• Change Flyfishers AC crowned Anglian Water Airflo International Champions! (pictured)
• Pick of the Pike across all of our waters and the added bonus of up to 40% off our predator ranges
40% off the marked price on our Predator ranges at Rutland, Pitsford and Grafham Tackle shops (subject to availability).
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 3,525 (Season 33,359) Returns 723 (7,711) Rod average 4.87 (4.32)
Rutland Water hosted the final of the Anglian Water Airflo International on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October. This fantastic match saw anglers achieve an impressive rod average of 4.26 across the two days. Congratulations to Change Fly Fishers the new champions.
A brisk East/South East wind saw the good majority of fish caught in the deeper water of the reservoir in the Main Basin, fishing lodge frontage and Normanton Church. Only a few anglers ventured down the respective arms. Sinking lines with cormorants, blobs and boobies were the main tactics, with the aerators being switched off it was a question of finding pods of fish.
Day One saw Change Flyfishers AC A team in the lead with 43 fish for 90lb 12½oz with 2015 runners up Fulling Mill Nymphomaniacs in second place weighing in 38 fish for 82lb 4 3/8oz. Belgian team Flyfishing Forever, took 38 fish for 78lb 12½oz in third place.
This challenging two day match sometimes ends in disappointment with the top teams failing to nail good performances on the second day. But this year we saw no change in the overall lead with Change Flyfishers AC A Team triumphing to take the gold medals. History repeated itself again for Fulling Mill Nymphomaniacs who took home silver medals for the second consecutive year. Over the years this team has collected a huge haul of AWAI medals, including gold.
Change Flyfishers AC A, captained by Kevin McCabe, put in excellent, consistent performances against the 22 other top teams. Kevin’s fellow team members were Jim Crawford, Andy Dunn, Jock Kettles, Willie Leach, and Ray Anderson. At the awards dinner following the second day of competition the team was presented with gold medals, the coveted silver salver, £1500 cash and tackle prizes. Over the two days the team weighed in 79 fish for 170lb 2 5/8oz.
Second placed Fulling Mill Nymphomaniacs took silver, with 72 fish for 152lb 1oz. The team was captained by Kieron Jenkins fishing alongside Rob Edmunds, Gareth Jones, Allen Hughes, Dean Kibble and Anthony Cartwright. Menteith Ospreys pulled up from sixth place on Day One to win bronze with 70 fish for 149lb 7 5/8oz. Welsh Hawks were just outside the medals, in fourth place, weighing in 67 fish for 134lb 6¼oz.
The prize for top overseas team went to Belgium and was won by Fly Fishing Forever who took fifth place overall.
The top individual rod was Ronnie Gilbert, fishing for Menteith Ospreys. Ronnie recorded an impressive 41lb 9 3/8oz at the scales. Change Flyfishers AC A’s Ray Anderson weighed in 15 fish for 36lb 13½oz for second place individually from Keiron Jenkins fishing for Fulling Mill Nymphomaniacs who weighed in 16 fish for 36lb 11oz.
The best fish caught during the International final weighed 4lb 9¾oz and fell to Lee Anderson fishing for Perth RASC. Agnes Thomas of Thalassa AC was awarded the WaterAid trophy for the heaviest fish caught during the competition. Agnes caught a 5lb 4½oz specimen whilst fishing the Scottish day final at Lake of Menteith.
The Weald of Kent, sportingly accepted the wooden spoon awarded for 23rd place.
On Day One lots of anglers took 8 fish bag limits for a rod average of 4.71, despite bright conditions. Top rod was Phil Thomas of RAF Fish Hawks who weighed in at 12pm recording 23lb 7 7/8oz. Leigh Pond of Flash Attack Reservoir Dogs took the best Brown, a lovely 4lb 8½ specimen. The best Rainbow weighed 3lb 1¼oz and was landed by Norman Irvine of OTFA Kirkwall.
Day Two was a little more challenging with a persistent south east wind and anglers achieved a rod average of 3.80. Menteith Ospreys were the best team on Day Two with 35 fish for 79lb 11 3/8. They narrowly headed Change Flyfishers AC who weighed in 36 fish for 79lb 6 1/8oz. Top rod on Day Two was Ray Anderson fishing for Change Flyfishers AC A with a bag weight of 22lb 5¾oz. Lee Anderson weighed in the biggest fish at 4lb 9¾oz.
Competition organiser Jon Marshall said “It’s always a delight to welcome teams from far and wide to fish in this match. This year we hosted the Grafham Water Championship for teams who didn’t make it through from the regional finals to the International final. Stocks Falcons won at Grafham and Change AC B team took the runner up slot. It’s a huge achievement for one club like Change AC to take both the International Championship crown at Rutland and to come second in the Grafham Water Championship.”
