Sutton Brook

Earlier this afternoon I dropped eldest off in Hilton which gave me an ideal excuse to have a walk down to Sutton Brook and grab some fresh air. It was a bad Good Friday though having rained pretty much in Derby all day although the weather has brightened up in the last hour or so.

There was slightly less colour in the brook than I expected but it was still carrying plenty of extra water. Angling would not be recommended until the level has fallen which would take a good day or so if we have no more rain. I walked down through Sutton-on-the-Hill village to the top end of the DRAC water. I have a real love/hate relationship with this piece of water as it is a fantastic looking spot but does not seem to be able to sustain a good head of brown trout. The water has been one where in the past you feel like you have had a rewarding session if you have tempted a brace but last season was a total blow out for me. For the uninitiated the creatures in the picture below are not trout. They are though still highly sought after in some of the more remote villages in Derbyshire and by most of Staffordshire.

I have fished the brook mostly with a 7'6" rod and this is about as long as you would want to go. At the moment I keep thinking about getting a 6 footer that I think would be ideal on this water and the River Ecclesbourne. Recently I had some correspondence with Steve Parton and apparently Harrison are now doing a 6' #3 blank. This sounds very tempting to me but at the moment I am managing to resist.

This photo is looking upstream from the footbridge that is at the north end of the DRAC water. After I had taken this I had a drive up round Longford to see if I could spot any reference to the Blount Flyfishers water. However it was not really a day for stopping and exploring. There is a sign looking upstream as the brook passes under the road leaving Sutton village stating "Poachers will be prosecuted", this was the only reference I saw.
Not as ferocious as one of the signs observed this afternoon:

"Private Property - Violaters will be shot, Survivors will be shot again"

I wonder if they'll be voting Green Party?