Records:- Rainbow 22lbs 12oz, Brown 16lb 12oz, Blue 12lbs 6oz
Darren Booth with a monster Stocks rainbow of 20lbs 8oz 
Jack Gregson with his 21lb Rainbow
Stocks Reservoir representative Darren Booth has won the 2009 Trout Masters Final. The final was fished today on Grafham water and Darren was the only angler to catch fish in both the bank session and the boat session. Darren fished a Di7 with olive lures on the boat and a floating line with nymphs from the bank.......Good angling! Darren fishes for The GREYS G-TEC STOCKS TEAM who are delighted with his latest success. Tight Lines Ben
Date: Saturday June 20th
Report Author: Pete
Best Catch: 13 fish by Steven Lind
Heaviest Bag: 10lb 12oz for 5 fish by Stuart Morgan
Best Rainbow: 4lb 8oz by Steven Lind
Best Brownie: 3lb by Dennis Dougan
Best Blue: N/a
Bank Rod Av: 4.25 fish per angler
Boat Rod Av: 5.36 fish per angler
Sport: The day started well with good cloud cover and only slight winds these picked up a little as the day progressed but this didn’t seem to put the fish off with some good catches coming from both the boat and the bank. On the bank Stocks season ticket holder Rudolph Quigliana had a cracking days sport with 7 fishing falling to drys with a daddy long legs being his top pattern. Rudolph commented on how exciting the fishing had been and the fact that one of the stocks monsters had grabbed his daddy, took off and never stopped, smashing his 10lb fluorocarbon like it was 1lb line. Also on the bank regular Dennis Dougan had a good days fishing catching 5 fish from Grindys lawn including a beautiful full finned and spotted brownie, which he quickly released to fight another day.
Out on the boats Stuart Morgan had a good days fishing catching 8 fish from the alders and weighing in the heaviest bag of the day with 5 fish weighing 10lb 12oz. Also on the boats Stocks G-Tec anglers Nick Halstead and Carl Nixon had 16 fish between them all on dries with a new pattern under test called a Chebley???? (Don’t ask cos I don’t know) But top rod today was Scottish angler Steven Lind who had a cracking 13 fish from the East Bank, Steve was pulling lures just under the surface and found the fish eager to chase. With dries being the best tactics at the moment make sure to stock up on daddies, hoppers and beetles when you arrive because the action will be electric. See you in the lodge Pete.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:14 pm June 19, 2009
Date: Friday 19th June
Report Author: Matthew
Best Catch: 13 fish for Peter Andrews
Heaviest Bag: 5 fish for 12lb 6oz Steve Ainsworth
Best Rainbow: 3lb 9oz Peter Scholes
Best Brownie: 3lb Anton Gysbers
Best Blue:
Bank Rod Av: 2.71 fish per angler
Boat Rod Av: 4.71
Sport: Today we held the final qualifying heat of the Anglian water Airflow competition. Three teams set to the water to battle for two places in the final. Taking the top spot were the Stocks Falcons with 31 fish for 64lb 8oz. A cracking team effort with Ian Gaskell also taking top rod with 11 fish. Good angling guys! Second place went to the Stocks Barracudas with a strong performance netting 25 fish.
Commiserations to Team Enterprise who narrowly missed out.
Out side of the competition Cyril Procter and Peter Andrews had a super day with 22 fish! They found the fish at the dam and Newclose bay.
This morning saw the bulk of fish coming to the dry fly with Daddy long legs and hoppers doing the trick. Other methods doing the business seem to be the washing line with the good old cats booby accounting for a lot of fish! Buzzers and diawl bachs are still performing well with fish also eager to chase flies across the surface.
I now it sounds daft but dries, pulling, wets, nymphs are all accounting for good scores! As for areas now that the water has warmed up a little I would be just as happy drifting the middle basin as I would tight along the shore in New Close Bay.
Tight lines Matthew
Pictured right
The Stocks Falcons
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:14 pm
Date: Thursday 18th June.
Report Author: Paul.
Best Catch: Several anglers landed over 10 fish.
Heaviest Bag: 2 fish weighing 14lb 8oz for Brendan Ginty.
Best Rainbow: 6lb for Mike Laycock.
Best Brownie: 12lb 4oz for Brendan Ginty.
Best Blue: N/a.
Bank Rod Av: 5.33 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Av: 8.42 fish per angler.
Sport The wind was the main feature of the weather today with a strong, squally southerly hampering presentation and casting but despite these conditions there were some fantastic catches made and some cracking specimens landed including a super 12lb 4oz brownie that was caught by Brendan Ginty. Brendan caught his huge fish from Hollins bay with a pink disco fly. (See pic tomorrow) The boats fished exceptionally well today with several anglers landing well into double figures of trout. It was hard to say which was the best method because there were a variety of flies and patterns working well and many areas producing good catches. If the wind had not been so strong we would have seen some cricket scores. See you on the water Paul.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:03 pm June 16, 2009
Report Author: Pete
Best Catch: 15 fish by Mr Blair
Heaviest Bag: 14lb 11oz for 5 fish by Alan Southern
Best Rainbow: 9lb 8oz By Stuart Cullen
Best Brownie: Several at 2lb 8oz
Best Blue: N/a
Bank Rod Av: 3.83 fish per angler
Boat Rod Av: 7.91 fish per angler
Sport: Well if you weren’t here today you missed an almost perfect day for fishing warm light breeze and decent cloud cover. This meant there were free rising fish over almost the whole reservoir with the best fishing coming from the boats with an average of 7.91 fish per angler. Top rod goes to Mr Blair who had all his fish on diawl bachs fished just under the surface. Also on the boats Stocks guide Paul Bebb was out with hic client Jimmy brown they drifted most of the reservoir and landed in excess of 20 fish all on dries. Our own Matt Taylor was also fishing this evening with Regular Rob Denson they had a cracking Haul of twenty fish again on nymphs and dries. On the bank Stuart Cullen had a cracking days angling with 10 fish from Hollins Point including a lovely fish of 9lb 8oz, most of his fish fell to damsel nymphs and shipman’s buzzers. See you in the lodge Pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:35 pm June 14, 2009
Date: Sunday June 14th
Report Author: Pete
Best Catch: 8 fish by Nick Halstead
Heaviest Bag: 19lb 1oz for 4 fish by Peter Kasminski
Best Rainbow: 13lb 4oz by Richard Johnson
Best Brownie: 4lb by Frank Hartley
Best Blue: N/a
Bank Rod Av: 1.23 fish per Angler
Boat Rod Av: 2.43 fish per Angler
Sport: the weather today was supposed to be 75% cloud cover warm and light winds and that is exactly what we got except the cloud seemed to be everywhere except over the reservoir, this made for challenging conditions. On the boats thought Stocks G-Tec anglers Nick Halstead and Carl Nixon still managed to find the fish with a impressive 14 fish to boat. Not to be out done by their rivals Stocks Falcons anglers Ian Ritchie and Ian Gaskell also had a 14 fish haul between them. When asked they said the best method seemed to be a washing line set up with diawl bachs and a cats booby, with the booby taking its fair share of the fish. Also on the boats today we had a group of anglers from the Leeds Fly Dressers Guild who were holding their annual competition first place went to Peter Andrews with 6 fish. But the best fish of the day went to Richard Johnson who tamed a cracking 13lb 4oz rainbow from the alders on a hare’s ear (pictured below)
The Angling on the bank proved a little trickier with the bright conditions making the fish tricky to tempt. But stocks regular Peter Kasminski was once again amongst the fish with 5 fish weighing in 4 for 19lb 1oz this haul included a cracking 11lb 5 oz rainbow (pictured below) peter commented on the fact that when he hooked the fish he realised he had left his net 60yds down the bank and had to slowly walk the fish back making this an even more incredible story. Great angling Pete!! See you in the lodge Pete
. Richard Johnson 13lb 4oz Rainbow  Peter Kasminski 11lb 5oz Rainbow
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:45 pm
Date: Saturday June 6th
Report Author: Pete
Best Catch: 6 fish for Dave flitcroft and Mark Wilson
Heaviest Bag: 3 fish for 17lb 14oz by Bruce Tait
Best Rainbow: 13lb 1oz by Bruce Tait
Best Brownie: 10lb+ by Mr Rowe
Best Blue: N/a
Bank Rod Av: 3.43 fish per Angler
Boat Rod Av: 2.29 fish Per Angler
Sport: The weather took a turn for the worse today with a stiff easterly breeze which made presentation a little tricky. On the bank stocks regular Mark Wilson started on Bens Beach but being a left hooker found the wind a little tricky so moved to Backhouse Bay on the east bank and straight away was into fish, in a frantic 2-hour session he landed 6 fine trout including a stunning 6lb rainbow. Mark found a washing line type set up with a black booby on the point accounted for most of his fish. Also on the bank another regular Dave Flitcroft also had 6 fish again on the east shore with a mixture of various nymphs and lures working for him. Out on the boats today we had two groups of anglers fishing in club competitions, firstly the Ashington Kingfishers were fishing in their annual loch style championships with 22 anglers fishing they caught 52 trout with the winner Ian Fairgreave Jnr weighing in 5 trout for 11lb 4oz. Also from the Kingfisher was Bruce Tait weighing in a 13lb 1oz leviathan caught from Backhouse Bay on a black booby. Again out on the boats were the Mid-Ribble anglers on a half day comp their top rod was organiser Stuart Halford with 2 trout. The wind is due to drop off tomorrow so see you in the lodge Pete.
