D Day

Had a great day with Trugg on the Dee.

It is not Derbyshire I know, but Trugg and me first met only a couple of weeks ago, on the Wye. We got on well and decided to have a day together.

Billy no mates on the Dee

It is quite amazing that you can go and buy a cheap day ticket on this water!
It is quite obvious that it is not over fished, well not officially. The lovely lady who sold us the tickets was amazed she had another customer that day and thought there was a match on!  We had a crafty look at the stubbs. 16 tickets sold in the whole of July!
 Cracking day, great sport. Over 50 fish between us mostly on the dries. What a setting! and all for a tenner. I am slowly getting better and now  have far more confidence thanks to my new found Derbyshire and Staffordshire fishing mates. Trugg never once rollocked me for my casting and reckons I'm getting there, although he did throw in a couple of remarks when I missed one after the other.

Had a great lesson off him. I told him I was getting takes at the end of my cast just as the fly decided to sink.
On went a red tag and he showed me the high something... Oh I remember sticking technique which got me a fish on nearly every cast.
Wading still an issue with me but Trugg is a complete nutter and just goes for it.
Great meal at a pub. Trugg had a lettuce sandwich (just in case his better half reads this) I can't remember the name of the pub but Trugg knows it. So PM him. The locals were helpful too. "Match your fly to the colour of the rock," was one that that both Trugg and I found interesting.  After discussing the merits of this local advice we both decided to ignore it but keep it in mind. Worth knowing the pub though if you are planning a day out there.
We fished the stretch with all sorts and had plenty of fish. I was a bit cheesed off because I missed several really big fish to my modified LTD sedge. Honestly, I could not understand how I didn't hook them. I blamed the sedge as although it was a great attractor it was  maybe  not a good hooker. I shoud have stuck to Glen's original! Took it off, put on a JT olive dubbed with rubber. (have to catch over 100 before I can claim it as mine!) and had a very nice grayling on the first cast. Only small trout after though.

Trugg made the tea earlier on with the Kelly and I have to say they were the best tasting cuppas I've had.
 He carried the water and milk. I carried the Ringtons tea bags. We discussed flies, rods and various bits and he showed me his and I showed him mine.
The Glen Pointon LTD sedge definitely works. 20 odd trout! Mine is based on the great Rocher LTD but I am a lazy bugger and so modified it so that it was quick to tie. Thank you Glen!

The biggest problem was that at the end, Trugg and me were well knackered and I had to give him a piggy back up a 100 yard almost vertical bank.
Joking apart, You know how good a fishing day is:;it is when you never shut up on the way home. It was a 1 1/2 hour drive back and all we did was chat about everything from fishing, fly tying to deadly snakes at Dovedale... and I'm not talking about certain anglers. I would never dare!

Cheers Trugg,

Let you know how we get on at the Wye Sunday. Going to blank soon!

How we are getting on

I think it is time to reflect.
 I began this blog way back in the year. I was clueless. I am so glad that I had a lesson of JT (priceless) and a couple of sublime days with Sir Rocher and his mates. My skills have improved, my fly tying has improved. It was an honour that the experienced lads were cadging my flies last week on the Wye (only because they had run out).  I always had a good idea where fish would be and watercraft stuff but fishing the fly is totally different than bait fishing.
I have even started to look at entomology in detail. God, I love this sport!
From my earlier experiences of approaching a river with not a clue and sort of just hoping. , I now expect to catch. I would still not expect to catch as many as the good folk who I have fished with, their talents are far more advanced than mine but I now have that tad of knowledge that can only grow.in the future.
I have had personal bests. I have met great people and  had the most wonderful time.
Watch out the Wye!  Bone, Jon and me are coming Sunday!

Flying fish

Well the strangest thing has happened to me today.
Bone and me headed off to Blithfield for our fortnightly visit. We booked in. Nothing unusual happened. We tackled up. Nothing unusual happened. We fished for three hours without a touch. Nothing unusual here either. I then decided on yet another change of fly. Nothing unusual for me.
 As I was peering into my fly box, I felt a jolt on my rod and an angry rainbow had taken my suspender buzzer. This is not unusual as I had purposely tied one on because I was getting sick of watching various bits of fluff with nothing happening. I thought I would just cast out and hold the line and feel for a pull. To be honest, both Bone and me had resigned ourselved for another Blithfield blank. Definitely not unusual!
What happened next was surreal. Well all hell broke loose. My line went slack and this fish leapt 10 foot out of the water. This is not unusual for a Blithfield trout. However what is unusual is to have the fish land on your head, bounce off, hit the side of the boat and then continue its bid for freedom.
At this point I was rather confused, and slightly concussed. A three pound rainbow hitting you on the head hurts.
Bone witnessed all this and was laughing his head off. I had truly no idea what was going on.  My line was slack and I honestly thought the trout that hit me was not the one I hooked. 'Is it still on?' Bone shouted.
'A trout has just hit me on the head!' I replied.
'Yes I saw it, tighten up!' was Bone's advice.
Well I did and after a right run around I landed it. I had a bit of a headache but the trout ended up with a bigger one.

MY LIMIT ON THE DCAC TICKET

I then had a further three in as many casts. We would have had more I'm sure but our time was up and we giggled back to shore. I'm not saying how many Bone caught. You'll have to ask him yourself

Next week.

I don't suppose anybody is remotely interested but me and Bone are off to Blithfield Saturday. i suspect our hearts won,t be 100% in to it after Sunday on the Wye. But Bone needs to fill his freezer.
Going to the Dove next week. Both Ladffa and Derby. YES! six weeks off.

