Latest News and Information from Rutland, Grafham, Pitsford and Ravensthorpe
Week ending 2 October 2016
• Stocks Falcons swoop to victory in Grafham Water Championship
• The spotlight is now on Rutland Water for the Anglian Water Airflo International
Full story and results next week
• Pick of the Pike across all of our waters and the added bonus of up to 40% off our predator ranges
www.anglianwater.co.uk/leisure
Rutland Water 01780 686441; Grafham Water 01480 810531;
Pitsford, Ravensthorpe & Hollowell 01604 781350,
Taverham Mills Fishery 01603 861014; Alton Water 01473 589105
Recreation Dept Anglian Water 01572 653021
Rutland Water
Fish week 385 (Season 29,834) Returns 138 (6,988) Rod average 2.78(4.26)
Large Brown trout have been noticeable all season and last week was no exception with a superb 6lb 5oz Brown recorded by season ticket holder Graham Pearson. Graham was boat fishing with John Seaton. The pair recorded 16 fish to their boat.
Frank Humphrey was delighted to catch his personal best Brown which weighed 5lb 15oz. 75 year old Frank targeted the weedbeds down the South Arm with a white humungus. There are reports of some very large Browns showing in some areas and plenty of good sized specimens have been returned safely to the water.
Top anglers from across Europe are fishing at Rutland Water this week in the final of the Anglian Water Airflo International. This prestigious two day match concludes on Wednesday 5 October. Full results in next week’s Fishery News.
There are only a few bank anglers about at the moment despite some fish being close in. Season ticket holder Matt Gregory bank fished and latched into a 5lb 7½oz fish that fell to a Daddy Long Legs off the top. Scottish angler John Slavin, from Houston, made his annual pilgrimage down to Rutland and caught plenty of fish with 51 Rainbows between 2 and 4lb. John shared five days afloat with Al Owen who guided John around the reservoir.
There has been plenty of surface activity with fry patterns and dries tempting the fish up. Although on some occasions fish have not been fully committed to hanging on! Key areas for boat anglers have again been the bottom of both arms and the Main Basin.
A small number of bank anglers have fished with Normanton, New Zealand Point/Sailing Club and the Peninsula ‘creeks’ worth targeting.
This is the time in the season for big fish. Fish are not really feeding hard, considering the masses of food that is available. Snails, sticklebacks, roach and perch fry are only showing in small numbers in stomach contents.
The Autumn Pairs takes place on Saturday 8 October. This is a popular match with Rudder and Non Rudder sections (no fly size restrictions). Match hours are 9am to 5pm – please call the lodge on 01780 686441 to find out more or to book. This match often produces some of the biggest fish of the season.
Best Rainbow 4lb taken by John Slavin of Scotland.
Best Brown 6lb 5oz taken by Graham Pearson.
Rutland Water continued
Best boat areas Main Basin and the bottom of the arms (weedbeds).
Best bank areas Normanton, New Zealand Point, Sailing Club and the creeks and bays of the peninsula.
Best methods Bank – Fry patterns, dries and nymphs.
Boat – As for bank but include various sinking lines with large/small lures.
Mid week boat winner C Best of Peterborough.
Forthcoming events
Fly fishing for Pike from 16 May (subject to boat availability).
Pike fishing with lure and dead sea bait 6 October to 31 January 2017
Beginners courses 9,16, 22 October (29th Pike).
Autumn Pairs (rudder & non rudder) 8 October
Fry Feeders match 16 October
George Moore Memorial Trophy (rudder) 29 October
Rutland Water Fur & Feather (bank) 4 December
Grafham Water
Fish Season 1,203(Season 21,765) Returns 175 (3,836) Rod average 6.87 (5.67)
Grafham is in exceptional form with 1,200 fish taken this week and the rod average climbing straight up to 6.87. There have been some great fish landed. The best was a 5lb 9oz Brown caught on Friday by an angler practicing for the Grafham Water Championship. The picture is available on Grafham’s Facebook page – but it would be great to have a name to put with the photo! Mr Paigmore managed a nice Brown of 4lb 13oz. The best Rainbow of the week was taken by Paul Rooney who managed a 5 pounder along with a 4lb 3oz fish. Graham Pearson took a 4lb 8oz Rainbow. Mark Brinkman enjoyed some fantastic bank fishing landing 17 fish in a session. Darren Maguire landed 17 fish, including four 3lb specimens and a four pounder. There were plenty more large trout caught. Watch this space for more news of big fish next week.
