Thursday 22 September 2011

Thursday 15th September

I went down to Beeley late afternoon at 1700. I fished the pool above the hut but nothing much was showing so I switched to a pale olive fsn and took probably the smallest fish ever, a minnow all of 2.5 inches! A few olives started to show but still only the occasional fish showed, I covered a small rise with a dry pale olive parachute and I watched the fish come up straight for it and took. After what seemed like an age, I struck into a decent grayling which came to hand. I moved to the pool below the hut and again rises were few and far between. Those that did rise were ever so gentle sips. I still had on my pale olive parachute and covered what I thought was a small fish but connected with a good brown pushing 1.5 lbs. Yet again I was deceived by the rise as I was sure it was only a small fish! This was followed by a couple of long range releases before bringing another 2 browns in. Certainly a difficult couple of hours but I am sure we are getting towards the time when evening fishing is almost done for another year. What happened to our summer and warm balmy evenings!

Saturday 10 September 2011

Derwent Coloured

Thursday 8th September
Following the recent rain I had hoped it had freshened up the Derwent so I decide to go down to the willow pool for an hour or two. The river was slightly coloured but not too much to prevent the odd cast. I waited a few minutes to see if there were any fish moving but there was only the odd one here and there. I noticed a constant riser under the first tree so made a note of where the rise was and eased my into the tail, again the fish showed so I cast my size 20 yellow klink about a yard above the rise and I watched him come up slowly to engulf the fly.......wait....wait...strike and its on! It was a decent grayling knocking a pound a great start! Rises as I said were few and far between and they were those slow head and tail slurps. There was nothing definite on the surface only the odd sedge and I did notice a few very pale olive type flies probably pale wateries of some sort. I covered a few other fish but nothing. There was a riser on the far side beneath the cover of a branch but by some deft side casting I managed to drop my fly above but it was ignored several times so my thinking being that its after something else. I changed flies several times but fortunately the constant casting failed to put it down, in the end I put a small rusty over it and it decided to have it! A lovely brown but I am sure I've caught it before in this pool as it has a missing pectoral fin! Obviously a stock fish but each of the other fins and tail were perfect together with the lovely red spots so some stock fish do look good. That was it for the evening as I had to be home by 7.30 as it was our 'dance' night!

Friday 9th September
As I hadn't been down to Beeley for ages I decided to pay a visit to the area around the hut. Unfortunately due to the overnight rain the river had maybe come up another inch or two but had coloured up considerably, to be honest I should have turned around and gone home but as I was here then I may as well have cast. The pool above the hut has some fast water were I thought the clarity maybe better. Rises were conspicuous by their absence to say the least. Leaves and other autumnal detritus were being brought down however on the hut side there is a nice run which usually has a fish or two as I remember a few years back fishing with Bill when he trundled a nymph down the run early season a ended up with a cracking rainbow. Anyway I digress but unfortunately I put a dry down the run and a nymph but nothing. however I was taken aback by the dipper which was no more than 10 feet away busily trying to find his dinner in the margins! I then noticed a small rise in the fast water at the head so changed my nymph for my small yellow klink and after a couple of casts had a take and landed a grayling as below. The sweetest thing you could see and one of the smallest I have ever taken. Its encouraging to know that the river is still as clean as can be following the previously pollution from the mine in Stoney Middleton.


I finished of with a cast or two in the pool below the hut with a caddis and took another daft brown. Not a brilliant hour or two but at least I got out.

Sunday 4 September 2011

I'm Slipping from doing any blogs!

Tuesday 23rd August
Decided to go down to Bar Brooke again where there was a steady rise of a few fish. I covered them with a sedge as there was loads about but they ignored my offerrings. Hmmm another one of those frustrating evenings? I thought I would try my rusty spinner and immediately got a lovely brown swiftly followed by a blue. Even covering more fish did not really strike lucky so I think those 2 were flookey. I noticed a few tiny yelow/white flies on the surface so dug out my size 22 yellow klink and after a couple of misses took another 2 browns. The nights are definitely drawing in as by 2115 it was too dark to see.
Thursday 25th August
Went down to the 1 Arch bridge again. Fished by the white post and took a blue on a fox squirrel nymph. I then made my way up to the pool below the weir and there were lots of fish showing so on went a sedge as again there were loads about but the same as the other night the fish showed disdain to it. I switched to my rusty again and started to get offers  and some even stayed attached. Mainly browns came to hand with a grayling and a perch all to the rusty spinner, finished with 10 fish for a couple of hours.
Monday 29th August
Arranged to meet Derek down by the works, he had gone upstream so I decided to go down  to the willow pool. It was not a good night, dark clouds with the odd very heavy shower. I managed a brown then the heavens opened so I retreated to the hut for a brew. The sun came out briefly before the rain set in for good but I managed another 3 browns to the size 22 yellow klink. Derek had called it a day when the heavy rain started so didn't manage to catch up with him.
Friday 2nd September
As the Chatworth Country Fair was on this weekend it put the cricket pitch and most of the park out so I decide to pay Bar Brooke another visit as there always seems to be fish showing there. I started with my rusty spinner and took a blue followed by a brown. I finished off with another brown before calling it a evening at 2030 as it was a trek back over the deer boom back to the car before it became too dark to see.

I have noticed a few small olives about during my last 2 outings think these may be Pale Wateries as these do show around this time of the year.
Nights are closing in now and as I write this its 2000 and probably another 20-30 mins is all thats left of daylight. I hate the dark evenings!