Swollen Dove hits top form

8lb 1oz same weight as last week!

 On Monday I managed a short session on the Dove before last knockings and it probably had nearly a foot of extra water than last week. Level for reference was 0.99m at Marston and dropping. I've not fished previously with the water as high so this was a new string to my barbel fishing bow.

Looking over to Tutbury Castle

 It wasn't long before the fish responded to the pint of hemp I'd bait-droppered in and after playing a fish across the current it dropped off under my feet, doh! As the water was quite coloured I never even saw it but like all Dove barbel it pulled like a train. A couple of pals were on another stretch and I got a text to say Rob had just landed a 10lb'er. My rod was soon round again and this one faught like a tiger. I've never really felt undergunned but my 1.5lb TC rod felt not quite the tool for job with this amount of water on. This fish had my drag spinning with several strong runs and I thought it was a good double. It just shows how good condition the fish are in as it weighed in at 8lb 1oz, identical to the one I had last week.

Sunset over the Dove

 No sooner had I returned it I heard that Rob had just gone a few onces better landing a 10lb 3oz, both fish on a quiver rod, 5lb line and lobworms, great angling!!
It was not the end for me either as later on I had a smaller unweighed fish and as the clock was heading towards 10pm decided to call it a day.

About 6-ish?

Derbyshire Beer

If anyone is out in Derbyshire today and fancies some refreshment you might want to consider calling in at the beer festival at Arkright Mills which is celebrating Derbyshire Beer. There is a good choice of tipples there but I'd go straight for something from Middle Earth Brewery. I tried their latest brew Witan one evening last week and it was spot on. Middle Earth is run by an old pal of mine Steve Twells and his partner Carla, their emphasis is always on quality and it is highly recommended.
Cheers!

Scropton Barbel

5lb ish, but with the tail of a bigger one!

 I was really looking forward to some barbel fishing this year and had a great opening session yesterday evening at Scropton. The water was quite colured and after all the rain we had last week was at a reaonably high summer level of 0.83m on the EA site.
There were quite a few cars around and I met another angler on my way down to the river who had caught some nice chub and a corking brown trout on a prawn! It was barbel I was after though and I was slightly surprised to find my first choice of peg free, it had been fished earlier though.
Initially I put in about half a dozen bait droppers of hemp and corn, had a walk to the bottom boundary then came back and tackled up. My normal 1 oz feeder would not hold bottom so on went a 2 oz and that faired OK. After an hour or so I had a feisty barbel of about 5lbs and how I'd forgotten how hard they pulled!!
A longer wait for my second fish but it was worth it. Just around dusk my rod leapt round in the 2 foot twitch and the fight was on. Three time this fish had the drag spinning making strong runs and took a long time to work upstream. After the excitement it went into the back of the net and I rested it before weighing and a quick snap. At 8lb 1oz I was well pleased and two barbel on my first trip was a little more than I expected. I released the fish a tad downstream where I could get into the river earlier and ensure the fish was fully recovered, I ended up supporting it in the dark with my headtorch on. After a good few minutes it was on it's way so happy days.

8lb 1oz

Bunking up

Can you believe this pair?

Harold and Barney have a tolerable relationship through most of the day but after their activities quite like to chill out together. Yesterday Barney had been taxed with an inspection of the Dove to adjudge whether it was ready to try for a barbel. Harold had done his usual patrol of the village to ensure everything was in order.
It was clearly very tiring work for the pair of them.

Nipping out for a loaf

 This evening I needed to get some provisions and as Sutton Brook has picked up decidedly this season thought I'd combine the trip with a few casts. No sign of any fish rising but prospecting with a Klinkhammer style pattern soon bought a brace up from some likely looking runs. Question though does the fish above also feature in my 4th June post??
Bugger! just got home and forgot the milk!

Far from the crowds

 It really does not get much better than this! Yesterday three of us fished one of the less popular lengths of the Derbyshire Derwent at Darley Dale. With probably the thick end of a mile of fishing we barely saw another angler and boy what they were missing.

I formed the advance party and noticed fish moving from the off. My first couple came to a LDO imitation but then I needed to don my jacket in response to a sharp rain shower. This seemed to cause one of those subtle changes in conditions that anglers sense, before long a mayfly hatch was in full swing.

 For about 30 minutes the fish went completely loopy and I swear I would have got a rise to a pigeon! By the time I got the call to say Phil and Rob had arrived I had stopped fishing as it was just silly.

 Like all good things though conditions swiftly changed and it was like this for the rest of the afternoon with some lean spells and at times more productive.

 We had the stretch of river basically to ourselves and explored all the spots which get rarely fished. Phil got into many tight spots assisted by his quick switch to a southpaw cast, a skill to be practiced given the bank on which DRAC have the fishing rights.

Another one for Rob

Derwent Wildie

 The honours waxed and waned through the afternoon as each angler enjoyed his share of the sport. I needed a couple of welcome Kelly brews to refresh and fortify myself with a crafty pork pie.

 All in all a great afternoon in pleasant company and great surroundings, oh to be alive and in Derbyshire!

As the sun started to set we explored further upstream and managed to pick up a couple more fish before last knockings.

Mohican Mayfly

 The winter before last I had tied up several Mohican Mayflys, an Ollie Edwards pattern. It is quite intricate to tie and takes me a good 40 minutes but they are a killing pattern. They hardly made it onto the leader in 2011 but this year was one to remember, Rob and Phil also enjoying success with this pattern. My fly box was looking decidedly sparse by the end of the night. Well that may be it for the drake this year, I might get one more chance. However, after yesterday's success it won't be the end of the world if I just reflect on a great afternoon on the stream.

Mayfly - Diamond Stuff

 I'm just back from a short session on a local lowland stream and managed to find some fish on the drake. This brook is not known for having a large head of fish and upon arrival I was wondering whether to even thread the rod up. Plenty of mayfly but no rising fish is business as usual for this water, coupled with that the recent rain had run quite a bit of colour through the stream.

 Well I came up to a pool that I've had some limited success in and decided to give it a go. Soon I noticed the odd fish rising and took a fish on the nymph. Deciding to swich to a dun pattern it was straight into dry fly action as I took these two beauties amongst others.

 It was time to show some restraint in this pool so I moved on having thought I spotted another rising fish further upstream. How wrong I was for the second time this evening as it turned out to be a cow! (Don't ask).
There are few sections on this brook where I feel confident and having fished a couple of my favourite spots without seeing another rise I called it a day.