The fish are enjoying a cooler spell pushing them to feed hard, particularly on the fry and shrimp. Some great sport is being had off, or close to the banks, as the fish are homing in on those shrimp. Boat anglers have generally had good sport this week. Some anglers continue to use lures and fry to tempt fish, whilst others have had good results fishing dry flies. The most popular tactic for boat anglers is to fish the North shore using shrimp, hares ear and diawl bachs for the best results.
The fish are enjoying a cooler spell pushing them to feed hard, particularly on the fry and shrimp. Some great sport is being had off, or close to the banks, as the fish are homing in on those shrimp.
It may be worth trying the Willows early on for a chance at a nice fish or moving across to the Seat and Sailing Club Bay for a cast using shrimp patterns. Good areas reported during the week include Hill Farm, Rectory Bay, Farm Bay, Church Hill Bay, West Bank, the middle (drifting), the Dam, Rainbow Point, Sanctuary Bay, G Buoy and Deep Water Point.
If you are bank fishing then opt for using Shrimp patterns or hare’s ears and diawl bachs. Many anglers took our advice last week and waded out on the north shore where they caught plenty of fish with reports of 15 plus in one morning session. Don’t forget that Plummers or Mander car parks are well worth a try early in the morning. A lot of fish are moving in these areas. The hot tip of the week for those who enjoy a walk is to try wading off Sludge Point where it’s normally pretty quiet and away from the general public. There’s the added bonus of being able to cover a lot of unfished water around to the Seat. Who knows what may be lurking there?!
With a lot more anglers wading we are re-iterating the wash down procedure. It is absolutely essential that you wash down your equipment after use to help stop the spread of the non-native killer shrimp. Thank you all for your co-operation.
The bait fishing season for predators is now open. A very busy start to the bait season saw a few fish landed with pike up to 22lb so far (although this particular Pike came to a lure). Remember that the water is still warm, so be very careful with your fish handling, ensuring that the fish is fit before release. Areas fishing well for predators currently include the two towers and the pipeline that runs between the two. Other areas worth a try are the drop offs on north and south dam and the deeper water throughout the middle.
Competition news
Grafham Water Championship 1 October
The top non qualifying teams from the Anglian Water Airflo International Regional finals fished the Grafham Water Championship on Saturday. The conditions were perfect – even so the rod average of 7.65 exceeded expectations. It was a fantastic match with a lot of early finishes and an extended weigh in and some cracking fish. Stocks Falcons finished just ahead of Change Fly Fishers B Team. Marian Davies of Team Foxons took the best fish at 3lb 12oz. Stewart Barclay, fishing for Change Fly Fishers B Team, took the best bag at 21lb 6oz.
Grafham Water continued
1st Stocks Falcons 48 fish for 114lb 5oz
2nd Change Fly Fishers B Team 48 fish for 113lb 10oz
3rd The Renegades 48 fish for 109lb 2oz
4th Melvin Hoppers 48 fish for 107lb 10oz
5th Northern Drifters 46 fish for 103lb 13oz
6th BRFFA Emergers 46 fish for 103lb 6oz
7th Iain Barr Flyfishing Costa 45 fish for 98lb 2oz
8th Team Foxons 45 fish for 97lb 14oz
9th The Whakapapas 44 fish for 97lb 12oz
10th Mickies Melvin Devils 47 fish for 96lb 15oz
11th Llanilar 40 fish for 86lb 8oz
AMFC Group 2 Match 26 September
This league match produced a superb rod average of 7.1. The best fish was a lovely specimen of 4lb 2oz caught by John Wingrove. Russell Bell weighed in the best bag for 21lb.
