VISIT THE STOCKS RESERVOIR REPORTS PAGE TO SEE THE PICTRES (LINKED BELOW)
There has been a new record brown trout caught at Bank House over the weekend. Ben Mason was fishing in the Mill Pool with a white and silver humongous when his line went solid with an absolute beast of a fish. It was huge brownie. Ben was physically shaking when eventually landed it. It tipped the scales to 19lbs 8oz! But Ben wasn�t finished there, his next fish was another brown of 8lbs, he then followed this with a 3lb 8oz Tiger trout and a 3lb 8os rainbow. Four fish for 34lbs 8oz! Ben went on to return another four trout as well.
Bank House is fishing really well, buzzers are starting to out catch the lures but fry patterns are still worth a shout, even if it�s just for those big brownies! Tight Lines Ben
Stocks Reservoir Daily Reports
Hi there, bank anglers are needed for the Stocks Greys Pairs.
We have some quality boat anglers look2013 IBFF - Airflo World Bank Masters
This Sunday 24th of March a heat of Iain Barr�s - Airflo World Bank Masters Competition will be fished Stocks Reservoir..
This is a brilliant competition, well sponsored, great goodie bags and the final is shown on SKY SPORTS.
You can download an entry form from Iain�s site and you can pay for your entry by paypal.
Entry forms available from the page below
http://www.iainbarrflyfishing.co.uk/Airflo%20World%20Bank%20Masters%20Individual%20Competition%202013.htm
Or can also call me on 07896000939 to book yourself down to fish and pay on the day.
For more info Iain�s email address is
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.ing for a bank partner to pair up with them to fish in the Greys pairs this Sunday March 10th. Please call the lodge on 01200 446602 if you would like to fish.
The comp details are outlined below.
Open to Everyone
Why not have a go in this original fly fishing competition? Each pair consists of one boat angler and one bank angler. If you are fishing from the shore you will be drawn with another bank angler and together you are then free to roam the reservoir. If you fish from the boat you will be drawn with a boat partner for the day. It is fished to fishery rules and is just �95 per pair to enter and that includes both your fishing fees and boat hire. There is some great gear to be won.
1st prize is a 10�0� 7# Greys XF2 Competition Special Fly Rod Each worth �220.00 a piece!
Please call Stocks on 01200 446602 or my mobile on 07896000939 to enter or with any queries. This is a brilliant day out with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere and suited to anglers of all abilities.
NB* If you would like to enter but have no partner the fishery will happily pair you up. Just call us and leave your contact details and your preference for bank or boat fishing.
Our daily fishing are available on the fishery website: www.stocksreservoir.com E-mail:
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There are only ten days to go now until Stocks opens for fishing on Saturday February 23rd. There will be two tagged fugitive trout released ready for the start of the season. The first one captured will carry a guaranteed bounty of �500.00. There are also two fugitive trout that are at large from last season and they are also still valid.
Tackling the Temperature
Looking at the weather forecasts, it looks as though we are going to have a mild spell of weather just before the start of the season. This could really benefit the fishing, as even a small increase in water temperature at this time of year has a dramatic effect on the trout�s feeding behaviour. At 4 degrees the trout will feed but any food eaten passes straight through the fishes gut undigested, so further foraging behaviour becomes subdued. But an increase of just one degree allows the all-important nutrients to be absorbed and this promotes further feeding activity. An increase of just one more degree to 6 degrees Celsius and the trout will now have a healthy appetite that requires actively fulfilling. The trout�s metabolism and feeding activity continues to increase with the rise in water temperature until a lack of dissolved oxygen becomes an inhibitory factor. This however, would be a rare event on a water as large and deep as Stocks Reservoir, and it is certainly not something to consider at this time of year!
During the early season the majority of the stocked trout frequent the margins and shallow areas of the reservoir, and whilst in these areas, are susceptible to daily changes in the temperature and weather conditions. A frost will generally move the fish down onto the bottom and it will often take them slightly further out from the bank into about 8 -10 feet of water. So if you were fishing over the Northern Shallows you may well do better fishing a bit further away from all the submerged willows with a slow retrieve on and intermediate line. A mild spell will see the trout feeding at variety depths and the submerged willows will offer great feeding and cover so is a likely hot spot. A similar approach to your fishing will be rewarded when bank fishing around the reservoir.
The best patterns for the start of the season can vary, but if I had to name a few proven favourites they would be as follows: Black and Green Fritz tin heads, Yellow dancers, Sunburst humungous, Cats Whiskers, Green Peas, pearly cormorants and Dawson�s olive. I know they are all lures, and it is likely that nymphs and buzzers will take fish, but I think it will be a week or two before these patterns really take off. I could be quicker if the conditions give rise to big early buzzer hatches�..I add hopefully!
