Buzzers from the Bank At Rutland Water

Having fished the shores of Rutland Water for 4o years now, you kind of get a good understanding of the mood of the place, and how it tends to fish, though even the best of us sometimes get baffled.

I had heard there were fish in Whitwell Creek, and with a window of time available on the Sunday morning, I ventured down for a couple of hours. It would be a good bet to fish a team of buzzers in March, as as our seasons now seem to be getting earlier each year, and the winters less cold, therefore buzzer hatches are becoming earlier and earlier in the year.

My chosen buzzer set - 3 barbless size 10 flies.

It is a good idea to look for deeper water early season from the bank, as earlier stocked fish will look for this, as it gives them a sense of security.

I looked for the first point along the bank, as this would give me a distance advantage when casting from the bank. I then set up with an 18' 8lb Wychwood ghost mode leader. A fine diameter line to give the flies good movement. I set my flies at 6' intervals along the cast. This covers two important factors. Firstly it allows your flies to cover varied depths when in the water, allowing you to identify any feeding depths. Secondly, equal distanced flies gives you greater cast balance, thus leaving you less susceptible to tangles !

My first cast and my line tightened, as a fish consumed my UV Flash back buzzer, followed very quickly by a second.(2nd cast !!)

Now you may think, if you are in front of recent stock fish, its going to be easy? Well, even with this situation, getting it wrong, and your catch rate could be far less than it could be. With a good length leader, you know you are covering a good depth of water, thus giving you an indication of the fish depth. These first two fish took the point fly, the deepest position in the water. However, in the sheltered water from the wind, the fish came up pretty quickly, then the next 10 fish or so, suddenly came to the middle dropper, highlighting this shift in the water column by the fish. A good length leader, and 3 flies, allows you to almost certainly cover all depths from any banks at Rutland. To prove this point even more, out of the 17 fish I landed, none took the top dropper !! This indicated the fish were swimming mid water, and quite simply were not prepared to travel nearer to the surface for my top dropper offering.

My fly choice can vary, however I always tend to go for a fly with a bit of bling, then one deeper coloured option, then a more recognised colour combination, the crisp packet buzzer. A 3 choice option will allow you to see what the trout are preferring, allowing you to then, offer 3 of that same fly on your cast.

The wind was coming off my left shoulder, and not directly off my back - perfect for fishing buzzers. I deliberately cast my line directly in front of me, cutting across the ripple at an angle. This then gives your line a natural drift from left to right. Now here's the tricky bit - I find for the best results with buzzers, keeping them almost static, and I mean static, will far out fish flies that are being moved by an over zealous angler moving them. Just keep in touch with the line as it moves, as in my case, from left to right. This allows the flies to have a natural drift motion, and believe you me, a moving buzzer, i.e being figure of 8 retrieved too fast, will result in less fish - guaranteed.

If you would like a days buzzer fishing from the boat, or bank, then do get in touch, as guided days are available. craig@flashattackflies.com

All of the buzzers used, and more, can be purchased from our website, www.flashattackflies.com

I hope you enjoyed the read, and tight lines for the months ahead.

Craig