Author: leconfieldflyfishingclub

“Fishing is becoming more challenging on the rainbow trout lakes as the summer progresses. ‘Catch and Release’ on these lakes has now finished until the autumn. At the brown trout lakes and river, returns remain steady and ‘Catch and Release’ remains an option.

Monthly invertebrate surveys continue on the river. It is heartening to see a revival this year of the blue-winged olive. This fly has been absent for a long time and though occurring in low numbers, these numbers have increased significantly as spring moves into summer – worth a try!”

Andrew Thompson

This report covers the previous two weeks.

“Successful flies of late:

Lakes: White buzzer, CDC, Damsel, Daddy, Grey Wulff, Para buzzer, Montana, Olive emerger

River: Klinkhammer, Para Adams, Caddis, Mayfly nymph, Jingler, Black nymph, Alexandra, Silver stoat, Spider”

Andrew Thompson

“A steady week on the lakes, with success coming from emergers, Grey Wulff, Copper John, Hawthorn, Daddy, Klinkhammer, Greenwell’s Glory and black gnat.
The river is settling nicely now; members used black nymph, Invicta, Perdigon, Teal blue and silver, wet and dry Mayfly to achieve some great results.”

Andrew Thompson

“A generally settled week with the rainbow lakes’ water temperature still hovering between 14 and 15 degrees centigrade. More and more, the dry fly is proving successful; below are some of the week’s more successful recorded flies:

Lakes: Shipman’s buzzer, red Perdigon, black Klinnkhammer, yellow mayfly, Grey Wulff, GRHE, mini Daddy, Hawthorn, Caddis, black gnat

River: Mayfly dry and nymph, black nymph, Greenwell’s

On the river, several more log seats have been – and are being – placed along the banks for members’ use.” – Andrew Thompson

Mayfly spinner at Little Springs

4lbs+ from Little Bognor

“The sporadic rain showers, though sometimes annoying, are having the useful effect of keeping the water relatively cool compared to the same period over the last two years. Even so, the water temperature reached 15 degrees centigrade last week which means that even more care is needed when releasing fish (thank you!). The lakes were a little more challenging last week, while the river, after a slow start, provided some notable sport for members.

Some successful flies recorded this week were:
Lakes: Black Klinkhammer, Olive emerger, Mayfly, Grey Wulff, Sedge, Mini daddy, Green Montana, BFD, Hawthorn, Bloodworm, Black beetle and PTN.
River: Mayfly nymph, Mayfly and Damsel”

Andrew Thompson

All photos courtesy of Andrew Thompson

“Fly life throughout the fishery really gathered momentum this week with many members catching on dry flies. Grey Wulff and buzzer were recorded as the most successful flies.
The spring barbecue was blessed with beautiful weather to complement the fine dining! Members had an opportunity to try out an interesting selection of Orvis rods.”

Andrew Thompson

Little Springs

Header image – male mayfly spinner at Little Springs

“A warm, sometimes hot week, encouraged some good hatches giving members some great sport. Successful flies included parachute Adams, GRHE, black gnat, daddy, Caenis, Klinkhammer, grey Wulff, olive emerger, Copper John, mayfly nymph, mayfly dry and stonefly nymph.
The Club’s Spring barbecue will be this Sunday, May 19th; please ensure you have notified Krysia if you intend to come.” – Andrew Thompson.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Thompson

A group of Mandarin duck bachelors at Great Springs

Last weeks rain kept the lakes’ water temperature down.
Members enjoyed the mayfly activity last week, both on the lakes and the river. The river, though coloured and slightly high, is fishable and will continue to improve this week.

A Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (GRHE) is a good imitation of a buzzer at the lakes or a shrimp on the river, a useful fly to have in your box.

“An excellent week on the lakes but we are having to postpone Sundays river day as both river and bank conditions will be far from ideal. The river is flooded now and although this water will drop in the coming days, further heavy rain is forecast for Thursday. The river will, unfortunately, almost certainly be at bank-full or over again for this weekend.”

The new date for the river day is: Sunday July 7th

Andrew Thompson

Chilly spring afternoon at Springs ! Fish were rising all weekend along the downwind bank taking buzzers just under the surface. A black buzzer or small nymph caught a lot of fish.

This time next week the first mayflies should have appeared at Little Springs. The length of daylight hours determines when they first appear.

Natural fly life is gradually increasing in this cold period and some members have been catching on the dry fly. The river is almost back to its normal level and turbidity is decreasing rapidly.