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.

Derbyshire Derwent

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

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.