December 2023
The weather has been much better recently with multiple dry days and even a few crisp frosty mornings. The Lakes have been fishing consistently well over the last few weeks and we have seen some great bags of fish coming out. Various flies have been successfully catching and some days it doesn’t seem to matter the pattern; it’s more about getting a fly in the right place. I cannot stress enough how important it is to move around whist fly fishing, try to watch the water and read what the fish are doing. More often than not they give their location away and also can give hints as to what they are feeding on too. Never be afraid to move to the fish, as there is definitely no guarantee they will come to you! The most productive flies of the last week have been the good old Cats Whisker closely followed by the ever reliable Blue Flash Damsel. The slight exception to this has been on the milder days when Diawl Bach and other small nymphs are catching well. This was proven in particular recently by Paul Latimer who had a stunning 7lb 8oz Rainbow from Spring lake on a small red Diawl Bach.
Eastbourne District Fly Fishers Club held their ‘Fur and Feather’ Christmas event with us when they enjoyed bacon rolls on arrival before heading out on 3 fish tickets followed by a festive lunch consisting of roast turkey and stuffing baps, roast potatoes and mince pies. Neil Cutmore was lucky enough to find the fish straight off the bat therefore fulfilling his bag within the first hour. EDFF’s newest and youngest member Jamie Blake soon followed with his 3 fish bag totalling 8lb which included a hard fighting rainbow of 3lb 9oz.
Brick Farm V Chalybeate - The 2 teams headed out around Brick Lake at 8.30am after a peg draw and the obligatory bacon and egg baps. A few anglers hooked fish almost immediately and throughout the morning more fish were fighting well and being landed and lost. Final results at 1pm were incredibly tight - with only 1 fish difference, and a total weight of only 1lb 13oz separating the teams, Brick Farm brought up the rear with a very healthy 48lb 1oz for 20 fish while Chalybeate took the top spot with 49lb 14oz for 21 fish! Top fish went to Rob Barden of Brick Farm at 7lb 4oz, and the best 4fish bag was caught by Chalybeate's Bob with 14lb 1oz! Well done everyone!!
Brick Farm League – This month’s match was well attended with 17 anglers joining us. After the ever welcome bacon baps, each angler drew their peg from the bag and headed out to await the whistle to start the match at 8.30am. Fishing appeared a little slow to start but it wasn’t long before Dean Baker arrived at the lodge just after 10am having caught his 4 fish closely followed by Danielle Adams. At the final whistle 12 anglers had bagged all 4 fish and the remaining anglers were all reporting multiple fish lost, some frustratingly right at the net and one on a double hook-up (a single dropper is allowed). Final results were very tight with just 3oz separating the top 3 spots this month. Dean Baker won this match with a bag totalling 9lb 3oz, Danielle Adams came in 2nd place with a 9lb 2oz bag and Ray Burt took the 3rd spot with a bag weight of 9lb 1oz. Once again well done to all!
On Sunday the 31st December we will be closed to day ticket anglers as we are holding our Annual Festive Competition. This is a relaxed competition open to all, followed by jacket potatoes in the lodge. Currently there are just a few spaces left so if you are interested in attending then please call the lodge ASAP on 01323 832615 to book your place or for more information. There is a raffle running in the lodge to raise money for the upkeep to the on-site Defibrillator – we would be grateful for any tickets purchased. The draw will take place on the 31st December at this competition.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all or you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Let’s hope for lots of tight lines and some more consistent weather next year!