Start with Wet Fly (10-12) on a figure-of-eight with occasional strip. Evening can produce explosive surface takes — try a foam beetle or booby on a long leader. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. When no hatch is visible, a buzzer team — black stripped quill on the point, attractor or pearl-rib on the top dropper — is the default starting point on any UK stillwater.

A fry-imitating pattern stripped through the margins can save a blank in autumn.

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.