Dec 2015
After celebrating my 40th birthday on a particularly wet December day, I decided to treat myself to a fishing trip the following day when the weather looked suitably drier. In fact, at a relatively warm ten degrees and the sun warming the day, it was distinctly pleasant.
I’d read on article in last month’s Trout Fisherman about Manningford fishery in Wiltshire which, it turns out, is not actually that far from me, so I decided to try it out. The fishery consists of two catch and kill lakes, a smaller catch and release lake and a stretch of the river Avon, all nestled in the rolling Wiltshire countryside.
After tackling up with a floating line and ten foot tapered leader, I trudged through the mud to the larger of the lakes which is a good size at around 3.5 acres. The banks are kept will groomed and there are some wooden fishing stations scattered around the lake. I started on the east side with a montana, as the water was a bit murky, and after no interest switched to a damsel but with equal success.
After an hour, I stuck to one of my resolutions and moved round to the opposite side of the lake where you are in casting distance of two islands. I then decided to go small so tried a small black nymph, a small hares ear and a small olive nymph, all with no interest at all.
I had been hoping to bag up early – I had purchased a very reasonable two fish ticket for £25 – and spend a bit of time on the catch and release lake but things were turning out a little bit trickier than I had thought; two hours in a not even the slightest hint of interest.
I moved on again, down to the bottom end of the lake and, with the sun having warmed the air quite nicely, decided to try a black and green holo buzzer. That did the trick, partly, as I started to get some interest but the takes were very small and extremely quick, almost like the trout were nipping or sucking at it without really going for it. I tried a bigger and smaller version of the same buzzer but without any luck.
By this time, the clouds of storm frank were starting to appear on the horizon, so I took one final walk around the lake and decided to try a small black and green diawl bach for the last ten minutes. First cast and I missed a much firmer take on the drop but second cast I hit a lovely 2lb rainbow which put up a lovely fight. I netted it just as the heavens opened so decided to call it a day.
General conditions – Sunny, cold and windy
Wind direction – North Westerly
Flies that worked – Black diawl bach
Jan 2016
Just a few days into the new year and I’ve managed to find a quick half-day for my first fishing trip of the year! Starting as I mean to go on (hopefully). With just a couple of hours available I decided to pop back to Manningford and test out the second, smaller of the two lakes.
The heavens had really opened overnight but by the time I reached the fishery, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to peep out through the clouds. I arrived at the small lake to find it deserted; I had the whole lake to myself, lovely. I tackled up with floating line and a small olive cruncher and made my way round the southern, shallower part of the lake. The lake is tree lined but the trees have been cut back in some areas allowing for decent casting room, although the lake is small enough not to require large casts.
The olive cruncher was sitting quite high in the water and with nothing showing on the top, I changed to a weighted black and green nymph which had been doing well over winter on smaller waters. After half an hour with no interest, I moved round to the middle of the lake where there was a small promontory which offered access to most of the middle of the lake as well as a small bay to the left. I tried a few different variations of nymphs and a black and green tadpole with no success so decided to put on the diawl bach I found success with last time. Bang, straight into a lovely 2lb rainbow which took the fly with a wallop.
Unfortunately, as the day got better with the sun coming out and warming the air nicely, the fishing died off and, even after trying lots of different flies and depths, I was left with just the one trout to take home.
Still, a nice morning and an early fish for the new year.
General conditions – Sunny, cold and windy
Wind direction – North Westerly
Flies that worked – Black diawl bach