Thursday 13 December 2012

I would like to thank all my viewers who have followed my blog during 2012, It has not been a very good
year with all the rain.

A happy Christmas and a fabulous new year to you all.

kind regards

Derwentflyfisher

Saturday 8 December 2012

Well tomorrow John & I are carrying out River Monitoring on the river Derwent on beat 6, the river is running high and fast tonight when i walked the dog. so it will fun in the morning doing the Monitoring.
we will have to be very careful when wading.    

18 November 2012

Today was very successful with the 7 Grayling fisherman who fished on the River Derwent they all caught plenty of fish and most of them made a comment that the River Derwent was a Wonderful river to fish.We all
met at 9.00 at the Bridge Inn for coffee or Tea, they then followed me in Grindleford car park for beats 2, 3  then took the remaining fisherman to the car parks 4 and 5 and car park 6 and 7 and 9 & 10. I trotted on beat 9 for 2 hours and caught 2 Grayling, 1 Brownie and 1 Rainbow. I then went to my sister's house for a coffee and then went home for a while and at 3.30 went to all the car parks and locked them before heading
back to the Bridge Inn for 16.00 for our meal together. all together a very enjoyable afternoon.

Sunday 18 November 2012

On Sunday 18 November The Derwent Fly Fishing club ltd has given the Grayling Society permission to fish
beats 1 to 10 on the River Derwent. We are all meeting in the Bridge Inn at Carver at 9.00. It should be a
brilliant day for all the Grayling Society fisherman.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Today John & I carried out river monitoring on beat 6/7 on the river derwent, I got to the river early around 10.00 and managed to catch 2 Grayling with my trotting rod and reel before John arrived at 11.00 to start river monitoring there were a lot of leaves coming down the river but the river was quite clear and the level had dropped since last month. I fished again after the river monitoring but did'nt catch any more Grayling. I called at my sister's house in Grindleford for a coffee before heading into Bakewell to see Peter Arfield at the Bakewell Fly Fishing Shop.    

Saturday 22 September 2012

Well today I booked beat 9 the river is still not very clear after all this rain. I waded up from the bottom of the beat and caught a good sized Brownie and then waded further up the beat and caught
a Grayling on a LDO dry I waded further up to one of my favourite places and caught another Grayling. There was a lot of fly life today. It was just a pity that the river was not a bit clearer.
I only fished a about 1 and half hours and called in to see my sister in Grindleford.    

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Still on holiday so today I booked beat 9 when I parked my car the rain was coming down quite hard, but thankfully it stopped so I walked up to one off my favourite places to fish. I had on a LDO dry which quickly caught 2 Brownies and a Rainbow Trout the river had quite a bit of colour but the fish still spotted the dry fly coming down. The Rainbow was caught on a double Badger dry fly. I had some jobs to do at home so at 16.00 I headed for home. 

Tuesday 18 September 2012

I'm on holiday this week so I'm trying to get as much fishing as I can. I tied some size 16 LDO dry this morning after having my lunch in Bakewell and having a look at the River Derwent after the very heavy rainfall fortunately the river was still running clear. So i booked beat 2 which is one of my favourites, and waded up the beat and caught a good sized Brownie and the rain started again so I took shelter under a tree until it stopped. Which was not long to wait. The Wind was quite strong
as I waded further up the beat I came out and walked up to the locked gate and started waded up beat 3 there were not many fish rising i saw a Water Vole playing at the side, I also saw a kingfisher and  a Dipper as waded up beat 3 towards beat 4 very few fish rising today, but all the same a very enjoyable walk up and down the beats.        

Sunday 16 September 2012

This week we booked beats 8/9/10 because Rod and David were joining us to fish, we meet up at 11.30 and Rod started fishing up beat 9, I walked down to the bottom of beat 8 and fished up and caught 1 Brownie and 1 Rainbow on a size 16 LDO dry my favourite fly. I then walked back up beat 8 to meet up with David and Rod in the hut where we all had tea and something to eat. After our little break David went down beat 8 I went further up beat 9 to one off my favourite spots and caught a furher 2 Rainbows and 4 Brownies just before the rain started at 15.00. The trout season finishes on the 7 October so not so many days left to fish with a dry fly. A very enjoyable afternoon.    

