Blog — Anglian Water Flyfishing

Anglian Waters Arsenal Fishing at this time of year can be testing at the best of times. Strong winds, rain, frosts, are all strong possibilities at this time of year. In return the fish will respond to this, so be prepared to respond with them. Make sure you have different line types on hand to allow you to fish different depths, if needed. My first boat trip of 2026 was on Draycote Water. A cold N/W wind meant we headed for Rainbow Corner for shelter. Upon arrival I was surprised to see lots of fish rising, feeding on buzzers that...

Grafham Water is certainly the reservoir in form at the minute, though not for everyone it seems. Following a great 4 hours on the bank yesterday, landing 8 fish, I was super excited to be returning today, this time from a boat. I have found the fish to be very tight to the banks, and this has certainly been the case for the last few years at this time of year. Same place, same depth of water and same flies. We started fishing off the seat, armed with midge tip lines, and a single olive snake. (We fished single flies...

The days of 30 fish + to the boat are fast diminishing, as normal reservoir fishing resumes at our biggest waters. The pre-season stocks are now well spread out across the water, and added stocks, with the warmer water in the margins are now, in most cases, moving right out into deeper water.  The fish are now feeding naturally on the abundant food sources, buzzers, shrimp, daphnia, pin fry, snails etc. There is a lot here for the fish to feed on, so the pulling of lures is naturally less effective, as a more natural fly approach is needed to...

I have fished Rutland now for 37 years and I cannot remember fishing like this. Opening day, yes you can fill the boat, however 7 weeks in and it is still delivering fantastic catches, and its showing no sign yet, in slowing !   I have fished Rutland 3 times this week, and my personal average has been 20 fish, and our boat average 33. I never normally mention numbers, however chose to this time round, as I really wanted to get across the fishing that is on offer at the Midland's premier water at this current moment. My first day...

 So, the big day looms –   Known as the “Midlands’ Mecca”, Rutland Water opens  tomorrow, since “lock down” struck last November. This 3000+ acre reservoir can be daunting to the first time visitor, and even those who fish it maybe several times a month! For me, Rutland offers it all, a sense of wilderness, a challenge, and hit it right, world class fishing. So, where do you start on a lake so big? I will tell you the known areas, drifts, recommended lines, and suggested flies to use for the opening months right here and now…. The water is full...