Merry Christmas

Curley's fishery would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Hopefully it won't be long before the weather allows you all to come along to fish again, in the meantime - have a gud'un!!!

Steve and Helen, Mike Flyfishing, All the cafe staff and of course, the bailiffs.

Winter is here

Still some fishing to be had at Curley's in spite of the winter chill.
As you can see from the photo, a little distorted from the angle but  at least half of the water is fishable if you are brave enough and have the right clothing!

It could be worse we could be living in the North East or even God forbid Yorkshire!!!

Lures and sinking lines are an obvious choice in these conditions and slow your retrieve right down to a snails pace!

I was on the fishery today and it was very nice being sheltered from the cold Easterly wind.

Tightlines Mike

Just to let you all now the water is still open. It has not started to freeze. If it does eventually freeze then we will post a message here to let you now. We will be using a boat as we did last year to keep the water open as long as possible.
The stocking policy of every two weeks will carry on but the number of fish will be reduced and only the number of fish taken plus 10% will be stocked till the weather warms up.

The water is still fishing well. Lures and blobs being the most productive methods. As always in winter you need to search the depths and keep on the move. Early morning as the water warms a little seams to be the best time and don't forget to rap up warm.

Also the Christmas trees are now on sale at Curley's.

18/11/2010. Stocked today

We stocked today. 200 rainbows averaging 2 lb was stocked.

Tuesday has been the best day so far this week. The warm sun got the fish feeding. Lures being the best method. Cats whisker scoring well followed by green and white fritz. The majority of fish being caught at 6 ft.

STOCKING UPDATE

Due to the bad weather over in Yorkshire Last night our fish supplier will not be able to deliver today. We have re arranged for tomorrow which is our normal day.

Stocking

We will be stocking on Wednesday 3rd November this week. Around 11AM.

Lures and daddy's are the winning methods at the moment. Both pulled fast.

Terry's report 28/10/10

As i got down to the lake yesterday, the conditions looked good, slight breeze, plenty of fish rising and the weather staying dry. I decided to fish with just the 1 rod, 10' #7 with a floating line. I started of fishing damsels, but with nothing, fish continued to rise, so i put on a cats whisker. Plenty of fish would chase and follow but none would hit it. I decided to switch tactics totally and put on an etha-foam daddy on the point with a small nymph on the dropper. First cast, first fish! Had quite a few offers on this technique, but again as in my previous blogs, all under the water! they wouldnt take anything if it was presented on the surface. I got 3 fish quite quickly on this method and missed a few more. The fish after a while went down deeper and you had to change tactics again to catch. Also a special mention to Bev, who i was fishing with. She did exceptionally well in catching 3 fish and a few more were lost, all her fish came to damsels on a floating line. The retrieve was the key to catching fish for her, varying it from slow to fast until she found the correct speed.

Stock

The water was stocked on Thursday. Not many anglers have ventured out. Hopefully Sunday will be the better day.
Try lures for the bigger rainbows that can often be seen chasing the fry.

Terry's weekly report

As i got to the lake, there wasn't a ripple on the water and the fish were just sipping from off the surface. I decided to fish the first pontoon as you get to the lake. I only had a couple of hours so i set up a single rod. 10' #7 with a floating line and a 20ft leader. I had 2 flies on, an etha-foam daddy on the point and a proctor nymph on the dropper. The fish didnt seem to want my flies presented on the surface, so instead at the beginning of my cast i did 3 quick long pulls to get my flies sub-surface. This is what got me the fish! I could do any retrieve aslong as my flies came cm's under the water. The fish were hammering my flies, and many where missed they hit they quick. In total i ended up with 25 fish in 2 hours, i could have had alot more! Just a quick tip, if theres a big ripple on at Curleys fish blobs and lures, but if theres not much of a ripple, you need to fish the naturals. But make sure you use a long leader when fishing.

Tight lines

Terry

Stocking Friday 8th October

We will be stocking tomorrow around 11 AM. Why not come down and have a look. Even better why not come down and fish. There has been some good catches during the week. Blobs are still working well along with white buzzer, green and black fritz.

Photo

One from earlier in the week for member Jim.

Monday 27th Sept Report

The water was stocked again on Thursday. 100 rainbows ranging from 2 to 4 lb where stocked. The week had been good with a lot of good catches when the weather had been favourable. With the stocking in, the weekend looked to be a good one and it didn't disappoint. Most notable catches where as follows:

G. Bentley 12 fish on a black blob.
B. Whittaker 9 fish on a hares ear.
A. Dwyer 6 fish on fritz.
Mr Wardle 11 fish on cats whiskers.

As the water cools search the depths to find where the fish are.

