Somewhere over the Brownie..Part I

Somwhere over the Brownie lives a Rainbow, lots of them actually - well that certainly seemed to be the case on the Derbyshire Wye this weekend! The Brown Trout were there, I could see them but Rainbows dominated. Reading the fishing log in the reception of the hotel told me that this would be the case with reports showing Rainbows significantly out numbering the Brown’s. They were certainly more aggressive and quick to the fly, often coming from well down in the water if not to actually take the fly but to investigate it. These wild fish get ever wilier as the years go by and refusals outnumbered the takes 10 to 1. I guess you have to expect that on water that is 100% wild Trout that are fished for daily through the season; they have seen it all...


We were fishing the Haddon Estate water booked through the Peacock Hotel at Rowsley. The water here is managed by Warren Slaney and his team as a wild trout fishery and is probably the best of its kind in the UK. if you were going to create a list of the top 10 UK rivers you would struggle to find a reason not to include the Derbyshire Wye...and if you did it probably wouldn't be a very popular list...


As we sat in the Peacock's breakfast room tucking into smoked salmon and scrambled egg we were given some good news; there would only be about 5 anglers on the river today as only one syndicate rod would be fishing and apart from our tickets there were only two other day rods sold. Maybe a sign of the times or perhaps we had dropped lucky. It would mean a lot of undisturbed river to go at.

We popped up to the Orvis shop in Bakewell for 'supplies' where we were greeted by a couple of cheery old soles. When we told them where we were fishing they regaled us with stories of fish covered with fungal growths and a river that is going backwards and "it's not as good as it used to be". Now call me cynical if you like but I really don’t think it would be classed as best business practice to knock your local river and its potential if you want to sell the flies you produce at a bench in the shop?.....we walked out of the shop a few minutes later vowing not to give it our custom again.

The lower beat, above the weir where the catch and release starts, is my favourite section on this fishery. The river is much more interesting here and probably a little harder to fish, that's not saying the fishing is harder, it’s just harder to put a fly on the water and very easy to put it in a tree. A lot of rods head to the middle section where it's more open and easier to fish, but not nearly as much fun....

There was very little fly life but it was early. I opted to sit it out until fish started showing and as the KK boiled I spotted the first rise. Ten minutes later after crawling on my belly to the water’s edge a super 10" Rainbow was in the hand, fit healthy and looking a picture of everything you would want from a wild fish.

I worked up river and managed to find a few Brown trout that were not in the company of small 'bows. One of these fish fell for my Deer Hair Grannom and was a perfect 13" of gold and brown. I like these wild Rainbows but the Browns are just perfection!

Time passes so quickly when fishing and before we knew it lunchtime had been and gone. We moved to the middle beat, even though it had taken four hours to cover only half of the lower one. After a hearty picnic of Quiche, Scotch Egg, Turkey pie and my many meats Deli butty we split up again and headed off for different sections of the river.

The afternoon was bathed in sunshine and the fish were a little spooky, probably because of the weather, probably because a couple of anglers had already been through. But a few more fish came to hand, almost every fish was perfect. Just one stood out which had been spiked on the back by what I can only assume was a heron.

We finished as the sun was setting. 11 Rainbows, two Browns and a Grayling - all free of disease, all a picture of health, all as wild as hell!

So as April draws to an end it's been a good fly fishing month with 45 fish logged; 4 Grayling, 11 Rainbows and 30 Brown Trout.

Bridges....

fascinate anglers, they always have and they always will. Childhood imaginations are filled with big fish, leviathans, monster specimens that live in the dark shadows created by the bridges; the kind of fish that would make headlines in the weekly angling press. Even this middle aged man is still captivated by them. I have my favourite types of bridge which will always attract me and ones I am not so keen on but will still be drawn to them if they are the only bridge on the river.

Brick bridges are best! Ones with curved arches even better and more than one arch make them really special. Wooden ones are good and concrete constructions the least attractive or appealing. The lower the bridge the better, low bridges make for good fish holding potential. The wider the better! They have longer dark shadows and potentially greater secrets!

Sutton Brook has a few nice bridges. A couple of good brick ones and some wooden foot bridges. I managed to sneak off for an hour’s fishing the other night. A short evening session of two bridges; one of brick and one of wood.

Bridges deserve special attention and they got it in the form of a cane rod rather than the usual graphite. Cane rods and bridges go together well.

I spent about 30 minutes at each bridge and managed a fish from both, even though there was little fly life on the water; it was too cold and the wind had a bite to it. The no colour Klink working its magic again. Thirty one fish this month...

Sex on the beach..

