First Outing of the Grayling Season

It was a glorious morning here in the Peak District today so I decided to leave the garden tidy-up and go fishing. I went over the road at 1.30 and started off with a size 16 grey klink but with the white post it was difficult to spot amongst the foam so I changed to one with a pink post. This was easier to spot and after a couple of drifts down some likely looking runs I landed my first grayling of about 10". Following another couple of drifts along the same run I took another slightly larger grayling, things were looking good. I was thinking maybe there could be a few more in this run but following another few drifts nothing came so I decided to put on size 20 ptn attached to 18" of tippet off the bend of the klink. I fished up another couple of runs before my 3rd grayling took the ptn this was a better one and I measured it at 13". Again after another cast or two I landed another grayling probably 10-11". 4 grayling in 30 minutes was a result. I decided to move downstream to just above the new bridge and fished there for 30 minutes where I hooked a further 4 grayling but did not manage to touch them so didn't count. I called it a day just after 3 as the cold water was getting through to me. All in all a very pleasant afternoon!

Fisherman's Evening

Last evening it was the annual get together of the Chatsworth syndicate where we usually meet friends old and new. After a brief resume of news about the fishery from Charlotte we were treated to a delicious chicken casserole before an interesting presentation from the guest speaker who this year was no other than John Tyzack. One comment by John during his presentation was that he thought that the Derbyshire Derwent was predominantly a grayling river and the trout were maybe the secondary species. Discussion also took place as to why the majority of grayling caught on this stretch seemed to be up to a maximum of 1.5 -1.75 lbs. and that other rivers in the area, notably the Wye and Dove tended to produce larger specimens, I have been fortunate to land a grayling pushing 4lb (all 21" of it) from the Dove when I fished it on Leek and District back in the mid nineties. However I digress! Following a healthy question and answer session it was left to us to chat amongst ourselves about how our season had been and looking forward to the grayling and subsequently next year. I met quite a few fisherman who tend to hang up their rods during the winter and give the fish a well deserved respite! Needless to say I am not one of them and enjoy those crisp winter days when the sun shines and the odd fly hatches to be gobbled down by one of the numerous grayling which inhabit our stretch. The grayling are well spread throughout the whole length of the river so it is rare to not get amongst them, you just have to move if you start hooking out of season trout. Matthew tells me he is still going to be feeding the trout during the close season and I am convinced that this helps them to survive through the winter and be in tip top condition come the beginning of April. This may broach some comment/discussion on the merits of feeding but I just say that the evidence at the start of the season justifies the means. As I write this it is raining here in Baslow but hopefully the river will be ok for an hour or two on Sunday.

Sunday 3rd October

We spent a lovely week with family and friends on the Llyn peninsular last week, glorious weather too but no fishing! I did check-out the local tackle shop in Abersoch to find out if there were any marks for saltwater flyfishing for future reference. I was told that the weekend was probably the last tide when the bass would be in due to a high tide and lower water temperatures so the sandeels would be disappearing. I have acquired some tying materials for tying pike and saltwater patterns so I will be tying some up during the winter. Anyway we got home on Sunday afternoon so Mrs Baslowfisher suggested that as I had been a good boy why don't I go fishing. A quick call to Derek to find out how last week had been and he had had some good sessions with a black beetle. So off I toddled off down to the works and decided on the willow pool but unfortunately someone had got there first so I went upstream. I got in just above the sycamore and cast my black beetle to a few rises and soon had a solid take from a decent brown. There were quite a few fish showing but I could not make out to what, there was nothing definite about. So I persisted with the beetle and soon took another brown followed by a blue. Things were looking promising! I worked my way slowly upstream the sunshine alternating showers. I ended up taking another couple of browns and blues taking my tally to 7 fish in a couple of hours. The rain came and the rises more or less finished, as I wandered back to the car I contemplated whether it would be the last outing of the trout season or could I manage another 1.............. 

