Lenches Lake Trout Fishing

Top lake catching the sun

With limited time available and the local Warwickshire Avon still out of sorts my best option to get a fishing fix was to grab a fly rod and head down to the Lenches Trout lakes. The Lenches is a pair of crystal clear spring fed lakes complimented by a stunning Scandinavian club house where the proprietor serves up free tea and coffee plus bacon sarnies at a small cost. It is packed full of photos and tackle and has a unique character of it's own, a civilised place to begin a fishing session.
My 'go to' fly for Winter stillwater fishing is a homemade gold headed red lure with a marabou tail and today once again it did not let me down. First cast I felt a touch but the fish must have grabbed the tail, third cast and I hooked into a small Rainbow. It put up a spirited fight on the light gear but I won the battle and netted a near 2lber.

Winning fly on the rod handle

My lack of confidence meant I only bought a three fish ticket and in just over an hour I had filled my card, the killer fly accounting for all three, the second fish even taking the fly on the drop. "It's too easy" I told the chap back in the clubhouse. We chatted about all things fishing over a complimentary coffee and I decided to up my ticket to six fish, it was far too early to go home yet.
I changed fly to a cat's whisker to make it more of a challenge and it worked, no bites, just one follow that ended in a refusal. The clouds dissipated as well which did not help.

A better day than forecast

After a fruitless hour the fish seemed to suddenly switch back on and two more were netted in quick succession both around the two pound mark. Time was marching on and I was just beginning to think of packing up when the line tightened and I struck into a very angry fish. It set off on a run unlike all the others stripping the fly line almost to the backing before I managed to turn it. Without me knowing a knot had formed in the fly line at my feet which luckily slipped through the rings and from then on I had to play the fish at distance trying to avoid it making other runs against the knot and risking a snap off. Eventually I started to gain the upper hand and pulled the knot back carefully through the rings and  down to my feet, thereafter making sure that it stayed there no matter what the fish did. With an aching shoulder I finally landed the best of the day weighing over three pounds.

Ticket filled for the second time that day and it was home time. Fishing 'itch' satisfied for another week but still desperate to get back on the rivers if only it would stop raining!