June Forays

9th June
As I worked from home today I decided that I would get onto the river around 5. There was a very heavy shower in the afternoon and I was a bit dubious as to the state of the river. In the end I went down to the works but Rymans brook was well up, filthy dirty and thundering through so it wasn't looking too good. I went down to the willow pool but unfortunately it was far too dirty. Above the brook the river didn't, look too bad so I went above the sycamore. Visibility was ok to knee depth but as I was there I decide to give it half an hour. After a few fruitless searches I noticed a rise below some trees and after a pass or two the fish took my grey-olive parachute and a decent brown was landed. There then followed a series of rises under the same tree, a couple of rash strikes before a rainbow was also landed.

15th June
Today my son Adam came fishing too. The river was running clear and we started down by the willow pool, Adam got in at the bottom of the pool and immediately missed a good fish. He persevered and was rewarded with a good rainbow. I started at the pool head and got a brown. Both fish taken of mayfly as a few were still hatching. Not much was rising so we decided to go down to the deer boom. Adam went down to Bar brook where a few fish were showing, he managed to land a couple more browns to the mayfly. I rose and landed a few browns again to the mayfly before going down below Adam, where I fished from the high bank which enabled me to cover some rises on the far bank with the mayfly again landing a rainbow and a few more browns. We ended the day with Adam getting 3 browns and me 7 browns and a rainbow.

18th June
This evening was a lesson in watching the drag! Again I went down to the willow pool for the last couple of hours and started at the tail of the pool. I covered a couple of fish with my grey-olive parachute but it was refused. I left them and continued up the pool where another fish was rising, I was now below the fish whereas before I was more square on to the fish, the fish came up after a couple of passes, you know when you get the cast right as it just looks right. I continued as far as I could get before the pool gets too deep and took another brown. As I was retracing my steps I noticed the fish I had previously covered were still rising, again I covered them from a square position but failed again as I noticed drag. I could not make the cast without drag so moved lower down so I was casting more up an across and blow me the first cast the fish took my fly and a good brown was landed again I just felt the cast was right! Even after the fish was landed a second fish was still rising so another couple of casts later again when I felt it all come together and the fish took and was subsequently landed, another lovely brown. This must have put the fish down as rises ceased so I called it a day after taking 4 fish and learning a lesson in drag free presentation!

Another Hard Afternoon

Today I took another half days hol as I was taking a guest fishing. We went down to the lunch hut around 2, I wasn't expecting much as it was a bright sunny day. Fish were not rising much so Max's bench pool beckoned were there is a small amount of tree cover afforded some protection for the fish. There was a reasonable hatch of mayfly but also a smattering of yellow sallies, olives and yellow May Duns. We covered a couple of fish with the mayfly but nothing it took a few more before we managed to get a positive rise and hookup and landed a lovely wild brownie. Soon another rise which was covered produced another brownie, it was hard going. I left Stan to continue up the pool whilst I went on to the next one which is that bit deeper and required careful footing. I struggled to get anything to rise only getting an out so season grayling to take my mayfly. Even switching to a fox squirrel nymph did not produce anything. We then went to the head of the pool and spent a while there but again not much was showing I had a fox squirrel on and took 1 last brown before we called it day.

Monday

I decided to take half a days hol from work so I could go fishing. I went back down to Beeley this afternoon around 3 hoping the mayfly would be hatching.! I started off in the pool above the hut but there wasn't much happening only the odd mayfly and nothing showing any interest. I started off right at the edge and on only the 2nd casts landed a reasonable rainbow just as the keeper appeared. We spent a while chatting before I continued but failed to rise anything else. I decided to go down to the pool above Max's bench where I attempted to fish on Saturday but due to the height of the river was unable to make much progress however today the river was probably down by around 4-6 inches which made the rest of the pool fishable. By now there was a good hatch coming off and several fish were showing now. I decided only to fish to rising fish and started to take several browns as I made my way up, all to the usual 1-up-1- down mayfly. I got as far as I could before my waders were at the limit on the plimsol line where I noticed a couple of fish head and tailing,not taking mayflies but something else but what? I covered them with various flies before going back to the mayfly dun eventually 1 of them took it but in my exuberance I struck too hard and left the fly in the fish,I hate doing that. There were still fish rising so I continued covering them but they were in a difficult position and no matter how many times I fluffed the cast the fish continued to rise. I managed to hook another and a lovely rainbow around 3lb was landed. The remaining fish continued to rise but they had got wise to the artificial. Around 6 the temperature dropped and most of the mayfly disappeared and only the occasional fish showed. I decided to call it a day after landing 2 rainbows and about 8 browns so not a bad afternoon.

A Hard Afternoon and Sorry Bill!

I decided to have a couple of hours at the willow pool. It was a sunny day, too sunny really though. I arrived to find 5 cars in the car park so it was going to busy. Luckily though nobody was in the pool so I started at the bottom. A few mayfly were showing but the fish were conspicuous by their absence, what a difference a day makes! Only the odd fish was showing so I was not really fishing to rising fish which is not ideal. I did hook up with a fish but it soon got off. I worked my up the pool but got nothing. I decided to go down to Bar Brook and met up with Bill at the deer boom. We spent time chatting but all the time scanning the water for risers. Nothing much was showing, the keeper appeared and then we both noticed a fish patrolling up between the weed beds,we told Bill but he could not see it. The fish was definitely on the prowl so eventually Bill decided to have ago but missed the tree behind him which grabbed his fly. I asked him if he wanted me to catch it for him, jokingly of course but give him his due he did say ok! I cast from high up on the bank and my fly landed about a yard in front of it and blow me he came up for it! This is we're the apology is required. I managed to land a rainbow around 2.5lbs, the first of the day. I then went down to bar brook and again there was not much happening but another brown came to the net. I worked my way back to the deer boom but nothing came to hand. A last look down at the gully and another brown came in. I decided that as it was too sunny and the fish weren't playing I called it a day.