Hiya People,

After having been on a days course, my son and I took our first solo trip on Rutland Water last Sunday afternoon! All went fairly smoothly, I didnt crash/sink the boat, and people were not chasing us with pitchforks at the end. Infact the only downer was we blanked in style (tried up the North Arm by the bank/weedbeds), using floating fry/Cats whisker thingies.. even tried a blob.
I guess the day wasnt great, having been hammered all week and the sun was beating down all day, but we didnt even get a knock. I was wondering looking back, should we have been real close to the weedbeds and left the floating fry out almost static (we retrieved them at a steady fgr 8 speed).

Anyways.. if anyone has any advice for two eager novices (boat handling/general advice.. anything), please feel free!


-Si

Hi
I'm fairly new to this to
I had a couple of trips to Grafham with the same type of results,
then I tried a smaller still water and started catching fish and my confidence rose.
I know the Anglian water shops do a guide for Grafham, giving a rough guide where and what to use and at what time of year, I don't know if they do one for Rutland.
Depending on where you live/are prepared to travel I can recommend a small still water near me (it was recommended to me by Peter Hartley) that uses boats.

Were you fishing off the front of the boat or back? Were you anchored up?

Rutland is a big place and even experienced folk will blank.
First you have to find them, then find the right depth etc. Down deep or on the surface, or a foot down etc.

My best tip, on large waters, follow the ducks
Whatever they're eating, chances are the fish are too

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John Danter

I had some advice when I arrived and the people and staff were very friendly at RW. Where's this small still that you mentioned? Cant hurt to give it a try can it!

-Si

---------- Post added at 01:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 AM ----------

Hi there,
The wind was very light so we didnt bother anchoring up, but the effect was much the same, just drifting very slighty. I was fishing one side and my son the other, as being beginners both right handed I thought it was the safest way to start with to avoid each others lines etc). We had some reliable advice about where and what depth the fish were, and the other boats were in the same general areas. I'm sort of putting the trip down to a couple of duffers scaring the fish away with some often suspect casts and trying to figure out what we're doing! Still.. you only learn by doing it.


Thanks for the replies.
-Si

Hi Si
Little Heath Farm Fishery, Gamlingay, it's only a 6.5acre lake with rowing boats(only have 5) and theres no bank fishing(trees come down to the waters edge on most of the lake), so you need to book.
I'm up there on Sunday (I'm taking a friend for his first outing), come and say hi
last time I went I found the regulars had their catch limit by lunchtime, and I had the lake to myself in the afternoon(only caught the one, but had quite a few takes, all down to me I need to work on my retrieve and wait a little bit longer before lifting off to cast again).
it's a pretty secluded spot, i've lived in the area for forty odd years and never knew it was there and its been a trout fishery for 30 odd years!

Sounds a great spot. I'll look it up (havent a clue where it is!). Doubt I'll be able to get over on Sunday though, but I'll let you know when I do.

Rutlands never easy, even when you hear people say 'its fishing its head off'. You just have to persevere, be prepared to move and to try different flies and lines. If you can go out with a guide, its not cheap, but you are almost certain to find fish and gain an insight into how it works.

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Im thinking of taking a trip over to ravensthorpe soon.. what do you recon?

-Si

Grafham can be difficult. I'm fishing it quite a lot this year (my second full season) and am starting to get to grips with it slowly although still suffer the odd blank.

Get the wind to your back and drift slowly to cover the water. Get a drogue, it'll slow the drift and a great help when it's windy.

The shops will always give you a rough idea of what's working but I always like to try different things if the standard approach fails. On a recent trip I caught on stripped wets when others using more usual methods didn't.

Time of year is always important, now is the time for fry feeding or perhaps Daddies but look out for anything coming off the water and match it if the fish are showing interest.

Earlier on in the year I caught lots on nymphs and DB's lower in the water column. Just have fun, even if you don't catch anything it's still a learning experience.

Thanks for the Info and advice,
I always find the staff at the shop are more than helpful, and I still fish Grafham (they let under 16 fish for free/use your catch limit, other fisheries take note, children are the future of our sport) with my daughter, I found the smaller water highlighted the mistakes I was making, at Grafham.
Because its a large body of water and you can get a long cast, you tend to assume (well I did) that by the time you have retrieved to within 30 ft of the boat if you haven't had a take, then there isn't going to be one.
On a smaller water you can see the fly/s coming to the boat as you tend to retrieve further and see the trout following in.
This proved to me I was lifting off way too early and probably loosing fish.
I've never tried drifting at Grafham, I normally anchor around the L bouy/Nature reserve or if its too windy row up and then anchor in savages.
But yes it's not all about catching fish, I really enjoy a day out on the water.
It's just you need a self confidence boost sometimes and a small still water can provide that.
But next time I go to Grafham, I'll get a drogue and give drifting a go