Curley's Trout & Coarse Fishery blog

7 November 2014 - Actions Speak Louder than Words!!!!

2014-11-07T12:00:00.002+00:00

Check out the new stock of 500 "Fin Perfect" Trout!

Catch them if you can!!!

Friday 3rd October, 2014

2014-10-03T15:07:00.004+01:00

Friday 3rd October

Plenty of bites and Trout being caught this week at Curleys after recent challenging times due to the hot weather!

In particular today; two 4lb Rainbow Trout caught today by member Don, on a Cats Whisker and Zonker.

You can still fish until 8pm and when the tackle shop is closed permits are available from The Dining Room.

We hope to see you all soon!

18th Sept

2014-09-18T10:00:00.002+01:00

The fishery will be open as normal over this weekend

i.e. 8am till 8pm for members

& 9am till 8pm for day permits

However the tackle shop will be closed Friday 19th, Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st as I will be at the Midland Game fair doing some Tenkara Demos.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Sat 6th Sept

2014-09-06T12:31:00.002+01:00

More activity from the slowly as the water temps decease.
Quite a few fish caught to dries with Daddies beginning to tempt the fish to the surface.
Generally the fishing is very weather dependant as has been the case over the summer.

Fishery open as normal W/C Sunday 7th Sept

Tackle shop closed Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th

Open the rest of the week at 10am

Tackle shop opening hours

2014-08-17T19:18:00.001+01:00

Until further notice the new tackle shop opening times will be as follows:

Monday and Thursday to Sunday open at 10am
Tuesday and Wednesday closed

Fishery open times
Members 8am to 8pm 7 days per week

Day tickets permits (available from the cafe when the tackle shop is closed)
9am till 8pm last permit sales 6pm. 7 days per week.

Sat sun 8th and 9th Aug

2014-08-08T17:21:00.002+01:00

Sorry folks but the tackle shop will be shut on Sat and Sun the 8th and 9th Aug.
This fishery will still be open and you can get your permits from the cafe from 9am.. Last permit sales 6pm.
Sorry for any inconvenience.

Coarse fishing weekend

2014-08-01T14:16:00.001+01:00

Hi all I have been asked about the rules for our coarse fishing weekend on the fly lake, so here you are:

Any hook bait can be used, maggot, bread, pellet, corn, worm etc
NO spinning, plugs or lures and NO ground baiting.
You WILL need a keep net in order to transfer the fish to the small coarse lake at the end of your session.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT A WAY OF SIMPLY FISHING FOR TROUT USING BAIT!
Anyone who purely targets trout will be asked to leave!

Large bags can be expected! Enjoy

Thursday 31st July

2014-07-31T13:06:00.002+01:00

The new stock of lures have finally reached us after having been held up in customs for about 3 weeks!!
Some great patterns and still at the very competitive price of 75p per fly or 10 for £6.50.

Much better weather for fishing now, the water has cooled a little and more showers forecast - all good.

Mon 28th Update

2014-07-28T13:08:00.002+01:00

Relative beginner on this morning who had about 5 rainbows and 2 browns on a 2 hour permit. Best time fly fishing he has ever had!!

Fly Fishing picks up

2014-07-28T09:49:00.001+01:00

The fly fishing has been in the doldrums the last few weeks with all the hot weather and dry conditions. Now we are seeing a bit of rain with showers forecast and the temps have gone down the fish are far more lively and no doubt hungry. As this trend hopefully continues the fly fishing will get back to its best until the next heatwave!

Don't forget the coarse fishing event this coming weekend.
I have seen lots of larger perch, roach, bream and carp knocking about sun bathing in the conditions!
Don't forget you need to pre- book if you want to fish early on any of the coarse days.

9th July

2014-07-09T10:01:00.001+01:00

Well the last forecast of torrential rain didn't really materialise, I wonder if the next lot will?
Recently 2 or 3 fish has been a good result as the Rainbows are all over the place and don't know when to twist or stick?
The majority of the trout are still deep but some are lolling in the surface.
I had two of my instructor trainees here on Monday for a lesson in double handed casting and they were both simply using a tag of red wool on the end of the leaders. Both of them got follow after follow with trout being really aggressive, if they had been using flies then they both would have caught plenty.

Tactics to use - simply think outside the box, avoid your "go to use" method and flies that have been hidden away in the depths of your fly boxes and haven't seen the light of day for years!!!!

