31st December 2011

To all followers of the Derwentflyfisher blog

I wish you all a happy and safe New Year for 2012.

Tight lines from Derwentflyfisher

Saturday 26th November 2011

The months are passing very quickly at the moment so it was time to meet up with John again
to carry out River Monitoring on the Derwent, the river looked in very good condition the water
was very clear and there wasn't so many leaves coming down the river. We both had things to do afterwards so we didn't have a fish after the Monitoring.

Sunday 20th November 2011

Today we had the Grayling Society on beats 2 to 10 on the DFFC club water for their Grayling Day on the River Derwent, they also had 10 fisherman on Bubnell Fishing Fishing club water as well. We all meet in the Bridge Inn for Coffee at 9.00 -Brian Clark organised the day very well for all the fishermen who had come from all over. The catch returns showed that plenty of fish were caught on both parts of the Derwent. At around 16.00 most of the fishermen had returned to the Bridge Inn for soup and a meal to finish off the day. It was good to see so many fishermen having a good time.

Saturday 29th October 2011

I've been on holiday all this week but spent most of the dry days building a new fence where we park our cars, I had to hire a concrete breaker to fix the posts into the ground. Its all finished now and looks good. So this afternoon I booked beats 2 and 3 for a spot of Grayling fishing, I got down to the river at about 12.00 put on my neoprene waders and put on a Klinkhamer dry and a dropper with a gold head Nymph on the end and made my way up beat 2 and very quickly caught 2 Grayling and 2 Brownies all returned safely back into the river- I realised that I need a new pair of neoprene waders as I could feel the water leaking into them all over. So at 14.00 I decided to call it a day as I needed to walk the dog. After been so busy all week it was just good to be fishing again.

Saturday 15th October 2011

Another month has gone bye so this morning John & I carried out the duty of river monitoring again the river was still coloured, but it was a fabulous morning so after we finished we both had a little fish, John had a nymph on and i had a LDO dry on I very quickly caught 1 good Grayling and 1 wild brownie i decided to call it a day because I needed to go into Bakewell to collect my new glasses. And when ever I go into Bakewell I always call in to see Peter Arfield at the Bakewell Fly Fishing shop for a chat. Last weekend a purchased a 12' 6 piece float rod which I will use with the renovated Allcocks Aerial Trotting reel when the weather is frosty and cold trotting for Grayling.

Saturday 1st October 2011

Today has been my last chance to fish for Trout with the end of the Trout season next Friday 7th October. So today I booked beats 2/3 and parked in Grindleford Car Park there was a football match just getting going. I waded up beat 2 with a size 16 LDO dry fly and had two
good Grayling and 1 very small Brownie. The weather was so hot and sunny so the fish tended to be in the shaded spots I got many more takes but I just didn't catch any more but the 2 hours wa a were very enjoyable afternoon. Tight Lines everyone.

Saturday 24th September 2011

Today I fished with Matty & Alison watching on beats 9 and 10, Matty is 9 years old
and I think this was his first chance to Fly fish, so we started on the grass and tried casting
without a fly to start with, before wading up beat 9 watch is quite shallow on the right bank.
I caught a cracking Brownie to start but lost it unfortunately, as we waded up together I caugth
two more small Brownies before getting to one of my best spots where we caught 1 good Grayling and two more Small Brownies. We all had a very enjoyable afternoon.

Saturday 17th September 2011

Today was our day to carry our River Monitoring on beat 6 we do this every month which is
very interesting. After something to eat and drink we usually fish for a while John and his guest Mike fished on beat 7, and I walked down to beat 6 and caught a Grayling on my first cast. and very quickly caught another Grayling, before the heavens opened and the rain really put an end to the fishing. The water was quite clear considering all the rain we had on Friday.

Sunday 11th September 2011

Well today was a bit of a surprise I thought the wind would make fishing rather difficult, so after lunch I decided to book beats 2/3 and have a go, I didn't get down to the river until 14.00 I got tackled up in Grindleford car park there was a cricket match on which I watched for a short while. I then walked to below Grindleford Bridge and than under the bridge and waded up beat 2 there were very few rises taking place I put on a LDO type size 16 and cast across to the far side to a little rise and caught a beautiful little brownie it's good to know they are breeding well in the river. As I was wading up the beat a group of crickers were on the waters edge asking me if i could recover their cricket ball which was floating down the river, I've never waded so far across the river before, the water was nearly to the top of my chesties, I did manage to recover there ball - to there delight. A little boy had been throwing stones into the river further up, so I waded much further up river to beat 3 there were a few rises and very quickly caught 2 very good sized brownies and 2 Grayling, before calling it a day.

