November Fishing Report
November; the month in which the mixed autumnal colours that clothe the bank-side trees begin to fall and layer the ground. With the truly unsettled weather this month, the process seemed hurried and within a blink, the majority of the deciduous trees had decided to shed their weight. Although this may look very pretty for anglers, for the staff it is truly a pain; for we spend hours upon hours throughout November clearing said leaves off of the fish farm screens to the keep the water flow going through the ponds, along with plenty of time with the leaf blower removing leaves from the bridges and walkways.
The fishing at Manningford has continued to be very productive, with both Manor Lake and our catch and release lake Squires producing some quality sport;
Mr T. Wade visited at the end of November and caught an awesome brace of fish; a 8lb 8oz rainbow followed by a 7lb brown trout. Other large fish caught this month were;
M. Matthews (8lb 4oz rainbow, 7lb 12oz brown), L. Price (8lb rainbow), J. Underwood (8lb 12oz rainbow), D. Beamand (8lb rainbow), M. Fearnfield (7lb rainbow), G. Pirie (7lb rainbow), B. Raynes (7lb rainbow), P. Hunt (7lb 10oz), J. Clarke (7lb rainbow), S. Robinson (7lb 1oz rainbow), D. Cox (6lb 12oz brown), D. Hawling (6lb 8oz rainbow), Stephe Nobbs (6lb 4oz rainbow), F. Hall (6lb 8oz brown), C. Saunders (6lb 13oz brown), P Hughes (6lb 8oz brown), B. Lowry (6lb 8oz rainbow), A Daniels (6lb brown), L Wilson (6lb rainbow), I. Wendes( 6lb rainbow), F Ritchie (6lb rainbow), M. Lester (6lb 4oz brown), P. Jones (6lb rainbow), B. Yeandle (6lb rainbow), M Coombes (6lb 1oz brown), J Coles ( 5lb 4oz brown ), C Watkins (5lb rainbow), B Bowen ( 5lb brown), B Etkins ( 5lb brown), G Vine (5lb 8oz brown), D. Luckhurst (5lb 4oz brown), and many other just short of the 5lb mark.
Top flies to use this month was; black taddy or montana for the times of murky water, as the fish can make out the silhouette well in the water. Also, cats whiskers, daiwl bach, copper john, stalking bugs, and even dries are still working well in the right conditions.
The 2.5 miles of river that we also manage has been fishing well with size 16 and 14 heavy jig flies and shrimp patterns finding the larger grayling. The best areas to find yourself a large grayling is the weirpool at the bottom of the beats, as well as grayling corner upstream of the fishing lodge, and any sharp corners that the river follows below the road bridge.
This month, along with dealing with the pesky leaves, Malcolm and myself have been repairing some banks on the fish farm, moving fry out of the raceways and into our grow out ponds to receive more fry for next years stock, plenty of fish grading, pressure washing off walkways and bridges, repairing the decking outside of the lodge, strimming around the lake and fish farm when possible and clearing any windswept and fallen trees around the site.
Fortunately for me, the wasps have disappeared now, so I hope to be free of stings until late spring next year. That feels like a big win in my book!
Tight lines
Fen
