A Derby Angler's Journal

Eaton Dovedale

2012-02-12T19:01:00.003Z

Last night we had been in Repton for a curry at Jaipur with an old rugby pal and his wife so this morning found me a little jaded. What better way to freshen up than a couple of hours standing in the River Dove. I had some maggots but wanted to fish on the fly rod with some nymphs if conditions allowed. I had done some trotting a couple of weeks back and found I was getting a few too many trout so was pleased to see the river running at a good height.
I thought I was in for a bumper day when after only ten minutes the grayling above attached itself to a pink shrimp pattern and really put up a great account of itself. What a shame I could not do it justice with the photo!

I really enjoy the short line method with bugs and have made up some good indicators using fluro orange braid with a loop fashioned at each end. Before fishing I had greased it well with Mucilin and it showed my one take quite nicely. I explored quite a few swims today keeping on the move but just ended with the one fish. This is a method which to be honest I should be practising more it is a great way to take fish right under the rod tip.

Prince

2012-02-11T18:25:00.005Z

Barney's best pal is Prince, one of the biggest Weimaraners I've ever clapped eyes on. He lives just round the corner and there is nothing they like more than a good thrash round the fields.

Prince is pretty handy round the house and if the door is not locked he will let himself out for a wander round. More often than not he just comes straight round to ours to call for his friend. He just sits at our door until someone opens it or he is missed and retrieved.

This morning he came out with us on the morning walk and what a time they had. A joy to watch them giving each other some stick without a hint of malice.

After about 30 mins they were well and truly tired out and so it was back home for some breakfast and a sleep. What a dogs life!

A few more pics of the snow

2012-02-05T20:45:00.006Z

These photos were taken this moring whilst taking Barney for his walk. The thaw appears to be coming pretty quick now fingers crossed it will be gone in the morning.

Snow in Egginton

2012-02-04T20:02:00.004Z

It was -7deg.C when I took Barney out this morning and a lovely crisp sunny morning. Then back home for tea and toast which was spot on. The day was spent painting the bathroom and the snow arrived about 1400ish.
An hour later it was out again with Barnold this time with his coat on.
This weather is great unless you have to travel or work and unfortunately my wife is doing both tonight.
Not much activity on the airfield this afternoon.

Back to painting another coat in the morning, quite glad I've not been kidding myself that fishing is on!

Trotting for Ladies

2012-01-29T19:45:00.002Z

Last night my son was camping with the Scouts for their 'Chilly Challenge' and as I had to collect him late morning there was to be no fishing through the morning. Also a good enough excuse for me to skive the working party at Triangle which I'll probably get some stick about from the lads!! Anyway, by the time we had walked Barney, collected be-draggled scouts, and had some lunch the day was nearly gone. I decided to have a drive over to the Dove just in case it was fishable for the last couple of hours. I knew from the EA gauge at 0.39m this morning that it would be pushing through a bit much for bugging so I broke out the float rod. The lower stretch at Eaton was carrying a bit too much colour from the Churnet I suspect so I pushed on to Ellastone, here the conditions looked just about OK to wet a line.
My Bruce and Walker was paired with an ABU501 and a 5BB Avon float. Initially I had a few bites in the riffles at the top but could not get the fish to stick so moved further downstream.

Fish then started to come and they put up a great fight in the current, no real lunker grayling but the one above was a lovely fish. I really enjoy this method but it does attract a few too many trout at Ellastone, perhaps 3 or 4 to 1 grayling. (Where were they in the season!). Afterwards I spoke to some gents who had been fishing the Norbury water on the fly and they had found it all going but had persevered all day. There did seem to be some spring in the air today so lets see what the next few weeks brings.

Barton & Walton

2012-01-08T20:08:00.003Z

This morning I exchanged a few texts with Phil about the aftenoon prospects at Barton and Walton Pool the result being that we both decided to give it a go. The afternoon was quite mild and I was quite hopeful of a perch or perhaps even a hungry pike on one of my new lures.
Upon arrival I worked my way round quite quickly to where Phil had set up to find that he was giving it a go on the float. Although it was mild the pool looked barren and still in the grip of winter. It did seem like spring though when in late afternoon the sun broke through briefly and we hoped that the fish would liven up in pursuit of our lures. Phil had also switched to spinning by now and even had a follow from a perch. Dusk was falling as I left so a blank for me but hopefully Phil's perseverance paid off.
The local rivers are still quite high and hopefully I will get out soon for some grayling fishing when conditions improve.

Some new lures

2011-12-31T16:55:00.008Z

There has not been much chance of getting out on the River Dove over the last few days due to the extra water but this morning I was perked up by the arrival of some new lures. They were shad patterns by Big Hammer supplied by AGM tackle. So to keep up my spirits I sneaked an hour on the canal this afternoon and the Silver Phantom (!) above accounted for a nice perch of about a 1lb. I had cut it down to 2.5" and mounted as shown on the website. Unfotunately I had left my camera at home so no picture. I only ordered the stuff a couple of days back so thumbs up to AGM for prompt delivery.
Happy New Year all!!

Black Pool

2011-12-29T08:33:00.002Z

After a few days in over the festive season I had suffered from the onset of cabin fever so snatched a few hours on Sunday morning lure fishing on the Black Pool. This water has a reputation for holding a few predators of moderate size so I thought it was worth a chuck what with the Dove still fining down after the recent rain. It was quite mild day very different to last Christmas when we were in the grip of winter.
As well as the pool there is also the stretch of the canal which is on the DRAC ticket. Spinning was a handy method as it obviously requires little organisation in terms of buying bait and also keeps you on the move searching out different stretches.
My set up is a little agricultural for fishing small lures as the only spinning rod in either mine or my Dad's collection is an old telescopic glass Silstar 9' suited to casting 30-40 grammes. I will keep my eye out over the next week or so and see if I can pick up something a little more suitable for flicking smaller lures, perhaps a Drennan spincast 7' if anyone has any suggestions then please post a comment.
Anyway back to the angling I'm afraid the skinny jack below saved my blank and was taken on an Abu Sonnette. I've been reading up on the net on ABU tackle over Christmas as the 'Tight Lines' catalogue was one of my treasured possessions as a boy. This lure is stamped Sweden on the blade and apparently ABU moved lure production out of the home country in the late 70's/early 80's so is a vintage spinner!
I carried on fishing down the pool from the Weston end to the Swarkestone end but no more takes were forthcoming so had a wander over to the river which was pushing through quite heavily so I gave that a miss. One of the nice things about Weston Cliff is the contrast available in the angling so it was back over to the canal and I fished back down to the bridge. I saw one other angler who had made a good showing of pole fishing a snag on the far bank with a good mixed net of fish. So much more pleasant with the reduced boat traffic in the winter. An interesting couple of hours angling and I hope to get the hang of this lure fishing a little better my next steps will be to try some of these soft plastic imitations.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T20:27:00.001Z

Merry Christmas to all, hope you are all as ready for the big day as Barney.

Trent & Mersey Canal

2011-12-04T20:55:00.006Z

I must be getting good at this decorating lark as the job I'd pencilled in for the whole weekend was finished by noon on Sunday! So a rare window of opportunity had me scrabbling round the garage getting some tackle together. I fancied somewhere close and keeping on the move so the canal it was to be with some spinners. I say some but I actually mean the only two I possess at the moment which are both ancient ABU lured. The outfit was quite novel as I realised most of my coarse rods are still in Dad's garage so I coupled a fixed spool reel with a 8 foot #4/5 fly rod.
Not many cars at Willington car park when I arrived and I thought I would walk up to Findern Pond then work my way back down. At the pond I only had a dozen casts and 80% of then came back weeded up so I adjourned to the canal. The weather had taken a turn for the worst a wintry squall starting to seep down the back of my neck, brrrr! There were only a few dog walkers out and it was really getting unpleasant when a perch grabbed my lure. Not a monster, probably a pound or so but very welcome. The lure was an ABU Sonnette one of those I remember looking longingly at in the old Tight Lines catalogue. It has been swapped from box to box over the years as I don't spin much but turned up trumps today.

Sutton Brook

2011-11-25T17:50:00.002Z

I've posted a couple of times about the DRAC stretch of this water but have not fished it for a good while now. Today I received the following comments to a very early post so I'll cut and paste here for all to see that some stretches of the brook are looking pretty healthy.
Love the website Nick, it looks spot on!! I'm still convinced it is a Mordex though.

Hi dave, browsing around and stumbled across your blog site? I feel duty bound to enlighten/update you and some of your fellow bloggers on your comments regarding Sutton brook .I have fished almost its entire length at some point or other over the past 50 years and been chairman of Blount flyfishers for the last 24. We now control the fishing rights on around 3 miles of the brook from just below Sutton village road bridge almost continuosly as far as Longford. The fishery is run solely as flyfishing for trout and grayling and has survived {not without crisis} for at least 35 years Fortunately for us our fishery creates the perfect habitat for trout and the food they eat and contains a heathy population of indiginous breeding stock,which is supplemented annualy with brown trout of takeable size ,anyone intrested in joining our small friendly syndicate should contact me without delay on 01159 328669 Nick Bulmer chairman Blout flyfishers or visit our germinating website at www.blountflyfishers.moonfruit.co.uk P S, Dave the reels a grice and young not a mordex.

Autumn in South Derbyshire

2011-11-06T20:55:00.005Z

This afternoon I knocked off early from doing some jobs and took a walk over to the River Dove with Barney. It was a great afternoon and although I did not wet a line what a cracking time to be out.

The Dove looked in fine fettle carrying a little extra water. This is definitely my favourite time of year as the temperature drops there seems to be an unbelievable fresh smell to the air.

What a handsome lad!

The colours are incredible at this time of year with greens through yellow and golds to russet and brown.

The gravel pit above is just off the path down to the river and if you look closely there is one angler out enjoying the afternoon sun.

A brook rod

2011-10-13T22:00:00.003+01:00

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.

Back end-ish Derwent

2011-10-04T21:01:00.004+01:00

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.

Ellastone Heartbreaker

2011-07-28T20:24:00.003+01:00

Ellastone has a reputation for being a real spirit breaker at times and can return the angler a broken man. Last night was one of those typical evenings with the fish not really on the fin. It looked really good from the bridge but I only managed three fish all evening, the last one was the best but it was taken in the dark. My successful flys were a grey duster variant the PP and the LTD sedge. I also tried various olive patterns and spinners during a sporadic rise but nothing really hit the spot, well not until I got a cold can from the fridge upon returning home.
With the benefit of hindsight the water was quite coloured which I would have expected to clear by now after last weeks rain.

River Ecclesbourne

2011-07-21T19:00:00.003+01:00

Last night I thought I had blown it upon looking over the bridge at Ellastone to find the Dove still the colour of drinking chocolate. Fortunately as plan B I had put my 7' #3 rod in the car and so drove over to Hazlewood.
The fishing on the Ecclesbourne is pure jungle warfare and by this stage of the summer it is very overgrown and the balsam is rampant. I did my share of pulling up but it would take an army to eradicate it.

It is very hard work to trick the Ecclesbourne into giving up her treasures and last night I had a brace in just under an hour and a half which is good going. Both fish fell to a PTN and of the three fish I saw move I caught two so was quite pleased. The third ended up with me standing on tip toes to retrieve my fly from the canopy, not an unusual experience on this river. I hope you agree that although small the trout are great looking fish. They came from the two pools immediately upstream of the bottom pool by the bridge. I fished up til just past the cattle drink that has now been neatly fenced off. By this time I had got a right lard on as it really is graft battling through the undergrowth. The water had a slight tinge to it but was a damn sight more fishable than the Dove.
Things sound like they are getting moving on our impending house move so this may be my last trip for a while unless I can sneak out early next week. Tight lines all!

Ellastone

2011-07-18T20:47:00.003+01:00

My rod from Steve Parton was long overdue a christening and last night the thought of that forced me up to the Dove when the weather was really telling me otherwise. Showers in Derby soon became persistent rain as I went west along the A50 but after being in all weekend needed a few lungfulls of fresh air without the kids bending my ear or the dog requiring attention.
It was blowing up the Dove valley and I could see the squalls passing over the bridge at Ellastone, ah well in for a penny as they say. The rod cast like a dream and is incredibly light. I have been fishing with a Snowbee 9' ZR2 for a while and although the Sparton is only 6" shorter it felt like I was fishing a 7'6" rod so really pleased with it. Only one small brownie came to hand and I dropped another fish off, both on nymphs. Good news then as it did not start out life with a blank and I'll look forward to some more hopefully productive sessions with it.
Balsam has sprung up with a fury at Ellastone this season so I pulled up a few clumps and would ask other anglers on the stretch to do the same. The exit from fording the millstream near the bridge was almost entirely choked with the damn stuff for those who know the beat.

River Dove

2011-07-12T21:44:00.005+01:00

Yesterday evening I tried a stretch of the river I'd not fished previously. Some of the swims looked a complete picture and I found a barbelly looking peg with a line of reeds along the far bank.

It was a beautiful evening and although I didn't commence until 2000 a real wind down after a day at work. Another angler soon passed me and we exchanged pleasantries but did point out that barbel were 'few and far between' on this stretch.

