ENGLAND TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING AUGUST 17TH, 2018

Blithfield Reservoir, Staffordshire
The reservoir actively encourages imitative dry fly or floating line nymph tactics but there are times, especially during the ‘dog days’ of August (when hatches are somewhat sparse), that tactics targeted at the trout’s aggressive nature can pay dividends. This was certainly the case this week when a duo of match anglers using sinking lines and lures retrieved at a fast pace showed the potential of the fishery. However, most fish are still feeding in the top few feet of water especially over the deeper areas. Creditable returns this week are all, bar one, from Thursday 9th with season permit holder Trevor Horton recording 8 fish from his boat on the South Lake in just 4 hours; season permit holders Nigel Hodkinson and Pat Burton paired up in a boat on the South Lake and also returned 8 fish, all caught on dry flies; visiting rods Terry Coging and Jeff Stanley enjoyed some great dry fly sport to record 12 fish to their drifting boat on the South Lake and visiting rods Yousef Dar and Simon Caddy employed the afore-mentioned sinking line and lure tactics to record more than 60 fish to their boat, again on the South Lake. Whilst this method is not for everyone, it certainly pays off in competitions when conditions are tough and numbers count. On Saturday 11th season permit holder Phil Sadler returned 7 fish to his boat, all caught on Shipman’s Buzzers with the best of the bag being a 3lb rainbow trout. With the advent of cooler evenings and the ever-improving water clarity prospects continue to look good for the coming days and weeks.
Best areas: drifts along the entrance to Ten Acre Bay, drifts into Watery Lane, drifts across the centre of the South Lake, Rainbow Corner (Mon, Tues, Fri only), Old Man's.
Best dries: Red or Claret Hopper, Red or Claret Shipman’s Buzzer, Claret & Pearl Hopper, Daddy Longlegs, greased-up Soldier Palmer.
Best lures: White Minkie, Black Taddy, Yellow Blob, Orange Blob.
Best nymphs/wets: Invicta, Soldier Palmer, Pearly PTN, Pearly Diawl Bach, Cruncher.
Best fish: David Ramsay, 3lb 7oz rainbow trout, Claret Hopper, drifting boat on the South Lake.

Aidan Layug with a Chatton rainbow.

Chatton Trout Fishery, Northumberland
The new platforms situated on Chatton Lake have been a great success. Thank you to Neil Tait Fencing Contractor from Wooler (07909499777) for a fantastic job. All three lakes taper from 10ft at the sides down to approximately 22ft to 24ft making it ideal for fish to sit in the deep cooler water when conditions are hot and bright. Since the wet weather we've had fantastic top of the water sport using Black Shipman’s, Yellow Owls and other various dries. Anglers also having success on Buzzers, Diawl Bachs, Pheasant Tail Nymphs and lures. Chatton Ladies Angling Club member Sue Greenwood was delighted with a 3lb 8oz rainbow from Chatton Lake caught on a Black Bunny Leech. Aiden Layug (Matty Divine’s grandson) is learning to fish and with determination everything clicked for him during his visit to Chatton. Aiden caught 9 fish on lures and nymphs.
Limited spaces now available for the Junior Taster Days. Angling to save tiny lives (special care babies) - Names being taken for the fundraiser and raffle tickets available at the fishery. Fantastic prizes on offer.

Elinor Trout Fishery, Northamptonshire
For the week August 6 - August 12 the 53 anglers caught 51 fish of which 44 were returned. Best bank areas are east arm and creek. Best boat areas are east arm and pylon point. Best patterns are Red Apps’, wet Daddy, Red Diawl Bach, Black Buzzer, Black Blob, white/green lure. Fishing continued to be rock hard from bank and boat last week. The water temperature has dropped to 20.5 deg. The forecast cooler weather along with longer nights should see the fish back on the feed very soon.  Sunday November 11 is the date of the Dave Hughes Memorial Fur & Feather competition. Boat and bank anglers are welcome to enter. £25 entry fee includes fishing fees (£5 for season ticket holders).  Fish 9am-3pm, 6 fish limit, 2lb/hour time bonus. Proceeds from the raffle will be split between the Air Ambulance and the British Heart Foundation.