Bruce Tait 13lb 1oz rainbow
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:14 pm
Date: Friday 5th June 2009
Report Author: Matthew
Best Catch: 15 fish for Pete Holland
Heaviest Bag: 11lb 8oz Pete Holland
Best Rainbow: Several for 3lb 8oz
Best Brownie: Several at 2lb 8oz +
Best Blue: N/a
Bank Rod Av: 2.00 fish per angler
Boat Rod Av: 7.00 fish per angler
Sport: Well if theirs one thing we can or indeed can’t rely on in this country it’s the weather! This morning the fish were everywhere and the dries were a hot ticket! Daddies, beetles and Sedges all accounted for good numbers early on. Pete Holland and Craig Tattham had a blinder of a day with near 30 fish between them! They found the fish keen to chase cat’s whiskers. Their key was to anticipate the direction of a rising fish, target the area and antagonise a take! Good angling guys!
Willie Hunter and Alan Merton had a good session too with 24 fish between them again they found the fish everywhere with the morning session being the most productive. Teams of mini lures and sub surface nymphs did the trick.
Buzzers were also on the trout’s menu today with a huge wind lane opening up down the middle of the reservoir this evening holding shucks galore! The number of fish moving in the wind lane was simply breath taking. It just goes to show that we only need a short warm spell and the fish will venture out over deeper water.
Tight lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 6:59 pm June 4, 2009
Date: Thursday 4th June.
Report Author: Paul.
Best Catch: 10 fish for Ken Whiteside.
Heaviest Bag: 5 fish weighing 14lb 12oz for Peter Harrison.
Best Rainbow: Several weighing 4lb 8oz.
Best Brownie: 6lb 8oz for Brendan Ginty.
Best Blue: Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Bank Rod Av: 2.41 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Av: 4.50 fish per angler.
Sport The weather was a bit changeable today with warm overcast conditions both this morning and then again this evening but during the middle part of the day the sun shone brightly and the wind was a bit unpredictable. It is no surprise that early and later were the most productive periods when there was plenty of cloud cover. This morning there were trout rising all over the reservoir and dries were the best tactic although other patterns and tactics worked well. On the bank was Ken Whiteside who landed 10 fish. Ken fished in Hollins bay to catch his fish with a fry pattern fished on a floating line being his best tactic. Keith Charnock and Dave Hunter took to a boat and headed off to the causeway where they landed a total of 16 fish between them. Keith caught most of his fish on a damsel pattern whilst Dave found a gold head daddy to be his best fly. Also on a boat this time in the northern shallows was Peter Harrison who landed 9 fine trout. Peter caught all his fish right off the top on a daddy long legs. I was out on the water this morning for just a couple of hours and with the conditions as they were dries seemed the best option and this proved the case. In those calm areas there were lots of fish rising and a quick, accurate cast usually brought about interest from the fish, I did find however that the fish were difficult to hook right off the top so instead of lifting into a rise a figure of 8 retrieve would see your line slide away, the trout were drowning the flies before taking them. Great sport. See you on the water Paul.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:14 pm June 3, 2009
Report Author: Matthew
Best Catch: 11 fish for Keith Charnock
Heaviest Bag: 5 fish for 14lb Keith Charnock
Best Rainbow: 3lb for Mark Howarth
Best Brownie: Several for 2lb 8oz
Best Blue: 2lb 8oz
Bank Rod Av: 2.00
Boat Rod Av: 3.30
Sport: Another good day this time with a bit of cloud cover, and with that Keith Charnock took all but a couple of his fish on the dry! Finishing with 11 good fish to 3lb 8oz Keith found the trout willing to rise to various dries as he drifted the willows. When the surface action switched of a slow figure of eight had the after the Diawl bachs once again! Numerous scores of 3 or 4 off the shore with dries or indeed nymphs doing the trick. The key seems to be a very slow retrieve. Hot spots are the Willows and Northern Shallows from the boat, and the spillway, Bens beach and Hollins from the shore.
With the temperatures staying pretty high and more cloud cover due things can only get better and better.
Tight lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:53 pm June 2, 2009
Date: Tuesday 2nd June.
Report Author: Pete
Best Catch: 7 fish by Steve Wright
Heaviest Bag: 4lb by Steve Wright
Best Rainbow: 10lb 4oz by Bill orrell
Best Brownie: Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Best Blue: Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Bank Rod Av: 1.88 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Av: 2.55 fish per angler.
Sport The weather was Beautiful again today with clear blue skies and only a slight breeze with very warm conditions. This may have put some anglers off but it certainly didn’t put the fish off. Out on the boats Steve Wright had a cracking day with 7 fish, Steve was fishing from the spillway area and had fish on diawl bachs but also managed to tempt a few on daddies and a sedge Italy. On the bank Bill hunter decided to try the East Bank and with success. He had 3 fish most success was on a cats booby. With the temperature dropping a little tomorrow and good cloud cover the fishing should be excellent again. One final note stocks regular Bill orell has just walked in to the lodge with another double figure fish a lovely rainbow of 10lb 4oz, caught from hollins bay on a black and green lure. How mant doubles can this man catch in one season, See you in the lodge Pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:08 pm June 1, 2009
Date: Monday 1st June.
Report Author: Paul.
Best Catch: Several anglers caught 8 fish.
Heaviest Bag: 5 fish weighing 17lb 13oz for Peter Hartley.
Best Rainbow: 16lb for Rudolph Quigliana.
Best Brownie: Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Best Blue: Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Bank Rod Av: 2.00 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Av: 3.68 fish per angler.
Sport: The weather today was lovely again with bright blue skies and high temperatures but unlike the last couple of days the wind dropped right away. The English Fly Fishing Association fished their annual match today and there were some good catches made despite the conditions. Top rod went to Peter Hartley who landed 8 trout for a total weight including bonuses of 17lb 13oz. Peter fished a cat’s whisker on a fast glass sinking line with all his fish being caught off the dam wall. John Mees took second spot also landing 8 fish but just being pipped on weight by 11oz! John found fish in several areas and caught on blobs in the morning and nymphs in the afternoon. In third spot was Mel Parrott who also caught 8 fish, this time weighing in at 15lb 12oz. Mel caught his fish on a courtland blue line and a combination of cats whisker, buzzers and diawl bachs with all his fish being caught from the dam area. Well done to all who participated. The biggest fish of the day was caught by Rudolph Quigliana who caught a super 16lb specimen rainbow. Rudolphs giant trout was caught from Bell point on a black pennel fished on a midge tip line. See you on the water Paul.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:27 pm
Date Friday 15th May 2009
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 11 fish for Iain Jones
Best Bag Weighed in 4 fish for 20lb 5oz for Ian Dickinson
Best Rainbow 14lb for Ian Dickinson
Best Brown Several fish over 2lb 8oz
Boat Rod Average 4.8 fish per angler
Sport: Today we held the first heat of the Lexus Team events. Two heats are to be held on Stocks with the second being tomorrow.
1st place went to the Stocks Falcons with a true team effort. For those of you who don’t know the Falcons team consists of Ian Ritchie, Sir Bob Cooper, Ian Gaskell, Ian Greenwood and our very own Paul and Ben! Between them they put on incredible performance with 39 fish giving them a team average of 6.5. They weighed in 81lb 9oz of quality trout, good effort guys!!
With a combined effort of 35 fish the Ospreys came in a close second, incidentally Iain Jones was the top rod on the day with 11 fish. The team put on a sterling show and one that Davy would have been proud of.
Captain Peter Kirk guided the star ship team Enterprise in to 3rd place with 28 fish. Again a real team effort with Stocks legend Frank Hartley giving the team 9 fish! Good angling Frank!
On another note the weather looks to be taking a turn for the better and as I type this now the reservoir is lifting with rising fish! It’s well worth a visit this weekend!
Tight lines Matthew
The Stocks Falcons taking top spot honours!
Results Lexus Team Day One (PDF)
Results Lexus Individual Day Two (PDF)
Results for Lexus Individual Day One (PDF)
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:52 pm May 14, 2009
Date Thursday May 14th.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 12 trout for Ian Ritchie.
Best Bag Weighed in 4 fish for 18lbs 12oz Carl Nixon.
Best Rainbow 15lbs 8oz Terry Wilson.
Best Brown Several 2lb 8oz.
Bank Average fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 5.5 fish per angler.
Doubles: 3 Doubles.
