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A warm welcome to the WDAC Game section. The Club has two beautiful dedicated trout venues, three lakes in total at Winterborne Zelston and Rawlsbury.

See below for details on how to buy your game tickets and for up-to-date game-related news.

MARCH LAKES REPORT

Hello fellow game fishers and a very Happy Easter to you all!

We don’t need to say it but I will, its been another very wet month! I hope it hasn’t deterred too many of you from getting out for a days fishing. Certainly in between the showers both Rawlsbury and Winterbourne Zelston have been well visited by you. This has led to the need to restock WZ a few days ago with some of our remarkable rainbows including some specimens.

Rawlsbury Friday 1st March.

After great deal of persistence and perspiration we managed to stock all 4 lakes prior to the beginning of the season. Please don’t forget to use barbless hooks when fishing Viners and Sandys, the welfare of our catch and release rainbows is paramount. Also, as you enter the farm at Rawlsbury on your right is the Fishing WC please make sure you SIGN IN.

Some of your reports for the month are as follows:-

• I had planned to go to. Chapmans but as I was sure it would be very coloured went to WZ instead. The water was flowing in hard through the pipes and I got this lovely 5.12 pounder on a home tied black Apache in the resulting stream. I lost another at the net. I put lead on the body and a yellow head which meant it fished deep and outperformed the regular pattern.

• One fish 5lb last Friday at WZ. Cold, windy and wet afternoon. Tried all sorts eventually had fish on slow deep Black Apache. Retired cold and wet. Snowing on the drive home!

• As you saw, Winterborne Zelston was in peak condition in every respect today with plenty of very good athletic fish to be seen. My two, taken quite quickly on a nymph, weighed a handsome 4lbs 6oz and 4lbs 4oz. Memorable

• Put on a UV bodied corixa. Free lined – unusual for me, but fancied the change. Had 2, 31/2 and 4 ¾ very quickly, off the field side jetty.

• Despite the wind, I fished yesterday and had it all to myself but at least my catch rate improved. I had to net a couple of 3lb’ers but managed to lose a couple which threw  the hook.So whilst  conditions were invigorating to say the least,I did have a rosy glow both internally and externally - not a pretty sight!

• Difficult fishing yesterday. After trying most of the options in my fly box, for me the fish were only interested in a Damsel Fly nymph, retrieved quite slowly. Just the one RT @ 2lbs 8oz taken

• I fished Rawlsbury on Saturday with my guest, Paul Mason, and we both had a great day.

We started on Chapman’s lake and, with the wind blowing in from the South West, the fish were very active in front of the right hand bank.  We started with some home tied mopster flies and were into fish almost straight away! The fish seemed to be just sub-surface and they all fought incredibly hard!  Paul took 2 rainbows, one of which was approaching 6lb and I had a nice one of about 4.5lbs.

After a break for lunch in the hut (which has excellent facilities) we moved over to the C&R lakes.  Unfortunately, the weather had deteriorated somewhat but we still enjoyed excellent sport from all 3 lakes - the best of which was a beautiful brown from Sandy of about 4lb.

I have to say that for a club venue to offer such excellent fishing in beautiful surroundings and with such good facilities at very affordable prices, is quite remarkable.

Well done WDAC and I will definitely be back ASAP!

• Fished today thinking that it would be a fine and sunny with just a gentle breeze.

How gullible can you get!

Eventually had a couple of nice fish 2-3lb’ers.

Young Robert and his team of miscreants have done a grand job leaving the lake in fine fettle.

• Fished WZ today, tried the notorious white apache at all depths, all speeds, all to no avail! Put on the trusty yarn indie, 4 casts two nice fish on a corixae sort of thing, it aint what you do, its the way that you do it! 3lb 4oz & 2lb 10oz, good stuff!

• Fished Cowleaze, just to get out of the wind.

That undercut from the overflow is getting quite nasty!!

Anyway, stuck an Olive Woolly Bugger on – as a damsel.  Wanted to see if degreasing my intermediate line had got it to sink, and also trying a much longer leader.  - One second cast. About 3 lb. One tail nip on the drop a little later. After about 15 minutes I got a solid take  -just under 5lb.

• Fished Zelston today,flat calm for most of the day.Fished small flies buzzers, shrimp ect with no success,plenty of fish showing .Ended up on orange tailed damsel,getting them to chase.Had one of 4lb 2,lost another.Quite happy,as do not need more trout for freezer. I do try to eat them fresh though.

• Tough afternoon at WZ. No fish rising or visible.

Managed to catch one, about 3lb, on a Grey Wulff. It had already been caught before and had a red nymph in its mouth with a short length of extremely thin leader attached. Not surprising that it got away the first time.

• Fishing at Rawlsbury yesterday I caught 2 fish 1 of 4lbs from Chapmans and another of 4lbs from Cowleaze. Nice day but v strong cold wind. Water reasonably clear but saw no fish on surface. Both caught deep down on Black apache and bothfull of small green snails and what looked like frog spawn.

ANNUAL GAME MEETING

We held our Annual Game meeting on the 12th March this year. I reviewed the year in 2023 giving details of number of fish caught and catch returns for all our lakes. We are in a sound financial position, the demand for our fish tickets giving rise to the highest number of fish stocked in any one year. I also introduced the possibility of chalk stream fishing on the river Frome - see details below.

Mike Hirsh our Chairman discussed the delights of Otter and Cormorant predation and Colin Hancock explained how he monitors the quality of water in our lakes. Bob Spurgeon thanked all our great volunteers who assist on our work parties and outlined different ways to cut and collect floating and submerged weed. All in all a very successful meeting!

EAST BURTON ESTATE  - http://eastburtonestate.co.uk/

Chalkstream Fishing - Tom 07972 468081

From April to October we have the opportunity to fish the River Frome on the East Burton Estate.  It has four miles of fishing split into nine beats including the main river and its many carriers. The website provides a detailed map showing these.

There is wild fishing for Trout and Grayling and you have the option to fly fish for salmon & sea trout in the many hatch pools and runs. This is a catch and release river using barbless hooks.

Normally, half day tickets are available at £40.00 in May and June and £30.00 for the rest of the season. However, as a WDAC member as long as you provide your membership number when you contact Tom you can fish for a half day for £25.00 at any time in the season.

If you do fish here, could I ask you when it is convenient to email your views of the fishing, such as flies used, water level, river conditions etc. I can then include your comments in my monthly report.

Tight lines!

Paul

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