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Post by allthegearnoidea Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:44 am

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Derbyshire on the fly

Monday, 28 January 2008


Mission Impossible



Today I took my first walk along a stretch of the Erewash river with a mind to explore the possobilities of restoring the river to former glories. The River Erewash Restoration Project is about a group of fly fishermen who have decided to join hands to try and bring about, the return of a succesful trout stream. We intend to walk the different stretches hopefully to find any suitable spots to restore, if there are any that is. I took my camera along with Biscuit and Cookie (dogs) for a walk from Moorbridge Lane to the Severn Trent works at Trowell, which takes roughly around 30 mins each way, with a few stops to investigate. The river has just been in flood so the water is coloured and there is plenty of debris scattered along the banks, and caught up in the trees. I took pictures while walking to show the group the present condition which is shown in the pictures below, and no doubt we have our work cut out.




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Posted by Mick Martin at 08:30 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg


Saturday, 12 January 2008


Dovedale



I decided on dovedale today along with every other walker in the UK , which made fishing slightly difficult. I would usually avoid this venue at the weekends, especially in summer.
On arrival the river was high and coloured but the show must go on, especially as tomorrow's forecast is heavy rain and today the sun was shining bright, in a clear blue sky. I set up my 10ft rod and set off along the banks of the Dove, before long I managed a grayling in superb condition but small in size. The hard work was now done as one fish is always enough for me, anymore are a bonus after that and I tend to relax with no pressure on, once I've wet my net. I caught 2 small grayling and lost a couple of big ones too, with all takes on a Pink Shrimp pattern.



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Wondering downstream I came across a real fisherman (pictured below), who happily took part in a mexican stand off with me from the other side of the river. Usually these birds move along whenever you get close, a bit like chasing a £10 note in a gale, whenever you try to pick it up - off it blows again. There was no doubt this was the Clint Eastwood of the fishing world, and not only was he there first, but he was also fishing for his dinner, while I know my evening meal will be placed on a table in front of me, by my darling wife.



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Posted by Mick Martin at 14:42 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg

Sunday, 6 January 2008


River Wye (Bakewell)



I have been unwell off late, but when I looked out to a bright and sunny sky this morning, the phone started ringing, it was Colmans and Del off the fly forums, they were on the other end waiting at the Fishermans car park. I couldn't resist making a mad dash across Derbyshire to meet them both, no matter how crappy I felt. I arrived to find 2 kind gentlemen waiting to move upstream with me into Bakewell. We took time for a few casts along the way, and although nothing was happening, we remained optomistic, especially as the afternoons have been producing well lately. We arrived in Scots Garden and fished our way back into Bakewell, but not before me and Del had a luvvly cuppa from his kellykettle, while both watching Johhny catch the first of the day.
I must say the walk through Bakewell was an experience on its own, I suspect Johnny and Del were used to the crowds, but I felt like we'd been invited to a fancy dress party - that had been cancelled and nobody told us. There are miles of banks that do provide peace and quiet, so don't misunderstand me, infact I'd recommend you don't miss the stroll through Bakewell town as its a lovely place to visit, even without a rod in your hand.


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We all fished different types of nymphs, and true to expectations we started to catch fish mid afternoon. The first few were Rainbows, but knowing these rainbows were breeding here I was keen to have quick ganders. These rainbows were nothing short of spectacular in both appearance and size, I've known about these for a few years but never felt the need to chase them, however I must admit, I was simply amazed that these big beauties were swimming wild in Derbyshire. I'm afraid no pictures were taken as they are out of season and never left the water, but one Johnny hooked was around the 5lb mark and stunning. We all started to find a few grayling as the afternoon went on, below is my best of the day, caught with my very own Mr Incredible.


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Considering how I felt this morning, walking in the fresh air seemed to aid my recovery no end, or perhaps it was a case of being too busy fishing to be ill. I wouldn't say the fishing was on fire today, but I experienced enough of this unique little river to know its a little bit special, and I will be wondering along its banks again before too long, in fact I can't wait.

Posted by Mick Martin at 11:30 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg


Last edited by on Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:52 am; edited 2 times in total
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Post by allthegearnoidea Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:46 am

Sunday, 23 December 2007


Wolfscotedale


23 Dec 2007

I decided to search for grayling at Wolfscotedale today, which is something I've not tried as the ratio of grayling per trout on this stretch is minimal during trout season - but logic doesn't always succeed, so I hoped for a real clunker. Well you could say I was keeping it real as being confident counted for nothing on this day. On arrival it was foggy and -2 but the river was in superb condition so I marched on full of optimism. To cut a long story short not 1 single grayling came to my net, but it did turn into a lovely day and afterall, I can think of worse places to spend the day.