Sport: Today saw the any line day of the Lexus individual competition and there were some great catches made. Here are the results. Top rod today went to Ian Ritchie who showed his class to land 12 trout for a total weight including bonuses of 25lb 8oz, well done Ian. In second place was Keith Mcadam who landed 11 fish. Keiths catch weighed in at 23lb. Third place went to Carl Nixon with 10 fish weighing in at 22lb 8oz so as you can see it was quite tight at the top. Carls bag included a super 15lb rainbow that took some landing by all accounts. Positions 4-7 all landed 9 fish so it was a close competition. The wild card went to Terry Wilson who landed a giant 15lb 8oz rainbow which books him a place in the final, well done Terry. Thanks go to all anglers who took part and made this a great comp. The first of the team days start tomorrow. Photos will be posted tomorrow. See you on the water Paul.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:34 pm May 13, 2009
Date Wednesday 13th May 2009
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 14 fish for Rob Denson
Best Bag Weighed in 4 fish for 20lb 6oz for Paul Kitchen
Best Rainbow 3lb 10oz John Allen
Best Brown 14lb 3oz Paul kitchen
Bank Average 5.4 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 4.6 fish per angler
Sport: Today we held the first heat of the Lexus European championships. The first heat is a floating line day and with a stiff easterly breeze true class shone through.
Rob Denson took the first place spot with an incredible 14 fish! As it was international rules well executed drogue usages was paramount. Rob fished traditional wets in a team of three with the Northern end of the reservoir been his hot spot. Milan Hladik took second place with a very credible 11 fish. Not too far behind was Stocks G tec member Nick Halstead with 10 fish. Billy Thompson took 4th spot with 9; Richard Hood missed out on 4th spot by just a pound or so however 5th place is some going! 6th spot went to Kenny Miller with 7 fish, Sam Bailey put in a fine performance just beating Bob Cooper to 7th place.
The nature of the completion has a wild card qualifier and Paul Kitchen took that with dramatic style! A specimen Brown of 14lb 3oz! The picture below doesn’t do the fish justice it was one of the finest fish of the year!
Although only one wild card was issued Malcolm Brown came pretty close with his Brownie also a stunner weighing 13lb 4oz!
On the banking away from the competition brothers Ian and Nigel Shaw had 19 fish between them on a half-day session! They both found the fish along Bens Beach with black and green Montana’s fished slowly on fast sinking lines doing the trick! Good angling guys.
Tight lines Matthew
 Lexus winners day one
 Paul Kithens brownie
 Malcolm Browns Brownie
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 9:10 pm May 11, 2009
No report tonight.
I would like to say a fond farewell to one of England’s fly fishing greats Davy Hodgson. Davy has touched so many people over the years he spent fishing that his tragic death has truly rocked the fly fishing world. I think I speak for all when I say that we will always remember him for his endless enthusiasm, his sense of fun and his ability to see the good side of everybody he met. The competition scene has lost a fine man. We will truly miss him, he was a great friend, a great guy and a great example to us all.
Davy was also devoted to his family and adored fishing with his daughter Scarlet who under his guidance has also reached great heights with the England ladies. Our thoughts go to them all during this very difficult time.
Davy was due to fish for his team the Ospreys at Stocks on Friday. We will be holding a minutes silence in his honour before the start of the match at 10am. All are welcome. Ben
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 10:01 pm May 10, 2009
Report by Ben Date: Sunday May 10th
Best Catch 24 trout for Fred Bainbridge
Best Bag 4 fish for 11lbs 8oz Alistair Beaumont
Best Rainbow 11lbs+ for Scott Nellins
Best Brown 7lbs for Paul Wilcock
Best Blue 3lbs for Mike Tinnion
Bank Rod Av 2.3 fish per man
Boat Rod Av 7.8 fish per man
Sport: What a cracking day. The water was flat calm in the morning and rippled in the afternoon. It remained overcast throughout and the trout were feeding on and just under the surface. Spoonings revealed small bright green aquatic flies and buzzers in both larval and adult forms. However it was not the traditional approach that scored most heavily. Fishing in the Northern Eliminator Fred Bainbridge was at his cunning best. Fred realised that the trout were pre occupied with small food stuffs and the best way to catch them was not to try and imitate the numerous flies but to draw their attention away from them. Two blobs did the trick nicely. Fred fished them on a floating line so that he could quickly cover rising fish, a long draw then induced the take. With 24 trout Fred was top rod today and has earned himself a place in the final to represent England in 2010. We don’t yet know how many places will be given to the final but it could as many as eight so here are the results to eighth place.
1st Fred Bainbridge
2nd Jeremy Lucas
3rd Alistair Beaumont
4th John Hood
5th Chris Micallef
6th Mike Tinnion
7th Steve Smalley
8th Scott Nellins
The trout were really well spread today and good numbers of trout were taken on dries, washing lined nymphs and stripped lures. Tight Lines Ben
Scott Nellins caught this cracking 11lb+ rainbow on a dry fly. It was returned to fight another day.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 9:20 pm
Anthony Thompson 14lb Rainbow
Report by Matt
Best Catch 20 fish for Colin Newman
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish weighing 19lb for Duncan Watson
Best Rainbow
Best Brown 11lb for Duncan Watson.
3lb for George Ashton.
Bank Average 7.50 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 6.76 fish per angler.
Sport: The good sport continues! Colin Newman takes the top rod honours today with 20 fish! Colin had 6 in Newclose, 6 off Bell Point then a further 8 in Hollins! Colin likes to fish traditional and with a team of three wets he was on the money today. Fishing a black and peacock spider and Pennel on a slow intermediate did the trick for him. Steve Bland also did well on the wets with 10 fish to his boat the majority coming from the Northern Shallows.
Peter Hill had a good half-day session with 15 good rainbows up to 3lb. Peters tactic was an intermediate line with Cormorant boobies, again the Northern Shallows was the place to be! Lets not forget the buzzers they put in a good few fish too, Tony Taylor took fish from Gull Island with his own tied TT buzzer accounting for 8 of his 11 fish!
Anglers also had success with mini lures from the shore with Damsels and Cats whiskers accounting for a few fish.
It’s going to be a good Weekend!
Tight lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:50 pm April 9, 2009
Date Thursday 9th April.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 26 fish for Alistair Beaumont.
Best Bag Weighed in 3 fish weighing 9lb 8oz for Chris Harrison.
Best Rainbow
Best Brown 15lb estimated and returned for Paul Atkinson.
2lb 12oz for Pete Plaskett.
Bank Average 4.90 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 9.00 fish per angler.
Sport: The cloud stayed with us all day, the wind was not too strong and temperatures were reasonable so not bad conditions for fishing. There were some good catches made again today both from the bank and the boats. On the bank today was Chris Harrison who tempted a total of 10 rainbows. Chris found his fish in Hollins bay and stayed on them, tempting all his fish with a black nomad. Paul Atkinson caught 12 trout round in Newclose bay including a super heavy weight rainbow that was estimated to weigh around 15lb before being carefully returned. Paul caught all his fish on a small Hares ear pattern. Also on the bank enjoying good sport was John Sykes who landed a total of 13 trout. John also found Hollins bay on form landing rainbows to 5lb and a blue trout weighing 4lb 8oz! Good quality trout. All Johns fish fell to a green tadpole. On the boats the best catch went to Alistair Beaumont who landed a staggering 26 fish. Alistair found his fish in several areas including Gull Island, Willow Island and all along the northern shallows, with a variety of patterns being successful for Al including buzzers and cormorants. Alistair said that he caught well on the nymphs around Gull Island in the morning then a switch to cormorants on a fast glass sinking line in the afternoon saw the fish go mad. I see no reason why these good catches will not continue. See you on the water Paul
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:16 pm April 8, 2009
Date Wednesday 8th April
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 30 fish for Ray Mercer
Best Bag Weighed in 2 fish for 4lb 10oz Ray Mercer
Bank Average 5.90 trout per angler
Sport:
A strong wind hampered casting a little today, however the fishing remained very productive indeed! Graham and Mick Child started out the day in Newclose were they had 10 plus trout between them! They both found that little gold head cat’s whiskers found the right depth and the fish! After a spell in Newclose the wind got a bit much around lunchtime so a walk round to Hollins saw the same method net a further 10 or so fish! Good angling guys. In fact Hollins Bay has been productive all day long, believe it or not Ray Mercer had a red-letter day with an incredible 30 trout! Ray found the fish eager to take his Montana fished slowly on a floating line. Ray waded out just for enough for the wind to mend his line and in turn his flies were in the zone for a good period of time.
I have noticed this in the past that there seems to be a trend between strong winds and the odd big score. Hear me out on this one, the strong winds stir the water up, and with it the silty bottom bringing allsorts of bugs and grubs onto the trout’s menu. In turn the water is well oxygenated boosting the rate at which the trout feed and indeed how well they scrap on the end of a line! It’s often the case to avoid a blustery day but fished right the wind can be an auxiliary in your success.
