Arrived 4.oo p.m. and packed up at 9.15 p.m. Coudy with a light southerly breeze at first. but later the sky cleared and it was flat calm on the south bank.

Fished North Farm Bay. Soon after starting I caught and returned a fish and had one more touch all evening. Nothing showed until evening and that was not very much and mostly out of reach. A few sedges were hatching. I saw no birds working over the water except for a few terns late on. And I hear that the banks are fishing better than the boats!

Mugsy

Pretty much the same story here too.

We left the boat dock about 9am and headed straight for the top end. On the way we spotted a couple of fish moving about 60 out of Pig Bay so we pulled in for a quick drift, no action so we went to Pitsford Creek. No signs of fish and again no action. Between 11am and 2pm we were drifting the north shore bays with very little movement. we got to Bog Bay and saw a couple of fish move and noticed 3 boats anchored up along the Causeway so we drifted down and immediately got follows to the Soldier Palmer on the bob.

We decided to keep out the way of the anchored boats and so drifted down the North Field Shore and on to the Causeway and for a couple of hours got follows and swirls and bumps but no firm takes to a series of flies including Hoppers, Suspenders and Palmers. These fish were interested in a chase but wouldn't commit, so reasoning that the fish might be up and about elsewhere we headed back up to The Dam. On the first drift my boat partner and I simultaneously connected with a 2 1/2 lb Brownie and a "torpedo" 3 1/2 lb Rainbow respectively. Both fish came to a Fiery Brown Suspender. We had another half hearted drift and moved a couple of fish but decided to pack up at 6pm.

The only hatch I saw was a very sparse hatch of large Golden Dun Buzzers at around 3pm. According to the warden there had been a 180° turn of the wind in 24 hrs, heavy rain and a temperature drop of 4°, not ideal conditions.

Looking on the bright side, if these unsettled conditions continue throughout the season there should be a good stock of big over wintered fish next year.

I am planning to get to Pitsford double early tomorrow and try my luck off the bank, even though I know it has been fishing poorly. We can always go to Ravo after breakfast but I fancy a bit off the bank.
I know the weather has been sort of unsettled but I would have thought it would have been fishing a bit better, all the rain has kept water temperatures down nicely.How long do you think it is before Mr Trout gets ravenous?
I think you are right Midlander- we can look forward to plenty of grown on fish, but hopefully for fry time, rather than next season!
GM

If you do Ravensthorpe, let me know how you get on. We have a boat booked Sunday, supposed to be spot on.

Charlie

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Sonik Sports Team Pitsford Pirates

I think it's all down to the fly life GDM. There's was sod all the other day. Even the Damsels were few and far between, Buzzers, virtually nil. The fish that we caught were virtually empty, on gutting they showed traces of snails. To my mind it's possible they're feeding after dark on Grousewing Sedges or deep on Snail and Louse. I also feel they may have swapped to fry early as this seasons coarse fry are getting big already.

The water temperature is lower now than it was in April or May and I think the fluctuation in water temperature and the wind zipping from one quarter to another isn't helping matters. Ravensthorpe is a significantly smaller water and so isn't affected by the conditions as much. I'd make that your first port of call to be honest.

I must admit I'm looking forward to a warm, moist September and a colossal daddy hatch. Grown on, well mended fish and a daddy explosion, bring it on!

Will do charlie, past four trips have seen fish on top all day (well nearly) and we caught well on dries and emergers.Have just spoken to Graham and he says it is starting to green up but the boats are still doing the business on the dries.Let us hope it holds out for us, sport seems hard to find at the moment!
GM

Charlie:

I fished Ravensthorpe (from a boat - the only one out) on Thursday (yesterday) and managed 11 fish, all off the top, using a two-fly rig: greased muddler on the bob, and a hopper on the point. Cast, and twitch in 6" pulls. (Loopy came out for the morning, and had the same kind of luck I was having - lots of takes and fish hooked, all on top.)

The fish were taking all day long - I started at 9:30 or so and left the water at 8:30 PM. Best bite seemed to be around 4 - 5PM, but there were fish taking all day long.

Drifted parallel to the dam, about 200-300 yards out, but I'm not sure it made a difference - there seemed to be fish everywhere except in the deep water by the dam. Most fish seemed to be at the bottom of the wind, opposite the lodge. The weather was overcast, with some rain and then some sun, but mostly just gray.

Good luck!

Cheers,

A. Gregory

"I fished"

!

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[COLOR="Blue"]"A fish seen is a fish nearly caught"[/COLOR]

Sounds good !

thanks

Charlie

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Sonik Sports Team Pitsford Pirates

Sorry - I just didn't want to implicate you in any criminal activities! Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation... ;-)