22nd June

This evening  I went down to the Willow pool around 7.30 pm, it was a lovely warm evening with a clear sky, a few fish were rising as I tackled up at the hut. Things looked good! Again I started with the grey olive parachute as it represents a small olive dun and there were a few about. Fish were rising everywhere but they were head and tailing however I soon contacted a lively rainbow which was landed. As I worked my way up the pool sedge, midge and duns started coming off with the occasional mayfly too, a real treat for both fisherman and fish. I landed a brown but I was coming to the conclusion that this was not the correct fly as several trout covered ignored my offering. I switched to a small brown sedge again and immediately took a lovely brown around 1.5 lbs followed quickly by a rainbow which flipped out of my hand and took the sedge with it! Both fish head and tailed to the sedge and it took all my willpower to delay the strike. How many times do I strike too soon, wait, wait, strike. It turned out that I only had the one brown sedge with me as I hadn't updated my flybox recently so on went a size 18 grey sedge. This too started working it's magic with the head and tailers plus a couple of splashy risers too. I finished around 9.30 as again the temperature dropped and so did the fish  but 8 fish for a couple of hours was a result for me. Before my next visit I must update my flybox as it's rusty spinner as well as sedge time too!

21st June

On Friday I had a few hours spare so just went over the road below Baslow old bridge from about 7.30 pm. I sat on the bench for a while to see if anything was rising and there were a few small dimples looking up to the right, small grayling I assumed. I had on a size 18 grey olive parachute as nothing of note was about. I also had my John French bamboo rod out for the first time this season. I covered the first dimple a few times but nothing came to my fly and as the fish was still showing I changed to a small b brown sedge and first cast hooked not a grayling but a lovely wild brownie about 10". I continued up and hooked and lost a couple more before landing another brownie about the same size as the first on the brown sedge.

I then went down to the pool below as I had spotted a few rises there too and floated the sedge downstream to a fish which eventually took but was soon off due to the downstream drift I suspect! I switched to the other bank and made my way up but nothing was showing until I reached the top where after prospecting with the sedge two more browns were landed. The temperature dropped around 8.30 and with it the fish stopped moving so I called it a day at 9 pm.

18th June

I checked the water level at the old bridge in Baslow at about 11 and it definitely looked fishable so arranged with Derek to meet him at the works around 2. I decided to give my 7'10'" Derwent bamboo rod an outing too. I decided on a mayfly dun at first just to see if there was any action but after a while at the sycamore decided that I was flogging a dead horse. Not a single fish rose and also the river seemed to have got decidedly more coloured. A dark olive fsn was tied on and even that didn't do the business. If I didn't know better I would think the river was devoid of fish! The river continued to cloud up and even with a slight hatch of mayfly and some yellow sallies that didn't bring much up. Even Derek was not fussed and failed to connect above the cattle drink. I worked my way up and then decided to switch to a mayfly nymph and by sheer floor took a brown. At 4 I decided to call it a day and picked Derek up on my way back to the car. It just goes to show how quick the river can colour up in a few hours, we have been caught out like this before but that has usually been below Bar Brook. Hey ho at least we wetted a line! The river will probably be out of sorts now till at least Friday.

9th June

Today I took a guest, Dave,  and so went down to Beeley again as this part of the river is beautiful, that's not saying the rest isn't!

We started in the pool above the hut using mayfly nymphs, Dave up the left side me crossing to the far bank. I soon contacted a fish which fought well initially but to my surprise it turnout to be a superb PERCH around 15" long. The nymph was well back in its mouth so it definitely wanted it. I have caught perch before in a few other pools but never thought there would be any here. Within a few more casts I landed a superb rainbow around 2 1/2lbs. Dave had switched to a dry as a few mayfly were coming off plus a few spinners were about too. He missed a good take to the dry, too eager! We only fished for about an hour here before adjourning for lunch giving the mayfly time to get active.

After lunch I thought that we would have a repeat of last Monday and fish the same pool. I gave Dave a few mayfly nymphs and duns to try. I led the way and Dave fished the fast water at the tail whilst I made my way upstream. I noticed him landing a few fish, great! I am always anxious that my guests land fish but now Dave was well into it. I persisted with the nymph and a brown was landed but the mayfly by now had started to hatch quite a lot so on went the "usual".  I proceeded up the pool to the cattle drink landing several browns losing even more! Again I reached the stepping stones and noticed a fish rising in the same place a last Monday. Again I covered it a couple of times before getting a drag free drift and up it came, a lovely brown which again had me all over the pool. 

 Notice anything about the above fish and the one from Monday? I think they are the  same fish going by the markings around the gill covers. I was about 4pm by now and the amount of mayfly duns and spinners plus sedge, and sherry type spinners was a treat to see. Needless to say at 4.15pm the heavens opened and for about 30 mins torrential rain ensued. Maybe the flies knew what was coming. We sheltered under a tree and watched the mayfly still hatching and the odd fish taking them even though the surface was pocked by all the rain. A few casts after the rain and another brown was taken but the temperature had dropped and you could see your breath, this resulted in a lack of fly and the fish went down too. I ended the day with 2 rainbows 6 browns and 1 perch. Dave had a better afternoon landing a dozen fish.     

