Extreme Dry Fly Fishing

March is a funny time in the UK. The Grayling really need to be left alone to get on with their annual orgy, the Trout are still looking down so I tend not to fish too much around home.

However, this is s great time of the year to dig out the passport and travel for some fishing.

Work lent me an opportunity to have a crack at those crazy Trout in the South Platte below Cheesmans Dam in Colorado. If you have not read John Gierach you should, well you should if you like fishing rivers with fur and feather, he captures better the feel of fishing this part of the world and I for one am hooked!

In March the Rockies are full of snow but there are one or two micro-climates that form below the outlet from the deep dams. Because the water comes from such depths its temperature is constant throughout the year, which means when the banks are lined with snow and ice the flies still hatch and Trout are looking up.

This micro-climate does create a false sense of security and the drive back to the hotel in Denver was a little scary as the snow closed in.

I took a day with my favourite guide, Jessy (see blogs from June 2009). We caught a load of fish, in fact it was nearly a South Platte grand slam of Rainbow Trout, Cuttbow Trout, Suckerfish and Brown Trout...only the Brown eluded me. It was fun fishing tiny size 22 nymphs under a small dry. The air temperature was well down and the hatch, light and sporadic.

The following day I fished alone, hiking up river into the canyon. Here I was closer to the dam and the water warmer. What a great day catching some really nice Rainbows and Browns on size 22 and 24 dry midge patterns.

I look forward to returning next year for some more Trout in the Snow.

There's snow way I'm fishing today....

...read the text message from my little brother, so I'd be fishing alone today. The overnight snow had left the local roads a bit of a mess. Still I have a 4x4 so that shouldn't stop me, or so I thought. There were no other car tracks in the snow as I headed up Marston Lane and took a left toward Hatton, the A50 and Ashbourne. What I had not factored in was the other road users. Thirty minutes later I was turning the car round, a jack-knifed lorry blocking the A515 and my route to Church Mayfield.

As I pulled up on Monks Bridge I was actually feeling quite excited about getting in the river. A new fleece bib and brace for under the waders should keep me nice and warm. It was a quick purchase yesterday, a few hours in the Derwent at Cromford has left me frozen to the core and something I was not keen to repeat.

As I walked up the river, my footprints the first in the snow apart from a fox, it suddenly occured to me that drivers passing on the A38 would glance up river and see this complete head case standing in the river waving a stick; what would they think?

I caught fish from the off. Nice healthy, fat and fit Grayling - nothing big, perhaps 12" the best fish but nice all the same. A team of three nymphs which were all being hit by the Lady of the Stream. I was certainly having more action than the Derwent of Friday. Glen Pointon and a few others are fishing the Upper Severn today, we were due to be fishing there instead of the Derwent but Birmingham airport had been closed Thursday night and I was left stranded in Holland. By the time my flight got in Friday morning it was too late to head to Cearsws, perhaps we will get another chance in a few days.

After half a dozen fish and a freshly brewed coffee it was time to head for home to pack for another few days away with business....it had been worth the effort...

The perfect cure for a hangover

A couple of hours engrossed in the bright orange and black banded leader as it weaves its way towards you, watching for any of those tell-tale twitches that indicate a fish has been tempted by the team of nymphs trundling along the bottom, is good therapy for a hangover; I should do it more often.

A solid performance by England’s brave band of fifteen, to hold off a very determined gang from the valleys, had resulted in a couple more in celebration than was good for me. I had, yet again, spent half the night slouched in my chair, probably shaking the foundations with my snoring; these days I am convinced it's not the pints that give me a hangover but several hours with my chin resting on my chest!!

There was already another angler in the river when I wondered up to the weir at Church Mayfield. A few pleasantries were exchanged and, very kindly, he suggested I fish the lower end of the pool that he had already fished through. Now this beat has limited opportunity for a fly angler, being better suited to maggot drowner’s so this act of generosity was well received.

I struggled to find the right team of flies to get them working hard towards the bottom, after about an hour the other chap came for a quick chat before wondering off down to the bridge pool. Another quick change to a slightly heavier Pink Shrimp on the middle dropper added just enough to get the depth needed and a couple of Grayling in the 12" stamp were hooked an landed.

A phone call from home told me it was time to get a move on as we had 'stuff' to do today and so I strolled back towards the car, stopping for a chat and coffee at the bridge pool before heading for home - minus the hangover.

Happy Days!

There were a handful of trips to Sutton Brook and Wolfscotedale to see my 2009 season out. The last Trout session was towards the end of August but by then the shotgun had been dusted off and I was getting some practice in ready for the start of the game shooting season. The gun takes over from September until the end of January.

The last fishing trip was to see me waving a Salmon rod over the river Tweed, that was at the back end of October and the rods have not been out since. It was a good trip, landing three fish and putting an end to a rather bad Salmon season for me and, by all accounts, most of the Scottish rivers. Hopefully the poor results from 2009 are just a blip and we will see better days in 2010. As I write this blog the first of the rivers are open and 17 fish were landed from the Dee on the first day.

Reflecting on last season's Trout fishing, Sutton Brook made it a very memorable one with a good number of decent fish landed, although I never managed to sort out one of those lunkers. Perhaps 2010 will see a change in fortunes.

If all goes well I may be swapping the Derbyshire County ticket for a Leek and District one. I was a member of the LDFFA for a good few years; this was back in the 90's and early naughties, changing to the Derby Railway ticket in 2002 for no other reason than to fish some different water. That was replaced by the DCAC card in 2004 and after 6 years it feels right for another change.

There's a waiting list as there usually is for good clubs and I won't get all upset if I don't make it this year, whether I keep the DCAC ticket is another matter. I would like to spend some time fishing the Wye and Usk waters through the foundation and with the launch of a similar scheme in the Peaks, this season might be a good opportunity to support its first full year and I would get to fish some new local water; I will certainly be ordering my voucher booklet

http://www.trentriverstrust.co.uk/

I am sure it will sort itself out over the coming weeks. In the meantime the tying bench calls as fly boxes need topping up. This is always an interesting exercise and is a good indication of which patterns took the limelight last season. The usual suspects will need tying:-

Size 14 and 16 PTN's with and without gold heads

Size 14, 16, 18 and 20 Para-Adams
Size 12 and 14 Green Arsed DH Caddis
Size 14 and 16 DHE's
Size 14, 16 and 18 No-Colour Klink's
Size 16 Black Para-Duns
Size 14 G&H Caddis
Size 18 and 20 BWO's
Size 18 and 20 CDC BWO's

Also in need of topping up is the the Mayfly box. It took a bit of a hammering last year but only one pattern really made an appearance and that was my Foam Bodied Para-May in size 12.

I shall be tying at least half a dozen of each, with some of the more highly used patterns needing a dozen to top the box up. It's a pleasant way to spend the winters evenings and one that makes time whizz by until the start of the season. Happy Days!