Some of those small trout waters fell by the wayside and closed down. Others changed tack and became coarse fisheries - some of the finest big-carp waters around had been trout pools at some stage.

Keith Arthur
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Look outside on most days at this time of year and it can be a major decision whether to go fishing or not.

Well, I have just been reminded of the answer. Chalk Springs Trout Fishery in Arundel, West Sussex, invited me down for their annual Brass Monkey's Tournament and you can see the results in a few weeks on Tight Lines.

I won't spoil things for you now but as an inspiration to take part in "the best excuse for loafing in the countryside". The very name conjures images of freezing conditions, clear, cobalt-blue skies and cat-ice in the margins but when my alarm jingled at 5.37am - I have embraced the digital revolution, my world no longer revolves around 5's and 10's - the wind was howling and the rain was battering my window.

Once in the car the built-in ambient temperature gauge, aka thermometer, indicated an outside temperature of 13degrees, way above the seasonal average. I didn't need a wind or wet measurement; there was WAY too much of both!

The journey down through leafy Surrey into even leafier West Sussex was easy, even allowing for the odd small branch and bin-bag in the middle of the road. Luckily Chalk Springs is in a fairly deep valley and protected from most of the wind, except it was blowing from the west and rebounding from the eastern side of the valley, making casting a masterpiece of judgement - or sheer luck.

If I'd been coarse fishing it would have been a choice of leger or leger; float fishing would have been an extremely difficult chore and as for the pole, well, only rich men or fools would have got one out of the rod holdall. But fly fishing was actually possible, indeed in the prevailing conditions it was possibly the best option much of the time.

There were occasions when a particularly robust gust made standing upright difficult; we were even treated to one mini-tornado which lifted a VERY small waterspout and tripped it across the lake. But the trout took all manner of flies and lures... and that's the thing.

Carp puddles

Many people are quite critical of modern 'commercial fisheries' giving them labels such as 'carp puddles' or 'holes-in-the-ground'. Well, 30 years ago much the same thing was being said of small trout waters which had sprung up in the wake of the boom-time for fly fishing for trout generated by the opening on Grafham Water and 'Empingham Reservoir', soon to become better known as Rutland Water.

Some of those small trout waters fell by the wayside and closed down. Others changed tack and became coarse fisheries - some of the finest big-carp waters around had been trout pools at some stage, even the odd 'commercial' (Gold Valley was once Springlakes Trout Fishery and actually stocked land-locked salmon!).

Those that remained are now jewels of the English, and Welsh, countryside, havens for wildlife as well as short-term homes for some magnificent examples of prime brown, as well as rainbow, trout.

Chalk Springs with just five acres of water spread over four lakes, interestingly named: 'North, West, East and (go on, you've guessed haven't you?) South, has five pairs of Little Grebes nesting there each year, usually producing two broods of grebelings. The adult's distinctive 'woodawoodawooda' call reverberates around the fishery.

Two pairs of buzzards are regular visitors, circling over the lakes, mewing away and Darren Smith, fishery manager and fellow Gooner, told me that a pair of deer were drinking from East Lake a couple of weeks ago. I recall a few years back when a shrew decided it wanted to live in my landing net, or at least have a chew on it, whilst it was still in its dry state.

The banks are smothered with daffodils and primroses in Spring as well as other wild flowers with mature shrubs and trees decorating the walls in summer. Beware though because some of the branches are well-known fly thieves.

Havens

Many other small trout fisheries are similar havens. Water voles would be in a far more parlous state if there were well-managed fisheries around, where predatory mink are actively deterred, because it is the release into the wild of farmed mink that has created that shortage.

The main attraction though is without doubt the fish. Trout in these fisheries are as different from the sad examples laying on the fishmonger's slab as chalk from cheese. Rainbows are full of fin and brilliant silver fish with deep magenta patches on the gill covers and along the lateral line. The browns are beautiful creatures; the bigger fish, often bigger than 10lbs each, have massive tails, humped backs and golden bellies with red and black spots as bright as if painted by Picasso.

So, when the river's making its way to your door, or the coarse fish have simply shut up shop because they are feeling the cold, remember the small trout waters WILL be stocked with fish and although any brownies will have to be returned as out-of-season, the rainbows will be fighting fit triploids rather than the out-of-condition hen fish stocked in the dim and distant past.

For a reasonable sum of money, certainly comparable to a day ticket at a premium coarse fishery plus the cost of bait, you will almost certainly have at least one decent dinner and, maybe, a fish big enough (I reckon 5lb and over) to go to a smoke house. Cold-smoked trout, in my opinion, leaves salmon for dead, a more subtle taste and less fibrous in texture. There are a few smokers that will produce you either sides or packs of sliced fish that will remind you of the day's fishing.

If you do go the smoked-trout route, then here's something to try with the off-cuts or overs. I guarantee this is the very best pate you will EVER taste:

Blitz 100gm of cold smoked trout in a blender then add 100gm of Philadelphia Cheese and whiz again. Grind a decent pinch of black pepper in, then a tablespoon of HOT horseradish sauce or two tsps of ground fresh horseradish. Spread generously on wholemeal bread, squeeze a bit of lime on it and munch.

Keith answers your questions...

Email Keith Arthur hereDear Keith, can you please tell me the best way or rig on how not to deep hook pike on dead baiting? Thanks, Dave
KEITH SAYS: Dave, if you use a standard two-treble trace, make sure one hook is in the wrist of the tail and the other an inch or so down from the head, or thick end of the bait if using sections. Pike will always swallow a bait head (or thick end) first because fins and scales could choke the fish if swallowing from the tail end. Once you identify the bite, pick up the rod and slowly tighten until you feel the weight of the fish, then set the hooks with a firm strike; not hard but firm. If the fish swallows the bait and you can't see them, gently pull on the trace. This will literally pull the pike's stomach through the gullet, exposing the hooks which can then be removed. This is far more likely to result in a living fish than cutting the trace. I wish I had more time to play around with circle hooks, which I use very successfully for big predators in sea fishing. A single 4/0 - 6/0 circle in the head of the bait will hook in the pike's jaw every time - as long as the fish is facing away from the rod when the hook is set. The one thing that you must NEVER do when using circles is to strike; if you do you will fail 90 per cent of the time to get a hook-up. Simply point the rod at the fish and slowly wind until the fish is on. Trust me, it works!

Hi Keith, could you recommend a last-minute/budget-style winter fishing holiday? Me and a mate are looking to get away for about seven days, somewhere warm(ish) for in the region of £300 a pop. Any ideas? Thanks, Jason, Corby
KEITH SAYS: You could try Ebro Valley Angling. They charge £250 pw at this time of year for carp fishing. The nights can be cold - and you could be unlucky and have chilly days, but you would be very unlucky! Ryanair fly to Reus and you can often find a real bargain.

Check it out here:

http://www.ebrovalleyangling.com/

If you want to try something slightly more off-the-beaten-track, try Craig at:

http://www.extremafishingspain.com/

The days will be warmer and the fishing more trying sometimes, but the scenery and variation in types of fishing - there are plenty of pike and black bass as well as carp and five different species of barbel - is absolutely brilliant. I've been to both and both are wonderful places. If I wanted to catch plenty of fish, then I'd probably go for the Ebro but for a stunning trip with a few decent fish thrown in, and the chance of a proper whacker, then it would be Extremadura for me every time. The tapas is better too; beer's the same. Haha!