Firstly i want to say hi and hopefully you will be kind to me with this being my "virgin" post lol

I have done a search and though helpful all the results are pretty old so thought i would get an update

I currently live in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Literally 10mins away from sheephouse farm. I have fished it many times b4 and though i have caught fish there i do find it quite difficult at times and really only a few swims produce/combined with wanting to try a new place. I have been to felix farm and it is an absolute mission to get to with a zillion rules

I have a car and am willing to travel (and when i get my skills up a bit I look foward to going to dever for a birthday treat late summer) however at the moment i am worse then rubbish and having blanked on my last few sessions i need a "confidence" building lake where it isnt rock hard. A lake where even on a bad day people can still do well

I have read about Barn Elms and Farmoor but am wondering what the opinion is etc

Any advice would be welcome, going to go next weekend hopefully

Thanks in advance

Hi Reefbreak

Welcome to the Forum, hope you enjoy it!

I would say it would be a good idea to fish some small stillwaters for starters. Also, keep an eye on the events page as there are some get togethers organised for the members by members. Last time 15 of us went to Chalk Springs, had the place to ourselves and had a great time. There would be members who would offer you help and advice at one of these gatherings.
Have a look at this:
The Fly Fishers Map
Its a map showing the fisheries in the UK, you might discover other fisheries you haven't heard of.
I fished Albury a few times last year and took some beginers along and they coped without having to cast great distances and they managed to catch as well even with my basic casting advice! Don't know if Guildford is too far for you?

Good luck!
FbS

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"Audere est Facere"

Barn Elms is the one for you, without a doubt. Plenty of water that's easy to cover and the fish are really good quality.

Bear in mind it's catch and kill only (or at least it was the last time I fished it a few years back) Some people don't like it as there's no C&R option.

Beautiful surroundings too, I've seen stoats, roe deer, kites and even a barn owl while fishing before.

If you take some mini clouser minnow type patterns as a 'weapon of last resort', you'll most likely not need them, but the water is exceptionally clear and there's a large head of stunted perch. Some of the fish quickly switch onto tiny perch as an easy prey source, so a quickly stripped streamer often does the business. Maximum hook size always used to be 8 and there's a ban on 'Dog Nobblers' - as always, if in doubt, ask the bailiff.

http://www.barnelmsfishery.co.uk/index.htm

Cheers,

__________________
Adam
"Dum vivimus, vivamus."

http://www.adamhughes.net

Hi

Thanks again for the advice and i will keep a look out in the events page.

I think i will give this Barn Elms a try. not to worried about killing the fish as i dont mind a bit of well cooked trout. but i am generally a release kinda guy.

Going to go out in the garden and hone my casting skills this afternoon, oh im as giddy as a school girl for next weekend.

apart from a mini clouser minnow, any other patterns which tend to produce, or any swims that are more productive???

cheers

Hi,
have replied to your private message, contact me again if you'd like some more info etc.

You could also try Haywards Farm, its just off J12 of the M4 and the Sportfish tackle shop is based at the same location (about 5 mins from Theale railway station) - 0118 932 3422 (don't take your wallet in with you if you visit the shop - you can spend too much money!).

jw

Ok well im all sorted with a fishing licence and will be attempting to break my duck at Barn elms this weekend.

Any last min tips / fly choice or swim selection that might help me in my hour of need.

Fingers crossed

well for anyone who is interested.

I ventured to barn elms today, nice little fishery lots of kites, buzzards and toads all over the place and water as clear as gin. Very busy when i arrived noted lots of fish 1-3lbs swimming around however not many taken from the cards i noticed in the hut.

Went 1 for 2. Landed a nice 2lb rainbow no deformity no mising fins. Good fight from a small fish

I can see this lake being very weedy come summer, they had stuck large wheels of hay in to control the alge but it was pretty bad and its only just April.

Think i will try another fishery next time.

Hi Reefbreak

I only started fly fishing towards the end of last summer and found Barn Elms through their website.....

I couldn't rate this water any more highly for beginners.....the assistance I received both from the baillifs and other anglers was fantastic....

The water was very well stocked every week mostly around the 2-3lb mark with an occasional larger one thrown in.....saw a couple of around 8lb too, hooked one but lost it.....

Thursday/Friday seem to be the easiest days, just after the stocking.

I like this water because it is fairly open and you are not always getting caught in the trees when casting. It is small enough so that the fish can not sit in the middle out of reach and yet plenty of bank space so that you never feel you are falling over other anglers....

Dave

Hello again Reefbreak (and now d4veh)

Sorry I missed your other replies or I would have replied sooner. Other flies to try at Barn Elms include large pheasant tail nymphs (these are probably taken for either damsels or mayfly nymphs) realistic damsel fly nymphs, mayfly nymphs (April May and June) GRHE nymphs work anywhere and here is no exception. They usually get a decent mayfly hatch so mayfly duns and spinners on their day.

They have had some huge caenis hatches in the past, a small pale GRHE nymph fished in the surface film is about the only way I've ever caught when they're coming off in any numbers. I tried a few 'specialist' caenis patterns but none of them did any better than a GRHE nymph.

Black or orange tadpoles and montanas (probably taken for tadpoles) work well in their season as do pin fry patterns.

Parts of the fishery do get excessively weeded later in the season but the main area of the lake is usually kept free of it and I've never known algal blooms to be a problem - with the Pang flowing in at one end and out again at the other the water is seldom in there long enough to suffer badly.

Best places to fish from: Along the bank from the hut or the end of the lake to the left of the car park (take the bridge from the car park basically) are where the deepest areas of water are. A carefull approach to the island (a good idea to avoid this bit if the swans are nesting and in residence) can pay dividends if theres a good rise going on.

Hope that helps,

__________________
Adam
"Dum vivimus, vivamus."

http://www.adamhughes.net