Friday 31 October 2008

NEW WEB PAGE - THE POWDERMILL CUP

The Powdermill Cup now has its own page detailing all the winners.

See it here. The Powdermill Cup

Friday 31 October 2008

DAM IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE?
 

The rabbit population around the reservoir has been steadily increasing and the number of warrens in the bank at the rear of the dam has been a cause for concern. If left unchecked, their excavations could severely weaken the dam, so the rabbit population needs to be kept under control. There is arguably no more humane way of thinning out the number of rabbits than be ferreting.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

THE HFFC ANNUAL FISHING COMPETITION AND BARBECUE

The Club’s annual fishing competition and barbecue took place on Friday 12 September and for most of the day it was sunny and dry, but we did have one heavy shower mid-afternoon.

The nineteen competitors were split into two groups. One group fished from the boats in the morning session and then swapping over with the other group in the afternoon, to fish from the bank.

The evening Barbecue was well attended and an enjoyable time was had by all.

All six pages of the October edition of our MEMBERS NEWSLETTER is entirely devoted to this event.

Monday 29 September 2008

REPORT FROM THE FLYDRESSERS GUILD SUSSEX BRANCH AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Match v. Hastings F F

POWDERMILL – 6th July 2008

Beautiful - if that isn’t the word that flashes across your mind when you first see Powdermill reservoir at Sedlescombe then you must be dead! Powdermill Reservoir is the home of the Hastings FFC, and if you want to know about the club or the fishing then you can’t do better than visit their superb website at www.hastingsflyfishers.co.uk - in fact if you go to the news page and scroll down there is a report with over 100 photos of this very event. Curiously, the Branch has never fished against the Hastings club or even been on a recent outing to the reservoir which they run so superbly. To rectify this obvious error the committee have set up an annual competition for the “Powdermill Trophy” whereby the two clubs compete for the trophy in a team competition.

Expectations were high as the teams met at the lodge, and not just about the fishing as most people hoped the nice start to the morning’s weather would hold and confound the forecasters. In fact the competition was affected by the weather but more of that later! After the initial pleasantries and a mix up on the numbers in our team, each side fielded twelve enthusiastic members.

The competition was run on the same model as the Troutmasters final whereby half the day is spent bank fishing and the other half spent boat fishing. Who does what and when is decided by a draw. There was an extra twist in that each boat team would be made of one FDG member and one Hastings member. I was drawn to be in the boat first so can only give a slight bias to the morning’s events. All the boats set off to their favoured spots under the one manpower engine on the oars! The locals had indicated that the reservoir fishes better at anchor than on a traditional drift but that was academic because the fish were not playing ball. All the boats struggled and we tried everything but apart from a few perch that came to minkies on sinking lines there was absolutely no interest. To make life more interesting, the wind picked up to what can only be described as ‘brisk’. Unfortunately rowing boats are not easy to handle in a ‘brisk’ wind and at one point, one boat, rowing for the dock, was actually being blown in the opposite direction, amid a cloud of rather interesting language, sweat and tears! The morning session ended and both boat and bank anglers headed back to the lodge to weigh in, have lunch and swap over. The timing for lunch couldn’t have been better as the heavens opened during the break. The boats hadn’t performed as expected as not a single fish was landed and to prove how unpredictable fish can be the bank anglers landed 28 fish with our very own Ray Love leading the pack.

As football pundits say, it was a game of two halves and the second half saw the successful ‘bankers’ headed for the boats and even more testing conditions than the morning ‘boaters’ had experienced as the weather had deteriorated. Now in addition to the constant nasty wind came squally heavy showers. The only consolation was that the wind kept the clouds on the move and the rain couldn’t settle in but came through in pulses. One particular monsoonal downpour tested our waterproofs to the limit and during this the most amusing sight presented itself in front of me. One of our members who will remain nameless (as long as the £5 notes keep coming Bill) came past me in what can only be described as a squelch. I have seen people who have fallen in and remained drier!

The fish paid no regard to the weather but even so the fishing wasn’t quite as easy as it was in the morning. I did eventually work out a semi-successful tactic (very small - 16s - imitative patterns) and I managed to winkle out 3 fish. These fish were fin perfect powerhouses, fighting like demons all the way to the net, and you would be convinced that they were fish three times their size.

The end of the match was heralded by the arrival of lovely sunshine, the wind dropping and a gorgeous smell wafting across the reservoir. Who needs a whistle or klaxon to end a match when the smell of sausages cooking works so much better! This isn’t a new technique but simply the Hastings team and their family and friends had turned up and put together the most magnificent post match meal and BBQ to revitalise our spirits!

Remarkably only 2 fish were caught on the boats against 43 from the bank.

It is at this point that I really have to thank all the Hastings crew (members of Hastings team and all those friends and family who helped) for this meal and the superb competition but in particular Mary (for organising everything and having to deal with me in the run up to the event) and to Vic for superbly managing the reservoir.

Regardless of the result this event was never just about the silverware. It was always about making friends and forging a link with another like minded club in our own county. The social event at the end certainly cemented the friendship and brought the excellent day to an end. I can safely say, without fear of contradiction that I have never taken part in a more friendly competition with such wonderful people who really understood the spirit of fishing. Roll on next year!

Paul Davis

Monday 1 September 2008

FILMING AT POWDERMILL RESERVOIR

‘The Last Breath’ is a UK Film Council funded film which has just been mainly shot at Powdermill reservoir. As well as the reservoir itself, the interior of the clubhouse / fishing lodge was used as the ‘Dive hut’. I understand that even Vic’s hat, complete with flies, was borrowed to add rustic colour. Did I say ‘borrowed’? I understand that Vic’s fee was a bottle of whisky!

Your intrepid website reporter was the last to know about this exciting event and did not find out until after it was all over. So I have no first hand report or photos.

It would seem that, although the film makers were a nice and friendly lot, they certainly knew how to take over the entire fishery, much to the confusion of the anglers. It has therefore not been possible to get any sense out of my fellow anglers who still seem to be traumatised by the disruption of their peaceful existence by the invasion of the film crew. I am therefore forced to rely on the local newspaper report.

CLICK HERE to read the full article which appeared in the Hastings AdNews.

Tuesday 26 August 2008

TALES FROM THE RIVER BANK

Both bank and boat fishermen continue to find fish. At this time of year, fishing can be hard and often the best times are early morning or late evening, but with the unseasonal weather conditions, the trout are exceptionally active and are being caught throughout the day.

The bigger fish which have been stocked in the last few weeks are proving to be elusive and must be caught soon.

Work has begun to clear the area between the bailiff’s cottage and the fishing lodge. Eventually it is hoped that it will be turned into an additional grassed area that ‘Woody’ can mow! During the initial clearing of the undergrowth, a large underground wasp nest was discovered and work came to an immediate standstill as the inhabitants were not very pleased to be disturbed. A fire was lit over the entrance to the nest but, at the time of writing, the wasps were still in evidence.