Well there were no barbs for me so he was right but I have had some good luck just recently and thought I was staring at a blank. At 2215 the rod went round and I caught quite a nice chub, guess about 5lb ish. I didn't weigh him as I was keen for one more cast before calling it a day. The picture of him is not brilliant I've had a bit of a lapse in photo quality and must try harder. This looks to me like it could be a very productive stretch but would need the hours putiing in to work it out. A busy summer ahead for me so don't know whether I'll have the time to do it justice.

Thorpe Cloud

2011-07-08T21:44:00.006+01:00

There have been showers on and off all day in Derby but I had a feeling about catching some good weather this evening so bundled the kids and the dog in the car after work and headed up to Dovedale. They thought I was crackers as we sat in traffic (25 minutes for the 4 miles across Derby, grrrrr) in a really heavy downpour but once we got past Ashbourne it cleared up. A quick stroll up Pointon's Glen to the stepping stones and then I managed to persuade the kids to traverse Thorpe Cloud. I'd forgotten my camera so we used Meg's phone for this shot on the top where it was quite bracing.
We rounded off the trip with a bag of chips and a can of pop in Ashbourne market place, it was a great evening to be out.

A Fine Brace

2011-07-07T18:34:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I managed a short session at Scropton as the day drew to a close. I found a nice swim where I expected the barbel to be feeding in mid water and put in several pouchfulls of hemp and pellets before tackling up. Then I set a new little record for myself of time to bank the first fish, my first cast was about 2000 and at 2015 I had returned a 7lb 7oz barbel.

The fish were obviously on the feed as I've never had so many pulls and twitches on the rod tip throughout my session. About an hour or so later another firm pull resulted in the fish above which I did not weight but would guess about 6lb-ish perhaps a bit less.
The bigger barb was in great condition as can be seen below, unfortunately it is not my best barbel pic, I was thinking too much about getting him back in safely which is the first priority with these fine wild river fish. At 2215 the light was going fast and as I could only just make out the rod tip called it a day.

The Pennine Way

2011-07-04T22:07:00.002+01:00

I've decided to blog my trip up the Pennine Way. If you enjoy the outdoors you might like this.

A new river rod

2011-07-04T18:40:00.005+01:00

I've always fancied a hand built fly rod for the river, something not from the far east and made by a bloke that you can go and talk to. Upon hearing that Steve Parton was downsizing the retail side of his business I decided to take the plunge.
The rod is an 8'6" AFTM #3/4 two piece built on a Harrison blank. Steve has given it a couple of little personal touches, firstly the name which was a complete surprise and also a little hardwood button on the butt to avoid scratching my reel when the Kelly is on the go. I've yet to have a dabble but am sure it will be a corker. So there you go, a hand build British rod for less than the price of most middle of the road Chinese mass produced stuff.

My First Double

2011-06-30T21:53:00.005+01:00

Last night I headed off to the River Dove in search of a barbel and was amazed to find I had the popular stretch at Scropton to myself. So straight to my favourite swim and just to confirm what I knew already the river was the lowest I've ever seen on this stretch. My rod was in for about 1900 and I sat back to enjoy the evening. Another first for me last night was a Kingfisher perched on my rod, probably all of 3 seconds but I felt very privilleged. After about 30 minutes a few taps started on the rod end and then it went round, this was a chub though still that was the blank saved early doors!
It then went very quiet for a while and not until after 2200 did things start to develop. The rod whacked round and I knew this was no chub. After holding the fish for a while I began to move it upstream but it was strong and made a good run for a known snag on the nearside bank. I felt the line scrape against a branch and to get more leverage it was into the river with my net and start to bully it away. Luckily everything held and once in the open the fish had the drag spinning as it made for midstream. Pressure eventually told and it turned back towards the bank but was then into some weeds. Here strong tackle really counts and I was able to get it's head up and into the net. I rested it here for a couple of minutes and then up onto the bank for a quick photo and weighing. At 10lb dead this was my first double and I was over the moon with it. The fish was in fantastic condition and I made sure it recovered properly in a shallower area one peg down, it was great to see it swim away strongly.
That was it for me as it was now getting pretty dark so I packed up and slowly made my way back to the car very pleased with my angling.

River Trent

2011-06-28T21:30:00.003+01:00

On Sunday evening I tried a peg that had set me thinking since a work party a few weeks back, it was the closest one to the bridge that was cleared. The result was a repeat of my last trip, no barbel and one chub. Also similar to my last outing was using braid as hooklength the other coincidence is I'm losing a lot of tackle and snagging up regularly. May have to consider a return to Maxima. Any other tips from anglers on this subject are welcomed.

River Trent, Shardlow

2011-06-22T21:03:00.002+01:00

Last night I fished in the same area as opening day but was not lucky enough to tempt a barbel. The weed was also a lot worse than last week which is a known problem with the Trent through the summer. One chub saved my blushes and this was taken from the third swim I fished in a reasonably short session. Although it is always nice to catch a barbel we should not curse chavender as he has prevented many a blank. He is not in the best of condition at this time of year though and this chap did a passable impression of a bream. I didn't weigh the chub but guess he was around 4lb.

Opening Day

2011-06-16T20:10:00.008+01:00

Well it is years since I have fished opening day of the coarse season and I had forgotten how magical it is walking along the bank knowing that no-one has cast a line since March. As I had arranged to meet up with Andy and Dave from Sheffield then the River Trent at Shardlow was the venue. As I had a variety of jobs to attend to today by the time I arrived at around 1100 they were already filling their boots with some lovely fish coming to traditional Trent float fishing tactics.
I had decided to try for a barbel so moved a little further upstream to the faster water. The river was not too wide here and I guess I was fishing threequarters across below an obvious snag. After being out for a curry and some refreshments last night I was anxious to get the Kelly on and get some tea down me as I was still feeling a little jaded.
Bites were few and far between but after just over an hour fishing the odd one started to develop. A big drop back and what I think was a chub but it was soon off. Then a real bite, no indication problems here the rod was straight off the rests and I picked it up off the grass with the baitrunner going!!
The fish was straight into a snag but eventually the pressure told and after a very spirited fight I netted a 6lb 2oz beauty. This fish was in great condition and made some tremendous runs setting the drag spinning.
So for me a great start; good company, Kelly on the go, sun out, and a barbel.

What a Tench

2011-06-14T20:31:00.004+01:00

Last night I had intended heading for the River Dove after trout but felt pretty tired after work and didn't fancy the drive. What better I thought to just unwind sitting on my basket for a couple of hours watching the evening pass by. I had some corn in my basket and hemp in the freezer so that was bait sorted and I headed off to the pool I had fished a few weeks earlier. The peg I had the five pounder from was free and so I plonked myself down and threw some hemp and corn in whilst I tackled up.
I would fish just over the marginal reeds where the depth is about 8' before a rapid drop off. It is effectively right under the rod tip and so I sat well back from the edge. Now for the wait I thought as this pool does not give up its treasures easily. So for 2 hours I patiently waited for some activity on the float. The only sign was one perch that succumbed to a bit of prawn. When the bite came it was un-missable and the rod arched right over. There are reeds to the left and the fish made for these but I managed to bully it into open water. I had taken some advice from Steve and used a 1.5tc rod, if this had been on my float rod then it would have ended in tears. Time and time agian it made for the snags and all I could do was just hold it hoping the 4lb bottom and 14 barbless would hold. They did. I managed to get my net out at full stretch and after one refusal in went the tench.
Well as it went in I knew that this was a special fish and I rested it in the margin whilst I got the scales ready. I did not realise quite how big though as it pulled my Flyweights round to 7lb dead, my best tench by a country mile. The size of the fish was awesome with a prominent back and huge girth. After a quick photo it swam strongly off but that was me done in. It was getting late but there was no need for a last cast, one very satisfied customer the fish left me slightly bewildered. My tench fishing has not been easy this year and I can now confess to 5 blanks at Findern, 2 at Triangle, and 1 at Melbourne Pool. This has more than made up for those. Get in there you beauty!!!

Derbyshire Derwent

2011-06-07T22:17:00.008+01:00

The first two weeks in June have been consistently good mayfly sport on the Derwent for the last two seasons. It was with this in mind that I met up with Phil at Red House for what we hoped would be the cream of the mayfly sport. We had a grand afternoon out allthough the fish were a little unco-operative making this the first year for a while that I don't think will see a fish to my mayfly patterns. As Phil knows this stretch well I also learnt a few more runs to try in the future as to the uninitiated a lot of the water at Darley can appear unfishable. We started in some grand looking water towards the top end of the section and I soon saw Phil into a fish. There were some feeding at the top of this section but they seemed to remain just out of casting range.
It was soon apparent that the fish would be hard earned and rising trout were few and far between but we persevered with our dry patterns. I could not get one to stick and worked my way upstream to just above the big bend. From the state of the banks this section appears to have been hardly fished and we located some fish rising against the far bank. This was an assortment of flys hatching including some dark sedges so I turned to the famous LTD pattern and it soon accounted for the beauty below, a fantastic Derbyshire brownie. It put up a great struggle, hardly surprising just look at the tail on it, what a paddle!

Another fish soon came to hand on the same fly and so it was time for a rest and to get the Kelly on whilst Phil fished up the section. Refreshed by a mashing of tea and a pork pie we decided to explore further upstream. This was a short sortie however as we did not locate any fish on the fin.
For the last hour or so we moved down to the mid section which was very busy with other anglers particularly considering it was a Monday. The fishing seemed to get tougher with few rising fish and those that were feeding taking something quite small just under the surface.
The wading on most of the DRAC section is quite exciting to say the least and we ended up in typical Darley swims; about half a rod from the bank and the water already half way up your waistcoat. The cover made an overhead cast impossible so a side cast backhand flick was required to cover some difficult fish in mid water. Luckily I managed to fluke one of these on a PT emerger after they refused a size 18 shuttlecock that I had tied before as a banker (or so I thought). Presentation though is everything, particularly on this slower section where the trout have ample time to inspect your offering. So quite tired casts do not deliver great presentation and after a while thrashing about under trees we retired gracefully after a corking afternoon out in the Derbyshire countryside.

Darley nearly mayfly

2011-05-31T20:48:00.005+01:00

This year I am wondering if the mayfly will pass me by. Looking at the reports on the forums and knowing its track record I thought the Derwent at Darley Dale was an absolute banker for some drake action. Time was at a premium however and leaving home at 1130 the drive was almost a full hour to cover the 28 miles. For the last two seasons I have enjoyed some great sport on this stretch so I cannot complain really, however it was a bit disappointing that there was know real hatch through the afternoon. When I finished at about 1545 there was the odd mayfly appearing and hopefully any other anglers will have enjoyed a good evening sport. Fish were hard to come by and my favourite stretch at the back of Oker yielded none which was a bit of a slap to start with.
I eventually found some feeding fish but could not get a take from them. They were either taking something just below or very small off the surface. As the fly that I was later successful with was an emerger then I suspect that it was the former. After going through my box at these fish the one fly I overlooked was the Petit Merde that Brian gave to me on the Wye last summer, these must have been worth a try. The more frustrated I became the worst my presentation so I ended up leaving them. At Darley there are some very slow stretches that are hard to get down to and put out a line, sometimes perseverence in these spots pays dividends as I think the fish are very rarely cast at as it is so awkward.
Eventually I managed to take a few fish on a PT emerger. This fly is tyed on a Partridge Klinkhammer hook size 18 and uses PT body and tails & CDC loop wing. Quite simple and effective today too. No real lunkers today but as ever the Derwent trout are very pretty. If all goes to plan I'll have another go at them next week. These have been the hot weeks on this stretch for the last couple of seasons, perhaps the cold night and also the cool wind have not helped today.

An evening at the vice

2011-05-19T22:07:00.003+01:00

With duffers fortnight fast approaching I have been studying the other fly fishing blogs and forums with interest for the latest information. I hope to have a few good sessions on the Dove and the Derwent so have made sure my boxes are full of deadly mayfly patterns. However, when doing so I have mislaid my pouch of St Bruno, what rotten luck.

Back to Ellastone

2011-05-15T21:54:00.004+01:00

My spring tench campaign had somewhat faltered this year so after GP reported mayfly appearing at Ellastone it was time to pick up the fly rod. I had a few hours this afternoon so headed off with hopes of some good sport. There were no other anglers on the beat and I soon noticed the odd may coming off and a very infrequent rise. The fish have not really turned onto them yet to herald the start of Duffers Fortnight. Some larger dun patterns were tried and got the odd slash from the fish but they were not really taking the drake. I also observed plenty of yellow may duns amongst the green drake.
Well I then fannied about for a while fishing nymphs and also had a go on the duo, a technique which I have become crap at as I use it so infrequently. Eventually the penny dropped that the rising fish were not on the drake but taking large dark olives. I quickly matched the hatch and began catching at last, the trout now taking my olive pattern with gusto. In a little under an hour I took four fish of which the one below was the best. Another of a similar stamp was lost. As the clock ticked towards 7pm the activity stopped and consequently I called it a day. A good return to Elly for me and still the cream of the mayfly fishing ahead.