I look forward to seeing you all. Tight Lines Ben
DATE January 11th � January 24th Report by Ben Dobson
BEST CATCH 12 fish for Andy Cooper, 10 fish for Rick Nuttall, 10 fish for Ricky Newbolt
BEST BAG OF 4 4 fish for 18lbs for Mr Miller from Preston
BEST RAINBOWS 8lbs 8oz for Ricky Newbolt and Vince Williams
BEST BROWN 9lbs 2oz Mr N Kenyon from Blackpool
BEST BLUE 6lbs Mr Miller from Preston
BEST TIGER 2lbs 4oz for Ralph Cooper
ROD AVERAGE 4.25 fish per angler
SPORT: We have managed to almost completely ice free, our circulation system has been working well and keeping people fishing. We have had some good catches over the last fortnight. Andy Cooper took 12 good fish on bloodworm fished on a floating line. He had a brownie of 8lbs 9oz, blues to 3lbs 8oz and rainbows to 3lbs. I think he may have had a tiger trout as well but I�m not sure. Fishing alongside him was Rick Nuttall who used a damsel to great effect to tempt 10 good fish. Rick found a very slow retrieve most effective. Ricky Newbolt also took 10 trout he caught most of his fish on Black and Gold Fritz patterns.
One person who definitely completed the Bank House McNab was Ralph Cooper who took seven fish on both damsels and bloodworm patterns. His bag included a 4lb 8oz Brownie, a 3lb 8oz Rainbow, a 3lb Blue trout and a Tiger trout of 2lbs 4oz. Good angling! There is a good variety being stocked at the moment so it�s not a bad time to try for the McNab. Buzzers have also been fishing well as Graham Norman from the Isle of Man proved. He had a great success with small black buzzers fished static, including the cracker pictured below. Tight Lines Ben
STOCKS RESERVOIR REOPENS ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23RD. (ONE MONTH TODAY!)
STOCKS: THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
Last year an unprecedented amount of rain fell over the catchment and caused significant land erosion. It had a devastating effect on the fishery, severely colouring the water and the resulting fishing was way below the standard that we aim to provide.
I am, however, extremely pleased to inform you that the water clarity in Stocks is now excellent, the eroded sediment has passed through the system and we are confident that the fishing will be back to the high standard that Stocks has become renowned for. In fact I am predicting that the fishing this spring will be quite spectacular, and ironically it will be down to all the rain that caused so much damage last year.
In a normal season at Stocks the water level fluctuates significantly, dropping low in summer and refilling every winter. However over the last year this has not been the case, the increased amount of summer rainfall has stopped the usual drop in water level. This has visibly had some beneficial effects on the aquatic environment and, I suspect, it will significantly increase its biological productivity. New weed beds can be seen in several parts of the reservoir that do not usually harbour weed. This in turn will increase the populations of aquatic insects that, up until now, have only existed in small numbers. This season insects such as corixa, damsels and mayfly could well become significant patterns to us. Perhaps even more significantly all the soft silt beds in the shallow bays and over the entire Northern end of the reservoir will have been continually submerged for 18 months by the time we open on February the 23rd. This will have created an extremely favourable environment for species of chironomids (buzzers) and up-winged flies such as pond olives. The Spring buzzer fishing on Stocks can be fantastic anyway, but this season it could be really special!
I�ve got the fish to make this a brilliant season all we need now is the weather!
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS: 31 DAYS TO GO!
All the boats for our opening day have now been reserved, but we still have boats available for Sunday 24th and for the following weekend Saturday March 2nd and Sunday March 3rd. The best way to book your boat is by sending an email to
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including the date you wish book a boat and a contact phone number, or you can call me on my mobile: 0789 6000 939.
Tight lines Ben Dobson
Stocks Reservoir Daily Reports
Iain Barr is bringing the 2013 IBFF - Airflo World Bank Masters Individual Competition to Bank House Fly Fishery on Sunday February 10th and to Stocks on Sunday March 24th.
This is a brilliant competition, well sponsored, great goodie bags and the final is shown on SKY SPORTS.
We are limited to just 16 entrants on Bank House so it is first come first served. You can down load an entry form from Iain�s site (the page is linked below) and you can pay your entry by paypal. Iain�s email address is
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.
