Churn Pool Fishery

Archive for January, 2011

(Updated 3 Feb) Ice Free are ready to go. Fishing well on a variety of patterns. Enjoy!

(Updated 2 Feb) The fishery is about 50% clear on the north-west to north-east banks with some more ice clearing on the south side where the wind is pushing in.  Well done to Ron Ball for banking 12lb of fish yesterday.

After a great weekend for those hardy enough to venture out in the cold, -4 degrees on Monday morning sees Churn Pool largely iced over with only a small possibility of casting from the main point if the ice clears. However, frozen lines will probably hamper your casting so we suggest staying in the warm and knocking up some patterns for Spring.

It was nice to see some olive-looking hatches under the bushes and trees this weekend. Colin Stuart managed to secure  3 of his total of 5 on large buzzers in the area of the hatches. Most other fish were caught on the Cats Whisker in the deeper water on the tail end of the wind.

We’ll advise further on the ice situation ASAP.

Here we are at the start of another weekend. Those with thermals and thermoses brimming with coffee should enjoy themselves if sheltered from the biting north-easterly wind over the next few days. Recent fishing has been great, especially for Mike Waring who’s landed 14 fish around the 2 -4lb mark over three visits in the last seven days. A mixed bag of Cats Whiskers, Pheasant Tails and a strong cast directly into the wind worked well, Mike reported.  Steve Cole also managed 5 quite swiftly on the Cruncher.

In addition, it was great to see some new faces through the week. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Those who braved the cold appeared to have a good time today on a variety of patterns. Damsels and Cats were proving a good option early on Saturday morning until things went quiet at about 11am. With fish rising through the morning, there had to be something in the higher layers of the water. John Steedman clocked this and reverted to a black buzzer, attracting a further 4 fish to add to the early morning catch. Alan Christopher also managed a full bag along with Nick Jones on a day ticket who set the pace on slim damsels on a floating line. Fish this week are recording as ranging from 1 3/4 to 5lb 8oz.

The lake was also stocked today with rainbows between 2 & 3 1/2lbs

All the best for the rest of the weekend and commencing week!

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ADDITIONAL NOTE FOR SUNDAY

Great to see so many of you on the bank om Sunday. It was rather cold, but everyone did pretty well. Especially Bob Hicks with a rainbow @ 6lb 8oz amongst a few others. The new fish showed signs of being on the feed straight away, but remained deep. However, it was interesting to see quite a number of fish rise throughout the day.

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I last signed off with ‘tight lines’ a few days ago.  Mike Waring took that to heart, whipped up a few Diawl Bach’s and bagged a beautiful 7lb 10 oz Rainbow today (Friday) along with four other from 2-3 1/2lb.  Not wanting to get his posh fishing jacket in a state, yours truely is holding the fish on this occasion.

Steve Cole also swiftly wrestled five to the bank on Diawl Bach. We noticed a few others land fish by mid-day on Cats Whiskers. The fish appear to have come higher in the water compared to last week thanks for a few small hatches and a drop in pressure. (about 1008mb according to our barometer)

With a fair few fish rising within 20 yards of the bank, it’s well worth taking it easy with a floating line and a dropper. Bloodworm has worked well (for me) along with a dark buzzer. The takes are calm, but definite and secure.  On the other hand, grab yourself a sinker of some sort in case the sun makes an appearance and drives the fish low in the water.

If you can make it out this weekend, I’m sure you’ll have a good time.

Here’s a swift heads-up to advise Churn Pool Fishery is totally free of ice – at the moment anyway. The catch rates have been very good, especially for those actively searching for their fish.

As always, keep your thoughts on presentation and enjoy the weather – whatever it may be.

Tight lines!

Additional note further to tonights talk on 24/1/2011: Rick & Frank once again gave a great presentation with compelling stories of recent sighting from the crowd. We look forward to the next gathering during mid-March. We’ll advise as soon as the date and time are formally set.

The Big Cats of Glos and UK – The Evidence and Implications

Illustrated talk followed by witness reports and discussion

Presented by Frank Tunbridge and Rick Minter. Hosted by Nailsworth Society at Nailsworth Library.

24 January    7.30pm – 9.15pm.

Non members can attend £3 inc refreshments.

While many of you may have seen reports in local and national press regarding the Big Cats that reside within the UK, few have actually seen them – or so you might think. These fantastic presentations by Mr Tunbridge and Mr Minter offer a great insight to what really walks among us. Grounded and rational, the evidence speaks for itself. In addition, the witness reports toward the end of the talk will leave you captivated rather than send a shiver down your spine.

The days running up to the weekend saw a great deal of ice with the usual corner offering superb fishing. John Steedman started the week with a five great rainbows and exited in style again on Saturday with another five fighters including an 8lb beauty. There appeared to be some interesting developments within the first few inches of the water as we saw the odd rise here and there. Luckily, a bit of wind and moving water freed up a third of the lake, opening more swims to keep everyone busy.

Sunday proved a greater challenge with a sub zero start and bright sunshine. It wasn’t until the afternoon that we started to see some activity. Bob Hicks once again found the fish in the deep water on a fast sinker, signing out with five. As usual, there’s the one that gone away. Bob reported a mighty fish that took charge before escaping. One of the 8lb Blues or 10lb rainbows?

It was nice to see some new faces on the fishery also. While it was a cold day and much harder than recent weeks, we’re glad to see everyone went home having had a bend in the rod.

First of all, we’d like to welcome David Wood to Churn Pool as a new member. Dave has recently started fly fishing and proved his ability to land fish. We wish Dave all the best on the bank through the year.

The ice has been slow to melt, but a few more swims have become available on the north west side of the fishery. Regardless of such a small area being fished constantly, the majority anglers are catching their limit on Cat’s, Montanas and Diawl Bachs. Most are casting a sinking line to find the fish, but those on a floater have tempted the rainbows up from the deep with ease. Sizes range from 2 to 4 1/2lbs this week.