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Bewl Water
Location
Situated close to the A21 just north of Hastings in the Sussex countryside Darwell Reservoir has been a fly fishery for many, many years. Run by Hasting Flyfisher’s Club, day tickets and boats are easily available to visiting anglers. I first became acquainted with Darwell one spring 5 or 6 years ago, since then I find myself fishing here more and more as each season passes. Why? Tranquillity, it's hard to find in the "hussle bussle“ of the south east of England such peace and quiet, and superb fly fishing too, so it's not hard to see why I'm a frequent visitor.
Weather
Our visit in late June coincided with a complete change in wind direction, the preceding weeks warm winds from the south, south-west had overnight been replaced with a north-easterly, although not too cold this sudden about turn could unsettle the fish. The day itself was favourable although not overcast the sky had a hazy appearance which did bode well, nothing makes top-of-the-water fishing harder than bright sunshine with a good ripple!
The Tackle & Flies
Today I would attempt to fish dries, my choice of tackle has evolved over the last few seasons to the most efficient set up for this method. Because I will be drifting I'm rarely going to cast more than 15 yards in fact that's a very long cast! My rod is 10 feet in length this allows me to spread my droppers 4' 6" apart giving me plenty of space between flies, I've chosen a #4 weight outfit so that even the most modest of reservoir trout can give me some fun. The reel is a silky smooth Marryat with a "disc drag" I prefer to play my fish off the reel if possible. The best fly line for this delicate short range work is in my opinion the 'Lee Wulff Triangle Taper' it rolls off the surface superbly and gently settles back on the water, yet its unique taper allows prodigious distances to be cast when necessary. My leaders are constructed from parallel 7.5lb (.185mm) Riverge Grand Max fluorocarbon, its fine diameter, high knot strength and most importantly, for this method, its "high density" makes it sink readily even in flat calm conditions.
My team of "dries and emergers" had been carefully selected, each one chosen with a specific purpose in mind. My point fly has to sit very low in the water, in fact it will hang partially through the surface film at an angle of 45 degrees, and my choice is claret Taff's C.D.C. emerger. The dramatic wind change in my experience would take the trout a few hours to adjust to; I expected them to be reluctant to poke their noses through the surface to take a completely floating dry! My middle dropper is to be either another Taff's C.D.C. emerger in hare’s ear or a "reversed" C.D.C. Shuttlecock*.
Finally the top dropper will be a fiery brown C.D.C. Shipman's buzzer, I've chosen this fly for two reasons, one it will lay horizontally in the surface in contrast to the other two flies, just in case I've got it wrong and secondly it makes a brilliant "sighter" when trying to pick out your leader in the ripple! You will have noticed that all my flies incorporate C.D.C. feathers; this allows me to avoid "ginking" them in all but the roughest conditions. In mild weather I find that floatants often migrate from the flies onto the leader, this is the main reason why flies are rejected!
The Visit
I had fished Darwell the previous week and the fish had been high in the water channelling up wind making location very easy, all I had to do was start my drift at the "top of the wind", I prefer not to use a drogue as this allows me to cover water more quickly, with the fish so obviously tuned into surface feeding and swimming into the current caused by the wind it was only a mater of time before I would cross paths with them! Catching them on the other hand had been far from easy as they had been preoccupied on "jelly fry" but that's another story.
Today my game plan was to start at the top of the wind again, which meant starting by the dam where about a dozen bank fisherman were plying their trade, unsuccessfully, one of my regular customers was amongst them and he informed me that only one fish had been caught this morning which was in complete contrast to the previous days sport when everybody had completed their limits without too much difficulty.
My first two drifts saw my boat slide downwind towards the point of the 'Hogs Trough' a bay on the south bank; no fish were caught or seen. Chris Dawn our illustrious editor was drifting alongside in another boat and suggested that maybe a team of flies fished on a wet line might be more appropriate until rising fish were seen? I rejected his suggestion much preferring to stick with my favourite dry fly tactics, I was confident that once I'd located feeding fish I would catch them.
