Sutton Bingham Reservior nr Yeovil

[Jolly Piscator]

I'd definitely be up for a session . also very much a novice but really want to improve my fly fishing this year .

[rob@home]

Sounds good & yes lessons could definately be recommended for me . Haven't cast a line yet still trying to sort my reel out with line
Can anyone recommend a good starter fly line ...dont want to break the bank just want to get started thats all.
I'm just trying to get my gear up together before I make an arse out of myself & get bits of fluff stuck into everything but fish lol

[rob@home]

Just been down Davis's tackle & Nigel the proprietor has put me right on fly lines,leaders & bits of fluff lol

[Greenheart]

Don't go for too cheap a flyline Rob. They become stiff & develop a memory. This results in them being very hard to cast. This in turn leads to a frustrated angler....

[rob@home]

Ok many thanks GH I had no idea that that happened so thats very good advice. Gonna take me a while to get to grips with all this new stuff you have to learn just need a nice day to go out & get some casting practise now. Nigel made me up a bit of fluff on a leader just for casting practise as he was concerned I might damage the fly line with crack offs so I look forward to trying it out now.

[Greenheart]

There's been a fair amount of interest expressed in having a Forum fly fishing meet at Sutton Bingham reservoir near Yeovil. So after discussing this with my regular fly fishing partner Dognobbler (Pete) we've decided to try & organise a fly fishing meet combined with a bit of coaching for the less experienced. Sutton Bingham opens on the 17th March, but will probably be very crowded during the opening week, so i'm setting up a poll with a few alternative dates. I'm opting for late march to April as hopefully the weather will be a bit warmer with more fly life on the water.
Poll can be found here --> Forum Fly fishing meet / clinic

[rob@home]

Well yesterday at 8-30am we (PG Drives from Christchurch works fishing outing)arrived after a hearty breakfast at a very misty Sutton Bingham. In fact you could barely see the reservoir until we were almost on top of it & even then visibility was down to around 10 metres or so. We got out ticket from the office & we were off . As a newbie to fly fishing I was eager to not make a complete idiot out of myself to early on in the day especially with my new found casting ability which is somewhat haphazard to say the least. So I ventured round the lake to the left hand side with works other novices so I could flick fluff about & we could all look as daft as each other for a while while we figured out exactly what the hell it was that we were supposed to be doing there. The mist lifted & a lovely day was at hand. After 15 minutes of hooks catching quite a lot of things unfortunately no fish just mainly trees,hedges & any other snags we could find, Colin next to me was in although technically it has fish in the name so does a crayfish count in not sure??



Well not much happened fish wise for the next 1/2 hour for our chaps however everyone around us seemed to be filling their boots with the chap next to me taking 4-5 fish within an hour or so. A few of our guys had hired a couple of boats & they seemed to be doing ok but we were yet to get off the mark. Must of changed my fly through no fault of the fly but mainly as I kept tangling the leader due to my dodgey casting skills about 4-5 times to start off with. I finally got into the swing of it & started to cast 1/2 way decent after an hour or so . I started fishing with a small brown bit of fluff (wish I knew the names but I dont have a clue just yet maybe after a few more visits i'll get to know the names). I changed my fly to a gold headed montana & started casting again, chatted to some of our other guys who had taken a couple of fish each & BAM I was away as well . After a couple of mid air somersaults & such like the fish was ready for the net. It was a lovely looking rainbow trout in fact my 1st on a fly & a 1st of the species for me so a double whammey (weighed later @ 2lb 4oz's).



I was chuffed I wasn't going home without any tea tonight!
With this I made a couple of other casts but no avail so decided that a move was in order. I eventually made it back to the hut where you get your ticket & decided that some lunch was in order. Have to say what a lovely looking reservoir sutton bingham is.



Moved round the other side of the dam & spent a couple of hours round the other side there were fish taking on the top but by then the heat was starting to take its toll on me & the fish as well as nothing much was coming out at all so wandered back to the hut & found out both chaps who took the boat out, 1 had caught his limit of 5 the other had had 3 fish biggest went 5 1/2lb all rainbows. 2 of the other guys who are experienced fly anglers had taken 3 or 4 fish each. Colin who caught the crayfish had been out on the boat & had taken 3 nice sized fish & the other 2 guys who I had taken with me this morning had taken 3 fish between them. Only one of our merry band of anglers had blanked & he was taking a share of the other guys fish home with him. I took home 4 fish with me, 3 from one of the chaps in the boat that goes fly fishing regularly anyway & 1 of my own.



As a newbie to fly fishing I have to say I thouroughly enjoyed the day & will definately be going again. I felt the day was far less pressured than my usual course fishing outings although when I finally arrived back home the only thing I wanted to do was pass out on my sofa & dream a dream of fish filled waters.

Rob.

[flyman]

Well done on catching your first rainbow,
graet report and photos keep them coming.

[rob@home]

Will do flyman, have to say it & it does sound cheesy but i'm hooked on this fluff chucking its great fun isn't it?
Far less pressured than course fishing

[paul p]

Great stuff, and well done. Great pics and fish.