Elastone 'feels like coming back home'

Been to my favorite stretch tonight, i have not been for a while due to river conditions and pulling up was like coming back home from a **** holiday if you know what i mean...In my view this short stretch has the best surroundings and a top class river packed full of fish.. John Tyzack fished it with me this year and he loved it, he did ask how i went on in Mayfly here? to my embarrassment i had fished dovedale and he could not believe i had not chosen this venue..I will not make this mistake again..Pulling up the river looked slightly up and was quite colored, this does not put these fish off and the hatches are that big these fish are rising for most the day..I got my gear on and walked down to the river by the bridge, stood for five mins watching 4oz wild trout slashing around chasing emerging sedge, some were missing and coming clean out the water..I took a deep breath and said to myself 'its good to be back!' Some places have special memories to you, we all have a certain spots while fishing that you never forget, this is one place that i will never forget, catching loads of trout and grayling here last year, properly too many at times, i have mellowed slightly and give the fish a rest when fishing is that good, 'but only a bit', and one big fish that you would only usually get traveling to Scotland ever year!!I met another angler there (Andrew) who was fishing for his first time here, one of Squire's mates from work, it was so uncanny how much he sounded like Dave, i could have swore it was him but this lad was not6 ft 7 inch tallHe was fishing the middle section so i jumped in slightly further up and waded the whole section to the top, huge hatches of emerging sedge were coming off the water but only selective trout were hitting them, i saw lots of flashes from the fish chasing the emerging nymph so the nymph would have done very well but this type of fishing does nothing for me so stuck with my dry.. I took 7 fish in total including a silver one, all on my ltd sedge, getting most by twitching the fly JT style..All were small and wild with one getting on for a poundA really good night, fishing not on fire, but who cares, i was living the dream!!Thanks Glen

River Derwent, Willersley Castle, guesting with Trugg, 'Clunker bashing'

Had a nice invite off the most productive big fish puller Trugg! It did not take me long jump at the chance to fish one of the great Derby County stretches, with a top angler like Mick..

I get on very well with Mick as he is a down to earth bloke who trys not to be one of the elitist pri"ks i so often come across..He is a 'proper' fisherman who catches lots of fish and would rather see me catch fish than himself!!

I arrived around six oclock to meet Mick who had been fishing for a few hours who had taken a few nice fish on the daddies, this place was something like had never fished, your own car park and a green box that was like a small tardis with lots of info inside, reports of fish caught, who had been on, flys that have caught, the list was endless, mick had his own key which was hung up in the box to show we were fishing and signed me in.

The place looked very special, great surroundings and a magnificent castle on your backcast, far from back in stoke with pot banks!

The river is very wide and it has that look about it that sends your heart thumping, 'i bet there's some right Fu"king clunkers in here Mick?' Mick told me to keep the language down as we were on a private estate, he was right, i needed to behave at the top venue, i was just exited!!

We got in the river by a huge bridge, Mick told me the wading was quite dodgy but i went thundering in only for me have to grab hold of mick to stop me going in!! Now i know why Mick is so big! its to keep him down in these big flows!!

Mick stud with me and just stayed on my shoulder pointing out the hot spots, a big wide ripple with lots of overhanging trees, it looked right buzzing...

3rd cast under a over hanging tree and a huge brown came out from the tea coloured river and smashed my fly, these fish go mental when you hit them!! i landed a top draw 2lb brownie,

Mick had told me to bring a heavier rod than my 3# 7ft, i wish i had because i was not getting the line control i needed and the fish were putting my rod past its playing loop, still great fun but i started to use micks sage which took me another two fish pushing the 2lb mark, this was great and what i have been after..

Every time the fishing went quite Mick would pick the rod up and take a fish within 5 mins, some blokes just have it and i watch him like a hawk get tips from him as these are the fly men you learn from.

We had a hour where the fishing went quite and we just carried on fishing having a good laugh as we always do, i am quite a good wader now and just get in there now but the big boulders in the river can cause you to fall over, i had mick stopping me floating down quite a few times!

The light turned and there was a huge emerge of sedge, i have never seen so many sedge coming up to the surface and taking off, the fish new it was supper and started to hit them big time, a hatch like i have never seen on my rivers, i could imagine this stretch producing a huge spinner fall due to the nature of the flow..

I got on this hatch and took a nice grayling, only my second of the season!

We fished well into dusk and wading back i we were holding hands to get back to the bank in safety, well we must of looked a right pair but a wise thing to do, I must admit if anyone was to see us they would have thought Mick was the 'taker' !!!!!

We got back to the green box with lights inside!! signed out and shook hands and i thanked mick for a great night and made our way home..

On the way home i decided that i will join this club next year, the river hear is only 25 mins from my house, the other rivers also near me, Mayfield being the closest..The club looks to be very well run and Mick says its the best run in the country..

Thanks for a top night mate and you got me a clunker, can you get me one like you had on the wye?

Thanks

Glen

Dovedale (on my lonesome)

Been to Dovedale tonight, got there around 6.45 and fished through the Pointon's Glen and all the way up to the mid section..I knew i was in for a session when i hooked a fish on my first cast!! i did not want to hang around there too long as i have canned it too much this season but still caught 5 fish walking up to the twitching ltd..they were on it youth!( i said out loud thinking Woody was with me) the picture of the bottom fish is one i have caught twice before and is always in the same spot, a nice pounder who is a right scrapper.. I walked through the nursery even though they were rising all over i moved on and fished the pool above there.. and a steady olive hatch was going off which made me change to a size 20 paradun which took me 8 small 4 oz wildies, these are very small fish but very good sport, reminded me of the fish at lords bridge..I have made a small net for catching the flys in the surface, a method shown to me by JTyzack...when i can see fish rising all down a run i will get in lower down as not to spook the fish and take a few samples, i am not the sort that is obsessed with which type of olive ect but i look for size and match this to my jt olive,or a olive paradun recommended by the 'quality fishcake' ( how can this bloke be out of a job when he is such a good fly fisher)I have fished a olive pattern and not had one take until i come down two sizes from 'matching' and this gives you a right buzz when you start taking them..I recommend you give this method a go as you will increase your catch rate, but you do look a tw#t when you get seen by walkers holding a net into the river peering inI moved further up and came across a slower run where i took some nice 10oz ers on the ltd, fishing them tight into the banks...I ended the night with 16 fish all to the dry.A cold snap came as the light turned and the olives stopped coming and the trout went down, i walked back to my favorite spot half way down the Glen, lit my kelly, had a brew and a fag in the dark at the most beautiful place in the world! ( i did miss Woody though)Nice one GlenPs I will knock a net up for any of the Ladffa lads, just pm me and i will send you one, very simple to make...
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The Wood is on fire!!! (mid section Dovedale)

post later

Milldale/Dovedale with Colemans and Wood

Met Johnny and Woody and we fished from Milldale to Dovedale today, River was not in great condtion but was well fishable considering the rain we had in the previous day, there was a slight tinge in colour but the river was running quite high and this caused the usual runs to have a very different flow so finding the fish was the key..

Picture of me into a nice pounder on the mid section, caught on my ltd sedge pattern in mid river flow, (pic by Woody)

This pic is what its all about, most will look at this and want to go fishing!!!

JC & Woody enjoying the spring water Kelly brew, top class!

Woody casting to rising fish under the far bank, woodys fishing is well improving and he is starting to find his feet..

Jt overlooking Doveholes, where could you fish a better river with views like this.. Woody shows off his new Orvis pro waders in true Catalogue pose!