I have always preferred the classic wild Brown Trout to its magenta-hued American Cousin but there is no denying their attraction. They are lightening quick, acrobatic and just plain stunning to look at. A myriad of spots, silver and pink. Olly had never caught one before and I knew the perfect place to get him his first, Simpson Valley in Holsworthy.
Simpson Valley Fishery is a well run and progressive Fishery that caters to all aspects of freshwater lake fishing. They have all the classic Coarse species plus Large Pike and three species of Trout. Recently they had opened up a new Lure & Fly lake which has Trout, Perch & Pike in it. I had fished it before and had reasonable success, a couple of Rainbows and a couple of Jacks, nothing astounding but good fun. So on a damp but not particularly dreary Friday morning we made the trip from Plymouth to Holsworthy. I brought my two favourite set ups with me, my Lrf and my baitcaster. Fishing LRF style was my plan for most of the day and within 20 minutes I had a fish on. An exceptionally strong Rainbow that took a little Spoon. On the light rod it was a fantastic fight but it managed to fling the hook out as it leaped clear of the water. I wasn't disheartened as Olly had one on about 2 minutes later, that too throwing the hook near the end of the fight. That is the trouble with Barbless Hooks, much better for the fish but not so great for your catch rate. I quickly learned that you had to keep the line very tight to the fish during the fight, any run towards you or leap had to compensated with fast reeling and suitable drag. I had lost two fish before I landed my first, this fish wasn't large but put up a great account of itself on the light tackle. To Olly's amusement I managed to slip over on the mud mid fight, planting my arse on the soggy ground whilst trying to keep in contact with the fish. Luckily he stayed on and though wet and muddy I was a happy man with my first Rainbow of the year, taking me up to two species so far.
Me and Olly swapped lures and he was quickly in on the tiny spoon (Trout can't resist small flashing lures), his fish was slightly more subdued but was very interesting once we had it in the net. It quite obviously had survived a Pike attack, a bite mark from a fish of perhaps 5-6lbs was clearly on its side. Trout are incredibly agile and this one had showcased that.
It did raise the question of how well the Pike are doing in the lake though? The Pike had been moved into the lake from a smaller cloudy one just down from it that was full of Coarse fish. They now found themselves in a crystal clear lake full of lightening fast Trout and the odd perch. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the future as the small Pike have extremely little to feed on and I can only imagine will end up as food for the larger girls who struggle to catch the Trout. With this in mind I used my baitcaster to fish both large Trout and Pike imitation lures to no avail. Perhaps they weren't in the mood, perhaps they wanted something else, either way I'm still yet to catch a Pike this year. I had two other Trout, one on a Fox Rage Mini Fry which has been my favourite lure so far this year, then we went home satisfied with a another fish species and some superb fights.
On Saturday (seriously hungover from my Dad's 50th birthday celebrations) me, Will and Robbie made our way to our home ground - Bake Lakes. Planning to nail a few different species on float fished Maggot. Simple fishing for hungover minds. I was slightly late getting there and Will and Robbie had already had 2 species by then. Will, a couple of roach, Robbie, a roach and a Mirror Carp. His Soviet Headwear obviously working it's charm!
I set up and quickly had a couple of small Roach plus a lovely bonus Hybrid Roach/Bream (which for the purpose of the Challenge we are counting as a different species). We stopped for a quick lunch break, headaches still in full effect. Then headed on to Luxor to get even more species. Feeding the swim with Red Maggot we soon had a feeding frenzy going on, with a fish a chuck. Will could barely get his bait in the water without some Roach or Rudd jumping on his hook! Then a magical moment for myself... A specimen Gudgeon! We were in fits of laughter as we appreciated the monster at the end of my hook.
In all seriousness a special fish for myself as I haven't caught one since I was a young boy and it was a little silver and blue flanked beauty! Will quickly followed mine up with one of his own, a brace of Specimens. We had numerous fish afterwards and it was a truly memorable way to spend a hangover. One where you are glad to be a Fisherman.
The leaderboard after those two sessions is as follows:
Ben - 7 species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Roach, Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Common Carp & Gudgeon.
Robbie - 5 species - European Eel, Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach & Rudd.
Will - 3 species - Roach, Rudd & Gudgeon.
Olly - 2 species - Perch & Rainbow Trout.
Phil - 1 Species - Pike.
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