Weekly Report - 1 October 2020

We are now beginning to see some good amounts of rain coming through which will always be welcome in relation to pond levels following the recent dry spells, October has also brought with it a mass of Daddy Long Legs as can be seen not only from the surrounding areas, but also the log book with catch reports.

The last week or so has seen some very good catches including the following all over 3lb 12oz…

3.12lb – Mike Richardson, Rob Barden, M.Lane and Colin Cornford
3.14lb – Brian Brawn
4lb – I.Harris and John Lindley
5.9lb – Peter Finnis
6.8lb – Ashley Singer
6.12lb – P.Johnson
7.3lb – Dennis Wellman
7.4lb – Mick Pass
And fish of the moment goes to Derek Hill will a lovely 8.3lb! 

Weekly Report - 16 September 2020

The last week has seen some un-September-like weather, but thankfully for the fishing we aren’t getting several hot days in a row and the cooler nights and overcast days are ensuring that the fishing remains good. 

This week’s fish of the week was caught by Paul Doin with his catch of 4.8lb, closely followed by Peter Buss with 4.4lb and P.Buick with 4lb exactly.  Other notable catches include A.Norry who landed a good 3.8lb and Ian Workman, A.McLoan and S.Dawson each catching fish weighing 3.4lb. 

Successful flies continue to include damsels and buzzers but we are beginning to see some good catches on daddies and black ants too so it is clear that Autumn is well and truly on the way! 

We continue to be stocking weekly and now that the water temperatures are getting back to where we like them, we are regularly going to be putting in some larger fish, including several over 8lb so we are excited to see these coming out in the coming weeks! 

Weekly Report - 9 September 2020

Fishing continues to be very good with some good bags this week – notably Ray Burt with a 4 fish bag of 14.15lb the largest of which was 6.9lb – well done Ray!  Other notable fish of the week were Dudo Rae at 4.1lb, Colin Penfold at 4lb, A Singer with 3.12lb, David Harris & Steve Novis both with 3.8lb and Simon Price with a fish of 3.2lb.  By far the best fly of the week was the Damsel in its various guises.  Other significant flies include buzzers, diawl bach, cat’s whiskers and black and green lures. 

Tuesday 8th marked 1 year since we opened the gate and we ran a special offer of free ticket upgrades.  It was fantastic to see so many regular as well as new faces join us for the day and there was some great fishing to be had.  Fish of the day was caught by Paul Strevens – a lovely fish of 4lb.  The rod average for a 3 fish ticket was the day was 1.6

Weekly Report - 3 September 2020

Getting back to the weekly reports – after the hot spell and now that the weather has turned cooler, the fishing has picked up dramatically with some good bags being caught, notably a 3 fish limit of 10.4lb which included the largest fish of the week at 4.12lb caught by Simon Price.  Second largest fish of the week was caught by David Goldsmith weighing in at 4lb, closely followed by a fish of 3.9lb caught by John Inch.  Most successful flies at the moment include damsels, daddies, buzzers, montanas, cat’s whiskers and sedges.  Even though the evenings are drawing in, there are some really good rises and good fishing to be had!

Tuesday 8th September marks exactly 1 year since we opened the gates at Brick Farm Lakes - to mark to occasion and thank you all for your support, we will be offering a free ticket upgrade on all tickets, for example if you buy a 3 fish ticket then we will upgrade it to a 4 fish ticket for free. This offer is only for Tuesday 8th September and excludes voucher purchases.

Thank you all for your support over the last 12 months - here's to looking forward.

Weekly report - 20 July 2020

Cooler weather and even some rain has helped and the water temperatures have dropped slightly.  Fishing has been good, with lots of fish coming out.  On Saturday 18th Peter Johnson had 3 fish and purchased 3 additional fish ending the day with 6 fish to 3½lb all from Spring Lake.  On 16th Mr Clarke enjoyed a successful day catching his 3 fish including a lovely rainbow of 4lb 13oz.  On 12th Lee Holden caught his 3 fish from Brick Lake with a total bag weight of 10lb 4oz including a 6lb rainbow, caught on various flies in the changeable conditions. 

