Hi All

Have decided to give Hanngingfield a good go this season; mostly wading.

Have armed myself with a Platinum XD 10' #7 to go into battle but I would very much appreciate some form of battle plan.

It seems a general consesus is to start off with lures/blobs and then move onto buzzers/nymphs. I thought I would start off at the natural bank though have only ever seen this from a boat and have no idea how to get there from the Lodge and also wondered whether one had to buy a ticket before starting wading as it seems you may start bank fishing at 7am but the Lodge only opens at 8am

Although I do prefer to use nymphs, any advice would be very much welcome from forum members who fish there regularly.

Any thoughts?

many thanks

Ben

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Bob, The dam is always a good place early season at the Middlemead end if the wind is right, or at the inlet end if not.

For natural bank fishing I would either head for the area near the lodge or Hall point. Ask in the lodge for the code to use teh car park at the dam.

For tactics it will be cat, orange or black boobies on a fast sinker to start with and buzzers once it warms up a bit.

Charlie

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Thanks Charlie, I should have placed a bet on you being the first to respond

May I press you for a bit more information?

'Area near the lodge'; is this the bank area just to the right of the wee mole that juts out next to the boat dock?

And, are you suggesting I start on lures and then, as the day warms up, move on to nymphs etc on a floating line or intermediate on a washing line with booby on the point or similar?

I must say, when I tried boat fishing a few times at Hanningfield, the other crews were very helpful indeed; some even pulling alongside during the morning to offer tips and even hand over the killing fly. Fantastic!

Many thanks once again, much appreciated.


Ben

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Yes, the mole itself is good as well, but I have to admit I have only ever fished the dam.

Lures, lures, lures to start with then, maybe buzzers if it is very mild but give it a month and your hair will be full of 'em.

Charlie

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Thank you Charlie, much appreciated indeed.

Any idea if tickets may be purchased in advance to avoid the 8am rush in the Lodge and enable one to be out on the water extra early?

Many thanks once again.

Ben

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Hey Bob take a look here: http://hanningfieldflyfishing.co.uk/

Thanks F.O.G.

I might give these fellows a call to see if I

A: might join the club
B: If I have to purchase a day ticket from the Lodge before starting fishing as I want to be on the water at 7am.......early bird and all that

Many thanks

Ben

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Hi Ben, Ive never fished Hanningfield mate so maybe I should keep my nose out of this.
However you mentioned that you prefer fishing imitatively.....so go ahead....,nothing to stop you deep nymphing with heavy hares ears(hoglouse) and cased caddis patterns.You can bet your bottom dollar that the residential fish will be feeding on that kind of fodder in the early weeks of the season.Just a matter of picking your locations on the bank and your fishing days carefully.

Lures might be more productive...,arguably,but they wont be the only way to skin a cat.Nymphing is more than just buzzers...

Thanks Jimmy; yes, I might take a few on lures to build up my confidence and then move onto nymphing later.

Was at Chigboro a few weeks back and everyone was using lures to little/no effect whilst I was having fun with some nice resident fish on a hares ear / diawl bach combination.

That said, I had more comments because I was using an indicator to help hold the flies at the correct depth (due to heavy weed) and because of the light and ripples on the water.

Almost as if I were committing a cardinal sin

Still, when I left the bank there were 4 odd 'jackals' waiting in the wings to poach the apparent 'hot spot' on a small lake......

Ben

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SKB,

Been a wee while since I fished either Hanningfield or Chigboro, but took many limit bags from both. Fast sink lines and booby tactics worked well on both waters, as did lures, but the feel I get from your posts is that you would rather fish 'wee stuff'. So go do it - buzzers under a bung worked well at both fisheries, as did PTNs and Diawls swung round on a floater (although I would probably have a weighted damsel on the point if I wanted to go deeper). Just enjoy your fishing, and choose a method you enjoy using - it doesn't have to be hard work.

Laters....

Bill