Fishing Reports

DATE:    Thursday 17th May.
REPORT AUTHOR    Paul.
NOTABLE CATCH:    S Wright-9 M Cottam-8 J Sykes-25 B Grey-7.
NOTABLE BAG    2 fish weighing 6lb 2oz for C Simms.
BEST RAINBOW:    12lb for Brian Grey.
BEST BROWN:    Several weighing 3lb.
BEST BLUE:    Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
BANK ROD AV:    3.83 fish per angler.
BOAT ROD AV:    8.40 fish per angler.
SPORT: Good evening. The weather today wasn’t too bad, there was some drizzle this morning but around lunchtime it started to dry up and we were left with good angling conditions. Both the bank and the boats fished very well with plenty of good trout caught and the usual big fish being landed. Fishing from the bank today was Martin Cottam who had a great day landing 8 good sized rainbows. Martin stalked the bank taking fish in several areas between Bell point and two trees with a pheasant tail nymph accounting for all his catch. Out on a boat today was Brian Grey who caught 7 good trout including a rainbow that was estimated to weigh in the region of 12lb before being carefully released. Brian fished in shallow water at the back of willow island to catch his fish and found an orange fritz to be his best pattern. Also amongst the trout from a boat was Steve Wright who tempted 9 fish. Steve found the northern shallows to be alive with fish and promptly caught his fish on a cats whisker booby. John Sykes had a day to remember landing a staggering 25+ fish including a super 8lb 9oz rainbow. John found fish all along the northern shallows and around both willow and gull islands. Boobys fished on a slow sinking line did the trick for John. We could do with the weather warming up a bit to get the fish seriously on the surface, we live in hope. See you on the water Paul.

DATE:                                   15, 16th May
REPORT AUTHOR           Matthew
NOTABLE CATCH:          Graham Hart 9 fish, Bob Fitzpatrick 9 fish, many more bags
NOTABLE BAG                 Graham Hart 5 fish for 14lb 8oz, Ron Daniels 2 fish for 12lb 10oz
BEST RAINBOW:             Ron Daniels 10lb 4oz
BEST BROWN:                 Several nudging 3lb
BANK ROD AV:                2.2 fish per angler
BOAT ROD AV:                4.8 fish per angler
SPORT:
Firstly an apology for the lack of report the last couple of days, it was down to some technical difficulties.
The fishing over the last couple of days has been a little up and down with fish coming to all sorts of patterns. Just looking through the catch returns and I see fish coming to everything from buzzers to dries right through to lures on a Di5!
With the up and down weather comes up and down methods I suppose.
Graham Hart had a good day yesterday with 9 fish to the net. Graham fishes a little black and silver spider that he tied up for stocks, it’s especially good when the level comes up and the water clarity isn’t perfect. Graham had fish from Newclose, Hollins and Bell point.
Ron Daniels had his first double fish too with a stunning looking rainbow weighing 10lb 4oz! Ron took the fish from Bens beach on a white and yellow Nomad.
I often chat with Ron about hooking a double and now hes a member of the doubles club, good angling Ron.
Not to be outdone regular Derik Moore had a super fish this time from the boats Im not sure on the weight however it looks well into double figures.
As I write this the reservoir is alive with rising fish and I’m itching to get out their!
Tight lines Matthew

Derik Moore with a stocks double

Ron Daniels with a lovely rainbow weighing 10lb 4oz

DATE:                                   Monday 14th May
REPORT AUTHOR            Matthew
NOTABLE CATCH:           Alan Daniels 11 fish, Mark Tyndall 13 fish,
NOTABLE BAG                 Alan Daniels 5 fish for 12lb 8oz
BEST RAINBOW:             Mark Tyndall 4lb
BEST BROWN:                 Bob Karwoski 2lb
BANK ROD AV:                1 angler for 11 fish
BOAT ROD AV:                2.8 fish per angler
SPORT:
Hopefully today was the last of the rough weather! High winds made things difficult for the drifting boats, that said there have been some super catches.
Mark Tyndal and Bob Karwoski had a good half day with 19 fish to the boat! Floating lines in the morning got the fish but a change to a Di3 in the afternoon spelt success for the pair. Boobies and orange blobs retrieved at different speeds did the trick.
The traveling Scotsmen had their final day here today with similar flies proving successful. Doug Borthwich and Robbie McGregor both landed 5 fish, this time pink blobs did the trick.
As is commonplace when we have an influx of water the fish tend to find themselves back in the margins. I like to explain that they tend to be deep in shallow water.
Holding true to my phrase Alan Daniels had 11 fish from the shore in Newclose bay. Newclose is pretty shallow right the way out and when fresh water enters it can often be a top spot. Alan landed 11 fish today weighing in 5 for 12lb 8oz!  A black and green nomad was the choice pattern with the best fish weighing 3lb 8oz.
I have checked the long range weather and the strong winds do seem to be petering out now so the fishing should go from strength to strength.
Tight lines Matthew.

