Angling and Dramming

Fly Fish Islay Packages 2012

2012-01-20T12:19:00.003Z

I've been fishing since I was 7 years old when my Grandad used to take me fishing with a quill float for sticklebacks and small perch on the river Churnet in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands. I fell in love with the sport and the beautiful parts of the country that it took me to. I've fished for all kinds of species of fish throughout the UK but it wasn't until my work buying and selling whisky took me to the magical Isle of Islay that I began to truly appreciate what wonderful places that angling for wild brown trout can take you to. I still fish the pools and lakes for carp, perch, roach and all manner of fish but most of all I like to fish for wild brown trout and for grayling.

Islay is a small island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides with a population of around 2000 people. It is famous for the eight distilleries that it is home to, which produce some of the finest single malt whiskies in the world, and for its incredibly diverse flora and fauna. The island has many remote lochs and lochans full of angry wild wee brown trout that will give any angler good sport and there is also the famous spate river, the Laggan that has a very good run of salmon and sea trout.

I have been taking groups of people to Islay for a number of years now, whether they be anglers, whisky enthusiasts, or a mixture of the two, they've all enjoyed the experience immensely and many of them return year after year. I'm often asked what is included in the trips so I thought I would put together a list of what is included for those interested in joining us on one of our future trips.

In May 2012, we are taking a group of anglers to Islay, some of whom have enjoyed previous trips with us and are returning with extra guests. Here is what the cost of their holiday includes:-

Quality accommodation for 7 nights at Finlaggan House on the shore of Loch Finlaggan.
Finlaggan is one of the most important historical sites in Scotland from there, the whole of the Scottish West coast was ruled by the Lord of the Isles. All towels and bed linen provided and a comprehensive range of facilities for the comfort of all guests. Accommodation for future trips will depend upon the size of the group.

Complimentary Islay malt whisky tasting.
No visit to Islay is complete without nosing and tasting all 8 of the single malt whiskies that are distilled and matured there. For those who would like to take their interest a little further, visits to distilleries can be arranged.

Complimentary casting Lesson.
For those new to fly fishing there is the opportunity to attend a complimentary casting lesson before the trip commences, hosted by Peter Arfield of the Bakewell Fly Fishing Shop. This gives guests a head start on the loch and means that they are able to spend more time catching fish than trying to master the art of casting. Guests will have the opportunity to stock up on any consumables that they may wish to purchase prior to the trip.

Fishing Guides
Whether guests are experienced anglers or new to the sport, one of our guides will be on hand to give help and advice and to locate the fish. Each trip will have one guide for up to 6 guests and two guides where there are 7 guests or more. Guides will carry extra consumables such as flys, tippet, leaders and floatant.

Equipment
We appreciate that for some guests this may be the first time they have ever been fishing, and others may have fished before but not for trout. Rods, reels and line will be available for those who wish to borrow them and consumables such as flys and tippet will be available to purchase from your guide.

For those wishing to sea fish from the rocks, there will be a number of spinning rod and reel outfits for guests to borrow. Consumables such as lures and spinners will be available to purchase from your guide.

Wild Brown Trout Fishing
Fishing for wild brown trout on a number of lochs will be included in the cost of the trip. For those wishing to venture further afield, or who wish to fish from a boat or fly fish for salmon, permits can be arranged. There will be the opportunity to take a brace of fish from the loch.

Insurance
Comprehensive insurance will be included within the cost of the trip.

Other Activities
Other activities can be arranged for guests some of which will attract extra cost.

Stalking
Salmon Fishing
Wildlife excursions and sea safari
VIP distillery tours
Shooting

To give an example of cost, the guests that are joining us on our May 2012 trip are paying £325 per head based on a party of 10 sharing. This includes all the above benefits.

If you are interested in joining us on a fly fishing trip to the magical Isle of Islay, or you would like to discuss the trips further, please don't hesitate to contact me on 07875 405 980. There are more pics and info on our Facebook page, search for 'Fly Fish Islay' and click like to subscribe. If you would like to contact me by email my address is david@rarecask.com.

