A day on Farmoor

Farmoor is a concrete bowl water supply reservoir situated just west of Oxford. It is divided by a causeway into two bodies of water - Farmoor I and Farmoor II. Thames Water has run Farmoor II as a commercial trout fishery for quite some time, offering both bank and boat fishing. Farmoor I was, until relatively recently, leased to a private Club. However this lease recently expired and the control of the fishing reverted back to Thames Water. Since this time it has been used as a bank only catch and release fishery, limited to 15 rods per day.

Earlier this week Jason and I jumped in the car and travelled up to Farmoor in a state of high anticipation. It was dull and overcast, which was ideal but a gusting wind from the north had us a little worried. We were also slightly concerned with how we were going to fare. Both of us are primarily river fisherman more used to targeting rising fish in our favourite rivers and streams. To be honest I was feeling a little bit nervous at the prospect of approaching a huge expanse of uniform water. However recent reports on various forums of the quality of fish in Farmoor I buoyed our spirits.

Our first reaction when we got there was how exposed it was. We also noted how clear the water was, and it was apparent from the angle that the banks shelved into the water that there was likely to be deep water very close into the bank. We made the prediction that we weren’t going to have to be casting too far out. We both tackled up with floating lines and long fluorocarbon leaders. Jason had his Dan Craft Sig V 9’6” 6 weight and I had the Sig V 9’9” 7 weight. We both opted to start with a single fly, Jason with a god headed Prince nymph and me with a Nomad.

The Prince lasted one casted. 15 yards out Jason got smashed. In short order I had lost my first fish of the day, but I did have enough time to register the sheer power of the fish. So at this point we hadn’t had any tangible success but at least we were doing something right! And then Jason had another smash take. At this point he lost patience with his fluorocarbon, and set up a co-polymer leader.

In attempt to fish as much water as possible we were trying to stay mobile working on the assumption that the fish were likely to be cruising the reservoir. There was some surface activity but not really enough to prompt a switch to dry / emerger patterns. Very shortly I had my seconod take of the day, followed by my second loss. I was beginning to think that we were cursed, but a more rationale explanation was that I wasn’t really in control of either fish, surprised as I was by their power. Plus I probably shouldn’t have really bothered trying to get the lime back on the reel. It only served to distract me.

For a third time the Nomad struck and this time the fish wasn’t going to get away. There were no blazing runs with the drag on the reel screaming for mercy. Rather this was a brutal close quarter scrap with the rod being used to exert sidestrain. Eventually the fish was netted and the barbless hook easily removed. With the net and the fish in the water we admired my first Farmoor rainbow. It really was as pristine a stocked fish that you could ever hope to see. Estimated at 6 lbs it had clearly grown on in the reservoir and it really was fin perfect. And after a minute or two the trout swam strongly back to the depths.

For the remainder of the day the fishing was quite similar. We each ended up releasing four fish caught on a variety of flies- Nomad, buzzers, hoppers and so on. All of the fish were in superb condition and were each estimated at 4 lb or more. The smallest fish of the day was measured at 22” against the frame of the landing net. All of the fish fought a similarly dogged close quarter battle with some occasional sprints. All that is apart from this one that took all of the flyline and at least 50 yards of backing.....





Will we be back.....you bet!

New Beginnings

For a variety of reasons last year never really got going on the fishing front. This year will be different. It needs to be or I will lose my sanity. I have also decided that I will go back to the syndicate. On reflection it is probably better to try and influence from the inside.

The winter has fairly flown by in a blizzard of boxes and paintbrushes – yes I have moved house. Despite this I have managed to sneak out with the rods a few times, both after chub (with some success) and pike (with no success). A weekend after the grayling on the Derbyshire Wye was a particular highlight.

The rod building continues, and I have invested in a lathe to turn my own reelseats. I must post some pictures.

I really am excited by the prospect of the year ahead.

A Nymph Fisherman is Born?

Fished on Friday in conditions that were far from ideal. A hot, bright day with not a breath of wind or hint of cloud. Today was to be exploratory visit to a new stretch of water. The target for today was to be chub with the chance of a bonus trout. I walked to the bottom of the beat and pondered a while. The stream was running clear and in the heat of the midday sun nothing was hatching from the water. Despite this I set up with a dry fly. Now I could, and have done extensively in the past, kid myself that I do this because I much prefer to catch fish on the dry. Fact is that I suck at nymph fishing and have lacked the resolution to do something about it before now. This has not been helped by the fact that I fish waters that have rewarded dry fly techniques. No hiding from the fact that I have barely scratched the surface by not attempting the nymph.
And today started off no different. I fished through the entire stretch with the dry and had only a couple of desultory offers, probably from dace. Despite this lack of success the stream was stuffed with chub including a couple of real lumps that were cruising around like trident submarines. At the top of the beat I gave myself I stern talking to and resolved to go back to the bottom and fish back up with a nymph and an indicator. The fly was a fairly nondescript gold head hares ear with a wool indicator 3’ up the leader. I began to fish and it was immediately apparent that the fish were reacting to the fly. This is quite a shallow, weedy stream and I had to be careful with where the fly was to be cast. I was lengthening out my cast and getting some nice drifts on the nymph. On one such drift the indicator disappeared in the blink of an eye and I lifted into a fish which immediately bolted for cover. I hung on as much as I dared but the chub was successful in the dash for cover. So much so that I had to wade upstream to recover the fish from the marginal vegetation to unhook and return. Took the opportunity to get this picture....