Tight lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 6:39 pm April 7, 2009
Date Tuesday 7th April 2009
Report by Pete
Best Catch 13 trout by Mr Biscomb
Best Bag Weighed in 3 fish for 12lb 12oz by Mark Gostellow
Best Rainbow 8lb 5oz by Mark Gostellow
Best Brown 2lb 12oz by Mr Biscomb
Bank Average 3.86 trout per angler
Boat Rod Average 2.60 trout per angler
Sport: The reservoir was flat calm when I arrived this morning and I looked like the weather man had got it wrong again, but the wind soon picked up and with bright sunshine things were never going to be easy. Saying this Mr Biscomb had a cracking days sport with 13 fish from Bell point all on a cats whiskers lure fished on an intermediate line, also on the bank Mr wasters had 7 fish again from the bell point/bens beach area. The sport on the boats was a little slower but Mark Gostello had a good days fishing with a 3 fish bag, which included an 8lb 5oz rainbow with the boat total being 8 fish to the boat. Again on the boats Arthur Collingworth braved the northern shallows, which had the worst of the wind and bagged 5 fish all on a green buzzer good angling in the wave.
The good buzzer hatch continues with clouds of large black and olive buzzers all around the reservoir, this has brought the swallows and martins in which are now here in force. Also with the warmer temperatures the fish are starting to spread out and are string to look up for their food as well so not long till the dries come into their own. Tight lines Pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 6:39 pm April 6, 2009
Date Monday 6th April.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 13 fish for Bill Orrell.
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish weighing 11lb 5oz for Nefyn Cardwell.
Best Rainbow 4lb 4oz for Phil Coultard.
Best Brown Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Bank Average 2.81 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 5.71 fish per angler.
Sport: There were overcast conditions for most of the day today with a light ripple and reasonable temperatures but this afternoon you could feel a change in the air, I think its going to rain this evening. The best catch today went to stocks regular Bill Orrell who landed a total of 13 trout. Bill opted for a roving approach and took fish all along the bank from Grange point to Hollins bay, not a bad catch for 4 hours fishing. A home tied green and black damsel proved too tempting for Bills trout. Also fishing on the bank today was Keith Landless who tempted 7 fish. Keith found his fish off Bell point and like Bill found a damsel pattern to be his best fly. On the boats Mr Williams and Mr Pickering landed 14 fish between them from Willow Island with rainbows weighing up to 3lb 8oz. They found lures effective with all their fish falling to either orange or cats whisker style patterns. Also out on a boat today was Mr Taylor and Mr Little who also landed a total of 14 trout to their boat. They found a combination of buzzers and damsels effective with the area around the willows on the east bank being their best area. Also landing a good catch from a boat was Phil Coultard and Nefyn Cardwell who boated a total of 10 trout. They found black nymphs to be their best pattern with Willow Island once again producing the goods. See you on the water Paul.
Date Sunday 5th April
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 15 fish for Paul Bebb
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 11lb 12oz Nigel Gill
Bank Average 3.00
Boat Rod Average 5.00
Sport: fantastic day weather wise with buzzers coming off in abundance!
Whenever the buzzers are about you can bet Paul is in for a good day. Both Paul and Gary Shaw had fantastic sport on the washing line with all but a couple of fish coming to either black nymphs or buzzers. Between them they had 22 fish to the net. Paul commented that every other cast involved trout tugging at their line and on any other day that 22 could have easily been 50 plus! Top spots for Paul and Gary were Gull Island and Grindy’s lawn. Finding the fish wanting a good chase were Mick Hogg and Keith Lowry, they too had good sport with 12 between them. The northern shallows were they took the majority with stripped orange blobs on a floater doing the business. Interestingly the fish were up-bow waving after the flies something that usually happens in another month or so when things are a little warmer. Never the less this warm spell were having is certainly working for the trout! Regulars David and Joan had good sport too with the buzzers on the washing line proving a good bet. David commented that the fish were fighting harder than ever and infact a good 3lb rainbow took the best part of 10 minutes to land!
On the bank we had the Airflow Classic competition, pegged along Hartley’s, Bell point and round to Bens beach. Competitors moved along a peg every half hour. The results are listed below
1st Laurence Crossley
2nd Pete Matthews
3rd Mark Tyndall.
Also winning the team event were Mark Tyndall, John Hood, Phil Burgess.
All who qualified will be fishing a final on Ellinor water in October.
Laurence won the day with 12 cracking rainbows; all his fish fell for the charms of the cats whisker fished slowly on an intermediate. Good angling Laurence!
Good scores also came from Newclose from the shore with buzzers still doing the trick!
Tight lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:31 pm April 4, 2009
Date Saturday April 4th
Report by Ben
Best Catch 21 trout for Scott Nellins
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 11lbs 13oz Mr J Robbins
Best Rainbow Several at 3lbs 8oz
Best Brown 5lbs Mr Speak
Best Blue 2lbs 12oz Ian Gaskell
Bank Average 3.6 fish per man
Boat Rod Average 6.2 fish per man
Sport: The weather took a turn for the worse today, the wind picked up from the west and their was an occasional shower thrown in for good measure. Luckily it did not affect the fishing and it was short lived, as the good weather is due to return tomorrow. Today we held The Spring Sweep and 18 anglers took to the water to try and win one of three cash prizes. Despite the conditions the reservoir fished really well and showing everyone how it was done was Scot Nellins who had 14 fine trout to the boat by lunchtime. Scott fished an orange blob on his top droppers, two cormorants on his middle droppers and a cormorant booby on the point. The vast majority of his fish fell to the cormorants and the booby and his best area was from Phil’s Flats to Willow Island. Scott finished the day with 21 trout and took the pool of £180. In 2nd place winning £90 was the ever-consistent Paul Davison. Paul also fished the washing line and finished with 17 trout. In 3rd with 12 fish was Paul Bebb, Paul won £50 and in 4th with 9 trout was Alistair Beaumont. The best fish in the match went to Steve Bland and Ian Gaskell who both had trout of 2lbs 12oz. There were fish taken from all over the reservoir today but I would say Gull Island, Willow Island and the Northern Shallows stood out as hotspots.
From the shore there was also some great sport to be had and top rod with 16 fish was Paul Miller. Paul fished in Newclose Bay and along Hartley’s and most of his fish took a black Zonker. Mark Wilson showed that buzzers were still working with 11 trout taken from around Bell Point. Mark cast across the wind and allowed his flies to sweep back towards the shore. I am sure that buzzers will fish well tomorrow, as the wind is due to drop right away. Tight lines Ben
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:04 pm April 3, 2009
Date Friday 3rd April
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 14 fish for Colin Gibbons
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 13lb Levin Billington
Best Rainbow 15lb Bob Fitzpatrick
Bank Average 5.88
Boat Rod Average 4.91
Sport: due to the gorgeous weather everyone had a lovely day! And to make things better the fishing has been pretty good too! Things did get tricky around lunchtime due to the strong sun and clear skies, however fish were still keen to take buzzers fished slowly. Colin Gibbons fished Newclose bay and Hartley’s with Damsels and Diawl bachs, and wondered back with a very respectable 14 fish including a cracking rainbow of 4lb 8oz. Ray Dickinson did well on the orange tadpole fished slowly down by two trees. Regular Bill Orrell had similar success with Orange fritz lures fishing along Hartley’s.
Out on the boats the buzzers were still working, Tony Taylor took 6 good fish on the buzzer fished on the washing line with the booby accounting for a further two. Tony commented on the number of buzzers coming off and I’m sure that with a bit of cloud cover surface activity could be rife this weekend. Bob Fitzpatrick had a red letter day when he hooked into a 15lb + rainbow from the top Gull Island after a lengthy battle the fish was returned to fight another day.
Top boat today however goes to Geoff Weights and Mr Ryding who between them had 18 in the boat! They found the fish eager to take olive zonkers fished slowly on a Di3 line.
More cloud cover tomorrow promises some good sport.
Tight lines Matthew.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:51 pm April 2, 2009
Date Thursday 2nd April.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 12 fish for R Entwistle and D Manning.
Best Bag Weighed in 1 fish weighing 12lb 13oz.
Best Rainbow 12lb 13oz for Ray Jackson.
Best Brown Several weighing 2lb 8oz.
Bank Average 4.78 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 5.00 fish per angler.
Sport: Today the weather was great with sunshine that lasted all day and in more sheltered areas it was very warm indeed. There were some good catches made today and some very big trout caught so a good day to be out fishing. On the bank today was Ray Entwistle who landed a credible 12 rainbows. Ray fished his favourite fritz lure to catch his fish with Bell point the scene of the action. Also enjoying good sport was Ken Whiteside who landed a total of 10 trout. Ken found his best areas to be Hartleys and two trees with his most effective pattern being a Zonker. 6 seemed to be a popular score on the bank today with several anglers landing this number from areas all round Hollins bay right up to Bens beach on flies as varied as buzzers, diawl bach, boobys and various coloured lures. The best boat catch of the day went to David Manning with a 12 fish haul. David found Willow island and Hollins bay to be his best spots with all his fish falling to either black or olive buzzers. The biggest fish caught today was a super 12lb 13oz rainbow caught by boat angler Ray Jackson (see photo tomorrow) but there were several good trout caught today weighing up to 8lb, fantastic sporting fish. Included in these big trout was an 8lber for 10 year-old Matthew Garrett who caught his giant fish on a black buzzer tight into the sticks off gull island. (photo tomorrow). Well-done Matthew. If the weather and the fishing are similar tomorrow its going to be a great day. See you on the water Paul.
