LDO Spinners??????

As I am on call this weekend just went over the road at 1900 and there were loads of black gnats, a few smallish olives and some sedge about. Started with my trusty grey olive parachute as I find this a good general pattern when there is nothing much rising as there was tonight! The temperature had dropped a bit so maybe that had caused it. Covered a small rise and immediately hooked up with a decent rainbow which acted more like a sea trout, it must have jumped clean out of the water 10 times! Spotted some spinners in the lower pool and managed to trap 1, photos here. I think it is a LDO spinner according to some hatch charts I have.  The top of the body is a reddish brown and the underneath a pale olive with clear wings. What do you think?

Any way got paged after an hour so had to curtail my session.

Taken to the Cleaners and a bit of Father/Son Bonding

Friday Evening
Went over the road Friday evening at about 1930 as it had been a good day weather wise. There were several fish rising but again to the pain that is called greenfly! There were a few black gnats around with the odd sedge and olive. No matter what I did I could not get the little blighters to take, it's then that you start to think things like micro drag or fish stubbornly moving to your fly due the mass of naturals available. Needless to say I banked 1 brown and 1 rainbow. Sometimes when you are getting a bit cocky a difficult evening brings you down to earth. Trapped this olive, think it may be an olive upright?

Any clues?

Saturday

My son Adam decided he would like a day fishing with me, he did not come last season due to other interests! Anyway we decided to get out about 1230 and it was very hot so we headed down to below the works around the deer boom area as its usually a bit sheltered under the trees and fish can be found feeding here. Again there were masses of greenfly about and swarms of black gnats about. I tried a small black para and took a nice brown but it must have been a flook as nothing else would take. I noticed Adam into what looked like a good fisnh too! We moved down the pool and at one point I was literally a rods length from a smutting trout, taking the greenfly. No matter what I gave it it was totally switched on to them as I could spot them coming down the run and the fish just tilting to sip in the fly. I attempted a couple of photos but couldn't just quite get it right.By 1500 the fish had stopped rising and the heat had increased so we headed home till the evening. Adam did ok with 4 fish to my 3.
We went out again at 1930 down to the lunch hut at the bottom end. Again fish were rising to black gnat and greenfly but this time there were some yellow flies which looked sedgey but on further inspection I identified them as yellow sallies. Again I had to go down to a 26 and managed a couple of browns, this time they stayed on better as I had offset the hook point. Adam also took a couple of fish and the keeper remarked that he had seen him take a good size rainbow. I moved down to the pool below the hut and in the fast water noticed that a hatch of olives were on the go, I did not manage to trap 1 but they were very pale and probably BWO size so I assume they could be pale wateries as it is a bit early for BWOs I think. We fished on until 2145 and Adam finished with 4 fish and 4 fish to myself. A really enjoyable day with my son we should do it more often provided he isn't on the golf course!

Yesterday Late Afternoon

Went over the road for a couple of hours after work. There were quite a few fish rising, sipping something tiny from the surface. Loads of greenfly about again so went down to a 26 again and got a few takes but only managed to land a couple of rainbows. Lots of black gnats about too but about a size 20. The odd olive but nothing to write home about. Temperature warm and sunny, its finally arrived! Going to go Friday too.

FYI

For your information, its been a warm sunny day here in Derbyshire, Mrs P has had her pot and boot taken off so hopefully all things are improving. Nipped over the road to checkout the river and fish to see if anything rising but only the odd 1 here and there. The Derwent is very low however I think I will give it a go tomorrow evening just to see what's what. Watch this space!

A Chilly Few Hours and a Rogue?

Mrs BF said "are you going to go fishing today", well I don't need to be told twice so found myself above the works again at 1400. There were mainly sunny spells but a lazy downstream wind (lazy means it doensn't go around you but through you) , when the wind dropped it was very pleasant though. With 4 cars in the car park I thought my favourite piece of water would have a resident but thankfully no. Got in just above the sycamore and immediately landed a nice brown on a size 20 yellow parachute. There were loads of tiny midge like flies about but only the odd olive and no sedge. Within a couple more casts hit one of the large rainbows but it came off at the net. There were lots of rising fish just sipping in the tiny flies from the surface, the next fish covered came up vertical and slooped down my fly, another lovely marked brown. That was 3 fish struck in a space of water 10 feet wide. I worked my up step by step taking another brown, I thought I had cracked it! How wrong can you be, not another fish took my creation so I changed to a size 19 (103BL) griffiths gnat which immediately took another brown which again came off at the net. Chris Prior came up for a chat and as we were talking a very early mayfly flew past! Chris had also seen one earlier. I was on the phone to Derek yesterday and he had tried the mayfly nymph on Friday but the fish aren't on them yet. Its odd that mayflies start hatching so early considering the bad spring we have had. In previous years I have even seen them hatching in September too here on the Derwent, anyway I digress. Carried on moving up towards the pool head and picked up the odd brown here and there. Finished off with a size 26 yellow klink and nailed an out of season grayling so finished the day with 7 browns and a grayling at 1630 as it was getting decidedly chillier and even though I was still in my neoprenes the water is still cold.
BTW picked up a new pair of waders yesterday from the Orvis shop in Bakewell, I have high hopes for these hoping they will be better than the Sieves I have been using. Hey ho happy days!

A Couple of Hours Above the Sycamore Pool

Finished my chores and so was able to get out for a couple of hours this afternoon. Weather overcast and chilly at first but the sun came out and the temperature rose.Went above the sycamore pool and there were quite a few fish rising so started with a LDO and got a decent rainbow within a couple of casts quickly followed by a good brown. There were lots of tiny flies about and the fish were just sipping the flies down. Must have been 2 flooks getting those as covered a load more fish but nothing taken. Switched to a size 20 caenis and picked up another brown, then again nothing. Decided to give a JT olive a run out and covered 2 fish and they both had it! Now I know this has probably surprised 1 or 2 of you as I rarely use cdc but this fly ceratinly had 'em! Used the frogs fanny on the fly after giving it a good wash between fish and that seemed to make the fly good as new. Note to self must try more cdc flies this season. Picked up another cracking rainbow 21" so decided to keep it. Fish were rising everywhere now but the few caddis which were knocking about were being totally ignored by the fish. I suspect they were taking some tiny emerger going by the slow sipping rise forms and nothing noticeable on the surface (I may be wrong here). Switched to a tiny size 26 greenfly as noticed quited a few on the surface and hit  a few but only landed 1 brown. Again a change of fly to a size 26 caenis type klink and hit quite a few fish but only landed another 2. Finished at 1700 with fish still rising and a tally of 8 fish for a couple of hours work! Hopefully the evening rise is just around the corner now as if I could have stayed I am sure the rise would have gone on for some time.

UPDATE - Just had Roger on the phone, he was taking his dog for a walk and crossed Baslow old bridge and noticed fish rising still at 2030 so maybe the evening rise has started, fingers crossed.

Pocket Guide to Matching the Hatch - Peter Lapsley and Cyril Bennett

Just received this little book and its very good. It details all the common flies on our rivers with examples of patterns, size, hatch charts and even rise forms. There is a good idea were the actual sizes of the various flies is shown together with an outline of the fly. The only criticism is that the patterns do not have any recipes so you have to hunt for tying details, otherwise definitely recommendable.