Sunday 9 September 2012

Well today i booked beat 2 and arrived at the Derwent River at 10.00 this morning and waded up the beat and caught 3 fish but lost them all, I didn't realise that the hackle on my fish had come undone so i think that was the reason why i lost them. The dipper was flying past a lot this morning up and down the river and walked up to beat 3 and 4 and tried casting to fish which were rising but no success. So after 2 hours i headed for home.   

Thursday 5 September 2012

This is the first time i've been able to fish this week, I've been in Berlin since Saturday taking my daughter there. So today i booked beat 2 and had my lunch sitting on the car park wall in Grindleford. the Derwent was very clear and there were a few fish rising just above the bridge I caught 2 brown trout on a size 16 LDO very quickly I then waded up the beat and then walked up and through the gate and waded up the top part of beat 2 towards beat 3, the sun was out and not many fish were rising so I called it a day and called in on my sister for a coffee and a chat. before heading for Bakewell to call in to see Peter Arfield at the Bakewell Fishing shop. It was a very pleasant one hour fishing trip. 

Saturday 25 August 2012

I've been in southern Ireland for 4 days this week and seen some great rivers they have had a lot of rain this year. I booked beat 2 last night and thought that the river Derwent would not be fit to fish today but it was I parked in the Grindleford car park at about 1.15 and waded up beat 2, just above the bridge i saw a fish rise and cast to it and caught a large Brownie and put it back in the the river.
I waded further up the beat and didn't caught anything until i walked up past the hut and waded up
to the start of beat 3 and cast over the far side and caught a further 4 Brownies and 1 small Rainbow
trout at around 14.00 the thunder started and the rain came down quite hard i took shelter under a tree
till the rain stopped. I then walked back to my car and headed for home. I needed to head into Sheffield to do some shopping. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.  All fish caught on a size 16 Dry LDO

Saturday 18 August 2012

I didn't think the river Derwent would be fit to fish today, i drove over Grindleford Bridge and I
couldn't believe how many fish were rising so i drove home and booked beat 2 and drove back and park at the side of the bridge because Grindleford Show was opening around 14.00 and you couldn't park in the car park. Well i put on my waders and waded up beat 2 and caught my first Brownie of the day, I then walked up the the locked gate and waded across the river  and started casting to the music of the Grindleford Show which was very pleasant and caught 2 more Brownies and one Rainbow, I only fished for 2 hours as I had some jobs to do at home this afternoon. All the fish were caught on a size 16 LDO dry.       

Sunday 12 August 2012

Well all the family are back from London now so this afternoon I booked beat 9 there were no other
fisherman on the river today. I had my lunch and then waded up beat 9 from the hut  still with a size 16 Large Dark Olive dry on I lost three takes to some good sized Brownies on my way up, I then caught a good sized Brownie just round a bend where the river starts to straighten up and 5 mins later I caught a nice Grayling in quite shallow water as I was wading up to one of my favourite spots the rain started so a walked up to the bench and had a few casts there were a few fish showing themselves but no takes so by now the rain was coming down hard so I called it a day and headed home. The weather was a bit disappointing this afternoon after all this good weather.  

Saturday 11 August 2012

On my own today so I booked beat 15 for this afternoon, I managed to park up and walk across the field
which is full of sheep and lambs and there was a large party of walkers having their lunch just above the stepping stones. I waded up beat 15 with a size 16 LDO dry on. and caught a small Brownie on the right
hand side of the river, so spotted a rise just under the tree and cast across to it and caught a 15" Brownie which was a lovely fish, I was distracted by a couple of walkers she crossed the stepping stones and fell in to the water. When they caught me up we all had a good chat and I said she would dry out quickly today. I then waded up beat 16 and there were quite a few fish rising so cast over the far side of the river and very quickly caught a bigger Brownie around 16 ". I then decided to head for home as I have some jobs to do
including walking the dog.        

