Fishing Reports

DATE                                          WEDNESDAY DEC 22nd – TUESDAY JAN 10TH                 Report by Ben Dobson
BEST CATCH                           10 Trout for Mr D walker from Wigan and 9 trout for Brian Hitchen from Leyland
BEST BAG                                 16lbs 8oz for 4 trout for Paul Speed from Haydock
BEST RAINBOW                      10lbs 8oz Sam Latham from St Helens, 10lbs & 9lbs Paul Speed, 10lbs for Andrew Overend.
BEST BROWN                            5lbs 9oz Mr R Thomason from Great Eccleston
BEST BLUE                                 4lbs Brian Hitchen from Leyland
BEST TIGER                              Several between 2 & 3lbs
ROD AVERAGE                       2.7 fish per angler (for this period)
ROD AV LAST 4 DAYS          3.3 fish per angler (last 4 days)
AVERAGE WEIGHT OF TROUT TAKEN:  2lbs 14oz
Sport: The fishing over the Christmas period remained good but it was a little trickier than we have been used to. There were however some great fish caught and quite a few anglers managed three of the four types of types of trout in the Bank House McNab. Ian Stanworth nearly caught the McNab for a second time but just couldn’t find the tiger trout. Ian Caught blues browns and rainbows to 3lbs 12oz on egg flies fished under the bung.  Paul Speed had a great day; he landed four trout that tipped the scales to 16lbs 8oz he then went on to return several more including a 9lb rainbow and 10lb rainbow. (See pictures below). Paul caught all his fish on cats whiskers fished back with a medium retrieve. The cat’s whisker is such a good lure. Personally I like the unweighted Cats. You just cast them out, give one quick strip just to tighten everything up and then fish the drop with a slow figure of eight.  The takes have been like buzzer takes; your line just snaps tight, it’s great! If nothing does take on the first drop a couple of quick strips will lift the fly in the water and then you can repeat the process….try it works.  Over the last few days the sport has picked up. Today Brian Hitchen took 9 trout to 8lbs on beaded buzzers and mini cats whiskers. He too just needed a tiger to complete the McNab and his catch included an 8lb rainbow and a 4lb blue trout. The lake has fished well right round but if I had to pick a few spots I would say, The lodge Pool, Witches Island, The Swim and The Mill Pool. Tight lines. Ben & Charlotte.
Ps The trout in the farm have grown phenomenally so far this winter; they are way ahead of schedule. I could have stocked Stocks at the beginning of December as the trout were already averaging a Kilo! This year is going to be spectacular not only is the average stamp of the trout in Stocks going to be really good, somewhere between 2lbs 8oz and 3lbs, but the specimens are also looking fantastic. The best for years! Loads of doubles including some huge blues……roll on the February 25th!

We are taking bookings now for the opening weekend and the 2012 season, just call Stocks on 01200 446602 or Bank House on 01524 770412. Cheers Ben

DATE                                           DEC SAT 17TH – DEC WED 21ST                 Report by Ben Dobson
BEST CATCH                               17 TROUT FOR DAVID HARRISON FROM LYTHAM
BEST BAG                                    14LBS 8OZ (4 FISH) TO IAN STANWORTH FROM BLACKPOOL
BEST RAINBOW                        18LBS WARWICK ALABASTER FROM LANCASTER
BEST BROWN                              4LBS KARL WRIGHT FROM LIVERPOOL
BEST BLUE                                  5LBS NEIL PATTISON FROM LANCASTER
BEST TIGER                                2LBS 8OZ IAN STANWORTH
ROD AVERAGE                         5.13 FISH PER MAN
SPORT: It’s been a fantastic few days at Bank House. Warwick Alabaster caught and returned a cracking 18lb rainbow from the Mill Pool. Warwick caught this fish on an egg fly fished statically under the bung. After determined battle the monster fish was quickly weighed, photographed and returned to fight another day. Ian Stanworth became the first angler to complete the Bank House McNab. Ian landed a rainbow, a brown, a blue and a tiger trout as part of his 8 fish catch and what was the pattern that tempted all four types of trout? It was of course the ever consistent Cat’s Whisker. Ian found the best tactic was to keep on the move and cover lots of water. Lots of other anglers did manage to catch three of the four types, but up until now Ian’s is the only one to get all four. Good Angling. David Harrison had a great day on Wednesday he caught a whopping 17 trout the best of which tipped the scales to 10lbs. David took the first 11 fish on white buzzers fished under the bung but then things quietened down. After fishing for a time with little action David stumbled across another killer method. He was stripping back to recast when a large trout bow waved after his bung. He quickly switched his set up to a single fly on a floating line and started to strip it back quickly just under the surface. He got his last 6 fish in just 30 minutes. This mild weather is likely to produce much more of this type of sport as the fish move up in the water and become more active. Karl Wright also had bumper catch with 13 trout to the net. His catch included a 4lb 8oz rainbow, a 4lb brownie and a 3lb blue. Most of his fish came to an egg fly fished near a submerged birch tree that has blown over into the top of the lake. The average weight of the trout taken is still really high at 3lbs 2oz and this average doesn’t include the returned doubles. The best patterns have been damsels, eggs, black lures, and buzzers. We hope to see you over the Christmas period but if not have a very happy one. Tight Lines Ben and Charlotte