The next drift I positioned the boat to slide past the point and continue into the 'Hogs Trough' itself, as I passed the point the wind became quite strong, I was now a long way from the shelter of the dam, a wind lane had developed off the point and as I drifted parallel to it I heard a "kiss of lips", a fish sipped a buzzer from the calm surface within the wind lane, this was very encouraging indeed. My subsequent drifts were much shorter affairs starting from the point as I tried to keep as close as possible to the wind lane, I also noticed just downwind from the point that there was a calm patch of water sheltered by the trees where occasionally I saw fish rising! With these observations my confidence rose, I spotted a snout and then a swirl of a trout downwind in the edge of the wind lane I was drifting adjacent to and my team were cast diagonally across its path, shortly after that my first fish of the day intercepted my point fly.
Further short drifts followed but the wind was gusting too much making it very difficult so I made the decision to return to the shelter of the dam, maybe the fish had adjusted to the wind direction by now and would be on the feed?
I edged as close to the dam as allowed to gain the maximum shelter possible, no fish were visible but I knew this didn't matter as often the only fish you see are the ones that rise and take your fly! I roll cast my flies onto the water as I pulled line off the reel to prepare for my first drift, up came a fit rainbow and sipped in my middle dropper, what a great slice of luck; it just shows you that it pays to be impatient.
After a few further drifts I was still not convinced that there were enough feeding fish here, so I suggested we try further down the reservoir in 'Apple Tree Bay' on the south bank. Theoretically the fish should be moving upwind and starting at the dam was logically where they should have been but I was not convinced that the fish were "up and on the feed". I decided to search the reservoir further downwind just in case the fish were still at the western end of the lake where they had been in the preceding days.
My thought was that if the changing conditions had put the fish down they might not have moved yet, Chris had searched through the levels of water with a variety of wet lines and had not found any feeding fish, so a move seemed in order, as I said it often pays to be impatient. As Chris led the way my attention was drawn to a disturbance in the distance over on the north bank near the inlet, some splashing and possibly a large bird lifting off the water. At this time of the year it's not unusual for Ospreys to be seen on the local reservoirs so off I went to investigate.
By the time I arrived there was nothing to be seen, even so I set the boat up to drift the area just in case it was an Osprey, these birds are professional fishers, not casual anglers like us. It pays, "to pay attention" to where fish eating birds like Grebes are working as often the trout can been found in the same places, especially when they are fry feeding!
It was now 2 o'clock and with only 2 fish in the bag it was turning into a bit of a grueler but still I was convinced that either we had not found the fish yet or that they were still not on the fin and feeding. Call it arrogance but I was sure that if the fish were feeding I would be catching them and besides with Chris trying "down below" and not faring any better I had no reason to change, as yet no clear pattern had emerged!
After a quick break for lunch on the bank at 'Apple Tree Bay' I spotted odd fish rising on the break between the ripple and the calm water caused by the trees I smartly positioned the boat to drift this area and caught a lively rainbow before the wind strengthened again and they disappeared. A quick drift up the far end of the reservoir produced nothing and just didn't feel right so I decided to return to the north bank; Chris fancied his chances back in 'Apple Tree' bay. As I motored along the edge of a long wind lane that had developed as I returned towards the inlet on the north bank, I spotted numbers of fish moving in it!
I was desperate to start fishing but as I motored further up the wind lane I could see even more fish above me. I couldn't resist it any longer I started my drift, fish were swimming towards me at speed, and these fish were feeding hard and were very catchable! Over the next couple of hours I had the luxury of only casting at rising fish as they made their way up the wind lane, brilliant! My limit took very little time to complete including a bonus fish of 3lb 5oz, having struggled earlier in the day the final success was so much sweeter. Our day was completed by having an aerial display from the Osprey when it returned; circling overhead making swoops and abortive dives for about half an hour, I know Chris appreciated the sight being a keen twitcher as he is!
* Explanation of reversed shuttlecock!
My leader is completely sunk when fishing dries, the droppers are terminated using 2mm stainless steel rings, this make tangles a rarity. With the leader sunk the conventional shuttlecock in my experience are difficult to present correctly often getting stuck on" its side" in the surface film, when fished on a dropper. Even sparsely tied versions with feather fibre bodies still lay on their sides, my solution is to tie the fly "reversed" i.e. the C.D.C. shuttlecock off the bend of the hook, now once the cast is completed it's easy to see the fly cock just like a "waggler" float standing up!