An Olive Beauty

2011-05-05T21:08:00.004+01:00

Since my early success at Findern my tench fishing exploits have distinctly faltered. So what better venue to kick off again that one of the club pools with a reputation for being hard. During one of my dog walks earlier in the week I had spotted a swim I had not noticed before and quite liked the look of it. So after work yesterday I packed the tackle into the car and headed off up to Shardlow. For bait I had casters and hemp plus some sweetcorn. There were a lot of cars about when I arrived but they were all fishing the pool on the other side of the road on which the carp appear to be feeding well at the moment.
I tackled up a waggler on my 14' float rod, the intention was to fish virtually under my rod tip beyond the fringe of weeds, the extra length I reasoned would help me keep the fish away from snags. Double caster first when on the size 14 barbless and I was soon getting knocks on the float and some bites which I just could not hit. Nevertheless activity on the float makes the time fly and it was soon 8pm. I had noticed that periodically the swim was fizzing so I hoped that some tincas were moving in. After catching a perchlet on casters I decided to go for double corn in the hope this would attract a tench. As the light was going the float slipped away and a good fish was on. I could not get it's head up and was certain this was a carp as it was so powerful. Fortunately it chose to run out into the pool and I prayed that there were no hidden snags. Playing it carefully there was no way I could see this as a tinca but on 4lb hooklength did not want to try bullying it up for gander. There was some excitement when the fish finally went for the weeds and I held grimly on but then it surfaced. A tench. With it's head finally up I soon got it in the net. It was in pristimne condition and weighed in at 5lb 3oz. This was a fish I was really pleased with having winkled it out from a difficult water. Lets hope for a few more over the coming weeks.

Where is the tench shop?

2011-04-25T08:43:00.004+01:00

Well can anyone help me please as I now need to go and buy a tench. After getting my spring tench campaign off to a great start at Findern a couple of weeks back it has distinctly faltered but hey I suppose that is fishing. Yesterday evening I set off for a sortie to Triangle and when I arrived there were a few cars in the car park. My favourite swim was taken by a carp angler who had been in it since 5.30am so I guess he had sort of earnt it!
Consequently I set off for some swims that I had spent the day discussing with Rob from the DRAC forum. There was to be no messing about so I set up two rods. I fished a feeder at about 20 yrds out and a float in the margins on my Bruce and Walker. Initial interest was all on the feeder rod with some bream getting their heads down on some corn.

This was the best and the biggest bream I have caught at 6lb 9oz. It even put up a bit of a struggle and didn't come straight to the top and flap about like the smaller ones do, most un-bream like. There were little signs on any interest in my offerings on the float though.

It was getting on for 8.30pm when my float finally sailed away and the strike was met with firm resistance. Great I thought until I realised that this was no tench as it then lapped my swim at great speed putting a good bend in the float rod. Soon it was ready for the net but I think the antics effectively killed the swim as the initial margin was very clear and quite shallow at the edge for Triangle. This is I suspect one of the new stock of mirrors that have gone in this spring and weighed in bang on 5lb. So I've usually been able to wincle a tench from Triangle but have never had a bream or a carp from there before. That is definitely fishing!!

Robin Wood

2011-04-16T20:35:00.008+01:00

This afternoon we headed up to Robin Wood between Ticknall and Ingelby as it is a great quiet spot where Barney can have a good run around, usually without bothering other people and dogs.

The picture below is looking out over Knowle, a Landmark Trust property, towards Derby in the distance. I always think this would be a great place to rent as it is absolutely in the middle of nowhere and has some real character and interesting features. I can just see myself getting the barby going on that lawn whilst taking some refreshments.

The pond is just north of Seven Sprouts Farm, now some rather attractive developments rather than a working establishment. I'm not sure what has happened to this pond over the last 5 years or so but it has doubled in size. It looks a deliberate enlarging and is now starting to blend in. It was a delightful spot of less than half an acre that just screamed tench and carp although I have nver fished it. There is a commercial fishery that you should just make out before the rape field in the above picture but I do hope this pond does not go the same way. As you would have to walk more than 10 yards to get to your peg this should put the knockers on that.

A glorious day to be out in South Derbyshire, the team below are collecting pond weed for the tadpoles that the kids have kidnapped.

Findern Reclaimed

2011-04-10T18:04:00.002+01:00

There has been alot of discussion on the DRAC forum about this pond and last autumn I questioned whether it should be kept on the ticket as it has been badly affected by poaching and anti social behaviour. Whatever was I thinking. That thread generated a huge positive response and now the club members are getting amongst the tench again. Phil Harrison has kindly tidied up some of the swims and there is now a DRAC sign displayed proudly. All my formative tenching was done here in my early teens and the pond was incredibly popular then. So this morning I set out a little late but thought I would get a couple of hours in. There have been reports of good catched this week and I couldn't wait to see what the pond would produce. There was another angler already fishing and I was delighted to discover that he was another member although he had not caught. I dropped my basket into my favourite swim from the seventies and second cast renewed my aquiantance with Findern tench after more than 25 years.

This was soon followed by another fish and a couple of missed bites but after an hour or so my swim died. Not to worry as it was cracking morning and fantastically bright in fact I would not have been surprised by a blank. There will be a few more session for me here this spring and the last hour of light always used to be the best of the fishing. A great return for me and many memories of fishing with my Dad.

The other angler had done slightly better than me, his brace were a bit larger, both being 4.5 to 5lb. I will look forward to a return for some of the big lads and lasses. Unfortunately back to reality though as I spent the last 5 minutes picking up a dozen or so empty 'Fosters' cans. Some of the looks I got as I carried them back to the marina car park were quite amusing though!

Findern though is very definitely back on my list of regular haunts.

Barrow Tanks

2011-04-06T21:32:00.003+01:00

One of the things on my 'to do' list of fishing experiences was to do some buzzer fishing on one of the Bristol Water fisheries. Some enquiries had been made and it was suggested that some of the best bank fishing is at the Barrow Lakes, a string of 3 reservoirs just south of the city. These are known locally as the 'tanks'. I arrived just before 1830 on Monday eveing and purchased my ticket from the quirky money in the envelope self service booth. Entirely fit for purpose in my opinion. A brief conversation with the chap coming to empty the box suggested lake no.2 was my best bet and sure enough after I crossed the road the only three other anglers I saw were all fishing no.2. The east bank opposite the A38 was giving a nice left to right wind, a little strong but ideal for drifting a team of buzzers for the right handed caster.

Two black buzzers on the leader and out went my line, no trouble punching an 8 weight out with my Daiwa Lochmor across the wind. Well, only second cast and I got that electric buzz when everything went tight. The fish in the top picture put up a great fight, as good as any I've had from the powerful rainbow. Before 2000 I took four fish and probably missed another two or three takes, absolutely splendid fishing and all fell to Basil's Buzzer my favourite chromonoid pattern. The fish were generally in great condition just look at the tail on the one below, if this was a stockie then it was in great nick. The wind was quite strong setting up a large bow in the line and I got the feeling I was missing a few just counting on feel. Sure enough when I added a strike indicator for the last twenty minutes or so takes were much easier to see accounting for the last two fish in quick succession. Not nearly as exciting thouigh as straight lining and wating for the pull. By 2000 it had got quite cold and I retired for a well earned Chicken Vindaloo.

REF @ Foremark

2011-03-28T18:00:00.004+01:00

Yesterday morning I headed over to Foremark for a few hours to try a tempt an early season rainbow and also to have a chin wag with the River Erewash Foundation chaps who were having a bank social. I soon spotted Mick in Flamingo Bay helping one of the REF youngsters with his casting which paid off as we were pleased to see him land a fish later in the morning. Sunblest Bay was my first target and I dropped in next to another angler who I soon realised was Alan Booth who is a master barbel angler. He is clearly no mug with the fly rod either having already had a brace of fish. Sport was decidedly slow and I fished an intermediate for the first hour without a pull before swapping to a floater. It was about this time Mick joined us and slotted in between Alan and I. Alan had another fish and soon after I managed to winkle one out on a bloodworm. Foremark fish are renowned for their fighting qualities and this one went like stink. Mick offered me some helpful advice during the fight like "Are you still playing that fish Dave" as I missed it with the net. After more jovial banter which is guaranteed with these lads I retired around lunch time. I dropped the fish off at my pal Martin's on the way home who was looking for a good test of his new hot smoker. The text I received later confirmed that Foremark fish have also retained their good eating qualities.

A Common Bond

2011-03-24T19:45:00.004Z

This week I was working in Bristol for a couple of days and have been fortunate enough to find a hotel that has a pond in the ground that is stocked with carp. Although a club have the fishing here it is free to guests and I enjoyed a few evenings here last year also. To be honest it is a bit overstocked and if it was a day ticket fishery it would be absolutely hammered but the fish remain free biting to a number of baits. However, as beggars can't be choosers it is just the ticket to unwind after work for the last hour or so.
On Tuesday evening I was the only angler there and fished my usual set up of avon rod, fixed spool reel, and a simple waggler. Bait was luncheon meat as I had some in the freezer but bread is equally effective. It was not long before a young chap who was also a guest walked round to see me and soon revealed his dilemma. He was stopping for the week but had no tackle with him. Soon I played a nice carp but the hook pulled and then I had to take a phone call from work. I handed him my rod and he fished on managing to winkle out one of the fish.
I suggested we take it in turns and he was over the moon with a chance to try for a fish. For me there was as much pleasure in sharing the rod and watching the other chap catch. It left me thinking what a wonderful sport we have in that two strangers could instantly strike up a rapport. The angling gods clearly thought so as well as I was lucky enough to land the delightful common below. We fished until the float could no longer be seen and despite it being a warm day the temperature soon started to drop.
My usual routine when working away is to frequent a curry house with some reading matter, this week I had How to Fish by Chris Yates. The wife has found it highly amusing that after all these years I am reading a book of that title but it is more about philosophy than technique. So later that evening I enjoyed a chicken vindaloo and a few chapters and it then occurred to me that the evenings session was what angling is all about. Not really about the fish but more about enjoying the outdoors and being close to nature. Fish as ever are the bonus.

Last Knockings

2011-03-12T20:54:00.002Z

I thought I had missed my last chance of finishing the coarse season on a river today. Thursday and Friday were spent working away and consequently there was quite a list of jobs to be attended to this morning. Fortunately I escaped for the last couple of hours and as I didn't have much time plumped for the River Trent at Ingelby. The Trent is what I would call a big river and I don't have a deal of confidence on it preferring the Dove or the Derwent. As it is less than 10 minutes from home though it had to be today.
Hoping that my quest for a back end barbel would be satisfied my optimism was soon raised when on the second cast the rod nodded over nicely. Alas it was the chub below which had grabbed my meat but it was a good fish using the current to make me work it to the net and as per every chub I seem to catch it weighed 4lb dead.

Well at least that was my new rod christened what a shame it was not a barbel. Rather a fat chub I thought. That is it now for coarse fish on the rivers as I will not be on the banks again before Monday when the season finishes. So now my thoughts will turn to trout and tench until 16th June.

Searching for a back end barbel

2011-02-27T16:22:00.003Z

I wonder whether I will get lucky for a back end barbel this year as this mornings session at Scropton was not very productive. In fact it was not productive at all. Suppose I should have known better really with the level reading 1.1m on the EA website at Marston. Lately though I have been reading how barbel can be caught in flood conditions but clearly not by a numpty like me. It was definitely a day for the 6oz lead boys which is not my cup of team so I will give the river a miss in the future if it is reading higher than 0.8m.
Two swims were fished for about 45 mins each before I called it a day, not a sausage to show for it. The picture is taken looking roughly south east with Tutbury Castle in the background. One of my favourite swims can be seen on the far bank just to the left of centre.
It was a shame I blanked really as this was the first outing with my new barbel rod which I had purchsed after my bad luck a fortnight ago. It came from Billy Clarke Angling at Sheffield and the guys there provided me with great service.

Smashed Up

2011-02-13T20:41:00.002Z

This morning I set out for a couple of hours on the River Dove at Scropton. I was hoping for a winter barbel as the weather was quite mild and there was some fresh water in the river. I was quite surprised how high the river was though, it is currently reading 0.78m at Marston on the EA website.
There was no-one else I saw on the DRAC stretch and so I was soon in my favourite swim, the water here was about 18" than the summer level. My set up was feeder fished pellets and first cast there was a good bite but only quite a large scale on the hook to show for it.

After an hour or so I caught the chub below, it was 4lb dead which seems to be the standard size for this swim unless I keep catching the same one. Then disaster struck. A strong bite met with solid resistance and the fish made for the nearside snag that you can see just downstream in the above picture. I held on as hard as I dared and recovered some line but it all then went solid. I eased off a bit and felt the fish still on so put the pressure on and snap went my rod. Things all then got a bit messy and needless to say I lost the fish. It was either a very good chub, well known of course for their ability to get in a snag, or a barbel.

The rod was my Daiwa Specialist Avon which has left me gutted. It was a great rod to use and the first time I had ever broken a rod whilst fishing. My fault I guess I must have been too heavy on it whilst the fish was in the snag.

