies.
He emphasised the effec veness of Globrite Floss and UV varnish which really adds a special ingredient to flies when viewed under a UV torch.
The theory being that trout can see well in the UV spectrum: thus finding these flies more a rac ve. Who Knows? Well: the trout certainly do and Phil had lots of experiences when the UV fly made the difference.
Nigel ed some of his very effec ve “winged” lure pa erns. Namely the Seaducer with Badger or Cree tail and orange head behind a migh ly load of cock hackles. This is actually a salt water fly but does the business on Rutland, accoun ng for a 6 pounder and a four pounder from Ernie’s point in successive casts when all other methods failed this winter. These fish were full of snails! Nigel’s comment was “give them something with a bit of meat on it: not your ny dries”. Joking of course!
Peter Waterhouse has an in depth knowledge of tackle and brought an array of kit including some original packets of partridge hooks. Peter also had some interes ng and unusual tools and gadgets
8 for fly tying. He was so busy discussing this and some of his new rods with members that he only had me to e a few very useful fly pa erns.
This was arguably the biggest turnout of membership to a January func on for many years. It is also pleasing to re- port that a number of new members were enrolled.
We were very grateful to our presenters who generously gave up their me free of charge to demonstrate their skills. More importantly, they all freely gave informa on on how to fish them.
Why is this evening so popular? It’s in part a chance for members not only to see some excellent fly tying skills first hand but also to grab that priceless knowledge of how to fish 'the fly' at Rutland. When it works, what it imitates and what subtle es are involved in making it as successful as it can be.
A er all when you put 4 or 5 fly tyers in the room all with their own styles, beliefs and over 100 years of collec ve fly fishing experience, then allow people to quiz them on their experi- ences, then that's valuable!
This annual event is a also a great way to meet, chat, and learn more about our sport and to go away with new innova ve ideas and some ‘top secret fly tyings’ from the experts.
November Quiz Night at the Club One of the most enjoyable nights of the programme the Quiz night was an eagerly fought contest between 5 teams. Five rounds made up the quiz as follows: 1 Recent news, 2 Anatomy of a fish, 3 Animal world, 4 Cryp c loca ons on Rutland water and finally, 5 Fish trivia.
Teams of members came up with their own team names, such as 'super 70s' 'top droppers' 'Diawl Bachs' and 'bar stewards'
9 The Diawl Bachs, trying to sneak a peek!!
The top droppers managed to win round one by half a point from the Diawl Bachs and then ‘clung’ on to the lead un l the end.
The final order was as follows …
First - Top Droppers - 47 points, Second - Diawl Bachs - 44.5 points, Third - Super 70's - 42 points, Fourth - Boobies - 31.5 points and Fi h - Bar Stewards - 30 points.
The Super 70’s trying to understand the ques ons!!
An enjoyable fun evening was had by all and of course it wasn't about winning - more about taking part!!!!!!!
But try explaining that to the ‘Top Droppers’!!
Magnanimous in Victory ... The Top Droppers
Nigel Milner. Thanks to Nigel for se ng the ques ons, ac ng as MC for the evening and for pu ng up with the raucous banter all round.
Here’s a picture of the amazing prize we were compe ng for… The trouble is those bo les were 4” high miniatures!
10 An Evening with Mick O’Farrell - A Passion for Trout Thursday 29th January 2015
Mick is a much travelled fly-fisherman, par cularly in the Emerald Isle: but, not exclusively. He has also shown great exper se at Rutland Wa- ter. It was quite clear from his discourse that he has a great love of dry fly fishing.
He was brought up on the rivers of south-eastern Ireland: spending most of his fishing me on the limestone River Suir in county Tipperary. Not only, are these good trout fisheries but also, have a very good salmon run. A young Mick O’Farrell (right), is pictured with a 32lb fish from near the school bridge in his home town.
Apart from early-season, due to the extreme clarity of the water, most of the fly-fishing on these rivers is best between sunset and sunrise. He also discussed fly-fishing on the lakes in the North West of the country: par cularly Loughs Carra & Corrib. Again, he favoured dry fly fishing in the crystal clear waters of Carra, where the brown trout go around, rather like our rainbows, in shoals. The best dri s are alongside reed beds in rela vely shallow water.
He emphasised the necessity of a very cau ous approach in these crystal-clear waters - clumsy Rutland boat anglers please take note! The most exci ng fishing was during the sedge hatch. This included the great red sedge known in the Emerald Isle as Murrough - about the size of a medium sized moth compared with the rela vely small Green Peter.
He went on to express his disappointment of the wholesale slaughter of brown trout on Corrib. This had inevitably led to much tougher fishing and the need for in-depth knowledge of this huge water. Not only is the fishing tough; but you need to have a thorough grounding in the geography of this lake and be fully conversant with the weather forecast, as a southerly gale can put a dan- gerously big wave on the water.
