Dovedale Bash

On Wednesday evening a few LADFFA members had a mini social at Dovedale with Fishcake, Glen pointen, KDH, Alex and me. I arrived after 3pm in blistering heat and managed to catch a few wildies in the fast riffles with my Larry's Pride, pics below. All larger fish of late showed no interest and the stockies have all but disappeared

We all met around 7pm at the stones and lit the kettles for a few drinks and a tipple of Kev's whiskey. Some laughs and shared thoughts on our beloved sport along with Glens thoughts on the female anatomy, after birth. Gary(Fishcake) had some fantastic homemade cookies and taking a few of those was the only easy thing all night really. When we eventually set about a few casts there was little joy for anyone really and although the fish were tempted to check out most flies offered, they just didn't seem interested enough to take. I would say considering time spent on this stretch I was fishing with some of the finest anglers around, this said we couldn't crack an egg between us tonight. Sometimes especially after Mayfly the fish don't want to play ball and although the odd fish was caught the fishing was very frustrating. At one point Alex was gonna jump but we managed to talk him down Thank God as the Bangra Crew might have had him on the BBQ.

These lads were great to spend time with and I hope we repeat things soon but without the smoke and Bangra while fishing back down to the car park. My eyes eventually gave up and Glen tied a fly on for me to keep me fishing but to be honest I didn't stand a chance, mind you Kev managed a couple on the last stretch, not sure how though with the smoke, music and complete darkness, he must have some inbuilt sixth sense or hes a jammy git.

Below if you can make it out is a picture of Glen and Kev fishing before we set off on the last stretch. Yes we are perhaps a little mad but we all love it.

Darley Dale

Arrived around 3pm on this hot summers day and walked the stretch to find a few rises but pretty quiet in general. The Derwent was at a good height considering the difficult wading here and the water was 85% clear. I managed to take a couple of rising trout with my Fandango fly which has taken most of my fish on dry lately and proved effective on the Derwent.




The Mayfly seemed poor on the Derwent this year, however there was a small hatch yesterday probably the best trickle I've seen on the Derwent this year. Early evening was met with some crashing rises and I managed to take advantage of a few aggressive little buggers and 1 or 2 lunkers as well. I noticed that the dreaded Himalayan Balsam had taken hold along the banks and shall contact relevant clubs as dealing with it now will be relatively easy to control at this stage with a working party.

This trout above really tried to shake off the Fandango making a nice picture we are all familiar with. Below shows a couple of bigger trout, especially Billy Bunter in the bottom picture who came crashing out of the tail end of a pool with an audience of small boys - I like being a hero.

*uck A Duck

After 2 or 3 casts at Willersley Castle I was informed of a duck Race about to start and although being a little miffed I did smile as 400 rubber ducks drifted past, mind you I still landed a couple of trout around the collectors feet just to show off a little and stand my ground to some extent.





As usual I had the place to myself and what a lucky boy I was with the fish lively and raring to go at my new Fandango fly which I shall put a picture of on the blog. The size and quality of trout was excellent as shown below and this venue really takes some beating on its day. These 3 fish below are as finer brace as you could hope for in Derbyshire and along with 30 others made a fantastic evening to remember.

Chatsworth (Derwent)

Yesterday I fished the Derwent running through Chatsworth after accepting a generous invite from the Baslowfisher (Colin) off the fly forum. I arrived at 1pm and after a short drive downstream we parked next to a lovely summerhouse on the riverbank, on the lower section. We both had a chat and a quick peep at the river, which is slightly wider than my usual haunts but obviously well keeper-ed with steps and hand rails for access to each pool. Wow!

After some sound local advice from Colin I fished the first large pool resulting in some nice browns in the shady fringes, while Colin filled his boots in the pool below.

I moved down to another pool chosen by Colin and after some exploring it presented me with some lovely conditioned rainbows that fought like stink, really testing my Old Majestic (rod).

We then walked back to the summerhouse to set the Kelly for afternoon tea (Ringtons) and a good chat to put the fly world to rights, before setting out again

We carried on fishing for a couple more hours and I managed a few browns and rainbows resulting in severe arm ache, these bows really where on steroids. We decided to walk back for tea which is when the real fun began. Colin nipped to his car, while I went to sit down on the picnic table in anticipation of some grub, I instantly rolled backwards taking the bench with me. I quickly looked around and gladly realised nobody had spotted me rolling about and I quickly brushed the cut grass off me and put the table back. I then fetched a patio chair from inside the summerhouse and placed it next to the picnic table. In my embarrassment I decided to keep quiet when Colin returned and he began laying out a fisherman's spread to die for - salad, pork pies, ham, potato salad all sourced locally along with the bottled beer he poured out for us. Colin then sat inside the table and rolled backwards with the bench throwing our Kings spread allover himself and the riverbank. Once I could breath again, we brushed the grass off the food and salvaged what we could, and set the table again. This mishap didn't matter at all as we still enjoyed our feast while I told Colin about my own bench rolling expedition earlier at which point we nearly wet ourselves laughing (again). Then a hot air balloon took off and drifted overhead to add a little extra atmosphere to this wonderful evening spent by the river, in truly superb company - a genuine brother of the wangle.

We moved into the front of Chatsworth House for the last hour and caught a dozen browns on dry to finish off the most perfect day. I cannot thank Colin enough for inviting, guiding, feeding and sharing his time with me, hes a lucky man to fish Chatsworth regularly as this stretch of river is absolutely stuffed with fish. I look forward to a return leg when I invite Colin for a day's fishing, however there's a lot to live up to after the most excellent day yesterday.

Trust your Instinct!