Sat 5th

2014-07-05T10:13:00.001+01:00

Overcast rainy conditions today as forecast, the fish will still be relatively deep but if this keeps up then they will start to rise nearer the surface.

My approach for what it's worth would be an intermediate line and a team of buzzers. Any good buzzer - ish, pattern is worth trying - epoxy, skinny, with or without breathers, daiwl bachs, cormorants, Black Pennel, Bibios, etc etc.
Alternatively go more hard core with a sinker and a team of blobs or a couple of boobies and strip back quite fast but deep!
Tightlines

3rd July

2014-07-03T12:46:00.002+01:00

Well at last the weather looks like breaking into a wetter but cooler spell which is desperately required for all types of fishing. Coarse, trout, rivers, stillwaters and reservoirs have all suffered from this long lasting period difficult conditions. Hopefully with a bit of rain everything will brighten up and wee can get back to some good action.

Those who have had the experience, knowledge and tackle have been able to overcome the worst bits of the conditions but is has been fairly slow going for everybody.

I had Jeff Prest the features editor of TROUT FISHERMAN MAGAZINE contact me to ask if I had any special tips for overcoming these conditions for an article they are doing - so it has been a National problem not localised!

So let's get back to fly fishing ------ lots of insects about, buzzers of course, but also gnats and sedges. THE mayfly hatch has now stopped but has been replaced with some smaller mayfly species the pond olive.

Tightlines

Wed 11th June

2014-06-11T09:59:00.001+01:00

Mixed weather patterns still abound - sunny one minute and then thunder and lightening the next!
Fish during the good parts and you should have a decent return,

DO NOT FISH DURING THUNDER AND LIGHTENING!!!

Jim McGinley top rod recently with 6 fish one over 5lbs

Received the first batch of new flies to stock - dries, buzzers, nymphs and wets - just waiting for the lures and they should be here anytime now!

Mon 9th June

2014-06-09T11:12:00.000+01:00

Bit of a mixed week, some very good days with large catch rates and at other times it has been a little more hard.
And what's the reason for that I hear you all shout! Well of course it's the damn weather - continuous alternating between lovely summer days and back to autumn does nothing at all for the fish! They just mope about and wait for things to improve.
Long range weather forecast is for showers will Wednesday then sunnier days!!
Let's wait and see what happens...........
If you do catch us on a "good" day then some of the bigger fish are beginning to show - quite a few caught in the 4 to 6lbs range!!

Tues 3rd June

2014-06-03T09:03:00.003+01:00

Stocking today with some lovely rainbows and some smaller Brownies.

The Brownies are an experiment to see how they go! Hopefully they won't "disappear"!

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL BROWN TROUT ARE CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY!!!

Bank Holiday Monday

2014-05-26T15:29:00.001+01:00

The rain hasn't appeared yet but the bright sun has made fishing a little tricky. Earlier the fish were rising all over the west bank of the lake taking sedges and gnats off the top. Bob's bits and black klinks doing some damage!
I even managed a few myself during a visit from Clive from the Midlands who came up for a float tubing lesson. He managed his first fish on the fly and obviously his first from a tube.
Yesterday was a red letter day for most, lots of fly fishers registering over 5 fish in the session. Top rod was Jonny Stuart who caught 14 fish in a 2 hour spell!

Let's see what the week brings......

Bank Holiday Weekend

2014-05-24T12:10:00.002+01:00

A reasonable start to the Bank Holiday weekend, the weather is appreciably better than forecast but has still made the fish go quite deep.

A variety of methods and flies being tried and that's really the key to it when the fish aren't trying to climb up your rod.

Keep on the move
Keep changing flies
Most important of all keep trying differant depths

22nd May

2014-05-22T13:32:00.001+01:00

Well it's been a rather up and down last few days. The fishing was quite hard over the sunnier periods with the fish going deep and lethargic. It has now changed to wet and cooler so this should get them back to being more active and feeding again.
Don't forget that the use of an intermediate or sinking line is not just for winter, they must also be used when the temperature goes up as well.
During the sunny days we had a great illustration of just one of the differences between coarse and salmonids. The roach were popping on the surface sun bathing and the trout were sulking in the depths!

