Churn Pool Fishery

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As we head towards a new year, the time leading up to it should be pretty exciting for anyone without work, Xmas shopping or decorating commitments. We have a fresh batch of over 200 trout due w/c 19th December and if the water stays ice-free, some great winter fishing conditions should await us.

For those wishing to carry a Season Ticket through next year, we should have details and a ticket price available by 21st December so check the ‘Trout Fishing’ section of this site for full details. Needless to say, you won’t be restricted by the number of visits allowed as per the rules of many fisheries in the area. In fact, many of our season ticket holders save over £400 as opposed to buying Day Tickets alone. We don’t think anyone offers the same value, friendliness and endless cups of tea. Not only that, but (weather permitting) we will be open every day over the holiday season including Christmas day.

A stormy week accounted for a low volume of fishermen on the bank for much of the week, buy with more settled weather on Friday, it was good to see some nice fish starting to show. The last few days have seen the usual Cat’s, Damsels and Diawl Bachs do well, often in quite slim form. The fish have ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 lbs. We also look forward to a delivery of around 200 fish towards the end of the month.

<- Mike Waring with his 4lb 6oz catch

The Tiger captured by Dan Jeans ->

Unfortunately, there appeared to be a large increase in stray line and flies (below) left around the fishery and carpark recently. Dropping line is easy to do, but so is securing it in your pocket. Lets tighten things up and maintain a clean fishery.

The resident fish had some new neighbours on Tuesday in the form of a smashing delivery of Rainbows, Tigers and Brown Trout. George Peck has been lucky enough to land a 3lb tiger trout already. Phil Martland also managed a 3lb 14oz rainbow. While Saturday proved hard going, but rewarding in the end, Sunday really came alive, especially towards the afternoon with a load of missed fish and many on the bank. Most were caught on the cats whisker within a few feet of the surface. Well done to all.

The fish are quite aware of people on the bank so fishing where you wouldn’t usually and trying new methods could be the way forward for a successful day, but new tactics often take practice. There are plenty of fish in the margins so do patrol the banks, keeping low and presenting carefully. As usual, Damsels and Cats Whiskers have done well. I suspect a team consisting of a PTN, Hares Ear and Diawl Bach in whatever combo you choose) could have good results. I’ll give it a shot this weekend and report back. Tippet material is also an important factor. If it’s not too windy, 8lb Stroft gives remarkable presentation.

Last but certainly not least, Churn Pool member, Trevor Marsch secured top spot in the recent Cheltenham & Gloucester Fly Dressers Guild tying competition, tying an Invicta that put all others to shame. Top man.

With the strong winds from the east starting to ease, the westerly blasts were a bit more drafty than we’d ask for, but welcome anyway. We saw a drop in catch rates through the week, but that all changed at the weekend with a good few fish lost and a few on the bank including tigers and browns caught tight to the margins. Rainbows were found further out on Diawl Bachs. Favoured fly patterns were the Cats Whisker, Damsel Nimph and Apps Bloodworm fished within a a few feet of the surface on floating lines.

We have another delivery of fine fish due mid-week to keep you busy so start tying those flies or pop in to your local shop.

Burford & Bath - Orvis

Cirencester – D & J Sports

South Cerney – Tackle Den

The past week has seen a lot of action for many on small lures at all depths and areas of the fishery. John Harrison brought four fish to the bank mid-week at an estimated 13lbs between them leaving the rest to catch up, which Alan Christopher promptly did towards the end of the week. Not happy with such a thrashing by John, Mike Waring pulled out one after the other during a rematch on Saturday morning which saw fish everywhere until just after noon. Damsels again proved to be an absolute killer with rainbows shooting up from the deep water and fighting hard. It was nice to see the odd blue trout make an appeanace too.

So what’s worth a look apart from Damsels? The Cats Whisker is still doing well along with size 12 Montana and PTN patterns. Buzzers have been reported in despatched fish, but the buzzer fishing is certainly harder than in previous months, especially with so may fly in the water. The Silver Butcher could also be a good option.

The next few days offer little variation in weather conditions apart from being brighter on Sunday so the fishing should stay constatant.

Sunday Update…

I managaed a swift hour on the bank before anyone dropped in on Sunday morning. With nine lost and one on the bank, I had a great time, but it was pretty nippy. The rest of the moring was slow, but the afternoon soon picked up with a few fish rising and most being taken on Cats & Damsels. My thoughts of the Silver Butcher (or my presentation of the fly) didn’t work out as well as planned. The afternoon brought a bend in the rod for most and it was great to see a decent rise towards the evening. Not missing a trick, Rich Waller whipped out a hopper and landed a couple of rainbows and a brownie. Great work!

