Easter 2025 Competition Round-up

Several anglers arrived at Brick Farm Lakes on a sunny April morning for our annual Easter competition.  With the smell of bacon filling the air and the hubbub of friendly competition in the car park, rolls were served with a peg draw for walk off position.  Fished on a 3 fish ticket, this event is always really friendly and light-hearted with trophies and Easter eggs up for grabs. 

Brick Lake seemed to be the favoured water with peg choices, but fish were being caught all over.  Multiple flies were working but black lures seemed to be enticing the fish more - not surprising really when you see the amount of tadpoles in the lakes!  Simon Kiley, a regular here, hooked into a fish on Spring Lake almost immediately, but with no awards for bagging up early, he and several others who bagged up had additional fish. 

A Ploughman’s lunch was on the menu for the day, followed by Easter treats made by Samantha.  We held a raffle with donated prizes including tackle bags, wine and some fantastic rods – thank you everyone for donations and ticket purchases.  

The biggest 3 fish bag was awarded to Len Taylor – he kept his bag weight close to his chest so a round of applause followed with some cheers as he won a the 1st place trophy with a bag weight of 9lb exactly.  Mick Moody came in 2nd with a total bag weight of 8lb 10oz – being a relatively new fly fisherman and this was his first fly fishing competition so he was both surprised and thrilled to come in second, but it goes to show that everyone has a good chance.  Well done to both Len and Mick! 

Rob Barden won the Skittles Easter egg, chosen by Alfie, this was the prize for smallest 3 fish bag, weighing in at 6lb 12oz.  A single Cadbury’s Crème Egg was [unsurprisingly] awarded to Alex Lagdon – he can always catch fish at Brick Farm, but when he fishes a competition I’d put money on him catching the smallest fish of the day! 

Update - 21st January

Since the icy conditions and frozen lakes have thawed, we are very pleased to be back open as usual, and clearly the fish are responding well too with some very healthy bags and happy anglers!  The lakes are still nice and clear and ground conditions are becoming less slippery.  Successful flies of recent are, as you would expect, Damsels, Montanas, Cats Whiskers and Tadpoles, fished around 3-4ft down.  The fish do seem to be podded up slightly so best advice is to move around and try something new! 

The last week in particular has seen Gary Manley land a nice 8lb 12oz rainbow from Brick Lake – the largest of a 5 fish bag totalling 19lb 14oz!  Chris Shackell had Brownie weighing in at 3lb 11oz and Len Taylor had another Brownie which was 5lb 10oz.  James Cooper had a healthy 5lb 13oz rainbow with a nice big tail! Gary, Mike & Mason visited Brick Farm for their first time and all were rewarded with full 3 fish bags and additional fish each – we look forward to seeing you guys again! 

Catch photos are on our Facebook page so give us a like there to see them.

WE ARE OPEN!

We are thrilled to say we are OPEN and the ice is thawing nicely. There is a bit of surface water on top of some ice, but there is fishable water and it's melting quickly!

ICE UPDATE

Unfortunately our Lakes have now completely succumbed to the cold weather and we are completely frozen over.

The last couple of days had left a few swims still fishable, with some brave anglers reaping the rewards with several takes and good catches, but this morning we have no choice but to close until we have thawed a little - we will update as things change.

January 2025

Happy New Year! With the New Year comes new ideas and lots to look forward to! Watch this space for competitions, events and more!

Fishing of recent has been particularly good - the most successful flies being Cats Whiskers, Damsels and Montanas - the usual tactics for this time of year. We are stocking regularly and each delivery is also bringing in a few slightly larger fish. John Lindley tempted a nice rainbow out of Brick Lake weighing in at 11lb 9oz - his new Personal Best(!), and we are pleased to be seeing several 5lb + fish being caught.

Our very own Alfie (aged 6) landed his first trout from Spring Lake recently - he is very keen for 2025 to be his year for casting, hooking and landing a trout entirely on his own - good luck Alfie!

The weather is of course cold and wet this time of year, but despite the below 0° temperatures, we are still fully ice-free on the lakes at the time of writing - the benefit of the later warmth last year I guess.