I like a brew when I am out fishing. The thermos flask is the favoured method of carrying a hot drink to the river for many an angler, I prefer the Kelly Kettle. There is something inherently satisfying about making a fire that boils the water that brews the drink. It's also good karma to drink the water that the fish you are after live in..or am I just weird?

Obviously safety is important around fires. The preferred place for lighting up the KK is on a nice stoney gravel bank, well away from woody debris. If this is not an option then I use the heel of my boot to clear a nice soil bed for the KK base to sit on. This can always be covered up after you have finished. Always, and always pour water onto the fuel after you have finished, make sure it gets a good soaking as well. That's the safety bit done with.

So what's the best drink from a KK? A fine cup of tea is good but only from the very purest of waters. Rivers that have a slightly earthy taste, or are perhaps a little coloured are best used for making Coffee. Strong instant coffee covers the taste of the worst water and so this tends to be my drink of choice these days, not that I fish the worst waters but that our rivers are often carrying extra water! The river Ecclesbourne has some lovely pure water and makes a fine brew. It was our destination for the latest outing as well.

The WTT has been undertaking some fine restoration work and parts of the river were unrecognisable compared to last year. A lot of effort has been put in to creating some great Trout habitat. The WTT does a fantastic job and if you ever fish rivers for Trout I would encourage you to join and support them. The laws will change in a few years time and the stocking of triploids will become law, with diploids no longer available from fish farms. Any association or syndicate that is serious about its river Trout fishing should be seeking advice from groups like the WTT on how they can best prepare for these changes. Moreover, it's really nice to catch wild, river born Trout.

http://www.wildtrout.org/

This section of the Ecclesbourne is made for a couple of anglers sharing a day. There is a weir smack bang in the middle and it takes about two hours to fish each section, above or below it. So we started there and adopted our usual 'short stick' system for selecting which of us had the longer walk.

I fished the lower section and caught from the off. There were a few Grannom on the water and one or two Olives. However, the no-colour Klink had been tied on at the car and that’s the fly I fished, all day. One fly, seven fish - magic! It has now been retired to the hall of fame on the peak of my fishing cap, the first to do so this year.

By the time I reached the middle of the beat again there were 5 fish recorded, the best 14" and the smallest 10". We found a suitable gravel beach and the KK went on for the second time today. It was at this point that KG pointed out a pair of "Eels" in the shallows.

You never stop learning when fishing and you never stop experiencing nature. I had seen Lamprey attached to branches dragged from the river but never actually seen them swimming. I guess that’s because for eleven months and 3 weeks they live in dark water, under woody cover. However, for the first time in 30-odd years fishing rivers I was watching Brook Lamprey spawning. Fantastic!!!

We swapped over and I headed up towards the road bridge, which is where a lot of the work has been done. Upstream weirs, woody debris and a lot of sweat and toil have changed the nature of this section of river. In a couple of years this will pay off and then clubs investments will hold it in good shape. It's a shame more clubs and associations can't see this!

I hope the EA latches on to this as well. It would be good to see a system similar to the US's Gold Medal system introduced to rivers here. Personally I think whole rivers should be given the catch and release status, especially those where managing bodies have invested a lot of effort and money to restore habitat. We need more rivers like the Derbyshire Wye.

The last fish was another 14" over wintered beauty and although I was an hour early finishing by the time I had trekked up that hill to the car and sorted my fly patch out I was ready for a pint, which went down really well....as did the second!

Just a tart...

Just browsing through any fishing catalogue will tell you that the options for carrying your gear are numerous. Many of the vests and pack systems are designed to catch the angler rather than help him. I have been victim to this over the years, spending large sums of money on vests and packs that have actually proved to be a hindrance rather than a help.

The conclusion from this is there is no one system for this country if you are an river angler that fishes all year...well that’s my conclusion anyway; maybe I am just a tackle tart looking for excuses!

In the winter you need a larger carry load for your back to cover the extra clothes as well as the standard flask and food, or in my case Kelly Kettle or Coleman’s stove. I always carry an entomology book plus a few bits like mug, lighter, hand-wash and mozi-cream. I carry fewer fly boxes during the Grayling season and that means the space requirement is reduced. A chest pack works OK for this time of year.

Once spring arrives and the number of fly boxes increases then a vest type configuration works best for me; to stick with a chest pack configuration means having something so large in front of me that it gets in the way. I carry less clothing and catering which means a smaller pack is required.

Again this is all about personal choices but I now have two systems...well three actually but that’s a whole seperate discussion about short sessions over longer ones...I guess the real conclusion is I am a tackle tart. Hey-ho!

