Notes

It was been a funny old week weather-wise with everything from glorious winter sunshine (which, at times, felt quite warm on your face) to biting winds and low single figure temperatures, all capped off with the first named storm of the winter. We had it all! Needless to say, angler numbers weren’t high towards the end of the week and, with a dusting of the white stuff, it feels like winter is now properly here!

Those that did fish had success with a variety of techniques. The washing line method was effective for keeping nymphs high in the water. Rising fish could be seen in the flat calm areas of the lake and buzzers continued to hatch, so don’t discount the dries. Damsels have produced fish and retrieves continue to work best when slow.

Lures, as you would expect at this time of year, have done well. Floating and intermediate lines with blobs, snakes and white minkies have landed good numbers of fish up to 7lb. We expect the fish may move down in the water a little now after this cold snap, so make sure you work the layers if you aren’t getting interest in the top 3-4 feet.

Keeping on the move will give you the best opportunity for success and will help to keep the blood pumping. Wrap up warm, bring that thermos flask and give it a go.