In general buzzers are still working well down deeper and when the fish are coming up in the water both damsels and montana have proved to be fruitful. 

During the day we are seeing various rises when the cloud comes over.  Most evenings have seen fish rising consistently in all lakes, with some great sport being had on the dry flies including Sedgehogs and Snatchers. 

Weekly Report - 6 July 2020

Yet again we had a strange week weather wise - it started off a little better with some cooler days and then the wind really picked up and was gusting in all directions providing for some challenging casting.  Again Spring Lake seemed to be the general favourite amongst our anglers wish the majority of fish early in the week being caught down in the depths.  However the last few days have thrown everything you would think into the air and literally blown it in every direction possible.  As always Damsels have been catching and also small buzzers, but blobs and boobies have proved fruitful too, particularly at the far end of Brick Lake.  Despite a recent quiet spell, Well Lake has started to produce some catches again in the last day or so, notably on a retrieve with a fast stripping action.  The largest fish for this week was a 3 ½ lb rainbow caught by Mr Richardson from Brick Lake on 3rd July despite it being a windy day.  3 other 3lb fish were caught by Lee, Nigel Hayden and Tim Smith. 

Weekly report – 29 June 2020

Last week was a funny one weather-wise which reflected in the fishing.  Earlier in the week it was very bright and warm, which whilst nice for the partners who came along to enjoy the scenery, it did reflect with the fishing being more challenging - this is where fishing to the conditions is really important.  Spring Lake is 24ft deep so the fish will be down at 18ft +.  Fishing deep with a slow retrieve proved to be essential for a good catch, particularly using black buzzers on your main fly, with some catching on a Daddy at the top of a very long leader!  As always blue flash damsels proved popular, particularly in the evenings.  Again our Saturday morning 5am early opening proved popular and well received with several anglers catching well before the usual 7.30am start!  The end of the week has brought some cooler weather, cloud cover and slight winds which has reflected in the fishing somewhat picking up.  The forecast for the following week is looking to continue on the cooler and cloudier side so there should be some good fishing.  Despite the warmer weather we are currently still managing to get a stock in weekly so as always there are plenty of fish to be caught! 

MAY UPDATE

WE ARE NOW BACK OPEN!

As of 7.30 on the 13th May we have been able to reopen with additional safety measures in place. Please read the new notice board on your way into the estate, you cannot miss it!

We are currently faced with difficult times given the Covid-19 pandemic and in line with Government restrictions and guidelines from The Angling Trust and the Institute of Fishery Management, we unfortunately had to close our gates to the public in March.  As angling has being included in the first lot of UK relaxations we are now open and are looking forward to seeing you get back to the bank and enjoy some fresh air.

The last few weeks or so for us have been filled with maintenance, predator checks and fishery improvements (there are certainly worse places to be isolating!)

The Lodge itself has been cleaned and treated (with the “help of the children as I am sure you can imagine).  It took a few days between cleaning, sanding and treating, and the window frames are still to be done, but I’m sure that once you see it you will agree that it is much softer and almost blends into the surroundings.  Even Alfie enjoyed “painting” the railings with water! 

The path to the side of Brick Lake has been widened, flattened and is much more accessible.  The swims around Brick Lake have been cleared and are more casting friendly so hopefully this will make things more enjoyable now you are able to get your rods out again! 

Everywhere has been mowed and is looking nice and neat. We have also cleared huge amounts of weed from the ponds!  

There has been some good movement on the lakes and the fish have been regularly rising throughout the day. We have observed some great hatches of Buzzers, Blue Damsels and even some May Fly!  I posted a photo on Facebook of some lovely Coot chicks which are on Stag Lake and the children were thrilled that the Easter Bunny came out of isolation to hide some eggs for them.  We have been doing our best to make sure that everything is healthy and neat for your return and have scared a few cormorants off and thankfully the fish are still in great condition (sorry – that’s an isolation perk of ours in having the lakes, but it’s not been for pleasure – purely stock checking!)  The early morning checks certainly aren’t hard work when there are such lovely views awaiting. 