I fished further on upstream before packing up a couple of hours later, Final tally was four chub, two on the dry and two on the nymph.

A break in the weather

Over the weekend we had a break in the appalling weather that we have been 'enjoying' this summer. So I took the opportunity to test the new rod. It performed really well, even though I had overlined it with a 4 weight. It was christened with a 6" Dace which was pretty much the only fish that I saw rise. I also remembered to take the camera out with me, here are a few shots....

Quite a few caddis in this stream. Yes this is a brick, one of the common features of sub-urban streams.



It really is a pretty stream, difficult to believe that this is only half a mile from a bustling town centre.




Despite the lousy weather the river has fined down quite considerably.



This stretch is usually heaving with Chub



Not really a bad place to while away an hour or two.

Well this year has simply flown by. I guess that six visits to the States and 50 odd nights in hotels will achieve this. And now that I am back home with very little travel to be done the weather has been appalling. I really have not had too many opportunities to fish this year and when I have been out fishing I have not had a camera. I think the highlight has been catching my first few trout in the States. No guides for this boy and, consequently, I now have some appreciation for what is referred to as 'technical' fishing.

I have been doing a little rod building though. This is a 7'9" 3 weight built on a 2 piece RX7 blank. The reel seat is cork burl. I had some fun turning it....

The wraps are in Golden Sage with one coat of Flex Coat Lite

Confusion

I must admit that I am confused, well more bemused to be honest. I keep hearing anglers bemoaning the lack of opportunity to fish for wild fish in running water. I am of course, referring to the UK, specifically England, where ‘all’ running water containing trout is well and truly kept securely under lock and key. That’s the myth and, frankly, it is bollocks. Actually I think that the reality is that most fly fishers are lazy, ignorant bastards who want the fleeting satisfaction of a quick limit in a well stocked stillwater. I live in perhaps the most populated part of England and I have at least a dozen miles of running water within a fifteen minute drive that I am more than happy to spend the majority of my time on. The annual cost of this fishing equates to three or four days on a stillwater.

For sure some of these waters don’t contain many trout, but the chub, which is a handsome fish in it’s own right, will take the fly more than willingly. And when, if, you do get a trout from one of these you know that it is a reward for persistence, application and sheer bloody mindedness. I will happily admit that fishing is incredibly important to me but I am not, by any stretch, a purist. In the last year I have caught ‘proper’ wild brown trout in running water where, in one case, I have been casting in the shadow of a multi storey car park and, in the other, crawling up a small stream where dog walkers pass within 5 yards without ever knowing of my presence. In both instances I was fishing chalkstreams and my only expense was the cost of the car parking. I fished the Test, for the first time this year, and although I caught a few (stocked) fish that day the multi story fish will live in my memory for an awful lot longer than any of the stocked Test fish.

OK, perhaps I have been a bit harsh. If you aren’t a lazy ignorant bastard, but don’t know where to start I’ll give you a few pointers. First thing to do is to seek out the local coarse fishing clubs. It is a fact that most rivers, controlled by coarse clubs are not as well fished as they should be. That is if they do not contain any barbel. So if a coarse fishing club has access to streamy running water that they tell you contains dace, roach and chub then that has got to be worth a go. All you will need is a shortish rod, a tapered leader and a few flies. If you get plagued by rises that you cannot connect with then you are probably attracting dace. In which case you have two options. The first is that you jump into your X-Wing and fly to the Dagobah system to seek Jedi training with Yoda. Because you will need the Force to connect with one of these silver guys. Or you could be pragmatic and tie on a larger fly (think #10 Stimulator) to discourage the buggers.

I am Martin Riggs

Well no of course I am not. Rather I am a rather exciting Business Process Analyst who happens to be in Pennsylvania on an even more exciting SAP training course. This evening I took a trip down to the local Outfitters and had a perusal of the various bits of fly fishing gear. I was very well behaved and only bought a couple of Gierach books. The Ross reels were extremely tempting though.

The thing is this Outfitters has a pistol range. It also has a fearsome array of bows, arrows and stuffed animals. To be honest I was half expecting Ted Nugent to jump me from behind the bear that the chap on the archery counter told me he had killed – with a bow and arrow! He wasn’t very impressed when I asked him if the arrow was tipped with a grenade.

So I asked, as casually as possible, if there was any chance I could have a blat with a pistol on the indoor range. I had only shot rifles and shotguns before. To be honest I was expecting to be told to piss off. So I was rather surprised when I was asked what I wanted to have a go with. Of course I asked to have a go with the Berretta 92F 9mm – staying in character all the time. I had to wait a few minutes for the instructor to come and sort me out. I had to complete some paperwork and he held onto my driving licence. I got a lane for an hour, ear defenders, five targets and a hundred rounds, oh and the pistol as well, for $40. A quick 5 minute crash course and I was away.

Frankly I had a blast. The percussion of the shots was crushing, even with the ear defenders, and the brass cartridges sailed over my shoulder in a busy parabola. For some reason every shot came out low. However, at 10 metres, I was in the scoring zone every time. The same could not be said even at 15 metres. I have read before that handguns are primarily intended to make an awful lot of noise and kill people who happen to be very close to you. I now understand what this means.

And you don’t need an hour to get through a hundred rounds!