It would be great to see you on one of our trips.

Slainte

David

Make Way For The Supermarket

2012-01-14T11:31:00.004Z

We have a new supermarket coming to Leek and it has caused quite a stir. When it was announced that the new supermarket was coming and the plans revealed that the intention was to build outwith the town centre, many protested saying that shoppers would be less likely to spend in the existing shops and that the independents would suffer as a consequence. Most fuses were blown however, when they announced their intention to make improvements to the road layout in town, and when it was suggested that the roundabout at the bottom of Derby Street, heaven forbid, might be removed.

Supermarkets are unfortunately a fact of life. None of us will stop them coming to our towns. We already have a Coop, a Morrisons, a Netto, an Aldi, and a Farmfoods, and the owners of the new supermarket are just after market share. Whether our businesses survive or not will largely depend on how positively we react and adapt to the situation instead of adopting a Canute style stance of trying to stop them coming at all. Certainly a bigger threat to all retail business is the increasing tendency for all of us to shop online rather than locally, the money leaving the local economy immediately and not even keeping local folk in jobs in the supermarket down the road. The message that we as retailers are shouting about through worthwhile schemes such as Totally Locally is don't do all of your shopping in the supermarket and if every adult in Leek spent just a fiver a week in a local shop then that would bring an extra 4.1 million pounds into the economy, safeguarding the jobs of local folk, and maybe even creating a few.

However.

When any business comes to town, they should be incredibly careful about how they treat the environment. Historically, Leek was a very important town to the textile industry. The town was at the centre of the arts and crafts movement, Morris and Sugden both having offices and businesses here. At one time, Leek factories were responsible for the dying of cloth for the entire Catholic Church right across the globe. Consequently much industrial waste was poured into the River Churnet and at one time it was said to be the most polluted in Europe. All this has changed and with legislation in place to protect rivers from industry, the Churnet has found some of it's former glory.

I'm lucky enough to fish our great rivers in Staffordshire and Derbyshire, the Dove, the Wye, the Derwent and the Manifold being my usual haunts. Anglers throughout the world are jealous of us who fish in these parts because of how blessed we are in scenic countryside, and in the diversity of flora and fauna that exists here, especially our wild brown trout, our grayling, and now, our salmon. I can honestly say though that of all the fishing I do in this part of the country, the upper Churnet is my favourite of all places because it is simply beautiful.

The small stretch of water in the picture above is a bend in the river Churnet right by the side of the road beside the Churnet works where the supermarket and it's related developments are to be built. Before the trees were felled in this spot, I would regularly stop and stand and watch free rising fish dimple the surface of the water was they smutted after small insects that had dropped their or that were emerging from below. The river was under the cover of 2 or 3 trees whose canopy afforded the fish shelter from predators in the form of Herons, and their roots would be a safe place for the smaller fish to hide from the bigger. This canopy was the home of many birds, and regularly, down the tunnel formed by the overhanging branches, kingfishers darted about between their favourite fishing pegs, now disappeared, and so too the birds.

Whilst we are all arguing about not wanting more supermarkets (at least not the ones that sell everything dirt cheap, bring us an Aldi Megastore any day of the week), and about our roads and a roundabout, these people are doing whatever they like, and I fear this is the sign of worse to come. The Churnet in Leek is only just recovering from a major pollution incident that happened within the last few years, it's trout and grayling have returned and along with them kingfishers, salmon and otters that haven't been resident in these parts for decades. I fear for their future.

Angling Resolutions

2012-01-04T17:50:00.000Z

Happy New Year! It's been a while since I've updated my blog, mainly because I've had very little angling or dramming related to talk about. 2011 wasn't a good year for my fishing in and around the Staffordshire Moorlands. Islay was superb, as usual, despite wetter conditions than usual, the lochs gave up their troot without too much of a fight. In truth, Islay is one of the reasons I've not been out on the rivers of late, it has totally spoilt me, I love the island for it's whisky and it's fishing and it is truly angling and dramming heaven.

