The Upper Lake
The Peaceful Sport
Ravensnest Fishery
What a winter. If it's not freezing weather, it has been unrelenting rain. The river Wye is running high and dirty; even the River Avon, near Salisbury is far from its normal limpid state. It is times like this that frustration can set in. When you have spent a day tying flies for fishes to which you will probably never cast; it's time to get out the house.
So I was delighted when the phone rang and I was invited to fish at a local small stillwater. Ravensnest is a remarkable fishery. It is set in a beautiful wooded valley. The fishery is composed of 2 small lakes, formed by dams across the Angiddy stream. So this is a very linear fishery; no need here for muscular casts or double hauling. Apart from the lovely setting, there are two other benefits from Ravensnest's location. Firstly it has wild brown trout, original denizens of the stream, as well as stocked rainbow trout; and secondly there is a distinct flow in the lakes, allowing several forms of presentation to the fish. I should mention that the rainbow trout are terrific, no rubbed or split tails, or bent or deformed fins in any of the fish that I caught.
There was three of us (three men out of a boat?) and we all caught trout and had a fun day in a great setting accompanied by constant bird song. The local fishermen predictably did much better than us. But perhaps that was because they had arrived earlier and had the benefit of a cooked breakfast and tea from the delightful Dutch couple who run the fishery. Or perhaps it was simply because they were better than us !
The Upper Lake
The Peaceful Sport