WHILST I write this fishing report, the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia are sweeping towards the shores of Llyn Brenig bringing high winds and difficult conditions, writes seasonal ranger JIM JENKINS.

If truth be told, last week saw a lot of windy weather, which caused problems for the fishermen.

However, interspersed with the wind, we had some decent weather with periods of sunshine and some very mild temperatures.

With the stocking of the lake now on hold until the start of the new season in March and with autumn well and truly in full swing, the fishing has tended to slow down.

The feeding habits of the fish will change as the water temperature cools and the availability of food sources decreases.

The metabolic rate of the fish will also begin to change at this time of year and as the water temperature drops, fish will become more lethargic and less active.

This basically all means that you probably won’t catch as many fish.

Pre warned is pre armed, as they say, and it is better to have a realistic expectation of the probability of success before you start fishing.

That, however, isn’t to say that it is a waste of time fishing at this time of year as, very often, some of the best fish are caught over the winter months - it is only that the frequency of catching them may be less.

Take last week for example.

The rod average has dropped down to 2.75 fish per angler, which is the lowest of the season so far, indicating that the theory postulated previously does hold some water.

To further support the theory, despite the lower rod average, we have had some lovely fish caught, with Graham Whitley, from Wrexham, and Cilcain’s Peter Lincoln landing 3lb 8ozs rainbows, the biggest fishes of the week.

John Cooper, from Rhyl, also landed two lovely 3lbs rainbows, proving that there are plenty of great fish still to be caught.

Mark Jones had some excellent fish in his bag of six fish, which was the biggest bag of the week, weighing in at 16lbs.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Mark as he had to wrestle one of his fish out of the formidable jaws of a large pike who had latched on to a trout that he was reeling in.

A titanic battle ensued between man and beast, with Mark eventually coming out the victor.

As the pike slunk back into the depths of the lake, it must have been wondering quite what had happened and pondering on the new found strength of its natural prey.

Talking of pike, we are only two weeks away from pike week, which begins on November 1, when fishermen can pit their wits against these mighty predators of the lake.

Boats are going fast, so it is important that if you want to participate then you contact the visitors’ centre as soon as possible to book a boat.

I would also like to remind all fishermen and visitors that Wales Rally GB will be using the site on a number of days next week.

On October 25, there’s restricted access in the morning, with the alternative entrance in use.

There’s no access from 2.30pm on October 28 and no access all day on October 29.

The top flies last week were viva, muddler, black pennel, black gnat, hoppers, cormorant and various blobs and boobies.

The hot spots have been Hafod Lom, Tower Bay, the visitors’ centre and sailing club bay for both boat and bank fishermen.

Nant Glyn has also fished quite well off the bank.

The main gates will be shutting at 5.30pm this week and all boats need to be back on the jetty by 4.45pm.

Tight Lines