Well it is 11 months since I last fished due to family illness and bereavement. So I was looking forward to getting back on the river after the lockdown was lifted for our fishery last Friday. I met up with Bill and Keith around 1030 at the bottom hut. They had already been in the river and snook a few fish. After the usual pleasantries I decided to go further downstream to see if anything was happening. The odd fish was showing with occasional mayfly coming off. Olives and black gnats too. My casting was a bit rusty after my lay-off but I soon got into my stride. I had decided on a black gnat as there were many around, I worked my up the pool but rises were few and far between here. Eventually a nice brown rose to my fly and a delay to my strike ensured a well hooked fish which was duly landed. As I progressed up the pool a couple of takes were missed so around 1 I reeled in and met up with the chaps for lunch. Lunch was one of Hancocks pork pies, still warm when I collected it too! Needless to say we soon demolished it. I also want to add that all this was accomplished with sensible social distancing, even cutting the pie was done without touching it. Following a leisurely lunch I was changing my fly and rested my rod against my car, I locked the car forgetting my rod was against the door mirror, needless to say it chopped the rod like a guillotine! At least with Sage rods it has a lifetime warranty however it was still going to cost £120 to fix it. Bill and Keith called it a day as they had been there since early doors. Luckily I had 1 of my bamboo rods with me so tackled up again and I went back to the pool I had half fished and carried on. I only successfully landed another brown so I called it a day after an hour, it was great to get out again after such a long break.
Last week I had a couple of visits just over the road below Baslow Old Bridge. On Tuesday it had been such a warm day and lots of spinners in the garden too, I had decided to use my bamboo rod a 7'10" #5, such a joy to use as a difference to the carbon rods. I had an olive cdc dun on and landed a nice brown from a run on the far side, always a tricky cast! Progressing up the pool I lost the fly in a decent fish and decided on a change to a griffiths gnat. Another brown followed by a rainbow around 2lbs completed a lovely couple of hours before dark.
The following evening I again went across the road to fish the pool below Baslow Old Bridge. The first fish was another cracking rainbow, fully finned and fighting fit around 2lbs. There then followed a first for me, I hooked into a fish which went wild, it turned out to be a blue trout and as it lay in my net I noticed a fly in its top lip. It was the fly I lost the previous evening to this fish, an olive cdc dun, obviously not affecting the fish's eating habits! I finished off the evening with a final brown to take my tally to 3.
On Sunday evening I went down to the bottom hut again, Derek had kindly lent me a rod to use. The pool above the hut looked inviting with plenty of fly about but nothing showing. I had on a black gnat as there were many about. In the fast water my fly became waterlogged but whilst I was distracted by a couple of grey wagtails a fish tugged the fly and was on, sheer fluke. A cracking 2½lb rainbow was landed. I tried various other runs to no avail so went to the next pool down but first tried the fast water as I went, again I was distracted by something and the fly was take and a brown hooked itself, fluke number 2! I finished off with another brown from the next pool before calling it a day after an hour. I was feeling a bit vulnerable as there had been several instances of poaching on the river today together with numerous on the Wye and being alone down near the bottom without communication was un-nerving me. Usually it doesn't both me fishing alone but not this time!
May was a quick month fishing wise but a decent start to an unusual beginning. Wishing all my readers a safe and successful season and take care.
