3 Fours and a 3

I have not been blogging lately due to fishing and other things. In the last 10 days I have fished 4 times at various locations on the Derwent.
Sunday 14th August - I went down to the willow pool quite early this evening around 6 but somebody was already there so I meandered down to the gully for a quick chuck but although there were plenty of sedge about no fish were moving. After a couple of half hearted takes to a sedge I decided to go down to Bar brook. Here there was a line of fish rising consistently but it was difficult to make out what to. I managed to take a brown on a sedge but nothing else would play. I tried my trusty rusty and fish started to show an interest successfully landing one of those interlopers a blue rainbow. The light was going fast so I went up to the deer boom and took another 2 good wild as they come browns. Really the action only occurred in the last hour so going early was not productive.
Tuesday 16th August - I went down below the bottom weir in the park about 1930. The pool here was alive with fish chasing sedges. I immediately hooked a decent brown, thinking this was going to be easy, how soon your thoughts are dashed as offer after offer was refused. I was totally engrossed in what the fish were doing that I did not realise Malcolm the keeper was on the bank watching me until he spoke, needless to say I have now recovered from the shock! I again went for my rusty spinner and took another blue rainbow and 3 more browns before the temperature dropped and the fish went down. As I walked back along the bank there was a group of 60+ fallow deer (I counted 50 and there were more) on the far bank taking a drink and chilling. I sat on a bench and watched them for a short while, absolutely lovely and not the thing the hordes of visitors will see. As I drove back home through Chatsworth Park a group of 4 large stags followed by about 5 or 6 hinds crossed the road in front of me. That just finished of a very enjoyable evening.
Friday 19th August - Again I went down to Bar brook at 1930 where again a line of fish rising to something very small. A few sedge were about but fish were not interested in my offer. I went small to a black parachute, olive parachute etc etc. but only managed to land 1 small rainbow. I went back up to the deer boom and put on my rusty spinner again and landed 3 browns all beautiful marked with large red spots, brilliant!
Sunday 21st August - I decided to try the willow pool again and luckily there was nobody there. On entering the pool at the tail a large rainbow decided to see how high he could jump, it was like a young sea trout and the wave it left covered the whole pool. Must remember where he came up! It started off slow but within a few minutes I started to notice the smallest of rises to something tiny. After covering with a sedge and a rusty klink I decided to get out the big guns and went for my size 22 yellow parachute with a black thorax. Immediately I started to get interest and after a couple coming unstuck I covered another tiny rise but was surprised to land a rainbow pushing 2lbs. It's amazing how you can never tell by the rise form just how big or small a fish is. This was followed by some more long distance releases before landing a brown. The activity lasted about 30 minutes before the temperature dropped again and the fish more or less disappeared, on my way back down the pool to get out I covered another rise and landed a blue rainbow so not bad for only a short spell of activity tonight. What is interesting is how the nights are drawing in, this time last week I could fish until 9.15pm but tonight it was struggle to see the fly by 8.30pm and there is a distinct chill of autumn in the air.

Sunday evening

The tail of Sycamore Pool

I arranged to meet Derek at the works around 1830. He told me earlier that he has had a good response to fishing small black buzzers so I tackled up with a 22 pheasant tail with a small glass bead. Derek had also put on a small black buzzer. Tim turned up to who went down to the willow pool, more later. I followed Derek up to the sycamore pool where he had started but I got in at the tail, the first time I have started here in all the years I have been fishing at Chatsworth as the wading is a bit dicey. I immediately landed 2 grayling in as many casts however that was it for a while. There was again not that many fish moving and only a few sedge knocking about. This season has been very odd fly hatch wise as evenings when you would expect a really good hatch of olives they just have not materialised. Anyway I continued up to the sycamore taking another grayling at which point it got decidedly tricky so I retraced my steps and wandered up to see how Derek was doing. He had done worse than me only landing a grayling and a brown so I felt quite pleased with myself that again I was up on the maestro himself. Not that we have any kind of competition you understand only that if I ever catch more than Derek then I feel as if I have accomplished something as he is an excellent fisherman. I watched Derek at the head of the pool where there were a few fish moving, I was the spotter as it was getting dark by now. Derek connected with something which came in so far quite easily then it decided that enough was enough and "ping" the lot was gone! He continued for a while and I had a few casts below him but no a thing! So I ended the evening with 3 grayling.
On Monday I caught up with Tim as he works in the same building as me and he fished until 2100 taking a good catch of 'blue' rainbows which have been recently stocked. What was strange was that where he had been fishing there were clouds of BWO about yet where we were there were no clouds of olives but sedge. These appeared towards the end of the evening in their masses but again ignored by the fish.

Last Evening

Went down into the park last evening. Wasn't going to go but as the temperature was still high at 1930 decided to go as we don't get enough of evenings like this. Started about 2000 below the cricket pitch but there wasn't much rising as there was a distinct lack of fly about, very odd. I had on a dry pheasant tail tied on a 2499spbl hook, the first time I've tried this pattern of hook. I covered a small rise as I got into the river and a lovely little wild brownie was mine. There were only a couple of fish rising constantly which I could make out so I covered them and managed to land another brownie but this was definitely a stock fish. I made my way up behind the island and landed a 10" grayling after several came adrift this again on the pheasant tail. Still there were no flies about apart from the odd sedge, I couldn't understand it as it was a lovely balmy evening. I finished up wading up the cricket pitch this time having changed to a sedge but only managed to bring in 1 more lovely wild brownie before I called it a day at 2115 even though there was still plenty of light left but its pointless carrying on if there isn't anything to cast to. Must remember next time to take my camera!