Thursday 9 August 2012

I booked beat 6 tonight and got there about 19.00 and waded in just above the waterfall, I cast across
the river and very quickly catch my first Rainbow Trout of the evening and then the River Keeper turned up for a chat I then caught my second Rainbow Trout on size 16 Large dark Olive. my 3rd fish
was a 15" Brownie followed by a smaller Brownie all from  the same place. A very enjoyable evening following a very sunny day. Tomorrow is my 62 birthday so ive taken day on Holiday.

Sunday 5 August 2012

Well today i fished beat 1 which is not bookable I parked my car near to the Laundy and made my way down to the river and waded up beat 1 toward Grindleford Bridge. I caught a small Brownie and 1 Rainbow Trout which didn't want to be handled and it got off just as was releasing him. When I got to Grindleford Bridge I walked up the road to bring my car down to the Grindleford Car park and had my lunch sitting on the wall. I then waded up beat 2 and no fish were rising so I didn't catch anything on beat 2.
So I headed for home to let the dog out in the garden and tie to few flies for the next time I fish. 

Saturday 4 August 2012

Well at 11.00 this morning John & I carried out River Monitoring which we haven't done for 2 months mainly because we have been fishing quite a lot of times. Another member joined John on beat 6 & 7, I left because I had booked beat 9 for the afternoon so I parked up in the car park on beat 9 and waded up the beat from the hut and very quickly connected with a Rainbow on a size 16 double badger. I waded up to one of my favorite spots and caught 2 more Brownies on the same fly. I thought it was going the rain but the sun was out all afternoon. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon fishing on the River Derwent. I'm very lucky to be in such wonderfull moving water.      

Saturday 28 July 2012

Today i booked beat 15 which is above Hathersage and arrived at the start on the beat at about 13.00,
after having my lunch in the car I walked across the two fields which are full of sheep and lambs and down to the stepping stones one of which has been washed away with all the heavy rain so people could not cross the river at this point. I started with size 16 LDO  and very quickly caught a small
Brownie I then changed my fly to a Double Badger and soon caught a good sized Grayling and then two more really good sized Brownies.I only fished for about 1and half hours as I wanted to call in to see Peter Arfield in Bakewell to buy some 6x and 7x tippet. After a long week I really enjoyed my time fishing.     

Thursday 26 July 2012

I've been away in London and Wiltshire for the last two days so tonight I booked beat 2 & 3, I waded
up beat 2 there wasn't many fish rising which was a bit of surprise considering the warm weather we have had today. I only caught a small Brownie on my way up the beat on a size 16 sherry spinner I then walked up the gate and re-entered the river and waded up the rest of beat 2 towards beat 3 again not a lot of fish rising but I managed to catch a good sized Rainbow on the same fly before calling it a day and heading for home for my late tea. I've just walked the dog over the old bridge in Baslow.

Sunday 22 July 2012

 I walked the dog first this morning and then decided on booking beat 2 again, when I walked the dog last night over the old bridge the Derwent had dropped quite a bit and the water was beginning to clear. So I managed to park at Grindleford at around 12.00 had my lunch and then waded up beat 2
the sun was out and it was quite bright not a lot fish rising on the first stretch so I walked up past the
hut and waded up and there were quite a few fish rising so i cast over to them a very quickly caught 1 Brownie and soon afterwards caught a nice sized Grayling in very shallow water. I then walked up beat 3 and beat 4 there was quite a lot of water still coming down and i noticed a large tree that had fallen down and it was blocking the path so no one could get past it to walk up beat 4. When a got home I emailed the River keeper to inform him of the tree.  

Wednesday 18 July 2012

I've been in London for the last two days there isn't a lot fishing in Hornsey, i managed to get home for 18.00 tonight and booked beat 2 again and waded up the beat with my new line on my rod with
a size 16 LDO on I very quickly caught two Brownies just above Grindleford Bridge. I waded further
up the beat towards the start of  beat 3 and caught 1 Brownie and 2 Rainbows  there is still a lot of
water flowing down I only fished for about 1and half hours it was very enjoyable tonight. I've walked
the dog and i have to be up early tomorrow morning so I didn't want to fish for to long tonight. 