From what we hear, he has spent quite a lot of me fishing the Anglian Water reservoirs and, as indicated in his book, seems to come up with some innova ve pa erns to catch our, some mes, very stubborn, trout.
He gave us some very useful hints on presenta on; with par cular regard to dry fly fishing. He uses fluorocarbon leaders rather than the normal co-polymer. The main advantage of this being that firstly, the dry flies don’t lie too much on the surface and that the leader will also remain sunk without the need for decreasing.
He was also in favour of sparing use of Gink. He suggested spacing three dry flies on a 5lb breaking strain leader about 2 m apart so as to be able to present it accurately to zig-zagging fish: with a reasonable chance that they will see one of the flies. He par cularly emphasised the need for short lining from the boat with a 10 foot five weight rod and good horizontal cas ng to ensure that the leader lands flat allowing flies to alight gently simultaneously.
He uses orange in quite a number of his pa erns: par cularly at Gra am. He recalled one of the “snail fest” days at this lake. He found that the foam snail - as pictured - to be very effec ve. Also very useful was his tying of the Heather Moth pa ern - also pictured.
11 Wet fly fishing Mick said that he felt that this was now a grossly underused method for catching trout: most an- glers preferring to fish either deep under the fish, or dry.
His favourite set up for this was Soldier Palmer or a Sedge pa ern as the bob fly ac ng as a disturb- ance followed up by two dabblers. Again, short lining method is employed with the retrieve com- mencing immediately the flies hit the water.
His favourite set up is a 10 ½ to 11 foot five weight rod with a ghost (clear) midge p. This unit could also be used in conjunc on with daddy pa erns and hoppers both of which proved very effec ve at Eyebrook.
Finally, a look in his fly box – pictured le filled with tradi- onal wet and dry fly pa erns - would clearly indicate how much trouble Mick goes to in crea ng so many successful pa erns. No “blobs” here!
This would also apply to his book “A Passion for Trout” which he described as a labour of love - club member pic- tured - receiving a signed copy. This is a good and informa- ve read and Tim donated a signed copy to the raffle.
An Evening with Tim Jacklin of the Wild Trout Trust - 22nd January.
Should natural rivers be stocked to supplement the wild trout? This evening was generously sponsored by the Welland May Fly Fishing Club. A syndicate made up of some RWFF members and others who have a lovely stretch of wild trout fishing on the Upper River Welland near Dudding-
12 ton, Rutland. The May Fly Club’s Dick Clarke introduced Tim Jacklin who gave an in-depth presen- ta on highligh ng his passion for pure wild trout and discussed surveys rela ng to the stocking of wild rivers to enhance the natural trout popula on.
The figures, graphs and evidence could be seen to be slightly overwhelming in their detail, howev- er, it significantly and interes ngly proved that the ar ficial stocking of wild, natural rivers actually has a detrimental effect on fish stocks and in fact, culminates in reducing the popula on in the long term.
Tim’s preference, backed up with significant evi- dence is to improve the natural river environ- ment, and in par cular the protec on of juvenile habitat. This ensures that many more trout sur- vive and grow to become adults and to produce a higher and healthier trout popula on.
Tim enlightened us with descrip ons and anec- dotes on various wild sub species of trout found in parts of the UK and Worldwide, including Ferox, Sonaghan and Gillaroo.
Overall a fascina ng evening and Tim con- cluded with a picture which reminds us all of where we started our passion for fishing.
Our thanks to Tim and the May Fly Club for sharing this with us. We look forward to fur- ther alliances with the club.
13 Dates for your Diaries in 2015 ... Li er Pick! Bacon Sarnies and fresh air! 8th March
Club Open Day, Empingham Cricket Club 14th March Annual Dinner, Noel Arms, Whitwell. See menu on the RWFF website and get your order in quick19th March Wadham Bank Compe on, May 15th Cu ng Bank Trophy, 5th June Loch Style Compe on ,14th June John Maitland Rutland v Gra am compe on, 30th August Hanby Cup, 13th September
See the RWFF website h p://www.rwff.org.uk/ for all details and contact Peter deKremer at [email protected] to fish any of these compe ons.
Now, part 1 of an intriguing series by Chris Evans all about the Diawl Bach. We will be looking forward to his Diawl Bach Diary over the coming months. The Diawl Bach - all you ever wanted to know ...
I’m sure there are very few s llwater fly fishers that haven’t come across this highly effec ve fly in one or other of its many forms. Its fish catching powers are legendary and you will find this on the cast of pleasure anglers and compe on anglers alike. Si ng comfortably with other nymphs on a cast or between lures, it's a very versa le pa ern used all over the world on s llwaters and rivers. But where did it come from and what did the original pa ern look like? I thought it would be inter- es ng to take a look back at its roots and explore how the pa ern has been modified over the years. How many variants do we actually need? I will also try to come up with the ‘must have’ pa erns to cover most eventuali es you are likely to experience at Rutland.
