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Wherwell, 4th March 2017

The traditional season opener, a busy day with grayling anglers on the river and thirteeen on the lake, the latter was observed by some to be pushing the capacity a little, though everyone caught their bag. It was a bit muddy due works improvement in the BBQ area amd recent wet weather, but it should be great by the time we return in June. Robbie the keeper promised hard fighting fish and we weren't disappointed, most of the fish were around the 3lb mark with big tails. Best fish went to Dave Day with a super fish of 6lbs 4ozs, and Dave also returned a brownie of around 2lbs. Fly choice didn't seem to be too critical (we may have been the first to fish the lake this year). Another good day at this justifiably popular fishery!

Rockbourne, 1st October 2016

Not a very high turn-out, but a good day fishing at a superb venue. The weather was mixed, with some early heavy rain, but generally improved throughout the day. Water levels were high and clear, with little weed, and the fish were visible. Fishing was challenging, but rewarding. We had to keep changing flies, depths and tactics. The stocking levels were good - not over-stocked but enough, and the fish were good quality and some good sizes. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I'm probably biased, but I think it's a great fishery, and worth the money despite the higher prices.

John o'Gaunt, 10th September 2016

Intermittent heavy showers made fishing more challenging for the 5 hardy souls who braved the Saturday but the breeze was very gentle and the fish were feeding well - by the time I arrived at about 9:15am, at least one person was already reaching their bag limit.
I struggled more than most but after being advised to try "something yellow" I caught my 2 fish limit on a yellow baby doll. I'm told buzzers also fished well.
People who fished the lake nearest the car park mostly reached their limits first but by about 1pm everyone (including those who stuck it out on the clearer lake where the fish were not so keen) had reach their limits.
Two more members fished the Wednesday.

Amport, 6th August 2016

A new venue for the club, and a small quiet lake that we can book for our exclusive use with an accommodating and friendly proprietor (and a proper loo!). There are places for at least eight people to fish. It is shallow in places with weed causing channels - through which fish were seen moving. There weren't any biggies, mostly 2.5 - 3 lbs, browns and rainbows. Lots of follows and refusals, many caught on white/pink lures. Some surface action and although smallish, the fish did put up a few good fights - aerial acrobatics etc. Everyone was gone by lunchtime most with all their fish when it went a bit quiet. The owner says most people go to the pub during this period. I stayed till 5pm and there was quite a lot of surface activity. I would have stayed longer but had to go out in the evening. I had a lot more success on dries than on nymphs. The brown that I got on the nymph lunged onto it as it hit the water. I watched loads of follows to nymphs retrieved at speed, generally turned away at the slow down. I tried every nymph pattern known to man and even resorted to the white/pink lure - same results. Shuttlecock buzzer, however, was very entertaining. They'd come to investigate from a distance, kiss it, nudge it, or snatch it off the surface. I lost loads - pricked, got off, broken tippet, broken hook!, hook bent open!

Wherwell Estate Lake, 9th July 2016

This is one of our favourite locations, and despite a brisk wind, and lumps of 'scum' rising to the surface making the fishing a little more challenging than normal, it turned out to be another splendid day. If anything, the lumps rising off the bottom seemed to get the fish going as, presumably, various food items were also brought to the surface, with buzzers proving very effective. We welcomed new member Phil Hyde, and Chairman John brought his neighbour Ewan to have a try at fly fishing, and Ewan duly caught a couple of nice fish, including a lively 'blue'. Attendees were treated to bacon butties in the morning, courtesy of Jocky Wilson, and a magnificent BBQ from John and Ewan with snack contributions from Ian Wyatt. No monster fish were caught, best around the 4lb mark, but Bob Hanley caught a terrific 3lb 4ozs brownie which leads the brown trout league at the moment.

IBM National, Rutland Water, 3rd-4th June 2016

With Andy Parker pursuing trout in the Italian Alps, regulars Bob Hanley, Neil Postlethwaite and Tony Hogg were joined by a face from the past, Mark 'Jocky' Wilson attending his first National in more than 20 years. And what a comeback it turned out to be with Mark ending up being top rod for Hursley and arguably a couple of lost fish from having a shot at individual honours. Unusually for the national, the weather was kind, with relatively light winds and clear water. On the first day we caught well drifting in the main basin, with lures and damsels fished quickly in the upper layers on Wet Cel II and intermediate lines the most successful method. But the second day those methods resulted in only a single fish, so we moved down the South Arm, and found fish in the sailing club bay. This time the fish were feeding very high in the water on buzzers, and diawl bachs and buzzers fished on 'washing lines' proved most successful. We all caught fish on both days, Mark and Tony both caught 14 fish over the two days, Neil had 6 and Bob had 5 and the Hursley team finished 3rd overall, a good result though we were way off the top two teams, with the winning team all getting double limits. But it was great fun, excellent company, superb accomodation and food as always, and very enjoyable fishing. And we stayed dry!

John O'Gaunt, 7th May 2016

A good turnout for the club with 9 on Saturday and 2 midweek. Another beautiful morning on the Saturday, with plenty of fish being caght, including some decent ones (notwithstanding the fishery's rather 'optimistic' scales!). Lures were as reliable as ever, but imitative methods also worked well, with buzzers (including shuttlecocks on the surface) doing particularly well. There was even a small mayfly hatch which Dave exploited to catch on a dry adult. Ian and Jim both caught brown trout, our first this season. Rod fished on Monday and said it was quiet until some fresh stock arrived :-)

Church Paddock, 2nd April 2016

The trip to Church Paddock for the second trip of the season for Spring Cup was rather like the proverbial curates egg. It was a fine day with light winds. The fishery appeared to be well stocked, the water was generally clear but was rather weedy in places despite the fishery’s efforts to clear it during the proceeding week. The hospitality and the breakfast were good and cooked to order at 10:30. The cost of which was settled at £5 after the manager asked ‘how much does a breakfast cost these days’? The fishing: it seemed that you either had a very successful morning, or a pathetically poor one. I was in the latter category with just one take (missed) during the morning. A few others like Jim R and John Wiseman seemed to catch their quotas with relative ease. I did not keep detailed records for the Spring Cup. It didn’t seem worth the effort after Ken Jones pulled out an 11+ pounder and was the clear winner (probably with this one fish alone). A few of us did discuss claiming that an even weightier catch was achieved after Ken had left, but this plan was not executed. Congratulations Ken.

Wherwell, 18th March 2016

The first (or, thinking financial, is it last?) trip of the year was again a return to Wherwell Estate lake. Another twelve rod turnout found the weather dry but chilly due to a brisk north eaterly. Thankyou to Robbie the keeper for turning on the fire in the clubhouse to keep us warm, fortunately this wasn't needed much as the lake fished well, and all those taking fish caught hard fighting, well conditioned limits. Most successful methods were damsels fished briskly and buzzers, with the fish surprisingly near the surface on a cold day (even dry fly worked later in the day). Top bag went to Ken Jones and included cracking fish of 5lbs 13ozs and 5lbs 8ozs. Thanks to Pete Dean for organising and also providing excellent bacon butties, John Wiseman for soup and Derek Antrobus for doughnuts. And well done to 'novices' Isaac and Andy who persisted in the cold and were rewarded with quality fish.