Bewl Water: Challenging Fishing

 

Back in 2005 I gave a bank fishing lesson to 3 friends from church at Bewl.  Recently one of them called Rowland, having had a look at my blog, called me and said could we fish Bewl together again.  How could I refuse such an appealing suggestion.  I didn't know what to expect, would I be teaching casting again or had Rowland progressed?  I suggested we should use a boat so we were mobile and we fixed a date.  Now the challenge of fixing a date well in advance is that you are at the mercies of the weather. Sadly on this Bank Holiday Monday my prayers for overcast skies and a slight breeze were completely swamped by other prayers for clear skies, brilliant sunshine and a strong breeze. See the picture above.

Anyway Rowland turned up all kitted out with the right gear (see picture above) and advised me how another friend had helped him overcome some shoulder problems by getting serious about fly fishing.  Down on the jetty Bewl's Rob Barden warned me that the fishing would be hard as the water was crystal clear and with the sun beating down the fish were deep.  He advised on techniques and suggested some locations to drift. So off we went at 09:00 with a strong breeze from the south. The map below shows where we fished.

 

Where                                          Results

1. Canoe club corner                   I had a pull but 4 drifts later nothing
2. Monty's to Ferry Point             Saw one fish jump
3. Bewl Straight near FP             Saw one fish caught
4. Off the oaks close to bank      Quiet
5. Rosemary's Lane                    3 boats throwing metal, quiet
6. Tinker's Marsh                        Very quiet (first time I have fished there)
7. Enrance to Tinker's                Quiet but windy
8. Polecat Wood                         Quiet but windy
9. Corner of Bryants Wood         Quiet
10. Below Bewl Cottages             Quiet but windy
11. Top of Hook Straight              4 boats throwing metal, no action
12. In front of Hook House           Saw a fish jump
13. Back at Canoe Club               Rowland took a fish practically out of the bushes, Hurray!!!

So 10 hours on the water and only one fish to show for it.  Still I didn't feel bad about it Rowland had connected right at the end and in the recent International Competition quite a number of fishers had blanked.  We had tried almost everything in terms of lines (floaters, intermediates, di 3 and di 5) and in terms of flies, buzzers, minkies, boobys and even cats whiskers.

On the positive side, the boat and engine were good, the scenery wonderful and the weather, yes the weather was nice for the rest of the occupants of Southern England.

Well done Rowland!