Fishing News for Latchford Flyfishers: Idyllic Trout Fishing Hertfordshire ~ Essex ~ London Border
Information about the fishery, fishing and any thing else of interest to the members will be posted here. Also other fishing trips can be advertised here. To list something contact Laurence Lock info@ribs.co.uk
LATEST NEWS is below:
2023 Open Day
After an enforced lay off from this annual event it was back in 2023. 20 people came, fish were caught and Hot Dogs Eaten. It was a great success, all members are welcome along with a guest.
Oleksandr
Oleksandr arrived from Ukraine in May 2022, with no English and no fishing experience. He is now fluent in English and the fishing is comming along really well ! This great 4lb + Rainbow is his largest fish so far.
Heidi, REALLY LOVES ME !
Heidi has grown in to a fully fledged fishing dog, often seen round the lake, hopefully not in it, she will never replace Bella but she is her own dog !
The Arrival of Heidi
Piper who is now nearly 3 has been joined by her full siter, Heidi, and both are in training as fishing dogs...... neither are a patch on dear old Bella but I will keep trying !
The Passing of Bella
With great sadness I have to report Bella passed away in January 2022, she was 14.5 and hasd fished with me for 13 years. She is sadly missed
OPEN DAY 2018:
This was our 16th year of running this light hearted open day at the end of the year and was the best attended we have ever had !
23 people gather on a crisp bright November morning, a mixture of members and guests. The fishing was good, many hot dogs, biscuits and mince pies were eaten and a good time was had by all.
The Best Bag was a Tie, Brian Went and Rob Manser, Best individual Fish Ian Graham at 3.9 lbs, first ever fish were caught and well known club celebrities blanked ! Fish are no respecter of age or beauty ! Many thanks to all of you who came. PS at least no one fell in this year !
EARLY PHOTOS:
Some photos have come to light from just before we took the lake on, these are probably 1985 / 1986.
The image of the fish is the "first" Trout caught after Latchford Fly Fishers were founded and you can see even then they ate crayfish, but clearly not "Signal" ones !
Quite a lot has changed in the past 30 years, then again not that much !
If you have any really early images and want to share them let me have them.
OPEN DAY 2017:
The 2017 open day was a huge success. 20 people attended, the most we have ever had, fish were caught and hot dogs, tea, coffee, mince pies and choccy biscuits were consumed in large quantities.
More details of what happened are in the Newsletter sent by E Mail.
We are open till the end of December and the lake is fishing well. Make sure you carry you proof of membership with you / in the car (membership disc) You are extremely likely to be challenged so please make sure you have it with you !
23 September 2016
Fishing cheats land big fines in court!
Two London anglers had penalties of over £450 each imposed at St Albans Magistrate Court on 21 September 2016 for fishing without a rod licence and taking fish without permission,in contravention of national byelaws and schedule one of the Theft Act,at a trout fishery in Ware,Hertfordshire. (US !!)
Leonidas Kupcikovas and SlavkasKupcikovas,were caught by the Police fishing at night & were each fined £330 (plus £127 costs & £33 victim surcharge) when an Environment Agency annual licence costs just £27.
Environment Manager Debbie Jones said:
“We check licences across all fisheries in Hertfordshire, and work in partnership with fishery owners,and the Police to detect and deter fisheries crime.People who don’t buy a licence are cheating other anglers and the future of the sport. The Environment Agency relies on the income from rod licences to continue the important work we do to protect fish stocks, improve fisheries and encourage more people to take up fishing.”
If you are caught fishing without a rod licence you risk a criminal conviction and a fine up to £2500. There is no excuse – Annual rod licences for trout and coarse fishing remain at £5 for 12 to 16 year olds, £18 for senior and disabled concessions and £27 for non-concessions. Children under 12 can fish for free. Licences are easy to buy from the Post Office website or by phone on 03448005386 prior to fishing. Anglers should always ensure they have permission to fish at a fishery and check Environment Agency byelaws.
Last year, Environment Agency officers checked more than 62,000 licences and prosecuted more than 1900licence cheats. Between them, they were ordered to pay fines and costs in excess of £600,000. To help crack down on unlicensed fishing the Environment Agency urges anyone to report illegal activity by calling 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Money raised from rod licence sales is reinvested in the environment, including a whole range of projects to improve facilities for anglers, protect stocks from illegal fishing, plus fish restocking, invasive species eradication, and working with partners to encourage people to take-up fishing for the first time.
- The money raised through rod licence sales is invested directly in fisheries work that benefits all anglers. The Environment Agency either spends that money directly or through their partners the Angling Trust to deliver projects to maintain and improve the health of fish and to establish an infrastructure to develop the sport of angling across England. Locally this means, protecting fish stocks through permitting and regulation.