29th March 2009
WHAT A WEEK FOR FISHING STOCKS
The beginning of April will see the first of the brown trout released into the reservoir and these fish are in superb condition. To get us off to a good start there will be a stocking of 500 fish into Hollins Bay ready for Wednesday April 1st. This stocking will include browns of 2lb+ and some spectacular specimens. Stocks could see it�s first 20lb+ brownie! We will also be stocking some cracking rainbows.
The weather this week looks brilliant for fishing, air temperature is rising rapidly to reach about 17 degrees on Saturday, the winds are light and we have plenty of cloud cover. If ever there is a time to take a day off work to go fishing this is it!
Over the course of the next week the water temperature in the reservoir will rise, this is going to have three major effects on the fishing:
Firstly it will cause the temperature inversion that has formed in the reservoir over the winter to dissipate and the reservoir water will mix. This will bring many more over-wintered fish up towards the surface and into the reach of a fly. We have already seen one big over-wintered brownie at the weekend and it is likely to be the first of many.
Secondly: The trout�s body temperature will rise with the rising water temperature and this will directly increase their metabolic rate. They will not only be able to digest more food but will actually require more food to fuel their bodies in a state if heightened activity.
Thirdly: The increase in water temperature will stimulate a plethora of aquatic larvae to emerge into their adult form. These hatches will consist largely of members of the chironomid family (non biting midges) but look out for early olives, they have a single pair of upright wings and a pair of tails that protrude from the rear of the abdomen.
As far as terrestrials go it will be a few weeks until we see the large hatches of beetles but we are likely to see a few of the early daddies. There are about 22 different species of daddy long legs in the UK. I am not sure of the exact name of the small grey variety that emerge at this time of year but their emergence, when combined with the egg laying activity of the adult chironomids, may just be enough to tempt the trout up to the surface.
Likely methods for the next week are washing lining or long lining nymphs, teams of small cormorants fished on slow sinkers or sink tips and there is a chance that you might even be able to tempt a few to dries. Watch this space!
COMPETITIONS:
A chance to represent England in the first Bank Fishing International
I would also like to draw your attention to a couple of fishing competitions that are coming up on the 4th and 5th of April. These will not affect anybody wishing to come along and fish just for the pleasure, as one will be fished from drifting boats and the other will be pegged along a short stretch of bank. So boat and bank tickets will be available to all as usual.
The first is on Saturday the 4th and is a sweepstake match from the boats. This match will be fished to international rules. It costs just �15 to enter on top of your ticket and for every entry �10 will go to the winner, �5 will go to 2nd place, we will donate �2.50 for 3rd and a tackle prize for 4th place and the biggest fish. To enter call the lodge on 01200 446602
The second competition is the CEFF Airflo Classic, which will be held on Sunday 5th. There are heats held all over the country making this the biggest international bank fishing competition in the UK. It is �17:50 to enter and each entrant will receive a free Airflo fast intermediate line worth �30. The international final will be held on Elinor Fishery in Northants.
The top qualifiers, who meet the CEFF England Team eligibility criteria, will be provisionally selected for the 2010 England bank fishing team. It is CEFF's intention to enter two teams of three, in the first instance, to an international in 2010. Selection will be from the 2009 International final on Elinor, with the top three eligible individuals from the Individual final and the top three individuals from the Team final qualifying for England team places in the event of an International being arranged the following year. The existing arrangements for
World and European Ranking points will remain in place. For more information and competition rules call the fishery on 01200 446602
Tight Lines Ben
Date Saturday 28th March
Report by Pete
Best Catch 12 fish Jim Hunter
Best Bag Weighed in 18lb 8oz by Mr Tyson
Best Rainbow 6lb by Mr Tyson
Best Brown 9lb 8oz by Mr Tyson
Bank Average 4.78 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 5.14 fish per angler
Sport: Well I know it’s a cliché but today was a day of two halves this morning was tricky with a swirling wind but as the afternoon progressed the wind dropped and the reservoir really came alive with buzzers hatching everywhere and plenty of fish being caught as well. The best place to fish this morning was the bank and father and son regulars Malcolm and Jim Hunter started off in Hollins bay and had 15 fish between them by lunchtime, they moved in the afternoon to Newclose Bay and increased their tally 12 fish each. When asked the best tactics without a doubt it was cormorants retrieved with a slow roly-poly. Also on the bank on his first trip to Stocks was Mr Tyson who had his 3 fish limit from Hartley’s which included a 6lb rainbow and a 9lb 8oz brown weighing in a bag of 18lb 8oz not bad for your first day! On the boats this mornings wind made presentation a little tricky but those who ventured out did well, Peter Andrews was on the fish again with partner Stuart Mcaughey they had 18 fish to the boat from willow island unfortunately we don’t have their tactics. Tomorrow looks like a cracking day with light winds so see you then. Tight lines Pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:54 pm March 26, 2009
Date Thursday 26th March.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 7 fish for Ray Entwistle.
Best Bag Weighed in 2 fish weighing 5lb for Ray Entwistle.
Best Rainbow Several weighing 3lb.
Bank Average 2.57 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average n/a.
Sport: With the weather as it was there were very few anglers willing to venture out today and the wind that we saw here made fishing tricky, but those anglers that braved the elements were rewarded with trout. The top catch went to Ray Entwistle who landed 7 fish, not as many as yesterday but a good score considering the conditions. Ray chose to fish on Bell point, probably the windiest spot on the reservoir, to catch his fish with a fritz lure being his best pattern. Other anglers also landed a few trout, with Hollins bay being the favoured area, on patterns as diverse as diawl bach, black lures and damsel patterns. Hope the wind drops for tomorrow. See you on the water Paul.
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 6:34 pm March 25, 2009
Date Wednesday 25th March
Report by Pete
Best Catch 20 fish by Ray Entwistle
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 11lb 4oz By Gary Parle
Best Rainbow 10lb est by Ray Entwistle and Alan Vickers
Bank Average 7 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 2.33 fish per angler
Sport: Today the bank fished brilliantly. Ray Entwistle set out on a half day ticket and during an amazing 5 hour session he landed an incredible 20 trout, 18 were returned to fight another day including a stunning double figure rainbow! Ray fished with a small green and black mini lure on the point with buzzers on the droppers. He commented that the total could have been a lot bigger considering the amount of tugs he had. Also on the bank, fishing alongside Ray at Bell point, was Eric Vickers. Eric enjoyed some great sport landing 6 trout and once again his catch included a double figure rainbow! Eric found success with small black and green lures fished slowly on a floating line. Regular Wednesday Boat angler Gary Parle opted for the bank today, Gary fished buzzers and a viva to take his limit, which tipped the scales at 11lb 4oz. The boats where a little quieter today mainly I think down to tricky presentation caused by the swirling winds. That said father and son duo Ray and Steve Morley had five fish to the boat all coming from the Grindys Lawn area. Tight lines pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:26 pm March 24, 2009
Date Tuesday 24th March
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 8 fish for John Clegg
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 11lb 8oz Mike Barber
Best Rainbow 15lb estimate for Paul Bebb
Bank Average 3.75 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 1.67 fish per angler
Sport: This morning promised a nice day however things eventually got wet and cold.
First thing however Ian Ferndale Brown spotted rising fish round in Newclose, he wasted no time in putting the dries on (little black bits look-alikes). Ian soon had two good fish to the net followed by numerous misses and near takes. As the wind picked up the fish went off the surface so Ian went on the mini lures and took another 3.
Mike Barber kept the fish coming to the buzzer with 6 from Bell Point and Newclose bay. John Clegg had a good day too with 8 fish coming to his orange tadpoles along Bens beach, John fished a floating line with a steady figure of eight.
A little quieter from the boats today with the bad weather hampering efforts. Paul Bebb however is pretty used to this side of Stocks and soon switched from the buzzers in the morning to more traditional wets and Cruncher type patterns, flies that can still be presented pretty well in choppier waters. Paul was in for a treat when he hooked into a rainbow well over the 14lb mark! Paul found the fish along the northern shallows and with those shallow waters came a lengthy battle with the fish holding fast against the bottom. Anyone who has caught a big fish amongst the willows will know that it’s a tricky task keeping them from tangling round the branches! Good effort Paul!
Tight lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 6:31 pm
Date Sunday 22nd March
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 14 fish by Paul Miller
Best Bag Weighed in 5 trout for 20lbs 8oz by Paul Miller
Best Rainbow 9lbs 8oz by Paul Miller
Bank Average 4.4 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 3.2 fish per angler
Sport: A stiff breeze hampered anglers today however Paul Miller had some good sport with 14 good fish all coming from Newclose Bay. Paul used an Olive tadpole on the floater and went away with five good trout for 12lb.
Elsewhere on the bank, Mark Wilson had 6 fish in but a couple of hours! Fishing 3 buzzers on a floater Mark let the wind do the work with just the odd pull lifting them back up in the water.