DATE                                WEDNESDAY DEC 7TH – FRIDAY DEC 16TH                 Report by Ben Dobson
BEST CATCH                 22 trout for Gordon Swain from Dipton in Co Durham
BEST BAG                         4 trout for 14lbs to Gordon Swain
BEST RAINBOW            5lbs to Tony Taylor from Blackpool
BEST BROWN                 7lbs+ to Mr Bisgrove from Morecambe
BEST BLUE                      2lbs 12oz Gordon Swain
ROD AVERAGE          4.8 fish per angler
Sport: The water clarity has been really good and so has the rod average at 4.8. Gordon Swain caught a cricket score when he visited us earlier in the week. Gordon fished an olive apps worm on a floating line to catch a mixture of rainbows, blues and browns to 4lbs 14oz. His killer method was as follows: After casting out he allowed the fly to sink for about 10-15 seconds (he caught two fish during this period). Once the fly was at depth he started to retrieve the worm with short fast strips and this was the key to his success.  Gordon landed a total of 22 trout. His fishing partner Mr Proudlock caught 11 fine fish with both browns and rainbows to 4lbs. His method was different however, after trying worms with little success he switched to a black fritz fished statically under a bung. John Gilbert also found success with lures. He caught 10 trout on cat’s whiskers and egg fly patterns; he kept on the move and caught all over the water. Buzzers have been fishing well too, especially patterns with bright colours in them. Tony Taylor took eight trout, all of which fell to his small yellow buzzer and David Harrison took ten trout on a white buzzer pattern. The best brownie of the week was a cracking fish of 7lbs and was tempted to an orange fritz by Phil Bisgrove. The average size of trout being caught this week was 2lbs 13oz. We are open for business right through the Christmas period and will be stocking daily with some cracking fish including some big specimens. Hope to see you soon. Tight Lines and Merry Christmas Ben and Charlotte Dobson

DATE                                    MONDAY NOV 28TH – TUESDAY DEC 6TH
BEST CATCH                     9 trout for Pete Bramwell from Penrith and for Mr D Cannon from Mellor
BEST BAG                          4 trout for 17lbs 15oz Dave Simmons from
BEST RAINBOW             12lbs to Dennis Tallentire from Preesall
BEST BROWN                    4lbs 3oz to Norman Chapman from
BEST BLUE                        3lbs 11oz to Norman Chapman
BEST TIGER                      2lbs 12oz to Mr?
ROD AVERAGE              3.3 fish per angler
SPORT: Bank House Fly Fishery has fished well this week despite a real change in the weather. Pete Bramwell took nine trout all to a brown damsel pattern. Pete found the trick was to keep on the move and fish right round the water. Mr D Cannon also tempted nine trout the best of which was a cracking rainbow of over 10lbs. Mr Cannon caught most of his fish on gold buzzers his best area was the Mill Pool. Dennis Tallentire landed eight fine rainbows and blues. His best fish tipped the scales to 12lbs and was tempted by a cat’s whisker. Norman Chapman from Liverpool had a great bag on Saturday and almost completed the Bank House McNab, he just needed that elusive tiger trout. He did land a brownie of 4lbs 3oz, rainbow of 3lbs 4oz and a blue of 3lbs 11oz. His bag was topped though by none other than his fishing buddy Dave Simmons. Dave bag of four included two rainbows of over 5lbs and totalled 17lbs 15oz. These big fish have continued come out from all over the water. The average weight of the fish killed last week was 3lbs 2oz and that doesn’t include the two doubles as they were returned to fight another day. Norman and Dave’s best pattern was a black fritz but damsels, Cat’s and buzzers have continued to fish well. The lodge pool, witches Island and the swim have probably been the most productive areas. Tight Lines Ben and Charlotte.

