Churn Pool Fishery

Author Archive

It’s been some time since we added an update to the site,
but the summer months and fruitful carp fishing has tempted us to chin wag over
a cider rather than tap away on a blog. Some great carp have been making an
appearance this year with a few personal bests recorded.

However, it won’t be long before the beepers and tepees are
packed away to make way for the country gents that are fly fishermen on October
15^th. We greatly look forward to catching up on the bank to see
where you dabbled your rods over the past few months. With the last couple of
years seeing a steady start to the second part of our season, it’s anyone’s
guess as to how 2011 will unfold. What we can promise is a great stocking
programme with pristine fish to suit what is one of the few catch & release
fisheries in the area. Let’s hope for some cooler weather, but hopefully not
another freeze at the start of December again.  Fingers crossed – the fishing should be great.

In the meantime, it may be worth sorting out some flies to
the Autumn. A good starter for advice would be the monthly comics. There’s
usually a few cracking patterns to try to replicate amongst the pages. Of
course, the http://simplyflyfishing.co.uk/phpbb/
forum is another great place to share some knowledge. Log on and mingle.

If you prefer people to pixels, the Wroughton Working Mens
Club is worth a visit as the North Wiltshire Fly Fishing Club return on 7^th
September after their summer break. Although a small band of folk, they are
always willing to donate their time and materials to get people producing great
patterns on the tying vice.  With the
added bonus of ‘club price’ beers, it’s well worth a visit. Catch them every
Thursday evening in the upstairs meeting room from 8:00pm.

Fly Fishing Closed Until 15th October

A quick note to mention Alan Christopher has managed to persuade eight fish out of the water in his last two visits. A steady retrieve on Cats Whiskers and G/H Daddies did the trick. Well done!

As June 30th looms, there aren’t many fishing days left until we close the trout fishing over the summer. Three and a bit months will pass swiftly for some and drag for others, but like many other trout fisheries in the southern counties,  Churn Pool is simply too warm to allow fly fishing – especially catch & release – during the summer. We can happily recommend Farmoor Reservoir and Manningford Fishery as worthy alternatives. Should we get some rain to feed the rivers, it would also be a good idea to pay the River Coln a visit. See you when we reopen on 15th October, if not before!

If you are at a loose end, pop along to the Churn Pool BBQ on Saturday 11th June. Tom will be flipping the burgers and we’ll have plenty of drinks to wash them down.

 Day Tickets

As of 29th May to 30th June 2011, Day Tickets are as follows….

*** £10  -  5 Fish with the Option to Retain First Three ***

It’s been great to see some new and past faces on the bank recently. Regardless of the tougher conditions, it’s always good to get out in the fresh air. Well done to Graeme Cheyne on a couple of rainbows on the Cats Whisker recently along with Mr Lochrane who secured another two rainbows on a pink lure. If they’re not after your usual flies, there’s always the option to anger them with something frightening!

For those missing the usual Churn Pool BBQ, stay tuned. Tom will be back with his chefs hat soon.

To those planning a visit, please note that the fishing is very hard at the moment. Catching is not the be all and and all of course. However, as the local still waters warm up, it’s time to start planning your river fishing and maybe visiting some reservoirs.  Feel free to drop us a line should you require any further information.

 Day Tickets

As of 29th May to 30th June 2011, Day Tickets are as follows….

*** £10  -  5 Fish with the Option to Retain First Three ***

Not put off by the bright sun or in contrast, overcast days with winds too gastly to shoot a line, it’s great to see members and day ticket visitors enjoying themselves on the bank regardless. With fishing on the local still waters and even rivers getting harder with the lack of rain, there are still a few trick to secure the odd fish here and there. Rich Waller amongst others had a good result at the weekend with fish reported to have been tempted by the Wulff and large Dusters. Well done to Graeme Cheyne too on Buzzers.