Trees Thinned
Tree Work 2017
This winter a HUGE amount of tree work has been done. The willows around the lake have been thinned and we are now starting on a hard wood planting programme.
This will help with fly life and reduce the "blossom / pollen fall that we have early in the year, apparently the willows were the "wrong type"
A Bright Sunny day in November
Open Day, November, 2016
The 2016 open day was well attended and between 17 of us more than 40 fish were caught, We had a 3 way tie for best bag, 8 Fish, Brian Went, Jonathan Lawrence and Rob Maser, as Rob also had the largest fish, he felt 2 bottles of Champagne were too much so he very generously left Peter and Jonathan to share the best bag.
Thw weather was glorious, though a bit chilly, the fishing great and the hot dogs, as ever, all eaten.
Please remeber we are open till the end of the year, tight lines !
PS: See some more images in the 2016 GALLERY
"Latchford Valley" on Easter Monday
Easter 2016
Easter was a wild affair with torrential rain and gale force winds.
The River has had a great "flush" and with the May Fly a month or so away this should set us in good stead for the 2016 season.
When this picture was taken at 2 pm on Easter Monday no one was fishing !
Tight Lines !
Freshly tidied lake !
Work Party 2016
Our February work party was well attended and a huge amount of work was done. The pile of cleared winter debris at the top of the car park is a testament to this.
The lake was dragged for branches, a lot of the trees trimmed around the lake and some larger debris taken from the river.
Fishing is now in full flow and as the weather warms up so will the catches !
Tight Lines
30 + People at Bella Nolla in Ware
30th Anniverary Dinner January 2016
With over 30 people in attendance the 30th annivesary dinner in January was a real success.
It was good to see so many Plus 1's so the discussion was not exclusively about fishing ! We even had a Plus 1 without the member.........
We may look at doing this again next year, we will keep you informed, we will also see if we can do some kind of summer BBQ again we will keep you informed.
Misty Start
Open Day November 2015
We opened with a very misty day but the sun broke through and it turned in to the hottest November day ever recorded in the UK.
The Trout were taking and despite a small turn out plenty of fish were caught and prizes awarded.
See the short video below !
Best Fish: Johnathan Lawrence
Best Bag: Denis Thorp
Fingerling Brownie from the Lake
This is what is rising..
We stock the lake with small brownies and they are voracious surface feeders. It is these are rising so freely in the evening.
Size 16 dry flys are the order of the day and PLEASE put them back !
TBJ @ Delphi May 2015
TBJ In Ireland
I do not normally record other fishing catches but TBJ has caught the largest salmon in modern times at Delphi in Ireland, this is a truly remarkable achievement, well done Tony.
20 Lbs 11 Ounces, Rock Pool, Delphi Fishery, 15th may 2015
Barley Straw
How to make a dog......
Kevin has been trying to make a Golden Retriever, his own dog looks on in dismay.
Seriously the Barley straw being put in the netting that is then laid in the lake. We are all set now for what we hope will be a bumper early summer.
Siltex Spreading
Second Siltex Treatment Done
The second treatment on the lake has been done and we are set for the season.
Many thanks to the few hardy souls who turned up on Sunday to help, much raking and tidying was also done.
The water will clear quickly so get fishing.
Spring arrives early March on the lake
Spring Arrives
This fantastic weather has flipped the switch on spring.
The lake is the clearest that we have EVER seen it and you can see the fish take, small buzzers near the surface are working well.
We keep an eye on the River for Pike and NONE have been seen but there are a lot of resident Trout and flows are really good, roll on April !
Caught on opening Day, 3.5 lb Brown
Opening day 1st March 2015
We opened today in glorious sunshine with the first members on the water before 8 am !
More details of what happened are now in the members area. We will in future ONLY post catch and stocking news in the members area.
Click Here for the full story.
December 2014
Keep fishing ! This amazing 7 pound'er caught on Sunday 7th December by Glynn Wood represnts a 50% weight gain from anything put in..... Feeding on Cray Fish !
Keep Fishing TILL THE END OF DECEMBER ! !
Luxury Catering Facility
Open Day ~ November 2014
In the words of a much loved and dearly departed Irish Ghillie who I fished with for more than 20 years is was "shocking awful wet"
To say it rained is an understatement ! It was wet from the start and we had expected a poor turnout. however 14 hardy souls turned up and fished the full 3 hours. However some time was spent by all warming up with a cup of tea and a Hot Dog in the Luxury catering facility !
I do not know about the rest of you but actually that sort of day is my favourite, there is something about the pitter patter (Thudding !) of rain on the hat !
