April 2023 Update

Time for a rather long overdue update – apologies on that front.  To summarise, the fishing has been fantastic, but the weather has been temperamental at best!!  The changeable conditions have resulted in some good sport though, and the challenge of Angler V’s Trout has been a fight to watch.   

Most Anglers are catching their quota but not all are finding the fish too easily.  The trout seem to be up and down like yoyo’s and have not really settled into the spring season at all.  Even now, coming towards the end of April, we are getting night temperatures down to 6 degrees!  This is resulting in the fish still chasing Cats-whiskers but also falling to the odd buzzer too as the daytime sun warms things up a little, oh and don’t forget the black tadpole in between as there are thousands of them currently in the lakes, particular Stag Lake where the margins can be seen moving in black clouds.   

On the plus side all lakes are still full of water and the water temperatures are still low.  The fish are fighting very well and some of the powerful runs are causing fish to be lots.  Don’t forget to check those leaders for wind knots! 

We were pleased to host a Fishing 4 Schools fundraising day recently – Massive thanks to everyone who came along or donated raffle prizes.  Despite the forecasts, the weather was kind to us and everyone was smiling.  The biggest fish was caught by young Henry Cullen weighing 5lb 13oz and the best 3 fish bag weighed 12lb 13oz and was won by Terry Woodman.  After £5 from each ticket sold, raffles, mini competitions and donations, we are thrilled to have raised a total of £1,198 for Fishing for Schools – money which will go a long way to support the amazing work the charity does and help to get young people out of the classroom and into the countryside, developing confidence and learning new skills.

February 2023

February has been a fantastic month in terms of the weather conditions for fly fishing – we are lucky to be in a little valley of our own and often have our own weather report which can be very different to local towns and seafronts.  The wind hasn’t been too challenging and we are thrilled that there has been some positive uptake on coaching in the last couple of weeks.  As you probably know by now, Phil is a Level 2 qualified fly fishing coach and has been offering a fantastic deal on lessons including equipment and fish ticket.  Most recently Phil coached a couple, Pete and Sara, who after some casting practice chose their own flies and both caught during their lesson!  They were very excited for their first trout caught on the fly which weighed 3lb 3oz and 2lb 7oz and were heading home for BBQ trout for their dinner!  Ashraf also had a lesson with Phil in which he caught 2 fish and was excited to purchase a #7 Snowbee Classic rod kit to take home to Malaysia with him! 

A reminder of our upcoming Fishing for Schools Fundraising event which we are hosting on 1 April – Charles Jardine will be joining us for the day to offer tips and advice or just for a friendly chat!  Fishing tickets will be limited to 35 anglers, and a few non fishing guests so please do get in touch to secure your spot on the day. We will be holding a F4S raffle, so any prize donations will be greatly welcomed even if you are not able to join us on the day.  We will also be holding a casting accuracy competition, casting distance competition, best 3 fish bag and biggest fish on the day so it’ll be a fun filled fundraising day! 

Our monthly Brick Farm League was once again a good match this month, with the top spot being won by Bob Hussey with a 4 fish bag totalling 13lb 7oz.  Bob thought he was in line for the largest fish of the match too as he had a nice 6lb rainbow, but he was pipped to the post by Peter Winder with a fish of 6lb 5oz, and Peter also was awarded second place this month.  The overall standings are tight, and with 3 matches left this League there is a lot to contend for. 

January 2023

This month has not been too kind in general with yet more freezing temperatures causing some ice across the lakes. This, combined with a lot of stronger winds and some heavy rain, has resulted in the number of anglers being less than normal. Fortunately, those who have been brave enough (or on some days perhaps silly enough) to come out and give it a go have been rewarded with some fantastic fishing. All lakes have been fishing very well with hungry and hard fighting fish. Well, Stag and Spring Lakes have been the more popular lakes to fish due to the clear water that they retain despite the heavy downpours we have had. I believe, this very fact is why the latest Brick Farm League Match had such fantastic results! Brick lake fished incredibly! Due to being frozen in December for 8 days and then again for a few days in January, plus the fact we had such torrential downpours that resulted in the water ‘colouring up’ it has hardly been fished for the last 6 weeks. This must have made the fish relax and enjoy the free roam they had as several nice fish were caught during the match- Danielle Adams had the biggest fish of the day: a 7lb 12oz Rainbow, but the following good sized fish were also caught - a 5lb 6oz rainbow, a 4lb rainbow, a 3lb 6oz rainbow, a 5lb rainbow, a 3lb 2oz rainbow, a 4lb 3oz rainbow, a 4lb 5oz rainbow, a 3lb 6oz rainbow and a 3lb 10oz rainbow! For those of you wondering Danielle did go on to win the match with a bag of 13lb 2oz and Second place went to Len Taylor with a bag of 10lb 12oz. I would like to reiterate that those fish were all caught during the competition which ended at 1pm. 

