New Years Day

Curley's will be open on New Year's Day.
If you get there early please start fishing and I'll catch up with you.
When I do you may have to speak quietly and very slowly!!

Weather forecast is pretty good - no rain and 7 degrees see here for more details.

To all those I don't see tomorrow please have a great time tonight and hopefully see you very soon in the New Year.

Saturday brief update

Fishing well, Mr Pat Brown on 5 fish to a black fritz, intermediate line.
White buzzers under a indicator also catching fish.
Weather isnt as bad as it looks! very fine mist/rain with next to no wind

Friday 30-12-11

Mr Steve Moffat (4hr 2fish ticket)
"Best days fishing, personal record of 10, 7 bows and 3 blues to the net, my arm is hanging off! Great Fishery"

Mr Roach (4hr sporting)
"3 On black fritz good days fishing"

Mr Ellis (4hr sporting)
"Good day, no fish but will be back!"

Mr Chris Brown (4hour sporting)
"2 Blues one 3lb Bow on a cats whisker fritz"

Tightlines,
Nathan

Thurs 29th Dec

Another quite horrible day today but that didn't put some brave fly fishers from making the most of the Christmas break.
A strong Westerly made casting difficult but fishing is always possible from the embankment and the roadside pontoons

Everybody caught with the rod average being over 3 fish per session not a bad return given the conditions.

The forecast is much better for tomorrow with the best conditions likely to be in the morning.

Tactics are varied with everything from a floater and buzzers to a Di3 and large lure all working.

Tightlines

Wind and bows

Its rather windy at curleys today, but our regular member Mr McGinley had 3 trout between 8:30 and 10:20, he stated the fish are still within the first few feet of the surface, so floating line still usable, however to get through the wind i would op for a intermediate to take your flies through the breeze.

It was hard work for the anglers that got out on the water today, the wind was a little too much, Lets hope for a less Breezy day tomorrow

According to the metoffice the wind is going to ease off! I intend to fish curleys myself tomorrow, so intermediate line and single fly for me (less tangles!), cats whisker or a black and green fritz is currently the working pattern/s.


Tightlines
Nathan

Todays catches

C.Crompton finished on 8 fish.
Matt Johnson had 11 to his net.
Paul Johnson landed 9 trout.
Mr Ginty netted 15.
Mr Hayes finished on 4 fish.
Mr GreenBank caught 3 fish.
D.Cadman had 12 trout.

Please if you can pop over to the Fishery Office to let the staff know how you got on, it would be greatly appreciated, although it isnt mandatory. This way we can keep our blog watchers informed. Many Thanks.
Nathan Jones.

Early start pays off

Curleys is still fishing exceptionally well, best time of day, was morning with both blues and rainbows taken to all sorts of lures. Getting down to Curleys early is always recommended, i opened up the new fishery office early this morning and will be opening up the office early on wednesday to allow anglers to wet a line that little bit earlier.
Catch rates are still high!!

A Young Johnson netted 9 fish over the course of 4 hours.
Stuart Landed 15 fully finned silver bars again within 4 hours.

Fishing exceptionally well to all sorts of methods and depths, black & green, white, orange fritz's all doing the business. However generally alot of trout are close to the surface as my good friend daniel lynam can tell you, who had 7 fish and it was only his 3rd fly session!

Tightlines all
Nathan

Sore Arm Syndrome

Boxing Day Report
A number of intrepid fly fishers came out today all of them catching.
The 2 standout results were Howard Croston with over 16 fish up to 6 lbs and Chris Brown with over 16 fish up to 7lbs.
Both significantly were fishing with flies they had tied themselves but were large lures.
Basically anything big i.e. up to size 10 long shank, patterns like zonkers, minkies, Cats on a long shank and I am sure Appetisers would also work.
If you are at a loose end tomorrow you know where the action is.......!!
Large selection of flies now available, 75p each or 10 for £6.50

Christmas eve high catch rates

Merry Christmas all!

Currently fishing very well, with high catch rates!
Come check out the huge stock of flies we have on offer in the new Fishery Office.
Alot of blues coming out so hold on to your rods!

