New Year's Eve Festive Competition

On NYE we held our annual festive competition and it was a wonderful and enjoyable, albeit rather wet and windy, day. Thank you to the 34 anglers that joined us and thank you to everyone who brought raffle tickets which raised funds for our onsite defibrillator and also for Fishing for Schools.

After bacon rolls and a talk through the very relaxed rules for this friendly competition, there was a walk off draw to fish anywhere you like across the 4 lakes, the only caveat being that once you catch you must move at least 2 swims. A few anglers hooked into fish almost immediately and were quick to try and find another suitable swim. Others had never fished a competition before but everyone really enoljoyed the relaxed and friendly approach.

By the end of the day over 200lb of fish were landed(!) in what can only be described as very gusty and changeable conditions so well done everybody.

First place with a 3 fish bag of 12lb 1oz went to Ian Watts, whilst Mark Baker took the second place trophy with a bag weight of 9lb 10oz. Ian also won the trophy for the heaviest fish of 6lb 10oz - this was awarded by Charles Jardine in memory of the late Pat Camber who will be greatly missed in the fly fishing world.

Thank you once again to everyone who came along and donated to the fantastic causes.

December 2023

The weather has been much better recently with multiple dry days and even a few crisp frosty mornings. The Lakes have been fishing consistently well over the last few weeks and we have seen some great bags of fish coming out. Various flies have been successfully catching and some days it doesn’t seem to matter the pattern; it’s more about getting a fly in the right place. I cannot stress enough how important it is to move around whist fly fishing, try to watch the water and read what the fish are doing. More often than not they give their location away and also can give hints as to what they are feeding on too. Never be afraid to move to the fish, as there is definitely no guarantee they will come to you! The most productive flies of the last week have been the good old Cats Whisker closely followed by the ever reliable Blue Flash Damsel. The slight exception to this has been on the milder days when Diawl Bach and other small nymphs are catching well. This was proven in particular recently by Paul Latimer who had a stunning 7lb 8oz Rainbow from Spring lake on a small red Diawl Bach.

Eastbourne District Fly Fishers Club held their ‘Fur and Feather’ Christmas event with us when they enjoyed bacon rolls on arrival before heading out on 3 fish tickets followed by a festive lunch consisting of roast turkey and stuffing baps, roast potatoes and mince pies. Neil Cutmore was lucky enough to find the fish straight off the bat therefore fulfilling his bag within the first hour. EDFF’s newest and youngest member Jamie Blake soon followed with his 3 fish bag totalling 8lb which included a hard fighting rainbow of 3lb 9oz.

Brick Farm V Chalybeate - The 2 teams headed out around Brick Lake at 8.30am after a peg draw and the obligatory bacon and egg baps. A few anglers hooked fish almost immediately and throughout the morning more fish were fighting well and being landed and lost. Final results at 1pm were incredibly tight - with only 1 fish difference, and a total weight of only 1lb 13oz separating the teams, Brick Farm brought up the rear with a very healthy 48lb 1oz for 20 fish while Chalybeate took the top spot with 49lb 14oz for 21 fish! Top fish went to Rob Barden of Brick Farm at 7lb 4oz, and the best 4fish bag was caught by Chalybeate's Bob with 14lb 1oz! Well done everyone!!

Brick Farm League – This month’s match was well attended with 17 anglers joining us. After the ever welcome bacon baps, each angler drew their peg from the bag and headed out to await the whistle to start the match at 8.30am. Fishing appeared a little slow to start but it wasn’t long before Dean Baker arrived at the lodge just after 10am having caught his 4 fish closely followed by Danielle Adams. At the final whistle 12 anglers had bagged all 4 fish and the remaining anglers were all reporting multiple fish lost, some frustratingly right at the net and one on a double hook-up (a single dropper is allowed). Final results were very tight with just 3oz separating the top 3 spots this month. Dean Baker won this match with a bag totalling 9lb 3oz, Danielle Adams came in 2nd place with a 9lb 2oz bag and Ray Burt took the 3rd spot with a bag weight of 9lb 1oz. Once again well done to all!

On Sunday the 31st December we will be closed to day ticket anglers as we are holding our Annual Festive Competition. This is a relaxed competition open to all, followed by jacket potatoes in the lodge. Currently there are just a few spaces left so if you are interested in attending then please call the lodge ASAP on 01323 832615 to book your place or for more information.  There is a raffle running in the lodge to raise money for the upkeep to the on-site Defibrillator – we would be grateful for any tickets purchased. The draw will take place on the 31st December at this competition. 