Other notable catches from the last couple of weeks are as follows- Russ Holbrook had a superb brace of fish from Spring Lake consisting of a 7lb Rainbow and a gorgeous 6lb 6oz Spartic - both fell to his self-tied Damsels. Brian Wood had a lovely 3 fish bag that totalled 10lb including a 4lb 10oz Spartic and Andy Gibbs had a nice 6lb 12oz Rainbow followed by a 5lb 1oz two days later. 

2022 - An overview

2022 proved to be yet another difficult year for running a fly fishery, but it’ll take a lot more than that to dull our passion. 

With the fear of Covid not such a worry because many were by now vaccinated, January 2022 started with warnings to “be aware” - but thankfully with travel restrictions fully eased people were keen to get back the time they’d missed out on so we were excited for the year ahead.  Fishing started well for the year with some fine specimens being caught.  January saw some gorgeous frosty mornings and our 2021/22 League continued well.  The early months saw several ‘Brick Farm Biggies’ caught on a real variety of flies – everything from Cats Whiskers and Damsels to green or yellow fritzy patterns and even buzzers!  Throughout the year we hosted group days and corporate training days including for the Angling Trust and Environment Agency where the Sussex Police Rural Crime Team were trained in angling law, licensing, nets lines and traps and were given a chance to have a go at fly fishing. 

I’m sure we don’t need to remind you that July saw the hottest of hot summers on record – with overheads still very much in place we introduced some summer specials – a 1 fish ticket, and evening sessions.  The 1 fish ticket was particularly well received by anglers who, as much as anything, enjoyed just getting out for a day in the sunny Sussex countryside for a minimal cost.  We hosted our very first Ladies Day in July – again the weather was not in our favour due to the blistering heat but nonetheless, the Ladies who came along had a fantastic day.  Ladies Day is something you can expect to see more of at Brick Farm – it is a sport we have found that women feel outnumbered in, and they are keen to meet other likeminded anglers.  The fact we have the stunning Lodge and an alcohol licence can only be a win! 

The summer heat went on and on and on with temperatures reaching a whopping 40°C.  It was the longest and hottest summer we could have thought possible, yet still we had overheads which were ever on the increase.  As everyone felt the effects of the cost of living crisis something had to give. Often sole hobbies and past times are one of the things to be dropped by people as somehow money has to be found for more important things.  Fuel prices rose beyond belief and as a nation we all faced struggles.  Yes, we were incredibly lucky to have the space and outlook for our office, but the overriding thoughts in our minds were “please give us some rain”.  We even continued the 1 fish ticket into September but eventually we saw some level of normality (whatever normal is these days) regain itself and stocking resumed and fishing custom picked up, sadly in line with rising energy prices but nonetheless we were pleased to see the return of smiling anglers once again. 

Less than 3 months after the tropical heat conditions, mother nature flipped 180° in December and hit us with a big freeze, forcing us once again to take a hit.  We closed the fishery for 8 days due to being so heavily frozen on the lakes.  It was a stunning site to see – the lakes and fields glistened throughout with the untouched snow and indoors the fire was gladly roaring.  We had 3 events cancelled due to the weather and now here we are, back to our great British weather at its finest.  The forecast rain and winds are making for difficult fishing conditions once again, but we are still here and are still open.  Fish are still being caught by the anglers brave (or mad) enough to give it a go and the fish are feeding well. 

We are now discussing plans for 2023 – everything from group pricings to our favoured loyalty scheme so watch this space.  As mentioned above, we’re a positive bunch here at Brick Farm and we will be doing our best for you, our valued customers and friends, and we look forward to seeing you in 2023 – let’s call it the year to fly fish! 

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year with hopes for many a tight line for everyone. 

November 2022

Firstly, apologies for the delay in updating the news feed – as many of you know Phil & Danni have been away and fishing in Thailand.  Between them they landed fish up to 115lb and Phil will gladly show you all the bragging photos if you’re interested next time you visit us. 

