Fishing very similar to last week with some really good days and some difficult days. Much depended on wind speeds and temperature. Last weekend was typical with a strong wind on Saturday that made some of bank difficult for the Fly rods, whereas Sunday it had calmed sufficiently to provide good sport for all. Having said that, the Any Method anglers have been catching steadily in all conditions albeit they too have been influenced by the weather. On the rough colder days Bait fished close to the bottom has far outfished the Spinners but on the warmer sunny days the bright Mini-Lures have been successful as the Trout have risen higher in the water. None the less I continue hear of some cracking catches by all methods when conditions are good, several boats in the past week have been in for second tickets and the Rangers report some bank anglers going into double figures on Catch & Release

Stocking

Such was the comprehensive pre-season stocking programme last month, utilising bank input by lorry and 'Trickle' input on the water from the Dory that Trout are being caught from many different places around the reservoir. Ok, so the numbers of Trout may not be as prolific as in the Main Bowl, Bewl Straight and Hook Straight but it does mean that for those who enjoy Bewls' scenic beauty and solitude or maybe just want to get out of the wind, the Bays and Creeks are now worth visiting

Forecast

With the wind dropping and the temperature rising conditions from today are looking very good for the weekend and into next week and with it I expect the fishing to be more consistent as the Trout rise higher in the water

Feast or Famine

It is strange how the weather has so much effect on Trout especially for the Fly fisherman and how on some days it is very much a case of feast or famine

Johns best day. I was out again on Wednesday with BBFC member and regular mid week partnerJohn Turner and have to admit that on this occasion I got my bottom well and truly spanked. The weather, as always on a Wednesday of late, was forecast high winds with the possibility of rain later. Not many boats out, nor many on the bank. The sort of day where I would be normally be very pessimistic. And I was. A day where anchoring up out of the wind with a float and worm would be the sensible thing to do and some did. But no, as the wind at the outset was not too bad we decided to go for a tour on the drift, starting at the Playground. We went from there into the Dam, then Chingley Corner and Chingley Point. By that time the WSW wind was up into double figures and very cold. But, John had caught 3 beautiful Rainbows the largest featured as the main picture on this report. I had 1 Perch, which actually turned out to be my only take. From Chingley Point went down Monty's Seat and drifted up through Messel Bay to Ferry Point. Then up the remainder of Bewl Straight to Rosemary Lane dam stopping at 'No Name' bay, Hatherell's Bay, Dunstars Point and Tinkers Marsh. None of which yielded anything, not surprising really as the cold wind seemed to be coming from all directions. Even at Rosemary with shelter from the trees the boat was acting more like a Carousel ride at a Fairground. We were beaten, it was lunch time and we decided to give it best and go in, especially as the horizon was filling with ominous dark cloud. We had fished pretty close to the banks all morning, one to get out of the wind and secondly the fish have in the majority been not far from the bank. However, in Bewl Straight on the back to the Lodge and just for the devil of it, we decided to do one last drift into the Chingley Wood bank about 400 yds from Chingley Point. This was the windward side and a tad rough. Starting about halfway across we rode the wave with the help of the drogue. About 200yds from the trees John's rod arched over into what looked to be a good fish, it was in fact two good fish which took the remaining distance to the trees to net and get in. A double up. With the wind worsening there was just time before the rains came to repeat that drift and yes, John got another one. It was without doubt a difficult day yet John had managed to catch 6 quality Rainbows including a real cracker and dropped 2. The best day he has had for some time. Great, we used the same setup as last week but during the periods of inactivity I changed a few times to give us an option and anyway I wasn't catching. John stayed with it and caught. The method was Di3 medium sink line with two black Pearly Cormorants and a Mini 'Snaket' on the point. Retrieve was as slow as possible with the drift. The fish took deeper early morning but the last two were probably at about 5ft. 5 of the 6 fish John landed were on the Cormorants. Tight lines, Ray F