I have big ambitions for 2012 and my new years resolutions are built around these. Firstly, I aim to take groups of anglers to Islay on a much more frequent basis. Many of the anglers who joined us on last year's trips have booked up again for this year, and they're bringing more people with them, once you've been to the magical Isle of Islay, it is difficult to get it out of your system. So from March to October, we'll be running a trip at least once every two months so get in touch if you would like to join us. There is sea fishing involved too now as well as the loch fishing for truly wild angry Scottish brown trout, salmon fishing on the Laggan and even a little stalking can be arranged if required....look up and like 'Fly Fish Islay' on Facebook and you will kept up to date of all of our forthcoming trips.

I also intend to fish more back home in the Staffordshire Moorlands during 2012. I really enjoyed my Islay fishing last year and each time I returned home, the rivers were either empty of water or in flood so it wasn't good for the trout season. I've had a re-jig with my fishing tickets, I really enjoyed the Wye but couldn't justify it again purely because I feel that it is just too far away for me to nip out for a couple of hours fishing, consequently I didn't get my money's worth last year. I'll be rejoining LTDFFA, the little syndicate on the Staffordshire bank off the river Dove at Dovedale ('The best parts of Derbyshire are in Staffordshire'), there is a good crowd of anglers in that club and I really enjoyed the craic last season. I've dropped DRAC, again due to waters being too far away, and I've kept LADFFA. This year, the plan is to get out and do a little more coarse fishing especially when the rivers are out of sorts. I want to get back to the waters where I fished when I was a lad and challenge myself to try new techniques and methods that I've never dabbled in before...help!! To this end I've rejoined Leek and Moorlands Fishing Association and Fenton and District so that I can fish Heron Marsh and most importantly, Knypersley Reservoir where I fished when I was at school and loved the place.

My camera has broken which is another reason that this blogger has been quiet, this is a situation that will be put right quite soon, when, with a little help from my mate Jason Snape who took the superb picture above at Dovedale in the autumn of last year, I will purchase a new one.

Here is to a 2012 full of angling and a little dramming ;-)

Slainte

David

Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bruichladdich Ed XXXVII

2011-10-11T15:57:00.001+01:00

I'm sitting in the bay window of lovely old house on Islay. The view over Loch Indaal towards the Big Strand and Port Ellen beyond is breathtaking. For the last couple of days I've been busy applying labels and duty stamps to our latest edition to the Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask range and it's been one of our most exciting finds to date, not least because of how we found it and what an extraordinarily beautiful dram it has turned out to be.

A couple of years ago, we were approached by a somebody who had been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to own one of the very first casks that were filled when Bruichladdich was taken over by it's current owners after having been silent, mothballed for many years. He wondered whether we'd like to buy the cask and offer it to our customers under the Rare Cask label. The whiskies that we bottle under our label always have to be the best possible example of each particular distilleries house style so, in order for us to approve it, excellent wood policy would have to be apparent. Back in September 2001, these first few casks at Bruichladdich were primarily first fill ex sherry hogsheads, very well made, clean, tight casks, the staves of which had all been seasoned with a fill of rich, dark olorosso sherry.

The original owner of the cask and I have kept a close eye on how the whisky has developed with the wood over the last couple of years. The first time I nosed and tasted it I new it had the potential to be one of the very best drams I have ever tasted under an independent label, and a Bruichladdich that hasn't been matured in wine casks which seems to be the distillery's cask of choice these days.

Bruichladdich whisky under the new ownership became 10 years old at the beginning of September, and so it seemed fitting that, provided the whisky had reached maturity, that we would bottle the cask shortly after. I'm convinced that this whisky is the first single cask single malt to be released from Bruichladdich since it's 10th anniversary of the new ownership....a proper wee laddie at 10.

