Session #4A/B (Pike) - Lakeside, Chichester

As I have a 24 hour ticket for this site, day 1 is part A and day 2 is part B of this session

Part A
I fished in several of the lakes with varying flies and saw no action at all. Having spoken to the other fishermen there, they were also missing the vital purpose of being there... Fish!!

I was mainly letting the fly sink for up to a minute before pulling it in at all sorts of speeds and styles. I had a few tweeks on the line, but I think these were more likely underwater obsticles, not bites.

I will be heading back in the morning to see what I can do before 14:15, when my ticket runs out. Fingers crossed.

Part B
I headed back to the lakes around 9:30 to find that they had all frozen over. I was literally limited to one lake and of that there was only 4 swims i could actually cast in. I stayed for 2 hours with nothing taking a look at the fly. I did get to try out some of my creations and all in all they worked quite well in the water. But obviously not attractive enough to get the pike moving.

Well hopefully my next trip will be more successful...

Lakeside, Chichester - Write-Up

I decided that I would get to the lakes today. The last time I went to have a look they were completely frozen over. I phoned them up to see if they were open all year and the answer was yes. I was told to head to reception to buy a permit. The cost is £10 for 24 hours or £250 a year for membership, obviously I got a day ticket. I was also told that I must have a landing net and unhooking mat with me, and then told that if the bailiff came round and I didnt have one, I could be kicked off site. On that note I popped to my local tackle dealer and got a unhooking mat and also a 36" landing net. At that point I headed to reception to get my permit.

I was given a leaflet explaining which lakes I could/couldn't fish in and also what was in them and the maximum sizes. It turns out you can only target Pike between 1st October to 28th February.

Walking around the lakes was a blast from the past as I used to fish there 18 years ago. The site is more natural than it used to be in that it is over grown and the swims are now smaller. Casting is limited in many areas around the lakes due to branches and limited space behind for casting. But there are still plenty of areas to get to.

I fished in 3 of the lakes trying out some of the flies I have tied. Some cast easier than others, and some, which were uncastable on the local Canal, the heavier ones, where now quite easy to cast with some room..

Here is the info from the leaflet I got (that relates to fly fishing for Pike and Perch):
This site has 13 lakes.

Ivy Lake
Pike to 36lb
Perch to 3.5lb

Leythorne Lake
Perch 2lb upward

Vinnetrow Lake
Perch 2lb upwards
Pike to 30lb

Runcton Lake
Pike to 28lb
Perch to 3lb

Nunnery Lake
Perch to 2.5lb

Copse Lake
Perch to 3lb
Pike to 18lb

Triangle Lake
Pike to 22lb

West Lake
Pike to 35lb

East Lake
Perch in all sizes

There are some other lakes, but nothing is mentioned about these so I can't comment on the contents yet

Fishing is Restrictions
Ivy Lake between March to October, mainly for the water skiing they have on the lake.
No fishing in the natural lake.

Fishery Rules
Must have a landing net
Must have an unhooking mat
All fish to be returned to the water alive

I found it quite difficult to get to some areas on the lakes due to the net getting tangled in everything. But other than that its as good as I remember it. The weather has been very cold so this may hinder the catching of Pike and Perch a little, but they are in there somewhere!!!

Session #3 (Pike) - The Tree that broke the Tracers Back

I popped down to my local canal again for a quick 60 minute session. I tried out my ostrich feather creation and after a few adjustments it looked pretty good in the water.

I fished a 200 yard stretch this time. The water still mirky from the waters running in from the fields. I managed to cast for about 40 minutes with no joy and then caught a tree for my efforts. It was too high to grab so had to pull very very hard to get the fly back and then bang... the wire trace broke and the fly remained in the tree. After reelling in the line I only had to poke at the fly and it fell down. At £9 a pop, it's an expensive thing not to check.

So the morrel to this story is "check if you can get it, before yanking too hard..."

Deer Hair Baitfish

This one is made from Bucktail and Deer hair twisted around the hook.

Hook: 2/0 Turrell Saltwater Streamer

Tail: Bucktail (Olive, Flu Green)

Body: Deer hair (Red, Black, White)

Eyes: 3D Holo Eyes from Rich

Notes: Grab a pencil size of Color one bucktail and tie at the base of the hook above the barb. Then add some of color two. Tie it off and then glue to secure.

Then take some Deer hair, color one, hold at a 45 degree angle to the hook shaft, put 3 loose loops around and pull tight slowly and the hair will frizz out. Pack it up and repeat again in what ever color patter you like. You can make stripes this way, or repeat all in the same colour. Tie off at the front and glue. Then take some siccors and trim the excess away. This gives you  a better body shape.

It will be easy to cast and quite light and should like ok in the water.

Below is another variation. All of this was tied with bucktail which has different properties to that of Deer hair:

Hollow Style Fly

This was something I copied form another site, can't remember which and this is how it turned out. It does cast very well, doesn't hold any water and looks awesome in the water.

Hook: 4/0 Diiachi Style 3847
Body: Bucktail (Black, Red and White), Icelandic Sheep (Red), Krystal Flash (Pearl)
Head: Icelandic Sheep (Red)
Eyes: Holodome 1/4" eyes

Notes: Tie a pencil thickness of black bucktail facing foward on the hook from the normal place you would tie back from, spin it around the hook to make it evenly spread. Then add the same amount in red. Pack it together. Then tie the same amount in white facing back, so that the white is pressed against the black and red. From the front it should look a little like a starfish.

