Willersley Castle

I arrived at 10.30am to find the Derwent low and very clear and my initial response was this could prove difficult yet again today. I fished every inch of the bridge pool with no results, not even a glimpse of a fish around the bridge anywhere, this is a first for me so with my head hung lowly, I plodded upstream where at last I spotted a few rises to cast at. I fancied a Daddy but after a couple of close inspections the trout sank back to the riverbed, totally unimpressed. I decided to downsize a little to my Daddio which instantly did the trick resulting in a few fish including this fine wild brown below.

The day was tough and the only good news was I had a chat with Paul Sissons who had little success on the nymph today, so with my dry fly only challenge, it seems I wasn't at a disadvantage today, because if Mr Sissons says there not taking nymphs then rest assured they're most definitely not. Sticking with the dries I managed a few more on a small duster before the rain started coming heavily enough to get me making my way back downstream to the car.

I'd caught 7 fish and arrived home in time for tea, sweet as a nut, but the fishing is most certainly

sinking into a lull and only dogged persistence getting results lately.