Saturday 3rd September 2011

Well this last week has been rather busy doing jobs at home, so this morning I booked beats 9/10 for the afternoon, the conditions rather good very little wind and plenty of fish rising as I waded up beat 9, I very quickly connected with a rather large Rainbow on a olive F Fly one of
my favorite flies as Baslowfisher would say, I dispatched it and thought I would have it for tea.
I very quickly caught a another Brownie on the same fly before wading further up the beat to
one of my favorite stops where a changed flies to a Olive Upright and caugth 3 more good sized
Grayling I only fished for about 2 hours but I really enjoyed the afternoon. Going to the Country Fair at Chatsworth tomorrow which is the last day.

Friday 2nd September 2011

Well Derwentflyfisher is back from his holidays in Kos in Greece now and been catching up with
a few home jobs over the last few days but managed to fish on beats 2/3 this afternoon for couple
of hours and lost a good sized Brownie first before catching two more Brownies on a black Dry Fly
with a white post, the first 1 and Half hours were wind free but the wind got up again and so I decided to call it a day, so I could finish my project on the back patio. It's funny when I've been
away on holiday and not fished for a couple of weeks it's great to be back in the river fishing again.

Wednesday 17th August 2011

I took a days holiday on Wednesday this week to fish with a very old friend of mine Peter Thellusson who has a rod on Ashford Hall on the Derbyshire Wye, at started about 11.00 and
Peter showed me all the work which has been carried out to put the Wye back on course for over
100 years it's very impressive to see what has been done. Well after that i fished up on the right
hand bank until we stopped for lunch at The Bull in Ashford in the Water which was very enjoyable to have a good chat and catch up on old times. I caught 4 Grayling and 1 Brownie before lunch and after lunch 2 more Grayling the water was so clear i caught them all with a olive F Fly.

Sunday 14th August 2011

Today at 9.00 this morning, I met up again with John to carry out river monitoring again
on beat 6 which took us about 1 and half hours to complete. John had to go so I fished on
beat 6 and caught 1 nice Grayling and 1 small Brownie I only fished for about 45mins before
heading for home, as I wanted to go into Sheffield for some shopping.

Sunday 7th August 2011

Well I haven't fished this weekend because we were all at a family wedding yesterday which was
at the Marquis of Granby Hotel, in the Hope Valley it was a great occasion very enjoyable day and evening.
The main reason for this blog is to let you know about my Aerial Trotting reel which I purchased
on Ebay some weeks ago which needed renovating I scanned the Internet and found Steve Boncey who lives in Crowthorne, Berkshire. who is a retired engineer who renovates old reels to a very high standard so I dropped it off with him some weeks ago and last week it arrived by registered post and I could not believe the standard of it- it was like a new reel- fantastic job.
Steve can be contacted via his website vintagefishingtackle.net
So this afternoon I called into Peter Arfield's shop in Bakewell and he put on some backing and then 100 yards of 3lb line so I now have a reel ready for this winter on a frosty winter day trotting for Grayling.

Monday 1st August 2011

I can't believe this year is going so quickly, work is just so busy at the moment which is great really,
so after tea tonight the girls were going to the pictures so I thought it would be a good idea to book
beats 2/3 for a fish the temperture was still quite high 24 ish so I set off about 20.00 hrs and was in the river by 20.20hrs. There were a few fish raising when I waded up the beat from Grindleford
Bridge and soon connected with 3 good Brownies on LDO dry again I then waded further up beat 2
towards to end there's a nice pool with plenty of fish raising by 21.00 and very quickly landed 3
more Brownies before calling it a day at 21.30 difficult to see the fly any later. I very satisfying
and enjoyable evening.

Monday 25th July 2010

Well tonight i managed to get down in the river at about 20.00 hrs
and there were a few fish raising on beat 2 as a waded up the beat.
I only fished for about 1 hour and caught 3 really good Brownies on a dry LDO. The evening is the best time to fish at the moment.

Saturday 23rd July 2011

I met up with John this morning to carry our our second River invertebrate monitoring session
at 11.00 which was very successful, after which we both tackled up to fish beats 6 & 7 John went
to bottom of beat 6 and I fished up beat 7, and very quickly catch my first Brownie of the week on
a LDO dry size 16 there weren't many fish raising up the beat I then managed another Grayling on
the same fly I waded up to the top of beat 7 with nothing else to catch, so I called it a day and met
up with my better half at Hassop for a coffee.

Saturday 9th July 2011

Today my very old friend Rod and David joined me beats 2/3/4 for the afternoon, when we arrived there were a few fish raising we all split up and fished different bit of the river. It wasn't easy
this afternoon that wind was blowing again and the fish don't like it when it's windy ! I managed
just one really good Rainbow at the start of beat 2 and that we it, Rod had a small Brownie also
on beat 2. I think I will start just going in the evening for now on.