Location
Situated close to the A21 just north of Hastings in the Sussex countryside Darwell Reservoir has been a fly fishery for many, many years. Run by Hasting Flyfisher’s Club, day tickets and boats are easily available to visiting anglers. I first became acquainted with Darwell one spring 5 or 6 years ago, since then I find myself fishing here more and more as each season passes. Why? Tranquillity, it's hard to find in the "hussle bussle“ of the south east of England such peace and quiet, and superb fly fishing too, so it's not hard to see why I'm a frequent visitor.
Weather
Our visit in late June coincided with a complete change in wind direction, the preceding weeks warm winds from the south, south-west had overnight been replaced with a north-easterly, although not too cold this sudden about turn could unsettle the fish. The day itself was favourable although not overcast the sky had a hazy appearance which did bode well, nothing makes top-of-the-water fishing harder than bright sunshine with a good ripple!
The Tackle & Flies
Today I would attempt to fish dries, my choice of tackle has evolved over the last few seasons to the most efficient set up for this method. Because I will be drifting I'm rarely going to cast more than 15 yards in fact that's a very long cast! My rod is 10 feet in length this allows me to spread my droppers 4' 6" apart giving me plenty of space between flies, I've chosen a #4 weight outfit so that even the most modest of reservoir trout can give me some fun. The reel is a silky smooth Marryat with a "disc drag" I prefer to play my fish off the reel if possible. The best fly line for this delicate short range work is in my opinion the 'Lee Wulff Triangle Taper' it rolls off the surface superbly and gently settles back on the water, yet its unique taper allows prodigious distances to be cast when necessary. My leaders are constructed from parallel 7.5lb (.185mm) Riverge Grand Max fluorocarbon, its fine diameter, high knot strength and most importantly, for this method, its "high density" makes it sink readily even in flat calm conditions.
My team of "dries and emergers" had been carefully selected, each one chosen with a specific purpose in mind. My point fly has to sit very low in the water, in fact it will hang partially through the surface film at an angle of 45 degrees, and my choice is claret Taff's C.D.C. emerger. The dramatic wind change in my experience would take the trout a few hours to adjust to; I expected them to be reluctant to poke their noses through the surface to take a completely floating dry! My middle dropper is to be either another Taff's C.D.C. emerger in hare’s ear or a "reversed" C.D.C. Shuttlecock*.
Finally the top dropper will be a fiery brown C.D.C. Shipman's buzzer, I've chosen this fly for two reasons, one it will lay horizontally in the surface in contrast to the other two flies, just in case I've got it wrong and secondly it makes a brilliant "sighter" when trying to pick out your leader in the ripple! You will have noticed that all my flies incorporate C.D.C. feathers; this allows me to avoid "ginking" them in all but the roughest conditions. In mild weather I find that floatants often migrate from the flies onto the leader, this is the main reason why flies are rejected!
The Visit
I had fished Darwell the previous week and the fish had been high in the water channelling up wind making location very easy, all I had to do was start my drift at the "top of the wind", I prefer not to use a drogue as this allows me to cover water more quickly, with the fish so obviously tuned into surface feeding and swimming into the current caused by the wind it was only a mater of time before I would cross paths with them! Catching them on the other hand had been far from easy as they had been preoccupied on "jelly fry" but that's another story.
Today my game plan was to start at the top of the wind again, which meant starting by the dam where about a dozen bank fisherman were plying their trade, unsuccessfully, one of my regular customers was amongst them and he informed me that only one fish had been caught this morning which was in complete contrast to the previous days sport when everybody had completed their limits without too much difficulty.
My first two drifts saw my boat slide downwind towards the point of the 'Hogs Trough' a bay on the south bank; no fish were caught or seen. Chris Dawn our illustrious editor was drifting alongside in another boat and suggested that maybe a team of flies fished on a wet line might be more appropriate until rising fish were seen? I rejected his suggestion much preferring to stick with my favourite dry fly tactics, I was confident that once I'd located feeding fish I would catch them.
