Date:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sunday march 7th
Report Author:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ben
Best Catch:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6 trout for Andy Hulls
Heaviest Bag:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4 trout for 15lbs 8oz John Watson
Best Rainbow:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7lbs 8oz Derek Moore
Bank Rod Av:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.82 fish per man
Boat Rod Av:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.32 fish per man
Sport: What a difference a day makes! This morning reservoir was almost frozen over, but the ice was very thin and by 9:30am the boats were out and fishing on the rapidly growing stretches of open water. It was a glorious day, crisp, flat calm and not a cloud in the sky.
On the bank we held our Trout Masters fish off and the competitors set out to find ice free stretches where they could wet a line. It was very hard going and the fish were thin on the ground. However, Andy Hulls (pictured below) was in fine form and soon settled onto a winning method. Andy fished a medium sink line with a single gold humongous booby on a short leader. He found Two Trees to be a hot spot and said the key was to fish the fly back very slowly. He landed six fine trout winning the match and the opportunity to represent Stocks in the final on Grafham Water. We wish him the very best of luck as he follows in the footsteps of Darren Booth who was last year’s representative and went on to win becoming the 2009 Trout Master Champion…..No pressure there then!
Out on the boats the trout weren’t playing ball either, whether it was the bright sunshine or the cold start to the day, but they proved very tricky to catch. Derek Moore was top rod with five fish and his bag included a beautiful 7lb 8oz rainbow. Derek also fished a sinking line with a booby and blob. Paul Bebb was out guiding today with John and Tracy Watson who were also catching big trout. (Pictured below) John landed a cracking bag of four fish that tipped the scales to 15lbs 8oz. Tracy also caught well and they found medium sinker with black and green lures to be the order of the day. Although the trout did switch off today, there was a period around 3pm where they took to the surface. It was mainly along the edge of the ice in the Northern Shallows as they rose to take emerging black buzzer. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Tight Lines Ben
John Watson had a great day with Guide Paul Bebb to take this 7lb rainbow and the best bag of the day
Andy Hulls won the Stocks Trout Master fish off and will now represent us at the final at Grafham Water. Tight Lines