Now we have been given the go ahead to open again, there will be social distancing measures in place and we ask that at all times when you are on site you keep a distance from other anglers.  We are operating a 1 in 1 out system for the Lodge and ask anglers to use the outside toilet facilities rather than indoor as access will be to the log book only.  We won’t be serving any food until cafes and restaurants are given the OK to reopen so please bring a packed lunch with you can still enjoy a day out. We do have some confectionary available such as chocolate bars and flapjack. You will still be able to make use of the free tea & coffee we offer to anglers, but in order to limit the use of the kettle we will happily make drinks for you.  For those of you that would rather, we are happy for you to telephone us from the car park and we will complete a ticket for you and can take payment over the phone – we just ask that you call us again before you leave so we can complete the catch report on your behalf.

Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you again soon! 

February Report

It has now been nearly 6 months since we took over Brick Farm Lakes and we are beginning to feel more relaxed and are certainly getting excited about the plans we have going forward!  Our efforts so far have been focused on general maintenance and putting in place the stands on Spring Lake, but there are some very exciting ideas in the pipeline so watch this space! 

Since we took over, the pricing structure has changed and we hope you will be pleased to hear that the cost of the tickets will remain at what they are for the foreseeable months of 2020 and we have no plans to be changing them any time soon. 

Obviously the weather over the festive period has been very wet but thankfully the lakes have coped very well.  We have regularly cleared pipes of debris and leaves, but the onset of some recent frosts has brought the danger of ice – please be extra vigilant when arriving at the Lodge as there is some water freezing across the car park.  So far the lakes haven’t frozen but who knows what February, March and beyond may bring! 

Brick Farm Lakes Christmas & New Year Competition

32 anglers joined us for our Christmas & New Year Competition on Sunday 5 January for a morning of fishing followed by a bowl (or 2) of homemade soup (lots of well-deserved compliments to Linda on her homemade Potage Bonne Femme which went down really well).  Prizes were up for grabs for biggest single fish, heaviest bag and smallest fish and naming no names (David Calder, David Goldsmith and Nathan Goodsell) we had a few happy anglers on their way with trophies and vouchers.  Thank you everyone for coming along, although the fishing was hard going it was a successful day nonetheless. 

Spring Lake

Following several weeks of extremely rainy and wet weather, Phil, Graham and 2 friends (Mark & David) worked tirelessly getting all the stands built and in place.  It helps that Mark is a carpenter so had the right tools for the job, but fuelled by plenty of pizza & homemade sausage rolls and cakes they got all 16 stands built and in place in just 2 very wet January days!  Two of the stands have been built in keeping with the suggested specifications of the British Disabled Angling Association so we hope that these provide additional space for our less mobile anglers to be able to enjoy the beautiful new lake.  We will be creating a parking area close to Spring Lake so those benefiting from these accessible stands won’t have too far to go.  We are now regularly stocking Spring Lake and whilst it is not fully stocked, the fish are in there and it has been fishing very well. 

Ladies Day (Trophy & Prize for Winner)

Danni will be hosting Ladies Day on Sunday 26 April 2020, so ladies get in quick if you fancy getting together with other females who enjoy fly fishing.  We will be fishing in the morning followed by “Ladies only afternoon tea” from 1pm with a selection of homemade sandwiches, quiches, scones and cakes!  Please pre-book asap (by phoning the Lodge or sending an email) as numbers are limited to a maximum of 16.  Ladies will be fishing on Spring Lake, whilst the rest of the waters will remain open for all anglers.  The Lodge will be reserved for the afternoon tea between 1-3pm.  Gents – don’t forget that you can still grab a bacon roll and your drinks out on the decking though!   

November Report

The last month has seen the onset of some heavy frosts, but with that has come some great sized fish for those hardy enough anglers who brave the cold, including a 5lb brown caught by Mary Carden.
We've hosted a few group Christmas days including Cinder Hill and Sussex Fly Dressers Guild when several good fish have been landed.
8yr old Tyler caught himself a lovely 6lb rainbow at the end of November.
We're also thrilled to announce that we achieved a rating of 5 when the Council came on a surprise visit to the lodge for our food & hygiene inspection.
Spring Lake is now full and we have begun to trickle stock it, as well as building some stands - we hope to open it fully by 1st March!

Tight lines and best wishes for the new year, The Axells