Foremark Trout Fishery, Derbyshire
This week has seen a lot of variety in the weather with a red-hot day, some overcast days, and finally some rain, with wind which has predominantly been from the west. Water temperatures fluctuated from a high of 24 degrees on Thursday to a much kinder 19 degrees on Sunday afternoon. Despite the rainfall the levels continue to drop. The staff have had to place a temporary walkway from the concrete ramp to the pontoon. Anglers are advised to take care when using the pontoon since the temporary walkway whilst solid and secure has some steps. The cascade is still running albeit it is flowing into shallow water, and there are still strong undercurrents in the vicinity of the tower which is where the water is extracted. These undercurrents, in combination with the nearby aerators, are still attracting significant numbers of fish but they are still proving difficult to catch.
We have further utilised the fish finder to cover other areas of the reservoir and to confirm the hotspots for the fish. As of Monday August 13, the indications are that the fish are still holding between number 1 buoy and number 2 buoy and from there towards and in and within the vicinity of the aerators. The water temperature has fallen to circa 18 degrees centigrade. The fish have risen in the water table, with the impact of the falling temperature, and are holding between 2 and 4 metres, although some fish are still deeper especially within the aerators. The Ticknall bank side of the reservoir is only holding a few fish. The areas around buoys 8, 10 and 7 are indicating fish which tend to be deeper areas of the reservoir. The top dam wall away from the aerators is only indicating spasmodic fish numbers although there are some small concentrations in the deeper areas. The fall in temperature was somewhat confirmed since again on Monday fish were caught on the surface. A few trout have been observed feeding off of the fry around the pontoon.  
As the fishing remains stubbornly challenging (although slightly better than last week), the number of rods for the week has remained low with anglers mostly recording only a single fish taken. Some anglers continue to buck the trend and have some reasonable sport. Thornton member Chris Sayer took 2 fish on Wednesday, as did season ticket holder Mr Reid on Thursday. Colin Froggatt and Chris Gardner took 5 to their boat on Saturday while on Sunday Messer’s Hunt and Thompson, both Thornton members, caught 3 on Boobies fished at depth.
The aerators are still the main spot for fish. Anglers need to observe the fishing etiquette of fishing the aerators, setting up their boat such that they drift through the aerators. Because of the depth of water you cannot anchor in the boils. The boat engine should not be started within or near the aerators in order to maintain station on the boils, except if there is an emergency. The boat should be allowed to drift through and then when well clear of the aerators the engine started and go around the aerators, not through them, and positioned to begin a further drift. If there is more than one boat fishing this area, then boats should take their natural turn within the group of boats for drifting the aerators such that all anglers have an equal chance of fishing this area. It would be appreciated if all anglers observed this etiquette.

Thrunton Trout Fishery, Northumberland
After a long, drawn-out warm period, anglers finally got what they have been waiting for; heavy rain and cooler temperatures. Throughout the week, anglers reported a noticeable difference in the numbers of fish showing as well as being caught. At the start of the week, anglers were fishing quite deep, and, at times, casting about 30 feet into the middle of the lake. However, during the later part of the week with the cooler conditions, most fish landed were taken on Hoppers or various olive patterns. The Thrunton Juniors have continued progressing through their CAST awards, thanks to Barry Mitchell for his coaching. Gateshead angler N. Bryant used a Pink Bunny Leech to safely return 16 fish to Coe Crag, having his ‘best day for ages’. Mick Brown from Bedlington landed 19 fish from Coe Crag using Diawl Bachs and Perdigon nymphs. Father and son, Simon and Elliot Guthrie from Cramlington had a ‘good few hours’ landing 11 fish between them. Boulmer angler Ray Angus returned 8 fish to Coe Crag using bead-head Daddies and Buzzers. Cramlington angler Ken Ward fished Buzzers on Long Crag to release 8 fish. Colin Smith from Newcastle released 8 fish between both lakes using Buzzers and lures. Blyth angler Spike Millican used various lures to safely release 9 fish on Coe Crag. Martin Gaffney from Ashington, christened his new rod landing 7 using a PTN. Prudhoe angler Kieran Holliday landed 10 fish over his 2 visits this week, using a PTN. Andrew Bramley from Sunderland released 10 fish using Diawl Bachs and Black Buzzers. 13-year-old Deacon Duffy safely returned 2 fish to Coe Crag during his first-time fly-fishing. He caught them using a PTN and a Black Buzzer. P. Robinson from Prudhoe returned 8 fish to Long Crag using Olives. Kevin Dinning from Newcastle used Hoppers to return 6 fish to Long Crag. Matty Devine from Hadston used lures and PTNs to land 16 fish using a sinking line. Cramlington angler Les Dinsmore used Daddies to land 6 fish from Coe Crag. Swarland angler Mick Kelley had ‘a great evening’ returning 12 to Long Crag on Hogs and missing twice as many. Open daily 8.30am to pm. Saturday and Monday 5pm close.
On September 2 Thrunton is welcoming all anglers to help raise money for The Tiny Lives Charity. There will be a raffle and prizes for the 3 heaviest fish caught. Donations and raffle prizes will be gratefully accepted for this fantastic charity. Limited spaces remaining please contact the fishery on 01665 574400 for more information and to book.