Our October’s League was a fantastic, albeit extremely wet day with 23 competitors in attendance.  Ray Burt came first with an impressive 4 fish bag of 14lb 13oz.  Mark Leeves came in second with a healthy 11lb 9oz and in 3rd place was Bob Hussey.  Well done to all who attended – the cumulative scoreboard is very tight throughout and with the removal of the time bonus each match is worth top efforts!  We do have reserve positions each month so if you or someone you know would like to come along to an incredibly friendly, banter-filled and rock cake fuelled competition with the chance of winning monthly prizes from ourselves and our sponsors Snowbee & Geos Coffee House then give us a call.    

We have had 6 inches of much needed rain in the early weeks of November and as you would imagine this has greatly helped with the water levels in all lakes.  Brick and Well Lakes are now full, and Stag and Spring Lakes are not too far away.  As many of you know, we are very lucky here in that the lakes do not colour up hugely as we do not get much run off from the fields so clarity remains very good.   Brick lake is the only lake that takes on colour but this generally clears within a day or two – and a shiny new cat’s whisker still tempts the trout. 

Fishing has been fantastic recently with consistent regular catches.  The fish of the week has to go to Bill Frances who caught a stunning 10lb 12oz Rainbow from Spring Lake.  Uncommon for the double figure fish, it gave a very impressive fight and even took Bill down to the backing.  It slipped out of his net twice so left him panicking that his barbless blue flash damsel was going to lose the fish – thankfully it didn’t and he bounded into the Lodge all smiles showing off his catch (and apparently gave him full bragging rights at the pub that evening too!)  The old favourite Rainbow Warrior fly is proving popular again now that the waters are much cooler, and Daddies are still producing a few fish (although we would expect them to fade out soon).    

Upcoming Events:  Please have a look at the calendar page of our website for upcoming events.  Sunday 20th November sees us hosting a memorial day for the late John Carden.  The fishery will remain open as usual but there will a raffle in the Lodge so bring some cash for some tickets and we’ll take your details if you’re not here at draw-time. 
Sunday 27th November will be the next Brick Farm League match meaning Brick & Spring Lakes will be closed until 1pm. 

League Match 1 – 25 September 2022

We have now held our first League match of the season – 15 of the 20 signed up competitors turned up bright and early for bacon rolls, peg drawer and to hear the revamped rules and everyone went off to their designated starting peg.  With some of the familiar names and faces from last year’s League trying to put each other off the whistle was blown to indicate the start of the match. 

Spring Lake was alive immediately – those lucky enough to draw near the middle of the lake in particular received multiple takes and several fish were landed early on.  John Micklam and Jim Letham in particular were almost racing to their nets, both quickly rewarded with 3 fish.  Jim changed tact to chase a bigger fish to complete his bag whilst John fulfilled his 4 fish limit in the first 45minutes! 

With the time bonus removed from last year it wasn’t over for the other anglers and fish were still being caught across both Spring and Brick Lakes.  4 anglers completely bagged up – congratulations John Micklam, Peter Winder, Dean Baker & Mark Baker, whilst several others finished the competition at 1pm with 3 fish in their bags.  With a rod average during the competition of 2.7 fish we are very pleased – those of you from last year’s League will remember that the first match was difficult being soon after the summer months but the recent rain definitely helped.  We won’t mention the one that got away for Rob Barden – he must be reminded that we don’t allow catch and release!  Whilst weighing in and in the following hour competitors went back out to fulfil their ticket - Brick Lake woke up hugely with some day ticket anglers catching 4 fish in an hour whilst others were hooking in on their first casts on the lake!  All in all a fantastic day’s fishing and a brilliant turn out and atmosphere. 

The rock cakes were once again demolished at the end of the match whilst scores were totted up and John Micklam walked away in first place with a £20 Brick Farm Lakes voucher, a £20 Snowbee voucher & a voucher for the local village coffee house Geo’s.  Peter Winder was pipped to the post by Mark Baker who received a £10 Brick Farm Lakes voucher, a Snowbee Classic dry fly box and a voucher for Geo’s! 

We look forward to October’s match (Sunday 30th), which will be hosted by Mark & Lorraine whilst Phil & Danni are off fishing in Thailand.  Don’t worry – Lorraine has practiced the rock cakes so you’re in safe hands! 

There is the ability to be a reserve on match days and there is a couple of spare spots each month, so give us a call at the Lodge if you’d like to sign up for an any of the upcoming matches. 

