After a period of inactivity following our house move I was determined to get out for one last fling at the trout. Yesterday was the planned trip and I packed up the car with my tackle, worked the morning and headed off up to Darley Dale at lunchtime. The weather was incredibly warm and I had hoped this would generate an afternoon of activity from the brownies on the DRAC water. On arrival though there was quite a stiff westerly breeze which seemed to put the fish down for most of the afternoon.
I soon bumped into Phil and it is always good to pick his brains on this stretch he appears to know very well. A few new runs were introduced to me so although not productive yesterday have plenty of potential for the future. Lots of ground (and water!) was covered for not much return and I ended the afternoon with the one fish below and Phil did not fair much better. Around 1730 the wind really got up and we dropped in on the stretch closest to the road for a last cast but it was becoming increasingly difficult to turn the leader over. My car was parked up at Redhouse and I set off back upstream hoping to find a sheltered spot to drop into. It soon became obvious I would not find one so I bade farewell to the 2011 trout season.
I've just acquired a delightful little Greys GRX 7' rod from one of the members of flyforums. Although I do have a 7 footer this one is a little more refined and I will be looking forward to trying it out next season.
This rod will be just the ticket for small rivers and brooks such as the River Ecclesbourne. I have had a GRX previously this was a 9'6" #6/7 which always fished nicely on venues such as Foremark or Thornton. In my opinion these are extremly well made rods and when I saw this one up for grabs I did not hesitate. There is a lot of bunkum and tripe about fly rods generated by advertising and fashion, you do not have to spend hundreds of pounds to find a nice rod that will last you many seasons.
