BUZZERS ON A WASHING-LINE

I've discussed Buzzer fishing with many boat partners over the years but few have made me think hard about my approach more than Tony Donnelly from Bristol Water. Chew Reservoir is a lovely place to fish, yet for me it has always been a place of ‘feast or famine’ when it comes to the actual fishing. Fish it one week and enjoy a fine day, catching a few of the beautifully conditioned fish that are the hallmark ofthe Bristol Water fisheries. Then go again a week later and scratch around for a fish or maybe two.I think if Ilived closer to Chew maybe I would get into the rhythm of the place a little better. For many years I tended to focus on the early part of the season when the buzzers would be like a writhing cloud of grey smoke over many of the bankside bushes. In the past few years that living phenomenon has been but a pale shadow of its former glory.... but last season, and more especially this season,there has been a welcome change. The buzzers are back in some strength,with clouds of them marking the sky above the bankside vegetation. More importantly,the fish know all about it and are avidly feeding on them.

Clouds of buzzers were the clue

Tony Donnelly is the fishery manager for the Bristol Water Fisheries and he is a very good angler as well. We had been tap-dancing around trying to organise a fishing trip at Chew for some time, and finally managed to get a day sorted. Walking out of the car park loaded up with my bags and bits I couldn’t help but see the smoky column of buzzers gyrating around and over the bushes. Just walking down the side of the lodge was something of a trial and I had to hold my breath in an effort not to breath them in. There was no mistaking what rig and flies we would be fishing today! I watched with considerable interest as Tony rigged four Black Buzzers on an 18-foot leader,with a super Heavyweight Buzzer on the point so that his flies would be dragged deep quite quickly. He said a heavy Bloodworm on the point is often a good plan of attack. I fished my normal three Buzzers on an 18-foot fluorocarbon leader because I wanted my flies to sink at a slower rate than Tony’s.It’s a good plan for two anglers to fish in a slightly different manner so that you can see which of the two methods work best and then adjust tactics to suit. We started along the Heron’s Green Bank where there were some fish holding just off the reeds. In the shallow water we both caught fish, then – as inevitably happens – a couple of other boats saw us catching so that drift quickly became crowded. We decided to move around the corner to the Moreton Bank. The water was slightly deeper there and Tony’s rig with the heavy Buzzer on the point soon started to score.

Variation on the induced take

His advice was simple. Cast out, let the flies sink to anchor the floating line or midge-tip line into the surface, slowly picking up any slack in the line as the boat drifts downwind. Every so often put in one long, slow draw to lift the flies up through the water column. Many of Tony’s takes came halfway through the lifting action, a subtle variation on the ‘induced take’, but a variation that proved irresistible to the fish on the day. Whether fishing with a floating or a sinking line, pay attention to ‘hanging’the flies atthe end ofthe retrieve. There will be days when fish will respond aggressively to flies moving vertically toward the surface. Take your time and pay close attention to this vertical lift at the end of the cast because this will often catch fish on a slow day, especially when fishing Buzzers. For more information about hunting and fishing, visit my website at Hunting-Tips.Net.