Entry forms available from the page below
http://www.iainbarrflyfishing.co.uk/Airflo%20World%20Bank%20Masters%20Individual%20Competition%202013.htm
Bank House is currently fishing really well to buzzers, damsels and fry patterns. There are a lot of big fish about. Tight Lines Ben Dobson
Qualifying Heat Rules
� This is an individual bank fly fishing competition
� Teams may choose to enter and fish as individuals
� Each angler will receive a FREE Airflo Line and Iain Barr Fly Pack for their first entry worth over �50
� Multiple entries are allowed and there are no limits to the numbers of heats you can fish
� Heat prizes and wild card prizes to be won at EVERY heat. Every Heat Winner will win a pair of Costa Polarised glasses and other Costa prizes and wild card prizes also to be won at the heats
� Depending on the number of entries, approximately one angler in five from each heat will qualify to the final
� All heats and the final will be fished with barbless or debarbed hooks. Random checks will take place at the heats.
� Fishery rules to apply on the day at the heats. Please contact your chosen fishery(s) for the match rules for the day as they may vary
� Any fishery heat operating Catch and Release will be encouraged to score with 2 points for the first fish on every peg and 1 point thereafter with a maximum of 5 fish per peg. Qualifiers will come from those with the most accumulated point total�
� Where fisheries operate a catch and dispatch day ticket, the qualifiers will be decided on weight or a combination thereof if C&R is permitted after the bag total is reached
� A fish is only considered caught when landed clearly in the net and lifted clear of the water. The utmost respect of the fish is paramount and anyone considered not abiding by this rule may have points for that fish disqualified
� Flies must be positioned at least 50cm apart
� Sight indicators are permitted where fisheries allow
� Entry Fees to be paid to the organiser, (this does not include your fishing fees)
� Fishing fees to be paid to the fishery on the day
� Final to be held at Elinor, Northamptonshire on Sunday the 28th of April 2013.�This event will hopefully be covered again by Sky Sports
� 105 anglers will fish the final with a pro-rata percentage from each heat reaching the final
� There will be at least 5 wild cards reaching the final which will be drawn from non-qualifiers after all qualifying heats are complete
� Prizes: 1st Place �2000. Other prizes: UK Holiday with Fishing, large tackle prizes, and many more including tagged fish & wild card spot prizes
The organizers decision is final and the organizer has the right to amend rules, cancel or move a heat if insufficient entries permit a fair competition or weather forces a heat to be cancelled.
DATE December 18th to December 26th
NOTABLE BAGS:16 trout for Mr A Wilkinson and David McCabe weighed in three fish for 19lbs 8oz
BEST RAINBOW:13lbs to Mr A Wilkinson from Barrow, 11lbs 8oz to David McCabe from Formby, 10lbs 8oz to Robin Bamford and 9lbs 8oz Michael Porter
BEST BROWN: 6lbs to David McCabe
BEST BLUE: 4lbs to Paul Grady from Wigan
BEST TIGER: 3lbs to Mr?
ROD AV: 3.3 Fish per angler
SPORT: There are loads of big fish coming out of Bank House at the momen. David McCabe took three lovely trout on a Dawson�s Olive in a half day session. David fished the lodge pool on a floating and intermediate line to tempt an 11lb 8oz rainbow a 6lb brownie and a 2lb blue trout. He just needed the elusive tiger trout to complete the Bank House McNab. The best catch went to Mr A Wilkinson who took 16 trout from all over the lake on a white apps worm. His catch included a 13lb rainbow trout and the angler next to him lost one a similar size at the same time. A hothead damsel caught well for Robin Bamford, he too landed a cracking rainbow that tipped the scales to 10lbs 8oz and Michael Porter had a 9lb 8oz rainbow and a 4lb+ brownie, which also fell to damsel patterns. I was out fishing on Christmas Eve with Vince Williams and we found static buzzers were working well. We weren�t using a bung just long lining them and keeping the line tight, you know one cast every 5 minutes. We had plenty of takes and found that olive or lime green patterns were favoured.
. Tight Lines Ben
Well another season draws to a close. I would like to say a big thank you all the anglers that have visited us this season, we really value all your support. It has definitely been a season of two halves. We got off to a cracking start: the fishing was great and we saw some cracking specimen fish caught, but then the rain came like we�ve never seen before. The wettest summer since records began caused an unprecedented amount of land erosion on the catchment above Stocks and the water became extremely coloured with suspended solids. It killed the fishing and the reservoir didn�t get a chance to recover. Every time it started to clear another downfall would cause the reservoir to colour up again. It has been only very recently that the water clarity has returned to normal and the last of the sediment seems to have been washed away. As a fishery owner it was heart breaking to witness. Charlotte and I would like to thank you so much for your continued support and for all your kind words of encouragement. On a positive note the water coming into the reservoir is now really clean and so we are looking forward to a great 2013 season. The growing conditions for the trout in the farm have been fantastic so expect some really big fish next year. Stocks is going to come back with a bang! Watch this space.