Anyone having a good barbel rod surplus to requirements at competitive rates then please let me know. Now, where is my Ebay link........

Lower Ellastone

2011-01-31T21:17:00.003Z

Having not fished for a few weeks I was looking forward to a session on the River Dove hopefully tempting a few fish to my Czech nymphs. The water looked in great condition but I knew how cold it would be and I do well to last a couple of hours in these conditions. The river really was at a great level for this time of year and I was soon into my favourite winter run just below the fast water. Alas it was not to be yesterday and I did not trouble the scorers. A few other anglers were out and had also found conditions tough, there was a lot of talk about the fish being hammered by comorants whilst the still waters have been frozen. I got cold enough to put me off for another few weeks although Andy at work today gave me a huge batch of T&S and FF&FT magazines so it won't be long before I'm well and truly 'hooked' again.

The Burton Game Fishing Festival

2011-01-16T20:35:00.005Z

This is a bit of an early notice but this looks like a worthwhile event particularly as it is aid of 'Casting for Recovery' and 'Fishing for Heroes'. I picked up this flyer at the Foremark Fly Fishers event at the John Thompson last Monday evening. Steve Parton was the guest speaker and those of you who have ever spoke to him or visited his premises will know how entertaining that could be. Steve didn't disappoint although some of his messages were not quite what the members expected I suspect. My son still considers his visit to Steve's 'shop' one of his most amusing shopping experiences (and so do I).

Good to see the FFF on the up though with a very good attendance. Those interested in their other events can find details here.

Sloe Gin

2011-01-15T21:14:00.005Z

January and February are not the greatest of angling months in my opinion and are a good time to occupy one'self with such things as decorating. Far better now than when the weather picks up and you will curse even more for being stuck inside with a paint brush.

Today I took the opportunity to bottle my sloe gin. I have been meaning to do it since the Christmas holidays and finally made the move today. This is a real winter warmer comfort drink and I would recommend it if you not tried it before, it is good fun to make your own. My recipe is as follows:

2 bottles of the cheapest gin you can find (make sure it is at least 35% alcohol though)

1 and 3/4 pounds of sloes

8oz of sugar

First find your sloes which are the fruit of the blackthorn bush. Pick some after the first frosts, this is a good way to spend a late autumn afternoon. Wash them in water and then prick each to release the flavour. Put them into a liquid tight container and then add the sugar and the gin. You can vary the sugar depending how sweet you prefer the sloe gin. My wife's uncle would use 1lb of sugar to 1lb of sloes but this is too sweet for me. All you have to do now is wait but give the mixture a turn every day for the first week and then once a week. It should be ready by Christmas, I am a little late bottling this year. It is a nice tipple and makes the thought of decorating bareable.

Back to the Dove

2011-01-04T20:19:00.003Z

Today was the last day of an extended Christmas break for me and I had planned on getting over the Ellastone again for a couple of hours this afternoon. The level had dropped since my last visit on New Years Eve and this morning the EA site gave a reading of 0.31m. It was perfectly fishable at this height particularly as it was fining down as you can see from the above picture.
I thought I was in for a corking session when on only my second cast the line darted forward and after a brief struggle the lady below was soon in the net. This fish took one of my hares ear shrimps with an orange hotspot. However, this turned out to be the only success of the session the angling being particularly tough. As ever it was only a brief visit as the water chilled me to the bone, I was fishing less than two hours.

Another angler soon arrived on the Norbury bank and went up to fish up above the fast section. He had some limited success and mentioned the dreaded comorant having shooed some off earlier in the day. Apparently they have been making a beeline for the rivers whilst the stillwaters are frozen over. Not good news.

The Last Lady

2010-12-31T17:51:00.006Z

Well what a great way to end 2010!
This afternoon I had decided to head over to Ellastone for a couple of hours whilst the rest of the family went to 'Wind in the Willows'. I'm sorry but I just don't get pantos, what is funny about fat blokes wearing dresses? Unless you are on rugby tour of course when it is perfectly acceptable behaviour.
Anyway, it has been a while since the fly rod has been out and I've been tying up a few patterns over the holiday inspired by some DVDs from Brian. So today I did not bother with maggots and took my 9' #3-4 rod to have a go at some bugging. The Czech nymph technique is deadly in the hands of an expert but I don't seem to get chance to practice it that often as when the weather gets colder my mind turns to the trotting rod.
I knew I would not last long in the water at this time of year but it felt a lot warmer than my trip to Eaton a few weeks back when it must have been a good ten degrees colder. Into the fast water at the top of the beat without seeing any other anglers as I walked up the meadow. In the first fifteen minutes I bumped off two fish and thought I was going to get a few. Then it went dead as I moved upstream and then I realised that the fish were in the slacker water. Re-tracing my steps I started to work upstream again from just above the outflow. My legs were really getting numb now but that was soon forgotten when I netted the fish above after a determined fight. It took some working to get into the net making a strong play to remain downstream of me. The fish took an olive shrimp pattern that I had tied up in the Autumn.
This is one of my most satisfying fish of the season, to trick a wily wild river fish on a hand tied pattern using a method I would love to master.
Happy new year all!!!

The Bleak Midwinter

2010-12-20T22:07:00.003Z

I'm not known much for reciting hymns but when the conditions are like they are at the mo it always brings to mind:

In the bleak midwinter
frosty wind made moan
earth stood hard as iron
water like a stone

And so it was as I arrived at Eaton Dovedale yesterday morning. I'm absolutely kicking myself as for the first time for a while I forgot the camera. I thought I would get away with taking some pics on my work blackberry but it won't let me download the photos onto my computer, that's the IT police for you. No pics then for this post folks.
On leaving Chellaston it was -5 deg.C and is usually a good few degrees less out in the sticks so I'm guessing at about -7 deg.C when I arrived. As I walked round to my chosen spot my fingers were absolutely screaming madness and I nearly retreated. I set up with my 'new' Bruce & Walker and Dad's 'pin. My float was a Drennan 5BB wire avon this runs through well and is a set up I'd recommend.
The first spot was quite streamy and did not produce this time. After 45 minutes or so I moved further downstream below the swan island to the slacker deeper stretches. I soon started getting bites and lost a couple of fish, thought I'd got through the grayling dropping off bit but guess not. It was a great morning to be out and I kept the cold at bay by batting my reel back furiously. Several times i had to stop to de-ice the rings, this was the coldest session I can remember for a long time. There was very little wind and the Dove valley looked truly desolate. After landing a couple of fish I struck into something much better and when it surfaced knew this was the fish I'd been after for the last two winters. I soon forgot the cold when it made a good run and I hoped the size 18 barbless would hold. It used all its tricks to remain downstream but I eventually got it over the net. Well this was the fish I had yearned for and I was all fingers and thumbs due to the combination of the cold and the excitement. My balance was in the bottom of my bag slung across my back so after getting a couple of phone pics marked the length against my rod. That was enough messing about and now it was important to return the fish safely. I was pleased to see it swim off strongly, the huge dorsal up in the current.
Last night the marks on my rod measured 44cms. I've done a bit of googling for grayling length vs weight table and found an interesting paper on the grayling society website. That puts the fish at around a kilo so I'm safely putting that down as a 2lb'er, my best ever lady. Over the moon with that and a great way to christen the rod on it's first outing. Trotting is a fine method for the grayling and most traditional. The swim I was fishing was a good 6' deep and there is no way you would have got me in that stream with the current weather, it would have been bloody dangerous to Czech nymph that stretch without company. The fly rod can take a back seat until it warms up a bit. The pics would have been great and I'll save the one's on my phone but the reader will just have to conjure up the image of that magnificent fish sitting in my net on the snow covered banks of the Dove on a bleak midwinter morning.

Trotting Rods

2010-12-05T20:59:00.003Z

Followers of my blog will know that most of my coarse fishing gear is vintage late 70's early 80's. This period was when angling really captured my imagination and I would daydream the week away at school thinking of such venues as the River Derwent at Borrowash or Findern Pond. I still find myself doing this at work. These were the days before the carp explosion and prior to anglers really targetting barbel on the local rivers in the numbers seen today. There were very few if any commercial fisheries in south Derbys so all the matches were fished on running water. So tackle then seemed to be dominated by the match scene and the Shakespeare Alpha was one of the 'hot' rods. A couple of years back I found one for an absolute song and it has served me well since. My float fishing on running water is now mostly confined to trotting the stream for grayling in the winter. I have had some good fun with the Alpha matched with either a centre pin or a Mitchell 440A.
There were two rods that I remember from this era that were considered to be a cut above. They were the Hardy Matchmaker and the Bruce & Walker. Recently I was lucky enough to find a Bruce and Walker on ebay. I won the auction and the rod was not too far from me at Heanor. This morning I drove over to pick it up and I'm really pleased with it, the model is a Flyer 12L. Hopefully I'll get to give it a go before Xmas but fishing trips seem to be at a premium in the run up. If there is a big thaw this week the rivers are likely to be up but it will give me something to ponder whilst trying to concentrate on work.

Grayling on the 'pin

2010-11-21T18:05:00.003Z

The winter is well and truly with us now and to avoid freezing my nads off wading the stream I decided to get out the trotting rod and run a few maggots down on the centrepin. Eaton Dovedale was looking very desolate when I arrived this morning with the Dove carrying some extra water and colour. The river appears very bleak now with signs of the first winter floods now passed, there was flotsam and jetsam liberally dispersed over the banks.
I kept fairly mobile and it wasn't until the third swim I fished that I picked up a couple of small fish just below the swan island. I had invested in a wire stem Drennan Avon 5BB and this suited my outfit a treat being just the ideal weight for trotting. I dropped off a couple of better fish but put this down to being a bit rusty on the pin.
Another move put me on the best pod of the morning with the fish above being the better of my session. I soon remembered my grayling playing skills after losing a couple more and kept the rod tip low to keep them off the surface.

I enjoy using my Shakespeare Alpha 12' rod for this type of fishing as it has a nice action. I do have a 14 footer that was bought for fishing the stick on the Trent. The extra length sometimes comes in handy but it has so many rings I'm ready for a sit down and a cuppa by the time it is threaded up. The last swim I fished was a delightful trot with some broken water at a steady pace. I did use some loose feed which kept the fish coming and thankfully did not attract those greedy spotties.

Barney's first haircut

2010-11-13T15:46:00.006Z

Barney our Cocker Spaniel is now 7 months old and has just had his first trip to the doggy barbers. These first two photos were taken about a fortnight ago when he was a full on fur ball.

The next shots are the after version taken today in Calke Park and he now looks a lot lighter and streamlined. Calke is one of our favourite places and this morning Barney has a great run round having some good fun with other dogs.

We took a picnic of tomato soup and some cheese cobs, it was great to be outside for lunch and the kids enjoyed exploring some of the more off the beaten track parts of the park.

It feels like autumn is now slipping into winter but there are still some great colours about. This year the autumn rainment have been the most vivid I can remember or is this just as I'm getting older and appreciate it more?

Tomorrow I'm having the morning on the River Wye with the Erewash lads so am looking forward to some nice grayling if everything goes to plan............

Post script - why oh why did I write that last sentence?? Last night Barney decided that he would like to have several bedtimes, about one an hour in fact. In the end I couldn't work out whether he had the screaming ring twitters or just fancied a walk round the garden. By this morning I was completely cream crackered and could not get my backside into gear to get up the A6. Many apologies to the REF team and I hope you had a great day.

Take That

2010-10-29T19:05:00.005+01:00

I'm afraid I took a slap round the gills blank this morning. After I had taken the dog out this morning I had managed to convice myself I was on a banker; a mild overcast autumn morning.
Mrs Squire was going to be shoo'ing me out of the house before 9am so I didn't distract her from the job of the day which was procuring Take That tickets. When I left she had two laptops and her iphone on the go, the kitchen looked like mission control.
Very different conditions from last weekend when I arrived at Ellastone though. A bit more water on but more significantly very coloured, I could not see my boots when wading about knee deep. As I was there thought I give the bugs a run but it was to no avail, returning to the car about and hour and a half later with frozen legs. Funny how much colder it feels when the fish aren't biting.
I reached home at about noon to find that the tickets had been secured which has delighted Mrs S, looks like the kids will have to spend another day looking after me on June 5th.

Autumn on the River Dove

2010-10-24T20:26:00.002+01:00

It is at this time of the year that we are reminded again of what a beautiful country England is. What could be better as the trees display there varied colours of yellow, brown, and green with all shades inbetween than a couple of hours spent on the River Dove. Yet again I was off up to Ellastone where all of the autumn glory is on show. I was hoping for a few grayling and found the river still looking very low and clear. The recent rain had hardly troubled the scorers in terms of the conditions, after the downpour we had in Derby on Friday evening I had expected it to be a little higher.
Fish were hard to come by this afternoon and I was fortunate enough to tempt four, the best is shown in the photo below.

This lady did not fall to one of my big bugs but a small gold head pheasant tail size 18. The other three fish I caught were smaller and although it is frustrating speaks volumes I feel for the future health of the river.

