Valsaline in the Lost Valley with Chris Prior on the Cress Wye

The Straggle!

CP the Canny angler working a pool sweet

I got  invited by Sheffield's 'Canny' Chris Prior again to fish more water that we did not get time in the last outing, the numbers we took last time to the dry were untrue and i was hoping for some same action but with a clunk thrown in if possible.....

Chris had spoken to me on the phone and told me about a lad he had fished with that used vasaline instead of gink and said to bring some along to see what i thought! Well last time i had a sore ring from his spicy chicken so the vasaline purchase would be handy anyway!!

Off to the local chemist and i started to look for a small tub of vasaline, i did feel quite strange as i dont think i have ever bought a tub of vasaline ever as i don't really want to be known as a fudge packer!!

Anyway i purchased a small pot and walked out the chemist with all the Lady's thinking i was going to 'push some stools in'......

I met Chris at 11.30 and we were to meet up with Dave Percival and Chris Dore (river keeper) and have some snappin in duffers hut...

We all sat down to some right good food with Chris P serving a chili con with garlic bread, as usual Percival was taking the piss out of my trainers as this is not the usual dress in the hut, i did tell them to **** off as i am a Stokey Chav and not a Derbyshire 'shit kicker,' he set me up by telling me to put loads of a sause on my chilli, well i took a mouth full and my mouth was on fire with all the lads pissing them selves!! I spoke to Chris Dore the river keeper who has got a big job on his hands looking after this huge stretch of river they have, catching poachers all day must drive u mad, a sound lad who is again like my mucker Jan from the Peacock, is only to keen to help you out... he eventually took us off road in his 4x4 and took us through the scariest tunnel i have seen, a lock and key at each end and in pitch blackness we drove through to the other end...

Chris Dore dropped us off and we shook hands and he wished us luck and we were on our way to the 'lost valley'...

The lost valley as known to the lads in Cress, and the scenery is just breathtaking, i think dovedale is amazing but this is well on par, and better with there only being a few walkers due to the harsh tarain...I read a article in T&S last week  and a angler said that you sometimes get ur blinkers on while fishing and don't appreciate where you are, this is very true and its nice to just chill out and take it in (once u have caught!)

Anyway the fishing....

This is probably the nicest brown i have ever caught

The river was on its arse and in need of a just wash out, the fly life was very sparse and it was obvious it was going to be tough on the dry, we opted to go for the nymph to see if we might get one of those clunkers in there...

We started to fish with a single bug and work the section fishing the likely holes ect, as usual Prior was banging his jokes out having me in stitches!

The fishing was superb as normal and we were catching lots of small browns and rainbows, today was not going to be a dry fly day so we kept on bugging, around the afternoon i spotted a very nice rainbow at the back end of a run, we stood watching its movements and decided to drop a nymph in front of it, at first it seemed to be spooked but on the second cast the fish just came and hit the indicator and then hit the nymph! tightening into this fish drove it mad and i scrapped away with this clunk for a few mins, we dropped it in the net to weigh a cracking 2lbs of wild Wye rainbow, a smashing fish in fine condition, we had done just what i had wanted to do, a wild clunk from the C/L, i have seen well bigger but they would surely have to be stalked out at feeding time...

2lb wild rainbow in superb condition

All at the Ready, Chris was not smiling 10 mins after!!!

Chris Dore (River keeper) and Chris Prior