So how do you pronounce its name? Phone cally it's ‘Jawl Bach’ but the ‘ch’ is said from the back of a ‘moist’ throat. What it isn’t is a ‘Diawl Back’. Undoubtedly the fly originates in Wales, South Wales to be more specific. There is however, some mystery around who invented it. Was it Wynd- ham Davies a Welsh Interna onal fly fisher who brought the fly to Chew star ng its life in the com- pe on scene, a Mr. Evans from Cardiff (reported in Moc Morgan's book), Jimmy Evans at Chew, Albert Horne from Cardiff or Glynn Isaac from Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Searching the web I found a post on a fly fishing forum by fishery owner Tony Benne .
Tony kindly emailed me some informa on and here is an extract; ‘Glyn Isaac, the originator of the fly, now sadly deceased, would have been pleased to see his 'Li le Devil' so well explained. He o en fished at my lake and took great pride in having so many anglers praising the catching abili- es of the Diawl Bach. Some 10 years ago, I ran my own C&R trout lake, known as "Alltrodyn trout lake" [Carmarthenshire]. Glyn Isaac (sp) and his family regularly fished at the lake and Glyn would always delight in telling anyone, who would listen, that he invented the Diawl Bach. When this was done - I know not. But he revelled in using only "his" fly and its varia ons, to the exclusion of all others - it was very successful for him.’
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15 It is not clear exactly when the fly was invented but there are references to the fly being used at Chew in the 1950’s. The fly was extensively used on the river Chew and then found its way into the compe on circuit where it has firmly remained a favourite for many successful teams.
Turning to the fly and its variants. If you trawl the fly tying magazines, web sites and anglers fly box’s you will find a whole host of variant pa erns based on the original.
It possibly all started with this fly I came across - a drab wingless wet fly (h p:// www.iansflies.com/wet-flies ) which either by chance or design, successfully imitated many of the sub aqua c invertebrates that fish find irresis ble.
Perhaps the wing fell off a er taking a few fish and the trout ba ered fly turned out to be more successful and the Diawl Bach, as we know it, was born.
The more familiar original pa ern was the pea- cock herl, copper wire and red game cock beard hackle. www.ytyeflies.co.uk. Simplicity itself.
In its basic form the fly is trusted as a successful imita on for many aqua c and terrestrial in- sects found in our s llwaters and rivers.
It is a great imita on of the midge, imita ng pupae and the hatching adult. It can also be a good imita on for snails, sedge pupa, pin fry, corixa, shrimp, beetle and so the list goes on. In the an- glers quest to match the hatch or perhaps create a fly with that something special, we have seen endless varia ons on this simplest of pa erns. When you look at the variants you find that the colour changes and not the profile. We know that trout can see colour (or can they?). So has it made a difference?
Who knows? I think that the colour ma ers when the fly is fished below the surface but when in the surface film it's the silhoue e that is picked up by the trout so shape, size and posi on in the film becomes more important. It's a theory! Try holding a fly up to the light at arms length and looking from below-how much of the colour can you see?
Before moving onto the variants I thought a few words about how the fly can be fished would be interes ng to get us thinking. As many will agree it’s not just what you are using, it’s how you use it that ma ers. Just to digress - I am firmly of the opinion that the loca on that you are fishing in at the venue, the depth that you are fishing at and the speed and style of the retrieve are the most important factors that will determine a successful day or not.
The fly pa ern is secondary. I think of the fly’s profile (or characteris cs) first and then the colour. So one variant versus another is quite low down the list of priori es. Some years ago at Rutland I
16 decided to reduce the fly types that I fished with because I felt there were too many variables and I wanted to concentrate on how I fished and not what I fished with. I ended up with around 7 pa erns - Black and Green Tadpole, Cats Whisker, Boobies, Blobs, Buzzers, Diawl Bachs and a few dries.
These pre y much covered all the bases through the season and did actually increase the amount of fish that I caught. So rela ng this to the different ways of fishing the Diawl Bach - the fly can be fished on its own or in a team of flies. It can be par cularly effec ve when mixed with bright a ractor flies like blobs and boobies, offering the trout a more natural alterna ve, resul ng in a more confident take.
The fly is effec ve at all depths imita ng the different stages in an insects life cycle. Fished slowly in a team or on the dri when buzzers are hatching is a par cularly effec ve way of using the pa ern. Fished washing line either from the bank or boat with a small Booby on the point is my favourite set up. Its so versa le and effec ve because you can hold the flies in the feeding zone for longer.
There are also many subtle es around how the cast is set up. The hook weights will determine the depth the flies fish at, the length of the leader and leader material used - fluorocarbon sinking faster than co-polymer of monofilament. Even the spacing of the flies can result in some fishing lower than others in the water. My inten on here is not to confuse - on the contrary as you will see later.