Floating line, long leader, weighted lure and you cant go wrong!
All pegs fishing well.

Tightlines!
Nathan

EDIT:
Curleys Member Dave caught 15 fish by 2pm!

Merry Christmas

Time to wish all of the fishery's clients a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
It's been great having your Company over the last 12 months and we hope to see you all again very soon.

Once you get fed up of all the festivities why not come along to Curley's for a bit of peace and do some fishing. We will be open everyday except Christmas Day.

The new shop is operating and is being used now for those buying permits and booking in for members and will be fully stocked early in the New Year.

Merry Christmas
Mike, Steve, Helen, Geoff and Nathan

Update

Curleys is still fishing very well, Angler Phil Kennedy landed 8 fish yesterday (20th Tuesday).

Cats whisker is the current fish landing pattern, believe it or not fished on a floating line on a long leader, even at this time of year the trout at curleys can be reasonably close to the surface.
I wouldnt quite say it was dry fly weather but if your into your lures get either a Cats whisker, black tadpole, black & green fritz, orange fritz or the current deadly pattern at curleys pink minkie (or anything pink for that matter seems to do the job).
Again dont assume buzzers and nymphs wont catch fish at this time of year, as they most certainly do.

If i arrived at curleys on an overcast, slighty breezy cold day (typical at this time of year) i would opt for a intermediate line, with a decent length of leader, between 16-20ft with 3 flies, top dropper being a black or orange blob, middle dropper a cruncher or comorant and on the point another lure either dark in colour of bright depending on my top dropper choice (with a bit more weight in it to aid turn-over).

Tightlines,
Nathan.

PS. the tackle shop is looking good and im sure mike will pop on to announce its opening (its close!), be sure to pop in even if you dont fancy a bit of fishing on the day, as the selection of flies mike will have on display is very impressive!

Frosty with a chance of fin perfect blues!

Sunday 18-12-11

Weather = Cold wind, not too strong. Still frosty but snow thawing.
(ANGLERS: Please take care around the lake as it is still very icy under foot)

Killing pattern = Orange fritz seemed to take most of the fish today, although the black and green fritz goldhead took a few.

I managed to get some fishing in and try the lake out for myself today, so i can bring you the working tactics and flies first hand. The majority of the fish caught today were blues, those that have caught blues in the past know of their excellent fighting strength. If you hook into one of these trout you will know about it!
Depth wise i would say between 5-10ft earlier on and as the temperature decreased between 10-15ft.

Tightlines,
Nathan Jones

Winter fishing at its best

Saturday 17-12-11

Weather = Cold, snowy spells and slight wind.
Killing pattern = black and pink goldhead // black tadpole

Cold and plenty of snow throughout the day, the fishing is still excellent! Ted Brown arrived at Curleys at roughly 9am and within an hour he had five fish to a black and pink lure. Five "perfectly conditioned" trout. Those that fished today did very well with a high rod average. All fishable pegs were cleared of snow making it easily accessible even in these conditions.

Black and green/pink lures doing the business.
A floating line can still be used very effectively at Curleys even at this time of year, but i do recommend sticking to a intermediate line to give yourself the option of fishing shallow or mid depth. Always at this time of year keep a sinking line to hand, as the fish can sit deeper.

Tightlines,
Nathan Jones

Post correction

My earlier post referred to a guy called "Tony" -- Oops! Got his name wrong and an email from "Paul" correcting my mistake....

On a very serious note, your Sunday report names me as “tony” the fellow with the minkies! The names Paul (Tony indeed)

I moved up to the dam end later in the morning and found the fish about 15 foot down, on a static/very slowly retrieved black buzzer. The reward was a rainbow that touched nearly 5LB and there was I asking for bigger fish earlier on! Two other bows at about 2 1/2. I’m confident if i had been on full day ticket i would have easily doubled my catch. I will return. 

 

My apologies Tony , sorry I mean Paul!!!!

