THAMES VALLEY

FLY DRESSERS

BRANCH OF FLY DRESSERS GUILD

Wimbleball April 2018

5 Go Fishing On Exmoor

Thursday April 12th to Sunday April 15th.

Thursday 12th.

Overcast all day mist and fog at times. I wonder what so many motorists splash out on having saved all that money not using their lights!!

Richard B travelling with Phil, John A travelling with Richard E and yours truly JW flying solo.

1st. rendezvous 10:00am M5 junction 19, Gordano services for breakfast. One car in, JW, followed quickly by JA/RE. Where’s the 3rd car? A quick call ascertains they are 5 junctions further on at the Bridgewater services. Never mind we’ll see you at Clatworthy Reservoir and don’t catch all the fish before we get there!!

Breakfast completed we continue on to Clatworthy where Richard and Phil are just getting set up. Apparently there are some nice new housing estates around Taunton and sat nav knows them all. - It’s of no consequence really as Phil got first blood anyway.

It was good to see Danny the Warden again. He was making a really good job of Wimbleball so it was quite a blow when SW Lakes stopped supporting the fishing. He moved on to Clatworthy and is doing equally well there. In fact the 2 wardens were in the process of adding the weekly stock. I started rubbing my hands as last time I witnessed the stocking I ambushed my 5 fish, one of the few times I’ve taken a full bag. Richard E and JW struggled a bit more than others; they had 2 fish each before Richard got off the mark. It took me until 5 minutes before time to connect and then it was a wild brownie of about 12oz, so it went straight back. Phil was top rod with 3 then 3 x 2 and my 1.

Off to Wimbleball for the weekend tickets and a quick recce, then up to the farm to see Gillian again then room allocation and unload the cars.

Wimbleball has a 5 fish ticket also a C&R ticket but to ensure a turnover of fish you have to kill your first 2. £25:00 each full ticket we were on £22:00 concession tickets maybe because we’d had a long drive to get down there.

Dinner. - Mackerel Pate, Steak & Kidney Pie with a mix of vegetables, Chocolate Brownies and cheese board. All washed down with copious quantities of wine. Plenty of chat and banter which continued in the TV room where coffee was served.

Friday 13th.

Still quite misty but not as bad as Thursday. Chilly in the wind!

Full English then tackle up and down to Lake Wimbleball to fish Ruggs Bay on the Bessoms Bridge side. The first thing that struck was the amount of fly life. Buzzers everywhere and a few rising fish close in. I started with a dry but the rises soon stopped so I changed to a black damsel patter with a lime green hot head bead and had a fish on inside a few casts. A terrific fight so with a fish on the bank in 15 minutes it looked like being a good day. Sadly it didn’t work out quite like that. By midday Richard E had a brace of about 4lb apiece and Phil had picked up one mid-morning. John A and Richard B were still to get off the mark.

Richard E was suffering with his back and didn’t fish much more at all. I caught another early afternoon, John and Richard B got off the mark and Phil caught his second late PM but it was a real beauty of 4½ pounds.

Back to the farm for tea and chat in the conservatory then wash and brush up before dinner. – Melon pieces followed by Turkey Crown and chipolatas served with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and vegetables, Trifle and cheese board. All washed down with copious quantities of wine. Plenty of chat and banter which continued in the TV room where coffee was served.

Saturday 14th.

Misty with the making a half-hearted attempt to come through. We had to wait until 14:00 for some of the yellow stuff, but it was worth the wait. Quite windy!

Full English then down to the same location as Friday. There are more options but as we were definitely covering fish on Friday we thought we’d have another go. Sadly Richard E was still struggling with his back so went into Dulverton to investigate Lance Nicholson’s the game shop. Phil was first off the mark again Richard B started catching early on as well eventually I joined in. At close of ply Richard B had returned 5, Phil 2 and me 1.

Back to the farm for tea and chat in the conservatory then wash and brush up before dinner. A beer today as an aperitif then Mushroom crepes followed by Roast Pork, crackling, roast potatoes and veg. Sticky Toffee pudding and cheese board. All washed down with copious quantities of wine. Plenty of chat and banter which continued in the TV room where John A was keen to watch the first episode of BGT!!

2018 was our 3rd year going down as a group plus or minus one or two attendees. It was probably the best year for catching across the board and as Wimbleball Fly Fishery is under new management the quality of fish was far superior than anything I’d seen since my first visit in 2005.

Good company, good fishing, good food, good wine and an extremely good craic!!

John W.

PHOTO’S