Tie in and spread evenly around the hook some Krystal Flash, Pearl, but very little (maybe 8-10 strands). Once that is in place, tie and spread evenly, icelandic sheep facing back. Not much is required for this as it spread and flows beatifully in the water.

For the head tie in and spread some more Icelandic sheep and repeat up to 3 times. Once complete pack it and then trim to make a head shape. Tie off at the font and glue to hold the thread.

Put some glue on the back of the eyes and put then in pace on the head.

Result: When it is in the water it create the shape of a full fish about 2" diameter and flows very very well. Very easy and light to cast.

Ostrich Feather Creation

Hook: 4/0 Diiachi Style 3847

Body: DNA Holofusion (Blue, Pink and Green), Ostrich hurls (Green and Red)

Neck: Red Marabou

Eyes: N/A

Notes:  Tied some Ostrich hurls at the back of the hook, then some DNA Holofusion (Pink), more hurls, more DNA Holofusion (Green), more hurls, more Holofusion (Blue) and finally more hurls. Then having secured all of that with varnish as I went through each material.I Palmered a red marabou feather and secures that off behind the eyes.

The last task is to flatten the barb with pliers before using it.

I have no idea if it will work, but it should look good in the water. The hook may be the issue, but we will see

Result: The fly didnt cast too well with the eyes on, nor did it look very fluid in the water. The eyes were snapped off and casting became very easy and the fly now sinks quite quickly and looks to have a tonne more movement. Also as a note, use less Holofusion as it can cause tangles on itself.

Good News?

I have heard that small fry have been forced up out of the water between the basin and the bridge on the canal. This must mean that the water is warming up a little and the pike/perch are on the move towards the other stretches of the canal. This is good news!

This also means that I have been fishing for them in totally the wrong area, DOH.

Session #2 - After the snow has gone

Headed out to the canal again today, slightly warmer than the last time, with a chance of rain. The water was murky from all the rain and melted snow running into the canal. I fished a 3/4 mile stretch casting several times every 20 yards differing speed and depth. But again, no fish.

Chatting to other fisherman out for the walk and not the fish, there wasn't anyone else fishing the canal. I tried out a couple of flies, but not even a sighting of the wolves. It will happen someday, I hope...

Fly Eyes for your creations

Email Rich to get a list of the eyes he has in stock. Very good prices and a good range of nice looking eyes:

r.johnson277@ntlworld.com

Great turn around in orders and responses

2009 in a Nutshell

I started Fly Fishing after 16 years of not fishing at all. I have been out many times in the last 6 months of 2009. I have met people off the Sea forums and had forum meets at varying locations. All in all I am hooked (no pun intended) and look for every opportunity to get out and about.

At some points in the summer lighter days I would be out 6 times a week around hayling Island.

Sea Species Caught:
Bass - Largest about 32cm long - Hayling Island
Shad - About 30cm long - Hayling Island
Total Fish Caught: Approx 25

Game Species Caught:
Rainbow Trout - Largest 4 1/4lb - Meon Springs
Brown Trout - Largest 2 1/2lbs - Chalk Springs Arundel
Total Fish Caught: 16

Freshwater Species Caught: N/A

I have had a lot of fun and learned a lot, may my catch rate increase in 2010...

Making Maps in Google

I use Google Maps to create Maps of fishing areas I have been to and think could be useful in the future.

Create a google account and then you can create a map, by clicking on Maps and then My Maps.

Click Create New Map

Add a Title and description if you want. Then choose Public if you want everyone to see the contents of the map if found in google, else do Unlisted and only you can see it unless you directly send a link to it to another person

Click Done

Click My Map (or the name of what you called your map).

Click Edit

Use the tools based on the map to draw lines, (Circled in Red), to note areas you have picked or points on the map.

Click here to see a sample --> Sample Map (Click on the yellow area or fish symbol to see the text)

Session #1 - A Cold Start to the Year

I popped out to the local canal on Saturday 9th's afternoon for about an hour and it was too cold to stay for long. I didn't catch anything or see any fish, and not that many people to be honest. It was more of an exercise in testing newly tied flies which I will post as well soon.

Casting is quite hard there due to the width of the tow path, but with the snow loading the bushes down it was a lot easier. One tree was crossing the path so I didn't bother to go past that and so worked a 300 yard stretch of water to no avail.

The good news though was that the flies worked quite well although 1 was hard to cast.

Plan for this year

The plan this year is to fish for Pike up until at least April, when the day light should be long enough to get sea fishing again. There will be a few trout trips to stock up the freezer, but mainly sea and Pike.

I am lucky enough to have a canal 200 yards away, lakes with in the mile and sea with in 3 miles of me, so the choices are endless for locations and what to do.

My success rate for catching this last 6 months has been quite low but very very enjoyable, so long may it continue.

The other part to this years plan is to learn to tie flies better. I have only thus far tied about 15-20, so theres loads of room for improvement. Image will appear in the blog as I go along as a record to the improvement or experimentation.

Why do this???

The whole purpose of this blog is to gather together all of the sites and information in one place related to my fly fishing time. This will cover fly tying and also fly fishing itself, with trip information and reports.

If I think it's useful then it will be here.