Another weekend.. another trip out on the Derwent. At least I remembered to take my fishing rod with me this time out.
I had a longer day out on the river in mind this time as my last few trips had been only a couple or three hours or so. With that in mind I packed a nice flask of tea to keep the spirits up in case it got a bit chilly
The weather was typical Autumn I guess, sun…windy then the odd dark cloud, shower.. a real mixed bag, not cold though as it must have been about 15°C the river was running low and clear… oh and about a hundred million leaves littering the river!!
I landed at the car park at around 11.40 or so.. kitted up with a Greenwell’s spider and red collar GRHE on the point, flask in my waistcoat back pocket and set off walking up over the stone bridge, under the viaduct and another 3-400 yards to a nice pool I usually start fishing at.
A thin pool that runs over a very small weir before deepening and widening out, I suspect it is 6-8 foot deep at its deepest point. Anyway it was about 12.10 when I flung my flies into this pool and almost straight away I was in a small grayling on the Greenwell’s around 6” quickly followed by a Brown of the same size to the same fly. A good start. Moving onto the next pool, I took a slightly bigger grayling at around 7” this one on the GRHE, these three fish all taken within 20 minutes of starting to fish.
I would like to say it was a sign of things to come but it sort of wasn’t …things went quiet as I worked down stream, I fished the very dark pool under the trees above the viaduct, there were what looked like some very decent fish rising, cast after cast though and despite hooking leaf after leaf cast after cast (man how frustrating too) the fish weren’t playing.
I worked my way right down stream, changing up briefly to a red tag as I fished through both runs above high dam still without so much as a bite, the odd fish showing but not taking, my notes tell me that between 12.38 and 3.16 I didn’t have a fish….and I don’t think I even had a bite during this time, weird.
Out I clambered and walked over the stone bridge and decided to sit down and have a change of flies, I now had an olive GRHE on the point and a Greenwell’s spider on the dropper, I sat down on a stone and don’t know why.. but I had a cast while sitting down..and at precisely 3.16 ….. fish on!! only a small Grayling of about 5” half way down this “bridge pool” to say it was like the flick of a switch was an understatement……. I didn’t change my flies.
Now the fish started to flow alright
I took another two fish out of this run in fifteen minutes another 5” grayling on the olive GRHE and a better 7” brownie on the same fly towards the tail end of this pool. Just above the small weir now and another grayling came to hand this one a similar stamp for the day so far of about 5” on the Greenwell’s
I was now at the weir pool and standing almost mid stream fishing both banks I took five fish from these runs in about 10 minutes 6” grayling , 4” Grayling (x2) 7” brown and 6” brown three of these on the Greenwell’s other two on the Olive GRHE, small fish but great sport all the same.
Now at the point where the river bends to the left and slows right down casting right into the bend where the river deepens and the line tightens, this is a better fish my rod bends as I strike into him and he stays low always a sign of a better fish this was a decent fight lasting a couple of minutes before I finally got the upper hand, not a monster but a nice wild brown of around 11” I used the net for this one and quickly released him back to his (dirty) business! he fell to the Olive GRHE (as all the rest of today’s fish did)
I climbed on to the high bank and walked along to the next set of rapids that run under an overhanging tree where I took a small 5” grayling towards the end of this run.
Now at the tree pool oddly there were no fish rising as I carefully approached it, I needn’t have worried though as this pool has never failed to produce since I have fished it.
About 3 casts in and I have a good fish on , the river is quite confined here with many obstacles in your way…overhanging trees, tree stumps in the water, playing slightly bigger fish is challenging , he made for the tree stump pulling line I stopped him just in time before he headed towards me, I stripped line and got him under control and into the net, again not a monster fish but a nice wild one of about 10” this was followed by a smaller grayling of 4”
Saving the best till last though a third fish out of this pool a beautiful 11” grayling who fought admirably in mid stream before coming to my waiting net.
A frenetic end to the session with fourteen fish being landed between 3.16 and 4.32 talk about feeding frenzy, that’s not to mention the ones I missed or hooked and lost, they really came on after their afternoon siesta!!
Strange how they just switched off for an extended period though, maybe something to do with the slightly increased cloud cover that appeared later in the afternoon?
However 17 fish to hand in a four and a bit hour session was entertainment enough. Go to flies today were the Olive GRHE and the Greenwell’s Spider.
Do it all again this coming weekend river level permitting.
Days on the river 