For the second time in about five years I had my license checked by the EA. It is good to see these chaps out and after a brief chat he was off up to the weir. The autumn really marks a watershed in the fishing year for me and the temperature is now really going south. After a couple of hours in the river my legs were well chilled. I walked back to the car with the angler in the picture below who had had a good day. Mind you he deserved one as he was the chap who saved my 'Guiness' mug for me a few weeks back after I left it on the wall.

Ladies on the feed

2010-10-10T20:01:00.004+01:00

This morning I headed off to the River Dove at Ellastone in the hope of finding some grayling. The conditions were perfect being very overcast first thing. The sun did break through about 10 o'clock ish which slowed down the sport somewhat.

I had plenty of fish but they were mostly smaller grayling the fish above being one of the better ones. Unfortunately it was the story of the two that got away as I lost a couple of decent fish. I put this down to being a bit rusty at nymphing but one really got the better of me with a strong run downstream and then did that graylingly thing where they use the current to throw the hook on the surface. The lies have been noted for this pair though and I will return. Successful flys were gold head PTN's and some of the Czech Nymphs I've tied up. The ones that I tied on Partridge size 12 do look enormous though I would recommend anyone buying these hooks to go two sizes smaller than you think you need. I spoke to another angler who was fishing the Norbury stretch and he was catching on similar PTN's but quite small I'd guess about an 18. An encouraging start to the autumn's grayling fishing and I hope to get out a few more times.

For those familiar with the locale there are reports of larger fish arriving at Norbury Weir.

Findern Pond

2010-10-05T19:24:00.002+01:00

This evening I had a walk up the canal with the dog to Findern Pond. This is a water on the DRAC ticket that holds great memories for many of us. However, it has been blighted in recent years by poaching and illegal camping/nuisance behaviour. Consequently there is a debate about whether to continue to rent it. I just can't make my mind up.

I took 9 tench between 2lb and 3lb from the swim above as a schoolboy. This was only after my dad showed me how to catch a tench. Nothing by todays standards of course but I felt like Dick Walker in the car on the way home. At the time it was a lot bigger pitch that two could fish in comfort.

A lot less litter in the area below than my last visit. Can't imagine who has picked this up unless it is Phil.

Czech Nymphs

2010-10-02T18:23:00.004+01:00

Here are this weeks product from my vice which I would like to share. This method intrigues me and I fancy having a bash on our rivers through the autumn. Unfortunately time is at a premium at the weekends and the evenings are now gone so I hope to get some time out in the next few weeks but suspect it will be just a couple of hours. No bad thing really as I soon get cold.
These nymphs have been tied on Partridge authentic czech nymph size 12 hooks. I had forgotten that Partridge are in a world of their own when it comes to sizing hence they are a tad bigger than I envisaged but should do OK. The bodys are various mixtures over a lead wire underbody, covered with 1/8" clear scud back and ribbed with 4lb mono. Some of the dubbing (pink, olive) is Swaledale which is good stuff from Lathkill fly tying. Incidentally, the delivery from Lathkill is spot on. I ordered some stuff on Monday evening and it arrived in the post Wednesday morning.
I particularly like the hairs fur version this looks very buggy to me. I'll advise soon enough if the fish agree, now I just need to get some practice in with the method.

Derbyshire Derwent

2010-09-21T20:22:00.003+01:00

Yesterday will probably be my last full session of the trout season and the venue was the glorious Derbyshire Derwent. This is arguably the jewel in the crown of the DRAC trout waters and it is a beautiful stretch. Autumn is a special time of year with the bleak days just around the corners and it was a joy to be out in the countryside. I met up with Andy at about 1pm and we got sorted out and decided to head down towards just past the bottom of the fly only stretch as this is one of the easiest areas to access.

Modest sport was enjoyed through the afternoon and I was soon off the mark with a brownie to the Sturdys Fancy. We had rain on and off throughout the afternoon and the first sharp shower seemed to put the fish down for a while. Persevering with our dry patterns though brought more fish to hand and a couple of hours soon shot by before we stopped for a Kelly brew. Luckily Andy had a flask so I was able to have some refreshment whilst sparking the kettle into life as I have still not quite got the hang of it. I'm probably putting too much in to start with.

Working our way back upstream we saw pockets of feeding fish which were difficult to tempt refusing most offerings. Finally I got some interest on a deer hair emerger but bumped off both fish which was down to poor angling on my part. Stealth was the key though and we stalked a pod of fish well on the fin, this was going fine until we were just within casting range as Andy slid down the bank and entered the river in a fairly un-dignified manner. We swiftly moved on.

Things died down as evening approached with just the odd sporadic rise. My most successful flies of the afternoon were black and olive Klink type patterns with the black having the edge.

Down on the Farm

2010-09-19T14:31:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I managed both to cut the hedge and clean the roof of the conservatory which opened up an unexpected window of opportunity this morning. The DRAC water at Eaton Dovedale farm was my quickly chosen venue this being the fastest venue for me to get to with the hope of a fish on the fly, I only had a couple of hours. I was hoping to also have a look at how the rivers were fairing after the recent much needed rain as I also plan to fish Darley tomorrow afternoon.

Upon arrival the river was quite coloured but at a good level and perfectly fishable. It was drizzling as I tackled up and I had a quick chat with another angler who was going to try trotting a method that yields good results on this stretch. The rain was still light and I chose to fish with two weighted nymphs and give those a run through. It wasn't until I swapped the point fly for a heavier Pink Charm that I took my first and best fish of the session. Mmm, get them right down I thought but having been glad to get a fish under my belt did not have another on this method.
Not unless you count a very greedy river minnow that was definitely bigger than the size 10 charm but there wasn't a great deal in it. I had not strayed too far downstream and returned to fish the car park stretch. Soon the sun broke through and I noticed a few fish rising. Last week I had tied up some Sturdys Fancy and this fly was put to good use taking three or four fish in quick succession. This pattern will definitely be given a swim on the Derwent tomorrow and as predicted it certainly brought the grayling up. It wasn't quite the classic pattern as I used buff thread instead of purpleand a grizzle hackle but the Dove fish did not seem to know the difference.

Jolly Boys Outing

2010-09-13T20:31:00.005+01:00

Brian, me, Adam, Mick, John, Guy, & Glen

The day finally arrived for my second trip to the Haddon Estate water on the Derbyshire Wye. Tackle into the car then it was off up to Rowsley to meet the other anglers at the Peacock. Once we were quorate the lower river just upstream of Cauldwells Mill was decided upon. This year I was in a much better frame of mind than my last visit where I had convinced my self that I would have a string of monsters throwing themselves on the bank. You have to fish well to get the best from this river and many have returned with backsides truly slapped. There are no easy casts which will cover a fish through the day and with no wading you have to get your presentation spot on with no drag. Once you get it sorted you will be rewarded with superb fish like this wild rainbow.

The fishing went well in the morning and this is a productive stretch. You could spend a lot longer there than the couple of hours that we did.

We then explored the water just north of the town and had some good sport there. Glen put both Brian and I onto some corking fish just below the sheepwash. This was a tricky cast and these clunkers were not fooled.

Sport then dried up and we headed back to the fishermans car park stretch for a leisurely afternoon the highlight of which were several fish for Ads from a difficult cast, more fish for John, and one each for Brian and Mick from Heartbreak Corner.

Then it was time for chilling out with talk of monsters, tackle and flys before heading into town for some grub before a last go at the town water. The fish proved hard to tempt and I had a couple of browns which put the cap on the day nicely. The last from just upstream of the footbridge was a true Derbyshire warrior and I swear it bit me as I extracted the fly.

Those of you who follow Mick's blog will know he has an uncanny knack of winkling out the better fish. Yesterday was business as usual and this 5lb 8oz fish really made his old bamboo creak.

All in all a good day and great company.

Preparations

2010-09-05T08:31:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I checked the braided loops on both of my river lines. As per usual there were several frays in the braid and I decided to replace them. Each time I inspect a loop I realised I always find something I am not happy with and even lost a fish last season when the loop itself failed. Enough is enough I thought and decided to go back to needle knotting a length of strong mono to the end of the fly line. Once completed I was very pleased with the results and with the benefit of hindsight this is a far more secure method to use for the interface between the line and the leader. Having considered it further it should also provide a better transfer of energy from the line to assist leader turnover.
In the week I have also been stocking up my fly box for next weeks trip to the Wye with some small olive and sedge patterns. There is a fresh stock of sedges and JT Olives, also a single plume olive in slightly smaller sizes than I normally use for the JT (Tiemco 103 size 15). Recently I have read reports of the Griffiths Knat being quite productive so will knock up some of these in the week on Partridge surehold barbless size 16. At this time of year I'm not expecting to need a great deal more as on the Wye it is dry fly only but any pointers would be welcomed from other anglers.

Back on the Fly

2010-09-02T20:03:00.003+01:00

This season I have somewhat neglected my trout rod and have turned attention to catching some tench and barbel. I have felt drawn of late back to the fly and having booked myself onto the Haddon water of the Derbyshire Wye with some other Gentlemen Piscators for a jolly boys outing thought I had best get some practice. I had blanked spectacularly in an hour and a half on Monday morning and had a similar time window last night. Again I chose Ellastone as the venue.
Arriving about 7pm I noticed a few rises but it was not exactly alive. In the end I managed to extract 3 brownies which under the conditions I thought was a good result. The rises died at about 8.15 and I finally gave up at half past. This fish put up a great struggle and I would welcome any comments from more experienced anglers as to whether they thought this was a wild fish. All three came to drys but this one was on an emerger, a fly that I won't be able to use on the Wye. It barely sipped it off the surface and as is often the case the most benign take yielded the best fish.

Greenacres

2010-08-30T22:15:00.002+01:00

My pal Martin and I had been commissioned by the Parish Council to investigate the fishing at a gravel pit at Barrow-upon-Trent. We were looking forward to the prospect of fishing this virgin water particularly after seeing a shoal of large bream going through their spawning rituals earlier in the year. Plans were made on Friday evening after taking refreshments and an 0830 start was in order.
We should have stopped in bed though as no recce since May meant we were greeted by pond weed stretching out about 15 yards from the bank pretty much round the perimeter. We eventually found a gap where our lads could get a line in but it was to no avail. I tried putting out a feeder about 30 yards but it just bounced off the weed. One to cross off the list but may fish well earlier in the year if the Parish Council decide to issue day tickets.
That was Sunday morning and today I went off to the River Dove at Ellastone for a quich sortie. Didn't stop long though as it is still low and the bright conditions meant no sign of trout or grayling in an hour and a half. After a summer spent after tench and barbel it has whetted the appetite to get the fly rod going again.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

2010-08-22T21:07:00.004+01:00

It was certainly grand at Scropton this morning and I was the only angler out to enjoy it. Perhaps not the best of fishing conditions and and everyone clearly knew better than me as I returned a nice blank. Very strange activity at the rod tip though. I was fishing halibut pellets on a hair. As soon as the feeder hit the bottom there were little knocks and tremors on the tip. None of these developed into a good pull round though. After a while I was easily distracted from the rod tip by a pair of kingfishers working the river. Each time I retrieved the pellet was gone and twice a river minnow had impaled itself on the hook. Has anyone else had experience with gangs of minnows poaching halibut pellets?? How queer.

The One That Got Away

2010-08-22T20:10:00.003+01:00

I've been a bit slow clocking onto this one but that is just my age. This is another blog from an angler that fishes the same club waters as I. Patrick has put some really detailed info on here, none of this tripe like 'from a midlands stillwater', he even divulges the peg!! Completely honest and open with no bull5hit. Keep it up Patrick.
A recommended read:

http://patrick-theonethatgotaway.blogspot.com/

Cross Jolly Boys Outing

2010-08-19T20:28:00.002+01:00

My son and I went to Glazebrooks pool this morning so Sam could have another go with the whip. He had about half a dozen perch and a chub. I set a rod hoping for something a little more substantial but failed miserably.
Grandad appeared to watch Sam in action with his old whip so that is all three generations on the bank at the same time. Next step is us all to have a session together.

Nuisance Fish

2010-08-19T07:32:00.004+01:00

Is it too much to ask for a chap to have a decent evenings tenching??

This week I have done rather well for pass outs and last night I decided to continue my quest for a monster tench. Also, long overdue, I have finally bought a unhooking mat that I needed to commission but was nervous about the karma created by the presumption that I was going to put something on it. The size of the thing was also rather embarrassing I was worried about actually getting it on the peg. It was about 1930 when I arrived at the pond and it looked in great nick. I had decided to fish with the feeder on the swingtip, I method that was reasonably successful a couple of weeks back. Soon after starting I had a chat with another chap from the DRAC forum who was also just about to commence.
Soon afterwards I had a great bite and in the excitement of my sweeping strike rolled straight off the back of my basket, good job no-one saw that one. This was followed by the perch below that I used to christen the mat so that was the monkey off my back.
Like a big chump I then swapped my feeder for a plain lead and cast it straight into the far bank trees. By now it ws 2100 and I debated packing up but in the end persevering and was all fingers and thumbs quickly tackling up again in the dusk. It was now the last few casts as fishing ends on DRAC waters at 2130 in August. A good indication on the tip met with something very solid that took some playing on my avon rod with the fish initially taking line so needed careful guiding to keep out of the many snags at Triangle. This was clearly a good fish and if it was a tench then this was the monster I had been searching for. It was difficult to tell when it surfaced but as I drew it over the rim of the net all was revealed. A bloody great carp! The fish weighed 9lb 4oz and well and truly broke in my new mat. A great way to end the evening and left me with a tired arm. The bigger brothers must pull hard.