But I guess when you start thinking of all these variables and then throw the weather on top we really need to have a simple plan when we go fishing and importantly one that we have
17 ‘confidence’ in. Now onto the variants. There are literally hundreds out there. Below I have listed a few with some photos;
Original with Silver Rib Picric Gold rib Pheasant tail Red holographic Hare's Ear Green holographic Short ed body (all of the above) Pearl/mirage Rib Jungle cock cheeks (all of the Original with red tail and hackle above) Goose biot orange/yellow Original red head cheeks (all of the above) Original orange head Booby Diawl Bach (all of the Red tag above) Black Diawl Bach Pink Diawl Bach Black Rainbow DB Marabou Tail - Various Colours Yellow Floss DB
Some Photos with a few sugges ons on what the may best imitate (web contributors are acknowl- edged below and on the next page).
www.ytyeflies.co.uk www.flyfishingpoint.net Red Holographic - Buzzer Imita on/ Sedge Pupa Green Holographic - Buzzer Imita on Blood Worm
Flashback (Black but could be any colour) DB; www.flyfishingpoint.net Good Pin Fry imita on/ Corixa Red Holographic Hot Head - Corixa
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www.flasha ackflies.com www.flyfishingpoint.net Yellow Floss Diawl Bach - Buzzer Black JC - Black Buzzer
www.flasha ackflies.com www.flyfishingpoint.net Booby Diawl Bach - Hatching Buzzer Red holographic cheeks - Buzzer
www.totalflyfisher.com www.flyfishing.co.uk Black Marabou Picric dyed DB With so many varia ons out there, I thought it would be interes ng to narrow down the pa erns to cover off some of the likely scenarios we may face when fishing Rutland through the season.
Original - This will be useful throughout the year fished in various sizes and hook weights to cover all depths on all line densi es. It will imitate a wide variety of aqua c and terrestrial food items.
Red Holographic - Par cularly useful when fished deep early season when blood worm are about. A marabou tailed version will give extra movement and possibly an edge. But it certainly won't be limited to the depths. It's a great buzzer pupa imita on, sedge pupa or even pin fry.
Green Holographic - Again a great buzzer imitator throughout the season in different sizes. This could work for snail feeders also but the original may be a be er choice.
Black Diawl Bach - I have chosen a red holographic cheek pa ern here with either a red wire rib or pearl rib to more closely imitate the buzzer pupa. Fished at all depths where the fish are feeding, this should deliver results.
19 Mirage/Pearl - this should be the one for pin fry. Tied on hook sizes up to 8 (even a couple of long shank versions for when fry get bigger) it should produce during most fry feeding mes. I am also thinking this version is going to work well for corixa or shrimp feeders. The silk colour will be either orange or red to get the right head colour.
With some of the above may be ed as CDC and booby versions to cover surface layers. That's it! Only 6 pa erns.
I’m going to set myself a li le challenge this year and only fish Rutland with the Diawl Bach collec- on listed above. I’ll write a short diary to let you know how I get on. Look out for it in future newsle ers. I'll try and work out what works best at what me of the year and what the fish are feeding on.
Hopefully it doesn't reduce my catch too much this season! If you see me on the bank and I'm struggling to take fish in amongst the lure fisher- men, please help me to resist pu ng on the good old 'black and green'.
Oh and by the way there is one variant that I found that may come in to play occasionally, the 'Diawl Bach' bi er.
Perhaps we could see if we could get a barrel behind the bar at Empingham Cricket Club. Tight lines, Chris Evans.
Thanks go to; Ray Lockyer - Director of Pon- tardawe and Swansea Angling Society for the quote from Moc Morgans Book and for teaching me to e flies many years ago (in the 1980’s!).
Tony Benne for the informa on on Glynn Isaac. The various web sites for the photos.
The heavy industry brewery for the picture of the beer bo le. Why not try their website link at - h p://craigheap.co/2014/05/21/heavy-industry-brewery/
'RWFF chairman Chris, fishes regularly on Rutland. A Level 2 qualified coach, he spends much energy promo ng the sport to youngsters. The driving force behind the RWFF ClubMark status .
Next, a couple of ar cles from members on fishing trips away from Rutland, we’ll always be keen to publish reports of your trips and expedi ons, send to Rob on [email protected]
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Tarpon Fishing, the Game - Report by R. Waddington.
Like many people suffering from winter ‘cabin fever’ I yearn for a sunny break during this dour me of year. This February my be er half and I had the chance and some spare me to do it.
On my fishing ‘bucket list’ is the dream of sight fishing for tarpon among the mangroves, so, taking advice from friend and RWFF member Frank Daley, (see the Big Puddle June edi on) a li le island off the gulf of Mexico was chosen. This was a holiday you understand, not a fishing holiday … as such .
Anyway the new 9’ 10 weight rod came with us and I found myself with 3 or 4 days of fishing for baby tarpon. What a steep learning curve it turned out to be! The giant tarpon of 100 pounds or so migrate to this area in the Summer, but baby tarpon are to be found here all year round and are as spooky and tricky a fish as you could ever imagine. Just like here on Rutland, some days are good, some days not so good.
