WELL, here we are again at Llyn Brenig with a brand new fishing season stretching out before us, writes seasonal ranger JIM JENKINS.

It will be sure to bring with it those endless possibilities and unknowns, as well as that familiar and comfortable feeling of reuniting with an old friend.

Some will have been fishing throughout the winter, but many fishermen will be coming back for the first time since the end of last season.

The fishing rods will have been retrieved from their winter hiding places, the fly boxes will be full after spending those winter nights tying flies, season tickets will have been bought and waders waterproofed.

Expectations will be high as the fishermen look forward to some warmer weather and some great fishing ahead.

With the weather leading up to opening day more akin to Siberia, it was looking a bit bleak for opening day.

However, the snow drifts were cleared, the boats were put back on the water and all was set fair for the grand opening.

Weather conditions did improve, with some milder, wetter weather coming in from the west and the fishermen who came weren’t disappointed by the quality of the fishing.

The fish were certainly enthusiastic participants on the day, with a number of fishermen catching significant numbers of fish.

Not only were some really nice recently-stocked fish caught, but also some fine over-wintered fish.

Micky Ireland, from Broughton, certainly came up trumps as he recorded the biggest fish of the day, a mammoth 8lbs 8ozs rainbow.

Tom Sinton also caught a fine 4lbs 4ozs over-wintered rainbow whilst fishing in Tower Bay. Not only was the quality of the fish good, but also the quantity with a fantastic rod average of 6.25 fish per angler (including fish returned).

Stuart Pickard and Chris Bradshaw had a fantastic day on the Sunday, recording 25 fish to the boat.

Bank fishermen also did particularly well, with a number of anglers catching a large number of fish.

James Johnson, for example, caught a total of 13 fish whilst fishing from the bank, which included a 5lbs 8ozs rainbow.

The fish seemed to be lying quite close into the bank, which is common at this time of the year as the fish seek out natural food sources.

The biggest bag of the week was recorded by Tony Newall and it weighed in at 12lbs 8oz.

Meanwhile, the top flies last week were black tadpole, black zonker, gold head damsel, cat’s whiskers and orange booby.

The hot spots have been tower bay, the visitors' centre, water sports bay and sailing club bay for both boat and bank anglers.

It was uplifting to see members of the Welsh youth team fishing at Llyn Brenig on Sunday.

They were getting some early practice in for their trip to Draycote for the full international at the end of July and it was great to see these youngsters participating with such enthusiasm and enjoyment.

Since the last fishing report in November, we have had two new seasonal rangers appointed.

Dave Tudor and Llion Davies have already proved themselves to be enthusiastic and competent additions to the team.

Unfortunately, head ranger Rob Wix has left the post and we thank him for his hard work and contribution to the development of Llyn Brenig.

There are a few physical changes to the lake this year, with the trees in Hafod Lom having been cut.

This has changed the dynamics of the lake somewhat, but it is remarkable how quickly we get used to change.

The level of the lake will also be dropped this year due to work being undertaken on the tower and dam.

More details about this will be given as the information becomes available.

The main gates will be shutting at 5.15pm this week and all boats need to be back on the jetty by 4.45pm.

Tight lines