Terry's first report

Terry from the north west angling centre will be writing his catch reports for curley's. For anyone who doesn't now. Terry has been fly fishing for approximately 13 years and is currently a member of the England Youth Fly Fishing Team. Curley's trout fishery has agreed to sponser Terry for the next 12 months.

16/09/10

On arrival at the fishery the weather was perfect, nice breeze blowing down towards the Cafe. I decided to set up 2 rods, both 10' #7. One had a Clear Intermediate line with a 18ft leader with 2 blobs on spaced out. The other Had a Neutral Density line on, with 2 bloodworms and a fry immatation on the point, on a 10ft leader. As i got down to the water, the breeze picked up. As the wind was blowing down the lake the best way to fish was to cast into the wind as the fish would be where the wind was taking the food. In the first 10 cast on the intermediate line, i must have had an offer in every cast before i eventually hooked and landed my first fish, nice conditioned Rainbow. The fish were within 2ft down and wanted the flies stripped back fast, and when i say fast i mean Fast! After my first fish the fish were then coming rapidly, within the first hour i had 14, including a nice rainbow ( see picture ) and a suprise 1.5lb approx Perch ( also see picture ). By this time the wind had picked up and fish were being caught down the sides and just out infront of me. I decided to give the boat a go, whilst on the boat i got a further 2 fish, both on the hang ( the lift before you pull out to cast again ). The hang on curleys is VERY important, most people dont think fish are following but they are, so take your time before you lift of to cast again. After the 2 fish i came back into my first peg again and caught another 2 fish before i had to leave. All my fish were caught on blobs, stripped fast back. But if you stop having offers during your day, let you flies sink another 5ft down, and then see what happens.

MONSTER CAUGHT AT CURLEY'S

Well winter will soon be with us and for one lucky angler his start to the winter pike fishing got off to a flyer. In the form of a monster 34 lb 5 oz pike. As soon as I get the picture I will post it here on the blog.

As ever to fish on Curley's you must be in possession of the correct equipment:

1. A landing net minimum 42 inch.
2. A large purpose made un hooking mat.
3. Un hooking pliers
4. Forceps
5. Wire / hook cutters
6. Pike weigh sling.

No live bait. Sea dead baits only.

Semi barb-less trebles or barb-less single hooks only.


If you are found to be pike fishing without the above you will be asked to leave the fishery and a re fund will not be given.

9/09/10 UPDATE

A lot of the older fish have been removed this week ready for a new stocking on Friday. 200 rainbows ranging from 2 to 3.5 lb will be stocked.

The weather has been up and down this week. Those that ventured out in the winds reaped the rewards. Fishing into the wind close in on imative patterns was the most productive method. G. Grimshaw from Blackpool had 8 Bows in 4 hours from the dam wall. All taken on spider patterns.

Quite a lot of daddy long legs are starting to show. So make sure you come prepared with a few in your fly box.

Clear out.

Over the last week we have been having a clear out of old fish from the big lake. These are the older fish that were stocked at the beginning of the year and have been caught numerous times and are now looking a bit worse for wear. Our new stocking policy of 200 fish every two weeks has been working well with a definite increase in the rod averages compared to last year. Unfortunately due to the amount of sporting tickets issued it means we have a lot of fish in the lake that have been in there a while and have been caught numerous times.
Some fisheries run an any method week every so often to remove old fish. This may be something for us to consider. Let us know what you think.

9th August update.

Lots of fish caught at the week end. The rod average was 7.2 Blobs being the best method followed by various small imitative patterns. As usual you must search the depths to find the fish.

Update. 2 August 2010

WE WILL BE STOCKING THIS THURSDAY

Some good catches at the week end. Bobs bits doing well while others caught on Green Fritz.

8th July update.

The water was stocked last friday with 200 x 2lb plus rainbows. This lead to a good week end with many anglers reporting double figure catches. Also two 7lb fish featured in the return for Sunday. No one particular method seams to be better than another at the moment.

Week end report

Fishing over the week end has been hard. The mornings start well but died as the day warmed up. Later in the day as the sun went down the fish started to feed again and some good catches where recorded. Phil Green from leigh caught 13 on a green egg.

We will be stocking again this Thursday 1st July.

The week end fished well. Not as good as previous weeks but this is due to the weather changing again and most people insisting on fishing dries. You really need to search the depths to find the main body of fish. Best catch reported was Andy Dwyer with 17 fish caught on a fry imitation. Biggest fish went to J. McGinley with a 6lb+ rainbow. Photo to follow.

Rod average was 4.9

The pike fly fishing is now open and a lot of pike in the 4-7lb range can be seen hanging around the shoals of fry.

PLEASE LOOK AFTER THE PIKE AND RETURN ALL PIKE CAUGHT.

SEE PIKE RULES IN THE BAILIFF'S OFFICE.

Our large order of 5lb fish arrived today. Blues, Browns and rainbows where stocked. The smallest being 5lb. Will cause a few surprises for those expecting the usual 2lb fish.

