Derek rang at 0900 to say he was unwell and therefore would have to call off our trip to the Wye. I had already booked the day off work so did some gardening in the morning. After lunch I decided to walk down to the sycamore pool and start there and slowly work my way back up to Baslow old bridge. Once I had negotiated the wall, nettles and brambles I made it to the pool but there was not much happening. Fly life was decidedly absent, maybe due to the temperature being down a bit and a breeze about. I sat and watched for 10 minutes or so and the occasional fish showed. I had on my mayfly nymph so had a cast but nothing. A few mayflies started to appear so I put on my freshly tied mayfly, I covered a few fish and they seemed to take the fly as the leader was disappearing but on the strike there was nothing. After this had happened a few times I decided to change to another mayfly but still the same thing happened and sometimes the fish just splashed at the fly. I could see it was going to be one of those days when nothing attaches itself to your fly. By now a really good hatch of sedge, grannom I think, were buzzing about and also lots of olive uprights, I think! The sun had come out and it was feeling like summer. It was at this point I realised I had left my flybox with all my sedge patterns at home! I did have a couple of patterns in another box but they were just the green tailed variety I had tied after a display during the winter at the Grayling Society meetings. These were on short shanked bardless carp hooks. On went one and after a couple of casts a take but this also failed to attach, I was trying a delayed strike and immediate strike but nothing. I was despairing now. Finally a lovely head and tail rise took it and I was in, my 1st brown of the day.
1st Brown of the day.
Now the mayfly were coming off and the fish were taking them with gusto so on went another fresh mayfly and this time I did land a couple more browns between losing more and phantom takes. The sun went behind a big black cloud and the heavens opened, so much so that the river almost died and I took shelter under a tree for 30 minutes.
The Sycamore Pool and p!ss!ng down!
After the shower I made my way up the pool but fish were slow to restart their feeding and only the odd fish showed until the sun came out again. I made it up to the new bridge with 5 fish to my credit. By now it was gone 5 so I quickly fished the runs, riffles and pools between the bridges but again nothing was showing so nothing to cats to. I reached the pool below the old bridge and low and behold a few fish were showing. My favourite run on the far side had a fish rising. This is a tricky run as there are lots of converging currents between you and the run so it has to be a cast with plenty of slack otherwise drag is more or less instantaneous. Eventually I got my cast right and just knew the fish would come for it and strike and he was on.......then off! I did land 3 more browns from this pool, all fish which had shown and cast to, I love it when that happens, the anticipation knowing you are covering a feeding fish is electric, far better than casting blind.
My last fish of the day. A wildy.
Anyway I finished the day with 8 fish which at 1 point during the afternoon I didn't think I would land anything. It's a funny old business this fishing lark!
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