Sunday's report 12th Dec

Not a bad day in comparison to the past few days.  Rained hard in the morning and remained quite misty all day.
Quite a few die hards braved the worst of the conditions but were generally rewarded especially Tony who had 10 fish mostly to a yellow Minkie - last time he was at Curley's he had the same result but to a pink minkie!!! All other fly fishers had on average 3 fish over the day.

Minkies and Zonkers can work well at this time of year when the fish are determined to add a bit of protein to see them over the Winter and can be fry feeding obsessively.
Even if the fish are not fry feeding these types of flies work well because of the extra movement from the "tail" of the fly.  However you will almost certainly get some "takes" on the tail which will not result in hook-ups.  Normally we would rip a bit of the tail off to shorten it but unless you have a lot of minkies/zonkers at your disposal don't do this as it will ruin the movement and the reason why this fly is being taken in the first place!!

BTW both of these patterns will be available from the NEW tackle shop VERY soon!!!

Ignore the cold! be rewarded!

Saturday 10-12-11
Weather - Cloudy, odd patch of rain and slight chilly breeze.

Killing pattern - Green and black fritz goldhead.

Frosty start to the morning, rather fresh, however the fish are on the hunt for their winter stock up, any available food source is being gorged upon. Quite a few fish were seen surfacing early hours in the morning, however the majority of the fish will be hanging around the thermocline layer where the oxygen is balanced and the water temperature is suited. Those that wrap up to face the winter conditions, and search the depths, are in for a good days fishing. Catch rates are excellent, one member had take after take. Plenty of trout in the lake this time of year. Dont forget when you pop down to do some fishing, sign up to our loyalty scheme which is going strong, and grab yourself a free days fishing when you reach 30 points. Ask bailiff for details.

So for those willing to wrap up, fish lures, from black and green fritz goldhead to cats whiskers, but dont rule out the nymphs and buzzers!

Tightlines,
Nathan Jones

Catch rate still good

More fish are being caught on a daily basis.
Our own Bailiff Geoff had a good time yesterday with 8 fish - serves me right for letting him have a day off!!!!

Floating line, long leader and cats whiskers and most flies with "pink" in them are doing the business but that could change as the water temperature drops.

Tightlines

Fishing mania

Over the last two days lots of people on the water and guess what every single one of them caught.
Included in this were absolute complete beginners who have never fished before!!!

Some lovely Blues came out to boot!

Winter weather is upon us?

In spite of the less than favourable conditions, lots of good fish are still being caught.
One guy out on the teeth of a gale and almost impossible to control the line but still caught some great trout.
Worst day of the week today then better fishing conditions forecast for the rest of the week.

Why not post your favourite winter tactics on here for all to read!!!

I'll start.....
Intermediate line, 16ft flouro leader with 2 droppers. Flies: from blobs, lures, buzzers, daiwl bachs and small nymphs dependant upon water temperature and general conditions. Progressively count down the flies till I get some action and not forgetting the all important "hang" on the retrieve. If this doesn't work I change flies and/or move and keep moving till I find fish.

Fish stocking

Some absolutely cracking fish were stocked today - 100 rainbows and 100 blues all 2 1/2lbs to 4lbs.
Trust me if you latch onto one of the 4lbs blues you're in for a treat!!!!
Make sure you have at least 6lbs leader and better still 8lbs - you'll need it.

Please handle these fish with care - don't touch them with dry hands and get them back into the water asap (or better still don't take them out in the first place). Allow them to FULLY recover before letting them go from the net.
Barbless or De-Barbed hooks only - strictly enforced!!!

All the pontoons have now been fitted with "astro" turf so they are good to walk on without slipping.

Enjoy!

Fishery Improvements

Went out this week and bought a load of "astro-turf" for the pontoons.
We have been "testing" this for a few weeks on the first pontoon and it has stood the test of time so the new investment was warranted. Geoff has been happily laying this down on all the other pontoons today and will finish off tomorrow. So no more slippery walks fishing. I'm sure you will all agree a much better option than the much, much cheaper chicken wire!