But oh if it was a tench.......

Tench in the Gloaming

2010-08-17T08:57:00.004+01:00

Last night I had the last couple of hours on a local club stillwater. After my experience at Cullens on Sunday evening I expected that the fish would not bite until later on. This last hour I think is the best time of the day at this time of year unless you want to get out of bed at stupid o'clock. One angler was just leaving the car park as I arrived and commented that the fishing was not too good. Well tackle up I thought and get settled in and wait for the witching hour. The first hour was indeed slow and biteless but as the wind died down I felt that I might be lucky. I was floatfishing as close to the reeds as I dared but have now stepped up to 6lb line straight through. I had been fishing 4lb bottom but the fish have got so canny here that they make straight for the reeds and you just have to hold them as giving line spells disaster. The first couple of bites were greedy perch who seem to be able to consume a large lump of prawn. The float was now registering some activity and eventually it slid away to be answered by the thump of a tench. This fish went straight for the reeds but the Avonmaster stopped it dead, so much that it flipped it out of the water! Having been played in such an undignified manner the fish was soon in the net. This was probably the smallest I've had from Triangle this year, about 2lb ish I'd say. Quickly I rebaited and had the float back out as light was fading fast. Soon afterwards another slightly larger fish 3lb ish graced the net and then I was into last cast territory. Although the float had a few good bobs and dips the hat trick was not to be. Perhaps also not to be is the whopping tench I've been hoping for to end the summer but I had an enjoyable evening nonetheless. Recently I read on I think Leo's blog about playing the numbers game for a big tench and that may well be the case so I will keep trying. Maybe I should be using feeder tactics more but fishing the float is so captivating. First rule is I think find your water and I think this pond holds one.

An Evening at Cullens

2010-08-16T09:33:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I spent the evening on Cullens but in truth I might as well have gone just for the last hour. No bites until dusk was falling. It was a delightful evening though with the dipping sun picking out the trees on the far bank.
Unusually for me I fished two rods in the hope of tempting a monster tench before the end of the season. A waggler fished a couple of rods out was complemented by a feeder on the swingtip rod.I started getting knocks on the feeder rod but it wasn't until I cut off the hair and hooked the corn directly that I got a confident bite from the bream below which went 4.5lb. It came in like a sack of spuds though and from the state of my net probably swam off 1lb lighter. It was approaching 2100 now and I was struggling to see my float, fishing a little closer though and I caught two small tench before it was too dark to continue.
We are having a staycation this year so I am at home for the next fortnight or so and hope to get in a few more sessions.

Triangle Back End'ish Tench

2010-08-11T19:11:00.003+01:00

It seems incredible as it is only early August but Monday evening had a distinct back end feeling to it with the light really drawing in now. I fished the last couple of hours and eventually pulling stumps just before 2130 having one last cast after I landed the fish above. This is not one of the 4lb plus specimens I was catching through the spring and I've noticed that since mid June the average size of the fish has not been as good.
These Triangle tincas fight like demons though and this one was hooked on the float only a few yards out from some reeds. The Avonmaster was bent double and it still made sanctuary but was so close to me that I managed to net it in the snag. As dusk was falling I did not notice at the time but the fish had what appears to be discolouration on the flank I wonder if this is from the rigours of spawning. Before this I had several greedy perch swallow quite large lumps of prawn they seem to have got a taste for it now. When the tench took I could only just see my float go but it was a confident bite that I have found occurs on this bait.
I hope to catch a 6lb'er this season but the summer seems to be fast getting away from us.

Glazebrooks

2010-08-08T22:30:00.006+01:00

A big day for me at the Glazebrooks. Firstly I finally broke my duck there albeit previous attempts have been in depths of winter. Secondly my son really enjoyed himself fishing with the 3m whip that his Grandad has just passed down. We caught stack loads of small perch, I think Sam had about three before I even got the line threaded through the old Alpha match rod. As we were fishing maggots it was to be expected however and although Sam caught about twice as many as me I did have the best of the day which would have gone about 12oz. We also caught bream, chub and roach, with some better stamp of the latter starting to respond to the feed.
The swim we were fishing was quite shallow for Glazebrooks which is very deep in places and drops off really quickly. I fed hemp and corn and had some bites on corn but did not connect. They usually occurred just as I was re-baiting Sam's hook or removing a fish for him. His pole is actually a 5m whip but we just used the top few sections and he handled it well. Grandad has passed it on as he has just purchased a Middy 'White Knuckle' margin pole which I think is a little un-dignified for a retired gentleman!! He has come a long way since his Apollo Taperflash and in the week had put the Middy to good use on some carp at a small commercial near Elvaston Castle.
I really enjoyed the fishing it was a delightful morning to be out and I used my Abu 501 for the first time in a couple of seasons. It reminded me what a pleasure these reels are to use for floatfishing. I use the centre pin too infrequently to be really profficient but the Abu is just so easy.
So I will hope to get in another couple of sessions with Sam this year and hope he takes to the sport. We are not going away this year due to a new puppy and I have next week at work then a couple of weeks break so we may explore some more DRAC waters then.

Triangle

2010-08-02T21:08:00.003+01:00

Sport was a little slow to say the least yesterday evening at Triangle. I fished the same swim I had last Monday but did not get a tench, just a solitary 4oz roach. This seemed to be the pattern all round as of the other three anglers I saw none had caught. I was casting into the gap between the trees on the left had side of the picture. The shot was taken as the light was fading and consequently a slow shutter speed has left it a little fuzzy.

A Swinging Brace

2010-07-27T21:07:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I had the day off work and we had a good tour of South Derbyshire having a Kelly brew at Calke with a nice cake and then an impromptu barby for tea at Elvaston Castle. Arriving home at just after 1800 I secured a pass out and headed off for Triangle. I have been concious that I caught no tench on my last trip and only one on the visit before. Finding my favourite float fishing swim occupied by two carp anglers I dropped in next peg up and float fished for an hour or so without any offers. Then I upped sticks and made for another swim where I had previously hooked and lost a good fish on the feeder. This was again the method I chose using that most traditional of indicators the swingtip.

As darkness fell the tip began to register some interest. I think the combination of clear water and fishing pressure has made the fish a lot shyer than they were in May. At 2130 the tip shot up and I felt solid resistance and after several spirited runs the fish above came to the net. Recasting back to the same spot near some overhanging trees yielded another fish ten minutes later. This fish was smaller but put up a great account of itself, I was convinced this may be the 6lb'er I have been after from Triangle until I saw it in the net. Unfortunately seeing was now becoming a bit of a problem as I had yet again forgot my torch and start to whittle about un-hooking the fish safely so called it a day.

What a day it was as well, out in the South Derbyshire countryside during the day with my family, a few nuked snorkers and burgers washed down with a can of Bass for tea, and a brace of Tench on the swingtip to cap it off. They don't get much better than that.

The Black Pool

2010-07-26T07:09:00.010+01:00

This pool is one of the DRAC waters that gets rarely fished these days. I have fished it in the past but it was about 20 years ago. After some debate on the DRAC forum I had arranged to meet Chris yesterday morning to give it a go. I was feeling a little delicate after a few glasses Hardys Bin 53 to wash down some bubbly at a party to see some good friends of ours off to Oz. Chris was clearly more spritely than me and was eyeing up the swims as I arrived. He had already found a bulk spool of approximately 25lbs bs line to add credence to the rumours that the pool has been fished somewhat unconventionally by residents of the Ukraine Centre from whom DRAC rent the fishing.
The pool was also heavily weeded with a healthy growth of pond lilys. We struggled to find a couple of swims that were fishable and I would suggest any other prospective anglers took a weed rake. We ended up with Chris and I fishing at opposite ends of the pool in our chosen swims.
Maggots were my chosen bait as I often use on a relatively unknown water as a good prospective offerinf for most species. The pool was a lot deeper than I remember it dropped off pretty quickly to about 9' two rods out.
Bites soon came and I caught plenty of small rudd, perch, chub and the odd roach. I was joined by Derrick after a while who had wandered down to see how we were going on. That was a sign of course for the bites to dry up but we did notice some flashes below the water which could have been a predator at work.
Mt best rudd that was all of 4oz at best fell to bread after bites had all but disappeared on maggot. Chris pesevered with some bite to tempt a better stamp of fish and also fished a little longer. His dedication payed off with a nice bream after I had left. He has a picture of this and here is a link..

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc325/SquireDave/25072010101.jpg

Derrick and I put the world to rights on our common interests of the great fishing available on the DRAC ticket, canoeists, and the demise of the DAA. Black Pool has a lot of potential but as all waters will require some time putting in before it reveals all of it's secrets.

A Busy Evening at Scropton

2010-07-22T18:09:00.004+01:00

Unfortunately it was busy in terms of the number of anglers out and not from what I saw the number of barbel caught. I have not seen too many others on this stretch but there were plenty on last night. Of the five others guys I spoke to only one had caught a billy and he was fishing in the swim that I usually make for which I think is one if not the banker on this stretch.
I dropped in a bit further downstream just next the chap from Buxton who has given me some good advice but whose name I keep missing.
This was on quite a slow stretch with a run of steel reinforcements on the opposite bank. The river is not too wide here and I tackled it with my normal feeder set up and pellets. I caught two chub and the barbel above before packing up just after 2200. I did not weigh him but he would have been lucky to get to half the size of the one I caught a couple of weeks back, nevertheless a superb fin perfect fish though.
Plenty of talk on the way back to the car on it being pretty hard at the moment and not nuch coming out of Tutbury either. I think the rivers need a good flush through, the recent rain has given them some well needed colour but they could do with a load more.

Triangle

2010-07-17T10:30:00.002+01:00

Yesterday eveing I managed to get down to Triangle for the last couple of hours. On my last visit the water was absolutely crystal clear and I was pleased to see that the rain has given it a slight tinge again. Unfortunately there were no tench which I was hoping for. My hot bait this year has been prawns but for the first time in my favourite swim they failed to tempt a tinca. I did however catch a couple of greedy perch around 6oz and I suspect that from the way my float continually bobbed and dipped that a shoal was in residence.
There were two other anglers who had fished since mid afternoon and they too had struggled. One chap had a tench and the other had blanked.

River Dove Scropton

2010-07-14T20:30:00.004+01:00

After a day at work followed by a school meeting the cabin fever had built up sufficiently not to let a bit of light rain put me off. In fact it was pouring down when I left Chellaston but had slacked off by the time I arrived at Scropton just before 1930.
It was then pretty damp all evening and the fishing was not as productive as my last trip. First cast did yield a chub and then I followed up with another about an hour later. No barbel however and I finally retired at about 2215. That first barbel has really got me hooked but I may now start to explore some other swims or perhaps try Tutbury as one billy from 3 sessions does not stike me as brilliant unless this barbel lark is a lot tougher than I had imagined.

Trent & Mersey Canal

2010-07-11T20:25:00.006+01:00

This morning I managed to prise my son out of bed and avoid any handily placed Nintendo DS, PSP, laptops, tellys, etc and we set forth for an hour or so on the canal. I have been trying to get him out for a while and hopefully we would get a few small fish to keep Sam interested on the cut. I know the boats are now unbearable at the weekend and it has changed so much since I was a schoolboy and I suppose it shows as a society how much more affluent we are with the amount of part time Captain Pugwashes'. The canal can provide some good fishing and I would guess that a lot of anglers circa my vintage learnt a good deal of their craft on these waterways. Just to put some scale to the amount of boats their are now Marinas at Shardlow, Mercia (Findern), Stenson, and Barton. 30 years ago the only one was Shardlow and that was just taking off.
Back to the fishing and second cast Sam had a small bream which made him pleased as punch. He followed this up with a perch and then a gudgeon all taken in about an hour.

I managed one bream and this was no surprise as the kids always outscore me on these trips. I've worked out there are two reasons for this. Firstly, my role is mostly as ghillie in charge of un-tangling and baiting up the hook. After getting Sam going I set up another rod and then also fish the near shelf so I can keep an eye on his float as well. I am convinced the second and most relevant is that the kids fish with an old 6' solid glass rod and consequently end up tight against the near bank. I fish with a 12' rod and am further out. Fishing right under your feet seems to yield more fish.

The picture below shows the perch Sam (quite robustly) landed, it looked quite shocked after being hoiked onto the bank for the crime of trying to procure two bright red maggots.

To get the best of the sport on the canal I would recommend either the first or last two hours of daylight and avoid weekends to give yourself the best chance of avoiding the boats. There are some fish to be had there but the boats do drive me potty.

