6 Feb 2023

WIMBLEBALL 2023 – Season Underway!

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A full English at the George Inn at Brompton Regis with fellow fly fishers was the perfect way to prepare for a day afloat on Wimbleball on February 2nd, day 2 of the 2023 season. We talked of tactics, trout fishers, trout flies and the complexities of modern society before heading to the lake full of expectation.

News from Opening day gave confidence that the fish would be likely to oblige with some anglers catching over twenty trout.

Wimbleball Report – Opening day Report

What a start to our 2023 season… Beautiful start to the day, bit of a shame about the fresh cold westerly breeze, but some fantastic fishing was had with over 30 anglers fishing the opening day, & some great pics from the first couple of days will be posted over the next few days… Tactics included intermediate or sink tip line, small black flies & black & green lures seemed the top takers… Some great returns & some struggled while watching others next to them pulling them in, a few noteworthy catches included James March with 25 fish, Clive Blacker 19 fish, Phil Giles 18 fish, Don Mansell 16 fish, Richard Earnshaw 15 fish, with many others in the 5 to 14 fish bracket, best fish weighed was just over 4lb, many reporting fish in the 3 to 4lb bracket… Happy days & thank you for your support!

I was sharing a boat with Snowbee ambassador Jeff Pearce an option that would allow us to explore a large area of water without having to wade out into the chill waters of late winter. Early season fishing at Wimbleball is often as good or better from the bank providing the shoals of fish can be located.

It was great to be back out on this vast expanse of water nestled within Exmoor’s undulating landscape. Trees towered stark and bare around the lake that was now brim full with water following a wet winter. The last time I had visited the lake was desperately low following the severe drought of 2022 when the reservoir had dropped to around 20% resulting in a premature end to the trout fishing season.

The summer of 2022

The 2022 drought and heatwave proved extremely challenging for fish farming across the UK and will inevitably create issues for the coming season across the country. Anglers will need to accept moderate increases in permit prices and a shortage of big stock fish. It is to be hoped that 2023 brings a more normal summer with average rainfall.

I opted for an intermediate line with a black woolly bugger on the point and a small black and green nymph on a dropper. This followed advice from my fellow anglers at breakfast who suggested that any fly pattern would work providing it was predominantly black with a touch of green.

After a short unproductive drift into Cowmoor Bay we headed for the shallow end of the lake and dropped anchor in a sheltered bay close to an area of dense withy. Jeff and I started the process of searching the water.

It was reassuring to get into the steady motion of casting and retrieving. The line alighted upon the clear cold water and was allowed to sink for  a few moments before commencing a slow figure of eight retrieve. It wasn’t long before the line pulled tight as the satisfying pull of the first trout of the season hit my dropper.

Turbo charged full tailed Wimbleball trout are amongst the hardest fighting fish in the country putting a pleasing curve into angler’s rods and ripping line through chilled fingers.

It was supposed to have been a bright day with sunny intervals but on this occasion Carol Kirkwood’s cheerful predictions on BBC Breakfast had proved over optimistic as a chill westerly wind with grey skies and occasional drizzle persisting throughout the day.

The consistent sport kept our spirits up as we savoured the start of a new season looking forward to the warmer brighter days of spring ahead.  We ended the day sharing a catch of fifteen hard fighting rainbows the best estimated as close to 5lb.

            I look forward to my return trip when those hard fighting rainbows will thrill again on what is widely recognised as the West Countries top Stillwater trout fishery.

At the end of the day pan fried trout with a sprinkling of Cornish Sea Salt -Lemon Pepper

13 Aug 2022

Head for the Deeps on hot summer days

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As the hot weather conditions persist stillwater trout fishing can be very challenging. The larger reservoirs are undoubtedly the best venues to head for and deep water offers the best chance of fish. Wimbleball can be well worth a visit during even the hottest of days. The below map gives a guide to the deeper areas worth concentrating on. On most reservoirs water close to the dam is deepest and well worth a try. A benefit of the low water levels is that it opens up large areas of bank normally out of reach to bank anglers.