On the boats Dave Jones found 10 cracking fish from the top of Gull Island, Dave tempted pretty much all his fish with a Montana nymph again on the floating line.
Many good scores today with Bell point, Newclose and Grindys lawn all seeing some good action. I think buzzers are still ruling the roost generally however we cant rule out the mini lures that have done so well today.
Tight lines Matthew.
Date Saturday 21st March
Report by Ben
Best Catch 13 fish by Mark Wilson
Best Bag Weighed in 5 trout for 13lbs 12oz by Dave Flitcroft
Best Rainbow 12lbs 10oz by Len Riding
Best Brown 2lbs 8oz by Roy Dickinson
Best Blue 5lbs 8oz by Harry Smith
Bank Average 3.53 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 2.81 fish per angler
Sport: What a beautiful day. The good weather brought plenty of anglers out to wet a line and try their luck for a fish or two. Mark Wilson was the top rod of the day with 13 trout. He fished from Bell Point and his first two fish came when he stopped fishing to light a cigarette and like all good anglers he noticed this and started to fish his buzzers with no retrieve. This made all the difference; the light breeze was enough to sweep his line around into a bow shape and this brought him take after take. Also on the bank was Len Riding he too was nymphing but this time on the east bank at the spillway. Len didn’t catch the same quantity as Mark but he did catch a cracking rainbow of 12lbs 10oz (pictured below).
Amongst the boat anglers were 16 of Northwest’s best competing in the 2009 Northern Boat Masters. They fished from 10am to 5pm and between them they caught 60 trout, which wasn’t bad considering they fished through the brightest part of the day, from drifting boats when the trout wanted static nymphs. To see a detailed boat fishing report you may watch the short video above. The hotspots were Grindy’s Lawn, Bell Point, Gull Island and The Northern Shallows. Tight Lines Ben
Len Riding with his 12lb 10oz Rainbow
Date Friday 20th March
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 23 fish for Peter Andrews
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 23lb 9oz by Mr Jock Woods
Best Rainbow 13lb 10oz for Jock Woods
Bank Average 5.00 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 10.5 fish per angler
Sport: And the good weather continues! An Absolutely glorious day with the added bonus of some of the best fishing so far this season! Lets start with Peter Andrews with an incredible 23 fish all safely returned. Peter couldn’t go wrong with his set up of a small gold head lure on the point followed by two buzzers. He fished them ultra slow along the northern shallows with hit after hit resulting in one of the best scores this season. Everyone has commented on the number of buzzer coming off the water, and when an angler comes in with 23 to the buzzer it really tells us something, the first day of spring is here! Bob Fitzpatrick and Paul Bebb had a good day too with 16 to the boat. A selection of mini lures and buzzers doing the business. They found the fish along the northern shallows and around both willow and gull Island. Most bank anglers had a field day too with many a bag full coming to the scales Jock Woods visited us for the first time and Im sure he will be back! Weighing in 5 fish for 23lb 9oz, including a cracker at 13lb 10oz. Not to be out done fishing buddy William Edmond also had a belter just shy 10lb.
I predict a bumper weekend possible the best yet!
Tight lines, Matthew
Jock Woods Pictured Left and William Edmond right.
Date Thursday 19th March.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 11 fish for George Ashton.
Best Bag Weighed in 4 fish weighing 19lb 8oz for George Ashton.
Best Rainbow 10lb 8oz for Craig Wilson.
Bank Average 3.7 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 3.5 fish per angler.
Sport: The weather was lovely up here at Stocks again today with bright clear skies for most of the day, the only down side was the east wind that cooled things down a touch but it makes a change to be fishing without a jacket. There were some reasonable catches made off the bank and the boats today with a variety of different flies and tactics working. Pete Cowan fished from the bank at two trees and landed 9 rainbows. Pete opted to fish a floating line and a team of daiwl bachs and caught steadily throughout the morning. Ray Entwistle landed 6 fish from further round the bank at Bell point, with a fritz lure on a slow sinking line being his tactic of choice. Brendan Ginty was another angler to land 6 fish, this time on black buzzers with his best spot being Hollins bay. The biggest fish caught today fell to bank angler Craig Wilson with a super 10lb 8oz rainbow that was caught at Barn Quarry. On the boats the best catch went to Trio George Ashton, Peter Simon and Paul Richards who landed a total of 20 rainbows between them. They fished at Willow Island with black buzzers under a sight bob to catch their fish, which included a 10lb 4oz specimen for George. See you on the water Paul.
Date Wednesday 18th March
Report by Pete
Best Catch 9 fish by Mr Wilson
Best Bag Weighed in 11lb 8oz by Mr Wilson
Best Rainbow 4lb by Mr Hitchen
Bank Average 2.80 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 2.53 fish per angler
Sport: Wow a glorious day up here certainly brought out the anglers with plenty on the bank and boat with some very good catches to match the turnout. On the bank regular Frank Hartley had eight trout on a five hour ticket all from Newclose bay on green Diawl Bachs, also on the bank Brian Shaw had six fish interestingly he found the fish quite deep and had his fish on Cats Whiskers so different methods working for different people. Meanwhile out on the boats top catch of the day with 9 fish was Mr Wilson he found straight lining Buzzers his top method and interestingly again he had his from the dam area so the fish are starting to spread out with the water temperature rising a little. Again large amounts of buzzers hatching all over the reservoir and this evening quite a few fish were starting to rise. This can only bode well for the rest of the week. Tight lines Pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:51 pm March 17, 2009
Date Monday 16th March
Report by Peter
Best Catch 8 fish by Jim Baron
Best Bag Weighed in 12lb by Chris Harrison
Best Rainbow 9lb by Mr P Barrat
Bank Average 3.1 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 1 fish per angler
Sport: A beautiful warm spring day with a slight breeze, a good day for fishing and so it proved for some of the anglers at stocks today. Jim baron had a good half day from the Mushroom Tree in Newclose bay he tried lures but found that he was getting a lot of pulls but not hooking up so changed his set-up to fish buzzers and this did the trick as he landed 8 cracking fish with a 5 fish bag limit tipping the scales at 10lb 12oz his top patterns were an olive buzzer and a bloodworm pattern. Also on the bank in Newclose was Mr Dorman who landed 5 fish all on a black Buzzer so it looks like spring really is here. Unfortunately only one boat return was left from the boats out today, David hall had 2 fish from Willow Island both around 2lb 8oz but again we have no tactics. With the warm weather
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 11:56 am
Date Sunday 15th March
Report by Ben
Best Catch 12 fish by Rick Nuttall
Best Bag Weighed in 4 fish for 9lb 12oz by Ian Greenwood
Best Rainbow 4lb 3oz by David Dunn
Bank Average 3.5 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 3.3 fish per angler
Sport: What a cracking day, there was a light wind, 50% cloud cover and a definite feeling of spring in the air. Today we hosted the Stocks Greys Pairs Championship and a total of 48 anglers took to the water in hope of winning the 2009 title. One of each pair fished from the shore and the other fished from the boat. The match was fished between 10am and 4:30pm over this period there was 177 trout caught 82 of which were returned to fight another day. Cumbria’s Stephen Edmondson caught the best catch from the boat. Stephen used a gold head cat’s whisker fished on midge tip to take 7 nice rainbows; he then added to this with another two fish, one on each of his droppers to lift his final tally to nine. Most other successful anglers were also fishing lures, either on intermediates or floating lines. The best colours were olive, black and the standard cats. Towards the end of the match there was a big hatch of olive buzzers over the Northern Shallows and during this time nymphs took quite a few fish.
On the shore similar methods were working the best catches came from Hollins, Bell Point and Newclose, washing lining on sinking lines took quite a few fish but it was weighted lures on floaters that took the best catches. Rick Nuttall took top honours with twelve trout from Hollins Bay. Rick fished a single chain beaded damsel on a long leader on a floating line.
To see the results as they were announced and the prizes being awarded by Stocks G-Tec anglers Darren Booth and Nick Halstead you can watch the above video clip. Tight Lines Ben
Date Saturday 14th March
Report by Pete
Best Catch 12 fish by Jim Hunter
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 12lb 4oz by David Shore
Best Rainbow 12lb 4oz by Malcolm Hunter
Bank Average 3.17 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 2.78 fish per angler
Sport: Today saw the Stocks Troutmaster fish-off with both juniors and seniors fishing off to win a place at the national final. Top junior competitor was Calum Smalley (pictured above) who found a cats whisker on a floating line fished with a fast retrieve was the best method and his best area was Grindys Lawn, on the senior side Stocks G-Tec angler Darren booth (pictured above) came top and goes on to represent the fishery at the final. On the Boats today the wind hampered the fishing a little but regular Paul Burrows landed three cracking rainbows for a weight of 8lb he found a cormorant to be his top pattern. On the bank father and son Malcolm and Jim Hunter were catching again Jim had 12 and Malcolm had 8 including a cracking 12lb 4oz monster (pictured above) they fished Diawl Bach nymphs for their catches. Tight lines pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 8:03 pm March 13, 2009
Date Friday 13th March
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 16 Paul Davison
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 14lb 8oz Ian Gaskell
Best Rainbow 14lb estimate for Ian Shaw
Bank Average 2 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 6 fish per angler
Sport: Another fine day with a gentle ripple saw the majority of anglers fishing buzzers either straight lining or on the washing line. Paul Davison had a cracking day with 16 fish in his net Paul found success along the Northern Shallows and around Willow Island, the washing line was his top method with fish coming to the booby and nymphs alike. Ian Gaskell had some good sport too with a similar method with 5 fish in a half-day session all along the northern shallows.