Sunday 15 July 2012

I  booked beat 2 for this afternoon I parked within the car park at Grindleford Bridge and walked across the road and had a couple of casts below the bridge before waded up beat 2 I caught a nice sized Grayling on a LDO dry and waded to the top where I came out and walked up to the locked gate where I waded again up the beat to where quite a few fish were rising and caught 2 more Rainbow trout and I lost a good sized Brownie before walking back to my car. My line wasn't in very good shape so I drove in Bakewell and had a new line on my reel which I purchaed from Peter Arfield Bakewell Fly Fishing Shop.    

Sunday 1 July 2012

Well this morning I cut the grass and trimmed the front hedge after walking the dog, then took my younger daugher to Chesterfield so I didn't get to beat 15 until 14.30. There were not a lot fish rising
when I arrived and not many more rises during the afternoon the wind was quite strong at times. I waded up the beat and cast to the right hand side which is where most of the fish are. I caught a rather large Grayling on a size 16 LDO and gently put back in the river and didn't get another fish in the 2 hours that I fished. I think the wind most have stopped a lot of the fish rising so I called it a day and handed for home.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

I booked beat 9 today whilist at work and managed to get to the beat by 19.00 hours tonight there is still a lot of water coming down but the evening was very warm and there were a few fish rising. So I put on size 16 LDO and caught 3 Brownies and 1 Grayling I then changed my fly to a Mayfly as there were quite a few flying around, I caught 1 Rainbow and one more Brownie. A very enjoyable one hours fishing. I think the rain is coming again tomorrow I'm just hoping it doesn't colour up the river tp much for the week-end.     

Sunday 24 June 2012

Well this weekend has been No fishing as the River Derwent is in complete flood conditions the level is well up and very coloured if you waded you would be taken down stream very quickly I fished on last wednesday and looking at the river today you can't believe the difference in the level of the river.
the main reason is that Ladybower reservoir is full and any rain we have just flows down the Derwent.   

Wednesday 20 June 2012

I have been away on business for the last two days in Hornsey & Three Bridges in Crawley so i managed to arrive home by 17.00 so booked beat 2 and parked up in the car park at Grindleford
by 17.15 I put on my waders and then fished below the bridge on beat 1 for a short time and then
waded up beat 2 the first fish was a Grayling on a size 16 LDO dry I then waded further up beat 2
and caught 2 Brownies and a further Brownie. The river is in much better condition over the last 2 days because we have had no rain, although the forecast is for more rain over the next three days.
So it is unlikely that fishing will be possible over the weekend. 

Saturday 16 June 2012

Well today I'm on my own as my wife and older daughter went to Bristol in my car to pick up all
my younger daughters  belonging's. So I booked beat 9 and arrived at the river at about 15.00 I walked up to one off my favourite places and entered the river the flow was very strong I put on a
Nymph and cast for about half a hour I had a pull but no fish today. There were some Mayfly around I just hope they are still around when the river is in a better condition to fish. I opened the gate with my spare key and then put on my waders and then I couldn't find my key. I looked every where and didn't find it until 'i took off my waders and the keys was connected to my stocks Which was the good find because I locked the gate and would have been stuck with no key.

Monday 4 June 2012

Today i booked beat 14 which is near to the stepping stone crossing point for walkers, I walked down
to the bottom of the beat and waded up there were no mayfly showing today so I put on a size 16 LDO
dry and lost my first Brownie I waded further up the beat a caught two more Brownies, the sun was quite bright and there were not many fish rising I eventually waded up to the stepping stones and meet
a couple a members who were fishing on beat 15. It started to rain so I called it a day and headed for home.  

Saturday 2 June 2012

Today I booked beat 2 and parked my car in the Grindleford Car Park and had my lunch before I started
getting ready putting on my waders I waded in just below the bridge on beat 1 and caught a Brownie on a LDO dry and then waded up beat 2 and caught 2 more Brownies with the same fly. I noticed quite a few
mayfly flying around and being taken by the fish so I changed my fly to a mayfly and very quickly caught
2 more Brownies and a very good Rainbow before the rain started, so I called it a day and called for a coffee with my Sister in Grindleford. It was really good to see the mayfly at last.     

