Grayling on the 'pin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.