The weekend proved fairly quiet and those catching certainly worked for their fish. Come Sunday afternoon, Shogo returned to the bank after many months away and bagged four rainbows around 2 1/2lbs in a couple of hours. Long tailed Damsels fished deep and slow did the trick for both Shogo and Bob Hicks who also managed a couple of rainbows – along with a few perch. It was also interesting to see very busy evening rise around 16.30.

The next stock will be in on 31st October to compliment the fantastic batch that were introduced on 10th October. It’s starting to get cold and the wind will soon start to bite. The winter fishing should be great.

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For anyone who has had an encounter or interested in the big cats in the Gloucestershire area, local tracker Rick Minter will be presenting his work including the evidence, stories and reactions from those who have been lucky enough to have seen the elusive animals.

Location: Cotswold Gateway Centre on the Spine Road near South Cerney

Time: 7pm -  3 November 2011

Tickets: £5 Adults & £2.50 Children

Contact Jill Bewley – 01793 752413  events@waterpark.org

Those doing well at the moment have been on the Cats Whisker fished at all depths, but mostly pretty slow & steady. The Silver Butcher has also made an appearance and worked well. Alan Christopher has had a great time over the last couple of weeks securing three rainbows amongst his multitude of catches of 4lb, 4lb 4oz and 4lb 10 oz. Well done.

Nick Munro Ferguson

The follow up to the weekend proved patchy as some managed their limit with ease while others found more of a challenge. Saturday offered great sport with Browns & Rainbows along with a few other surprises. Reports of hard fighting fish were good to hear along with the use of crunchers & PTN’s. Top flies were reported to be Damsels, Cats Whiskers, Butchers and various black lures. Caution was taken by a few as full bodied lures were rejected in favour of a slim profile. Similar to last week, the fish have remained largely in the higher water.

It’s worth noting that those stalking probably had the greatest sense of achievement as the target fish could be seen and followed around the areas of cover. Small fry patterns were great and we feel Hoppers and such could also reward in the same areas.

It’s been great to see so many regular and new faces on the bank. Happy fishing!

Regardless of the high water tempurature, Saturday was a good day for most anglers with Rainbows, Browns & Blues being caught. All fish were released and the estimated sizes were reported between 1.5lbs to 4lbs. Damsels, Daddies (dry) and Crunchers appeared to be favourable options as the feeding level stayed within the initial two feet of water.

Sunday also proved to be interesting with some anglers getting more than a little surprise with their landed fish. Both Gold Head and Dry Daddies produced good results close to the bank with the Damsel also securing a few catches.

Anyone who knows Keith Passant from Orvis in Burford/North Wilts Fly Fishing Club will recognise the fantastic work he’s done on behalf of Casting For Recovery. ( http://www.castingforrecovery.org.uk/ ) Keith has advised me of a charity match at Farmoor Reservoir on Saturday 22nd October. Here’s the lowdown…..

Saturday 22nd October 2011@ Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford OX2 9NS

£40 per Angler including entry fee and meal. Fishing from 9am to 4pm.

Limit of 100 anglers. 

For further info, call Dave Kidby on 01753 545548 or 07977 784958

Has anyone lost a door key? It was found at the gate side of the car park and has a return fob so if unclaimed, it will be handed to the local Police Station as detailed on the fob so it can be returned. It will remain at Churn Pool for the rest of Sunday where Louise, Tom & Jane will be through the day. Feel free to give us a call if you think it’s yours.

Louise 07952 535613    Dan 07791 241731   Tom 07817 703641

More fishery reports to follow over the new day or so. Stay tuned……

Here’s a reminder that Churn Pool will reopen at 7.30 on Saturday 15th October. We have stocked some beautiful Rainbows, Browns and Blues from 1.5lbs to 6lbs.

With some local waters reporting hard fishing conditions, we’ll simply have to see how Churn Pool fishes through October. We have seen the water temperature drop from 64 to 59 degrees in the last three weeks so we’re heading in the right direction, but it’s still very warm so please bare this in mind. That said, tactics such as going deep into the cooler water and stalking may pay off. For this reason, we have left some areas uncut with regard to rushes and trees in order to provide reasonable cover.  We’ll report back after a few days with what’s working.

Anyone fishing to purchase a ‘season ticket’ to carry them through to the end of the year has the option of the following:

Ticket Price: £120   Retained fish allowance until 31/12/2011: 15 Fish    Usual fishery rules apply: 5 fish daily limit with the option to retain the first three caught.

All the best and enjoy your time on the bank.