The fishery will have a new stocking tomorrow with twice the numbers of fish as normal!
Should have some good looking blues in there as well.
Tightlines for the weekend

Great conditions

Very good fishing today with 2 rods in particular.
One getting 9 fish biggest about 4lbs all fully finned and in perfect condition.
The second with 5 fish to 3lbs and a much bigger fish estimated at 5 to 6lbs which ended up actually breaking the rod!!!
Forecasts good for the weekend.

Best tactic - intermediate line or floating line with long leader but MUST be very slow retrieve with intermittent stops.

Better weekend

Good to see quite a few fly fishers on the water this weekend.
I had to de-ice my car this morning for the first time this winter, testament to the plummeting temps. Very sunny day on Sunday but this cold night time temps again had the fish all over the place. Some were moving about on top and Nathan, one of the bailiffs had a good fish to a Dry Daddy. However I suspect the majority of the fish were much deeper and an intermediate line and a very slow retrieve was the way to maximise your opportunities.
Quite a few picked up ones and twos but hey that's fishing!!!
I spent most of the weekend in the new tackle shop starting the shop fitting, -- not long now!!!

Fishing Report

Nov 1st

Report by Jim from Atherton
"I had a good day at Curley's.  Slight breeze but still warm conditions. Caught 4 good fish, all fully fined in excellent condition. Lost another 3, one snapped my leader! Best fly a black and olive montana nymph and also a black pennel"

Fishing report

The fishing went quite well over the weekend and all those who took advantage of the better weather were rewarded.
I had lessons Sat & Sun and so was able to watch the fishing, still finding guys who stick to one place and never move!  Everyone who fishes stillwaters or reservoirs needs to get into "hunter" mode - keep moving and searching.  The only reason for stying in one place, any amount of time, is because you are catching!

Saw one guy on Sunday who caught 3 fishing in his first 3 casts!!
The fly responsible a "Pink Minkie" just shows that the old saying of offering something that hasn't been seen before will work.  Remember though that this doesn't just mean a different fly it can also mean a different retrieve - faster, slower, more erratic, etc....

Talking of flies - I have just finished the fly display boxes for the shop, all labelled up and full of well tied samples. We will have as good a fly selection as anyone and probably better than most other local tackle shops,  Nearly 200 patterns/sizes to choose from.

Fishing report

Just thought I'd share with you a little report of fishing today. This is by Oliver a young chap who is on the England Youth Fly Fishing Team.

"I arrived at Curley's and was met with a relatively calm lake with just a slight ripple. I started off on one of the roadside pontoons and got a few plucks but nothing solid and so moved onto the embankment and altered my method. I changed to a competition sized cats whisker with a floating line and leader of about 15ft.  With a static presentation followed by a very slow retrieve I hooked into a good rainbow of about 3lbs, this was followed by another 2, all fully fined and good looking fish. I was a great couple of hours and it won't be long before I'm back at Curley's"

Stocking tomorrow (Friday 28th)
Looking good for the weekend!!!

A little slow one and two's being caught but generally quite hard work. Had a visitor on today from London who caught a very nice 4 lb rainbow that brought a good smile to his face.
Been talking to a lot of members of the local fisheries - Roddlesworth, Entwistle and all are reporting difficult conditions and low catch rates.

Stocking again on Friday with 2 to 3lbs Rainbows.

Small lake fishing really well with large bags of roach and perch.

Break in the weather

Forecast not too bad for the coming few days.
Why not take advantage of some decent fly fishing.
The main lake will be stocked again this week.

Coarse Lake re-opens

We have some outstanding work yet to be done on the small coarse lake but we have now re-opened it as a coarse/fly lake.

We had a group of school children in there on Friday and they caught over 80 fish between them.
Mostly roach but some perch and trout mixed in as well. Biggest roach and perch were about 1lbs but I guess there will be certainly bigger Perch in there, as well as our resident Common Carp!
Great fun if you fancy it.
All children MUST be accompanied at all times with a parent/guardian.

The Fly lake fished well over the weekend with not one blank amongst the rods fishing and quite a few taking advantage of our half price permit sale!

Something to brighten up your life?

Lousy weather and soon we may be under snow and ice but some good news!

