Brook Farm Fishery
Cotswolds
Small stillwaters are where many of us started to fly fish, and in my case where I restarted my fishing life after a short break due to the demands of small children. I don't often fish them these days, not out of any dislike for the fishing, but rather because of my love for wild waters and fish.
However I will always make an exception for Brook Farm. This trout fishery is now a members only water, which means I only get to fish it as a guest, and this was my day on the water.
Brook Farm is a special place. The setting is glorious, the lake mostly clear and the fish large or bigger than that. The fishing is imitative patterns only with floating lines, and the best results come from stalking your monster. There is good fly life and the fish often rise though the day. The fish are not stupid and the fishing can be hard. Some of the long term residents can look your feathered offering with disdain before rejecting it and swimming on. But it is worth persevering, as a fish here can strip off line and take you straight into the backing as it heads down the lake. I'm already looking forward and hoping to be invited again next year. By that time we might just have finished eating this monster.