If you have to go deep then normally slow your retrieve down, however in very bright days with little or no wind, then you can try a sinker with a team of blobs and strip them back as fast as you can! This tactic is certainly NOT from Isaac Walton's school of fly fishing, but can be effective nonetheless.

Sat 17th May

2014-05-17T13:42:00.004+01:00

Last few days have been good top of the water fishing. Almost any dry buzzer pattern in almost any colour has been working. Shipmans, Suspender, Shuttlecock and Klinks take you pick

Here's a copy of an email sent in recently from John Burrows.....

Mike........thanks for the advice to try either a klinkhammer or a shipmans buzzer last night at Curleys ........after an hours fishing with just a single pull with an olive buzzer, I switched to a black shipmans on a 14 hook.......bang...second cast straight into a decent size bow........I found that varying the retrieve when bringing the line back in seemed to get the fishes interest ,,rather than individual retrieves after each cast, also I let the fly drift naturally in the water prior to my retrieve..... ........finished the night with 5 fish........cheers mate.......John.......

Well done John but the best way to fish these patterns is without any retrieve - just let them drift about and manage your line to "keep in touch"

You can also keep up to date with what the fishing and other things at Curley's by looking at our facebook page here

Monday 12th May

2014-05-12T11:58:00.003+01:00

Good to be back after a busy weekend at the SportFish Open Weekend in Reading.
Whilst I have been away lots of fish caught even though it hasn't been the best of weather. Inevitably Jim McGinley was top rod with 12 on Saturday and is on his way to reaching to same number today. The fish are near to the surface and seemingly willing to take almost anything!

Here's a couple of interesting You Tube videos shot at Curley's by my mate Ant Glascoe Jr.
The first shows the sunken boat off the boat pontoon - it has certainly deteriorated since it last saw the light of day some years ago.

The 2nd film shows a pike coming to have a ganders at the camera.

No1
http://youtu.be/7uiUZSlJjHY

No2
http://youtu.be/dsa4fBCGvNA

Thursday 8th

2014-05-08T11:05:00.002+01:00

Warmer temps and drizzle has created a massive hatch of sedges and buzzers, fish rising all over the lake. A lot within reach of the pontoons but would be a great day for float tubing! You would catch that many fish it would be like water skiing!

Float tube kits available for hire including fins for boot foot or stocking foot waders. All you need are your own chest waders and the ability to smile and laugh a lot! Defo the best fun you'll ever have in waders!

7th May

2014-05-07T17:52:00.000+01:00

The weather has turned wet and breezy but it has put the fish off. Plenty being caught mostly on lures and buzzers.
Lots of Hawthorn flies and sedges around almost everyday now. Hawthorn hatch won't last too much longer though - take advantage whilst you can.

Most of the fish are at the cafe end and along the road but when the wind changes or eases this will also change.

Thursday 1st May

2014-05-01T15:11:00.001+01:00

New month and lots going on in and around the fishery. Lots of fish in or near the surface, should continue as the slightly wetter weather starts the big buzzers hatches.

I will be at the very popular Fawcett's game show on Sunday from 10am, great place to look at all the shiny new tackle from lots of manufacturers. The show takes place on the river lune at the Underley Estates, signposted from Kirkby Lonsdale.

The following weekend I will be demonstrating at the big Sportfish weekend show at Reading
See here for more details Click here for all the info

Amongst all that is going on all day at Curley's it's easy to forget that amongst other things it's a haven for all kinds of wildlife. This a a little clutch of Yellow Wagtails just a day old!

Monday 28th April

2014-04-28T14:21:00.000+01:00

End of April is in sight and still no traditional "April" showers! Not much of a problem for stillwater/reservoir fishing but some of our rivers are beginning to suffer. Curley's gets fed by a network of underground culverts that bring spring water into the reservoir and with its depth two if the reasons it does not suffer like other waters in droughts and very warm summers.

Fishing been on and off over the last few days, top rods recording 9 fish and on other days as few as 2 or 3 but that's fishing for you! The wind has at last turned to a soft Westerly and as a result things are warmer, which should trigger the top of the water action again.

The NW Nomads are holding a presentation by one of the North's good competition fly fishers, Nick Halstead.

Saturday 17th May in the Ivy Room at Curley's. It starts at 6.00pm. It's only £7.00 entry and includes a Hotpot supper. Draught and bottled beers, wines and spirits available to purchase.
Should be an interesting and informative evening.