As stillwaters go, you tend to either have the large reservoirs like Rutland and Leven, or the smaller venues such as Shimano Felindre or Dever. But there are also a minority of waters that fall into a category you could call midwater fisheries. In terms of definable size, I'd say these are between 50 and 100 acres.
The great thing about these midwater fisheries is that they are big enough to feel like a real challenge yet not so big as to become daunting or frightening.
They are indeed ideal waters for the angler wanting to learn basic large water fishing techniques - the perfect bridge between large and small venues. Of course, they also provide some excellent fishing for the more experienced angler too.
One of my favourites is Patshull Park in Staffordshire. It is hard to believe that Patshull is a man-made lake. The great old Oaks that surround this Capability Brown designed water could, I'm sure, tell a story or two - as indeed can Patshull's fishery manager, Dave Tooth!

Most anglers choose to fish from one of Patshull's 40 punts. The difference between these punts and a normal boat is that they are flat bottomed and of a square construction. They accommodate two angers comfortably and will drift well of their own accord - with or without a drogue.
But anchoring is the preferred method and the Patshull punts come complete with enough rope to reach the bottom in even the deepest trough found in he lake.
You may wonder why there is a need to have two anchors on a boat, but by dropping one each end of the punt you stop the annoying swing that inevitably occurs when the boat is fixed at the centre by one anchor only. Controlling the line when the boat is pivoting is very difficult. In effect, the boat is merely used as a fishing platform.

I have fished Patshull on occasions for the last five years and so have a fair idea where the fish tend to hold. Fish location seems to be the most important aspect of fishing Patshull and if you read the banks and their elevation, you should find fish.
The Patshull trout are suckers for holding tight into the shore - especially if overhanging and/or submerged branches or reeds can be seen at the water's edge.
I won't go as far as to say there are no fish in he middle, there are bound to be, but the preferred tactic on Patshull involves anchoring a boat parallel to the shore and then casting one's flies as close as possible to the bankside.
Although bank fishing is allowed on Patshull, it is restricted to the area known as Lodge Bay. Here the bank angler can fish from a number of large platforms that conveniently protrude well into the lake to keep the backcast from being grabbed by tree branches.

On the day I visited, one of the many competitions Patshull host was taking place. I watched rods bending into fish and before I headed out, a couple of competitors were already tipping a fourth fish into their bass bags. Impressive stuff!
This was proof that once one trout is caught from Patshull's Great Lake, another is likely to follow soon after, providing that is, you are willing to ring the changes as the fish grow wary of a particular method.
To overcome this problem I always carry a range of Tadpoles in various colours. Black and green, white and green and orange are my favourites, but I also carry pink, yellow and olive versions should the fish prove that extra bit tricky.

Usually, when I fish Patshull with my regular boat partner, he will start on a full clear intermediate line or a Hi-D, while I fish a Wet Cel 2 shooting head. These two outfits will not only fish at different levels, but also on a different arc of retrieve. I'll explain why.
When fishing a sinking shooting head the heavier portion will obviously pull the thinner running line down in a straight line. Obviously the head will sink the deepest and the running line remains under tension between it and the rod tip. When retrieved, naturally the head follows the same line as the running section - upwards at a shallow angle to the surface.
A full line (if not density compensated) however, will sink throughout the whole length. Since the full line sinks and not just the tip (as with the shooting head) the flies will rise upwards at a much steeper angle to the rod tip.
The two approaches are very different. If the fish decide they prefer one plane of retrieve to the other, it is important that you fish the correct line.
Lines, such as the whole Airflo range or the density compensated Scientific Anglers models, will behave in similar vein to the shooting head since the tip of density compensated lines sink faster than the belly and running lines. I normally begin with my Wet Cel 2 shooting head - a line that sinks at 16 seconds per metre. This particular line - like the Di-3 equivalent - is so versatile that it can be fished shallow if retrieved the moment it touches the water. The shooting head also allows me to achieve greater casting distances. Although it can be argued that extra distance is unnecessary, it is something I nearly always strive for to give me an extra edge. The exception to this is traditional loch style fishing.

On the business end I put 15 feet of 6lb fluorocarbon and a Black and Green Tadpole. I'm not one to go travelling to the other side of the lake just for the sake of it so, armed with my Wet 2 shooting head, I dropped both anchors quietly in Lodge Bay - barely 50 yards from the lodge itself.
Steve Gale - a friend of mine from Pontypridd, who was anchored 50 yards to my left, hooked into a fish first cast from a location vacated moments earlier by a couple of competition anglers, who incidentally had quite a few fish in their bags. Why move then when fish have been located?
Around the fifth cast, the loop of line that hangs under the rod tip and acts as an indicator, lifted. Fish number one kicked and jumped at the other end. In a flurry of spray and foam the fish, a bright clean specimen of around a pound and a half took to the air and spat the Black and Green Tadpole out. Never mind, I was sure more would follow!
Sure enough, a succession of fish took in a short time with Steve also taking fish further down the bank. It was clear the trout were travelling back and forth along the contours of the bank. As we cast our flies as near as possible to the bank side vegetation and pulled them back, we were intercepting the shoal. However, as quickly as the fish latched onto our flies - they were off them again. A change to a white version of my Tadpole did the trick and the takes came thick and fast.

What soon became apparent was the way in which the fish took a preference to the shooting head approach, as opposed to the full line attack. Most of my fish were caught on what I call the horizontal hang.
This method involves retrieving the line with a mixture of figure of eights (both fast and slow), twitches and pulls. You may have heard this referred to as a FTA retrieve. I keep going with the FTA until the head enters the tip ring and then I speed up, finally stopping once the start of the head hits the index finger on my rod hand. I hold the line like this for around 10 seconds, and most of my fish hit during this period. I assume they have been following the fly up through the retrieve and when I stop they suddenly find themselves catching up with it and snap at it as it hangs in front of them. Incidentally, I keep watching the line at the tip ring as well as feeling for takes.

On some occasions I have fished a full sinking line, catching most, if not all of my trout after the 20 foot marker I have whipped to my sinking lines comes through the top ring of the rod. The line will be more or less vertical in the water at this point.
All I do is pull the line back faster and more aggressively once the marker hits the tip ring and then stops abruptly when the marker hits my right index finger.
Takes at this time are usually confident affairs with the fish pulling the tip of the rod into the water as they turn down with the fly. Most fish will be hooked either in the scissors or the top lip. It's all down to the angle of the hang really. When fishing a shooting head, this angle is much shallower than when fishing a full sinking line.
Remember, if a full line is travelling vertically up to the boat, the fly, when hung is also vertical. It will also remain static. On the other hand, with the shooting head travelling up to the boat at a shallower angle, when hung, the line and fly will sink horizontally. It may seem a subtle difference, but the variation in approach can mean success or failure.