We are open daily from 8am, but always available on the phone in the Lodge or on the mobile if you would like to enquire of conditions before setting off - we look forward to seeing you!

Report: 27/11/2024

The weather of recent really isn’t the chosen for fly fishing, but that said last Sunday when storm Bert reared his head we still held a competition on Brick Lake.  11 anglers attended and not a single one blanked – most of them achieved a bag of either 3 or 4 fish by 1pm which was very impressive given the incredibly strong gusts of wind. 

Following the winds we’ve had plenty of rain too, but we are pleased to report that the lakes aren’t as coloured as one might assume.  Brick Lake is probably the muddiest but even that is still very much helping anglers to fill their tickets. Well, Stag and Spring Lakes are also proving fruitful, with catches particularly being recorded with a mixture including Damsels, Apps Bloodworm, Cats Whiskers and Cormorant flies. 

The ground is slippery, as expected for this time of year, and the decking around the Lodge also – please tread carefully. 

November 2024

It is uncharacteristically warm for November, which is showing in the log book notes on fly choices – it’s impressive to still be seeing that Daddies are still a prevalent choice for both angler and clearly the trout too!  Other small more natural looking flies are also proving fruitful in the catch returns, as are Montana and of course the faithful Blue Flash Damsel or Cats Whisker.  Most anglers are reporting that the fish are shoaling together, but still very much in the top 12” of the water – no need for an intermediate or sinking line at the moment!

Fly choice aside, the constant is definitely that the fish are chasing – a fast retrieve is proving exciting and almost essential for a catch.  Perhaps more tiring for the angler, but that’s where we are pleased to say that the log burner is being lit in the Lodge almost daily, providing a warm and welcome reception for those mid-morning fireside teas, coffees or lunchtime beers with a well-earned bacon bap!    

September 2024

As we come out the other side of a long, hot summer, we are pleased to report that the fishing is most definitely on the up.  We have spent the Summer mowing and tidying as much as we can, and in fact tomorrow is booked in as a bit of a weed clearance day which will help things along further. 

Obviously you’re here to read about the fishing and, as you’d expect for this time of year, dries, Daddies and Buzzers are proving fruitful, and of course you can’t really go wrong with a Blue Flash Damsel!  The majority of fish are being caught in the top foot of water and we are now resuming our normal weekly stockings as we head into Autumn and the water cools down. 

Last weekend, Chad was pleased to return to the Lodge with a nice 6lb 3oz rainbow from Brick Lake – he said it fought well and the tail was in pristine condition.  Today things are a bit cloudy with a nice bit of surface movement from the wind – James caught on his first cast using a dry fly on Well Lake, and is still out enjoying the peace and surroundings while he tries to catch one or two more. 

May update

Well the weather has been up and down more than a yoyo but this has resulted in the lakes remaining full and the water temperatures far lower than normal for this time of year.

As you may have guessed, the fishing has been pretty much all over the place with the weather changes. I think, as a general rule, the fish have been high in the water and in some cases, very high. It seems to be more a case of finding the fish rather than specific fly choice. Just a few days ago the fish were in the top 6-12 inches and if you were any deeper you would not even get a sniff from the fish! Definitely a time to bring out the suspender buzzers or washing line methods.

We are still getting alot of anglers bagging up and having a fantastic day. Both myself and Caroline have taught lessons recently with the novice anglers catching multiple fish.

We have just had a lovely stocking with an average stock size of 3lb! There will certainly be some very happy anglers over the coming days.

Tight lines

Phil

Febuary

Despite the terrible weather we have been having again this month, the fishing has remained very good!

Brick lake has taken on some colour after the very heavy downpour’s but is clearing in a couple of days. Well, Stag and Spring have kept a very good level of clarity throughout the month.

The most productive fly seems to be the ever reliable Blue Flash Damsel and in particular the black BFD. Black and green have also been a good colour combination too.

With the slightly warmer days we have had some good spells of rising fish so dry flies have produced a few fish too. Perhaps Spring is finally on the way!!