17 Jul 2022

SEEK THE DEEPS IN HOT SUMMER SUN

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I joined Snowbee Ambassador Jeff Pearce at Wimbleball Lake to try for a summer rainbow. We knew conditions would be challenging with the long hot dry spell continuing to impact upon the lake and the surrounding countryside.

Jeff had already been fishing for several hours when I joined him in late afternoon. He had boated a rainbow of over 4lb and had lost a couple. We hoped that the fish would come on the feed as the hot sun sank beneath the surrounding hills.

We set off for the wooded Upton Arm to try a few drifts. The water level had dropped significantly since my last visit in Late May. The expanding shoreline revealed scars from the past with tree stumps standing high and bare like skeletons upon the barren shore. Jeff likened them to alien invaders.

Michelle Werrett has written a nostalgic feature in Fallon’s Angler that touches upon this lost valley that was flooded in the 1970’s to meet the ever increasing demand for water across the South West.

www.fallonsangler.net 

As we drift across the water it is fascinating to try and picture what this valley once looked like with deep woodland descending to the streams that flowed at their base. The wild brown trout that thrive within the lake and the minnows  swimming in the margin’s descendants from this flooded landscape.

I started off with a floating line and a long leader a fab on the point and two buzzers on droppers. Jeff fished a fast sink line with booby and a fab with smaller imitative pattern between.

(Above) The vital link

After an hour without success, we headed for the deep water off the dam close to the aeration curtain. This was where Jeff had enjoyed success earlier in the day an area that often fishes well during prolonged spells of hot weather.

I changed over to a fast sink line with a bright booby on the point, a small imitative pattern on the middle dropper and a bright fab on the top dropper. There is a certain fascination with fishing down deep and slow. Expectation that a big hard fighting rainbow will seize the flies far below the boat. This expectation is fuelled as we chat with fellow anglers who have caught a few and lost several powerful fish.

After fifteen minutes Jeff hooks a hard fighting rainbow that battles gamely before being coaxed to the net. I hook a fish close to boat that slips the hook after a short tussle giving my confidence a welcome boost.

 

As the hot sun beats down I am pleased that I have made good use of a hat and sunglasses to protect from the hot sun. Plenty of water is essential to keep hydrated on these long hot and challenging summer days.

After  several changes of tip fly I eventually tempt a hard fighting rainbow of around  2lb. A well earned reward for persisting deep and slow.

Some excellent fishing can be enjoyed on even the hottest summer days with the deep water undoubtedly the place to target as fish seek cooler waters and increased oxygen levels.

13 Mar 2022

Wistlandpound Club – Visit Wimbleball

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Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club met at Wimbleball Lake for their first competition of the new season and were faced with challenging conditions during the first part of the day.

A cold South Easterly Wind was blowing down the lake into Bessoms and Ruggs which was the area the majority headed.

My own day got off to a flier when a rainbow seized my cormorant dropper on the first cast. I then waited over three hours before catching the next fish. A small black lure fished on an intermediate line being the successful method that accounted for the final four fish of the day.

Paul Grisley caught a rainbow early in the day and also went several hours before catching three more rainbows in the last half hour of the competition. The best of these was a stunning rainbow of 7lb 12oz that took the fly line out to the backing twice.

 

Early Spring can be challenging and on this day we seemed to have  several seasons in one day. The morning was bitterly cold in the South East wind with heavy showers and short spells of sunshine. Late in the day the wind dropped away and the lake took on a mirror like appearance reflecting the dark sky and colours of the landscape.

 

 

Result – 1st Paul Grisley – Four Rainbow  –  Trout 15lb 4oz – Best 7lb 12oz

                2nd Wayne Thomas – Five Rainbow – 10lb 11oz

                 3rd – David Eldred – One Rainbow – 2lb 8oz

28 Feb 2022

OPENING DAY –APPOINTMENT WITH FULL TAILED RAINBOWS

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The sun was rising above the hills of Exmoor illuminating the sky in shades of golden yellow as I drove the winding road towards Wimbleball Lake. Whilst silhouettes of trees still told of winters grip the roadside snowdrops and rising daffodils told of the coming of spring.

