My family evolved into fishing over a couple of decades, but it was not fly-fishing. I grew up in South Jersey and vaguely remember a few excursions to fish with bobbers and worms for bass or panfish while on outings with the Indian Guides. I also remember a Memorial Day barbeque on a local riverbank while I was young during which I witnessed an angler catching a rainbow trout while spin fishing. I have no idea why that memory still lives with me.
My fishing interest only began in earnest after college when my father retired to the Jersey Shore. There he took up surf-fishing for striped bass (‘stripers’) and I joined him for many weekends in June and September to sit in beach chairs and smoke cigars in front of surf casting rods that we waited to bend.
It wasn’t until my early 30s (which would be in the 90s) that I would embark on my first fly-fishing adventure, and it happened while on holiday with my wife’s family in Pitlochry, Scotland. I arranged to join a fishing guide (called a ghillie over there) in the local fly shop. We spent four hours in a rowboat on a lake (‘loch’ over there) and I caught two trout, but not before hooking the back of my ear with the fly – probably on the second or third cast. My wife’s family was disappointed because they were expecting a haul of fish (I think that was my fault in building expectations) for twelve hungry people. Dinner cannot be made from two small fish for that number of diners (unless a loaves and fishes miracle were to occur).
After that my wife and I made many visits to the Lake District Region in the north of England, where my brother-in-law grew up. For a while he owned a cottage near Kentmere Village within Lake District National Park. The cottage was an easy drive to numerous lakes stocked with trout, which helped facilitate my emerging passion for fly fishing during numerous visits over several decades.
The Lake District has become one of my favorite places, and not just for fishing. The scenery is compelling; the Lake District National Park website says it best by describing the region as comprising “the highest land in England. These mountains, known as ‘fells’ are rich in wildlife, full of archaeological sites and are predominantly open, common land and an integral part of the hill farming system.” The local cuisine favors farm to table ingredients that represent a staple of some classic dishes of Britain, including spicy Cumberland sausage, Morecombe Bay shrimps (prawns) and Herdwick hogget, which is a world-class breed of native sheep.
If you are not a still water (or lake) fisherman, then then the Lake District may not be the place for you. Like I said, I learned to fly fish here, so I have an affinity for fishing with indicators and buzzers (nymphs). You can find opportunities for river fishing, but there is a reason that this is called the Lake District, and virtually all my fishing is done on still waters here. The Windermere, Ambleside and District Angling Association (WADAA) manages and stocks the waters that I fish and charges a membership fee for either daily or seasonal angling.
Over the years, I have fished most of the trout water managed by WADAA and they fish well during the entire season that generally spans March to October and the fishing ‘beats’ are all fabulously maintained. Some are more scenic than others – larger waters set in majestic surroundings include Bigland (Otter Tarn) and Ghyll Head. Whereas Farletonview, a recent addition to the WADAA managed waters, is set in a more pastoral setting, but represents a great fishery for beginners.
The WADAA posts the prospective trout species at each of the waters they manage, but not all species will be found in every water. Only rainbow trout are stocked at Farletonview, but at Bigland there were also tiger trout (a cross between brown trout and brook trout), spatic trout (a cross between arctic char and brook trout) and large rainbows. I can attest that my brother-in-law and I have netted each of the posted stocked species over the years, including lovely, large browns.
It is worth mentioning that although Farletonview is not the most picturesque of the WADAA managed waters, it is well appointed with numerous wooden platforms, some of which are handicapped accessible. There are also two man-made lakes with level banks that afford plenty of space for a healthy back cast.
Bigland, which is also now known as Otter Tarn, and Ghyll Head, are in much more rural/remote settings, both comprising approximately 11 acres of fishery. The more fascinating is Bigland as it comprises many islands, peninsulas, spits and ‘fishy’ corners to explore. Ghyll Head is a sheltered reservoir in an idyllic setting, also with numerous peninsulas and inlets. Both Bigland and Ghyll Head can be covered from shore, but you should not expect to cover either water in one day.
During the autumn when insect life is minimal (meaning few hatches), fishing streamers (wooly buggers and krystal buggers) is by far the most productive, although in chatting with a few other anglers, a slow retrieve of nymphs or worm patterns was also successful. It was a real charge to watch the wake produced by larger fish following the streamer, literally as if the fish were a torpedo plowing the surface of the water.
If the preference is for dry fly fishing, I have had excellent success in the late spring and early summer when the insect life is more robust. Although not a traditional dry, a foam-suspended black buzzer is killer on these lakes, as are an Elk Hair Caddis and Parachute Adams.
Tight lines!