As good as the nymphs have been Peter Hill found them just as keen to take his glister Damsel with a respectable 8 fish in about 4 hours! Peter once again had the bulk of his success along the Northern Shallows.
Usually if we only catch one fish all day we can be a bit miffed, however Ian Shaw went home smiling as his only fish weighed near 14lb! Ian tempted the monster to a black and green Humongous, and guess were he caught it?? Yep the Northern Shallows!!
Tight Lines Matthew
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 7:26 pm
Report by Ben Date: Thursday 12th March
Best Rainbow Several at 4lbs
Best Catch 24 trout for Ray Entwhistle
Best Bag 3 trout for 7lbs William Lathern
Bank Rod Av 7.7 fish per man
Boat Rod Av N/A
Sport: What a cracking day. Ray Entwhistle had an England cricket score with 24 trout from Hollins Bay. Ray fished an olive lure on a floating line with a slow retrieve, he had nymphs on the droppers but it was the lure that took most of the fish. Eric Vickers and John Sykes had 11 trout and Peter Kitchen and Jack Fawcett had 10 trout each. All of these anglers were fishing lures around Hollins Bay. There was no one out on the boats today so nothing to report there. Although judging by the fishing on the bank I’m sure the sport would’ve been good. Tight lines Ben
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 1:18 am March 11, 2009
Date Wednesday 11th March
Report by Pete
Best Catch 10 fish by Matt Taylor
Best Bag Weighed in 12lb 8oz five fish bag by John Forster
Best Rainbow 4lb 12oz rainbow by Mr G Cooper
Bank Average 2.11 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 3.27 fish per angler
Sport: A mild settled day with a slight breeze today, which meant once again a large hatch of olive and black buzzers were all over the reservoir but there was very little surface activity. On the bank we had another tagged fish caught, which tipped the scales at 4lb and fell to Brian Douglas on a goldhead viva from Hollins Bay this wins Brian a £30 voucher well done Brian. Also on the bank today were Frank Hartley and Mr G Cooper both anglers had three fish from Newclose bay with Mr Cooper having the biggest fish of the Day with a lovely 4lb 12 oz rainbow. The Boats was also a close run thing with cumbrian angler John Forster landing 9 fish to complete a five fish bag limit of 12lb 8oz all his fish came from around Willow Island and the Northern Shallows with a Goldhead Damsel being his top pattern also on the boats and just pipping John with 10 fish was our very own Mathew Taylor who fished around gull island and found an olive fritz lure his top pattern but also tried pulling a blob towards the end of the day and hooked a fish almost immediately so it looks like they might be willing to chase. That’s all for now tight lines Pete
Filed under: Stocks Reservoir Fishing Reports — Ben Dobson @ 6:45 pm March 10, 2009
Date Tuesday 10th March
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 5 fish for Mr J Conroy
Best Bag Weighed in 3 fish fish for 8lb Mr J Conroy
Best Rainbow Pete Scholes 3lb 8oz
Bank Average 1.83
Boat Rod Average 1.00
Sport: If I were a betting man I would have put money on some massive scores today. We had large black and olive buzzers coming off all day and the fish must surely be on the feed? Well honestly its been a pretty tough day the weather over the last couple of days has been dreadful so my guess is that the fish are just coming back round to these better conditions. That said Pete went out this afternoon and had four good rainbows from the top of Willow Island all on the floating line, with either a black stalking bug on the point or buzzers doing the business on the droppers.
The weather for the next few days is looking great and I will eat my hat if there isn’t some cracking scores coming in because its starting to look ideal, there is even fish starting to move in the surface and only a matter of time before the dries make an appearance!
Tight lines Matt.
Date Sunday 8th March
Report by Ben
Best Catch 3 fish for Gary Jackson
Best Bag Weighed in 2 trout for 17lbs 5oz Gary Jackson
Best Rainbow 14lbs 12oz Gary Jackson
Bank Average 1
Boat Rod Average 1
Sport: Well-done Gary Jackson! Despite the conditions Gary fished a floating line with a black n green fritz on the point and buzzers on the droppers. During a short session in Newclose Bay he landed three and dropped a couple more. The best tipped the scales to 14lbs 12oz, as you can see from the picture above, it was a beautiful fish and a new PB for Gary.
The hardy few that ventured out today took all that the weather could throw at them. Strong winds and heavy hailstorms meant that most the hotspots were unfishable. Newclose bay offered a little shelter and this is where most of the fish were caught from the bank. Out on the boats Ian Greenwood and Mark Tyndal battled the elements and caught two a piece. Their best fly was a UV wine dancer and their best area was Hollins Bay. Tight Lines Ben
March 7, 2009
Gary Jackson 14lbs 12oz Rainbow
Date Saturday 7th March 2009
Report by Pete
Best Catch 15 fish by Mr P Miller
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish weighing 12lb 2oz Mark Wilson.
Best Rainbow 9lb 8oz by Jim Hunter
Bank Average 5.00 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 3.00 fish per angler.
Sport This morning was a lot milder than of late and this bode well for the fishing, but as the day drew on the rain and wind picked up making presentation a little tricky especially from the boats in the Northern Shallows. Regulars Peter Andrews and boat partner Andrew Bentley managed an impressive 25 fish to the boat they found anchoring rather than drifting worked better and used intermediate lines stroked back with Boobies, cormorants and mini lures worked best. Also in the Northern Shallows was float tuber Mr Primmer who caught 5 fish from his float tube unfortunately no details of lines or flies was left. The largest fish of the day went to season ticket holder Jim hunter who narrowly misses out on a doubles club entry with his 9lb 8oz rainbow not quite a double Jim better luck next time. On the bank today several large catches were recorded but top honours go to Mr P miller who landed 15 fish from Newclose Bay including a cracking 7lb 8oz rainbow Good angling!! All his fish fell to flies of different genres but all were green. With the milder temperatures set to stay for next few days the fishing will continue to be excellent . Tight lines Pete
Date Friday 6th March.
Report by Paul.
Best Catch 15 fish for Bill Orrell.
Best Bag Weighed in 4 fish weighing 10lb for Ian Ritchie.
Best Rainbow 11lb returned for Bill Orrell.
Bank Average 5.50 fish per angler.
Boat Rod Average 2.44 fish per angler.
Sport: There was a harsh over-night frost again last night but when the sun came out it soon warmed things up, the only thing was a sneaky cold wind that picked up through-out the day. The best bank catch today went to Bill Orrell who landed a credible 15 trout, including a super 11lb rainbow that was safely returned after a gutsy battle. Bill found a damsel pattern fished on a floating line to be his best tactic and his best spot to be Bell point. Landing 10 fish today was Steve Couperthwaite who continued his good form from last week. Steve caught all his fish with black buzzers fished extra slowly on a slow sinking line. Also taking a good catch from the bank today was Ken Whiteside who landed 9 trout. Ken was fishing next door to Bill at Hartley’s and used a black and green Zonker to good effect. John Renny was another bank angler to land 9 fish with an olive nomad being his best pattern. The boats didn’t fare as well as the bank today but it was quite rough down at the bottom end of the reservoir and these windy conditions can hamper the boat anglers. See you on the water Paul. Date Thursday 5th March
Report by Matthew
Best Catch 8 fish for David McCabe
Best Bag Weighed in 5 fish for 10lb for John Glaister
Best Rainbow 16lb estimate for Neil Parkinson
Bank Average 1.83 per angler
Boat Rod Average 2.63 per angler
Number of Doubles 3
Sport: today started flat calm with a definite cold snap in the air, and the blue skies promised a warmer than what we had! Although it stayed pretty cold all day them buzzers were still hatching off.
Paul Bebb was out on the water with regulars David and Joan, and between them they had a good score of 11 trout! David took top rod honours with 8 fish all coming to buzzers fished slowly on the washing line. Paul found the duo a good number of fish off the top of Willow Island; this is becoming a real hot spot.
Richard Rooney had the fish chasing the blob around the top of Gull Island including a lovely 10lb rainbow to make up a good four fish bag.
Those on the boats who persisted with the buzzers around the willows had a good day, however when were in a cold snap like we have been for the last day or so persistence really is the key!
On the banking regular Ray Mercer has his name in lights once again with the lovely rainbow of 12lb you see pictured. Ray tempted the big fella to a black and silver humongous and finds himself in the doubles club once again!! John Sykes found four good fish from Grindys lawn in a short session, this is a good turn of events as im sure this area has not produced it’s best so far this year. Watch this space Grindy’s and the dam area may be the new hot spot!!
