Directions: Take the A591 Crooklands to Keswick Road from the M6 motorway and after about 16 miles you arrive at Windermere and follow the signs to Bowness and you reach the lake. Access can be gained at various places with public access such as Cockshott Point (near the Glebe in Bowness). Access is available at National Trust and South Lakeland District Council owned land. On the west side access is much more restricted as much is private property so a boat is a big bonus as you can fish the entire lake unhindered.

The lake is 10.5 miles long by about 1 mile wide so a very useful publication to obtain is a lake chart available from the Lake Wardens at Ferry Nab. This gives all the lakes depth contours, shallow shoals, bays etc and is a must to enable you to find fishy areas.

Most anglers start off  Trout fishing in March by ‘top lining’ which is trolling a plug, usually a Rapala

Fly fishing can take off in April and is improving as insect life is coming back after vast improvements to control sewerage pollution and nitrates. Good hatches of buzzer are again occurring and often plenty of olives. The lake also gets a genuine Mayfly hatch.

Most fly fishing is sub surface with nymphs, buzzers and tradition wet flies and early morning or evening is the best time with the fly. It usually slows down after June until September and fly fishing is rarely easy but fish are taken each year to 3 or 4lb.