WHEN Bob Dylan once wrote "a change in the weather is known to be extreme, but what's the sense of changing horses in mid-stream?" little did he know how prophetic he was being, writes seasonal ranger JIM JENKINS.

We have been experiencing very extreme weather conditions, not only here at Llyn Brenig, but throughout the world.

The impact of the weather is proving to be very significant, not only in fishing but also in a number of other sports such as cricket and golf.

This impact will be felt more and more in the future.

Therefore, we have to ‘change horses in mid-stream’ as we have to change our thinking and the way we respond to these changes, which unfortunately are inevitable unless some major concerns are addressed immediately on a worldwide basis.

Here at Llyn Brenig we have had an extremely dry June and July, which did have a massive impact on the fishing, particularly from the bank.

The last few weeks have seen much cooler conditions, especially over the last week with some very heavy bursts of rain on occasions.

These conditions have been beneficial to the fishing, although this last week didn’t prove as prolific as the previous week, which did prove to be exceptional.

The rod average of 3.9 fish per angler is a little surprising, considering the favorable conditions for fishing, as I would have expected it to be higher.

There were, as ever, some great success stories from the week, with Idris Owen from Blaenau Ffestiniog landing six fish from the bank, and G Kennedy, from the Wirral, caught seven fish from the visitors' centre bank, including a lovely 3lbs rainbow.

The boat fishermen also had some very good catch returns.

Jim and Ian Walker caught 10 fish to the boat and Tony Newall, from Northwich, who incidentally is the winner of this month’s free boat catch return draw, caught seven fish using an intermediate line with a cormorant and also fishing with a dry fly.

The biggest bag of the week was claimed by M Swift, from Rhuddlan, who caught six fish from the bank using buzzers for a total weight of 13lbs 2ozs.

The biggest fish of the week out of competition fishing was shared by Ian Macdonald, from Wirral Game Fishing Club, and clubmate Mr Burton, who both caught a 4lbs rainbow.

The big event of the week was the Anglian Water Airflo international heat, with the top three teams going through to the next round.

The day started off with heavy rain which turned into a deluge by lunchtime.

However, by the time the boats were due back, the sun had come out and incy wincy spider climbed the spout again!

The rod average for the day was 5.9 fish per angler and there were some excellent fish caught, with Merion Jones winning the best fish award after catching a lovely 4lbs 2ozs rainbow.

The competition was won by Welsh Hawks A, whilst in second place were FNF Nymphomaniacs and third place went to Y Gwyniad.

The individual award for the top rod was won by Russell Owen, who caught 16 fish for a total weight of 32lbs 2ozs (four fish kill).

The fish seemed to be all over the lake for much of the week.

On Sunday’s competition day, the boats were lined up all along Hafod Lom and the coves as if laying siege.

There were also fish along Nant Glyn shore and the ring of stones.

Earlier in the week, Tower Bay and along the dam wall saw plenty of activity.

Bank fishermen also had success along Hafod Lom and the north end of the lake, including the ring of stones and Nant Glyn shore.

The bank along the visitors' centre shore also fished well.

The top flies last week were buzzers, cormorant, damsel, sedge, hopper, nymphs and various blobs and boobies.

The water level of the lake will continue to drop over the next few weeks due to future work being done on the tower, so it is important for both bank and boat fishermen to be aware of the dangers posed by this.

The main gates will be shutting at 8.15pm this week and all boats need to be back on the jetty by 7.45pm.

Tight Lines