Friday 1st July 2011

Sorry the blog is a BIT LATE but had rather a busy weekend well on Friday my good friend
John joined me on beats 8/9/10 for the day as a guest on the Derbyshire Derwent, we started
at 10.00 in the morning at the bottom of beat 8 and both of us worked our way up the beat very
few raises but no takes before lunch at the Plough which was very good and enjoyable. After
lunch we fished up beat 9 and I had 3 good Rainbow Trout and John had 2 on but lost them. It
wasn't an easy afternoon from a fishing point of view but it was just great to have a day on the
river.

Saturday 25th June 2011

Today the Derwent Fly Fishing Club had a working party starting at Leadmill Bridge
to remove all the Himalayan Balsalm before it starts flowering, we had about ten volunteers
and manaaged to fill 4 number one tonne bags. We will have to arrange another saturday in
the not to distance future to have another go.

Thursday 23rd June

Well today the girls have gone to Wimbledon and I took the day off to look after the dog!!
so this afternoon I booked beats 2/3 and fished for about 2 hours the phone kept ringing
with emails and calls but I still managed to catch 4 good Brownies on a LDO dry again.
There was plenty of fly life today with LDO and a few Mayfly still coming off. I met the River Keeper as I finished and we had a good chat. I still keep forgetting to take my camera on my
fishing trips - I promise to take it next time.

Saturday 18th June 2011

Two of my pals had arranged to go to the Fly Fair at Stafford Show Ground today,
unfortunately I had to many jobs to do this morning: I may give it a visit on Sunday.
This afternoon I booked beats 9/10 I knew the weather was going to be fine/rainy
for most of the day but after a rather hard week I just fancied a fish !!
I fished for about 2 hours and finished up with 4 Brownies and 1 Grayling again on
a size 16 LDO dry, there were still Mayfly and Large Dark Olives coming off the water
when is wasn't raining It was just a very enjoyable afternoon !!

15th June 2011

Well tonight was a interesting evening all the committee members met in the hut on beat 2, we
always have our meeting in the hut in June, and then most of us have a fish afterwards. Whilst the
meeting was taking place there were loads of rises just in front of the hut. So straight after the
meeting I tackled up and waded up beat 2 for about half an hour nothing and then i caught 5
really good Brownies on a size 16 LDO dry in the space of 1 hour a really enjoyable evening.
Evening fishing in June is just fabulous and especially after a hard day in the office.

Monday 13th June 2011

Work is just crazy at the moment i managed to get home for 18.30 last night and thought
I fancy a fish so i grabbed my gear and shot off to the river, I booked beat 2/3 which is
just above Grindleford Bridge. There were a few fish rising when I arrived at about 18.45
so I cast to them with my favourite fly LDO dry but nothing. The river was a bit coloured
after all that rain on Sunday I only fished for about 45 mins just when i was thinking about
calling it a day I managed a cracking Brownie that took me a while to pull in he just didn't
want to say hello !! It was my first evening fishing trip.

Sunday 5th June 2010

Not a EASY day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My very good friend Baslowfisher(Colin) invited me to fish his water at Chatsworth on
Sunday when we arrived there wasn't much activity on the surface the wild was still
blowing so we both started with a Mayfly Nymph on Baslowfisher directed me to a
good spot where a soon connected with a good brownie in nice run. We fished most of
the day Baslowfisher finished up with 6 Browns and Rainbows and I managed 2 more
brownies we spotted a few Mayfly and Yellow duns coming off but there were so few
rises we kept fishing with in Nymphs.
We were thinking of fishing in the evening after having something to eat but the weather
was just not suitable. It was still enjoyable to be out with Baslowfisher on the river.

Friday 2nd June 2011

My good friend John invited me across to fish the Yorkshire Derwent for 2 days although they had rain earlier in the week the general water level in between the pools was very low all the fish were
hiding to the pools. The weather has been very sunny on Thursday & Friday. On Thursday we starting fishing around 10.30 and caught 2 nice brownies on size 16 LDO dry it wasn't easy unless
you managed to find some shade under the trees and managed 3 more small brownies in the afternoon. the bird life in that beautiful valley is outstanding whilst fishing 3 kingfishers flew past,
and there were loads Dippers, Grey Wagtails. We stayed at John's flat in Filey on Thursday night
and had a fabulous meal out just along the road on the front. We didn't start on Friday until
11.30 ish it was so hot and sunny and when we arrived there was just no activity on the water. I
tackled up and walked up stream for quite a way and there was nothing happening so i walked back
and followed John below the bridge but again there nothing, so we had a early lunch and started
again about 14.00 John Caught a Rainbow and a brownie I didn't connect with anything all day.

But the 2 days rest and catching up on old times was great fun and very enjoyable.