Thursday 15th September

I went down to Beeley late afternoon at 1700. I fished the pool above the hut but nothing much was showing so I switched to a pale olive fsn and took probably the smallest fish ever, a minnow all of 2.5 inches! A few olives started to show but still only the occasional fish showed, I covered a small rise with a dry pale olive parachute and I watched the fish come up straight for it and took. After what seemed like an age, I struck into a decent grayling which came to hand. I moved to the pool below the hut and again rises were few and far between. Those that did rise were ever so gentle sips. I still had on my pale olive parachute and covered what I thought was a small fish but connected with a good brown pushing 1.5 lbs. Yet again I was deceived by the rise as I was sure it was only a small fish! This was followed by a couple of long range releases before bringing another 2 browns in. Certainly a difficult couple of hours but I am sure we are getting towards the time when evening fishing is almost done for another year. What happened to our summer and warm balmy evenings!

Derwent Coloured

Thursday 8th September
Following the recent rain I had hoped it had freshened up the Derwent so I decide to go down to the willow pool for an hour or two. The river was slightly coloured but not too much to prevent the odd cast. I waited a few minutes to see if there were any fish moving but there was only the odd one here and there. I noticed a constant riser under the first tree so made a note of where the rise was and eased my into the tail, again the fish showed so I cast my size 20 yellow klink about a yard above the rise and I watched him come up slowly to engulf the fly.......wait....wait...strike and its on! It was a decent grayling knocking a pound a great start! Rises as I said were few and far between and they were those slow head and tail slurps. There was nothing definite on the surface only the odd sedge and I did notice a few very pale olive type flies probably pale wateries of some sort. I covered a few other fish but nothing. There was a riser on the far side beneath the cover of a branch but by some deft side casting I managed to drop my fly above but it was ignored several times so my thinking being that its after something else. I changed flies several times but fortunately the constant casting failed to put it down, in the end I put a small rusty over it and it decided to have it! A lovely brown but I am sure I've caught it before in this pool as it has a missing pectoral fin! Obviously a stock fish but each of the other fins and tail were perfect together with the lovely red spots so some stock fish do look good. That was it for the evening as I had to be home by 7.30 as it was our 'dance' night!

Friday 9th September

As I hadn't been down to Beeley for ages I decided to pay a visit to the area around the hut. Unfortunately due to the overnight rain the river had maybe come up another inch or two but had coloured up considerably, to be honest I should have turned around and gone home but as I was here then I may as well have cast. The pool above the hut has some fast water were I thought the clarity maybe better. Rises were conspicuous by their absence to say the least. Leaves and other autumnal detritus were being brought down however on the hut side there is a nice run which usually has a fish or two as I remember a few years back fishing with Bill when he trundled a nymph down the run early season a ended up with a cracking rainbow. Anyway I digress but unfortunately I put a dry down the run and a nymph but nothing. however I was taken aback by the dipper which was no more than 10 feet away busily trying to find his dinner in the margins! I then noticed a small rise in the fast water at the head so changed my nymph for my small yellow klink and after a couple of casts had a take and landed a grayling as below. The sweetest thing you could see and one of the smallest I have ever taken. Its encouraging to know that the river is still as clean as can be following the previously pollution from the mine in Stoney Middleton.

I finished of with a cast or two in the pool below the hut with a caddis and took another daft brown. Not a brilliant hour or two but at least I got out.

I'm Slipping from doing any blogs!

