A Bit of Spring-Time Trout Fishing

A nice bag of rainbow trout taken on montana nymphs.

With the rivers shut for the close season and the summer stillwater and saltwater species yet to wake up properly........now my attention turns to a spot of trout fishing. March can be a tricky time in the angling calendar when options are rather limited. The only real possibilities are a pre-spawning Perch from a stillwater, Plaice on the coast or as the case was today....a spot of trout fishing!

It's always nice to dust down the trout gear and chuck a little fluff about, of course the bonus with this style of angling is a good feed should one be successful. Today my venue of choice was Lakedown Trout Fishery whose webpage can be seen here: Lakedown. This fishery was created by the one and only pop legend Roger Daltrey of  'The Who' fame, he still owns it to this day. It is situated in the heart of his 420 acre estate set in the beautiful East Sussex countryside. I have yet to find a fishery to equal his in terms of beauty and tranquility. With 4 large lakes to go at there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy a superb days angling in excellent surroundings.

On arrival at the venue we were greeted with foul weather. The wind was howling from the south-west bringing with it a fine, misty drizzle. This made casting and presentation of our flies tricky to say the least. According to the fishery manager, patterns such as the montana nymph and damsel-fly nymph had been doing the business recently so it was these that we stuck to.

The successful fly - Green and Black Montana

After a good start and a fish in the bag on my fourth cast, it took a little searching and exploring of the lakes to locate the pockets of fish. It seemed they were all on the end of the wind as it was impossible to get a pull anywhere else. Hard work indeed casting into the teeth of the wind but distance was not important as the fish were close in. 

It was very difficult to spot the bites as the wind was causing all sorts of issues with regard to the drift but after about 4 hours I had reached my bag limit and called it a day. All my fish came to a green and black montana fished deep down on a 12ft leader with 4lb tippet. The retrieve rate was very slow.

A great days fishing and fresh trout for dinner. Job Done.

TIGHT LINES!