Christmas Competition announced for Sunday 27 December 2015!!!
Everyone welcome - seniors and juniors.... Come and enjoy some post-Christmas fun .....
25 October 2015 - Winter League match - Brick Farm Lakes vs Coltsford Mill
We had a really great day for the competition, with perfect weather. I'm going to say this very humbly.... Brick Farm Lakes came out the winners!! Coltsford Mill were beaten for the first time in the Winter League, which has been run for the past several years, and they were extremely gracious in defeat. So let's see what the result is in the return match in February?? Counting and chickens comes to mind!!! However, well done the Brick Farm Lakes team - proud of you! : John Carden, Caroline Cutmore, Carl Foreman, Les Glazzard (who had the biggest fish - a Brown at 5lbs 8oz), Doug Holford, Mike Richardson, Len Taylor and Calvin Wallace. Congratulations!!
Lots of things to catch up on !!
We are very proud of the Trout Fisherman's piece on us in this October's 'Where to Fish' section. They wrote this about us, which is even better!! If you have a copy please do have a look and if you don't have a copy there is one in The Lodge.
The Winter League is under way with wins by both Coltsford Mill and Brick Farm Lakes already on the scoreboard. The next Brick Farm Lakes match is on Sunday 25 October here at home vs Coltsford Mill - good luck to all involved and here's hoping for a great day!!
We have a Fly Tying Demo and Practice afternoon coming up on Saturday 7th November starting at 1pm and Mike Richardson will also be available hosting a Rod Clinic if any of you would like him to see to check if any repairs might be on the cards. The Fly Tying is free to all although donations to the Sussex Fly Dressers would be more than welcome - we just need you to register (01323 832 615) so we know what numbers to expect. It is likely to last a couple of hours or so.
Also, if you have any spare flys, unused or just plain surplus to requirements, please do consider donating them to Brick Farm Lakes to enable us to sell them at 50p each in aid of the Mastersport and Play Charity based in Bexhill which provide opportunities for young people (disabled or disadvantaged) to take part in angling.
SPECIALITY FISH COMPETITION: By popular demand, as they say, we have started a Speciality Fish Competition which is just £1 to enter when you fish. It is just like a tagged fish competition which some of you may be familiar with..... When you come to fish just add £1 to your fish ticket payment that day. Each £1 is collected and held until the speciality fish is caught (up to a maximum of £100). If you catch this fish you win whatever is in the pot on the day of the catch. If the speciality fish remains uncaught when a total of £100 is reached a second speciality fish will be stocked and another £100 raised, then a third fish and so on each time the £100 total is reached. So the longer the competition runs, the more speciality fish are in the Lakes and the greater the chance you have of winning £100!! The pot currently stands at just under £50 so come and give it a try. Oh and by the way the current speciality fish is an extremely unusual Blue which is completely mottled in appearance - It's out there in one of the Lakes. Annie cannot say which Lake it is in and she cannot be bribed!! Probably!!
Caroline's monthly report will be available soon in the November issue of the Freshwater Informer. But this month's is well worth a read!
And last but not least ............. CHRISTMAS IS APPROACHING FAST!!
Here is the Christmas Menu and we are open to take Group Bookings if you would like to come along to share the festive spirit with us:
That's all for now I think!!! Hope to see you all again soon - the log fire is burning !!!!! Annie xxx
Autumn mist and Brownies!!!
Hi everyone................. What a great start to the Autumn season we are having here at Brick Farm Lakes. With slightly lower temperatures in all the Lakes fishing has been really excellent with some lovely large Browns being added each week. Some have already been caught, much to the delight of their catchers, and Blues are also in abundance. There have been some very happy faces............!!
Finally, all my own work!!!
I really did catch this 2lb 9oz beauty myself! Thanks to everyone who has helped me on my road to fly fishing pleasure: Mary Carden, Caroline Cutmore, Lee Hart, Mike Richardson to name those who have given their time, expertise and encouragement so generously. I'm on my way, folks.......!!!
31 August 2015 CHANGING TIMES!!
Commencing tomorrow, Tuesday 1 September 2015, our opening time is changing to 7.30am every day to reflect the shortening days. Sorry everyone - I would love to keep the light mornings and beautiful Summer evenings but nature is against us!!
So please don't get caught out - The Lodge and the Fishery open at 7.30 am and close at dusk (or on a Monday and a Tuesday at 7.00 pm if that is earlier than dusk!)
We will continue to stock weekly and to stock a range of sizes with some much larger fish coming just as soon as the supplier will bring them along.
All the best to everyone for a really bountiful Autumn and Winter season - Annie :)
Friday 14th August 2015 - And what a good month this is!
The aerators are here and installed in Brick and Stag Lakes to great effect. It is really good to see them here and to have them available should we get an 'Indian Summer'!?!?
We are continuing to rid Well Lake of its pesky weed with the help of a wonderful handful of volunteers, which now includes Michael Carden. Michael has been our human weed rake! In his dry suit he has been swimming in the Lake and pulling weed by hand. But our thanks go out to the regular team of Lee Hart, Bob French, Tony Mepham, Mike 'The Weed' Richardson and Derek Hill and Gavin Welch. Without all your efforts on behalf of all our anglers we would certainly be well and truly weed-logged in Well Lake!! Big thanks to all.
We continue to stock on a weekly basis and there have been some good full bags recently. 10 year old David Carden is our keenest young angler and he was thrilled to catch a 4.5 lb Blue; Gavin Welch is enjoying catching both Blues and Golden Trout as well as the usual Rainbows and our regular anglers are also pleased that August is proving to be better than July this year. Please see photos.
Caroline's September report will follow soon, but until then we look forward to keeping our trout in top form for your fun! Tight lines everyone......... Annie :)
Weed clearing at Well Lake and more ...........................