The forecast is a little better for Friday,  Saturday and Sunday so why not make the most of it with a little help from us at Curley's!

Before the worst of the winter sets in come along to Curley's this weekend - anytime from Friday(14th Oct) to Sunday (16th Oct) and enjoy  half price permit prices

And if this wasn't enough good news the fishery has just been stocked today with some great looking rainbows.

So do you know what you are doing this weekend?

Barriers

Just realised that the lot of a fishery manager is not that good!  Weather wise an awful August followed by a marginally better September followed by what we have now????
For all those brave enough to get out, Curley's is fishing quite well albeit quite hard work finding the fish moving up and down the water columns like a lift on drugs.
Stocking again on Wednesday - should improve the catch rates.

Loyalty scheme still in full swing we gave out our first free day's fishing last week!
Tightlines

Back to normal

Fishing at Curley's is now back to it's best after a horrible August in particular.
The last 4 or 5 days has seen lots of fully finned fish caught with some catching a double figures.

The fishery was stocked last week and will be stocked again tomorrow.
Most methods seem to be working - lures, nymphs, buzzers and dries.

Please remember to handle the fish correctly by following the fishery rules - ask the bailiffs for more information if you are unsure.

Tightlines

Maintenance Work

PLEASE NOTE

The Fishery will be closed on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th this week to enable us to do some maintenance  work.
Since taking over the fishery operation I have noted some work that needs to be done and by closing for a couple of days it will enable us to get the main jobs completed in one hit rather than letting them drag on for weeks.

Sorry if this causes you any inconvenience but will will be open on Friday 9th September onwards as usual.

Geoff Allington, the new bailiff has now started full time at the fishery and will soon become a very familiar face. I am sure he will introduce himself to all our visitors, regular or new.

August weather continues

As everyone who has fished for some time knows August is the worst month to fish but this month is particularly horrible.

Warm water and ever so changeable weather patterns make fishing very very difficult!
It'll soon be September which is NORMALLY one of the best months for fly fishing - let's hope!!!

Loyalty Scheme

Only just launched our new loyalty scheme and we already have our 50th member.
Everytime you fish at Curley's you "earn" points and when you accumulate 30 points you get a free day's fishing!

August weather having an effect on fisheries everywhere. Talking to lots of mates and other fishery managers/owners - we are all suffering from this lousy and prolonged spell of weather - up and down like a fiddler's elbow. Not good for the fish or us for that matter!
No wonder a lot of the southern fisheries simply close for July and August!

Got to end soon hasn't it!! Just gotta have patience.

Bailiffs - new position

Due to illness with his father Tony has decided that he can no longer give the time required to the position of bailiff at the fishery.
Therefore we now have another vacancy for a part-time bailiff.  Would suit anyone looking for a nice little part time job but knowledge of fishing and especially fly fishing essential. Previous applicants need not apply again as I already have their details on file.
Please ring Mike on 07786 682272

Fishery changes

H All
I have now taken over the running of Curley's and am going to introduce some changes which will hopefully  improve the fishery.
Firstly there is now a "rewards" scheme in place. Based upon the type of permit you choose you will earn points and when you have accrued 30 points you will get a FREE DAYS FISHING on us!
See the box on the right for more details

2 new bailiffs have been taken on to be on hand to assist and help as required. Geoff, Tony and I  will work together to try and cover most of the day and this will be expanded into the future.

There are now more "essential items" flies, leader materials, nets, and a few lines in stock in the existing booking office and we are gearing up for the new tackle shop which will hopefully be opening early September.

Please let me know if there are any changes you would like to see!
Hope to see you all over the next days and weeks.

Tightlines

Ironman UK

Sunday 30th July
Just a warning that all roads through Horwich will be subject to one ways and controls as the Ironman UK competition comes into the area. A lot of the roads will actually be shut before 9.30am so definitely leave your journey till later in the day - early morning fishing off the menu for tomorrow, I guess?

Warmer but is it better???