DATE:                                November Monday 21st to Sunday 27th
REPORT AUTHOR         Ben
NOTABLE CATCH:         7 trout for Mr C Clayton from Wigan and 6 trout Mr Eric Simpson
BEST RAINBOW:           9lbs 14oz Dave Lee, 6lbs J K Lowrie and 6lb Mr S Court
BEST BROWN:               5lbs to Mr Vince Williams from Heysham
BEST BLUE:                    4lbs to Mr P M Boden from St Helens
BEST TIGER                   2lbs 8oz Vince Williams and Steve Bland
ROD AV:                          2.3 fish per man.

Sport: Once again the average size of fish caught this week has been exceptional at 3lbs 2oz. No one quite managed to complete the McNab but a few have been close. Vince Williams had a lovely bag of trout on Saturday. His catch included two rainbows one at 3lbs and one at 4lbs, a brownie of 5lbs and a tiger trout 2lbs 8oz. He just needed a blue but he only had the morning and eventually the time got the better of him. Vince fished a mini cats lure ultra-slowly on a floating line. Mr J K Lowrie also came close. His bag included a 6lb rainbow, 3lb 8oz brownie and small blue trout of 1lb 12oz. he just couldn’t find the tiger. His best fly was an Invicta.
During the early part of the week we had some heavy rain, this put a peaty tinge into, what was, crystal clear water. The rain was also quite cold and this made the fishing more difficult at the beginning of the week. (Reflected the in the lower rod average) During this time patterns with fluorescent colours incorporated in them scored well. Mr C Clayton caught his seven trout on a bright yellow buzzer pattern. It also paid to slow down the retrieve or fish completely static, a

DATE:                                November Monday 14th to Sunday 20th
REPORT AUTHOR         Ben
NOTABLE CATCH:        11 trout for Mr D Ashburn from Egremont and 10 trout for David Harrison.
NOTABLE BAG               4 fish for 13lbs 8oz to Ian Stanworth from Blackpool
BEST RAINBOW:           5lbs 12oz to Ian Stanworth, 5lbs 8oz to W G Newman from Blackburn and 5lbs 8oz to M Armstrong from Whitehaven
BEST BROWN:                4lbs 14oz Tom Prescott from Ormskirk and 4lbs 8oz Phil Bisgrove from Morecambe.
BEST BLUE:                     3lbs Mr A Gysbers from Worston
ROD AV:                         3.93 fish per man.

Sport: Bank House has continued to fish really well. The methods are mixed at the moment with the best catches split between lures and buzzers. The stamp of trout being caught is excellent; the average weight of each trout caught this week was 2lbs 12oz.
Mr D Ashburn from Egremont switched between blobs, buzzers and egg flies to take 11 trout and David Harrison took 10 fish on buzzers fished under the bung. Several other anglers landed 9 trout but two worth a mention were Mr W G Newman from Blackburn and Mr B Kay from Blackpool. Mr Newman’s nine fish haul included a cracking 5lb 8oz rainbow and his best pattern was the trusty old cat’s whisker. Mr Kay was the only angler of the week to catch the Bank House McNab (catching a rainbow, a blue and brownie on the same day) he used a green lure but also found success with orange. During this coming week we will be stocking some lovely tiger trout so the McNab will include four trout types. I can say that all four types of trout will be present in number. Can anyone catch all four in one day?
The best bag of four fish was 13lbs 8oz and was caught by Ian Stanworth on buzzers. Ian’s best area was the Mill Pool. Two brownies over 4lbs were taken the first was a fish of 4lbs 8oz by Phil Bisgrove on a Damsel, the second weighed 4lbs 14oz and was tempted to a Cats whisker by Tom Prescott. I was a little surprised that no doubles were caught this week, there were stories of the one that got away and some anglers were broken by what seemed to be very large fish. Let see what this next week brings. Tight Lines Ben and Charlotte