Tuesday 23rd August
Decided to go down to Bar Brooke again where there was a steady rise of a few fish. I covered them with a sedge as there was loads about but they ignored my offerrings. Hmmm another one of those frustrating evenings? I thought I would try my rusty spinner and immediately got a lovely brown swiftly followed by a blue. Even covering more fish did not really strike lucky so I think those 2 were flookey. I noticed a few tiny yelow/white flies on the surface so dug out my size 22 yellow klink and after a couple of misses took another 2 browns. The nights are definitely drawing in as by 2115 it was too dark to see.
Thursday 25th August
Went down to the 1 Arch bridge again. Fished by the white post and took a blue on a fox squirrel nymph. I then made my way up to the pool below the weir and there were lots of fish showing so on went a sedge as again there were loads about but the same as the other night the fish showed disdain to it. I switched to my rusty again and started to get offers  and some even stayed attached. Mainly browns came to hand with a grayling and a perch all to the rusty spinner, finished with 10 fish for a couple of hours.
Monday 29th August
Arranged to meet Derek down by the works, he had gone upstream so I decided to go down  to the willow pool. It was not a good night, dark clouds with the odd very heavy shower. I managed a brown then the heavens opened so I retreated to the hut for a brew. The sun came out briefly before the rain set in for good but I managed another 3 browns to the size 22 yellow klink. Derek had called it a day when the heavy rain started so didn't manage to catch up with him.
Friday 2nd September
As the Chatworth Country Fair was on this weekend it put the cricket pitch and most of the park out so I decide to pay Bar Brooke another visit as there always seems to be fish showing there. I started with my rusty spinner and took a blue followed by a brown. I finished off with another brown before calling it a evening at 2030 as it was a trek back over the deer boom back to the car before it became too dark to see.

I have noticed a few small olives about during my last 2 outings think these may be Pale Wateries as these do show around this time of the year.
Nights are closing in now and as I write this its 2000 and probably another 20-30 mins is all thats left of daylight. I hate the dark evenings!

3 Fours and a 3

I have not been blogging lately due to fishing and other things. In the last 10 days I have fished 4 times at various locations on the Derwent.
Sunday 14th August - I went down to the willow pool quite early this evening around 6 but somebody was already there so I meandered down to the gully for a quick chuck but although there were plenty of sedge about no fish were moving. After a couple of half hearted takes to a sedge I decided to go down to Bar brook. Here there was a line of fish rising consistently but it was difficult to make out what to. I managed to take a brown on a sedge but nothing else would play. I tried my trusty rusty and fish started to show an interest successfully landing one of those interlopers a blue rainbow. The light was going fast so I went up to the deer boom and took another 2 good wild as they come browns. Really the action only occurred in the last hour so going early was not productive.
Tuesday 16th August - I went down below the bottom weir in the park about 1930. The pool here was alive with fish chasing sedges. I immediately hooked a decent brown, thinking this was going to be easy, how soon your thoughts are dashed as offer after offer was refused. I was totally engrossed in what the fish were doing that I did not realise Malcolm the keeper was on the bank watching me until he spoke, needless to say I have now recovered from the shock! I again went for my rusty spinner and took another blue rainbow and 3 more browns before the temperature dropped and the fish went down. As I walked back along the bank there was a group of 60+ fallow deer (I counted 50 and there were more) on the far bank taking a drink and chilling. I sat on a bench and watched them for a short while, absolutely lovely and not the thing the hordes of visitors will see. As I drove back home through Chatsworth Park a group of 4 large stags followed by about 5 or 6 hinds crossed the road in front of me. That just finished of a very enjoyable evening.
Friday 19th August - Again I went down to Bar brook at 1930 where again a line of fish rising to something very small. A few sedge were about but fish were not interested in my offer. I went small to a black parachute, olive parachute etc etc. but only managed to land 1 small rainbow. I went back up to the deer boom and put on my rusty spinner again and landed 3 browns all beautiful marked with large red spots, brilliant!
Sunday 21st August - I decided to try the willow pool again and luckily there was nobody there. On entering the pool at the tail a large rainbow decided to see how high he could jump, it was like a young sea trout and the wave it left covered the whole pool. Must remember where he came up! It started off slow but within a few minutes I started to notice the smallest of rises to something tiny. After covering with a sedge and a rusty klink I decided to get out the big guns and went for my size 22 yellow parachute with a black thorax. Immediately I started to get interest and after a couple coming unstuck I covered another tiny rise but was surprised to land a rainbow pushing 2lbs. It's amazing how you can never tell by the rise form just how big or small a fish is. This was followed by some more long distance releases before landing a brown. The activity lasted about 30 minutes before the temperature dropped again and the fish more or less disappeared, on my way back down the pool to get out I covered another rise and landed a blue rainbow so not bad for only a short spell of activity tonight. What is interesting is how the nights are drawing in, this time last week I could fish until 9.15pm but tonight it was struggle to see the fly by 8.30pm and there is a distinct chill of autumn in the air.

