Well with all important activities sorted for the day, the missus happy and the kids busy I decided to pop off to the river for a few hours. With a round trip of two hours to get to and from the river I usually hesitate if I can only go for a few hours. Dovedale always seems the obvious choice, easy parking, easy access and you are fishing within minutes of arriving.
However I was desperate to try another section of the river and so this afternoon I decided to head to Lords Bridge. I've fished this section before and found the wading treacherous, so was a bit apprehensive about fishing by myself!
Having parked and tackled up(and realised I'd forgotten my camera) I walked down the river bank looking for somewhere to drop in. The most difficult thing about fishing Lord's Bridge is getting into the river. Having found an ideal spot I dropped into the river and waded slowly upstream.
Having just watched a video on the Fly Forum(www.flyforums.co.uk) on how to fish the duo, I realised that I was probably not fishing this quite right. So I was determined to try and get my setup right. After a bit of fiddling around with the depth and size of fly I was finally into my first fish...a cracking brownie with bright red spots synonymous with Lord's Bridge.
And the fish came all afternoon, from tiny little brownies to a real lunker with the biggest tail I've ever seen. Thrown in were a few out of season grayling which were quickly released!
Around four o'clock a small hatch started and fish started rising all around me. Off came the duo and on went a small Olive and within minutes I was rewarded with a brownie of about a pound. Fish continued coming to the dry for about 15 minutes and it provided me with some heart-stopping action....there really is nothing better than watching a fish come up and suck your fly down, and then lifting into it as it swims rapidly off upstream.
The best thing about the few hours that I spent on the river was the complete lack of people...it was just me and nature! The only sounds that could be heard was the river and the odd bird....perfect!
Sunday, 9 May 2010
A long holiday....
Well the holiday in Tenerife which was meant to be a week turned out to be two due to the Volcanic ash cloud. It wasn't all bad the holiday company put us up in a 4 star hotel, half board....and we had an extra week of some real sunshine!
The first thing that we noticed on our return was that spring had definitely sprung, the trees were green and the grass in the back garden was in desperate need of a cut. With a few days off in May, I managed a pass from the missus one afternoon and headed down to Dovedale for a 2 hour session.
It had been quite warm in the morning but by the time I arrived at the river it had clouded over and the temperature had dropped to 9 degrees, with a northernly wind. I knew the fishing was going to be hard...but it was better than not going at all. On went the duo and I dropped into the river fishing all the way up to the stepping stones. The water was gin clear and the river seemed quite low.
There were no fish rising and the usual spots seemed devoid of fish, but I did hook into three fish, but just couldn't seem to keep them on for more than a few seconds. An enjoyable afternoon but lets hope the weather warms up soon and gets the fish rising!
The first thing that we noticed on our return was that spring had definitely sprung, the trees were green and the grass in the back garden was in desperate need of a cut. With a few days off in May, I managed a pass from the missus one afternoon and headed down to Dovedale for a 2 hour session.
It had been quite warm in the morning but by the time I arrived at the river it had clouded over and the temperature had dropped to 9 degrees, with a northernly wind. I knew the fishing was going to be hard...but it was better than not going at all. On went the duo and I dropped into the river fishing all the way up to the stepping stones. The water was gin clear and the river seemed quite low.
There were no fish rising and the usual spots seemed devoid of fish, but I did hook into three fish, but just couldn't seem to keep them on for more than a few seconds. An enjoyable afternoon but lets hope the weather warms up soon and gets the fish rising!
A good start to a holiday
With a week away in Tenerife planned, I decided that the best way to start my holiday would be to spend the day on the river. So with my new Kelly packed and with Clive driving we set off for Mildale.
This was my first day out fishing in the new season, not a perfect day at all the sun was shining but it was still very cold. After a couple of hours both Clive and I had each had a fish, but unfortunately they were both grayling. We fished all the usual spots but the trout were just not there at all. Time for a tea break!
With the Kelly christened we pressed on downstream and I was rewarded with my first brownie of the season, a beautiful fish perfectly formed and no bigger than my hand...success!
Obviously the water and weather meant that the grayling were still feeding and it wasn't long before both Clive and I were into some good fish.
Its ironic really, I've been waiting all winter to catch grayling, and now when we want some trout all we could catch was grayling.
A few more hours fishing and another cup of tea brewed in the Kelly and Clive and I decided to call it a day. It certainly had been hard fishing, but it was good to be out enjoying the river!
This was my first day out fishing in the new season, not a perfect day at all the sun was shining but it was still very cold. After a couple of hours both Clive and I had each had a fish, but unfortunately they were both grayling. We fished all the usual spots but the trout were just not there at all. Time for a tea break!
With the Kelly christened we pressed on downstream and I was rewarded with my first brownie of the season, a beautiful fish perfectly formed and no bigger than my hand...success!
Obviously the water and weather meant that the grayling were still feeding and it wasn't long before both Clive and I were into some good fish.
Its ironic really, I've been waiting all winter to catch grayling, and now when we want some trout all we could catch was grayling.
A few more hours fishing and another cup of tea brewed in the Kelly and Clive and I decided to call it a day. It certainly had been hard fishing, but it was good to be out enjoying the river!
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