Day 1 in cloudy rainy condi ons we sped across the ocean towards the mangroves an hours run at around 30 knots. The guide and I saw many pods of baby tarpon o en up to 15 or more milling around looking for food in the shallow water, around 1-2 feet deep. These guys can spot a fish which to me looked like a s ck on the bo om. Just like Rutland, it takes a while to get your eye in. Maybe a er 20 years fishing here I will be able to spot them as well as the guides… Maybe!
The idea is to sneak up on them, without the engine, gently pun ng along the mangroves trying to spot them and if you see some, to cast gently around 3 feet in front of them (knowing which way they are headed is an art in itself) so watch for a while to get fell of their direc on. Then leave the fly to sink for a few seconds then strip it back.
Watch all the me as you see a curious tarpon spot your fly and start to follow it. Nerve sha ering stuff. It’s almost like a one on one hunt. You and the tarpon.
21 Just when you think it’s ignored the fly, there’s an almighty tug, which sends shockwaves through your body as something the speed of lightning a acks your fly, seemingly from nowhere.
You must set the hook immediately. No that’s not good enough. You have to set the hook as soon as you see the fly disappear as to wait for the pull is o en too late. Strip strike with the line, not the rod and point the rod at the fish ll it’s firmly hooked. Then the thing goes ballis c. To land one of these beau ful silver fish in 5 or 6 takes is a good score and I managed just 3 landed on this first day.
Many fish were lost on the strike and o en I had to resort to a ‘catapult cast’ to get the fly through some insanely dense foliage, with a gap of maybe 2 feet in front of the boat. What I didn’t realise was that this was a good day compared with what came next.
Day 2 and 3 were a disaster, two blank days. Apparently the water was colder than normal which made the fish less aggressive to take the fly, so these days were spent searching for schools of juveniles seemingly few and far between, fruitlessly cas ng at shadows which were spooked as soon as you saw them in the shallow water and bright, sweltering sunshine.
A few snook were spo ed right under the mangroves requiring a low side cast to get inside this dense vegeta on. A few hooked but none to the boat. What to do, call it a day and admit defeat? Or have just one more day?
I think if you know me, the answer was obvious, in for a penny…!
22 And what a day it was! With a low de many of the areas we fished previously were almost dry land so we concentrated on the deeper channels of around 3-4 feet deep. As luck would have it so did the tarpon and we spo ed fish con nuously. I was cas ng at fish most of the day with fran c instruc ons from the guide… 12 o’clock, cast! 9 o’clock long cast!, 1 o’clock short cast! I’m sure I lost a few pounds in the sweltering heat covering fish a er fish a er fish.
Hooking these things is a different story! In the cold water they o en just ignored the fly and if they took it they’d let go in a split second. I was just too slow. My excuse is that they o en took at the end of a long strip and I had to come back a few inches in order to exert any pressure on the strip strike. Well that frac on of a second gave these remarkable fish me to spit the hook. Next me, I’ll prac se more using shorter strips leaving space to con nue the strip to set the hook.
Then, when I got it right the damned things would jump and shake their heads so violently that the hook would come flying back at me. Frustra on set in and looking back at the guide ques oning him ‘What did I do wrong’ .
‘Nossing wrong Rob, that ees thee game senor, that’s tarpon feeshing’ came the reply in a heavy Mexican accent which could have come straight out of the Viva Zapata western.
On 2 occasions I set the hook just as a ‘big baby’ of around 30 pounds set off the other way and got smashed on 40 pound line. What incredible power these fish have. Another me a fish far bigger than we saw all fortnight, over 40 pounds, snapped the line like co on as it swallowed the fly and sliced the line on its gills.
Then at last I got it right and landed this marvellous fish pictured at the start of this ar cle, a er a really tough fight. I have to go back. The trip ended on a high, I have caught the tarpon bug and there’s some unse led business with that 40 pounder.
Or maybe I’ll go in the summer some me, a er the really big boys! Any- one interest in a trip out there, please let me know.
The most effec ve fly was ‘Tarpon Candy’ a deer hair headed Minkie, right ...
Gordon Bloodworth remembers his first Sea Trout
Many years ago in the days when Roger Thom owned the fishing rights for Rutland Water, Eddie Hein, a previous Chairman of RWFF, annually entertained a party of friends from the St. Mungo Angling Club based in Glasgow. I had the privilege of being asked to guide some of his friends on the reservoir, in par cular Alastair and Sidney.
As happens when fishing, talk revolves around different fisheries and catches of the past and my
23 companions talked a lot about the fishing on Loch Maree and how it was sadly declining but that it had been a wonderful Sco sh Loch for Sea Trout and Salmon.
I was invited to join them on their yearly visit to Loch Maree and eagerly accepted.
Having never fished for Sea Trout I purchased Sea Trout by Hugh Faulkus, and tried to di- gest as much as I could from this rather large and very in- forma ve book.
The week arrived and I travelled in my old Morris Marina to our self-catering base at Kinlochewe, at the south-east of the loch, enjoying the wonderful Sco sh scenery on the way. I was greeted by my fishing friends and a few thousand midges.
