Wild brownies from a hidden gem

With good mate Ad soon to depart North Wales to start his PhD studies in Aberdeen we have been cramming in the fishing sessions more than ever before. Although most of our sessions have been focused around catching a tope from the shore, when the weather has meant this is not a possibility we have turned our attentions to the freshwater lakes inland to try our hand at wild brownie fishing :) The venue we have been fishing is a stream fed hidden gem tucked away amongst thick woodland in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn't for Ad and his girlfriend Katie, who stumbled across it whilst on a forest walk, I would have never realised it was there. The pair of them had seen fish rising on there chance visit, so Ad was keen to go back with some small spinners and flies and have a go to see if we could tempt a fish or two. Myself, Ad and Katie turned up at the lake full of optimism and again we could see the odd fish rising. I opted to use a tiny mepps spinner with size 12 treble and a small orange fly for a teaser on a 1.5lb Fluoro leader (I like fishing ultra light). Ad went for a similar option but with a small copper spoon at the business end instead. We waded out into the lake and began to work the lures slowly and with regular jerks. After a few moves, we found a really nice looking area in which we were stood amidst a large bed of lilly-pads. The scene was set and before long Ad's rod was bent slightly under

the weight of a lovely small wild brownie, we were off the mark. Having landed his first one, he gave Katie the chance to get a fish and left her with the rod. The evening was going very nicely, the wind not affecting us at all and giving us a good chance of getting a few more. I was next in and landed the best one of the night at maybe 1/2lb, but regardless of size, these fish are stunning looking with vivid black and red spots and large cavernous mouths. We then had another quick move over to the opposite corner of the lake where we could see a number of fish hitting the surface after small flies. The air was now getting colder and the light was beginning to fade but Katie was determined to level the scores before dark and took just one cast in our new spot to get a hook up and land her first ever trout. We were all having a great evening and with about 30mins left to fish we chanced one last move back to the lily pads. Five minutes of nothing and we were considering calling it a day when a brownie hit my mepps no more than 5ft from where I was stood. The fish although small had to be played accordingly on the 1.5lb line and when it dived into the lillies I thought it was going to either throw the hook or snap me. A quick pull though and it was up through the pads and laying on the top perfectly posed for a nice photo. Ad had seen me get my second fish and was soon demanding the rod back from Katie and
managed to get his second fish of the day on the second to last cast. On his last cast though his cast flirted with the edge of the lillies and snagged up on the retrieve, the outcome being a lost lure. We were now ready to go home and quite happy with our evenings session we left with a smile on our faces and with a new mark under our belts to fish when the weather is rough on the coast.

Thanks for reading,
Tight Lines,
Ross