Curley's comp

After the night stalker comp it was suggested anglers may be interested in a regular comp run during the evening maybe four hours. It could be once a week or once a fort night. Points to be accumulated and prizes given at the end of a set period. We need your input as to how you would like it run. ie best evening to run it, how many hours, how often during the month, what prizes etc

Leave us a message with your ideas or let Tony or Steve now when you next come to fish and we will get it organized as soon as.

20/05/10 Just finished stocking.

Just finished the fortnightly stock. 200 rainbows. Slightly bigger than the previous at 2.5 lbs.

Dry fly now in full swing. Lots of big catches to small green dries.

3 More places are available for the catch & curry at the week end. Phone to book a place.

4.8 rod average and your views

After stocking on thursday last week the weekend saw plenty of good catches. Due to the weather Sunday was the best day. The average was 4.8 for the two days buzzers and lures being the best methods. White fritz taking the biggest bag ( 18 fish ) for Mr McGinley from Wigan.

We are looking for your views on the fishery. What you like, what you don't. Is there anything we can do to make the fishing better. Send me an email with your views. tonykay45@aol.com

Stocking.

We will be stocking again on Thursday morning. 200 Rainbows will be put in. So the sport over the week end should be good. If it stays cool fish will be a bit deeper. Buzzers and cats whisker being the most productive methods upto date.

Airflo Classic competition

Some of Britain's top fly fishers decended on Curley's for a qualifying round of this major competition.
Exisiting England Team members as well as lots of would-be's battled it out for the places in the final.

Official results to follow but quite a few fish were caught in quite testing conditions.

All the competitors were agreed that Curley's was a great venue for this comp.

Sat 1st May

On Saturday we have the CEFF Airflo stillwater competition and entries have been brisk.
Teams and individuals are coming from all over the British Isles to enter this popular competition.

It maybe that the fishery is fully booked with anglers in the competition.

Please check before coming along to fish.


Sunday onwards will be as normal.

Sorry for any inconvinience, this this is a once a year event and we didn't expect this first year to be as popular as it is turning out.

Stocking.

Yesterday we stocked again. 200 quality rainbows went in. Time doesn't half fly as they say. It only seams yesterday that I was doing my first stocking at Curley's but it is actually just over 10 weeks or another way to put it five stocking days. 1000 fish added to the 1000 plus already stocked this year not to mention all the fish that have over wintered.

With the weather starting to warm up and the light nights, now is the perfect time to grab a couple of hours after work and beat the busy week ends. We are open till dusk.

20 th April

The weather was kind at the week end so yet again we saw a increase in the number of anglers fishing. 32 anglers fished with a rod average of 9.4 Buzzers being the best method followed by the cats whisker on a intermediate line.

Our stocking policy of 200 fish every two weeks has proved to be a great success and will carry on. However Steve has placed an order for a delivery of 5lb fish. Once they are ready we will take delivery of them so keep an eye on the blog for further details.

The night stalker event has only a few places left so book your place if you intend to fish.

AIRFLO CLASSIC BANK COMPETITION

We now have the airflo classic competition entry forms available in the Bailiffs office at the fishery. Anyone wanting one please ask on of the members of staff.

Also there are only a few places left on the NIGHT STALKER CURLEY'S CATCH & CURY night. Phone to book your place.

What a week end. The nice weather brought the anglers out and the trout. 32 anglers fished giving a rod average of 8.6. Best catch goes to Mr Heaton from Wigan with 34 fish caught on Buzzers.

In keeping with our policy of stocking every two weeks. The fishery was stocked again last thursday 8th April with 200 rainbows.

7th April

NIGHT STALKER

Curley’s

Catch & Curry

Fish through the night 8:30 PM- 6:30 AM.

Illuminated by streetlights.

Friday 21^st May.

1st Prize £100*

2nd Prize £50*

Take and weigh first three fish. All other fished classed as 2lb each.

Break for a curry half way through. Included in price.

Just £35.00 per angler

Call in or phone to book your place. £10.00 deposit.

To be held at:

Curley’s Trout Fishery

Off Chorley Old Road,

Horwich,

Bolton.

BL6 6PP

Tel: 01204 691783

*May vary depending on numbers attending.

29 March 2010

The weekend was a little different from the week. The hot spots have dispersed and as a result the fishery fished well from all banks. Catch rates varied from four to severn fish on a two hour ticket up to eighteen fish on a day ticket. Methods varied from mid water lures to buzzers under a sight bob. With orange, pink or white being the best colors. There was only myself pike fishing on the Saturday but my morning session produced an immaculate fish of 18 lb 8 oz.

Update

This fishery was stocked again yesterday with another 200 fully finned tripliods.


The real fishing season is here at last!