Alastair promptly put a glass of Fa- mous Grouse in my hand while we discussed tac cs and inspected various items of tackle, and with flies donated by my hosts, I was more than eager to get on the water.
The next morning a er a Sco sh fry up off we went to our clinker built boat moored on the loch.
The first couple of hours or so were taken up with a slow cruise along the loch, where I was shown various marks, on our beat. Full of an cipa on I tackled up with various guaranteed killing flies!
However condi ons were not good, in an almost flat calm and bright skies, we cast more in hope than anger. The day ended as it started with dry nets.
The next day was a similar result to day one, and I was beginning to think that loch was devoid of any fish life. Compensa ng for the lack of sport was my first sigh ng of the magnificent Golden Eagle soaring high above Meall Ghiuthais. 24 The next morning a breeze had blown away the midges and it looked a be er prospect as when we arrived at the water we could see that the wind was blowing from the south- west straight along the loch crea ng a good rolling wave and with it being mild and overcast, prospects looked a whole lot be er.
I had with me a 15 foot glass fibre telescopic dapping rod and we thought that this could be the method to en ce a rise or two.
We headed up to the top of our beat to the Grudie river and with the magnificent Slioch mountain towering over the north shore began a long dri with Sidney guiding the boat with an oar.
I soon had a rise and saw a large fish roll over my fly, I li ed….nothing. Alistair quietly said, ‘You just missed a Salmon‘, I was gu ed. I was told in no uncertain terms that I should have given the fish me to turn down with the fly.
Determined that should I get another opportunity, I would give the fish me. A er a short while another rise, the dapped Kate MacLaren fly disap- peared and before I could li the rod, the line ghtened and my rod had a very sa sfactory bend.
The fish made a leap for freedom and I was very impressed with fight the fish gave, Alistair ne ed it for me. My first Sea Trout (above) weighed just under 3lb. The Famous Grouse took a bit of a hit that evening.
25 John Seaton - This month, to celebrate the career of John Seaton who re res this Spring we asked him to jot down some stories and history of his life in Rutland, Thanks John for this interes ng ar cle.
I was born and lived in Knossington just over the county border in Leicestershire un l I was 14 and then moved to Oakham when my parents took on the three crowns pub in Northgate. I have always been an outdoor per- son, helping on a farm in the school holidays.
I used to help bo le up in the fox and hounds in Knos- sington every weekend and the then landlord, ex pro- fessional huntsman Walter Gupwell, first got me inter- ested in hun ng. He had a pony called bluebird and he gave me riding lessons on him. I really enjoyed riding him and hun ng rabbits with his 6 terriers. When I le school my heart was set on becoming a huntsman, working with the hounds and horses.
I started in the stables on the 5th of August 1969 and progressed to the hounds as 2nd kennel man. I got my first chance in 1973 when the 2nd whip job became available with the Co esmore hunt. In 1975 I moved to the Oakley hunt in Bedfordshire, spending two years as 1st whip. A er this I came back to the Co esmore hunt as 1st whip to professional huntsman Peter Wright. Four seasons later I was promoted to 1st whip kennel huntsman, in charge of the hounds and hun ng 4 days a week.
In 1978 I married my long term girlfriend Jane, who was a top event rider and s ll trains horses today. When Jane lost her best event horse we decided it would be the best me to start a family and my first son Adam was born in 1981, followed by Timothy in 1982, a very proud me for Jane and I. A er 3 more seasons with the Co esmore I decided on a change in direc on as I didn’t see eye to eye with the amateur huntsman!
It was only by chance, hun ng around Eyebrook reservoir, that I got cha ng to Jonathon In- glesent, the assistant recrea on manager at Rutland Water. He was a keen foot follower of the hunt and I men oned in conversa on if there were any jobs going at Rutland for the summer. That night I received a call from Jonathon telling me there were 2 temporary wardens’ jobs available for that coming season. I passed the interview process and started work at Rutland on the 23rd March 1984. I was also very lucky when one of my very best friends Michael Farrin, the huntsman of the Quorn hunt, asked if I would help ‘whip in’ on Fridays and any other days he required. I couldn’t believe it, the best of both worlds! Hun ng and fishing!
Du es in those days were very similar to today. We were responsible for all the fishing on the res- ervoir, car parks, helping visitors, liaising with farmers and business partners and ensuring the site was maintained and safe to visit. A typical day now is similar to back in the 80’s, although there is now far more Health and Safety work, which takes up more me to keep up the standards Anglian Water require. Over the years there have been lots of tes ng mes for the wardens. A few that
26 spring to mind are when the new age travellers came to visit, blue green algae, foot and mouth and the gill lice. In the first days at Rutland, we were ge ng the boats ready for the coming sea- son, and also the fish stock from the Anglian Water run fish farm on site, grading the fish and pu ng them into the stocking cages in Whitwell Creek.