The conditions were much more spring like and we arrived on the brook at around mid-day, we found the fish starting to rise to Grannom which were out in considerable numbers. I fished an Elk Hair Caddis which has a peacock herl body and a lime green butt; it fished well....really well!

By about 3pm the rise was coming to an end and it was time to light up the KK for the second brew of the day. There were a good number of fish accounted for and some nice ones too. Here RT works some typical Sutton Brook holding areas.

We fished on until 7pm, when it was time for a beer. We had covered the whole river today, about 3.5 miles of fishing and caught a lot of nice fish. The prospects look good this year. After three sessions there are already 22 fish in the log book!!

Spring in our step

The second session of the season started around mid-day in what I feel are perfect conditions for Trout fishing; light rain and little wind. There were fish rising from the off and soon fish of 12"+ were gracing the net. Although there was nothing specific hatching; the end of an LDO hatch and the start of light Grannom rise, but the fish were certainly looking up all afternoon. Sutton Brook has good fly life both water born and terrestrial and there always seems to be something for the Trout to feed on. The sun did pop its head out occasionally and it was very spring like when it did!

My reason for preferring this type of weather are;

Firstly, the cloud cover works for you and its harder for the fish to spot the angler as you are not throwing shadows over the water, that can obviously be reciprocal. I am usually fishing for risers so seeing them under the surface first is less important than spoting the rise;

Secondly, the damp conditions slow down the process of duns drying their wings and leaving the water which, I believe, encourages fish to feed because they know the odds are stacked in their favour.

Dressing for these conditions is always a problem for me..not actually putting clothes on but choosing what to wear. It’s still early season and although it can be warm when the sun is out, on these overcast days even the slightest breeze reminds you winter has only just gone. It’s way too warm for a fleece and an undershirt can make things very warm as you walk to the river, especially with a waterproof on as well. Once you are on the water and fishing you need to ensure enough layers so that you are quite comfortable.

We fished our way up towards the top of the section and fish came steady all day. Klinks and large F-fly's were working well as was the trusty Adams. I caught up with KG as he was getting into a nice fish just before the Wooden Footbridge at Hill Top.

The biggest fish to my rod was a 13"er caught by the fishing hut. However, the nicest fish was a lovely, pretty 8" wild fish from the top weir that jumped out of the net before I could get a pic....don't you just hate it when that happens?

On the way home we stopped for a well deserved pint, my first for while and it tasted just marvellous...don't you just love it when that happens?

Diaries are brilliant!!!

What's a blog, just a diary really, so here goes.....

It’s the start of a new fishing year, well I regard the end of the coarse season as the start of the Trout season but that's all kinda blurred now with waters open all year in both disciplines.

You've got to have some way of managing your sports so I stick to the old seasons - shooting is a lot simpler of course.

The first outing this year was a few days ago.

The syndicate on Sutton Brook stocks fish early season so I like to get out before this happens...like on the 1st April - to get a feel for what kind of overwinter stock there is....of course!!!

Like last year there are still plenty of fish to go at and even though it was not the warmest of days there were fish rising to Large Dark Olives (LDO's) that trickled off throughout the afternoon. A home tied, clipped Adams did the business for me.

If I had a 'go-to' fly it would be the Adams, Klinkhamer's are good but the Adams just beats it. Obviously it's not the perfect fly, there is no such thing but unless I am standing in the car park with a hatch of something or other buzzing around my head as I thread the leader through the rings of the rod, the Adams is usually the fly I will tie on to walk to the river. It might not be the first fly I cast on the water but often it is....

I have fads with other patterns, affairs if you like. Last year I fished the Elk Hair Emerger and Caddis patterns in various colours quite a bit, the year before it was a Black Para-dun, before that an Olive F-Fly, but they are like one night stands, they are flings, affairs but just not marriage - who's your long term lover?... still the Adams has been the pattern that fills a good number of compartments in my hackled patterns fly-box....

...Fly box organisation, what's that all about eh?

I must have changed the system a dozen times over the years but have stuck to the same one for a while now. In the winter I have three boxes; one with Pheasant tails, Hare's Ears that sort of thing plus a small selection of dries (Klinks, Adams and the like). The second box contains CZ nymphs and big, heavy bugs. The third is a variety box with all sorts like Prince Nymphs, Brassies, Hot-spots etc.

My Spring fly boxes consist of four; Firstly a box with Klinks and Nymphs, the second is Para-Dun style flies, the third is Deer Hair patterns plus a couple of Mayfly patterns and the last box is the fully hackled dries...an additional box is added from mid-may for a month or so, obviously!

More of fly boxes and flies later....

We caught a few fish, the best was a cracking 14" over-wintered Brown (photo).