DATE:                           Sunday 13th May
REPORT AUTHOR    Tom
NOTABLE CATCH:    Ian Greenwood and Mark Tyndall with 12 fish to the boat
NOTABLE BAG          Jim Doyle 4 fish for 11lb
BEST RAINBOW:      Jim Doyle 4lb 2oz
BEST BROWN:          Ian Greenwood 3lb
BEST BLUE:               Mark Tyndall 3lb
BANK ROD AV:         3.00 fish per man
BOAT ROD AV:         2.0 fish per man
SPORT: Windy conditions have made the fishing difficult today, however despite these tricky conditions Ian Greenwood and Mark Tyndall had a good days sport landing 12 fish to boat. Their best method was to pull pink boobies through the wave on a clear intermediate. The guys found that the fish where very close in to the willows and that hugging the shore was the best way to capture. Also out on the water today was Ferry Fly Dressers; the guys had 33 fish between the 15 off them. The top rod out of the group was Willie Thompson who had 5 fish, using a Di 5 line and two boobies. On the bank today we had Stocks regular Des Ashcroft who had 5 fish from around Bell Point and Hollins bay fishing with a white fritz on a floating line.
Tight Lines Tom

DATE:                           Saturday 12th May
REPORT AUTHOR    Tom
NOTABLE CATCH:    Dave Flitcroft with 11 fish
NOTABLE BAG           Robbie McGregor 5 fish for 14lb 9oz
BEST RAINBOW:       Peter Draper 5lb
BEST BROWN:           Robbie McGregor 5lb 2oz
BEST BLUE:                Richard Bennett 3lb 2oz
BANK ROD AV:          5.00 fish per man
BOAT ROD AV:          2.3 fish per man
SPORT:  Tricky conditions have made the fishing a little more difficult that it has been recently. However despite the conditions the lads for Ferry Fly Dressers had a good days sport from the boats with 16 anglers landing 40 fish. The top rod for the guys was Robbie McGregor who had 8 fish with his 5 fish killed weighing 14lb 9oz, Robbie’s top method was to fish on an intermediate line with a coral dancer and jerky retrieve. A number of the other lads also did well catching there 5 fish limits, there top method was to fish a combination of orange blobs and boobys on sinking lines. The best areas the club found were all around Gull Island, Hollins Bay and the Northern Shallows in particular Phil’s Flats. On the bank today was Stocks regular Dave Flitcroft who had a great days sport with 11 fish. Dave’s key to success today was to fish a team of buzzers ultra-slow just allowed to swing around in the wind. He found the majority of his fish around Bens Beach and Bell Point. Also fishing fron the Bank today was Warren O’Hare who had 11 fish from Grange Point fishing with a peach fritz on a floating line.  Another angler doing well today was Glyn Keighley who had 7 fish; again the best area was around Bell point Glyn found that the fish where keep to take his small black nymph fished a long leader again fished slowly on a floating line.
Tight Lines Tom

