FRENSHAM FISHERY, CHURT, SURREY

 

A combination of events, mainly people taking holidays, meant that we had a very meagre turnout for our outing to this delightful fishery at Churt, Surrey. After the usual frustration of the M25, I arrived at 8.30 to find that a lot of work had been carried out since our last visit, with a newly built open fronted barn, housing two barbecues as well as a fireplace, to be used for outdoor entertaining. The old lodge had also been opened up on the first floor and fitted with large tables and chairs, ideal for corporate visits but sadly neither facility was necessary for the five of us who turned up on the day!

The weather was ideal, with a gentle ripple on the six lakes, a hazy sun which clouded over later and with fish cruising tantalisingly close to the surface, it seemed we should be in for a good day. However looks can be deceptive and we all found it rather difficult to entice fish to take our flies. Andrew Smith had the first excitement when his Thermos cap bounced three times and disappeared without trace into the lake but had the consolation of being the first of us to see real action when he landed a nice 2lb Rainbow. It was much later that a bailiff suggested using blood worm and after 20 minutes sorting out a terrible tangle and eventually discarding my leader, I managed to catch a super fish on the first cast using a bloodworm made from red rubber! When this happens you automatically think that you have the answer, but not another touch before lunch.

We were able to have a brief al fresco lunch with most of us eager to get back to the fishing as we only had half day tickets finishing at 2.00pm. We were joined by Les Bidewell who had set out with the intention to fish, only for his car to let him down and to return to borrow his wife’s car by which time it was too late to do anything other than enjoy the chat and the scenery, not only kingfishers but a couple of Spitfires flying overhead. Our regular guest, Ron Gorin fished through lunch to no avail, but had the excitement of seeing fish following his fly on each cast.

In the final half hour, I managed to get a second and saw Alan Badcock catch one, before leaving him to fish out the afternoon – a glutton for punishment obviously!  Later, I learned his perseverance had paid off as he caught another two after we had all disappeared.

My thanks to everyone who attended, your commitment is really appreciated.

Next, it’s on to the River Test which might be even harder fishing!!

Report by George Fowler

 

TRINGFORD TROUT LAKE

 

Largely due to holidays, a rather depleted group of 4 members and 2 guests met at Tringford Lake on a lovely sunny morning, to be met by the smell of bacon and the sizzling of sausages, the usual greeting from Head Bailiff Bob Menzies and his cheerful band of helpers.

With our appetites duly satisfied we returned to the car park to tackle up before heading for the rowing punts that make this different from our normal bank fishing. Guests Granville and Chris Ainley took one boat, Alan Badcock and Tony Spicer the second, while Gerry Overy and I shared a boat.

It took a bit of getting used to rowing these punts because of their width but with Gerry raising arms windmill fashion to point me in the right direction, we made some progress towards the middle of the lake, where we dropped anchor. Tringford is actually 1 of a number of reservoirs supplying drinking water and is fed from the Grand Union Canal. The water was crystal clear and the bottom was very visible, with only a slight ripple on the surface in the light breeze.

The first excitement came to Gerry in the form of a 3” long Perch, not at all what we wanted but a beautiful looking fish nonetheless. Unfortunately this set the pattern for the rest of the day and despite changing flies regularly, type of line once and rowing to other spots several times we could not get a take from the elusive trout.

Lunch was traditional Tringford with smoked salmon and egg sandwiches, a huge slab of pork and egg pie plus all the trimmings, followed by a selection of cheeses and grapes and washed down with a choice of beverages.

After almost clearing the spread, we returned to our punts for much of the same action as the morning. It was clear that the other two boats had been more successful with each angler catching trout and the final tally was Granville 2, Chris 1, Alan 3, Tony 2 whilst Gerry had 6 Perch of varying sizes and all I could manage was a 2” Perch!

We packed up just as the first spots of rain were felt having had a very enjoyable day and a great thanks go to Bob Menzies and crew for making us feel so welcome.

 

FRENSHAM FISHERY

 

There has to be a considerable amount of organiser’s luck that the second outing of the year brought another beautiful day of glorious sunshine and light winds. Frensham is a very popular venue for our members and their guests, hidden away up a winding track which opens up to five trout lakes and one that is being given over to wildlife, not that there is ever any shortage of that.

Our last visit in September showed a number of improvements but this year it was quite spectacular with the lodge now finished. Also the open fronted barn is now sporting a terrace overlooking the main lake with tables and chairs for entertaining. Jillian and her team have really done a remarkable job and I understand there is more planned.

Originally there were going to be 11 of us but due to bad backs, bad diaries and gall bladder operations we were reduced to eight of us fishing. When I returned to the car after paying my dues there was a mayfly resting on the boot of the car, which is what every fly fisherman likes to see as this is staple diet of trout at the time of the Mayfly hatch. This one was early but in a couple of weeks time the water should be covered with them and the sight of trout slurping them down.

Our day proved to be a bit more difficult and it was some time before the first fish was landed, although several had been hooked only to be lost in the ever-present fight against the angler.

We were very pleased to be joined by PICT President, Paul Johnson-Knight, who was happy to watch the so-called experts at work. Fortunately, I was able to hook, play and land a two pounder so that he could see what our sport is all about.

Paul was also able to stay for lunch and join in the usual fishing, trade and other banter. This was enjoyed on the new terrace in lovely sunshine.

With many a mile to travel home for a lot of us, many had a quick afternoon session before calling it a day.

As is so often the case one of our guests out-fished us all by catching four, but with only one member going home with an empty bag, it had been another really good day.

 

RIVER TEST, ROMSEY, HANTS

 

Our visit to the River Test came in the wake of storm Brian which prompted one or two urgent messages asking if our visit was still on. In the event, the day started drizzly but with light winds and after a couple of hours the drizzle had stopped and we were able to enjoy a reasonable day, with the river running fast and clear as usual.

My wife and I had gone down the day before to spend a few nights in our caravan which gives me a head start as our site is only 10 minutes from our meeting point, so I was delighted and not a little surprised to find our President in front of me as I pulled up to the gate at 7.30. Joe Piggott had driven from Birmingham just to see us all set out on our endeavours to catch Brown Trout, then had to leave to an hour or so later to return for a meeting later in the afternoon. It really was a splendid gesture and I am just sorry that he was not able to see any of the action.

Talking of action, once again it was rather sporadic, or in my case non-existent! It was the same for my co-organiser David Gould who fishes the river regularly and neither of us caught a fish all day – I put it down to organisers curse!!

Elsewhere fish were being caught, but such is the length of the beat , news about catches was not heard until lunchtime when we met up in dribs and drabs to eat our sandwiches and talk about the morning.  It turned out that several Brown Trout had been caught and carefully returned.

A total of 17 anglers attended, made up of PICT members and guests supplemented as usual by 6 members of MTSFC, which meant that the event was a success and after paying the fishery there was a surplus for PICT funds. I would like to thank everyone who turned out for their support and generosity.

This year’s catch was a very good mix consisting of 2 Salmon, 10 Brown Trout, 1 Sea Trout, a metre long Pike, and a decent size Chub,, plus 6 anglers who blanked. Judging by emails I have received it seems that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day whether they caught or not, which is not only due to the status of the River Test as one of our foremost chalkstreams, but just because the setting is so delightful.

My thanks as always to David Gould for organising matters with the fishery and we look forward to the same opportunity next year.

 

MONK TROPHY

For the second year running the MONK TROPHY was won by Alan Badcock, from George Fowler and Dennis Cole. Congratulations to Alan who consistently catches fish at each event and even managed to catch a couple of small fish on the Test.