On my first morning I arrived at the old lodge at Whitwell and Jonathon told me he had ordered me a uniform but it hadn’t arrived. He then told me I could borrow some of Ernie Lock’s uniform for the me being. I put the shirt and jumper on, looked down and they were full of burn holes from Ernie’s pipe!
On my first ‘opening day’ I was scheduled to start at 2pm, driving down the A606 towards Whit- well I couldn’t believe my eyes, everywhere I looked there were anglers. I went straight out check- ing permits and when I got back to the lodge that evening I had recorded almost 200 anglers checked by just myself! My ‘area’ of the reservoir to check was from the Mound bank, down Bur- ley Reaches and from Tim Appleton’s to Armley Wood.
Something that has always stuck with me is an occasion in Stockie Bay; A rather disgruntled angler was ran ng and raving about the lack of fish and how dreadful the stocking policy was. There were other anglers there, Bert Saint and John Jones (s ll fishing with us in his 90’s!), Bert had got 4 and John had got 2. I could see he just wasn’t cas ng far enough and told him so. He immediately handed me the rod and challenged me to do be er. I feared the worst because the tackle wasn’t very well balanced but I managed to drop the fly into some ripple and within seconds hooked a 3lb rainbow! He never complained again!
I thought my career was going to be cut short the day Mar n Hearth and myself nearly wrecked Anglian Waters pride and joy, a jet launch called the Q26. Mar n and I were sent out as the wind had picked up to check the boats were safe, I was in the cabin driving the boat when Mar n shout- ed to me to come and have a look through his binoculars at someone playing a big fish in Old Hall bay. I was focussing on the angler when I heard a ‘clunk’, that was the latch on the cabin door, locking me out of the cabin with the engine s ll in gear! We were going round in ever decreasing circles, ge ng closer to the rocks on the bank! Mar n resorted to shou ng to the fishing boats to help us but they couldn’t hear him in the wind!
27 Around 100 yards off the shore I remembered I had a pen knife and managed to flick the latch up, steering us away just in me. At this me Mar n was s ll in the stern of boat shou ng for help. Laughing to myself I watched him turn round to see me at the wheel. With that he called me something that I just can’t possibly repeat!
Another boat incident occurred in Whitwell creek, Jon Marshall and I were feeding the fish in the cages when I looked around and saw the boat had dri ed away from the cages. I asked Jon what knot he had ed. His reply was “a slip knot” to which I replied “yea and its worked!” Twenty minutes later Arthur Chapman came and picked us up in another boat. At that me there were no mobile phones and the radio … was in the boat!
No, this isn’t John ques oning someone fishing without a permit! He’s star ng the Lexus comp with John Horsey.
My first fishing experience on Rutland took place in 1981. Another friend of mine, Derek Gardener, came and stayed with me because he wanted to fish Rutland. He came back a er a couple of hours saying he was struggling to catch and he thought a boat would give him a be er chance. At the me it was against the rules to fish alone in the boat so he needed a partner…… I really didn’t want to go but Jane insisted I accompanied him!
On arriving at the lodge I came across two friends of mine, Mar n Hearth and Arthur Chapman who made me feel very welcome and encouraged me to get on the water and do some fishing! I had 30 minutes cas ng prac ce on the grass before heading out onto the water in the boat, within 10 minutes of star ng fishing in Yellowstone bay the line ghtened and to my amazement a 2lb rainbow was soon the net, falling to a white baby doll! It was the best fish of the day and I finished with 3 fish, that was it, I was hooked!
Another Rutland regular who helped me immensely in the early days was Tom Pa enden, who I shared a boat with on a few occasions. Whilst fishing with Tom I managed a 3 1/2 lb. brown off
28 Berrybu s spinney and at the me it was my pb, which took me several years to beat. At that me you didn’t catch many fish of that weight! My personal bests to date are a 7lb 4oz brown, caught in front of Lax Hill on a Wet Cell 2 and minkie and my best rainbow was 6lb, taken on a red holo- graphic Diawl Bach while fishing with one of my best mates Paul Friend off the Transformer.
My favourite flies to use are Bobs Bits dries, U.V cruncher nymphs and Minkies as a fry pa ern. I do like to fish other waters; I’ve had a few sessions fly fishing on the rivers and have enjoyed them with reasonable success. On those hot summer evenings I also like using the fly rod to target carp at local s llwaters, the best was 18-20lb and took all my fly line and 20 yards of backing and took some stopping!
Over the years obviously the site and ecology of the lake has changed. There is a lot more food in the lake than in the earlier years, I personally think the fish feed deeper/closer to the bo om due to the large amounts of food now present, although watercra s ll and always will be a key part in all angling. Last season was great if you liked fishing dries, just ask Peter De Kramer. There was a lot of corixa round the weedbeds not to men on snail, shrimp and damsels and fry, plenty of food to keep the trout round them.