JULY - AT LONG LAST AN UPDATE!!!
The first thing to tell you all this month is the fact that we are definitely remaining OPEN throughout the summer this year. Other years we have closed for a few weeks for hot weather holidays, but this year it is still all systems go as normal! The recent hot weather has definitely made a difference to the fishing as you would expect but the Lakes are still fishing surprisingly well and we are still stocking on a weekly basis, also … don’t forget it is the perfect time to bring a novice for some casting practice, encourage a non-fishing partner to come along and enjoy the scenery or just bring a picnic and chill! This time of year forces us to change our ways; to think outside the box and try something new thus expanding our knowledge and learning even more from this wonderful sport.
To give our customers a helping hand and fair crack of the rod through August we will be offering an “up-grade” of ticket at a cost of £5 per fish if you catch your bag too quickly, (yes it is still possible!) We hope you will appreciate this offer is not normally allowed but in this “feast or famine” time of the summer we want to play fair.
A review of each Lake…
WELL LAKE… This lake is still proving popular with anglers at the moment. The fish are clearly visible in the clear, spring water and have been at or just below the surface and feeding actively throughout the day and well into the twilight. The recent weed clearing does not appear to have put the fish off the fly, in fact the opposite would seem to be the case! Ever the opportunists the trout are picking their way through the food stirred up by weed removing activity and the coots with their chicks are having a field day! Looking through the returns book the flies working are buzzers (small black), dry flies such as sedges, daddies and small blue damsels. Down deeper definitely black and green nymphs, cats or flash backs are catching fish.
STAG LAKE… Our “new” lake is starting to come into its own now! The water is remaining clear and clean and a recent check showed good oxygen levels in spite of the heat. We have fixed a syphoning system from Well Lake to keep the level from dropping too low and the plants put in recently are doing well. The fish are feeding right through the day, even in the full sun on emerging insects, (generally black) taking them just below the surface and often at your feet! Don’t forget to cover every inch of the water in front of you and to each side along the banks! Many anglers lift their lines off the water much too early and thus miss a large target area to hook a fish. Small, natural flies are best on this lake at the moment and the dam end of the lake is the deepest area and has been the best spot, even in the wind, but this obviously can change day to day so just remember to ask us in the Lodge for the latest info and fly of the moment.
brick lake this month
BRICK LAKE… The shallowest of our lakes, fed by the small stream at the top Lodge end of the lake is proving tricky at the moment and has been for a while now. The fish are down deep, feeding no doubt on a huge range of natural food and surfacing in the evening. Early morning is the best time to fish this lake at the moment and then you can have take after tug after pull down deep as the fish feed enthusiastically at the start of the day. Damsels and small Montanas hit the spot and then the odd orange fly has been thrown into the mix. One chap caught his four fish bag in a couple of hours on an orange hotspot the other day when others had been struggling, he handed his fly to a friend who caught almost straight away. It’s good to share! Sometimes it is all about being in the right place at the right time so do keep on the move in the true hunter gatherer style. Dave (Woody) Wood caught a six fish bag before lunchtime the other day, fishing a black and white Boobie on a sinking line (normally this is a floating line lake) but not left static, still with a retrieve about half way down. We have no fly restrictions here at Brick Farm Lakes so you really can experiment! This Lake showed it had the coolest water temperature on a recent check.
Just tome to remind all you ladies out there of the next B.L.T’s meeting on the 10th August. This is extremely informal so don’t be afraid to just turn up and share a coffee and some angling info.
Tight lines everyone!
June is definitely bursting out all over!!
What a joy it is to see all the young Moorhens, Cootes and Dab Chicks flourishing on the lakes, particularly on Well Lake. Go away Crows and Magpies!!!
We celebrated the Almost Midsummer Night on Saturday in style with Chili con Carne and Eton Mess and fishing into the darkness. I believe everyone had a really good evening - I had forgotten how good it is to be among a group of easygoing friends. In fact we decided to invent a good reason to get together for a bite to eat in the evening on a more frequent basis so we are trying to come up with an excuse to meet again in August perhaps on the 8th or 15th - can anyone think of a good 'title'...? Woodstock was 46 years ago on 15th August but that probably only suits an old rock fan like me!!!
We are still stocking weekly with all sizes and again this Thursday, 25th June, with some extra Blues.
The haymaking was in full swing last week and I had the opportunity to walk around at sunset and take a few pictures of the lakes and orchids, which are in full bloom. Although the weekends are generally very busy there is still room for our anglers to catch a full bag, particularly in the early morning or evening. We have also added, and will continue to add, some rustic oak seats until we run out of the wood which resulted from the sad demise of one of Brick Lakes' fine oak trees (mentioned in earlier dispatches!)
We do carry out some grounds maintenance on a Saturday morning but this is only from 8am to about 12.15pm and the guys try to move about so as not to be too much of a nuisance.
We now have the new rake and so work to remove much of the weed on Well Lake will start in the next few days, thanks to our band of volunteers. Well Lake is still fishing really 'well' - no pun intended (!) but it should be even better and even easier to see the fish in its beautiful clear water when the weed is reduced. We will be able to keep on top of its removal more easily with the new rake.
And we will then remove the small amount of weed in Brick Lake thereafter, although this is thankfully only in relatively small areas and generally between the swims.
Tight lines, everyone! Tricky fishing on these bright days, but Damsels, Emerger flys, Buzzers, Nymphs, Flashback Hares Ears and the old faithfuls of Black and Green Montanas and Cats Whiskers continue to be the most successful choices. And there are still some big browns out there to tempt you all.
All best wishes, and hope to see you soon, Annie :)