The lake fished really well with more than 30 fish taken in the 3 hours. Good job we were not fishing the river as it rose 2 feet in 3 hours !
We have 2 light hearted "competitions" on the Day, Most Fish and Biggest Single Fish, this year Glynn Wood had a splendid 3lb 9oz Rainbow and Rob Manser had 8 for the session, twice as many as the next highest catch !
No one died of hypothermia or dissolved in all the water so as they say much fun was had by all !
We carry on fishing till the end of December so get down there !
November ~ December 2014
After a long and difficult summer the fishing has REALLY picked up.
The Club open day is on Sunday 23rd November, this is open to all members, just let Laurence know that you are coming.
STOP PRESS: See Report above, it rained ........
APRIL ~ MAY 2014
Spring has arrived with a vengance, fly life is prolific and the fish are VERY hungry.
Water levels are excellent and the River looks the best we have seen it for years.
Shown here is a visitor from Germany, Inga, playing her first ever Trout.
Happy days !
March 2014:
What a difference a month makes. This picture taken today 30th March shows spring is here, the lake is in great order, the fishing has been superb, all the new security is in place and the car park is finally dry !
Some spectacular catches have been recorded and with more fine weather forecast the first half of April is looking good.
Membership is full, so 2014 is looking very good !
Send me any pictures that you may have !
2014:
The renewals are out and opening day set as Saturday 15th March.
We have had a VAST amount of wind and rain this winter so far and a work party is required to tidy up.
We will arrange a day to do this at the AGM: The lake is looking good and all this rain has kept it well topped up.
The AGM will be held on the 15th February @ 10:30 am, Three Willows Birchangar, let me know if you are coming.
Hot Dogs and Tea from the Luxury Catering Facility !
OPEN DAY, OCTOBER 2013
The open day held on the 27th was a great success, we had a good attendance and a LOT of fish were caught. A guest, Glenn Bonney, achieved the double with a haul of 8 for the morning and the best fish @ 3.75 lb, a close second was Henry with a fish of 3.5 lb
It was a VERY windy day, challenging casting, but we still caught over 60 fish.
The River Kirkaig from the High Path
RIVER KIRKAIG, SUTHERLAND OCTOBER 2013:
We again did our annual trip to the Rivers Kirkaig and Inver in the far north of Scotland. We had low water this year which is not ideal for Salmon fishing but we still managed 16 fish for the week between us with the best at 17lbs plus a few more over 10 pounds.
We are booked for 2014 and this trip has NOT been blank in the past 30 years so if you want to catch a Salmon talk to Laurence about joining us, Kevin can teach you to cast a Double Handed rod which you will need for this type of fishing !
Ask TBJ and he will tell you how great it is up there !
JUNE 2013:
Spring is running late and the May Fly are going to be properly in to June this year. The Trout are ready and waiting in the River. Please remember ALL Members can have a cast in the River ADJACENT to the lake. Keep low, Upstream Dry Fly Only and you get one chance at NOT LINNING the fish.
Any "Dry" May Fly will do ideally size 12 or 14, best use a light, short rod, if you have one, and a shortish leader to ensure accuracy.
All fish caught are to be returned VERY CAREFULLY.
MAY 2013:
A quick note to remind everyone that you MUST have an EA licence to fish both the lake and river. The EA are staging both daytime and night time patrols of the whole area, and our fishery in particular, and licences will be checked !
You have been warned !
Now who can tell me, is this a May Fly in a web or a tied fly posed for the camera ?
Browns on the Dry Fly !
APRIL 2013:
At last the east winds have droped and with a bit of warmth in the air the fly life is starting to come up. There is a hatch more or less every day at the moment and the Browns in particular will take on the surface of the lake.
They are REALLY hard to hook, but if you pesevere you can connect. Most are the smaller browns we put in to give activity on the surface but you will pick up the larger resident Browns every now and again.
They are really hatch specific so expect LOTS of swirls till you get the right pattern and then if you are lucky a solid take !
Opening Weekend 2013 Season (March):
Cold wet and windy ! Fish were caught using blood worm and buzzers. There is a tremendous head of very picky fish in te lake and they are in great condition.
The larger of the 2 shown here was over 4 lbs !
The opening week end was VERY wet and VERY VERY cold, that did not deter the hardy, the first person was on the lake at 7:30 am ! "Natural" flies are the order of the day, small buzzers, bloodworm and the like. The fish are in cracking condition and it bodes well for the rest of the season.
The piles of stone are mainly for the river but we may add to the hard standing around the car park area just inside the gate.
Get down ther and catch an over wintered fish before we stock !
Click here to go to the Opening day Video
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