May is definitely the month for the May Fly at Brick Farm Lakes! Here is our most recent report:

There is a beautiful show of bluebells where the brambles used to thrive, the wild orchids are blooming in the wood, the cuckoo arrived at the weekend and the lakes have all been fishing very well indeed. Well Lake in particular has seen the fish actively hunting the hatching sedges on the very top of the water and my word what FUN!  The fish have been circling on the surface, picking off the struggling insects with frantic flashes of speed and “aquabatics”! We are now opening at 6am Wednesday-Sunday so there is every reason to arise with the birds and come fishing.  When the mist is lifting off the water at daybreak, the air is still and the fishery is at its most peaceful, it is a truly magical time to fish and be at one with nature. If you haven’t fished at this time of day before, you must make an effort soon. It is, unfortunately, an all-too-short period of time in our fishing year and one to be seized upon whenever possible! (Please note the lodge opens at 7.30, so please sign-in in the shed).

NEWS ITEM:

We happily launched on Monday 4th May, the first meeting of the B.L.T.’s! This being the Brick farm Ladies Team (social). Our aim is simple; we intend to meet once a month and put together a team of ladies who, each month, will fish a two fish ticket (or more if desired) with a view to help and encourage and support each other. Perhaps there are some of you out there who would like to have a try for the first time, ones who have already fished but would like to improve and others who are already confident anglers but, perhaps would like to hold some FRIENDLY competitions in the future. There is no joining fee, just come along for a social get-together and let’s see what happens! Our first one was very successful with several ladies coming along and I’m sure this number will grow over the coming year. Next B.L.T’s meeting is 8th June, then 6th July starting at 10.30am. Just contact Annie at the Lodge for any more info (01323 832 615).

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES:

JUNE 20th (Saturday) … Come along and enjoy an evening of Mid-Summer fishing fun. Fish until dark to celebrate the Summer Solstice and enjoy a homemade supper of chili, rice, salad and crusty bread washed down perhaps with a beer, wine or cider from the bar. Wives, husbands and partners are welcome to join in the fun. If you would like to come just let us know ASAP to help with the catering arrangements.

JUNE 21st…. Father’s Day… Why not buy the Father in your life a Brick Farm Lakes fishing voucher? These can be a godsend for those difficult-to-buy-for chaps! They can be purchased from the Lodge or over the phone and posted on to you for convenience with the help of the wonderful card machine! No need to even leave your sofa! Call 01323 832615 today.

SEPTEMBER 26th … St. Michael’s Hospice Event… The annual Allan Keats Memorial Fly Fishing Day. Enjoy a glorious autumn day of fly fishing here at Brick Farm Lakes and support a very worthy cause. The cost is £52 for a four fish ticket with breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea and cake.  A wonderful trophy will be awarded at the end of the day and there will be, as always, a very generous raffle with countless prizes. To register contact Marcia Dart on 01424 456381 or email fundraising@stmichaelshospice.com

STOCKING… We continue to stock regularly with top class fish! Rainbow, Brown, Blue and now Golden trout to a good size are filling each of our three, very different, lakes. The stocking dates are clearly posted on our Website and Facebook page and also in the book in the signing-in shed. This Returns Book we would like to encourage our anglers to fill in on their departure.  It is a vital tool to maintain a consistent level of fish in the lakes. Many thanks.

To have a look at some of the beautiful fish caught over the last few weeks why not go to the Web/Facebook sites and see the lovely photos posted and the very happy faces of the lucky anglers.

FLIES…

Definitely Damsels! Certainly Sedges! Black is back! Maybe a Muddler?  Go to work on an Egg! Fast-tracked Cats! Oh-So-Slow below Buzzers!

Tight lines for flaming June.

APRIL NEWS FROM BRICK FARM LAKES!

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Cuckoo any day now here at Brick Farm Lakes and we are hoping he will bring a favourable wind with him! It seems that whichever direction it has been blowing from this month, it has been blooming parky! Yes, the sun has been shining down but you have still needed to wrap up tight and the log burner has still been roaring away. The fish have, consequently been tricky little devils to pin down at times and you have needed to keep moving to find the right spot. However, when you take the time to rove the lakes to find the shoaling fish it can pay off big time, resulting with a fast, furious, fun- packed and adrenaline filled session.

NEWS ITEMS…

We have extended our opening times with the changing season:  Commening on 29 April and for Weds to Sun inclusive (7.30am Mon and Tues) we will open the gate at  6am (signing-in in the shed please, Lodge open at 7.30am) and close at 8pm (last cast 7.45pm).  This will give you time to fit in a fishing session before or after work, sometimes these beginning or end-of-the-day hours can be the best times to fish!

The oak tree leaning at an increasingly precarious angle over Brick Lake has been felled carefully. It was found to be rotten at the base and would have left a legacy of snags for lines and flies. The timber will provide the wood to make some bench seating around the banks for your comfort. We have also added some new picnic benches near the Lodge for friends and family to enjoy the warmer weather.

We must tell you about our Summer Solstice fishing night to be held this year on Saturday 20th June (Sunday 21st being Father’s Day). We will be serving a good plateful of homemade chili with rice and salad. The bar in the Lodge will, of course, be open for those wanting a glass or two of beer, wine or cider and there will be tea and coffee available. We will be open for fishing until dark! Friends and families are welcome to come and join in with the fun. If you think you would like to come then just let us know ASAP so we can have a rough idea of numbers to cater for.