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all or you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Let’s hope for lots of tight lines and some more consistent weather next year! 

November 2023

Rain and more rain mixed with some pretty strong winds! That sums up the weather recently pretty well. However, between this terrible weather (and also during for those who have been brave enough to join us) there has been some really great fishing. We are regularly hearing how the fish are fighting hard and putting up a good account for themselves.

The Lakes are now all full as you would expect and water temperatures are nice and cold. The fish are still being caught on a good mix of flies and techniques with Blue Flash Damsel in both black and olive and Cats Whiskers probably being the most common. However good results are still being had on smaller flies and nymphs as well as dry daddies when the weather allows.

The second of our League matches has now taken place during some of the aforementioned terrible weather. Thankfully we had a good number of competitors still join Mark and Lorraine on the day (Danni and myself were thinking of you all whilst enjoying the weather and sangria in Fuerteventura). Despite the conditions which included high and coloured water in Brick lake as well as rain and strong winds, the competition was won by Ray Burt with a 4 fish bag totalling 11lb 10oz, well done Ray. Second place went to Chad Goymer and third Mark Leeves. Well done and thanks go to all those who continue to join us with this competition. Special thanks also goes to the sponsors of the League - Long Man Brewery, Lost Lake Fly, Flyfishing Journal and Snowbee.

We have now set a date for our annual Festive Competition. As in previous years this competition is a very relaxed and friendly event with Bacon rolls served at 8.30am with peg draw for a walk off start – fishing from 9am to 1pm.  Catch and move at least 2 swims to allow fair angling for all. After the weigh-in, lunch will be served consisting of jacket potatoes served with cheese, beans and coleslaw. Followed by trophy presentation for 1st and 2nd place (total bag weight).

We hope to see as many of you as possible in the run up to Christmas, the kettle is on and the log burner lit!

Tight Lines

Phil

8 October 2023

Despite the sunnier days of early October, the nights are nice and cool and we’re seeing a nice gentle breeze so the water temperatures are now much closer to where we like them to be.  Anglers are catching on a real mixture of flies so a varied box is a must.  Stag Lake in particular seeing some nice fish coming out on dries such as Sedges & Hoppers.  Brick Lake is really benefiting from the recent maintenance with ‘Snake Cove’ having been opened up nicely less flies are being lost in the trees and actually making their way into the water to find the trout!  Fishing close to the margins with a washing line we’ve been seeing some lovely takes and watching the fight from the Lodge.  Cormorant flies and Nymphs fished alongside a Bobby are proving fateful for the fish.  Spring Lake is always a favourite for many of our regulars and with the addition of an air pump in the depths the fish are responding well.  And Well Lake is full and flowing - I always enjoy stopping the car on the way in to watch a fight when a trout is hooked on Well Lake!

We’ve been busy with beginners making the most of the good conditions – John and his grandson Jack had a lesson last week when John didn’t get a take but young Jack lost 6 and landed 2!  A fantastic morning’s work for his first time fly fishing and he is well and truly hooked on the sport, he came back yesterday to practice some more and is looking forward to doing some more in half term in a few weeks. 

20th September 2023

Following a difficult Summer, we are thrilled that the water temperatures are finally heading down and its clear that the fish are responding well.  Danny Kneller had a nice 4 fish bag last week – the biggest of which was a healthy 3lb 8oz.  Also Jeff Bray visited us whilst staying in the area for a couple of days – having caught his limit of 2 fish on his first day and landing 1 fish on day two he was very happy particularly given the strong winds he was presented with – well done Jeff! 

Phil’s diary has been jam-packed with either estate maintenance (on visiting, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s looking fantastic everywhere) and also plenty of coaching sessions.  We always love to see people giving fly fishing a go and everyone who tries it is always thrilled when they hook into their first trout.  A 2hr lesson with Phil, including equipment hire and a 1fish ticket is as little as £60 for one person and only £90 for 2 people – 2hrs is enough to learn all the casting techniques needed for a full day of fly fishing.  Autumn is a particularly good time to give it a go as the water temperatures are falling and the fish are hungry and fighting well.  A voucher for a coaching session makes a fantastic gift too!

Sunday 24th September marks our first Brick Farm League match of this season so Brick and Spring Lakes will be closed until 1pm.  Following the success of last year’s competition we are excited to see some fantastic fish from some fantastic anglers, backed by our brilliant League sponsors (see our website and social media for details, and do get in touch if you’d like to be involved).  Good luck to all involved! 

