Colliford Lake

The first thing anglers need to grasp is that this is a Brown Trout fishery. Catching Brown Trout is a somewhat different exercise than fishing for stocked Rainbows. Fishing for Browns is essentially a highly mobile affair. The importance of staying on the move, covering fresh water, cannot be overstated. Thankfully Colliford has many miles of fishable bank so it really lends itself to this free ranging roving approach. Its good old fashioned, time honoured, cast and walk.

The two most popular methods of fishing at Colliford are pulling teams of wet flies and also dry fly. Early and late in the season it’s wets that usually take the bulk of the fish. Traditional patterns that have been fooling Browns for years still have a magnetic attraction for the Colliford fish. Patterns such as Soldier Palmer, Bibio, Zulu, Black and Peacock Spider are all good fish catchers but if you have a favourite traditional pattern why not give it a swim.

In 2015 Colliford saw a huge explosion in stickleback numbers. Some of our regular fishers caught lots of fish on Alexandras and Butchers that year and, even though stickleback numbers have declined, they are still present, so a silver bodied fly could well bring success. Not quite as traditional, but highly effective, are Black tadpoles and Zonkers. Not used as much these days, Vivas have caught plenty of fish here in the past. Sometimes the inclusion of a wake making pattern on the top dropper can help things along. Muddler headed versions of traditional patterns are good in this roll, as are Sedgehogs or even Ethafoam Beetles. A range of sizes can be useful. 10’s down to 16’s will cover most eventualities with 12’s and 14’s probably the most useful.

Whilst pulled wets will catch fish all season long, during the warmer months fishing dry fly often comes into its own here. Colliford can be an excellent dry fly water. The very best of the fishing can be if you happen to be there during a fall of terrestrial flies. Throughout the season these flies could include Hawthorns, Beetles, Ants, Cowdung or Daddy Long Legs together with various other bits and pieces. Some wonderful fishing has been had here during a fall of these land based insects. There are hatches of buzzers and sedges too and these can also bring fish to the surface. Whilst it is always nice to see some rising fish, happily Colliford seems to be one of those places where the fish are often willing to come ‘blind’. It does sometimes require a leap of faith to fish surface patterns when no fish are showing but it really can work here.

Fishing this way is essentially a prospecting way of fishing. Cast, leave the flies on the surface for ten to fifteen seconds, if nothing rises, pull in, walk a few paces down the bank then cast again. Once again keeping on the move as you fish. With regards to patterns the Colliford fish are usually pretty undemanding. A selection of Bits and Hoppers in various sizes and colours together with a few beetle patterns should cover most eventualities. Black, Claret and Red are really good colours and a few olive and ginger patterns can be handy too. Although it is a method mainly associated with the warmer months, some opening days in the past have seen fish caught on dries. It’s by no means unusual to see a fall of beetles on closing day so really dry fly can work at any time of the season. Although less used than pulled wets and dries, fishing teams of nymphs and spiders certainly works. PTNs, Crunchers, Diawl Bachs, GRHEs and Damsels all catch fish here. Generally slim sparse tying’s seem to do best.