July 2013 fishing report
This 6lb 3oz rainbow was bagged by Gary Bennett from Telscombe Cliffs out of Brick Lake using a Daddy Long Legs
Gosh have I heard some stories from our anglers here at Brick Farm lately! I find it incredible that so much can go on in such a peaceful, tranquil and secluded spot in this wonderful countryside. Let me tell you the story of the rabbit and the trout… A gentleman angler was fishing here some years ago with his gun?? I understand that the intention was not to shoot the fish on sight but rather to spend a little time bagging a few rabbits when the fishing became a bit slow. This was apparently allowed at the time but a practise Health and Safety would no doubt have had a few choice words to say on the subject had they been aware, or maybe they didn’t exist back then. Ahh… those were the days! When the kids as soon as they could walk played in the road so as they didn’t interfere with the pedestrians (remember them) and old “Mr Handy” from up the street would happily come and fell that old Oak tree in your back garden, wearing little more than a floppy hat and long socks for protection. Everything got done. People just took more care and responsibility for themselves instead of passing the buck to others. Oh well, I digress, back to the tale… Well, the fishing took a turn for the worse. No-one was catching that day so our angler went off and shot a poor little bunny. Not being content with that and in the spirit of obvious complete boredom and sense of mischief he cut off its tail and tied it on as a fly. Much to his amazement he promptly caught four fish, one after the other. He then passed it to his mate who caught three in the same way. They then passed it to a young lad who caught who knows how many as they left him too it and went home happy. Not only that! This is the same guy who caught a mink in his landing net and then didn’t know what to do with it and on another occasion foiled an attempted poaching gang, bravely holding them back with his fists and I suspect a lot of bad language until the police could be summoned, only to have a WPC arrive in high heels who refused to give chase across the muddy fields in case she spoilt her shoes!
This is why I LOVE to sit and chat to the older generation. They have wonderful stories to tell, some of which are even true and you can be sure that in amongst all the silliness and sometimes sadness there are some real tips on catching fish. So, I found myself wondering when he left why they had such success with the rabbit tail. I considered the facts. A rabbit tail is white, a colour that trout apparently see in the water over the longest distance. It is large, particularly when used as a fly and would make quite a whack on the surface of the water when cast; this can sometimes jolt the fish into an instinctive snatch. It would, I decided, probably sink fairly fast when wet so I imagined a fairy quick retrieve was called for. I felt an experiment coming on!
Don’t forget the fishery is closed for the summer break from 17th. August and will re-open on 1st. September when we will be launching into our autumn program with gusto and enthusiasm. We hope to see you all then when hopefully our new lake will be opening for business depending on the weather of course!
Over and out for another month, wishing you tight lines for August and please keep those wonderful stories coming in.