River levels
The Fishing Info website appears to have been taken down by the Angling Trust and replaced with something inferior.
I've since found a very good alternative called riverlevels.uk.
The list of Somerset river level monitoring stations can be found with the following link:-
https://riverlevels.uk/levels/somerset#.X9NUk-a2Jpg
I find the 'Monks Lease Wq' at Combe and the 'Oath' at Oath Lock locations give meaningful levels for the river. Scrolling down a page with show a chart of the variation in river level for the past week.
I hope this site is of some use to you.
River Cams
The river cam at the head of the River Sowey at Combe is also very useful to see the level of the River Parrett and if its flooding over the Aller Moor spillway into the Sowey.
The cam at Beasley's Spillway which I think is further downstream also shows the River Parrett level.
The link for the cams is:-
Monks Leaze and the Parrett Spillways (eawessexnorthwebcams.org.uk)
Monday 16th June
New season!
Fished an evening session fifty yards upstream of the footbridge at Oath.
It was warm and sunny with a good upstream breeze.
Surprisingly, the river was stationary; there was no flow!
I fished a 6 metre whip with a pencil float, 2lb fluorocarbon hooklength and a size 18 hook.
Because it was warm, I started fishing up in the water and gradually fished deeper to try and find the roach but I couldn't get any deeper than four feet without catching on the weed.
With double red maggot on the hook over loosefed maggot and hemp, I caught bleak and chublets for a total of 1lb 4oz.
The vegetation along the bank at Oath makes it difficult to find a swim to fish. There are also reeds growing in the margins along the bank.
It would be wise to use a long-handled hook (aka a slasher!) for clearing the vegetation and a weed knife on a landing net handle for clearing some of the reeds. This will then open up a swim for you.
Combe Lake
KEEPNETS
During extremely hot weather spells resulting in low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, please leave your keepnet at home and just carefully return the fish to the water as soon as you've unhooked them.
SHUTTING & LOCKING
Please make sure you shut the gate securely in the otter fence when entering and leaving the lake.
We are finding, all to often, that the main gate is being left unlocked.
When you leave by the main gate, please make sure the padlock is correctly attached and locked securely. Scramble all the numbers on the lock.
Protect the lake, and your fishing, by ensuring that the gate is securely locked.
CLUB RULES
You are not allowed to fish with boilies at Combe Lake. Please read the Special Rules For Combe Lake in the Season Ticket and make sure you comply with all of them. If you're found breaking any of the rules, you will be asked to leave. The rules are there to protect the fish and the lake.
LITTER
A lot of litter in the form of tins, bottles and cans was found when the undergrowth was cleared during the winter maintenance.
Don't throw litter into the undergrowth; it will be found! Put any litter back in your bag and take it home with you for disposal. It keeps the lake clean and tidy.
EMAIL ME
If you are fishing Combe Lake, why not let me know what you caught; photos of your catch would also be appreciated. We'd love to know how it's fishing for our members.
WEED
I know some members aren't happy about the weed in our lake. However, the weed is very beneficial to our fish and the waterfowl. It contains lots of food in the form of invertebrates. It provides shelter and protection for our fish. It also helps to keep the algae levels down and improve water quality.
Most of our fishing can be done in front of the platforms so we only need to clear the weed from where we want to fish. This is easily achieved by spending a few minutes raking before we tackle up. This gives a short period for the swim to settle before fishing. Raking also stirs up the silt which attracts the fish into the swim.
A simple weed rake (as shown above) can be made by joining two garden rake heads back to back and securing with cable ties. A length of strong nylon rope can be securely attached.