Tuesday 24th May 2011

Had a really long day today set off early for Westbury in Wiltshire and got back in good time
just before 18.00 hours and decided to go fishing for the first time this season in the evening, so i headed for beat 1 that doesn't need booking. When I arrived just before 18.30 there were a few
fish rising so I put on a LDO dry and cast to the rises nothing so I waded further up stream just
looking for a rises and casting when I connected with 2 nice wild brownies I only fished for about
an hour and really enjoyed it because this part of the river a quite protected from the wind I headed for home as a was very hungry.

Saturday 21st May 2011

Sorry folks its been a long time since my last blog, main reason is a broke my 8' 6" rod and i've been very busy at work, but today I arranged with my good friend Charles to come with me on beats 14/15. when we arrived at the river the wind was blowing hard so Charles started fishing above the stepping stones and i walked well down and started fishing up stream the wind wasn't
helping I had a LDO size 16 on my new Greys Streamflex rod which I'am getting used to now.
I caught 3 really cracking Grayling below the stepping stones before catching Charles up, he had caught 5 Brownies and we both fished infront of the hut and I had a small Grayling and a super
Big Brownie we had fished from 13.30 to 16.00 and the fish were not showing themselves so
we called it a day. Very enjoyable.

25th April 2011

Last day of the Easter holidays today before going back to work tomorrow so I invited my very
good friend Baslowfisher onto my club water on beats 8,9 and 10. The weather was very sunny
and there wasn't much shade on the water and there wasn't a lot fly life about other than green
fly ! it is strange at this time of year when you do not see Large Dark Olives about. We had lunch
first washed down with a beer before getting tackled up there were a few fish rising at the start of
beat 9 so Baslowfisher started casting to them, I made my way down to beat 8 and fished upstream with a LDO dry fly nothing at all was rising, so I made my way up to beat 9 where they were still rising but I just couldn't connect with them. Baslowfisher had already caught a couple a Grayling and a really good Brownie. I made my way up beat 9 to one of favourite spots and managed to catch my first fish of the day a good sized Grayling on a LDO and I seemed to miss so many today
I did catch another Grayling so all in all is wasn't a easy day but all the same very enjoyable company.

17th April 2011

Very lucky today the family were going out and the Mrs said are you going fishing-I thought yes so I booked beats 14/15 for the afternoon what a day- I arrived at the river at about 1.15 and the fish were rising although there wasn't a lot a fly life about. I put on Size 16 Large Dark Olive and caught 8 Brownies and 2 Grayling very quickly, there were a lot of walkers passing by and watching me
as they walked past-It's the first time this season that the fish were rising the weather today has been very warm 19˚ degrees fabulous day.

16th April 2011

I booked beat 2 today and after walking the dog and cutting the lawn, I managed to get
to the river by 1.30 there wasn't much rising at that time so I put on a Nymph and very quickly
had 3 nice grayling it was quite warm, so I moved up the beat and noticed one or two rises
so I put on a Large Dark Olive and caught 2 good wild Brownies and one more Grayling just
fished for a couple of hours very pleasant afternoon. I will take my camera next time and post
some photo's on the next blog.

Saturday 9th April 2011

This weekend has been rather busy with shopping and a stag night! but I managed to get a bit of fishing yesterday on beats 6/7. the weather was great although not the best for fishing it was very bright. I tried a Large dark Olive dry on one of my favourite runs and not a show until the sun went in and then bingo my first brownie on a dry this season. The weather at the moment has brought out loads of butterflies down by the river yesterday there were loads and the spring flowers-what a day !

Saturday 2nd April 2011

Well today was the first outing of the new fishing season, I was so excited to be in the river again, I met up with two of my pals David and Dennis and his grandson on beats 8 9 & 10 they went to bottom of beat 8 and I walked up beat 9 there wasn't much rising so I put on a Gold head Pheasant Tail Nymph and very quickly caught my first Brown Trout of the new season followed by another Brownie before moving to the start on Beat 9 where I caught a really nice Grayling and another Brownie. We had all agreed to stop at 12.45 for lunch in the Hut, so the morning fishing finished with a good chat and a drink. a very enjoyable morning.

Saturday 29th January 2011

Well today I rigged up my 10' weight 4 rod for the first time with 3 Czech Nymphs and met up
with David and Dennis and his grandson, Dennis and his grandson were trotting on beats 7 & 8
so I walked up beat 9 to one of favourite spots the water had slowed down from last time and
running clear, but it was very cold just above freezing. I caught one Grayling which was a good fish, before returning to the hut for a coffee and a chat with David before he left.

Sunday 9th January 2011

Well today was the first day in 3 months that I've fished ! I looked at the forecast last night and it looked Ok, so I booked beat 9 for the afternoon, I parked up around 13.00 the sky was blue and sunny the temperature outside was 5˚c I set up my rod for Czech Nymphing, the water was coloured and running rather fast-I fished for about a hour and did'nt connect with any Grayling, but it was really good to be out though.