May Newsletter

Dear Game Section members,

May 2026 will long be remembered as a truly extraordinary month. On 25 May, Kew Gardens provisionally recorded 34.8°C — the hottest May day in UK history, exceeding the previous record by a full two degrees Celsius.

Rawlsbury stocking

The following day the record was broken again, with Kew Gardens reaching 35.1°C and Cardiff Bute Park 32.9°C. In fact the heat had been exceptional from the very start of the month, with a record set on 1st May when temperatures hit 29.3°C at Kew Gardens — the hottest start to any May on record. For our fishing, the sustained warmth and bright sunshine has at times brought fish to the surface, with good hatches of Damsel flies, sedge and Hawthorn flies but the problem of increasing lake temperatures persists.

Why Has the Trout Fishing Been So Difficult Recently?

Many members have commented on the challenging trout fishing experienced over recent weeks. One of the main reasons is the unusually high water temperatures.

Trout are cold-water fish and thrive in cool, well-oxygenated water. As water temperatures rise, the amount of dissolved oxygen that the water can hold decreases. At the same time, the trout's metabolism increases, meaning the fish actually require more oxygen to remain active and healthy.

This creates a difficult situation for the trout: they need more oxygen just when less is available.

When water becomes too warm, trout often respond by moving into deeper, cooler areas or seeking out shaded parts of the fishery. They become less active and feed less frequently in an effort to conserve energy. This can make them much harder to locate and catch.

Members may notice that the best sport is often found early in the morning or later in the evening when water temperatures are lower and oxygen levels are higher. During the warmest parts of the day, trout are generally less willing to chase flies or take lures.

High temperatures can also affect the welfare of fish that are caught and released. Recovery times are longer because stressed fish have less oxygen available to help them recover from the exertion of being played and landed.

In simple terms, warm water reduces the amount of oxygen available to trout while increasing their need for it. This combination places the fish under stress and is a major reason why trout fishing often becomes more difficult during prolonged periods of hot weather.

As anglers, we can help by handling fish carefully, returning them quickly where appropriate, and fishing during the cooler parts of the day whenever possible.

WZ Closure - Charity Day - Saturday 6th June.

I am closing the lake for one day in for the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (JTYAF). It was established in 2008 to honour the memory of Lieutenant John Thornton who lost his life while serving with the 40 Commando Royal Marines in Afghanistan. I am happy to say this is now becoming an annual event organised by Paul Hooker.

As always I include some of your reports they do show that despite conditions it’s been fun!

• Lovely day - not much wind. A lot of fish cruising about. I hoped I had given them time to naturalise since stocking. Put on a shrimp, since that had been successful last time nothing was rising. Saw a good fish come past, and it wasn’t that long before it came round again – it took the shrimp and fought tremendously. Three big jumps and all over the place. But, in the end the hook came out so he is there for next time! After that they seemed to ignore the shrimp, so I put on a small (14) Diawl Bach variant which has a bit of glitter. That they did like – a fish came in and grabbed it from a totally unexpected direction. Must have been a recent stocking because it contained nothing. Then it wasn’t long before a better than average fish came by, and that took the Diawl Bach too. That contained the usual collection of hoglouse and snails but no buzzers. 4½ lb and 2 lb. Lovely couple of hours. – WZ, 1st May.

• I owe you a catch return for an evening’s fishing at Rawlsbury. I took my grandson and granddaughter to see if they could catch a fish, on a rather blustery evening. Each had a fish on but lost them, one in Chapmans and one in Cowleaze. I had one of 3lb in Cowleaze. Weather cold and windy. Fly black Apache. – Rawlsbury.

• Yes went Friday morning, took a guest. Apologies for late return, lot going on at the weekend. Chapmans was a challenge which made it interesting. Lovely conditions, tried a few different flies, eventually caught a couple around 3lb, one with a Montana variant and the other a Buzzer, both slow retrieve in margins. Didn’t see a lot of activity in general. Guest caught one from Cowleaze using blue flash damsel. Didn’t have time to try Viners unfortunately, hoping to use the lakes a bit more over the next few weeks including the after 4pm special! – Rawlsbury, 1st May.

• 2 fish, both on a very small red buzzer. 3 lb and 2½ lb. Standard contents, but unusually all very small. Tiny. Quite a few fish in there, but mostly concentrated under the algal rafts along the downwind margin. – WZ, 5th May.

• Really hard work. The forecast said a gentle breeze from the west. I got half a gale from the north! Nothing much doing and very difficult. Eventually got one on a damsel – nice fish (3½ lb) and given the cold surface of the lake, about as good as it got. Contained nothing except one small spiral snail. – WZ, 12th May.

• Catch return for Rawlsbury 15th May. I had two fish, one of 4lb from Chapmans and the other 3lb from Cowleaze, both on a red Diawl Bach fished with a floating line with an intermediate tip. As always a lovely evening’s fishing, but rather unseasonably cold, in the company of a family of geese. Water surprisingly clear with a lot of tugs and pulls to keep one interested. – Rawlsbury, 15th May.

• I fished for about an hour and a half down Rawlsbury today on an evening ticket. I saw there were a few others fishing Chapmans so I headed off to fish Cowleaze with a small black and green nymph with no success, so I headed off to Sandy’s and Viners with a change of tactics but still didn’t manage to catch anything despite my efforts. I went back down to Cowleaze with a size 12 Cormorant fly and managed to stalk one close in; it gave me a good run around and tried to snag me up in the weeds multiple times, but after a good battle I managed to land it. It was an amazing evening for it and plenty of fish cruising around just under the surface, as well as an abundance of flies hatching. – Rawlsbury, 22nd May.

• I fished today to no avail despite trying different tactics. No fish showing apart from the occasional rise and only managed three tugs. However I was surprised just how warm the water is and this might account for the lack of interest and my incompetence. Only fished Chapmans. Amazed by the amount of fly life and weed considering the extent of the excavation. Rawlsbury, May 29th.

As always, please do keep sending in your catch returns with as much detail as you like – it makes the newsletter so much more interesting when your experiences are shared amongst us. Members are reminded to carry water, apply sunscreen, and pace themselves on the bankside.

Tight Lines,

Paul.