Langport & District Angling Association
Fishing News
River Parrett
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.
Beware the level at 'Westover' which is the river side of the Westover Pumping Station opposite Cocklemoor in Langport. When the river is low, this measuring station shows a smooth horizontal line which suggests the level sensor is not low enough to measure low water levels.
I hope this site is of some use to you.
Combe Lake
Coronavirus Pandemic
Remember the 2-Metre Rule, keep your distance from other anglers and we'll all be safe.
Hand sanitiser is available at both gates for your protection.
The virus can live on metal for up to 72 hours so I spray the padlock and parts of the gates and latches with my disinfectant spray before touching them. A good habit to get into!
Shutting and 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.
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. Email me.
We've noticed members have been propping the gate open recently with bricks while they drive in or out.
For the last few years, there has been a wire loop fixed to the fence which hooks over the top rail of the gate to hold it back. The wire loop can be bent tighter around the rail of the gate if required.
You'll find this is more reliable than propping the gate open with bricks. I've now taped the wire loop to make it more visible.
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.
Thursday 8th April
I fished at Combe Lake today. For a change, I fished a swim on the east side of the 'Island' (that's the bit that sticks out into the lake!). A bit on the jungly side, it can produce a nice bag of roach.
The weather had warmed up, it was cloudy but sunny for an hour at midday. Water temperature was almost 11°C, a few degrees cooler than last week.
I started off by raking the swim but there's very little weed growth yet.
I fished a very light canal dart waggler float with a match rod and centrepin reel; I was only fishing a distance of a couple of rodlengths. I didn't have any maggot so I fished bread punch and liquidised bread with some hemp mixed in.
I started at dead depth but with no response after three-quarters of an hour, I set the hook at three inches off the bottom and that's where I got bites.
I think either the water was too cold or there weren't many fish in the swim as, in a four and a half hour session, I only had six bites which resulted in four small fish. I did try a piece of worm for the last half hour but with no success. Still, it was good just to chill out in nice surroundings!
Thursday 15th April
Fran and I fished the east arm of the lake. Fran fished the peg by the large lily bed and I fished the peg next to him.
After the frost the night before, we started later in the morning hoping the water would be warming up slightly. The initial water temperature was 11.5°C which rose to 12°C by the end of the session. The water is still very clear; the fish are obviously not very active yet, probably due to the low water temperature. Even though the sunshine was heating the water, the cold north-easterly breeze down the lake was largely negating its effect.
Fran fished a whip and canal dart waggler rig over towards the lily bed. He fed an occasional ball of groundbait and loosefed hemp with double maggot on the hook.
He steadily caught roach, rudd and perch for a total weight of 3lb.
I fished a match rod and centrepin reel with a canal dart float rig. As the water was clear, I fished punched bread and occasionally loosefed a walnut of liquidised bread laced with hemp but didn't get any bites. A small piece of worm caught two small roach before it went quiet again. A change to double white maggot resulted in a late run of bites.
I eventually caught a few small roach, rudd and a perch for a total of 5oz.
I used the smallest maggots in the bait box so maybe next time I'll fish with some pinkies instead!
Friday 23rd April
Fran and I fished the eastern side of the lake, Fran next to the large lily bed again and I fished the peg before his.
It was a bright, sunny, warm day. The water temperature started at 14.7°C and was 15.6°C by the end of the session. There was a nice breeze blowing from the east.
Fran fished a whip with a waggler rig. He fished single maggot over groundbait and loosefed hemp and maggots.
He started fishing close to the lily bed but found open water in front of him was more productive.
He caught small roach, rudd, skimmers and perch for a total of 3lb.
I fished a match rod and centrepin with a light canal dart waggler rig to a small lily bed in the margins to my left. I fished double pinkie over groundbait and loosefed pinkies.
Bites were slow and I caught small roach and rudd for a total of 6oz.
Friday 30th April
Fran and I fished the east arm of Combe Lake. I fished by the large lily bed and Fran fished the next peg.
The weather was sunny and warm in the morning and overcast and showery in the afternoon. Water temperature was 14.5°C to 15.5°C.
Fran fished an elasticated whip and waggler float rig. He fished maggot on the hook over groundbait and loosefed hemp and maggot.
He caught roach, rudd, perch and this nice 2-3lb tench for a total of 5lb 12oz.
I fished a match rod, centrepin reel and a canal dart waggler float rig. I fished pinkies on the hook over groundbait and loosefed pinkies.
I caught roach, rudd and perch for a total of 1lb 9oz.
Friday 7th May
Fran and I fished the south-east corner of Combe Lake today.
It was sunny to start with but clouded up from lunchtime onwards. A light cold breeze dropped to flat calm in the afternoon. Water temperature was 14°C. The water at our end of the lake was still very clear; at the other end, the water was a bit more coloured.
Fran fished a whip with a light waggler rig. He fished maggot over groundbait and loosefed hemp and maggot.
He caught roach, rudd and perch for a total of 2lb 10oz.
I fished for tench with a cage feeder filled with micropellet and worm or sweetcorn on the hook but didn't get any bites!
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