Back to Cowpe
April, the first real month of Spring, and we've had snow overnight and during the day, with a biting northwest -to north wind. Not really what we wanted but our weather has the knack of balancing out cold periods with warm, wet with dry. If the supporters of global warming in the media looked a bit more closely at weather records and patterns they would find some explanations in front of their noses instead of knee-jerk reactions whenever we encounter an unusually hot spell of weather.
I fished Cowpe Reservoir in east Lancashire on a bright but very cold and breezy day. The sun was just about over the surrounding hills and shining down on to a moderately choppy surface. At first glance there was little sign of life in the water but a walk down towards the feeder stream at the far end from the dam suddenly showed several fish feeding near the surface; the rest of the water looked devoid of trout.
I put up a ten foot, six weight rod and a floating weight forward line. On this particular reel I had a long tapered mono butt to one of those lovely little stainless steel rings to which I tied an eight foot tippet of six pound Fulling Mill fluorocarbon. I wanted to put out a fly that would sink just below the surface quickly and which could then be pulled in with an irregular retrieve. A size fourteen Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear with a gold head seemed to be right.
In it went, right into the area of activity and, wallop, first cast a hard fighting rainbow took most of the line off the reel in one strong run. It was a superb fish, around three pounds in weight and in tip-top condition. The hook came out of its jaw as I got the landing net under him. Despite the reservations of some experts, I find that fishing barbless seems to be more beneficial in terms of quick unhooking and quick return of the fish to the water. I rarely kill a trout, usually only when my daughter Rachel has ordered one for her dinner, for I quite dislike the taste of both trout and salmon nowadays.
I took several more fish in the next hour on an increasingly tattered looking GRHE including one specimen of around four and a half pounds who did not realise that he had been hooked for some minutes. He continued to cruise against the drag, taking yards of line. Once he 'sussed' what was happening he went through every trick in the book, below, on and under the surface to try and shake himself free. He finished up in the net eventually, shook the hook out and jumped from the net back into the water without me ever laying a finger on him. Just shows that we are not in charge even when we think we are.
I'm looking forward to fishing Cowpe during the rest of the year. It's a picturesque water and the fish population is well monitored by the club officials. It is fairly full of quality triploids and blues with an indigenous population of wild brown trout, one of which I caught on this trip. It was a brawny, well spotted specimen of about two pounds that fought just as you would expect from such a hardy specimen.
Day tickets for Cowpe Reservoir available from:
Quix Newsagents, 63 Burnley Road East, Waterfoot. Telephone:01706 214892
Ted Carte's Fishing Tackle, 85-89 Church Street, Preston. Telephone: 01772 253476
A river report from Colne Water
An angling colleague, John Binns, had a day out fishing Colne Water, a small river which runs down through the town from the moors above Laneshaw Reservoir. The water was high with some colour and John opted to freeline a worm on the stretch from Trawden to Laneshaw Bridge on a day ticket.
He took two smallish brown trout and a lovely rainbow of about two pounds. He enjoyed his day and intends to fish the river more during the summer months. There is a good head of brown trout plus a number of rainbows that have escaped from a local trout fishery over the years. They survive well in the river and fish over three pound were netted last year.
Colne Water is controlled by Colne Water Angling Club and is available to members of the public on day ticket from in the town as is the near by Laneshaw Reservoir which stands at the top of the hill out of town on the border with Yorkshire. Both will give an enjoyable day's fishing.
Day tickets for Laneshaw Reservoir and Colne Water available from:
'Anglers All', The Old Forge, 6 Raglan Street, Colne. Telephone: 01282 860515
Stocks Reservoir
By all accounts Stocks Reservoir has got off to a flying start this season. A very big water, the angler visiting for the first time does not have to walk a long way to find a hot spot. Within a few yards of the main car park, Frank Hartley of Oswaldtwistle, netted the biggest rainbow so far, a monster of 13lbs 8oz taken on a Shipman's buzzer.
The best recorded bag of four fish was by Mr Bird of Ellesmere Port that weighed 21lb 8oz and included a rainbow, a blue and a brownie. The over-all rod average for March was 6.74 per rod.
I've fished Stocks a few times and it's a pleasant experience whether or not the fish are on form. The scenery is great and the fishing environment is first class with very helpful fishery staff and an attractive lodge. There are areas where wading is safe and there are boats to hire.
Buzzers are best at the moment and the fishery website suggests that for the next couple of months feeding activity will hot up even more with a massive increase in both aquatic and terrestrial insect life. Ethafoam beetles, shuttlecock buzzers, diawl backs and black and peacock spiders are the pattern to have in the fly box.
Contact: www.stocksreservoir.com.
Ron 'The Hat' Clay