It was the last weekend of February and the first day of a new season on Wimbleball Lake a fishery that has been rejuvenated in recent years following careful management by the Underhill family.

I met with Snowbee Ambassador Jeff Pearce at the lake for 8:00am and chatted with fellow anglers who had travelled down from the North of Bristol leaving shortly before dawn in their eagerness to connect with the first trout of the season. The two month break certainly rejuvenates enthusiasm with over thirty keen anglers booked into fish on this opening day.

 

Jeff and I had elected to fish the bank confident that the fish would likely to be close in. We started off near to the boat launching jetty where cheerful fishery assistant Trevor helped anglers on their way with words of advice and encouragement. Wading out into the icy cold water I pushed out my intermediate line with a small black lure on the point and a cormorant on the dropper. I paused a few moments allowing the line to sink whilst I looked around admiring the scene before me. Early morning sunshine casting light upon the cold waters that were ruffled by a cold South Easterly breeze. The stark outline of the surrounding hills and trees framing the lake.

I began a slow and lazy retrieve relishing the early season anticipation and expectation. On the second or third cast there came that delightfully electrifying tug as the line pulled tight the rod tip jagging. I lifted into the fish the rod hooping over as the rainbow surged away into the lake. The fish fought gamely testing the tackle and my patience  as I coaxed the fish to the waiting net. A full finned rainbow of close to five pound was a great start to the season. Jeff was busy welcoming anglers to the boats and rushed over to catch a few images as I posed with my prize in the icy water.

During the following half an hour I added another three stunning rainbows to the days tally. The icy water stinging the fingers and numbing the toes seemed of little consequence.  Jeff eventually joined me hoping to savour his first trout of the season yet by now the South East breeze was increasing in strength making casting more difficult.

We decided to move to a more sheltered area and start a fresh search. Wading out into the waters of a shallow bay we again began the routine of searching the water. Jeffs line zipped tight and he enjoyed battling his first trout of the season a silver rainbow of over 2lb.

We fished the bay for another half an hour without further success and decided once again on a move to deeper water close to Bessom’s bridge. Fishing here proved challenging with the strong icy wind battering the shoreline. Confident that fish would be present we fished hard and I was rewarded with a stunning looking long lean rainbow of close to 4lb.

We gave it another half an hour in the teeth of the wind before conceding defeat and heading once again to sheltered waters. A few fish were being caught in the bay and we fished optimistically before stopping for a bankside sandwich and a coffee.

We discussed tactics and decided to move once again and escape the cool wind. Moving to the far side of the sailing club we found calm sheltered water. By now the sky was a vivid blue with bright sunshine shining into the clear water. Once again my line zipped tight and a wild brown trout exploded from the water performing an acrobatic summersault. Jeff secured a few pics of the immaculate wild fish before it darted away to freedom.

It was mid-afternoon and we sensed a slight easing in the wind speed. The area close to the boat launching area seemed worth a revisit following the success enjoyed earlier in the day.

We braved the cold wind for an hour before conceding defeat at close to 4.00pm. Late February high on Exmoor can be brutal but the rewards are high with Wimbleball’s hard fighting rainbow trout amongst the hardest fighting trout I have ever encountered.

Fishing this vast often windswept lake feels truly wild.

Early season the fish can be concentrated as the catch returns revealed at the end of the day with some anglers recording up to twenty fish. Both bank and boat fishing giving great sport with the popular lures of the day working well.

I have always found black lures or olive damsels to produce well in early season fished down in the water at a slow pace. Anglers often follow fashions with favoured variations proving successful each season.

I look forward eagerly  to my next Wimbleball session and once again connecting with its full tailed battling rainbows.