DATE:                             Friday 11th May
REPORT AUTHOR      Matthew
NOTABLE CATCH:      Dave O’ Grady and Steve Hilton 11 to the boat, Paul Bebb and Tony Taylor 10 fish.
NOTABLE BAG             Steve Hilton 5 fish for 12lb 10oz
BEST RAINBOW:        4lb Paul Bebb
BEST BROWN:             5lb Paul Bebb
BEST BLUE:                 3lb Steve Hilton
BANK ROD AV:           1.00 fish per angler
BOAT ROD AV:           5.00 fish per angler
SPORT: As you might have guessed we have seen a dramatic increase in the water level and the reservoir is not far from full! Usually the bank has the better sport when the level first comes up but today was an exception. Paul Bebb and and Tony Taylor had a great day on the drift with 10 fish to the boat. Paul and Tony had the bulk of the fish tight in in Newclose bay with pretty much all the fish coming to dries!
Amongst the fish was a super 5lb + over wintered brownie that Paul safely returned.
Steve Hilton and Dave O’Grady had a good day too with 11 to the boat. Steve caught a few of his right off the top as well with a little sedge hog doing the trick.
Well worth a mention is a quick note from yesterday, the weather was shocking but despite the squalid conditions regulars David and Joan had 5 to the boat in all but a couple of hours. Willow Island and Newclose was the place to be, and the foam daddy was the pattern to chuck out!

THIS SUNDAY STOCKS WILL BE PLAYING HOST TO NUMEROUS CASTING PROFESIONALS WHO ARE HERE FOR THE DAY RUNNING ALL SORTS OF CASTING CLINICS. WELL WORTH A LOOK FOR BEGINERS AND EXPERIANCED ALIKE!

Tight lines Matthew.

DATE                                     WEDNESDAY MAY 9TH                Report by Ben Dobson
BEST CATCH                      14 trout for Cameron , 13 trout for Neil Ashworth, 11 trout for Tom Bird
BEST BAG OF 2                 15lbs 8oz for Ray Mercer
BEST RAINBOW                13lbs for Neil Ashworth & 12lbs for Ray Mercer
BEST BROWN                       1lb 8oz Neil Ashworth
BEST BLUE                           2lbs 8oz Alex Hitchin
BOAT ROD AVERAGE    4.2 fish per angler
BANK ROD AVERAGE    4.0 fish per angler
SPORT: The conditions were good for fishing today. The trout were feeding high in the water on emerging buzzers and olives, as well as the odd windblown beetle. At times the reservoir was wick with rising trout. Cameron caught all 14 of his trout on dries. His best pattern was an olive F Fly, which is a bit like an olive bits with a CDC wing.  Tom bird was fishing alongside him and took 11 fine trout on washing lined diawl bachs. Their best area was around Gull Island. Stephen Edmondson and Richard Hardman both enjoyed short half day session, bringing twelve trout to the boat whilst fishing around the Causeway. Their best pattern was a trusty old orange blob. On the shore today two fine double figure trout were caught from around Bell Point. The first came to Ray Mercer it fell to a size 12 cormorant fished on a floating line. Ray said “it was the best fight I’ve ever had from a big fish, at one time it must have had 50m of line out, it was incredible” Ray caught four other really nice rainbows and the two for the scales weighed 15lbs 8oz. Also fishing around Bell Point was Neil Ashworth who started out on buzzers, but this didn’t prove productive, so he switched to a team of mini lures and fished them back just under the surface. This method was much better and he went on to land 13 trout, the best of which weighed 13lbs and was returned to fight another day. Tight Lines Ben

Ray Mercer with a powerful 12lb rainbow. Ray caught this fish from Bell Point on a size 12 cormorant.

DATE:    Tuesday 8th May.
REPORT AUTHOR    Paul.
NOTABLE CATCH:    4 fish each for Bob Seeber and Pete Solomen.
NOTABLE BAG    4 fish weighing 10lb 13oz for Pete Solomen.
BEST RAINBOW:    2lb 9oz for Pete Solomen.
BEST BROWN:    2lb for John Archbold.
BEST BLUE:    2lb 11oz for Pete Solomen.
BANK ROD AV:    1.75 fish per angler.
BOAT ROD AV:    2.75 fish per angler.
SPORT: It was a day of two halves here at Stocks, this morning it was warm with just a gentle ripple and according to anglers the trout were right on the top and willing to take dry flies and chase flies fished right in the surface film then this afternoon the wind picked up and the temperature dropped, how quick conditions can change. From the boats anglers were into fish straight away with various dries and wets such as bibio attracting the fish then as mentioned the wind unsettled the fish and made presentation tricky. This is exactly what both Pete Solomen and Bob Seeber found. Bob said although he only landed 4 fish he had plenty of other offers, on another day they might have stuck. From the bank there were fish caught with Bell point and around barn quarry being the best areas. Just looked at the weather for tomorrow and the wind is supposed to drop right down and with good temperatures I am sure there will be some super catches made tomorrow. See you on the water Paul.