1st July 2023

Thankfully last winter was nice and cold and despite the warmer temperatures of recent the lakes are faring much better than they were this time last year.  On the fishing front, fish are being caught predominantly in the earlier hours of the days, but that said there are of course times throughout the day when we get a short cloud cover and the fish liven briefly, or they’re being caught out by a passing fly that catches their eye. Despite some unpredictable feeding, bags are still being filled by those lucky enough to be picking the right fly just at the perfect time. Generally speaking small natural flies such as Buzzers, Black Pennells and Diawl Bach are proving the most fruitful.

The forecast for the next week or so is looking more favourable once again so don’t forget where we are – the kettle is always hot and the fish are always in the water - we are still stocking frequently!

April 2023 Update

Time for a rather long overdue update – apologies on that front.  To summarise, the fishing has been fantastic, but the weather has been temperamental at best!!  The changeable conditions have resulted in some good sport though, and the challenge of Angler V’s Trout has been a fight to watch.   

Most Anglers are catching their quota but not all are finding the fish too easily.  The trout seem to be up and down like yoyo’s and have not really settled into the spring season at all.  Even now, coming towards the end of April, we are getting night temperatures down to 6 degrees!  This is resulting in the fish still chasing Cats-whiskers but also falling to the odd buzzer too as the daytime sun warms things up a little, oh and don’t forget the black tadpole in between as there are thousands of them currently in the lakes, particular Stag Lake where the margins can be seen moving in black clouds.   

On the plus side all lakes are still full of water and the water temperatures are still low.  The fish are fighting very well and some of the powerful runs are causing fish to be lots.  Don’t forget to check those leaders for wind knots! 

We were pleased to host a Fishing 4 Schools fundraising day recently – Massive thanks to everyone who came along or donated raffle prizes.  Despite the forecasts, the weather was kind to us and everyone was smiling.  The biggest fish was caught by young Henry Cullen weighing 5lb 13oz and the best 3 fish bag weighed 12lb 13oz and was won by Terry Woodman.  After £5 from each ticket sold, raffles, mini competitions and donations, we are thrilled to have raised a total of £1,198 for Fishing for Schools – money which will go a long way to support the amazing work the charity does and help to get young people out of the classroom and into the countryside, developing confidence and learning new skills.

February 2023

February has been a fantastic month in terms of the weather conditions for fly fishing – we are lucky to be in a little valley of our own and often have our own weather report which can be very different to local towns and seafronts.  The wind hasn’t been too challenging and we are thrilled that there has been some positive uptake on coaching in the last couple of weeks.  As you probably know by now, Phil is a Level 2 qualified fly fishing coach and has been offering a fantastic deal on lessons including equipment and fish ticket.  Most recently Phil coached a couple, Pete and Sara, who after some casting practice chose their own flies and both caught during their lesson!  They were very excited for their first trout caught on the fly which weighed 3lb 3oz and 2lb 7oz and were heading home for BBQ trout for their dinner!  Ashraf also had a lesson with Phil in which he caught 2 fish and was excited to purchase a #7 Snowbee Classic rod kit to take home to Malaysia with him! 

A reminder of our upcoming Fishing for Schools Fundraising event which we are hosting on 1 April – Charles Jardine will be joining us for the day to offer tips and advice or just for a friendly chat!  Fishing tickets will be limited to 35 anglers, and a few non fishing guests so please do get in touch to secure your spot on the day. We will be holding a F4S raffle, so any prize donations will be greatly welcomed even if you are not able to join us on the day.  We will also be holding a casting accuracy competition, casting distance competition, best 3 fish bag and biggest fish on the day so it’ll be a fun filled fundraising day! 

Our monthly Brick Farm League was once again a good match this month, with the top spot being won by Bob Hussey with a 4 fish bag totalling 13lb 7oz.  Bob thought he was in line for the largest fish of the match too as he had a nice 6lb rainbow, but he was pipped to the post by Peter Winder with a fish of 6lb 5oz, and Peter also was awarded second place this month.  The overall standings are tight, and with 3 matches left this League there is a lot to contend for. 