Hi All
The warmer weather is a welcome change for us mortals but is it for the fish??
Trout are effected by the climate just like we are but in a different way, they like constant weather and hate changeable weather patterns.  So if it's horrible or great in our terms it doesn't matter so long as it is constant - the fish acclimatise and get on with life. Look at what has happened over the last week - sometimes it's been hot and sunny then next overcast maybe raining almost changing by the hour let alone day by day.
The nett result - fish that are brassed off,  sulking and not as active and not feeding in a normal pattern. Very testing times for any fly fisher.  So what can we do about it??
Firstly forget your usual fishing methods - what normally works for you probably won't in these conditions!
You need to keep moving - don't stay in one place (unless you are catching) keep varying the depth of you flies by counting down with a long leader or even an intermediate line and more importantly if you are using any sort of imitation pattern then go down in size to 18's, 20's and beyond!!!
You have to tempt them with a little delicacy not over face them with a big mouthful that they don't want. Altertnatively go down very deep with a fast sinker and a big lure or blobs and strip fast to even faster!!!
Keep working and moving and you will be rewarded!
Tightlines and remember please use barbless or de-barbed hooks

2 days to go!!!!!

New Stocking

Hi all
Just in time to greet the better weather the fishery was stocked today with some of the finest Rainbows you could possibly see. All perfectly fully finned and looking in excellent condition.
Over 200 were put in and quite a few around the 4lbs mark. If you get one of these on make sure your knots are good!!!

What are you doing this weekend????

Prospects

Looking good for the next few days with the improving weather conditions
Massive buzzer hatches with the humid conditions

Suspender, Shutttlecock, Shipmans and all the usual buzzer patterns can work well in Black, olive, claret etc...

Tightlines

Pontoons

All the Pontoons are now back in their rightful place along the roadside bank.

As well as the new wall and foot path the stepways down to the pontoons have been re-done making it all much more user friendly.

All we need now is the Summer to start!!!!


Tightlines
Mike

Bailiff Vacancy

Hi all

There is a vacancy for a part time bailiff at Curley's.

 

Would suit any active person who has some knowledge of fly and coarse fishing techniques and tackle. Duties include issuing of fishing permits, work in the tackle shop, liaising with fishing clients, giving advice etc and general maintenance duties. Flexible hours but won't always be "office" hours! Training will be given, enthusiasm and a helpful nature essential!

If you want more information or wish to apply please send me an email at
mike@curleysfishery.co.uk

 The trout are feeding really well at the moment. Olive Damsels being the killing fly. Catches of upto 18 fish on a four hour ticket have been reported. You dont need to fish deep. About a foot down being about right but keep changing as the fish move up and down in the water column as the light changes.
 Also keep a eye out for any fly hatches. Small black nats have been on the water in good numbers and those with a few in their fly box have been able to take advantage.

 The weather report gives warmer weather over the next week or two so this will bring on the fly hatches. The water is still being stocked once a fortnight. 100 - 200 rainbows depending on the number of anglers that have fished.

Tight lines.

Tony

more fish

The normal weekly stocking will take place today!
The new fish should stir up the residents a little, active fish are catchable fish!!!

As the weather continues to improve and the water gets a little warmer with bright sunshine the fish will go down a little deeper.
You may feel little half hearted plucks at your lure - if this happens shorten the tail feathers a little and try again.
Mornings are always generally better than the rest of the day - big buzzer hatches and lots of surface feeding all over the lake

If you don't get any action try lengthening your leader (between 12ft and 18ft) or try a good slow intermediate.

This is just about the best clear intermediate I have found - click here - the Greys Platinum clear intermediate with a 1" to 1.5" sink rate.

Please look after the fish well - let them fully recover before releasing them - the warmer the water the longer this will take!

Tightlines

Fishing madness!

With stocking levels at a high and the warmer water temps the catch rates are now going ballistic!

Double figures in a session are now commonplace and more than 20 fish is fairly regular.

Another stocking this week will bring to total this year to over 1200 on top of all the over- wintered fish.

Looking good for the Easter holidays!

The path along the roadway is now open giving easier and quicker access to the embankment.

Currently anything white just can't fail!!