Yesterday and today the catch returns went through the roof with one guy catching 46 fish in one session and others with 20 plus each!!!
Floating lines - and basically anything with orange or pink in it has done the business.

Please remember to return all fish carefully - never touch a fish with dry hands, and let it fully recover before releasing it. Barbless or de-barbed hooks only!

Enjoy

Update

The fishery will be stocked again tomorrow (Thurs 24th March)
The fish are already moving up towards the surface again with the warmer water temps. So slow intermediates are the order of the day or if you insist on using floaters then use a long leaders - 15ft min!

Some good bags caught lots into double figures and a significant number with over 20 fish!



Great Pike fishing to be had - look at this 18lbs
Pike caught by Mick O'Toole from Wigan

Competition fishing comes to Curley's

Hi All

Curley's is to hold a heat of the Airflo Classic Stillwater Competition on May 1st.

This comp is open to to everyone -  teams and individuals. 

For more info and to download an application form click here

Airflo Stillwater Classic

You normally have a good advantage if you know the water and know how to fish it! So get practising and enter - you just never know??

Tightlines

Fishery update

Hi All

The fishery will be stocked tomorrow (Thurs 11th March)

If this brighter weather keeps up, as forecast, should be very good for the weekend.

Completely ice free water!!!!

Tightlines

Update

Fishery Improvements
The start date for the renovation of the wall along the road side has been delayed by Bolton Council and contractors, due to unforeseen circumstances.
It should start early summer and with it all the other improvements to the fishery.
On the plus side it means no immediate disruption to the fishing!

The Fishing
On the fishing front this last colder snap, particularly at night, have sent the fish down to the depths once again.

However the rod average over the last few days is still 3 fish per session and within those figures there are some fly fishers who are catching double figure numbers.

Until the water temperature comes up a few degrees you WILL need an sinking or intermediate line.- The vast majority of the fish are hugging the bottom - 30 ft down!!

Remember the average intermediate line sinks approx 1.5 ins per second therefore to get down 30ft it will take 4 minutes!!!!

Please don't be like one guy last week who was complaining that there were no fish in the lake. He was fishing 2 ft below an indicator!!!!

Followers and Comments
Don't forget that you can add your comments to this blog - tell us and everyone else about your experience of fishing at Curley's. If you become a "follower" you will get regular updates about the fishery.


Tightlines

Feb update No.6

Hi all

So what happens -- as soon as you complain about the weather it immediately improves???

Well, improvment is, of course, relative but at least the fishery is in much better condition today and looks as if it may get better by the weekend.  I hope that's not tempting fate too much!

Anyway we are going to stick to our original stocking policy and put more fish in this Friday (26th)

There is a little snow/sleet/rain forecast over the next few days but as long as the temperature doesn't hit the bottom and causes the lake to freeze it should be good for the weekend's fishing.

Let's hope we don't see this again!!!

Update

Hi all

Will winter ever end???

The water is still partially frozen and with the forecast not getting any better then the prospects for the next few days is not looking too good.

It's a real pity because the fish are definately in the mood and despite the conditions if you can get a fly down to them they will take it.

Let's just hope the forcasts are all wrong - won't be the first time will it!!!!

Update

Lake almost froze completely last night, only the top corner of the embankment was fishable.

We tried to break the ice with a boat but it was a lost cause, unfortunately.

With another cold night forecast, hopes for good fishing conditions tomorrow are not to good.

Update

Hi All
Despite the cold weather and partial iced-up conditions, Curley's is still fishing suprisingly very well.
There were a number of rods on today - all caught fish with the top rod on 11 on a 4 hour ticket.

Obviously intermediate and sinking lines are the best bet. 
Fish are moving in the top layers but if you do use a floating line then a long leader is a must.

Cats whiskers has been the most rewarding pattern, fished with a slow retrieve.

If you are visiting over the weekend - tightlines

Fishery stocked

Curley's was stocked today as planned - should make it good fishing for the weekend, if the temperature does'nt bottom out at night.

Tightlines

Fishery Improvements

Steve Kershaw the fishery owner has just agreed a major improvement plan for Curley's.

A new pathway will be laid along the roadside of the fishery giving better access to the pontoons. All the stepways down to the pontoons will also be re-done. This work will start at the end of February to coincide with the renovation of the boundry wall along Chorley Old Road.

The main access road to the fishery along Wallsuches will be completely relaid with tarmac.

This is a major investment for the fishery and one that will benefit all the fly fishers in addition to all those who use the cafe.

Any disruption to the fishing will be kept to an absolute minimum.

Update

Curley's is fishing really well at the moment with some impressive catch rates.

The largest single bag over the last week was 29 fish on a 4 hour ticket and the rod average was almost 6 fish per rod.

The fishery will be stocked again on Friday 12th Feb.