Something yesterday was niggling at the back of my mind to go to Dovedale, even with a poor weather forecast I felt a strange pull telling me the fishing would be good. I arrived to swarms of Mayfly and LDO's and rising fish yippeeeeee! I was into fish in the first pool and my instinct was right, this was gonna be a great night.

I had took the time to tie some detached Mayfly with a latex body which for my rough tying looked pretty realistic and they were walloped instantly, so I got some payback on making them.

Her Majesty was in fine form after the recent rains and running at a good level, combined with the Mayfly season the conditions were spot on.

Most rising fish fell to the fly and nearing the steps I decided to change as the last couple of fish swallowed the fly deep and my forceps were needed, I felt guilty offering this realistic patterns so I decided to try another pattern I had tied based on a successful fly used by Roger Bryant on my last trip out.

Around 7.30pm there was a shower so I leant against a tree for a while which soon brought me back down to earth, but my poncho did the trick and the fish carried on rising. I had the place to myself and I was going to make the most of it, especially as the next fly proved successful, mind you a fag end would have probably worked.

I had more fish than I wish to count with a excellent mixed bag of wild/stocked/big/small and not a single dog or chav to take the edge off a fantastic night.

Finally the icing on the cake, this fish below was huge by my standards and even looked massive in my big old paws. Obviously the excitement was immense and this biggy soon had me talking to myself " you big beauty, come to daddy" and I held it as delicately as my first born, ensuring a sensational night for the next man. It just doesn't get any better so I sat for a while soaking up the atmosphere while realising my instinct was on the money, thank you instinct for a most memorable night - I love Dovedale.

Dovedale Delights

Fished Dovedale from the car park with high expectations after reports of mayfly season taking hold there yesterday. I fished out of the car park and took fish from all pools moving up towards the stepping stones and fish were freely rising everywhere, so no surprises really.

I noticed Alex Swan fishing up behind me and I owed him some money, after realising I was failing too out run him, I let him catch up and we fished a few pools together, both catching some nice fish while chewing the news.

Arriving at the nursery pool we both then bumped into Roger Bryant and Neil H off the fly forums and had a quick con flab before fishing again - mini social. On the whole it was an excellent nights fishing with plenty of superb fish like this one below.

After teaming up with Roger for the later part of the evening he caught fish after fish offering me endless fantastic photo opportunities, sadly I ended up with this picture below of Roger lifting into a fish. I apologise now for my lack of photography skills but I can report that his company was superb, and his fresh enthusiasm was admirable and I look forward to meeting him on the bank another day.

Finally we all met up for another chat at dusk and the Mayfly where in force as darkness took hold when Neil H decided to throw himself down the rocks where we had congregated, gladly hes alright though, anyway Neils Leap just doesn't sound right. Nights like these are what make this sport special, and I'm pleased to be associated with LADFFA and its feasant phluckers - a memorable night indeed. Roll on Duffers

Darley Duffers

Fished Darley Dale yesterday and although a few fish were taken through the day, the evening feast didn't start till around 7pm. The air along the riverbank was full of Mayfly leading me on their merry dance, and once the sun dropped of the water and the temperature dropped a little, Rave On!

All fish were obviously taken on Mayfly variations and as usual the day wasn't without incident after John took to his drunken man style wading again and succeeded in filling his waders, I tried hard to hold back the laughter, as not to tempt fate.

Sometime later John twisted his ankle at which point I couldn't hold back anymore and I nearly filled my waders as a result. Watching him navigate the steep banks one legged was just too much to suppress, now I'm destined for a slip up anytime soon - paybacks coming I'm sure.

John blamed his sprained ankle on the cattle for leaving depressions (footprints) on soft ground when drinking, I put it down to his Herman Munster wading boots.

Duffers fortnight had definitely kicked off on this stretch of the Derwent yesterday with an evening rise to die for, with plenty of fish taken as a result. This time of year teatime onwards is the way to go, fishing into dark for the clunkers.

Happy Birthday To Me

They say a picture paints a thousand words so just look at these below - a Truly Magical day.

Dovedale

Fished dovedale afternoon until evening and her Majesty was in fine fettle with large and medium olives, hawthorns even the odd cranefly filling the air. Fish were rising in all the likely places and me and our kid landed several trout before reaching the stepping stones.

Joe public faded away around 4pm and left us to concentrate on the fishing which was superb surface action for this time of year - dry fly galore.

Successful flies were Larry's Pride, Para olives and Klinkhammers and more fish taken in slack waters rather than the faster runs as we made our way up to the boardwalks before turning back. On our return we spotted Glen Pointen off the forums and all stopped to swap info and flies and as I enjoy this chaps company, I decided to badger him offering advice he didn't need, while he demonstrated how to catch a few on my flies - the swine. Joking aside this being Glens first time out at Dovedale it was paramount that he filled his boots, and he did. Below are a few pics showing some of the fish caught today in all shapes and sizes, all gratefully received and delicately returned.

Chocolate Churnet

Went to fish Lords Bridge last night and on arrival realised they must have had some localised heavy rain as the Churnet was well coloured and more or less unfishable. The fact I was on a dry fly only quest this season didn't help to raise my spirits, well I was there so I thought I'd have a walk, take the rod and you never know. Last Night I realised how pretty this venue is with a good variety of swims and runs and plenty of places to get in and out on the lower stretch below the weir.

I tried fishing the shallow riffles were maybe the odd fish could spot my fly and I could make out the riverbed but it was a very tall order fishing in Wonka Land. To my surprise this little brown below decided to show mercy by taking my Claret Klinkhammer, and what a beautiful fish it was. The old claret got me another fight on a clear edge of a run by a bigger fish, needless to say as quick as the smile came over my face it pinged off - you son of a beach. The good news is the water levels on the Derbyshire rivers have been topped up, so when things calm down happy days are coming soon.