Hazel Copse Pics
Hazel Copse Trout Fishery
I visited Hazel Copse yesterday for the first time in many years. I arrived to a lovely sunny morning and an equally warm warm welcome from the owner Wilf. The 2 lakes are quite small but nonetheless very nicely established and lake 1 has an island. There were quite a few fish rising but reluctant to take the fly so I decided to put on a fast sink line and a Minky Booby I’d tied the night before. As soon as the fly hit the water there was swirl so gave a few quick strips which provoked a fierce take and after a good fight landed a lovely 2.5lb rainbow. I made the next cast an let the fly sink about 2 feet and a few strips again the line tightened. Now knowing the depth the fish were feeding I soon completed my bag of 4 fish. The beauty of this fishery rules is you can then fish on and catch and release. A very generous policy at £30 for a 4 fish ticket. Talking to Wilf at lunchtime he revealed his secret to keeping his lakes and fish in good condition. He has put in grass carp which control the weed and algae. Also there are a great number of crayfish which control the lice and other parasites. If you fish close to the bottom you will latch onto these critters so please put them back.
Below are a few pics of the day.
Howie</
Mullet sighting (could this be Spring?)
Went for a walk up to the old Toll Bridge tonight with my partner Josephine. We stopped and peered over the bridge side to enjoy the view down the Adur at sunset. Suddenly she said look down. There behind a main support was a mullet of about 5 – 6lb feeding happily on weed that was growing on the rocks. Could this be the mark of spring at last? Or maybe a resident fish?
Thank you Goa
Just got back from India,well Goa actually. This trip I discovered a lovely estuary at the mouth of the river Talapona to the south of the state. After trying with a fly for some time with out a nip or a follow I noticed some action on the opposite bank. Bait fish were busting the surface all over the place. The action was out of reach with my fly and was all going on under the overhanging trees. Luckily I had my spinning rod and a few shad lures and asked a nearby boat man to take me across for a few ruppees. I scrambled over the rocks until I reached the the spot where I saw the action. The first cast I was hit when just as I was lifted the lure to the surface. After a heck of a scrap I landed a black 2lb snapper. After a few more casts I was hit again. This time it was a red snapper same size. Then a smaller fish but none the less feisty. A few more cast and I was fighting again with a good fish which alas I never saw which ran my line around a rock got away.
This was one didn’t and went down nicely just plain pan fried with cold Kingfisher beer.
Now this is how to catch fish
Seasons greetings from India.
Although I had to cancel my Mahseer trip again I’ve decieded to explore my local dam in Goa. There are some big fish surface feeding at dusk. Don’t know what these fish are or feeding on yet but will post if and when I make contact.
Tight lines and happy new year. Howie
(photo) Myself and fellow angler Shafi sharing a suset at the dam
Greyling fishing at Wherwell fishery
This week me and a couple of old fly fishing buddies had a day on the upper Test and carriers on the Wherwell estate. This is a lovely trout and greyling fishery with gin clear water and stuffed with fish. This is now greyling season and costs £40 per rod per day. In spite of the windy conditions we all had a great day and caught fish. I took (and lost) all my fish on an own tied and weighted shrimp pattern with a pink collar (see photo). Here is the link for browsing or booking.http://www.roxtons.com/fishing/venue/Test_Wherwell_Estate/ Tight lines Howie
Lady fly fisher, learners feedback
Hi Howie,
THANK-YOU so much for Saturday, we both had a great time! 🙂 We were talking about it all weekend and, probably, boring our family and friends too! 😉
We probably won’t be able to get the trout fishing in before you go as money is a wee bit tight at the moment but certainly, in the Spring, we’d love to go.
Again, we really did enjoy ourselves and it’s MUCH harder than it looks! You are a great teacher though and really put us at ease and made it all fun.
We wish you well for your trip to India and are very jealous!
Keep well and thanks so much again for Saturday and for the links below.
Kindest regards,
Elaine and Shani.
A great day with Shani and Elaine on her birthday
Arun Angling Centre
Arun Angling Centre has moved to bigger premises with parking at Angmering. I popped in today to introduce myself and check it out. I chatted to Tim Nudds a keen fly fisher who works in the shop and takes care of sales and fly gear. Although the shop is mainly aimed at carp coarse and sea he has a nice little fly fishing section stocking some Airflo starter kits to rods, reels, lines etc. from Hardy and Greys. Plus a nice selection of flies. As far as I know there is not much in that neck of the woods in the way of fly fishing shops so it’s well worth a visit. I said I’d give him a plug so mention my name if you talk to Tim. Cheers Howie http://www.arunangling.co.uk/
Fly Fishing Sussex 