September Update

Well I have to admit that it has felt like an endless summer for us here at the fishery. We have had the driest and hottest summer for many years. April showers were non-existent, in fact we had no rain at all in April and have had very little since then too. Couple that with the constant hot weather topping out at a whopping 40°C and we have had a horribly quiet summer on the angler front. The 1 fish ticket went down well for those that have wanted a day out with the chance of catching a trout and some were successful enough to then purchase an additional fish – spending the same amount of money as they would have done on the standard 2 fish ticket.   

I am now very pleased to be able to tell you that the recent rain and longer nights have resulted in the water temperatures falling enough that the fish are becoming more active and feeding again.  We have had a big purge on the Autumn tidying and the lakes and surrounding areas are looking stunning. The strimmer has been in full force on the swims and excess has been raked up; hedges have been cut and endless amounts of weed have been removed from the lakes. The fly cube has been re-stocked ready for the autumn with some interesting new patterns to try as well as plenty of the usual favourites.  

We have also managed to get a delivery of fish in recently and it is clear that the fish have settled in very well so we will be resuming our weekly deliveries going forwards! Over the last few days, anglers have been able to fill their tickets and some have even been adding additional fish too.  Rob Barden had a lesson today (Saturday 10th) with 2 gentlemen who were completely new to the sport - once they had mastered the basics they were both thrilled to catch fish off the top in Spring lake.  

After this incredibly long and hot Summer, we are all very much looking forward to seeing you again.

August

Just a little update to let everyone know how things are going.

Unfortunately, the very hot weather we have been having and basically no rain has warmed the lakes up more than we would normally expect. This has resulted in the fish being lethargic and not feeding too much. We have had a few anglers in over the past week or so with the odd fish still being caught. If anyone is planning to visit we are advising the ‘Summer special one fish’.

Hopefully now the days are getting shorter we will soon see the night time temperatures having an effect on the lakes and cooling things off. A few torrential downpours would be very useful too!!

July 2022

Generally speaking, fly fishing is as you’d expect for this time of year and the conditions. Fish are still being caught but it isn’t as prolific as cooler months. Small buzzers or even dries can be fruitful more so in the mornings or evenings. Don’t forget, we are running a special 1 fish ticket for July & August – for only £20, with additional fish at £12 each.

Yesterday, 17 July, we hosted our first Brick Farm Lakes Ladies Day.  24 people joined us – mostly ladies, but with the odd male guest also here, the day started with tea, coffee, fresh pastries and fruit.  The sun was incredibly strong throughout the day, but with complimentary cold water and scheduled refreshment and shade stops, everyone was well looked after.  Top casting instruction for the complete beginners was given on the grass by Stag Lake before lunch and roaming coaches gave advice to other anglers on the water. After lunch, everyone went back out to put what they had learnt into practice on the water.  8 fish were caught on the day but many were hooked and lost in the fight – honestly, more than we had expected with the weather forecast!  Everyone left with smiles and a breadth of knowledge gained. 

 Our next Ladies Day (plus guests) will be held on Saturday 1 October so if you have ever fancied giving fly fishing a go then this really is the perfect opportunity to learn in a relaxed and friendly environment.  Places are limited so please give us as call at the Lodge on 01323 832615 to sign up – the cost will be £52 per person to include onsite coaching, tea/coffee, breakfast & lunch. 

SPECIAL OFFERS - SUMMER 2022

From 1st July to 31st August we will be offering a 1 fish ticket for only £20.  We think this limited ticket will be a welcome choice for many across the warmer days, and of course the option to purchase Additional Fish at £12 each still stands so 2 fish would not be any more expensive than if you had purchased a 2 fish ticket at the outset.  Don’t forget though, you’re paying for the ability to catch fish, it is not guaranteed.  We will always offer advice and suggestions based on what has been catching well recently but we cannot force the fish to feed!  Last Summer we were fortunate enough to learn that Spring Lake’s depth means the water is still a reasonable temperature for the trout so we will be continuing to stock weekly throughout the warmer weeks this year too! 

From 1st July to 20th August we will be offering an evening special for groups of 5 or more anglers.  Gather a few friends together and with arrival from 4pm onwards, each member of your group will be able to have:

• A 1 fish ticket, BBQ (burger in a bun, hotdog, potato salad & a green salad) plus a Long Man beer (or soft drink) for only £30pp

• A 2 fish ticket, BBQ (as above) plus a Long Man beer (or soft drink) for only £40pp. 

This evening special must be pre-booked and is not available for walk-ins - please call the Lodge on 01323 832615 to book.