So last Friday, my daughter and I made our way over to the Isle of Islay. All being well, the cask would be bottled that day too. There would be a long wait over the weekend until I could pick up the bottles on Monday morning so that I could get them all labelled up on onto the van and ferry to ship back down south.

On the Saturday night I thought we'd head down to the Loch Indaal Hotel to see if we could persuade the landlord to let us watch the football, my favourite Stoke City at home to Manchester United in the premier league, a game I was sad to be missing given the probability of an unbelievable atmosphere at the Britannia Stadium. All the local lads in the pub were watching the rugby but they kindly switched over and joined me watching the heroic potters hold boring Man Utd to a 1-1 draw. I was having a pint with a lad called Craig and I noticed he was wearing a Bruichladdich sweatshirt. He asked me whether I was holidaying on Islay and I explained that I'd just had a cask bottled at Bruichladdich. He turned out to be the very man who had bottled the whisky for us the previous day. Islay is a very small island.

Sherry hogsheads like these are very difficult for distillers to come by these days especially given the fact that they will often need batches of 80 to 100 at a time. Bourbon barrels have often been preferred by scotch whisky distillers because they mature spirit very consistently and because of their shape and size. Bourbon barrels are smaller, and easier to handle. They are also uniform in size so make warehousing more efficient. Hogsheads however, do differ in shape and size so can be difficult for small distilleries to use their storage efficiently. Most hogsheads are made up from staves from ex bourbon barrels and it is rare to find a hoggy that has been made up from the staves of ex olorosso casks.

Our cask was a first fill, and given that peaty whisky can mature exceptionally well in a second fill, it is destined to be filled again for another lucky private individual. We'll look forward to sampling that over the years to come ;-)

The whisky has been bottled at the natural cask strength of a whopping 62.5%. Bruichladdich don't tend to water the spirit down to 63.5% as other distillers do, and the casks tend to be filled at around 70% which is why our whisky's strength is so high. We have not chill filtered the whisky, nor have we added any colouring.

So, the whisky is bottled, the labels designed, cut and applied, we are just waiting for our printed tubes to arrive and then we'll be starting to ship it out to our customers. There will be 100 bottles available at The Wine Shop in Leek and 100 at http://www.whisky-online.com/ for those customers further afield. Whisky Online specialise in shipping overseas. Both the Wine Shop and Whisky Online have started waiting lists so that customers may pre-order their bottles. To avoid disappointment, please contact us ASAP to add your name to the list and secure your bottles.

Number of bottles: 200

Filled to cask September 2001

Bottled September 2011

Strength: 62.5%

Cask: First fill ex sherry hogshead

Price: £80 per bottle

Tasting notes:

"This is Bruichladdich as nature intended, honest and uncluttered by overt wood technology. The colour is a rich mahogany in the glass. Then come the aromas, intense raisins and woodland fruits at first, then sticky toffee pudding, simmering spices and a deepening complexity. The palate follows the lead of the nose but develops further with flavours of liquorice and salt. A keen oily mouthfeel keeps the whole in balance and paves the way for a toothbrush defying finish. An uncompromising, memorable and beautiful whisky."

We're proud to have been given the opportunity to bottle and sell The Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bruichladdich Edition XXXVII....thanks Peter!

Cha'n 'eil e soirbh!

David

Conditions Dovedale 11th October

2011-10-11T15:54:00.000+01:00

Had a quick look at Dovedale today. The river is carrying a fair bit of colour but clearing at the edges. According to the car park attendant, who apparently has a measuring stone (?!) the river is about 10 inches above it's usual levels.

