News from RMF...

View our weekly reports and keep up to date with all the goings on at the fishery.

Monday 8th March

Geoff Peek from Stalham enjoyed an action packed day last Tuesday, landing 12 fish in total from the far bank. Geoff was fishing a damsel nymph on a floating line over 15ft of water and getting the takes on a slow retrieve at an average depth of 4-6 feet.

Thursday was just as successful with RMF first timer Paul Roberts and regular Chris Efstratiou managing 32 fish between them. Paul, from Cardiff released 14 Rainbows, all taken on a floating line and Olive goldhead nymph, whilst Chris used a small fry pattern to good effect to tempt his share, 16 Rainbows and the largest Brown Trout of the week at well over 4lb.

Brothers Darren and Michael Smith braved the cold wind on Saturday evening and managed a 3 hour evening session. Darren landed 3 rainbows, with Michael managing 2. Both were using home tied nymphs on a floating line and were fishing close to the marginal reeds in the bay at the lodge end of the lake.

Philip Bodie from Norwich caught his biggest Brown trout of the year so far on Sunday evening. Philip, who was fishing the far bay caught the 4lb specimen on a floating line and a cats whisker.

Remember the RMF Big Fish day this Saturday 13th March. Call James for more information or to Book a place.

Monday 1st March

It finally feels as if Spring is in the air after another weekend of wind and rain and generally pretty appalling weather for fly fishing.

Peter Burns and Bill Thompson of Thetford enjoyed a successful, but windy days fishing on Thursday. It was the pair's first visit to RMF and both landed 5 fish each, including a 4lb+ Brown Trout for Peter which was successfully released.

Both were using floating lines and were fishing the far end of the lake.

Season ticket holder John Kick from Wroxham braved the rain on Saturday morning and managed 5 Rainbows in total. John was fishing the far bay and using a floating line, Bloodworms and Minkies accounted for all his fish.

Monday 22nd February

After a cold start to Saturday morning, the clouds parted and we were greated by some welcome sunshine. Ben Wyer from Wells braved the early morning cold snap and landed 4 Rainbows. Ben was using small lures, fished on a floating line and commented that many of the takes were as the fly was falling through the water or with a very slow retrieve.

RMF regular Chris Efstratiou had another good day, banking 14 Rainbows in total. Chris was again using a floating line. Bloodworms and small lures accounted for most of Chris's fish, which came from all over the lake, proving that there are no particular "hot spots" at the moment.

Sunday...Frozen!

Mid week regulars Stuart Marshall and season ticket holder

David Scott-Miller made the most of the good weather on Wednesday afternoon. Both fishing for little over 3 hours, David landed 5 fine Rainbows while Stuart managed a total of 13. Both were using a floating line, with small green montana nymphs and bloodworm patterns proving to be successful.

Monday 15th February

Another cold snap at the weekend meant that the lake was partially frozen in the early hours of both Saturday and Sunday, with Sunday being totally frozen until mid morning.

Visiting angler Alan Taylor from Scotland fished a 4 hour session in the afternoon with outstanding results. Alan was using a Red Ribbed Diawl Bach on a floating line and landed 8 nice Rainbows averaging 2.5lb. Alan was fishing the West bank and fishing open water in the middle of the lake, takes were coming at about 18" below the surface.

After a successful afternoon session 2 weeks previously, John Archer proved himself once again, with an equally rewarding session on Wednesday. The RMF regular caught a total of 7 rainbows all around the 2lb mark and described as "In fin perfect condition".

John was using a floating line and spandex bloodworms to tempt all his fish and was fishing the bay at the far end of the lake.

Monday 8th February

The weekend proved difficult for some anglers and memorable for others.

Saturday was extremely busy at RMF with many anglers visiting for the first time, including local angler Peter Green who had taken a break for the sport and was fishing for the first time in many years quickly got back into the swing of things and landed 3 lovely Rainbows. All were fully finned and obviously over wintered fish. Taken on an intermediate line and Orange Lure from the deeper water at the far end of the lake, Peter left RMF with a big smile!

Chris Efstratiou from Norwich defied the weather and fished a black buzzer on a floating line near the surface and managed 5 fish, one of which was a Brown, most of which were taken from the inlet area.

Simon Easthope from Watton fished an evening session on Saturday and was rewarded with 2 fish, a Rainbow and a 2.5lb Brown. Both were caught on a sinking line using a goldhead montana and were taken from the far bay.