Other competition news
Rutland Water hosted the Autumn Pairs on Saturday 8 October. 32 anglers fished this event, 10 boats fished the rudder and 6 elected for the ‘non’ rudder. Anglers fishing the non rudder section found some big fish, including the best fish of the event, a superb 6lb 7¼oz Brown (the best of the season so far). This lovely fish fell to a hopper on a floating line and was taken by Graham Hayward of Uppingham. Graham fished alongside good friend Toff Crowther. The pair fished the top of the North Arm.
The non rudder section was won by father and son team Malcolm and Jim Hunter. Malcolm and Jim are Autumn Pairs specialists – having also won last year’s event! The pair shared a bag of 11 fish including another lovely Brown of 5lb 11oz for 28lb 4oz. Second place went to Messr Jones with the RAF’s Keith Jones fishing alongside his namesake Keith Jones of Peterborough. The pair had 10 fish for 24lb 15oz (including a 5lb 5/8oz Brown). Toff Crowther and Graham Hayward were third with 5 fish for 18lb 2oz.
The rudder section was won by Rutland regulars Jim Watts and Martin Hearth. This winning combination netted 7 fish for 13lb 15oz. Adi Naylor and Mr Woodley took second place with 6 fish for 13lb 3oz. Father and son team Jeff and Matt Bedford were third with five fish for 10lb 3oz. There were some nice Browns over 4lb caught by Colam Bartram (4lb 1oz), Jon Marshall (4lb 5oz) and Chris Binley (4lb 15oz in the rudder section).
The banks have been quiet during the week although some nice fish were hooked and lost. Roger Bailey of Oakham and his friend Wal of Leicester had four nice fish off the Green Bank last Friday with Roger taking a quality 4lb 8oz Rainbow that fell to a floating fry off the surface. Roger found that moving along the bank covering more water was the best tactic.
Boat anglers are enjoying the best results from many areas of the reservoir, particularly the bottom of either arms, the Main Basin and along the weed beds. Bank anglers will find the best tactics are to cover lots of areas rather than staying in one spot. Quality fish are still out there to be caught.
Please remember that Browns will be out of season after 29 October.
There are a few boats available on Saturday 15 October but all boats are booked on Sunday 16th.
Best Rainbow 4lb 8oz taken by Roger Bailey.
Best Brown 6lb 7¼oz taken by Graham Hayward.
Best boat areas Main Basin, bottom of both arms and various weed beds.
Best bank areas Sykes Lane, Green Bank, Old Hall, Yellowstone, Spud Bay, the Dam.
Best methods Bank – Fry patterns, dries and nymphs.
Boat – As for bank, include various lures (large & small), tube flies, snakes.
Mid week boat winner Dr Michael Conway.
Forthcoming events
Great price reductions on Predator ranges at our tackle shops
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 16, 22 October (29th Pike).
Fry Feeders match 16 October
Please remember that Browns will be out of season after 29 October.
George Moore Memorial Trophy (rudder) 29 October
Rutland Water Fur & Feather (bank) 4 December
Grafham Water
Fish Season 894(Season 22,659) Returns 135(3,971) Rod average 6.62(5.7)
Grafham Water is in excellent form with a rod average of 6.62 for the week. Both boat and banks are fishing well with the fish patrolling the margins hunting for food. All methods are catching although dries are popular in the calmer water.
A number of fish in the 3-4lb range have been caught this week. The bank seems to be the best place for catching larger specimens and some good bags have been taken recently from the bank rather than the boat. Steve Jones showed us his skills, producing 13 fish in a single session. Another angler catching well off the bank this week was Stan Suddick who managed a fantastic 23 fish. Well done to both of you. Another good report has come from Peter Baker who landed 13 fish including a 5lb Rainbow. There have been a number of good results including E Hughes who had a fantastic day out on the boat, producing 13 fish including a cracking 5lb 8oz Brown.
Some good sport is available on the boats with fish chasing lures, particularly sparklers, minkies and boobies. Fishing fast retrieves is paying off, although adjusting retrieve speeds through the day can see an increase in sport. There are plenty of fish feeding on shrimp close to the north shore, though dry flies such as daddies have been very successful in the past few days. Diawl bachs with a pearl flash are also proving deadly close to the shore, though if you are drifting then snakes and tubes fished on a di2 or 3 can produce a good day. Some of the top areas this week include Hill Farm, Rectory Bay, Church Hill Bay, the middle (drifting), the Dam, the Willows, Sanctuary Bay, G Buoy and Deep Water Point.
Bank sport is growing day on day with some great hauls of fish, particularly around the north dam and around to Deep Water Point. The fish are very close in so casting horizontal to the bank may see you increase your bag. The shuffling technique is still working particularly well, although please be mindful of other anglers fishing down wind from you. It’s not all north shore though with some good fish coming from
Grafham Water continued
Plummers and around to the Seat. There are mixed reports from anglers regarding best methods; apart from hares ears and shrimp, daddies are producing along with other terrestrial dry flies, not forgetting floating fry patterns and lastly lures fished roly poly style.