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Managed to get home early tonight so I booked beat 21 which is the tp beat just past Bamford, on my way up to beat 21 I called in on beat 17 there wasn't much activity I caught a small brownie but lost it, so I made my
way up to beat 21 and parked just below the Yorkshire Bridge pub and then walked to the bottom of beat 21
and waded up the beat, and caught 3 good sized Brownies as I waded up the beat. My dog always looks at me around the time of 20.00 as he knows it is time for his walk. So I headed for home to take him out. 

Sunday 27 May 2012

This morning I cut the lawn and trimmed the hedge before setting off to find a members landing net which had been left behind yesterday. Well I found it and rang him to say where I had left it. I then drove down to beat 17
with all this sun there were not many fish rising today, i waded up the beat with a LDO on and very quickly caught a rather good sized Brownie and then lost a another Brownie soon afterwards.I finished about a hour
later and headed for home as i've got some tasks to do before the end of the month.   

Saturday 26 May 2012

Well today John & I carried out our task of River Monitoring on Beat 6/7 it was very sunny and warm
this morning we started about 10.30 and finished about 12.00 most of these two beats are in direct sun light
the odd fish were rising I fished for about half on hour but didn't catch any thing.  I just wonder if the stocking
we carried out and after all the very heavy rain that a lot of the fish have been carried down the river.

Thursday 24 May 2012

I've had rather a long day today with my MD, I managed to get to beat 4 & 5 for about 7.00
tonight there were a few fish rising these two beats are not my favourite beats, and I waded up from
the start of beat 4 and cast to one ot two rising fish but no success at all this evening. I need to redo my
leader and tippet on my rod. I will try this weekend again

Sunday 20 May 2012

The Derwent Fly Fishing Club was invited by the Bamford Recreation Trust to attend there Jubilee
celebrations this afternoon at the Bamford Recreation area off Water Lane Bamford. We arrived about
10.30 this morning to set up the tent and table and chairs in a suitable position near to Beat 17. There
Celebrations started at 12.00, the Chairman of our club and myself started tying flies and John Watson
carried out the river monitoring, we also did casting on the grass because there were to many tree down
by the waters edge.Thee were lots of people attending the occasion and a lot of interest in our Fly tying.
At 15.00 I put on my waders and just fished for 10 mins and caught 3 nice sized Brownies very quickly
I've not fished beat 17 before but I will certainly go again It's a really good spot. A very enjoyable afternoon.

Saturday 12 May 2012

I've been on my own today as my wife went to York to see my daughter so I booked beat 9 and meet
up with 4 other members at the hut so we all had our lunch together before we all started fishing. The river
is still running hard form all the rain, I had a small gold head green Nymph on caught a nice sized Grayling
and a small Brownie in one of my favourite spots I only fished a about 2 hours there were quite a few LDO flying around and a large quantity of Orange tip Butterflies I've never seeen so many in one day. There was also a family of Canada Geese with four chicks that waited until I finished before heading up river. I just
wish it would stop raining so the river could return to normal. I called in on Baslowfisher on my way home and had a beer with him in the Garden- very enjoyable !!   

Sunday 6 May 2012

This morning we went down the Motorway to Junction 28 and visited the Mansfield Outlet I had booked beat 14 but because I was a bit late back I changed it beat 3 I didn't get down to the river until 15.30 there
were still quite a few LDO flying around and on the water so I put on a LDO size 16 again and very quicl;y
caught a nice sized Grayling I continued to wade up the beat and just before the waterfall and connected
with a nice Brownie which jumped out of the water a couple of times before I released it, I only fished for
about 1 hour as I wanted to get back to cut the grass as the forecast for tomorrow is rain all day. 

Saturday 5 May 2012

I didn't get down to the river until 14.00 today on beat 2, the river was very clear today but there was
still a lot of water coming down and the water level was still high. Today was the first day I spotted so
many LDO flying around and on the water.I started just above Grindleford Bridge with a green Nymph
and caught two nice sized Brownies fairly quickly. I then waded up the river past the hut to one of my
favourite places, and changed my fly to a size16 LDO I connected with 2 fish but lost them. The weather
started to rain and it was still rather cold so i called it a day. The local farmer had all his sheep and lambs
in a compound near to the hut so a stopped and had a chat him them all as I walked back to my car.   

