Mayfly Reflection

There hasn't been much time for fishing recently - my degree has taken priority over the last year and subsequently hobbies have taken a back seat. I did however find a few spare days over the 'Mayfly' period a few weeks back and fished the Derbyshire Derwent and Dove over a three day spell.

The fishing was unusually tough going, especially on the Dove which would normally be a banker. Most fish were taken on terrestrial patterns with only seldom fish rising to the Drake. Not that the river was lacking in fly life! On arrival at the Dove on day two, the bank side vegetation was found to be absolutely littered with what I'm assuming were spinners from the previous day?? When they returned to the water in the early evening (after dancing in the air for a short while), none were seen to be eaten by the trout!

 

I still enjoyed my time away from revision and university placement, deciding on the final day to explore the lower end of our beat on the Dove. The undergrowth was difficult to 'wade' through and getting stung in the face was unavoidable, but the rewards were worthwhile.

The final fish (below) was worth more than any I have caught this year owing to the number of times it has deceived me and the difficulty of the cast. There has always been a fish in this holding spot over the last few years, and judging by the size of this one, it's probably not been the same fish! All the same, to finally get a fly correctly presented over a truly difficult fish will be more memorable than all the others pictured today.

In one weeks time (assuming I pass my final placement!!) I will have finally completed my degree in Physiotherapy. Whilst time will still be an issue, I hope to celebrate with a day on the Derbyshire Wye with my old man and hopefully begin to pick up the number of posts on here again.

Derbyshire Wye 22/06/2013

Fortunately the weather held for our trip up to the river Wye in Bakewell - although all forecasts had pre-empted heavy rain and strong winds throughout the day. This year we were also able to book a last minute slot for my grandad who had travelled down from Scotland to visit us (perhaps the predicted rain had put someone else off?!)

I found that sitting and waiting in a likely looking spot would eventually reveal a rise; and, although it was tough going, some patience and keeping a low profile usually resulted in success.

Midge and sedge patterns proved useful throughout the body of the day with large bulky flies paying dividends later on - as my dad discovered on the stretch through town in the last few hours of sunlight.

Here are a few snaps

 A nicely marked wild rainbow for my dad

 Golden bar running down to the pelvic fin

Simply a gem of a fish

A bruiser!

Start Afresh

This blog has been forced to start again after almost two years worth of posts became corrupt and un-readeable. I've managed to save the word content of the posts but all photos have been lost. The recent ones are still stored on my P.C, but to re-add them to each post would be a mammoth task and spare time is at a premium these days.

Due to this recent busy period, my time on the bank has been limited somewhat, although I did manage to eventually get some decent drake sport on the Derwent this year after a weeks hard efforts spent fruitlessly on the Dove! I also recently caught a few perch on a hand tied fly (a first for me, and something that I've been attempting to do for a while now).