DATE:                           Monday 7th May
REPORT AUTHOR    Tom
NOTABLE CATCH:    Mark Tyndall and Bob Kowalski with 15 fish
NOTABLE BAG          Brian Walker 2 fish for 17lb 8oz
BEST RAINBOW:      11lb 13oz Bob Kowalski
BEST BROWN:          Mick Ashworth 2lb 12oz
BEST BLUE:               15lb 4oz Brian Walker
BANK ROD AV:         2.6 fish per angler.
BOAT ROD AV:         4.1 fish per angler.
SPORT: A wonderful morning with warm sunshine greeting anglers as they arrived. However these conditions where short lived and along came better fishing conditions. One such angler who took full advantage of this change in weather was Brian Walker, who was fishing down by the Causeway. When he had a violent take, as soon as he lifted the rod he knew he was into a big fish. The fish set off to all areas of the lake taking Brian down to his backing on numerous occasions. After a long battle both angler and fish where exhausted, however Brian just had the strength to pull the massive fish over the edge of the net. It was a blue trout that weighed 15lb 4oz and, better still, it smashed the fishery record by 1lb 12oz, WELL DONE BRIAN. As well was catching this stunning blue he and his boats partners also landed 11 other trout all on black buzzers around the northern shallows and the causeway another boat doing well today was Mark Tyndall and Bob Kowalski who had 15 fish to the boat, the pair fished around in Newclose bay. Mark pulling bobbies across the top said he was getting a follow a cast at numerous points in the day and guesses he had at least 30 follows. At the other end of the boat Bob decided to fish with a gold heads cat’s whisker on the point and nymphs on the droppers, and it was this setup that proved just too much for a 11lb 13oz Rainbow(see picture below), which took the gold head off the point. On the bank the best catches came from around the jetty and in to Hollins with white fritz being the best fly fished on a floating line with a slow figure of eight retrieve. Tight Lines Tom

DATE:                                Sunday 6th May
REPORT AUTHOR         Matthew
NOTABLE CATCH:         Nick Hallstead 15 fish, Digger 8 fish many more bags achieved!
NOTABLE BAG                Peter Kaminski 4 fish for 10lb 4oz, 5 fish for 14lb 8oz Digger
BEST RAINBOW:            13lb Please contact the lodge as I need your name!
BEST BROWN:                 Several for 2lb 8oz
BANK ROD AV:                3.5 fish per angler
BOAT ROD AV:                2.5 fish per angler
SPORT:  A lovely day here at Stocks with the top score of the day finally coming to the dries! Regular Nick Halstead had a great day with 14 of his 15 fish coming to little CDC dries. Awesome! Nick found the fish right across the reservoir with them even coming blind out over deep water. The reservoir has been alive today with fish rising everywhere. I must say I saw a lot of fish rising near the buoy line.
Another regular Digger had the fish coming to the Di 7 with orange blobs doing the trick. Boat partner Billy Stubbs had 5 to the boat too with the same tactics working for him too.
Peter Kosminski had a great day with 6 fish fishing the dries from Bell Point. Peter finished up weighing in five fish for 10lb 4oz.
Bill Orrell was at it again with 6 good fish to the net in Hollins bay. And yep one of them was a double! Bill safely retuned the rainbow that weighed 11lb 8oz in his net.
Bill’s 44th double figure fish on Stocks and his 4th this week!
Phil Davies took a walk up to the dam where he was touching fish all day, He managed three to the net and amongst them was a stunning rainbow of 9lb. Phil had all his fish come to the buzzers with plenty more pulls.
We had another 13lb + rainbow caught today, but for the life of me I can’t remember the chaps name! Please call the lodge as that has got you a spot in the doubles club!
Amazing sport once again here’s hoping the dries are here to stay!
Tight lines Matthew