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The only company I got out of the river today was this lean looking brown trout, which looked ordinary for this time of year (torpedo shaped), apart from the leeches stuck to it. I don't usually take browns out of the water out of season - but I thought a picture of the leeches could prove interesting. I scraped them off with a careful thumb nail, then returned the brown safely back into the river.



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Around 2.30pm I decided it was time to return home for a Christmas holiday, and take time to lick my wounds, so that I can come out fighting again soon.

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Posted by Mick Martin at 09:17 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg






Saturday, 22 December 2007


Dovedale



16 Dec 2007

Today I took the beautiful walk from Milldale to IIam Rock alongside a lovely stretch of the River Dove. Being the first time I'd fished this stretch meant it was a case of strolling along, then wetting my line where I fancied there might be fish, or two. The scenery is nothing short of stunning making this venue a spectacular place to fish, during todays walk I would be joined by memories of family walks on a Sunday afternoon, and a thought crossed my mind, being the swines we were as kids, we probably niggled many flyfishermen some 30 odd years ago!

















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The ice never thawed on this freezing day, so there was never going to be a repeat of history involving rowdy kids, for only the hardiest of walkers would venture out in this cold weather, leaving me with peace and quiet.



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I chose my 10ft Streamflex for nymphing which proved useful on the day, although it can be a hinderence at times with overhanging trees everywhere. I caught 2 grayling in the first swim I chose, and I knew early on this was going to be a good day. I used a combination of smallish (size16) gold head hares ears combinations with tungsten beads, the weight helps to quickly present the fly in the right area (the river bed) when the river is slightly fast.

Towards the end of the day I met Arthur Wellersley (Fly Forums) who is a regular here. Kev offered his knowledge and a little advice of this stretch, which made me realise I'd not gone far enough to find the real lunkers - but there's always tomorrow and Rome wasn't built in a day. The end result was a very happy flyfisherman who had caught 11 beautiful grayling in some of the most beautiful settings imaginable. Even in winter, Dovedale could never be described as bleak.

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Posted by Mick Martin at 07:28 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg
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Post by allthegearnoidea Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:47 am

Sunday, 25 November 2007



Mayfield 25 Nov 2007

I went for a look at Bentley/Bradbourne Brook this morning, the water was coloured and having no experience there, I felt well out of my depth so I decided to spend the day at Mayfield instead. On arrival I noticed a few brothers of the wangle also about to set up so I quickly made my way to the wier. I decided to use the nymph line today as there would be nothing rising and the grayling would be tight to the river bed. I quickly set up a duo of Tiny Shiny's pictured on the right column of the page and began fishing. The river had risen a lot due to recent rains, so the levels were good, although the river did appear a little cloudy and slightly fast.


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After playing with the depth of leader for a while I started to get takes resulting in a couple of grayling on the Tiny Shiny. Takes were few and far between for a while so I tied a heavy River Criminal (pictured on right) on point, getting down quicker was the ticket and ended in a couple more nice fish like this one pictured below. These river Dove grayling must be close to their peak as they were completely stunning to look at today and fought like Trojans, if these grayling were the reason my toes were numb and cold then it was worth every second in the water, and when all said and done, no pain, no gain.



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Posted by Mick Martin at 09:36 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg






Monday, 19 November 2007



01 Nov 2007
Willersley Castle

I arrived at lunchtime and was really pleased to see grayling topping from the gate, but with low water levels and autumn leaves everywhere, I knew this could prove a frustrating day. I slowly cast my way out into the river and was quickly into a fish, a lovely brown trout which I released into the water s.a.p and told myself "well its a start". I changed from a silver Klink to a Hares ear Klink and Bingo! I was into this nice grayling shown below. I managed a couple more grayling over the next couple of hours before deciding it was time for a "tea break".




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I noticed another angler had made his way upstream from Cromford Waters for a rendezvous under the bridge. We both had a nice chat about our success on the day. It turned out he'd fished for that club on that stretch for 31years, a true veteran of the Derwent if I'd ever met one, and he was happily offering all he had learned in years gone by. Obviously I was all ears and quickly turned myself into a sponge for a while, I must say it was a thoroughly enjoyable meeting and a quick exchange of info before round 2 began. I couldn't resist a snap of him playing a grayling below the bridge in the faster water before we parted out of sight.



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Well I managed a couple more on a grey duster before I finished the day with this itsy bitsy teeny weeny. Does size really matter, I'm not sure, but I would have swapped this tiddler for a 3lb grayling if I was forced to.



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Posted by Mick Martin at 10:45 1 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg
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Post by allthegearnoidea Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:48 am

Dove at Mayfield

After deciding to gamble on the weather clearing up I drove my way to Ashbourne. Arriving at Mayfield, the skies cleared the wind dropped and the sun shone through, creating a glorious sunny Autumn afternoon. After my ritual of hanging my nose over the bridge to spy the fish below I noticed the water was low, but full of anticipation I quickly made my way upstream to the wier. I looked downstream over the riffle towards the bridge and with this river who needs to catch fish to enjoy the day.