1st Invicta FFC ‘A’ 6 points
2nd EPFFA 5 points
3rd Bewl Bridge FC ‘B’ 4 points
4th Greylags 3 points
5th Queen Mother FC 2 points
6th Bristol Reservoirs FFA 1 point
Zander match
Tim Kelly took the honours this week with a nice fish, followed by Mike Edgar in second place. Ade Hawes was third. Congratulations to all in tough conditions.
Sussex Police
Another great match this week was fished by the Sussex Police. Steve Fowler had a great day with a cracking 3lb 5oz Brown. Well done to Steve who also won overall. 15 anglers fished this match, returning 49 fish with some good fish around 3lb amongst the haul.
Best Rainbow 5lb taken by Paul Rooney
Best Brown 5lb 9oz
Best boat areas West bank, Sludge Point, Gaynes Cove, the Dam, B Buoy to G Buoy (drifting) and the Seat, Savages Creek, Rainbow Point, Deep Water Point.
Best bank areas North and south Dam, Plummers, Mander car park and Deep Water Point, Hill Farm, Pylon Point.
Best methods See report.
Grafham Water continued
Mid week boat winner Mr Crouch.
Forthcoming events
Beginners courses 7 (pike), 15(pike) & 30 October.
Fly fishing for Pike to 31 January 2017 (subject to boat availability)
Pike fishing with lure & dead sea bait 1 October to 31 January 2017 (subject to boat availability)
B C Hall 6 October
Fry Feeders Match 15 October
Anglian Water Rudder Match 22 October
Anglian Water Fur & Feather (bank) 27 November
Pitsford Water
Fish week 141 (Season 14,021) Returns 55 (2,634) Rod average 2.6 (5.3)
The cooling conditions and receding weedbeds have had the fish coming more into the margins and feeding on the shrimp and snails. There has not been much fry action as yet, though there are huge shoals of fry in the various weedbeds.
The best bags have come from boats on drifts across the Narrows and basin. Fish are still high in the water and have been responding to dries with cdc’s working. Hoppers and daddies have all caught fish.
Bank anglers have found fish in the margins on the Gravels and Stone Barn Bay as well as starting to show along Northfields shore. These fish are feeding almost exclusively on shrimp which are now showing in numbers. Floating lines with hares ear or shrimp imitations are accounting for these fish.
Mid week boat winner Mr M Davison of Cold Higham.
Forthcoming events
Lure fishing and fly fishing for Pike to 31 January 2017
Pike fishing with lure & dead sea bait 1 October to 31 January 2017 (subject to boat availability)
Beginners courses 8 & 23 October.
Lure Anglers Society Match 8 October
MNTF Match 9 October
Anglian Water Fur & Feather (boat) 12 November
Ravensthorpe Reservoir
Fish week 78(Season 10,689) Returns 30 (1,639) Rod average 2.6 (6.5)
Anglers are finding sport is variable with no rhyme or reason to the method. Fish still seem to be in the upper levels and continue to be taken on dries. Buzzers are taking a few fish on milder days fished just under the surface.
Saturday 1 October was a red letter day for pike anglers, being the first day for pike fishing on lure or static dead sea bait. The majority of the boats were booked for pike fishing with fish up to 30lb caught by Mr Walton – a personal best for him. Mr Sturt netted a 28lb specimen – another personal best and Pjak boated a 108cm beauty on a soft bodied lure. Many other pike were caught on the day.
This coming Sunday, 9 October, is the Mick Griffin Fur and Feather match. All boats are booked for this popular event.
Best Rainbow 3½lb.
Best boat areas Main Bowl.
Best bank Dam.
Best methods See report.
Mid week boat winner Dr Mike Smith of Northants.
Forthcoming events
Pike fishing lure & dead sea bait 1 October to 30 November
Mick Griffin Fur & Feather 9 October.
Anglian Water Fur & Feather (boat) 6 November