I will post a full month by month review of the 2012 season over the next few days, but I can tell you that The Doubles Club fish off was won by John Read with a rainbow of 2lbs 11oz. Well done John you have a season ticket for 2013.
Hopefully we will see you over the winter at Bank House Fly Fishery, remember we circulate the water at Bank House so we don�t freeze over like other waters and can keep the fishing going unless the weather gets really extreme. The fishery is fishing really well, there are some really big blues, rainbows and browns in at the moment and tigers to about 6lbs. If we don�t see you, have a wonderful Christmas.
Thank you once again, Ben & Charlotte Dobson
FRITZNFLIES FESTIVE FUN COMP
2012/2013
At Bank House this coming Saturday December 8th. We still have places available. Please call me on 0789 6000 939 to enter.
This popular competition is now in its fifth winter series. This year there heats both north and south of the border. Last year there were heats and a final that raised a total of �1,200. In the final that meant they paid out �15.50 for every fish caught. This year they are hoping to raise �2,500. Please remember that this is fun comp with a bit of an incentive.
Entry is �10 per heat plus the fishing fees and you can enter as many times as you like. Entry fees will go into the pot for the final.
Please note the grand final is on February 23rd 2013, which is the same day as the opening day on Stocks Reservoir.
Rules:
The fishing is catch and release. All heats start at 9am with a briefing 8:45am. All hooks must be barbless or de-barbed and you can have up to 3 rods set up. This is a pegged match moving every 40 minutes and there is a break for lunch.
If you would like to enter please call me on my mobile or reply to this email with your contact details. You�ve got to be in it to win it!
Tight Lines Ben
Stocks and Shares Fly Fishing Competition
Saturday November 17th
This is a fun final fling boat match before the end of the 2012 season.
It is fished as follows:
All entrants pay �20 into the Stocks and Shares pot. The fishery fees will be reduced to a total �25 for your fishing and boat hire and your bag is unlimited.
Flies are fished to fishery rules from drifting boats.
It will be fished from 10am to 4pm
Each fish caught wins you one share of the pot. E.g. If twenty anglersThe 2012 Doubles Club Off
If you have caught a double figure trout during the 2012 season you can win a free season ticket for the 2013 season.
It is really simple this year. All you have to do is come to Stocks any time between the November 15th and November 30th, register in the lodge as a doubles club angler, buy a full day ticket and go fishing. The doubles club member who weighs in the biggest trout during this period can choose between a full day sporting and a half day two fish season membership for next season.
The Simple rules are as follows.
1. To qualify you must have caught a double figure fish during the current 2012 season from Stocks Reservoir.
2. You can pick any day within the given time period (Nov 15th & Nov 30th)
3. You must register in the lodge and state that you want to enter the doubles club fish off before you start fishing.
4. It is a fly fishing only competition.
5. You may fish from bank or boat.
6. At the end of the day you must hand your fish to the member of staff on duty to weigh and record the weight of your best fish.
7. Once you have fished you may not re-enter on a later date.
8. The winner will be announced at the end of the season on November 30th
To book a boat call Stocks on 01200 446602
Good luck and tight lines Ben Dobson entered it would give a total Pot value of �400. If 40 fish were caught each fish in your bag would be worth �10. If just one fish was caught it would be worth �400 and so on.
If you would like to enter then please call the fishery on 01200 446602 and book in so that we have a good idea of numbers.
Tight Lines Ben
NB. If you are a 2012 double club member (you have caught a double figure fish from Stocks this season) then may enter the doubles club fish off at the same time as fishing this match for no extra fee.
The 2012 Doubles Club Off
If you have caught a double figure trout during the 2012 season you can win a free season ticket for the 2013 season.
It is really simple this year. All you have to do is come to Stocks any time between the November 15th and November 30th, register in the lodge as a doubles club angler, buy a full day ticket and go fishing. The doubles club member who weighs in the biggest trout during this period can choose between a full day sporting and a half day two fish season membership for next season.
The Simple rules are as follows.
1. To qualify you must have caught a double figure fish during the current 2012 season from Stocks Reservoir.
2. You can pick any day within the given time period (Nov 15th & Nov 30th)
3. You must register in the lodge and state that you want to enter the doubles club fish off before you start fishing.
4. It is a fly fishing only competition.
5. You may fish from bank or boat.
6. At the end of the day you must hand your fish to the member of staff on duty to weigh and record the weight of your best fish.
7. Once you have fished you may not re-enter on a later date.
8. The winner will be announced at the end of the season on November 30th
To book a boat call Stocks on 01200 446602
Good luck and tight lines Ben Dobson