Some nice zander into double figures have been caught this week along with some high double pike and perch up to the 3-4lb mark. The cooler weather may well increase your chances of landing a personal best predator, with the odd surprise never too far away. Some of the shallower areas of the lake have seen good sport from perch and the odd hunting zander has been spotted feeding on fry close to Mander car park. Most predator boats seem to stick solely around the towers. Try other areas, particularly around drop off’s when there is heavy pressure on the fishery.
Competition news
English Fly Fishing Association B C Hall 6 October
This match was fished on a windy day and fishing was tough after the change in weather conditions, although anglers managed to land a few fish. The 28 anglers took 117 fish producing a rod average of 3.9, which considering the conditions was a very good haul. For all those interested in the EFFA please visit their website www.effa.co.uk for more information.
1st David Moore 8 fish for 16lb 6oz
2nd Chris McLeod 8 fish for 14lb 11oz
3rd Mark Searle 7 fish for 13lb 8oz
Guests
1st Tony Smith 8 fish for 17lb 3oz
2nd Paul Heavens 8 fish for 17lb
3rd Martin Brocklebank 4 fish for 10lb
Best Rainbow 5lb taken by Peter Baker.
Best Brown 5lb 8oz taken by E Hughes
Best boat areas Sludge Point, Gaynes Cove, the Dam, B Buoy to G Buoy (drifting) and the Seat, Savages Creek, Deep Water Point, G Buoy, Farm Bay, Rectory Bay.
Best bank areas North and South Dam, Plummers, Mander Car Park and Deep Water Point, Hill Farm.
Best methods See report.
Mid week boat winner Mr Elliott of Rutland.
Forthcoming events
Great price reductions on Predator ranges at our tackle shops
Beginners courses 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)
Fry Feeders Match 15 October
Anglian Water Rudder Match 22 October
Anglian Water Fur & Feather (bank) 27 November
Pitsford Water
Fish week 76 (Season 14,179) Returns 42 (2,634) Rod average 1.8(5.3)
The week has ended on a great note for our bank anglers with the trout going crazy for shrimp patterns – stripped back through the weed!
Season ticket holder Mark Bradbury and day ticket angler David Chappell from Bedfordshire, both had fabulous Brownies weighing the top end of 4lb. Mark returned his to see another day, but also had Rainbows off the Cliffs and David took his from the boat.
Boat anglers have enjoyed some good sport. At the beginning of the week Mick White report a good day on the rudder, drifting across Duffers using a small blob with a white tail fly pattern – he had plenty of offers and follows.
Off the bank Mick Foster took a fish on a shrimp pattern and Martin Bailey had three off Stilton Point on a hopper and reported there were plenty of fish moving and they were up in the water.
The week has seen the trout close in to the margins and feeding on shrimp. Our anglers are all enjoying catching from the bank in most areas dependent on the wind direction. Phil Jordan had an amazing morning and rang in to report 10 fish to the net and four lost by lunchtime.
Lure Anglers Society Match
19 Boats set sail to take part in the Lure Angling Society Annual Pike Cup. It was quite a challenging day with the largest pike caught around the 18lb mark.
Best Rainbow 5lb plus.
Best Brown 5lb plus.
Best boat areas Main basin, Narrows.
Best bank areas Gravels, Stone Barn Bay, Cliffs, Duffers, Stilton.
Best methods See report.
Mid week boat winner Mr Paul Hutt of Oakley, Bedfordshire.
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 course 23 October.
Mid Northants Fly Fishers 15 October – meet at the Lodge for fly tying, casting tuition and friendly advice on all fishing matters.
Anglian Water Fur & Feather (boat) 12 November
Ravensthorpe Reservoir
The cooler weather conditions and a recent stocking of fish should improve the rod average at Ravensthorpe. Anglers are finding most of the trout are near the Boils/Island and out in the middle, catching on mainly hoppers and daddies.
This week we hosted a Fur & Feather match, this was won by M Brown ad P Hodgson with a combined weight of 18lb 3oz. F Duff and M Clarke took second place with a bag weight of 16lb. G Bedford and G Jones were third with 10lb 9oz.
Pike fishing has steadied due to the weather with mainly small Jacks being caught; all down the Coton End using 7 inch Jelly lures.
Best Rainbow 7½lb taken by Stuart Payne.
Best boat areas Boils, Island,
Best bank Dam.
Best methods See report.
Mid week boat winner Mr Wayne-Hyde.
Fish stocked 460
Forthcoming events
Pike fishing lure & dead sea bait 1 October to 30 November
Anglian Water Fur & Feather (boat) 6 November