My First Dove Barbel

2010-07-05T22:02:00.003+01:00

This is the story of my first barbel for about 25 years and my first ever from the River Dove. Yesterday I did family duties all day to secure an evening pass out and headed off to Scropton. Fishing the same swim I did on Wednesday I began to wonder if I was fishing the right bit of the Dove for barbel as through the evening I caught five chub. These fish were not in good condition like the brace I caught last week though and the majority were quite tatty which could have been the rigours of spawning. They were between two and five pounds.
My pass had been secured on the basis of returning with chocolate for Mrs Squire and I was starting to get a bit twitchy about the closing time of Tesco Express as the clock passed 2200. One last cast I thought as I launched my feeder into the gloaming at about 2210. By this time the rod was up against what light was left to see the tip. No mistaking this bite however as the rod went hard over. Straight from the off this was a different stamp of fish and initiallY I just held on struggling to recover line. Slowly I worked the fish upstream hoping the hook would hold. The line was singing as the fish stayed close to the bottom. There was a big weedbed in front of me and I knew I must have the fish beaten to net over this. By now I was in the river but did not notice the water seeping over the top of my wellies. The fish rolled on the surface and my jaw dropped. Taking full advantage of this there then came a run of such power that the Mitchell's clutch screamed and the rod was nearly pulled flat against the water. Round the fish came eventually and in it went at first attempt. It had seemed an age but was over in minutes. It wasnt until I went to pick up the net that I realised what a specimen this was. Up onto the bank and quickly un-hooked it pulled Little Samson down to 8lb 12oz. After the fish was safely returned it was now dark and I was running round the bank whooping as if Frank Lampard's goal had been allowed. I made Tesco's and got the chocolate but it was too late for the Sunday license to allow me to purchase a celabratory Speckled Hen. The final twist came as I was unpacking my basket; Little Samson was malfunctioning and became progressively more difficult to deflect. I know he is not the most accurate measure and in some respects the weight is irrelevant but the net is 20" across so any other guesstimates are welcome. What a night, as Arnie said "I'll be back".

Leuciscus Cephalus

2010-07-01T18:24:00.002+01:00

It is many years now since I have been drawn to rivers for some coarse fishing and in some respects my interest in the many different types of angling does tend to wax and wane. This season I have felt an urge to get out and try some of our local rivers and after a quick recce I was out on the River Dove at Scropton yesterday evening. I was of course hoping for something with whiskers and torpedo shaped but ended up being pleasantly surprised by a brace of stonking chub. This fish kept me almost exclusively occupied during my school years with regular trips to the River Derwent at Borrowash. Fishing is still available here on the Earl of Harrington ticket but the extent has been cut back considerably since the late 197o's.
The chub is renowned as a willing feeder and I was glad of this last night. Second cast and my rod went straight over and a fish of 4lb 2oz was soon gracing my net.

The Scropton stretch is another great looking DRAC water and this was the first time I had fished it. I was trying out my latest Ebay purchase; an 11' Daiwa Specialist Avon rod. It says 'Made in Gt Britain' just above the handle which I like. It also handled like a dream and I am looking forward to testing it on something a little larger than these chub.

After quite a few knocks on the tip another good bite produced a real surprise. This was a great looking Brownie of about 1.5lbs. It was a bit overwhelmed though by an avon rod and 8lb Maxima. This would have been a different prospect on fly tackle.

As the light fell I managed the second chub which was an identical weight to the first to make a nice matched pair. I will be back though soon hoping for a barbel.

I have not done much legering previously and I guess i learnt two things last night. First, ignore the taps and knocks and wait for the rod to go hard over. Second, despite my cynicism hair rigs actually work quite well!

No picture of the brownie I'm afraid. I didn't want to cause offence as the 'fly' was hair rigged special recipe meat.

Scropton

2010-06-26T21:31:00.002+01:00

Today I took a short walk along the River Dove at Scropton. The stretch looked in great nick and I am very tempted to try and catch my first barbel for about 25 years. There were several anglers fishing and I must thank the one chap from Buxton who gave me some advice. Apologies, as I did not catch your name but thanks for the tips.
Now the question is do I enter the world of pellets and hair rigs or just stick a big lump of meat on................

The Longest Day

2010-06-22T20:43:00.003+01:00

This year I found myself working away but as it is such a classic angling evening then the carp lake that I have fished a few times this year would be an ideal venue. The lake has changed significantly since my first sortie in March and is really quite a sight in full summer rainment. There is a band of lillies that stretch up the middle of the lake and the carp like to forage in these. I was warned that the level would drop during the summer months and it has proved to be the case. The lake is quite shallow and it has probably lost over a foot in depth leaving about 3' max.
My tactics yesterday evening will be no surprise to regular readers, good old float fished spam. I have also started trying some floating bread and this method is now really coming into it's own. I had several fish to both methods and also, as per usual, missed a whole shedfull of bites!
When fishing floating bread I am using about a thumbnail size of crust. Those canny carp know which bits have the hook in though and initially try to knock the bread off the hook. A free offering is gulped down in one. The trick is to wait until the float starts to move before striking. It is locked with the full complement of shot about 2' from the hook.
I had the lake to myself last night apart from a few other guests who were out for a walk. It was a great night to be out and I eventually called it a day at 10.20pm. I could still see my float (just) but unhooking the fish started to get a little tricky as I had forgotten my torch. This was probably my best fish of the night but plenty more in the same class. On my Avonmaster rod and 6lb line these are great sport.
It is all downhill now until Christmas!

The Sixteenth Plus One

2010-06-17T18:12:00.005+01:00

Today I had the day off work for not much more than relaxing and a picnic at lunch. My angler's mind though soon cooked up a plan to have a couple of hours to try for a tench this morning whilst Mrs Squire took the kids to school.
So by 8am in went my float to my favourite tench swim. A bite first cast but it was soon off though. This raised my spirits and I was now expecting a hatful. The sun was very bright though and the water at Triangle Pond was crystal clear, for the first time ever I could see right down to the bottom. Not the ideal conditions and so it turned out to be a slow session. There were a few bites mind but very finicky where these fish have been drawing away the float with confidence for the last six weeks or so.
I was astonished by the amount of fry and that is a good sign for the future health of the pond. I watched a pike for a while that was at least 2" long practice it's attack on them. There were also some perch I think striking through these vast shoals.
And so to the result, it was just one fish. Not the biggest I have had this year but it put up a great account of itself putting some of the bigger cousins to shame. It was a real goer. It was such a beautiful I could not resist a snap, I hope you like it. I would be grateful if any reader could please leave a comment to remind me how to tell the male from the female.

Ellastone Gold

2010-06-15T20:47:00.004+01:00

What a difference a month makes! It had been a while since my last trip to what is the spiritual home to a small band of DRAC anglers. My previous comments about the stretch not waking up for 2010 can now be truly put to rest.

I arrived about 7.30pm and quickly scampered up to the bridge for a butchers; rising fish! This was the first time I had seen a decent rise at Ellastone this year and perhaps this was due to it being my first evening session. Signs of activity straight from the off so it was on with the dry and after a couple of changes of pattern a CDC loop wing emerger proved successful.

As the evening progressed there was a huge hatch of olives, the fish were taking the emerging fly though there were little signs of duns on the surface. This is when Ellastone can drive you potty but my emerger did the trick. I had the beat to myself and was casting to rising fish all evening apart from a slack period just after 9pm.

It was then that I switched to a sherry spinner after taking four on the emerger. Presentation needs to be spot on with this fly and anything but a dead drift normally gets refused. I did eventually get one fish by this method that was rising just above the bridge. My couple of hours soon passed but was really pleased with the fishing it was best session at Ellastone for a while.

Hazlewood

2010-06-13T20:45:00.003+01:00

Our new puppy is getting Mrs Squire and I up quite early at the weekends so this morning I was parking the car at Hazlewood by 0800 for a couple of hours on the River Ecclesbourne. This is small stream fishing though and the Ecclesbourne barely qualifies for river status. It is one of the DRAC waters and a considerable amount of work has been done by both Phil Harrison & co., plus the EA. This has improved access to the water in parts but it is still very much Rambo style undergrowth that only the most hardy will tackle. Rods up to 7' are very much the order of the day.
The water was a little coloured this morning and I only saw one rising fish. I would imagine that at the moment an evening session may catch the best of the fishing. I caught the fish below on a PTN after seeing it take something off the top. My nymph landed just downstream and I thought that the cast was too short but the the end of my flyline darted distinctly upstream and I was rewarded with one of the Ecclesbourne's brownies. As you can see they are small but perfectly formed, just like Kylie really.
This is not the sort of water where you will catch a hatful of fish and any angler landing a brace can consider himself well rewarded. It was nearly an expensive morning for me as I realised I had dropped my nymph box whilst commando'ing along the bank. I retraced my steps and was amazed to find it lying in the undergrowth. Mental note in future to always zip up my waistcoat pockets.

A Satisfied Duffer

2010-06-08T20:14:00.002+01:00

I has managed to put to the back of my mind how much rain we had had locally over the weekend so when I got the text from Phil yesterday morning saying the Derwent was coloured at Ambergate it was on with the blinkers. Was it going to be one of those days I asked my self upon arrival when the rain started and I realised I had left the tea bags on the bench in the garage.

The afternoon started pretty slow with the first few fish on small olive patterns rather than big mayfly duns. Sport started to pick up though as the evening came and as I left the fish were starting to really wallop big patterns like the OE Mohican Mayfly.

There are some fantastic streamy stretches at Darley and also some quite slow deep sections than have less features than a canal without the locks. I normally walk past these as presentation has to be spot on so was pleased to take the good fish below on an olive Klinkhammer.

This is a fine stretch of water and there were a few other anglers out as afternoon turned to evening. If was a question of finding the fish though as some stretches were far more productive than others. Wading is difficult in parts and you need to be aware of the depth and proceed with caution. Yesterday I tried a couple of spots that are difficult to get into (and out of!), both yielded good fish. In my book once the angler has reached double figures he has had his fair share of sport for the day so I took a leisurely walk back to the car with a fellow angler as we discussed this years sport. By the 8pm news I was pulling out of Red House and heading off back down the A6. Mayfly were still abundant but the fish were taking the emerger until the last hour or so that I fished. I am now wondering if I have seen the back of the mayfly sport for this year or will perhaps get one more chance.

A Grand Christening

2010-06-06T19:45:00.004+01:00

It has been a couple of weeks since I finally got round to buying a new landing net. My old one had served me well since the early 80's but even for me was starting to look a little past its sell by date. I was also slightly nervous about so presumptuous a purchase as a landing net, it implies you are taking the fish for granted and that sort of attitude can upset the fishing gods.

So this morning I set out onto one of my local club waters armed with the new net. For over an hour I sat wondering whether I had indeed created bad karma but fortunately it was not to be. This is my best Tench of the season but I did not weigh it, I have mislaid my balance. It was to be a one bite one fish morning though and I was clearly granted enough good luck to save my blushes but nothing to get too carried away with. This fish left me extremely pleased though.

One of the local residents took a shine to my favourite tench bait and then had the audacity to kip down at my peg. So the net is now duly christened with a marvellous tench, what cracking form. It is a change of tackle for me again tomorrow as I am going to have the afternoon on the Derwent to try and catch some more mayfly sport.

Shadow Mayfly

2010-06-03T22:47:00.004+01:00

I saw this pattern in FF&FT a while back and finally got round to tying a few today, buoyed by my afternoon on the Derwent earlier in the week. If is an unusual pattern but I fancy giving it a swim. I hope to get at least one more session in whilst the drake is on. The product placement is a bit vulgar I know but I was quite pleased with this manufacturers fly box I purchased from Walkers of Trowell yesterday. I have been looking for a compartment box for my mayfly patterns and went intending to buy a Wheatley but they had none in stock. I originally felt like I came away short changed but this one is starting to grow on me now.

Tight lines,

Dave.

Derwent Doggers

2010-06-01T17:21:00.005+01:00

This afternoon I was fortunate enough to be able to get up to the River Derwent at Darley Dale. After seeing the weather forecast last night I was none too optimistic of some dry fly fishing, particularly when it started to rain as I left Derby. The rain started to clear though as I neared Matlock Bath and I although I only had a few hours fishing it was good sport.

I took several fish on mayfly patterns and by the time I left the fish were really starting to come onto the drake. It does not seem to be quite Duffers Fortnight yet but we must be within days now. Next week I have Monday afternoon off and expect it to be in full swing by then. Fishing was spot on here in the first week of June last season and it may be a little late this year due to the harsh winter. The river looked in great condition with the water being crystal clear, it did drizzle on and off for most of the afternoon but nevertheless a great time to be out on the river. There was also quite a large sedge hatch and although I did rise a fish on the LTD I did not connect.

The fish in the picture above was rising under a tree on the far bank and I eventually tempted him after many attempts and then resting the swim. He was a true dogger and dived straight back for the roots but my tippet held; I knew to give line would end in tears. There he is lying with my rod on top of a weedbed. Once I got him back in the current he soon recovered and swam off strongly.