Sunday evening

The tail of Sycamore Pool

I arranged to meet Derek at the works around 1830. He told me earlier that he has had a good response to fishing small black buzzers so I tackled up with a 22 pheasant tail with a small glass bead. Derek had also put on a small black buzzer. Tim turned up to who went down to the willow pool, more later. I followed Derek up to the sycamore pool where he had started but I got in at the tail, the first time I have started here in all the years I have been fishing at Chatsworth as the wading is a bit dicey. I immediately landed 2 grayling in as many casts however that was it for a while. There was again not that many fish moving and only a few sedge knocking about. This season has been very odd fly hatch wise as evenings when you would expect a really good hatch of olives they just have not materialised. Anyway I continued up to the sycamore taking another grayling at which point it got decidedly tricky so I retraced my steps and wandered up to see how Derek was doing. He had done worse than me only landing a grayling and a brown so I felt quite pleased with myself that again I was up on the maestro himself. Not that we have any kind of competition you understand only that if I ever catch more than Derek then I feel as if I have accomplished something as he is an excellent fisherman. I watched Derek at the head of the pool where there were a few fish moving, I was the spotter as it was getting dark by now. Derek connected with something which came in so far quite easily then it decided that enough was enough and "ping" the lot was gone! He continued for a while and I had a few casts below him but no a thing! So I ended the evening with 3 grayling.
On Monday I caught up with Tim as he works in the same building as me and he fished until 2100 taking a good catch of 'blue' rainbows which have been recently stocked. What was strange was that where he had been fishing there were clouds of BWO about yet where we were there were no clouds of olives but sedge. These appeared towards the end of the evening in their masses but again ignored by the fish.

Last Evening

Went down into the park last evening. Wasn't going to go but as the temperature was still high at 1930 decided to go as we don't get enough of evenings like this. Started about 2000 below the cricket pitch but there wasn't much rising as there was a distinct lack of fly about, very odd. I had on a dry pheasant tail tied on a 2499spbl hook, the first time I've tried this pattern of hook. I covered a small rise as I got into the river and a lovely little wild brownie was mine. There were only a couple of fish rising constantly which I could make out so I covered them and managed to land another brownie but this was definitely a stock fish. I made my way up behind the island and landed a 10" grayling after several came adrift this again on the pheasant tail. Still there were no flies about apart from the odd sedge, I couldn't understand it as it was a lovely balmy evening. I finished up wading up the cricket pitch this time having changed to a sedge but only managed to bring in 1 more lovely wild brownie before I called it a day at 2115 even though there was still plenty of light left but its pointless carrying on if there isn't anything to cast to. Must remember next time to take my camera!

The Gulley!!!!

Went down to the willow pool again on Tuesday night but there was somebody there so decided to fish the gulley (da da daaaah). Now this is not for the faint hearted as its quite difficult to get in and looking at the pool from above it looks dark and deep. It is possible to get through the pool but care must be exercised as there are lots of football sized stones and deep parts to trap the unwary. I had on a sedge and raised a couple of fish which didn't connect properly then someting a bit larger took. It bore down and next thing snapped my 2.6 bayer tippet. Start again! Rises were few and far between but I noticed some rises further up the pool so made my way up vary carefully. No sedge were about but the fish were sipping something so on went my trusty rusty spinner. After a couple of fish covered I took a small wild brownie. This pool always produces good wild browns. I worked up a little further and took a good wildie which must have been 12-14 inches and beautifully marked. I finished off at 2130 at the head of the pool taking a grayling to complete the evening. 4 fish not bad I suppose.