Sunday 15 April 2012

Today I booked beat 15 which is known as the stepping stones I didn't get there until 13.30
as my daughter was getting all her stuff together to go back to Bristol University. With beat 15
you have to park just off the road between Hathersage and Bamford as a walked down to the river I spotted a Curlew with it's long curved bill. when I arrived at the river there was no fly life
showing and no fish rising. so I waded up the beat past the hut with a small green gold head Nymph casting over to the far side, there wasn't a lot activity and then a caught a good sized Grayling I continued to fish but didn't connect with any thing else so after 1 hour I called it a day
and called on my Sister in Grindleford for a coffee.

Saturday 14 April 2012

Well I wanted to get down to the river earlier today, but the plumber was sorting our boiler
at home this morning. I had booked beat 9 this afternoon but I didn't get down there until
14.00. The weather was quite pleasant as I walked up to one of my favourite spots, there was
still a lot of water coming down but the water in the shallows were beginning to clear. I had a small green gold head nymph on and very quickly connected with a small Brownie which I returned, it then started raining so I continued fishing and caught a very small Grayling it was
only 5" in length it's very good to see young fish in the river. My hands we getting rather cold
so I called it a day and drove to Hassop Cafe for a coffee and scone- very nice indeed !!

Easter Saturday 7 April 2012

Well yesterday I said we were doing River Monitoring today, the river today looked very different
it was very coloured . For those fisherman who are interested in River Monitoring today was very
sucessful the numbers were as follows:- Cased Caddisfly 1, Caseless Caddisfly 10, Flat Bodied wing
(Heptageniidea) 211, Olives(Baetidea) 45, and Stoneflies 26. After I fished for about 20 minutes
with a nymph but didn't get a pull. So I callled it a day and headed for home.

Good Friday 6 April 2012

I'm on holiday for 4 days over Easter which will be very enjoyable !!
So today I booked beat 2 and managed to be in the river wading at 12.00.
I started with a Klinkhamer on and very quickly caught a decent Brownie just
above Grindleford Bridge. I then waded up the beat to where the first hut
is, and changed my fly to a size 16 Large Dark Olive dry and very quickly
caught another Brownie but I lost it. I carried on with the LDO and caught
a cracking Brownie which must have been around 2 and half pounds in weight
I then caught two more Brownies which were both good sized fish before
calling it a day as my hands were getting rather cold. The snow we had on
Wednesday morning is still on the top of the hills in the Peak District. Tomorrow
morning I will be River Monitoring with John.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Today was the first day of our new season on our section of the River Derwent. So I left home about 12.00 and had my lunch in the car park at Grindleford, the sun was very pleasant sitting
on the wall. I started on beat 2 with a Knickhamer dry with a little nymph on the end- new zealand style. there wasn't a lot of fly life about this afternoon my first fish was a Grayling which took the
Knickhamer I waded up the river to where the first hut is and changed my fly for a Large dark Olive dry and very quickly connected with a good size Rainbow Trout which i released back into the river and then the next fish was a good size Brownie so I felt rather pleased catching one of each on the first day. I then walked back to the car and drove up to Beat 7 and introduced myself
to one of the new members.

Saturday 3rd March 2012

Well the next time we can fish on the River Derwent in Derbyshire will be the 1st April, which is
the first day of the Brown Trout season. John & I carried our duties today in River Monitoring on beat 6 and we had 100 number Flat bodied up wing(Heptageniidae) the most we have ever had for sampling. The weather this morning was rather pleasant the sun was out and the river looked in great condition.

Sarurday 4th February 2012

Well today John & I carried out our river monitoring task, its the first time in 2 months that
we have been able to carry it out as the river Derwent has been running so fast with all the rain
in December and January. The temperature today was -2.5% it was very cold on your hands.

Sunday 14th January

Well we had so much rain during December i just wanted to try our my renovated Aerial Trotting reel, so today David & I booked beats 2/3. David is Chairman of the River committee of our club and a very good friend. The temperture was about 4 under and quite frosty. The water was clear we both fished for about 2 hours but neither of us connected with any Grayling. We finished at about 16.00 we had a drink then we both headed for home. It was just great to be in the river, when I haven't fished for a while you miss it very much !!!!!