The Wye with Bone, Glen, Woody and Trugg

Don't know how to write this without sounding over the top but fishing does not get any better than this. I'm not talking just about the actual fishing either. It was the whole thing; the river, the atmosphere and most of all the great company.
Met the lads at the Peacock for the usual tea, tying and chat. Jan, the river keeper joined us and I think he was a little worried when I put my first hook in the vice. Apparently Waddington's are frowned upon  on the Wye. Jan said that the rain had done the river a power of good and I was gagging.
 Bone was wondering when we were going to get going, but there is no need to rush on this river and the evening is always the most productive.
We eventually made our way upstream of Bakewell and Trugg and Woody laid into the fish big time. Glen, unselfishly as usual, did not fish at first and was guiding my mate Bone who had never caught a river fish on the fly before.
It was not long before Bone got his first wild rainbow and he was made up.
Got to thank Trugg at this point for some great advice. This was the first time we have met; what a top bloke   He knows I am learning but he put me right on a few things I was doing wrong. I put this into practice a while later as we spent a happy hour on one pool hammering out little rainbows and brownies.
So down to the town.
After some food, (me and Bone sneaked off for a pint) we began the serious stuff. The tourists are very helpful and I'm sure Woody would not have had any success at all if he had not listened to their advice as to where the big fish were! Having said that, although it is anoying, you can't be too hard on them. I think it is nice that folk want to see you catch; and lets face it we need a good relationship with the general public these days.
Me and Bone wandered off because I wanted to show him 'Shuffle Bend'. We didn't make it that far as we had some great sport with little grayling hitting our sedges on every cast. I did try the 'Shuffle Bend' and had a nice grayling about a pound. Bone was loving it so I left him to it and me and Woody went up to the town stretch and aren't we glad we did!
Woody couldn't fail! I landed three for him, including a superb brownie pushing 4lb.
I was getting a bit twitchy as I had not had a take but I needed to get twitchy as I watched Woody twitch his sedge. I needed to twitch my sedge as well....Could I twitch my sedge like Woody twitched his? Would I be up to it?

So I copied him and twitched my sedge . It's great that you can twitch your sedge in the middle of town and not get arrested.. I am now a fully paid up member of the sedge twitching fraternity! Sorry about the fuzzy image but Woody deliberately smeared the lens because he was obviously jealous.

 Jan unhooking a fine rainbow. I am trying to show Jan how to hypnotise a trout.  but it still bit him!

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Here is my PB wild rainbow and Jan's trainer.

We were then invited by the great Richard Ward for a cup of tea. Woody and me kindly declined the offer as we thought the sport too good to miss. I thought it was a good call as I had a rather large grayling over 2 pounds and Woody landed another beauty  while Richard was serenading Glen and Trugg in his back garden. RW also sings opera. The lads said they couldn't believe what a wonderful experience it was.

Glen and Trugg (now singing), refreshed,  joined us and got stuck in. Glen had a beauty which gave him a right run around. I think we lost count of the lunkers we all caught and at one point three of us were in big style. But the best bit was when my fishing buddy, Bone landed a proper rainbow. Trugg said to me that not many people do well on their first visit to the Wye, but Bone had a great day catching all of the three important different species.

 

It's not often you get free advice from a top angler like RW but that's what Bone got and RW even landed it for him! Not  bad for a river virgin!

Anyway. I've had one of my best day's fishing ever and I also know that everyone else enjoyed it too. Bone never shut up on the way home. 

Woody did especially well: He had my avator watercolour, caught loads of big fish and nicked my new spool of stroft. Going to have to watch him more closely and I don't mean watching him twitching. Having said that he did hold my rod when I went for a pee.

Photo courtesy of Jan with Glen's Camera.

The Wye five plus RW

Three personal bests for me! Biggest grayling, biggest brown, biggest river rainbow.All caught with my home tied flies based on Glen's LTD sedge.'nuff said!'

Thanks Glen, Woody, Bone, Trugg, Jan and RW.

Superb and definitely LTD

Check out this video

http://whiskyfish.blogspot.com/2010/07/glen-pointons-living-dreamworks-poacher.html

The Wye Bakewell

Had a day, well afternoon late evening on the Peacock stretch of the Wye.
Have always wanted to fish here. Went with Glen Pointon, Woody and John Colmans. Great river, great company, great day. Very civilised, we started with tea at the hotel, tying flies and having a chat.
We started near the hotel and after a couple of hours we moved on. I had not caught a fish yet and I had a bad feeling. It was tough. A very low river but no excuses, the other lads had all had one or two so my casting and other techniques would have to improve.

We moved up river and at last I had a small wild rainbow. I was made up and that made me feel more confident. Back to the hotel for tea and crumpets and there was some crumpet, but I digress. Up to the town stretch. Lost a good fish by the cricket ground and nearly got hit by a six. John didn't even see it hit the water. They must be used to it as a lad  scooped the ball out of the river with the longest landing net I've ever seen!
Found a little bend in the river and imediately lost two fish. My fly was getting attention! Then had three in about 6 casts. Little rainbows. The lads came over and I fluked a cast about 3 inches off the far bank. It was taken almost imediatlely and the little bugger snagged me in some weed. Glen managed to free it and I landed the only brown of the day. Did make a pratt of myself in my excitement and worse still is that Glen got my 'shuffle' playing technique on video. Oh joy! Had a couple more but the town stretch is electric in the evening. John and Woody had a couple of beauties. I would have if  I had of hooked them properly.
Totally totally fantastic! Can't wait to go again!

Blithfield

Think we've been given a right run around re-advice. Went where they didn't! Only the two fish for me and Bone. Get 'em next time!