If I was to name a lake or reservoir that has taught me so much about flyfishing and lure fishing, I'd have to say Grafham Water. Renowned as one of the most iconic trout fisheries in the country, it's also become a Mecca for producing other big predators - Pike, Perch and Zander. Although Grafham's not an easy venue at times, the rewards are there for the taking if you put the time and effort in.
A couple of weeks ago my Dad and I flyfished Grafham for predators for the first time this year, and I was lucky to get off to a dream start! We targeted Zander and Perch for the first few hours of the day, with no success, so at around midday we decided to switch to floating lines, step up our leaders and target Pike in the shallow bays. It wasn't long before Dad and I were both off the mark and had boated our first Pike of the year - only small, but still great fun!
We continued searching this area for another couple of hours, before we both decided on a change of location. Then, just as my Dad had started the motor and was about to put it in to reverse, as I was stripping my fly back, a Pike flew out and slammed my fly in just four feet of water! At first, I thought the fish was around 14-15lb, but as the fight went on we both realised it was a lot bigger - I think Dad was shaking more than me as it was hooked on one of my Dad's barbless flies! Thankfully, I got it safely in the net and we were both blown away at the size of the fish - it was like a crocodile! At 30lb 2oz it had beaten my P.B by over 1lb, and I think it would have weighed more had it have not been spawned out!
We didn't catch any more fish that day, but Grafham's not an easy place to catch Pike, on any method, so I was well chuffed catching such a special fish from Grafham, especially on the fly!
Dad and I couldn't wait to return and since that trip, we've been back to the 1500 acre reservoir three times. Again, we've spent most of our time concentrating on the Pike, stalking and sight casting to fish, just like when fishing on the flats for Bonefish and Permit. What's very encouraging is that we've been catching quite a few small jacks - one day these could be future 30lb'ers! On the other hand, we've seen some of the biggest Pike we've ever laid eyes on. On our latest trip, in an area not far from where I caught my 30lb'er, we saw a Pike of frightening proportions. Dad got a better look at it than I did, and it blew him away - it certainly looked bigger than my '30'!
Dad's caught the two biggest fish on our most recent outings - a 16lb'er (which took his fly instead of an even bigger Pike he'd cast to and was intending to catch!) and an 18lb 12oz, which this time wasn't beaten to the fly by another Pike!
When we've not been targeting Pike, we've been fishing for Zander and Perch. Although this hasn't been easy, we've caught a few of both species, including a couple of 3lb+ stripeys, with the biggest weighing 3lb 9oz.
My next trip to Grafham will be trout fishing with the Pitsford Pirates in the Airflo Midland Heat - fingers crossed the team can do the business and qualify for the final!
In just under four month's time, the Team England Lure Squad will be heading out to Lac Bourget in France fishing in the Lure Fishing World Championships. As the team currently have no sponsors, we have to fund our own way to the World Championships, with the cost working out at approximately £2000 per person. To raise awareness and try and pool together some cash to cover our costs we've set up a PledgeSports page, which is similar to a Just Giving page, but for athletes, teams and clubs asking for funding and attracting sponsorship. There are rewards for certain amounts of sponsorship - I won't go through them all but for £10 you'll be listed on our supporter's page, and the more you donate the more rewards you'll get. Please click on the link below for more information - if you'd like to donate we'd all be very grateful!
https://www.pledgesports.org/projects/team-england-lure-squad-world-championships/
Anyway, June 16th is just a matter of hours away - and I can't wait!
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