RMF season ticket holder Steve Beckham from Beetley finally broke his duck and managed to land his first fish of 2010 after 3 visits this year. Steve, who was fishing on Sunday used an emerger buzzer on a floating line and caught the fish while lifting off very close to the margins...well done Steve!

Ray Misslebrook enjoyed another cold, but productive afternoon's fishing on Wednesday. Fishing from his favoured spot on the West bank, Ray landed 4 Rainbows and 1 Brown, all were caught on an intermediate line and a hot orange cats whisker.

Last week saw a sudden drop in temperatures and even more snow, although nothing like the beginning of the month. RMF stalwart Chris Efstratiou battled the odds to catch (and release) 4 rainbows. Ensuring they were all caught on a floating line and up in the water, Chris used hometied nymphs and bloodworm patterns.

Barry Sisson made another trip to RMF following his success last week, however this time he only managed 1 fish, using the same methods as previous sessions, Barry fished a Minkie on an intermediate line from the West bank.

The frost on Saturday night meant that the lake was partially frozen for Sunday, however Alex Smith from Eye, who was visiting RMF for the first time was determined not to be put off by the cold and managed to land 3 Rainbows. All were impressively taken on epoxy buzzers, fished on a floating line from the West bank...Well done Alex!

Friday 29th January

The fishing this week has again been very rewarding. The cold weather has put many anglers off, but Monday saw season ticket holder John Kick and RMF regular Stuart Marshall both enduring the cold and demonstrating that you can still enjoy a days fishing, even in freezing temperatures.

John caught 6 Rainbows, all of which were returned to fight again another day. Most of Johns fish came on a bloodworm fished on a floating line from the far end of the lake.

Stuart fished the inlet and caught 4 Rainbows and an over-wintered Brown trout of close to 3lb which was returned, all caught on lures & montanas.

The weather towards the end of the week took a turn for the worst, but RMF regular Ray Misslebrook of Norwich braved the cold, wind & rain and managed an evening session, catching 2 rainbows from the far end of the lake on a fritz Damsel nymph fished on an intermediate line.

Friday 22nd January

After many weeks of the lakes being frozen (nearly 5 weeks in total!), they have finally thawed out and the fishing at the moment is spectacular. Those who brave the cold are treated to some excellent winter sport, with many anglers returning more than 10 fish/day.

Regular and relative newcomer to the sport, Gary Ireland from Attleborough took 4 and returned 10 Rainbows in total on Saturday. Fritz damsels & lures fished on a floating line from both the inlet and the far bay accounted for all his fish.

Barry Sisson also had a productive day, taking 7 Rainbows on a minkie fished deep from the west bank. Barry also lost a couple of fish, turning a cold winters day into a great start to the new year.

John Archer & Roger Rought both enjoyed a fairly "electric" afternoons fishing last week, with John catching 7 Rainbows and Roger, fishing opposite him near the inlet, catching 8. Most fish fell to Cats Whiskers on a floating line.

Article written for "Town & About" Magazine - 20/12/09

Fly Fishing in Norfolk

As a county, Norfolk has all the ingredients for a truly spectacular day’s fly fishing. The benchmark must surely be found a little further north of us in the Scottish Highlands. We may not have the wild water, or the wild fish for that matter, but going without the wild weather is certainly preferable to most anglers!

Due to the increased demand on rivers and watercourses in the county, as well as the increased threat from the wild, such as cormorants and otters, the population of the wild brown trout has significantly decreased over the years and for fly fishermen, this is their quarry in its purest form.

Found naturally in rivers and streams and preferring fast flowing, crystal clear water, the rivers flowing through our county are a perfect habitat for such a species. The Wensum, Wissey, Tas, Nar, Bure and Glaven to name just a few are all rivers in which wild trout are present and, providing it is in season and permission is granted, there are some truly breathtaking stretches of water to cast a fly to.

For some people, particularly those new to the sport of fly fishing, the answer is found in purpose built, stocked day ticket fisheries. From a coarse fishing point of view these are plentiful in this part of the world, however, if fly fishing is your chosen obsession it is a slightly different story with only a handful of Stillwater trout lakes available.

They may not have been around for hundreds of years, improving and evolving with time, but instead constructed following serious planning and effort to ensure that there is a sympathetic cohesion between the purpose built and the wild. They provide the angler with an environment of peace and tranquillity to enjoy their surroundings and the relaxing activity that is fly casting – catching a trout is a by-product and regarded by many as a bonus!

James Harrold – L2CCA & GAIA Fly Fishing Instructor