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My brother chose trotting and I the flyrod and although I would be on a hiding to nothing I prefered the challenge. I managed a nice grayling on a pink bug but nymphing didn't bring much success but as things warmed up the fish quickly began rising. On close inspection I could clearly make out what the fish were taking, Large Dark Olives pictured below. These LDO's were being slurped down like hot chocolate on a cold night. There was also the odd needle fly being swallowed, pictured below.


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I tried hard to match the hatch as the fish were hammering them down like there was no tomorrow. I found some joy with a Tups and a Greenwell Glory but only managed a couple more fish. As always with grayling fishing the frustration was immense but like a dog with a bone I whipped through most flies in my box. Trapped in concentration the afternoon flew by, I was in the zone and the next minute the light was fading and time to go. Needless to say my brother had many lovely fish like the one below.
I enjoyed losing todays battle to the Grayling and to my Brother ASBO (nickname) but I haven't lost the war, theres always next time.



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Posted by Mick Martin at 10:09 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg







Carsington Water

This was the last day of the season at Carsington so I just had to get one last trip to finish a great season. Driving there was a real challenge due to the heavy fog, fortunately I've made that journey many times before and could probably do it blindfolded. Arriving at the pontoon half asleep I realised navigating a boat with visibility at 10ft around a big water would be more difficult than the drive there had been. It took an age crawling through that fog until I eventually brushed up against the valve tower which is out of bounds for boats. I made my way to Millfields point in a zigzag fashion and eventually began fishing. Hit and hope was the only way to describe the early morning as you couldn't see a thing.
After a while the sun came to the rescue and when the mist lifted the fishing began and it turned into a sunny autumn day, although the fishing still proved very random. Di7 sinking line with boobies and blobs seemed the most successful method of the day with drifts across the mouth of Fishtail Creek. My brother caught the fish of the day with a lovely brown trout, and as always the fish gave good accounts of themselves. No insect life to be found and due to recent frosts the fish wouldn't take anything in the shape of nymphs or buzzers, it had to be a fry/tadpole type lure to bring any success.

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Posted by Mick Martin at 09:59 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg







31 Oct 2007

Love Thy Neighbour (Wolfscotedale)

It was near the end of summer and those lovely big brown monsters were putting in an appearance at most rivers throughout Derbyshire. Most browns are happy to supply smashing takes of vengeance at this time of year, taking your flies as if convinced every tasty morsel was its last supper. It's that magical time of year when you often find yourself thinking "how can this beautiful large specimen come out of a small river like this, and where would it hide in such shallow crystal clear water. Wolfscotedale is a deep winding valley and place of scientific interest, but the real bonus for me is the river Dove cuts through its length for miles, enjoyed by walkers for its beauty, peace and tranquillity. Small wiers and fast shallow riffles sprinting into long deeper pools, some canal like in places as the Dove meanders and sculptures her way through the hills and mountains in a most glorious fashion, while creating a most beautiful place to see. This part of the Dove caters for all styles of nymphing and surface fishing and this can be equalled by a few rivers but surpassed by none, and all who fish there are bound to feel privileged, even before they cast a line.


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I decided to invite my neighbour for a days fishing at Wolfscotedale and he jumped at the chance, though his experience to date was all still water venues only, he'd walked this stretch of the Dove many times trout spotting and dreaming of fishing there. We arrived at lunch and cast a few dries in the small brook that runs for ½ a mile before the entrance to Wolfscotedale. We managed a few small browns just to warm up the old reflexes, and this gave my friend a useful practice before moving into the faster waters below us. The fish were taking our Balloon Caddis happily, and we soon hooked some fantastic browns as we slowly made our way downstream, casting into all the little eddies, nooks and crannies along the far bank.


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We stopped for lunch and noticed a few lunkers playing around in the pool in front of us, and before too long we were stalking them. My neighbour managed 2 browns which I have to admit, were larger than anything I landed that day. After strolling 3 miles downstream we turned and fished our way back up, picking up some specimen fish along the way. Watching my friend enjoy success on the Dove was an uplifting experience and forced me to realise that assisting someone can be as rewarding as catching the fish, well nearly.


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Night falls quickly in the valley, but we still managed front row seats for a display from the black devils, acro(bat)ically picking insects from the air and skimming the surface of the river. I then looked up to the brightest moon and my friend and neighbour looked to me and said "is that why it's called Wolfscotedale?" At which point we both laughed and quickly made our way to the car. My friend couldn't thank me enough for a wonderful days fishing - and he was welcome to it, especially as I've previously learned this kind of experience can bond the hardest of men into a friendship for life, and we all need friends.


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Posted by Mick Martin at 08:54 0 comments Micks Diary Icon18_edit_allbkg





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allthegearnoidea
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