Recent stocking…

We are regularly stocking all three lakes with 2lb to 8lb rainbows, blues from 1lb 8oz up to 3lb plus and Browns from 2lb to 12lb!!! And of course there are those Golden Trout too.  Just have a look at our Facebook page or Web site for details of all the most recent good catches, stocking dates and all the latest photos. For fun we have added a Golden trout into Brick Lake this month. There is a two fish bounty on his nose for the person to catch him! More LARGE Blue trout to follow soon!

Flies of the moment…

Even with this wretched chilly wind the Sedges have begun to hatch on Well Lake this month bringing the fish to the surface.  Dry daddies have proved a good bet and CDC’s and similar have landed good fish. Brick Lake has seen the trout staying stubbornly deep and inters have been the best bet, or at least a good length leader and a weighted fly. Black and green “anything” has by far produced the most fish. The water on Stag Lake is crystal clear at the moment and flies such as damsels, tadpoles and cats whiskers have proved successful. Hope that helps but always ask us at the Lodge for the latest tip on the hot fly of the moment.

Tight lines for a lovely, warm visit in May.

Peter Verity - what a difference a day makes!!

Well this is certainly how to end a day!  Peter was disappointed not to catch during the Troutmasters on Sunday 12 April 2015, as might be imagined.  However, and as it turned out very fortuitously, Mary Carden was on hand to come to the rescue.  With a few words of fishing wisdom and encouragement he soon had a prize catch and what a consolation it turned out to be - a 3lb 3oz Blue trout caught on Brick Lake on a floating line using a black and green gold-head Montana.  The best fish of the day.  Congratulations, Peter and a big thank you to Mary on his and our behalf.  Smiles all round!!  Peter, as promised you are on my wall!!  All best wishes, Annie :)

Our Troutmasters finals held Sunday 12 April 2015 - really great day!!

Juniors and the Junior Troutmaster Winner Cerys Rogers and the Seniors with the Senior Troutmaster Winner Brian Wood - Congratulations to you both!

There were tricky conditions on the day - it was very bright and rather windy - but everyone persevered and in the end winners emerged.  It was a really great day thanks to all our competitors and I believe everyone really enjoyed the day.  Thank you to everyone who took part.  Well done!  More on our Junior runner up in the following news item!

Blues and Browns: Saturday 28 March 2015

We have just stocked some truly beautiful Blue Trout in all three Lakes - please see the Stocking section of our Home Page.  The Blues were at 1.5lbs but these are just a tantalizing taste of what is still to come!  The remaining Blues due for Brick Farm Lakes are being brought on to enable us to stock 2-3lb Blues in the coming months.  Some big Browns to join the ones already in our Lakes will also be stocked in the next few weeks.

Here are some of our anglers recent successes .........

What a March - and it's not over yet!!

We are extremely happy to report that our anglers have had a cracking start to March:  Mike Richardson started us off with his catch of a 10lbs 5oz beautiful Brown from Well Lake on 5 March, closely followed by Charlie with his 10lbs 4oz Brown from Brick Lake the following day! Hot on their heels was Josh Kimble with an 8lbs 10oz Brown also from Brick Lake on 11 March and two days later Buster Jenner bagged a 7lbs Brown from Well Lake.  And then Barrie Johnson proved that there are fish of all sizes going in when we stock by taking a beautiful 4.5lbs Brown from Stag Lake on a Blue Flash Damsel on 17 March.  We also had some decent 3/4lb Rainbows caught during the Winter League match last Sunday, 22 March.

We will continue to stock throughout the year with trout of all colours and all sizes.  So happy fishing!  Welcome all.  Annie :)

5 March 2015 - and another one bites the dust! Good thing we stocked again today!!

Mike Richardson is the latest angler to bag one of our big Brownies on a home-made fly, an intermediate fly-line and a 6lb leader.  His catch was a good fighter and weighed in at 10lbs 5oz.  Well Lake gave him his prize this time so we have had a big Brown now from each of our lakes.  And more went in on Thursday afternoon (5.3.15).  Well done Mike! 

18 February 2015 Stag Lake

Well!  Not to be outdone Woody excelled himself today.  The prize was a 12lb Brownie caught in our newest lake, Stag Lake.  We did promise that all the lakes are similarly stocked and here is the proof.  Woody was also using a 6lb leader and intermediate line but a Cats Whisker Daddy Longlegs.  He did not see this magnificent trout for a full 10 minutes and was not sure if his net was up to the task.  But he brought it home!!  Congratulations, Woody.  What a wonderful few days!  Well the challenge is on everyone!! ..................................................

14 February 2015 Brick Lake

Mary Carden caught a magnificent Brown trout weighing in at 8lbs 12oz in Brick Lake on St. Valentine's Day 14 February 2015.  Mary (79 years young!) caught her Brownie on a 6lb leader, on an intermediate line, using a silver-eyed Cats Whisker.   Adopting a very fast, jerky retrieve the fish hit hard and it took her a full 15 minutes to bring it to the net surrounded by an audience of men watching her every move!!  Congratulations Mary.  What a wonderful day!

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Good Morning anglers

Brick Farm Lakes are open but this morning the three lakes do have a covering of ice.  There are two swims available in Brick Lake where the aerator is doing its job.  However, as the temperature improves during the day, or if the wind appears, the ice has been retreating on past days.  So please watch for the sun appearing!!  However, the coffee and log burning stove are hot!  We close each day in February at 4.30pm.  Looking forward to seeing you all, Annie