Rusty Spinner Does It Again

Friday 6th August

Decided to go over the road even though it was very cloudy and looked like it was going to hammer it down. Went down to the pool above Baslow new bridge. I had my usual grey olive parachute on and covered some rises on the far run and took a decent grayling followed by a small wild brownie. Fly life was a bit absent only the odd olive fluttering about. A fish sipped down a fly and I covered it and after a couple of passes the fish took and I landed a brown about 14 or 15 ins. and the most perfect brown you could wish to see, massive spots and a shovel of a tail and a buttery belly, superb. The rain started and the rises stopped until the rain ceased and by now it was almost too dark to see but I picked up another small brownie then stumbled and staggered back along the river to home.

Sunday 8th August

Met Derek and John above the works, Derek was working his way up the sycamore pool annoying the fish with a sedge.

I snook in just above the sycamore where there were fish rising. The temperature, for once, was possibly tropical, this had brought out a wide variety of fly from sedge to olives and small caenis. I also had a sedge on and took a rainbow, this was slighty flooky I think as other fish covered did not so much as look at the sedge. The rise forms were mainly just sips and head and tailing with the odd splashy rise which were obviously to sedge. I thought blow this so got out my seine net and waded out to the foam line where the fish were lined up and found a rusty spinner, bingo! On went one of my trusty rusty spinners and first cast took a brown.

I worked my up the pool taking 5 browns and a nice grayling all to the good old rusty. There were fish rising everywhere not splashy rises nut just sips and sucks, it was great to see at lasy this season. We all finished about 2115 as the temperature dropped more or less at 2100 and the usual switch was thrown and the rises more or less ceased.

Monday 9th August

This evening it was quite blustery but the sun was out and the temperature was so-so but after last night thought I would go to the same pool again. I started with a sedge and cast under the trees and gave it a twitch, a fish had a go so I twitched it again and it took, my first cast. Then the fun started, it was all over the place and I couldn't do anything with it. I only had 2.6 bayer so had to play it carefully, after about 10 minutes its head came up and then I knew it was nearly ready. I just about managed to net it as it was the biggest rainbow I had caught in all my years on the river, it turned the scales at 5.5lb perfectly finned, superb.

I had to take a breather now as my arm was really aching. I then carried on as there were loads of sedge on the water but no olives yet. I covered a lot of fish but they didn't look interested so after trapping one of the sedges they turned out to be small grey body with dark spotted wings,  possibly silverhorns? I switched to a size smaller and then took a few browns all in pristine condition. I got to the head of the pool by which time it was dark but I could vaguely pick out the white of the rusty spinner wing and managed to pick up a few more browns and a grayling. Some of the rises were barely detectable only by the white wing dissappearing did I know to strike, others were more definite sips or sucks. I finished at about 2130 and left the fish still avidly taking spinners my score being 8 fish for the evening with my PB rainbow.

If anybody thinks this is just a blog stating the numbers of fish taken then I apologise as I am using this as my diary and need to retain fish numbers for the end of season report to Chatsworth.

Happy days!