Rod Avg 5.58, Fish Stocked 600
First part of last week saw fish being caught in many areas, with dries and nymphs working for a good deal of anglers, whilst others caught on small lure/nymph combinations. with more reports of great sport encountered,with fish taking fly lines, plus baking again! on a number of occasions.
For the first time in around seven /eight weeks The reservoir, experienced a wind change going from the East, to a southerly, then round to a fresh Westerly by Sunday afternoon. almost straight away boat anglers who ventured down the arms reported,, It was noticeable that the Water clarity had changed, with very fine Algae, cutting down the visibility some what, However areas like the Normanton shoreline from the church to Fantasy island remained very clear, with fish still responding & showing well.
Fly life is still minimal, there are large Sedge coming off at night, being very obvious when on the water's surface, but no reports, or interest shown by fish taking them, The main diet which has not changed for months is the masses of the Demon shrimp,Two fish were gutted at the lodge Sunday night and they were absolutely crammed with them, the only other noticeable food item in one stomach was one of last years Roach fry, around 3"
A few fish have shown to this years pin fry, (Which are in very high numbers) but as mentioned it's the Shrimp that fish are targeting on, with the odd fish occasionally feeding on snails.
Prospects
With the wind changing directions, hopefully we will see Boats and Bank anglers venturing down the arms, with water temperatures theoretically cooler there than they have been for weeks, with Tim Appleton's (North arm), and Hideaway bay, Lax Hill, and Manton bay in the South arm for Boat anglers, casting to fish that have not seen a fly for many weeks, expect Sykes lane to the Dam, and Normanton church to Fantasy island to still produce as well with fish still close into the shoreline, with very little weed about to hamper sport in those areas at the moment.
Flies to try
Dries/emergers, Hares Ear, various Shipmans, Red , Claret, Yellow Owl P