Today I saw three canoeists who have no right of access on this stretch. I put them all straight but from the look on their face's I might as well have shown my backside in the market place which would be great fun of course unless Glen was passing with his latest floatant.

Muggy Evenings

2010-05-19T22:19:00.004+01:00

I've just got back from catching the last couple of hours at Triangle Pond. It was one of those overcast muggy evenings that just screamed tench. Having done my chores with the kids I headed off expecting to find the car park empty. Obviously some other anglers had had the same idea as me as there were a couple of cars already there. I chatted to them as I walked down to my favourite swim but thought about fishing there twice as one of the anglers said it had only been vacated in the past hour. However I decided to fish there as it is in this swim that I feel most confident which is worth it's weight in gold.
Fishing up against the reeds on the near bank my float soon started to show signs of activity and after twenty minutes or so a nice fish of 3 3/4 lbs graced my net. It then went very quiet with no sign of more tincas in the swim. There is a swan's nest close to this peg and since my last visit the cygnets have hatched. The proud parents paraded the new family before me as the light was falling.
Then I had a bite in the gloaming which produced the fish below. This is my best fish so far this year from Triangle and it pulled Little Samson down to 4 1/4 lbs. These fish are exceptionally hard fighting and make numerous runs for the near bank snags of which there are plenty. On the very next cast I hooked a good fish which I lost when the hook pulled as I tried to stop it getting back in to the reeds. Nevertheless I was happy with my evening having landed a brace of good tench.

A Tough Morning at Ellastone

2010-05-10T20:27:00.004+01:00

The fishing at Ellastone doesn't really seem to have got going yet this year. With other reports of good catches yesterday morning on the Dove I'm starting to wonder whether there is anything some comments I have heard quite a few times. People tend to think that the short DRAC stretch at Ellastone gets hammered. I have always found that more often than not I'm there on my own and usually have no problem booking on. Normally at this time of year the fishing has really started to pick up but there are no signs of this yet. Yesterday I did have the pleasure of sharing the beat with another angler, Conrad from flyforums.

It was a really bright morning and I went straight onto a couple of nymphs on 2lb Maxima tippet. The water was crystal clear and the lowest I have seen it all year. I saw the odd rise and did manage a few fish on the dry as the morning warmed up but no sustained activity. The DHE was most successful and I also rose fish to a small olive pattern but no hook ups. My nymphs only produced one fish and this method 12 months ago would have got me a lot more on my usual Sunday morning. I also noticed either some black gnats or hawthorn flys as I walked back to the car. It seems to me like we are still a good month behind with the weather, and it will be interesting to see when the mayfly appear this year.

Tinca Tinca Triangle

2010-05-03T12:39:00.008+01:00

Last week I took far too much notice of what the Met Office said and by Friday evening had written off fishing the rivers this weekend. Now I suspect that decision was somewhat premature. However, the prospect of my first tench session of the year although much earlier than usual was something to look forward to. The Triangle Pond did not disappoint and yesterday morning I was lucky enough to catch a brace of nice fish.

Arriving quite early but not classic tench early I was slightly surprised to find one of my favourite swims vacant. It was quite cold though and I'm sure it got colder as the morning went on. This was not helped by the fact that in my rush to get out angling I left my wellies at home and ended sitting there looking a bit of a chump in my Barbour and Crocs!!

Fishing tight against some reeds my first fish came to maggots on the drop and put up a great struggle on relatively light float gear. The second fish was a little larger than the above, I'm crap at the numbers game but would put them both in the 3lb+ bracket. Both fish made determined runs for the many snags at this pond and my old Alpha float rod was singing as they made for the near bank. It was the first trip out for my Abu Cardinal that I recently acquired. It was looking slightly worse for wear when it arrived as someone had made a complete pigs ear of fitting the bail arm springs but they are fixed now. The perch was conspicuous by their absence yesterday as I was fishing maggots or maggots and corn on the hook. Normally the greedy little blighters are quickly onto this bait but not one yesterday.

Both fish were taken in about a 30 min spell of action and then bites soon dried up as I think the north wind started to blow. These are great fish and I hope to have another tench session soon, perhaps when the weather warms up a bit though.

Trout or Salmon??

2010-04-29T20:37:00.003+01:00

In my last post there is another picture of the small fish above. Upon seeing this Glen Pointon enquired as to whether it was a salmon parr. This was my first thought when it came to hand but if you click on the above picture to enlarge it red spots can be clearly seen. To my mind this makes it a trout but I would be very interested in comments from anglers with wider experience.

The Glorious River Dove

2010-04-25T18:14:00.003+01:00

This morning I fished the DRAC water at Eaton Dovedale on the famous River Dove. It was a cracking start to the day which was fortunate as the river was a little reluctant to give up her treasures. The fishing was pretty tough to start with and I must admit to being on the verge of packing up for some tea when the fish below grabbed my pheasant tail nymph.

The duo had been my method of choice to start off the day but as there were little signs of a rise I soon changed to GRHE on the dropper and a PTN on the point.

This fish was taken just below the island that is about a third of the way down the section. A swan is nesting here so it will be a brave angler who dares to fish close by the island. This will also make wading up to fish above the island tricky and this is sometimes a productive spot.

When I set off this morning it was turn left for Darley Dale or right for Eaton. As I did not fancy the drive to Darley I plumped for the Dove. We forget though how lucky some of us local anglers are to have these glorious rivers not too far away. I spoke for a while this morning with an angler who drives up from Evesham for his fishing, that is a tidy step and makes you appreciate what we have in the county of Derbyshire. Interestingly, the angler suggested that a trip to Darley was not a good choice at the weekend as he had been plagued by canoeists. I only fish this stretch a handful of times each season and normally midweek so have not been particularly troubled by these trespassers. He recountered one incident that had irked him when one club had claimed they had permission when challenged. Fat chance.

This week I again may have missed the best part of the day as I departed just after noon. Either that or the car park stretch may be turning into one of the hotspots as I took a couple of fish from here before I called it a day. Many a time though I have not fished the last of the water and a number of people have mentioned to me that it is always worth a few casts.

Large Woody Debris

2010-04-24T10:35:00.005+01:00

To blow the cobwebs away I took a quick walk along the lower section of Sutton Brook this morning. Tim Walton mentioned in his last post on the brook that there was a tree down close to one that we had cut back on one of the working partys. It was just where I expected it to be. This little stretch is one of the spots at Sutton that I feel more confident fishing and have picked up a few trout and grayling here. My size 12's did disturb one fish that I didn't spot but left a healthy looking bow wave.

The Avonmaster Strikes Again

2010-04-21T20:03:00.005+01:00

The other evening I managed to get the Avonmaster in action with the carp again. The old lad really had to put his back into the battle with the fish above. This mirror is the largest fish I have taken from this small shallow lake, it went a tad over 6lb. I have noticed a distinct difference in the fish since I started fishing this water about a month or so ago. It is like the fish have finally woken up to spring and are putting up a great account of themselves. The bait again was my faithful Spam and this is really attracting these free biting fish. The suspicion is I am getting a few line bites as my bite to hook up ratio is quite embarrassing, probably about four. The guys on Anglersnet forum have given me some advice on this which I shall mull over before my next session here. Interestingly, one of the contributors had similar problems using a hair rig which was to be my plan A.
Hopefully I will have a 'new' reel to try on my next coarse outing, tonight I have purchased an ABU Cardinal 40 from Ebay.
The common carp below was a fantastic specimen and went straight into a weed bed. The Avonmaster had enough spring in his elbow to cope though. Just check out the superb brassy livery, what a fish.

Ellastone

2010-04-18T20:36:00.002+01:00

This morning I headed off early to Ellastone to try and tempt my first river trout of the season. I started off fishing nymphs up through the faster section. The water level was pretty low and quite clear. The sun was soon up and it was quite a bright morning, perhaps a tad too much. At about 0900 a spectacular hatch commenced of a sedge type fly that I think was the Grannom. Unfortunately not spectacular enough to persuade the Ellastone trout to start looking upwards, surprising from the point of view of so many flys emerging. I scooped one nymph up as it floated by and the fly duly emerged on my fingers. I eventually caught a small brown and a grayling, plus a hook up on what I suspect was a larger lady (steady on) from the jag jag of the fight and the way it kept low in the water. That one was not to be though. I was on my way home by 1130 and hopefully conditions would have picked up in the afternoon for any other anglers venturing out.

Out of the Blue

2010-04-16T19:26:00.007+01:00

This Easter we spent a few days in France generally relaxing whilst not eating or drinking. It was a good opportunity to catch up on some reading and I whiled away an evening on 'Out of the Blue' by Chris Yates accompanied by a flask of Isle of Jura single malt. This book is an entertaining read of Yates recent experiences with the sea mostly lure fishing for Bass. I really enjoyed it and it remined me a great childhood holidays mosting spent fishing off the rocks in such fantastic spots as Aberporth, Rock, and Porthcurno.

Yates has clearly caught the sea fihing bug but in his usual attractive 'Passion for Angling' style. I would recommend that you give this book a read if you get the chance. At £14.99 it is a little steep though as it was just an evenings read. I managed to borrow this copy from my local library.

It all sounds great fun and I'll have to see what tackle I can smuggle to Spain later in the year. Derby is not exactly the epicentre of sea angling opportunities.

Yates talks of fishing with the older Abu Cardinals, I presume such models as the 40, 44, 66, etc. Could anyone advise whether these are saltwater proof I seem to recollect reading somewhere that they are. Clearly still need a good rinse in clean water after use though. That reminds me how I ruined my Mitchell 300.........

Wonderful Spam

2010-04-09T19:02:00.005+01:00

This week I had the opportunity to again do some floatfishing for small carp. The lake I have been fishing has a good head of these fish and they are very partial to some Spam. Whilst not the biggest carp in the world it is great sport and the sight of the float sharply drifting away is one of the great buzzes that angling provides. The fish in this water are all very lean and not what I would refer to as pellet pigs in any way.

This small mirror put up a great account of itself and I should have got a better picture of the scale pattern which was most pleasing. Although now widespread this has not always been the case and the carp is still somewhat of a novelty for me. Having done most of my full on coarse fishing in my teens around Derby carp at this time were few and far between.

There was always the stories of so and so who had caught a ten pounder on a tinned potato from the canal but this was before the days of mass stocking and the carp was not common to my local area. Nowadays of course this fish is popular throughout the country and I do wonder whether it has devalued slightly what is a magnificent fish.

My first encounter with the carp was in one of the many pools at Woburn Abbey whilst on holiday. I badgered Dad into agreeing to stump up for the day ticket if the baliff came round but as it was late in the afternoon his beer money was safe. Even then I caught similar fish on a vitually identical 'rig'; a waggler locked with all the shot and then just a cube of meat on the hook.
My old Avonmaster rod revelled in the battle with the leather below that made several good runs before it came to the net. This rod is very enjoyable to fish with and I wonder how many other great fibreglass rods now sit in shed and attics unused. I am happy to help bring any back to life and put them to good use so all donations gratefully received.

No Luck on Rivers

2010-04-06T20:10:00.002+01:00

This morning I set out hoping for my first brown trout of the season but it was not to be. First destination was the River Ecclesbourne and when I arrived I felt quite optimistic, the river was running fairly clear perhaps carrying some extra water. I was mightily impressed by the amount of copicing work completed by the EA, they have made a real effort here and several pools are now a lot more fishable. Fishable that is but not by muppets and after an hour I had seen no fish and lost three flies! My confidence shot to bits I then decided to up sticks to Ellastone.
The River Dove was just about fishable at the top end of water and colour but the faster section at Ellastone quite often fishes better in these conditions. Not today though and I tried various nymps and also a duo rig with nothing to show for my efforts. If there is no more rain then I expect that conditons will have considerably improved in a couple of days.

Sutton Brook

2010-04-02T18:25:00.007+01:00

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?

The Bloodworm is Deadly

2010-03-28T20:50:00.007+01:00

Having had so much fun last weekend and being a little unsure about the condition of the rivers was all the excuse I needed to head off to Foremark again this morning. It had been a cold night; there was a slight ground frost as I strode out to Sunblest Bay. The sun soon got up and it was a bright morning, tougher conditions than last Sunday.

I struggled earlier on on a variety of lures on intermediate lines. This was the killing method last week but proved fruitless in the early morning. I'm a firm believer in keeping on the move until you find the trout rather than staking out a claim for one plumb spot. I tried Sunblest Bay, Flamingo Bay, and Hut Point without success. It wasn't until I got to Verduns Point at around 1000 that I tempted a fish on a damsel. Soon after this I decided to change to a floating line and bloodworm on the point with a Basils Buzzer about 4' above. This is a great way of fishing just letting these imitative patterns drift round on with the breeze, and it was certainly breezy by then. No need for a bung; you'll know soon enough when a fish takes particularly when it is a bar of silver like the one below.

I quickly took a brace on this method with both fish falling to the bloodworm. The fish seemed to be livening up by now and typically it was soon time for me to head off home. I spoke to several other anglers who had all found the going hard in the morning and I hope it picked up for those who stopped for the afternoon. Nevertheless I returned to the car park happy with my mornings catch.