A great evening at Bushyleaze

My last few fishing trips have been to Barnes Lake, but the last trip there, when the fish seemed oxygen deprived and not in great shape, has convinced me to head to pastures new - in this case Bushyleaze at Lechlade. I haven't fished here for a couple of years, but with the recent rain and the promising weather, I was actually quite excited about going there again.

There were a handful of other people there when I arrived around 3:00pm. Not much had been caught since the eraly morning, but some fish were showing at the surface - especially jumpers. I'm never very sure what jumping fish are doing i.e. whether they are feeding or not. But the fact that some of the jumpers were in the 6-8lbs category, does at least keep ones interest up.

Most people seemed to be fishing deep nymphs on fairly rapid retrieves, suggesting to me that I ought to fish nearer the surface and with a slower retrieve. So on goes a "generic" dry fly - in this case a size 12 black hopper - and a dawl bach nymph on point, with a lightly greased leader which would hopefully keep the nymph just a few inches under the surface.

First fish at around 5:00 on the nymph - just under 4lbs. After catching the average Barnes Lake fish, I had forgotten how nice a bigger rainbow could be. Then a couple of takes on the dry, both of which I missed.

By now, I was settled in the bay at the south end of the lake. A nice SW breaze made casting actually rather straightforward for a change. Most of the other fisherman had left by now - its is always remarkable to me why they leave around 6:00pm with the best of the day still to come. Gradually more and more fish start to appear on the surface. More takes on the dry which I missed, then another 4lber on the dry.

A move round to the open swim nearer the car park, and the fish are going crazy. Over the last hour or so I have over 20 takes on the dry (I am fishing two dries by now, then one as it becomes harder to see them). I have one experience that I haven't had happen for over 20 years. A fish takes the dry on the dropper, and a moment later, as the point fly skims across the surface after the first fish, a second fish takes the point. Unfortunately this then fell off. I seem to remember that when you have hooked two fish, you should net the point fish first.

One take breaks the line a moment later (which is when i switched to just one fly). As it gets darker, it is harder to see where I am fishing and whether a rise is to my fly or not. Moving between the two spots and fish continue to take.

By 10:00 it is too dark to see anymore. I have had around 30 takes on the dries, hooked about 15 fish and landed 7 or 8 perhaps. Perhaps the best day trout fishing I have had since I fished Blagdon with John Horsey and we caught over 100, all on dries.

Looking from the south end of the lake - a rare boat angler in the distance

Across the south bay - the clear spot opposite was the second of the two spots where I had all the fish this evening

Around 9:15pm - a beautiful evening

An evening fishing - more problems in "Jerome World"

After three and a half days of fairly intense intellectual effort in rewspect of the latest trading related matters, it is time to re-charge the batteries with a half day at Barnes Lake, just down the road

Conditions look perfect - good cloud cover, a bit of breeze. Could be ideal. And as I tackled up on the corner of the lake by the hut, there were several fish moving around the shallows. Some were behaving a little oddly, swimming close to the surface, with their tail and dorsel fin above the water. A good number of casts later and no luck with any of these fish. Indeed the situation seemed odder and fish would quite happily swim into the line without any concern.

At the far end of the smaller lake, I managed the first fish of the day on a Diawl Bach nymph, always my first choice - a standard stockie of about 1 1/2lbs.

A quick wander to the other lake revealed no fish rising at all, so I was soon back at the smaller lake, where the behaviour of many fish remained very odd. A possible hypothesis was that they were distressed due to low oxygen perhaps?

A second fish from the corner by the hut, which took about a yard from the edge of the lake. I got talking to a bloke who had just stopped by for a quick look, and we noticed that some of the fish at the surface seem to have white marks on their back - some sort of fungal growth perhaps?


Back to the top of the larger lake and I am found by the owner, John Barnes. He confirms that the problem is fungal and that the fish swimming at the surface are distressed, but there is not really anything that can be done about it. As a result of the poor fishing conditions, he only charges me £10, but is then surprised to hear that I have caught two. Apparently vurtually no one has caught anything for the past couple of weeks.

From the top of the bigger lake

The smaller lake

Later on, I managed a third fish. All three fish today took nymphs, though I think I did rise a fish to the dry on one occasion. And all the fish I caught were in good condition - maybe it is only the distressed fish that aren't feeding.

Meanwhile things have taken a turn for the worse in "Jerome world" where he has been preparing for a day in court where his custody arrangements for his children are due to be settled. He has had a strong expectation that the current arrangements will be set into law, but last minute, it appears that the mother of his children has launched a strike for sole custody.

I have decided to avoid finding out about the details of this, but it can't be good.