There’s plenty of natural food in the lake at the moment so imitations need to be top notch. Success has been found under the trees with caterpillars of George Peck’s own design. If not stripped across the surface (after a treatment of gink) the Grey Wulff has been attracting a few fish. However, it’s still producing a few knocks while drowned as reported in previous posts. The same goes for the Mayfly and other emerging nymphs.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the weather on (BBC local / Metcheck) to choose the best days for fishing over the next few days. Metcheck also has a ‘catch cast’ which takes into account wind, pressure and UV index amongst other boffin-like calculations. As it happens, it’s offered average to poor conditions over the last month.

So what fleas shall we present to these crafty rascals? The rainbow below was secured on a Silver Invicta under the willow trees on the east side of the fishery. The Invicta and Coachman are well worth sticking with on size 12 & 14 hooks. There are still plenty of buzzers coming off the water if the conditions are correct and there’s still fun to be has on the Mayfly, Daddy and Sedge. While it’s tempting to spend time casting to the obvious groups of fish in the magins, the feeding fish appear to be moving in the open water. Unless it’s overcast, early mornings  and evenings are your best options. Either way, enjoy yourselves.

Update: 20th May. It was great to see Mr Tanner back on the bank for the second time this week yesterday evening. Once again, Stuart showed how it was done by keeping low and targeting the less obvious fish. The result after a couple of hours was three rainbows in the net and four escapees. (so to speak)  Great work on a closely guarded mayfly pattern.

Also, fresh stock was introduced to the fishery today. They may take a day or two to find their feet/fins, but will be on the dries soon enough.

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While the water warms and the trout tend to shoal, it was great to see Mr Tanner employ a  different method than the standard cast & retrieve, waiting for something to bite. A bit of stalking proved rewarding and great fun recently.  In addition, it nice to see some older patterns like the Coachman (as mentioned in the last post) and Silver Invicta put to good use. Classic flies and classic tactics.

With the water temperature around 59/15 degrees (take your pick on either Celsius or Fahrenheit) it’s also worth loading up the heavy sinker lines during the day to reach the cooler water. White or green & black lures have proved to be good options. Have fun on the bank come rain or shine.

Overall, Saturday proved to be a good day with Gus Willis bagging up on a Coachman, Daddy and Mayfly. The key to the dry fly presentation was reported to be gently letting it sit on the surface with the odd pinch of the line occasionally to whip the trout into action.  Well done also John Harrison on a number of dace, pike and bream before dropping a couple of rainbow and securing a beauty on the Grey Wulff.

Coachman

It was great to see more new faces out on Sunday. With fish showing largely all day, it looked easy, but was a real challenge. Especially be so many people being snapped up. Top flies are reported to be the Wulff, Hoppers and dark red Emergers. Well done to George & Bob on some  great evening action.  

While there appear to be trout everywhere, especially in the evening, they are rather selective and returns are a little lower for a number of reasons. Having studied the fishery on Tuesday morning and going through a number of patterns, Mike Waring hit the nail on the head with 5 great fighting rainbows on the Mayfly. The initial hour was reported to be slow while the morning warmed, but close observation paid off.  Mike was also into fish today (Friday) within moments on a Grey Wulff.  Great work. 

With a number of fishermen being snapped up recently, we would like to stress the importance of checking the contact point to the fly and leader line for ‘wind knots’. Alarmingly, we have noticed a few people happily fishing with knots, unaware of the possible outcome. Laziness or lack of attention to detail will never pay off.

So what’s working at the moment? Sub surface, olive and black buzzers are everywhere and are worth drifting on the tail of the breeze. In addition, there are ample nymphs & shrimp in the margins. GRHE and PTN’s as small as 16 could pay off. As previously mentioned, Mayfly patterns along with Daddies have seen success. Being in the right place at the right time helps but there are also a few tricks to be had. If the fly isn’t securing fish while dry, don’t be afraid to drown it.

The weather is a real mixed bag at the moment, but that’s part of fishing. Enjoy your time on the bank and see if you can out-wit those fish. Tight lines!