A days fishing at Bushyleaze

Location: From Lechlade on Thames, take the A361 towards Burford. Just past the Carp Societies Horseshoe lake you will see a sign for Lechlade Trout Fishery on your right hand side. Turn into the fishery to purchase your Bushyleaze ticket at the lodge.To get to Bushyleaze, drive out of the gate and turn left. After 150 yards, turn right down the lane that is at the top of the lay-by directly opposite the Carp Societies Horseshoe Lake.Address: Lechlade Trout Fisheries Gloucestershire GL7 3QQ Phone number 01367 253266 Web site: www.fishlink.com/lechlade E-mail: tim@timtrout.co.uk

The Fishery

This is a 22 acre mature lake with very clear water. It has a maximum depth of 15 feet. The banks are beautifully landscaped. This water has a minimum stock size of two and a half pounds. There are plenty of fish in the four to six pound class with a regular stocking of double figure fish. Stocking is with rainbow trout at present but there is also a good head of wild browns that have breed in the fishery.Season – Open all year.Ticket prices – Full day ticket with a six fish limit is £25. Yes this is correct six good sized trout for only £2-5. Excellent value for money. £17.50 for a half day three fish limit. £14 for a evening ticket with a two fish limit. Juniors can have half the limits above for half price. Boat hire is £10 per day or £5 for a half day. Advanced booking for boats is advisable.Tuition – Bookable in advance 1 hour session £20. However there is a special offer where after tuition the angler can fish onfor two fish and will be coached as and when necessary.Breakfast – Substancial breakfasts at £5 can be booked with the fishing. Corporate days – These can be arranged and tailored to suit your clients every need.Physically disadvantaged – There are plenty of swims suitable for physically disadvantaged anglers.Other facilities – These include clean W.C., tackle shop and tea and coffee making equipment. There is a fully equipped kitchen in the lodge

A days fishing at Bushyleaze

We arrived to find flat calm conditions that were going to make the fishing much harder. However we were impressed with the lay out and size of the fishery. It was certainly a well cared for water that, judging from the number of rises, was well stocked.I started off near the lodge and could see in the crystal clear water small trout in front of me. Closer examination showed that they were brown trout that looked like wild fish. Later the owner, Tim Small, confirmed that there was a stock of naturally breeding browns in the water and these in fact were fish that had bred in the lake.These were going to be more of a challenge than the stocked larger rainbows that were appearing regularly on the surface. I set up with a 8.5ft number 4 fly rod with a small reel loaded with a DT4F line to a 31b b.s. leader to try to catch one of these wild browns. I started off with a small black buzzer but met with no success. A change was called for and I tried a size 14 green and red buzzer that Lee Kitchen had tied for me. I had had a lot of success with this so called “B.R. buzzer” so I was very confident.On my third cast with the fly, I had a take that resulted in a wild brown of about 3/4 lb that was immediately returned. Fishing on, I had two takes in the next hour resulting in another similar sized immaculate brownie.It was now time to start fishing for the rainbows. I changed rods to fish a 9 ft rod with a WF6F line to fish much further out. I walked down to the bottom end of the lake where I could see trout freely rising. I tried a whole range of nymphs and small buzzers without any success. In desperation the fly was changed back to the my original green and red buzzer. I fished it with such a slow retrieve that the fly was virtually static. I missed a slight take on the second cast then had a nice rainbow of 51b on the following cast. Over the next couple of hours I had another two rainbows before stopping for a rather late lunch.

When I returned, I decided to have a change from bank fishing and have a boat for the evening rise. It was still flat calm as I rowed out to fish on the drift, using my bank outfit. The first cast resulted in a take that I managed to miss but I caught another fish on the next cast. As light started to fail, I had one more rainbow, taking my total up to five rainbows that were all over 31b with the best weighing a respectable 5lb. In my opinion this was a good result on a difficult day on an excellent fishery that offers terrific value for money.