Islay September 2011: Trip 1, Fishing

2011-09-21T14:25:00.003+01:00

Last week I returned from our latest trip to Islay. I was joined by a very experienced group of anglers and a number of the group were as eager to give the sea fishing a go as much as the usual loch fishing for wild brown trout. Our bunch of merry men for this trip was made up of master of the dead drift Glen Pointon, John Tyzack, Ron Trevis, Andy Heath and Wesser. Andy was a very welcome member to the group, for along with his trusty hound 'Mooch', he provided much of the meat for the table, which in turn was prepared in such an appetising way by our brilliant chef Wesser.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon leaving mainland on the 1pm ferry having left the Staffordshire Moorlands at 3.30pm. All were tired but we knew that we would have to get a fishing session in on Loch Finlaggan that evening as the weather prospects were not good for Sunday and Monday as the tail end of Hurricane Katia would make a visit to the West Coast of Scotland. All had a fine few hours on the loch, and we caught on all manner of dry flys and one or two traditional wets.

The weather on Sunday wasn't quite as bad as threatened by the BBC but we still thought best to seek a sheltered spot on the Eastern shores of Islay, choosing Bunnahabhain bay as our destination as other anglers on previous trips with us had enjoyed quite a bit of success there.

On the point, just around the bay from the sad wreck of the Wyre Majestic, Pointon, Wesser and JT began to cast and it wasn't long before they were in to fish, mackerel at first, the biggest I've ever seen. It soon became clear that we would not be short of food over the days to come.

Every so often, huge shoals of small silver fish would make massive boils on the surface of the sea, thousands of silvery flecks being chased, cornered up by packs of hunting fish, and occasionally, these predators would leap out of the water, huge olive green pollock feet from the rocks where we stood. Quickly the lads focused their attention on the pollock, casting precisely with their heavy lures, and quite soon, pollock and laithe began to come in to the 3lb mark.

When we first arrived at Bunnahabhain distillery, we were lucky enough to watch a sea otter feeding close in, and earlier in the day, Andy, Ron and I had watched a pair of white tailed sea eagles hunt, kill and eat a hare near to our accommodation at Finlaggan. As if these close encounters with Islay's abundant wildlife were not enough, we were about to experience another of the islands rare inhabitants.

Andy Heath has long been a keen bird enthusiast, and I've never met anybody who knows as much about them, and as much about how to handle them. When we arrived at the rocks, he'd commented about the gannets that he'd seen fishing just a little way out from where we were, and we were all amazed by the way these gigantic birds were making steady rising flights to 80 to 100 feet above the sea then making a short flick of the tail and wings before diving vertically for their prey in the waves beneath.

JT had just made a long arching cast with his lure, a good distance out from the shore, and from nowhere, one of these huge gannets dived into the water, 20 feet into the water according to John, and reappeared seconds later with the lure in its beak. We would all panic, swear, and shuffle about on the rocks where we stood and we wondered how the hell we would avoid hurting this beautiful bird, all that is except Andy. Coolly and calmly, JT and Andy brought the bird in, and after a very careful retrieve (with no side strain), the bird was in Andy's hands and the hooks removed. They look big in the sky but you cannot truly appreciate the size of these graceful hunting birds. An event that I shall never forget, and neither will the gannet.

The gannet safely unhooked by Andy

The gannet takes to the air.

The tail end of the hurricane arrived on Monday and seemed to last most of Tuesday too but a good deal of fly tying, eating, drinking and generally being merry was achieved. I took Andy and Ron on a couple of distillery visits and I managed to make final arrangements for a cask of Bruichladdich Malt Whisky to be bottled in readiness for me to collect later this month. A few drams of this amazing whisky was enjoyed in the evening...more news about this to follow.

On all of the fishing trips I've organised in the last few years, there has always been at least one person who enjoys cooking for the group and the food has always been very good but this time we had Wesser. His attention to detail was amazing, whether he was cooking the brown trout we'd caught that day or local meat, all agreed that his food was incredibly good. All the veg was Islay grown from the walled garden at Islay House, all the meat was local and fresh. All washed down with a good Islay dram made for a truly unforgettable experience.

Can't wait to be back.....next week!

