Rod average - 5.0
Grafham continues to be in great form, with some excellent returns recorded from both the boats & the banks. The cooler winds & recent rain has reduced the water temperature further, which has seen what was previously localised “shrimp feeding” to become more widespread across the water. The bank anglers have seemed to do particularly well along the points of the north shore, whereas the boat anglers are still producing some great returns from the Dam, Willows, G Buoy and more recently, E Buoy & off the seat.
In addition to Shrimp, the Grafham fish continue to feed hard on the abundant Fry & also the ever increasing number of Daddy Longlegs blown on to the water with a high number of overwintered fish in the 4-5lb bracket coming out on a variety of methods. Those opting to fish Nymphs have done particularly well on the Washing Line, with either a Sparkler Booby, Foam Daddy or FAB on the point with small Shrimp patterns or Hares Ears on the Droppers, simply cast out, let the fish find them & hold on…….!! Line choice will be dependant very much on the conditions for the day. During the brighter spells a 12ft or 6ft Tip Line is the preferred option, whereas a Floater or a Midge Tip will suffice during the days of plenty of cloud cover. Also remember the benefits of fishing a longer tip line in a larger wave, to cut through the wave to ensure more positive hook ups.
The Fry feeding fish have been caught on anything from Fast Sinking Lines to Intermediates with Tubes, Olive Snakes & Black & Gold Humongous. As of yet, there has been very little Fry feeding done on the surface, but this will surely begin the change with similar weather forecast for the foreseeable future & it won’t be long before we can experience this productive & explosive method of fishing.
Given the right conditions, Dries have also produced some great returns with Foam Daddies & Yellow Owls featuring steadily on the catch returns. If fishing Dries from a boat, try a larger profiled fly in a big wave, such as a Foam daddy or a Daddy Hog & when the wave subsides, opt for a smaller profiled fly such as a Yellow Owl or Grunter.
Grafham Water is really fishing well & its excellent form looks set to continue for the forthcoming week.