The next drift I positioned the boat to slide past the point and continue into the 'Hogs Trough' itself, as I passed the point the wind became quite strong, I was now a long way from the shelter of the dam, a wind lane had developed off the point and as I drifted parallel to it I heard a "kiss of lips", a fish sipped a buzzer from the calm surface within the wind lane, this was very encouraging indeed. My subsequent drifts were much shorter affairs starting from the point as I tried to keep as close as possible to the wind lane, I also noticed just downwind from the point that there was a calm patch of water sheltered by the trees where occasionally I saw fish rising! With these observations my confidence rose, I spotted a snout and then a swirl of a trout downwind in the edge of the wind lane I was drifting adjacent to and my team were cast diagonally across its path, shortly after that my first fish of the day intercepted my point fly.
Further short drifts followed but the wind was gusting too much making it very difficult so I made the decision to return to the shelter of the dam, maybe the fish had adjusted to the wind direction by now and would be on the feed?
I edged as close to the dam as allowed to gain the maximum shelter possible, no fish were visible but I knew this didn't matter as often the only fish you see are the ones that rise and take your fly! I roll cast my flies onto the water as I pulled line off the reel to prepare for my first drift, up came a fit rainbow and sipped in my middle dropper, what a great slice of luck; it just shows you that it pays to be impatient.
After a few further drifts I was still not convinced that there were enough feeding fish here, so I suggested we try further down the reservoir in 'Apple Tree Bay' on the south bank. Theoretically the fish should be moving upwind and starting at the dam was logically where they should have been but I was not convinced that the fish were "up and on the feed". I decided to search the reservoir further downwind just in case the fish were still at the western end of the lake where they had been in the preceding days.
My thought was that if the changing conditions had put the fish down they might not have moved yet, Chris had searched through the levels of water with a variety of wet lines and had not found any feeding fish, so a move seemed in order, as I said it often pays to be impatient. As Chris led the way my attention was drawn to a disturbance in the distance over on the north bank near the inlet, some splashing and possibly a large bird lifting off the water. At this time of the year it's not unusual for Ospreys to be seen on the local reservoirs so off I went to investigate.
By the time I arrived there was nothing to be seen, even so I set the boat up to drift the area just in case it was an Osprey, these birds are professional fishers, not casual anglers like us. It pays, "to pay attention" to where fish eating birds like Grebes are working as often the trout can been found in the same places, especially when they are fry feeding!
It was now 2 o'clock and with only 2 fish in the bag it was turning into a bit of a grueler but still I was convinced that either we had not found the fish yet or that they were still not on the fin and feeding. Call it arrogance but I was sure that if the fish were feeding I would be catching them and besides with Chris trying "down below" and not faring any better I had no reason to change, as yet no clear pattern had emerged!
After a quick break for lunch on the bank at 'Apple Tree Bay' I spotted odd fish rising on the break between the ripple and the calm water caused by the trees I smartly positioned the boat to drift this area and caught a lively rainbow before the wind strengthened again and they disappeared. A quick drift up the far end of the reservoir produced nothing and just didn't feel right so I decided to return to the north bank; Chris fancied his chances back in 'Apple Tree' bay. As I motored along the edge of a long wind lane that had developed as I returned towards the inlet on the north bank, I spotted numbers of fish moving in it!
I was desperate to start fishing but as I motored further up the wind lane I could see even more fish above me. I couldn't resist it any longer I started my drift, fish were swimming towards me at speed, and these fish were feeding hard and were very catchable! Over the next couple of hours I had the luxury of only casting at rising fish as they made their way up the wind lane, brilliant! My limit took very little time to complete including a bonus fish of 3lb 5oz, having struggled earlier in the day the final success was so much sweeter. Our day was completed by having an aerial display from the Osprey when it returned; circling overhead making swoops and abortive dives for about half an hour, I know Chris appreciated the sight being a keen twitcher as he is!
* Explanation of reversed shuttlecock!
My leader is completely sunk when fishing dries, the droppers are terminated using 2mm stainless steel rings, this make tangles a rarity. With the leader sunk the conventional shuttlecock in my experience are difficult to present correctly often getting stuck on" its side" in the surface film, when fished on a dropper. Even sparsely tied versions with feather fibre bodies still lay on their sides, my solution is to tie the fly "reversed" i.e. the C.D.C. shuttlecock off the bend of the hook, now once the cast is completed it's easy to see the fly cock just like a "waggler" float standing up!
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