Bens making another stocking tomorrow so Hollins Bay, Barnes Quarry etc should start to come back in on the action and steal the crown from the northern Shallows.
The interview above with Nick Halstead is a real must see full of little hits and tips from one of the top guys in the game. I also think the teething issues we had with the sound are all ironed out. As always your feedback on these little blogs is greatly appreciated, and if I can prise the camera out of Bens hands (His Favourite new toy) I will be bringing you a few hints and tips on the hang and the lift, two methods that I (sometimes) do well with!
Ray Mercer 12lbs Rainbow.
Date Wednesday 4th March 2009
Report by Pete
Best Catch 17 fish Jimmy brown and Paul Storey
Best Bag Weighed in 13lb 8oz for five fish
Best Rainbow 13lb approx by Jimmy Brown
Bank Average 4.2 fish per angler
Boat Rod Average 4.0 fish per angler
Sport: Today saw very little wind and blue skies and if it weren’t for the temperature you would think it was spring. On the bank today was regular Gary carradice who fished from Newclose bay with buzzers to record a catch of 9 fit trout including one out of season brownie the biggest tipping the scales at 4lb his most successful fly was an olive buzzer, also on the bank today was stocks legend Frank Hartley who also fished Newclose bay and caught 4 rainbows in a 3 hour session. The fish still seem to be in Newclose and with the large amount of olive buzzers hatching off over the last week they are starting to turn on to the buzzers fished slowly on a floating line. Stocks guide Paul Bebb was again on the water today with Jimmy brown and his friend Peter storey they had a good session in the morning taking 10 trout to the boat with Jimmy just ahead on 6 to peters 4 this afternoon things slowed a little as the temperature began to drop but they still managed 17 to the boat with jimmy just pippin peter with 9 fish to 8, he also managed to catch and land his first Stocks double estimated at around 13lbs. The majority of the fish fell to black and olive buzzers fished on a washing line.
12th Febraury 2009
STOCKS IS ALL READY TO RE-OPEN
Only eight days top go now until we open on Saturday 21st. The preparations are going really well and there is a definite buzz in the air around the fishery. I will start stocking on Monday and the last of the 4000 trout will be in by Thursday morning. We have loads of 3 to 4lb rainbows to go in and plenty fish to can earn you a place in the doubles club.
WEATHER PROSPECTS
We have been really lucky with the weather so far. Weve had only a little bit of snow and the roads have remained clear. The forecast for next week is predicting mild conditions with light westerly winds which bode really well for good fishing. We still have some boats left for Sunday 22nd if you would like to reserve one you can do so by calling 01200 446602.
PRIZES FOR OPEN DAY AND THE SEASON
As you know we will be tagging some of the 3lb+ trout. The first angler to bring one of the tagged trout to the lodge will win a CPS fly rod worth 260. Thereafter anglers presenting tagged trout to the fishery staff will be awarded a 30 fishery voucher, which may be spent on tackle, fishing or boat hire.
Also on opening day Ian McCormack from SONIK Sports will here. Ian will be walking the shoreline with a SONIK 96 fly rod offering you the chance to win it. The rod will be set up with a floating line and a likely fly if you can catch a fish in 3 casts your name will be put into a hat and at the end of the day we will draw out the winner of the rod. A 10 SONIK rod will do the rounds on the boats with the same offer.
IN THE LODGE
For the first time our tackle shop will be stocked with SONIK rods and reels as well as all the latest innovations from leading brands such as GREYS, VISION, RIO, Scierra, Fulling Mill and much more. There is some great gear this year.
Our famous full breakfasts and bacon butties will be available in the caf. If you would like any quality sandwiches to take out onto the boats or bank then just ask and we will quickly prepare them for you.
THE FISHING STOCKS IN FEBRUARY/ MARCH
As previous seasons have shown, February and March can offer some brilliant sport. The cold water is saturated with dissolved oxygen and this gives the trout loads of power and longevity when fighting. The takes are often hard and ferocious so I wouldnt fish less than 7lb tippet. The tactics on the day will be largely governed by the conditions but here are a few set ups and styles that have proven to be big catchers during past early seasons.
From the boat in a moderate to strong wind: A Di3 sinking line with a black n gold humongous or double on the point and pearly cormorants on the droppers. Vary the retrieve from a slow figure of eight to a medium roly-poly. Be sure to stay in contact with the flies and dont forget the deadly hang.
From the boat in calm or light wind: I would choose a midge tip line with a long leader and three flies. On the point I would start with a small black or orange tadpole and on the droppers would have two size 10 diawl backs one with a red head and one JC cheeks.
The best areas are likely to be The Causeway, to Fairbanks, The Causeway to Phils Flats, Grindys Lawn to Kettlewells, The Alders to Halsteads Hike and Hollins Bay.
From the bank in moderate to strong wind: Either a slow intermediate or sink tip line with a heavy pattern on the point (like a black n green tin head fritz) and cormorants or diawl backs on the droppers. Where possible cast across the wind and allow the current to bring the flies back around towards the shore. The key is to stay in contact with the flies and to allow them to come close into the edge. Early season fish can hold in very shallow water. Vary the speed of figure of eight so that the point fly can bounce along the bottom and slow down the drift.
On the bank in calm or light winds: I would fish a full floater with diawl bachs or buzzers almost static. The early season buzzers are small and black and on stocks a gold rib seems to improve the catch rate. Also dont rule white buzzers such as okey dokey patterns they are good attractors to early season trout.
The best areas are likely to be the west bank from Grindys to Grange point and the east bank from the Spillway to Davids Drain.
NB* Watch out for an article by Nick Halstead on early season reservoir tactics. It was shot at Stocks is in Trout Fishermen Magazine.
COMPETITION NEWS
As you may already be aware the Scierra Pairs has been cancelled for 2009. Hopefully we will see it again in future years. On a good note the Winner Web Challenge is gathering momentum I have attached a link to their website where you can enter the competition or if you fancy you can have at winning free entry! I am meeting with Charles Jardine for further details next week.
The Stocks Greys Pairs is also looking good. I can tell you that the prizes will be as follows:
1st A GREYS PLATINUM COMPETITION 10 7# Fly rod each!
2nd A GREYS X-FLITE REEL each
3rd A GRXi Fly reel each
4th Platinum Fly Line each
5th The New Greys Drogue each
Best fish a Wakesaver fly line.
Id like to thank Hardy Greys for such generous prizes. To enter call Stocks on 01200 446602. All our other early competitions are viewable at htm://www.stocksreservoir.com/competitions/index.htm
I look forward to seeing you on the water,
Tight Lines Ben
Firstly may I thank you for your custom over the 2008 season I hope you have enjoyed your time spent at Stocks. Below is a summary of the season and a more detailed monthly breakdown. The opening day for next season will be on Saturday February 21st
Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Ben Dobson
Stocks Reservoir 2008 Season review
Season Stats
Best Rainbow: 22lbs 12oz caught by Eric Glaister
Best Brown: 16lbs 12oz caught by Ken Whiteside
Best Blue: 13lbs 8oz caught by Danny McAlister
Best Catch: 40 trout for Paul Davison. See July�s report
Best Bag: 31lbs 12oz
Boat Av: 3.9 trout per angler
Bank Av: 3.3 trout per angler
Overall Av: 3.66 trout per angler
Season Summary
One thing that the 2008 season will be remembered for is massive specimen trout. Eric Glaister caught the biggest of four rainbows that tipped the scales over the 20lb mark. Eric took the record fish on a diawl bach whilst boat fishing in Newclose Bay. The Brownie record fell several times during the early season, but no one has yet beaten Ken Whiteside�s brownie of 16lbs 12oz. Ken caught the fish on an olive zonker whilst bank fishing in Hollins Bay on April 21st. The best blue of the season weighed 13lbs 8oz which is another record, however it could not be officially counted as it was returned to fight another day without witness. The captor was Danny McAlister who tempted the fish to a diawl bach from Bell Point. The doubles club fish off was held on the last day of the season and was won by Bill Orrell from Chipping. Bill has won a seasons membership for 2009.
There is far more to fishing Stocks than just big fish and over the course of the season we saw some brilliant sport and superb catches. The best catch of each month has been included below in the monthly breakdown. As always the weather played a big part over the season. We had a very unsettled start and, for the second year running, we had a very wet back end. The rain started in August and by the end of the month Stocks was brim full. The early to middle months (April to July) had the best of the weather and not surprisingly the best of the sport.
Eric Glaister from Carlisle with a NEW FISHERY RECORD 22lbs 12oz
 
Ron Powell 13lbs 8oz Stuart Mason 14lbs
  
From the left; Burt Fallows 15lb, Glyn Kieghley's 14lb5oz, Leonard Riding's 11lb12oz
  
Ton Waslander 9lbs 5oz Steve Smalley 12lbs 8oz Ian Jones 8lbs 6oz Brownie |
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All the Floating line Qualifiers and Steve Smalley and Kenny Miller's Doubles. |
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