Still more fish!!!

The weekly stocking has continued with another 200 put in today!
If we get just a little increase in temperature the water will really come alive!

The improvements continue at a pace around the fishery - the new roadside wall is almost finished and the new path being laid. This will really improve access all around with new steps also being made down the the pontoons.

More fish stocked!

Curley's was stocked once again today bringing the total to over 6oo fish this year to date.
The fishery still had a large number of fish from last year and it is probably at it's maximum stock holding right now!

All the regular visitors to the fishery are now beginning to catch large numbers in a session on all manner of tactics from the deep to dry flies.

The wall on the road side of the fishery is nearing completion and work has already started in laying a new footpath alongside the water.

So we hope you meet you all soon -regulars and new visitors alike!!!

We will be stocking tomorrow

We will be stocking tomorrow morning around 11 Am.

Stocking 2/03/11

Just finished stocking the water. 200 rainbows averaging 2 - 3 lb. They will be well settled in by the weekend so what you waiting for. The sun is out and some good catches where made yesterday afternoon in the sunshine. Blobs under a indicator scoring top honers along with buzzers. Cats whisker fished deep also scores if the fish stay down.

Tight lines 

Tony

Road side wall progress

As you can see from the picture the new wall is well under way. All the concrete supports are in and the stone wall is being built. Won't be long now till the bank is open again.

Another project that is moving along nicely is the new restaurant.

As to the fishing. Last week was a very hard week. Not a lot of people ventured out and those that did found it very cold and hard to tempt a bite. Sunday saw four pike anglers fish a very cold day and to make it worse the pike didn't want to play ball.

On a brighter note the forecast is for warmer weather.

Tight lines

Tony

Weekly report

The fishing has been hard over the last week as the fish have been shoaled up. Once you find them you will catch. Lures are still the best method at the moment. Black and green working well.

Tight lines

Tony

Perfect start to my season

Well my 2011 season got off to a great start with this 21 lb 4 oz pike. Caught on a ledgered dead bait it put up a good fight. Hopefully more to come.

The trout anglers have also been catching well on lures fished slow and deep. The ever popular cats whisker being the fly of the moment. Most anglers have been catching 5 fish on a 4 hour ticket. Not bad considering how cold it has been.

You can also find us on Facebook. Just search Curley's Trout Fishery.

Tight lines

Tony.

Still fishing

The ice that had formed yesterday has melted. Just a small amount remains along the road wall which is out of bounds at the moment anyway. There is also a good ripple on at the moment so should remain clear for the weekend. Some good catches for the time of year have been recorded this week. Fishing deep with lures being the most productive method.

Tight lines.

Tony

The Fish have woken up!!!

Quite a few fly fishers braved the coldish Westerly today but were well rewarded for their efforts.

The top rod got 14 fish in the morning session but 3 others also got double figure return.

Mostly on Intermediate lines but the odd fish moving within reach of a floater

The pontoons have moved

The water is now completely free of ice and fish are being caught. As work on the road wall is underway the pontoons that where down the wall side have been moved. They are now spread out from the boat mooring to the middle of the bank separating the big lake from the smaller one. This gives you a lot of new water to go at.
Also a new bridge has been constructed at the other end of the fishery. The dam wall being accessible by turning left as you exit Curley's car park and walking down the lane and through the gate at the end of the gardens that back on to the fishery.

Hopefully we have seen the last of the extreme cold weather of late and any ice we do get should be manageable. As I said on a previous post we will do our best to keep the water free of ice and if we do fail we will post a blog straight away.

Tight lines,
Tony.

The Big Thaw!!

At last we have some fishing at Curley's.
It's been a long wait but the first trout of 2011 were caught yesterday by regular Steve Hencher from Chorley.
Steve was on the embankment using a Di3 sinker and hooked up 2 strong, fully finned, over wintered Rainbows of about 2 1/2 lbs

The first of many I am sure!

Wet weather forecast but let's face it when do they ever get a forecast right!

You can read about Curley's in an article written by Mike, the resdent instructor in this month's Total Fly Fisher about the "Hang Method"