It was also interes ng how there didn’t seem to be the vast clouds of daphnia in the open water that we usually get, this meant some methods weren’t as produc ve as usual, for example rudder fishing. The right method at the right me is what it’s all about, and checking with the wardens is essen al to get pointed in the right direc on. It’s important to remember that in the 31 years I have worked at Rutland, the fishing has been different every season.
For me, Anglian Water has been a brilliant company to work for. From what I can see they support the fishing and recrea onal ac vi es be er than any other company. I have been very fortunate to have worked with very enthusias c and conscien ous teams, who are very passionate about what they do. I’m sure they will con nue to look a er you in the future. In my re rement I have secured a small part me job and also looking forward to spending more me fishing, a few more rounds of golf and more me with my family. I’m very proud to be called Grandpa by my grandson Jack and look forward to introducing him to fishing the mighty Rutland Water in the future.
It is vital that Rutland is supported by all anglers, whether season cket holders, day cket anglers or match anglers. You all contribute to the success of the fishing here on Rutland whatever ‘type’ of angler you are. I wish you all the best for the future and ght lines. See you on the banks and boats and from us all at RWFF, have a great re rement Seabones!
Some Great Internet links for you to take a look at ...
h p://www.totallyawesomefishing.com/videos/fly-fishing-trout/ with 8 Rutland Water videos plus beginners ps/cas ng/fly tying h p://www.savage-gear.com/ predator fishing gear h p://www.flyfishyokanga.com h p://www.atlan crivers.com/ h p://greatriverfishing.com/sturgeon-fishing/ h p://www.fishpal.com/ h p://vimeo.com/channels/flyfishing/videos
29 h p://vimeo.com/channels/flyfishing/103243677 Gangsters of the flats, GT’s on the Fly! h ps://www.youtube.com/user/robwaddington fly fishing videos from Rutland and Worldwide. h p://www.gwffa-gra am.co.uk/ h p://www.eyebrook.com/ h p://www.flygal.ca/ April Vokey Steelhead fishing specialist in USA and Canada
‘Fish Tales’ ... We’ve all got some fisherman’s stories, funny, interes ng or just quirky. Come on, send your sto- ries to us at ‘The Big Puddle’.
‘Where’s Keith?’ - A cau onary tale from Rob Waddington My first salmon fishing trip to Russia was a heavily discounted research and development trip with Roxtons in the year 2000, fishing some li le known rivers on the far eastern coast of the Kola Pen- insula, called The Strelna and outlying rivers programme, it was basically to fish from former hun ng camps to check the poten al of these lesser known rivers.
The travel, accommoda on was basic at best and in mid June this area was locked into a cold spell of -20 at night. So everything froze up at night, as you can imagine. And I mean everything!
Every morning we had to nego ate massive ice walls of over 20 feet high which bordered the river. We managed, very carefully to abseil down, (not very gracefully, I have to add) these ice banks to the clear cold, salmon filled river below.
It didn’t bother us, as this excited bunch of friends were determined to have a great laugh at all costs.
Ian’s Dad Keith was with us as we all set off one morning for the river. Cha ng away, taking the p… and reeling off jokes one a er the other.
We suddenly realised we hadn’t heard from Keith for a while.
‘Where’s Keith?’ some asked. We all stopped and listened. The river roared below us, but in the background we could hear a distant… ‘Here!’ ‘Here I am, I’m stuck down this crevasse!’
Hidden down a split in the ice, nearly 6 foot down was Keith, s ll laughing at the bizarreness of it all.
We got him out, brushed him down and set off for a days fishing, catching the odd salmon and
30 dodging mighty icebergs floa ng down the river!
The next day we had an overnight heat wave of 35degrees which caused a few other problems but that’s another story suitable for future edi ons.
Needless to say Roxtons abandoned their plans to develop the Strelna!
That first visit to the Kola was, for me, sup- posed to be the trip of a life me.
However, it was filled with such mirth, mer- riment, adventure, mishaps and great fish- ing that I’ve been back almost every year since.
It’s a bug which I can’t shake off.
… Last Cast
With ospreys increasing in numbers, a virtual ‘carpet’ of zander in the depths of our beloved lake, together with an explo- sion of ‘Jack’ Pike it was reported recently that two O ers were spo ed patrolling in the harbour.
Were they out looking for a fishy lunch with our lovely trout on their menu? … what ever next you may ask yourselves … Seals in Sailing Club Bay??????
Chairman: Chris Evans, [email protected] Treasurer: Paul Wild, 33 Kelthorpe Close, Ketton, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 3RS. Tel: 01780 720308 or e-mail: [email protected] Minute Secretary: Peter de Kremer. Tel: 01572-724873 or e-mail: [email protected] Secretary: John Wadham, 6 Mendip Road, Oakham, LE15 6NN. Tel: 01572 771092 e-mail: [email protected] Editor: Rob Waddington, The Lodge, North Shore, Rutland Water Rut- land, LE15 8AB. Tel: 01572 722422 or Mob: 07711 182853. or e-mail: [email protected]
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