Royal Stamp Of Approval

Today me and Arthur Wellersley off the forums spent the day bugging at Church Mayfield (Ashbourne) on Her Majesty The Royal Dove. The recent rains had raised the Dove to a good level and Her Majesty was in fine condition, so no excuses from 2 ever so slightly above average anglers. We both fished teams of heavy nymphs which proved effective right from the off really, bringing plenty of good size fish to hand and not a trout in sight all day.

This venue never ceases to amaze me with its top draw fishing, in particular the lovely ladies that hang around waiting to make a fuss of you. Before too long we'd lost count and all good sized fish in pristine condition like the one below, fishing fit for a King, or two. My top bugging tip for success with the ladies for newbies is as follows, please remember many a true word said in jest.

1/ When tying your nymph use plenty of lead/weight

2/ Be sure not to use any material that wants to float

3/ Hard smooth fly coated with varnish, maybe ribbed with rubber/skin

4/ Next day once dry, throw fly in the bin because it won't be nearly heavy enough

5/ Start again using twice as much lead

Arthur spotted a Salmon struggling to make the weir before slipping bag down in a large arc so there definitely in Ashbourne well above Norbury. This Lady below was the best of the day but Arthur was following my instruction when he caught it (not) and oh my God! what a magnificent specimen it was. This male fish (Full Dorsal) was truly showboating for us, postured like a lion, patiently posing for a few trophy shots. As you can tell by the picture Art was seriously considering giving this beauty a big smacker. If we share many more days like this, you might see us holding hands on the riverbank soon - nicky nacky noo.