3rd June

I decided to go down to Beeley today, on arriving Bill was also there together with a host of others. Derek arrived and decided it was too congested so went into the park. Bill and I went down to Max's bench pool. I went upstream and Bill down. No mayfly were hatching at this time around 1330 so on went a mayfly nymph and I soon landed a nice rainbow. As I waded up the pool mayfly started to hatch out however the fish seemed a bit reluctant to take any with only the odd one being splashed at. As I progressed the hatch became heavier and a few more fish were showing so on went the good old 1-up-1-down mayfly (Phil Whites pattern!) and I started to connect with fish. Several browns were  landed successfully! I managed to get right up the pool to the cattle drink this year as the winter floods had changed the river bed slightly. I decided only to cast to rising fish instead of fishing blind so although fish were rising they were not consistent in 1 place however a couple of fish covered rose again and I landed a few more browns. I got to the stepping stones and  a fish rose a couple of times in the same position, I watched it for a while then placed my fly on the direct line to it and up it came. A magnificent brown to finish the day which had me all over the pool. Below is said brown.......

I finished the afternoon with 6 browns and 2 rainbows.

May

I only went out fishing the once at the beginning of the month as I have been backwards and forwards to see my Mum in hospital. 

I went into the park and fished for a couple of hours below the cricket pitch. A few fish were rising to the multitude of greenfly and black smuts which covered the surface. I only managed to land a few on a size 24 greenfly losing more! I always have problems getting the fish to stay on with the really small flies.

The mayfly started during last week and Derek tells me the hatch is even better than last year when it was a real bumper year. Planning to get out tomorrow with him............

April

I went out on day 1 down to the bottom end at Max's bench pool. Although nothing was rising a dark olive fox squirrel nymph proved the downfall for a couple of rainbows. I worked my way up the pool and took a couple of browns to the dark olive fsn too. I called it a day after reaching the top of the pool so not a bad opener!
The following day I went down to the willow pool and after losing a couple called it a "cold" day with a blank.
A couple of trips to the cricket pitch and things began to look up with numerous fish taking a standard fsn and as some fish were rising also on the dry, a deer hair emerger and grey sedge. Flylife was beginning to emerge, large dark olives and grannom were buzzing about.
A second visit to the bottom end again produced some lovely rainbows both to dry and nymph, the usual suspects fsn and grey sedge. As I have said before it never ceases to amaze me the quality of the fish and the fact that the overwintered fish were in impeccable condition. The Derwent had started off crystal clear, the pre-season peaty tinge had gone, it is a long time since I have seen it so clear.
A flood midway through the month coloured the river for a few days and was unfishable however once the level returned to normal again it was clear.
A lovely warm afternoon below the cricket pitch saw plenty of fly about LDOs and grannom again which resulted in 5 browns and 3 rainbows, 6 of them came to a dry, the grey sedge and black klink doing the damage. On my way out of the pool I noticed a very large hawthorne fly dead on the surface, note to self for next visit.
My final visit of April was to the sycamore pool, lots of fish were "smutting" and due the clarity of the water I could spot individual fish coming for the smuts/greenfly on the surface and taking something just under the surface film. I noticed a few hawthorne flies about before I started so on went my interpretation and immediately I took 4 rainbows in quick succession. I thought I had cracked it but alas other fish I covered didn't want to know so I switched to a greenfly and had a couple of offers but they never became "attached". After switching to a small black cdc a couple of browns were landed successfully.
So not a bad month for starters, roll on May!

That was the grayling season!

Following my last post in October 2018 I did manage to get out grayling fishing a few times. I shortly followed the first outing with a second whilst the leaves were still on the trees and the greenfly about. Again I located a shoal of grayling and took 10 again on the greenfly, all from an area the size of a tabletop. The difficulty is trying to locate the shoals.

The Uttoxeter Flyfair was visited in early November but it did not appear to be well visited by fisher folk, it transpires that it would be the last one.

I made another couple of visits to try for the grayling each time fishing above the works by the cattle drink and again located reasonable numbers of fish taken on a both nymph and a couple of dry. I find this stretch good for the grayling.

The BFFI at Stafford was also visited in February which turned out to be very well attended, this event now covers 3 halls at the venue with numerous new stalls and sessions on tying etc. Hopefully it will get "moved" to earlier maybe replacing the Uttoxeter event thus covering the start of the fly tying season?

I finished off my grayling season on the 26th Feb when I went into the park below the cricket pitch. This time locating the grayling was difficult and only at the last shout where I was fishing up from Mary's Bower did I locate four decent grayling in the 10-12" class. Maybe next season I will also fish the Dove as this is a very good grayling river especially through Dovedale where many years ago whilst fishing with Bill I landed a grayling of 21" which must have been pushing 4lb!

I hope to fish on a more regular basis next winter as this year I really felt the cold after my op.
Roll on 1st April when the new trout season starts on Chatsworth. I will definitely be fishing L&DFFA waters on the Dove more too, a great little river which is totally different to my home river, it has a great mayfly hatch which tends to come earlier than Chatsworth.

Best wishes everyone and tightlines for the coming 2019 trout season.