Thanks lads

Slainte

David

Islay Time

2011-09-09T09:50:00.002+01:00

Well it seems a fair while since I've been to Islay but thankfully, the waiting is now over. I've been over to Islay a couple of times this year which is less than I usually do but now I'm set to visit twice this month. The first of the two trips begins today and is largely a fishing jaunt with pals Pointon, Wesser, JT, Andy and Ron. There is plenty of experience amongst the group and if this bunch can't bag up on the lovely Islay lochs, no one can. We're hoping to fish for Brown Trout, Sea Trout, Salmon and all manner of sea fish.

I'm also there to have a final check on a cask of whisky that we are hoping to bottle in the next couple of weeks for our Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask range. I've been keeping a close eye on it over the past couple of years, and this stunning Islay sherry matured whisky could be one of our best bottlings yet. If all goes well and It tastes as good as I expect it to from the cask, a few hundred bottles of this amber nectar will be heading back to the Staffordshire Moorlands with me in a couple of weeks time.

I have 5 spare seats in the van so anyone who would like a lift to Islay and back, please let me know...

Keep an eye on this blog, and Glen Pointon's to see how we get on with the fishing and how well we cope with Hurricane Katia and Pointon's bad habits.

Fly Fish Islay Video

2011-06-11T17:17:00.000+01:00

Islay Trip May 2011: A Week of Angling and Dramming

2011-06-05T08:53:00.004+01:00

It's just over a week now since we got back from our amazing trip to Islay. I thought I'd post the remaining pics on the blog and once again it's thanks to Jason Snape for most of them.

Right through the weekend, the weatherman had been warning us of a gale that would hit us on Monday, and he wasn't wrong. I was up at 7am to get myself ready for a day's work at Caol Ila Distillery's festival open day, where I'd be pairing Caol Ila 12 year old single malt with smoked salmon and Caol Ila Distillers Edition moscatel finish with Catriona's amazing clootie dumpling. As ever, good old Terry was up making sure the stove was fired up with a good sized tray of sausages cooking within. Outside the wind was blowing and it was sure to be a wild day. It was gusting up the loch straight towards the house and the trees around Finlaggan House were bent right over in the 80mph breeze. It was sure to be a wild day, a day for folk to be at the tying table in front of the fire I thought...we'd got no one mad enough to fish on a day like this with us this time.....

Later in the week I was invited to a whisky dinner at Lagavulin Distillery where I was chatting to a whisky enthusiast. I told him that my party was staying at Finlaggan and he said that he'd visited the castle on Monday during the storm and he remarked that he'd seen two crazy anglers attempting to fish the loch amidst the chaos of the storm....it was Pointon and Kev....desperate to get on the loch to prove that a fish could be caught in such conditions, and they did. There were a few times during the week when I found myself thinking that there would be no way on earth that I would be fishing in some of the conditions we were experiencing on Islay, on our rivers back home, it would be pointless. However, when the wind is up and their are huge waves on the loch, the fishing can be spectacular. There's no problem getting a line out and the fish are on the hunt for terrestrials blown off the heather on the banks of the loch. These were ideal conditions for the lads to try the newly developed LTD 'mouse pattern', a scary looking fly that you would imagine using to catch huge angry Rainbows in the wild rivers of Kamchatcka or Alaska. Sunday and Tuesday, for me were ideal conditions and it saw all the lads taking fish. They were certainly my best two days and I wouldn't be surprised if we had a 100 fish between us.

Sometime during midweek, 'Islay time' prevents me from pinpointing exactly which, we headed out in search of a little small stream fishing and ended up gazing at the Atlantic rollers on Saligo beach. It is always a beautiful place to be but we'd just hit conditions right in the early evening for the light to be beneficial to our resident photographer, Snapey, who ran about all over the dunes taking hundreds of snaps.

It wasn't long before Pointon was seen gazing West into nothingness and beyond like a lost poet....posing for the camera basically but some nice pics were had nonetheless.....

