After a difficult few months I decided to wet my line with my new bamboo rod which I "picked up" from a reputable emporium in Bakewell (Bakewell Flyfishing Shop). This is a 7'10" 5 weight and is built on a Paul Young taper which is and I quote "possibly the best taper in the world" but please don't rip into me with comments! It is from the same stable as my other 1, John French, a man who picked up all the Marcus Warwick gear together with a list of all the usual tapers from the various American and English rod makers of the past. A really interesting chap to talk to and very informative.
Anyway I went above the 1 Arch Bridge in the park which is usually a good spot to pick-up grayling. The Derwent was up a bit but reasonably clear however it was just above freezing or at least it felt like it. I slid down the bank, a good start, stripped some line off and took my fist cast. The rod loaded easily with the DT5 and I was able to make both short casts and also get a fair amount of line out if needed. It was performing great! This really is a different way of fishing with bamboo than graphite however I will still use these for the times when they are necessary. On another day like this I would use my 10' 4wt as this time of the year it is usually slinging heavy nymphs to get down to the grayling. It was hard going with not a bite in sight as I worked my way up to the bottom weir. I decided to call it a day after a couple of hours and had a few last casts where I got in and blow me a small grayling was landed right at the last call.
So my new rod was christened, looking forward to the new season when it will get a lot of use on those clear balmy evenings when the sedge and spinners are active.
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