Flicking through some back issues of T&S, I came across an article by the late Rod Tye on wet fly fishing the English reservoirs. His contention was that drifting square across the middle of these large stillwaters, ie over the deep water, was a deadly tatic on its day - especially during a decent blow and when daphnia were in evidence.

Your thoughts please. I've always been a bank hugger and even on a recent trip to the comparatively shallow Malham Tarn, it took all my resolve to drift through the open water.....in fact I only did so when my buddies demonstrated that fish could - and would - be caught that way.

Matt

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It's certainly been proved on many an Irish Lough when the browns are shoaling and feeding on Daphnia...especially on Melvin and Mask.

If the conditions are right there's no reason why rainbows couldn't be caught in the same way...as long as there not feeding too deep!

It's just having the confidence to drift over the deeps when you're used with hugging the shallows

C

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I agree with you NCA I prefer to fish the features around the shelves looking searching for the fish.I'm not saying I'm right or wrong,I'm comfortable with it.reading posts and articles by,I'm certain,better fishers than I about carsington,draycote etc drifting across the middle bagging up!I am resolved to evolve-then perhaps that might be an aim in itself

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an interesting mix of apathy and panic

Clive M

Across the middle is not always deep water remember. Well worth drifting Chew across the middle. The whole lake only averages 14 feet deep at top water (there are deeper parts). Rainbows are often feeding there once the insect life is up and running, not just the shallow parts. Some of the best dry fly fishing. Giving dabblers and muddlers more of a go this year to.

I used to just fish the edges and more so at anchor. Not any more.

Cheers,
Mark

The best drifts on Grafham are without doubt, right across the middle.

Rutland doesn't seem to fish quite so consistently across the middle until late August into September.

Graham

I'm no expert but caught two brownies around 1 and 1.5lb from Malham Tarn on buzzers in May, drifting nearer the middle than the edge (both at the beginning of the drift, adjacent to the front of the big house). Other folks, fishing the edge features, unfortunately did not catch. I was there on a beginners course at the Field Studies Centre.

Many and varied reasons for this Matt... think it through.. a man of your calibre shouldnt have too much trouble working it all out Water temp/ oxygen levels, daphnia, terrestrial falls (they don't just fall around the margins!) etc etc.

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Buzzers 2012


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