January 2023

This month has not been too kind in general with yet more freezing temperatures causing some ice across the lakes. This, combined with a lot of stronger winds and some heavy rain, has resulted in the number of anglers being less than normal. Fortunately, those who have been brave enough (or on some days perhaps silly enough) to come out and give it a go have been rewarded with some fantastic fishing. All lakes have been fishing very well with hungry and hard fighting fish. Well, Stag and Spring Lakes have been the more popular lakes to fish due to the clear water that they retain despite the heavy downpours we have had. I believe, this very fact is why the latest Brick Farm League Match had such fantastic results! Brick lake fished incredibly! Due to being frozen in December for 8 days and then again for a few days in January, plus the fact we had such torrential downpours that resulted in the water ‘colouring up’ it has hardly been fished for the last 6 weeks. This must have made the fish relax and enjoy the free roam they had as several nice fish were caught during the match- Danielle Adams had the biggest fish of the day: a 7lb 12oz Rainbow, but the following good sized fish were also caught - a 5lb 6oz rainbow, a 4lb rainbow, a 3lb 6oz rainbow, a 5lb rainbow, a 3lb 2oz rainbow, a 4lb 3oz rainbow, a 4lb 5oz rainbow, a 3lb 6oz rainbow and a 3lb 10oz rainbow! For those of you wondering Danielle did go on to win the match with a bag of 13lb 2oz and Second place went to Len Taylor with a bag of 10lb 12oz. I would like to reiterate that those fish were all caught during the competition which ended at 1pm. 

Other notable catches from the last couple of weeks are as follows- Russ Holbrook had a superb brace of fish from Spring Lake consisting of a 7lb Rainbow and a gorgeous 6lb 6oz Spartic - both fell to his self-tied Damsels. Brian Wood had a lovely 3 fish bag that totalled 10lb including a 4lb 10oz Spartic and Andy Gibbs had a nice 6lb 12oz Rainbow followed by a 5lb 1oz two days later. 

2022 - An overview

2022 proved to be yet another difficult year for running a fly fishery, but it’ll take a lot more than that to dull our passion. 

With the fear of Covid not such a worry because many were by now vaccinated, January 2022 started with warnings to “be aware” - but thankfully with travel restrictions fully eased people were keen to get back the time they’d missed out on so we were excited for the year ahead.  Fishing started well for the year with some fine specimens being caught.  January saw some gorgeous frosty mornings and our 2021/22 League continued well.  The early months saw several ‘Brick Farm Biggies’ caught on a real variety of flies – everything from Cats Whiskers and Damsels to green or yellow fritzy patterns and even buzzers!  Throughout the year we hosted group days and corporate training days including for the Angling Trust and Environment Agency where the Sussex Police Rural Crime Team were trained in angling law, licensing, nets lines and traps and were given a chance to have a go at fly fishing. 

I’m sure we don’t need to remind you that July saw the hottest of hot summers on record – with overheads still very much in place we introduced some summer specials – a 1 fish ticket, and evening sessions.  The 1 fish ticket was particularly well received by anglers who, as much as anything, enjoyed just getting out for a day in the sunny Sussex countryside for a minimal cost.  We hosted our very first Ladies Day in July – again the weather was not in our favour due to the blistering heat but nonetheless, the Ladies who came along had a fantastic day.  Ladies Day is something you can expect to see more of at Brick Farm – it is a sport we have found that women feel outnumbered in, and they are keen to meet other likeminded anglers.  The fact we have the stunning Lodge and an alcohol licence can only be a win! 

The summer heat went on and on and on with temperatures reaching a whopping 40°C.  It was the longest and hottest summer we could have thought possible, yet still we had overheads which were ever on the increase.  As everyone felt the effects of the cost of living crisis something had to give. Often sole hobbies and past times are one of the things to be dropped by people as somehow money has to be found for more important things.  Fuel prices rose beyond belief and as a nation we all faced struggles.  Yes, we were incredibly lucky to have the space and outlook for our office, but the overriding thoughts in our minds were “please give us some rain”.  We even continued the 1 fish ticket into September but eventually we saw some level of normality (whatever normal is these days) regain itself and stocking resumed and fishing custom picked up, sadly in line with rising energy prices but nonetheless we were pleased to see the return of smiling anglers once again. 

Less than 3 months after the tropical heat conditions, mother nature flipped 180° in December and hit us with a big freeze, forcing us once again to take a hit.  We closed the fishery for 8 days due to being so heavily frozen on the lakes.  It was a stunning site to see – the lakes and fields glistened throughout with the untouched snow and indoors the fire was gladly roaring.  We had 3 events cancelled due to the weather and now here we are, back to our great British weather at its finest.  The forecast rain and winds are making for difficult fishing conditions once again, but we are still here and are still open.  Fish are still being caught by the anglers brave (or mad) enough to give it a go and the fish are feeding well. 

We are now discussing plans for 2023 – everything from group pricings to our favoured loyalty scheme so watch this space.  As mentioned above, we’re a positive bunch here at Brick Farm and we will be doing our best for you, our valued customers and friends, and we look forward to seeing you in 2023 – let’s call it the year to fly fish! 

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year with hopes for many a tight line for everyone.