We'd asked the landowner if it was ok for us to wet a line on the narrow Saligo river that spills out onto Saligo beach. A river that when in spate has a plentiful sea trout run. Today there was a fair amount of water in it and it's many small, dark, peaty pools made sure that my heart was in my mouth every time an angler gently flicked a wet fly into them. Pointon turned to me whilst drifting a tiny fly through the depths of a pool with a look of excitement on his face...."you know what could happen here brother!".

A take from a sea trout holding up in one of these small pools would give a fisherman the run around of his lifetime. If one of these strong fish of 3lb or more smashed at one of our flys, all hell would break loose.

It wasn't long before Glen got a take. Alas it was no monstrous sea trout but it was the most beautiful tiny wild Islay river trout that I've ever seen, and a real achievement to catch it in such a snaggy small stream.
Later on, James missed a take from a much bigger brownie that came up from the depths and displayed a swirl of gold as it smashed at his fly. We were all gutted that we never saw the fish come to hand, but there would always be another day.

The wee troot gave Snapey some great opportunities and he's hoping to get something out of Greys and Loop for this magazine cover shot.....

Later on in the week it was time to get Herman on to the loch for the first time. It was a real dreach day but he was determined to catch a fish, even though it had been years and years since he'd wet a line.

I set him up with a single fly set up with a bibio on the point, a fly that had been performing well all week. He soon began to get takes but struggled to connect with the angry wee Finlaggan trout. Glen spent a good hour with him which saw Herman drop a good size trout and then, finally, his first Islay trout.

Ace Islay angler David Morris was on the loch preparing for the open competition that was due to take place at Finlaggan a couple of days later. He was keeping his team of 5 flys a secret, incase we told any other of the local lads what he was catching fish after fish after fish on. I was lucky enough to be taught the basics of fly fishing by David way back when I first started to visit Islay, he had me out on Finlaggan, Skerrols and Ballygrant and it was fishing alongside him that I caught my first wild brown troots. There's no pretence about these local anglers no Orvis gadgets, no fly fishing fashion just all the stuff that is required to catch and dispatch a fish quickly and to win the competition. He is a regular choice as a ghillie by the Scotland fly fishing team when they visit Islay to practice for their own competitions.

And so the final pic....and it was always going to be one of GP with the biggest fish of the week...although not the best for that was the wee one from Saligo. This fish was taken from a stretch of bank renowned for harbouring a few bigger trout. Whilst only being around the 1.5lb mark, these angry loch trout put up a huge fight and landing one is a real achievement. Well done youth!

Another great week spent with a fantastic bunch of lads, who, I'm happy to say, should all be returning with us next festival time when we'll reunite to fish the lochs of Islay and Jura, and have a laugh and a drink or two along the way!

Slainte

Woody

Islay May 2011 Trip: The First Weekend

2011-05-30T16:24:00.005+01:00

We've just had a great week on the Isle of Islay. How do I know that it was great? Well you only need to look at some of the comments that are being left on Glen's blog and my blog to know that there will be one or two extra folk returning to the magical Isle of Islay during Feis week 2012. I sent an email out to all attendees asking if they'd seen my fishing cap that I'd accidentally left in the cloak room of Finlaggan House, our home for the week, desperately hoping that someone might have picked it up. The response I got gave me a wee giggle and summed up the week in a nutshell....

"ps...didn't find cap, but had to throw away someone's pants from cloakroom floor !!??!?;-)"

Pointon??

Thursday 19th May was spent packing the van with way too much stuff as normal...8 rods, one of which I'd use in the week to come. 4 reels, ditto. Far too many clothes and far too much booze. The weather has always been good to me during the week of the Islay Festival of Malt and Music, but this year, the weather forecast wasn't as promising so I'd packed enough to cope with the hottest of summer days, to the coldest of the winter months.....At 4am, Pointon and Snapey arrived at Highfield and, after a few load "Wooooodddddyyyy"s and an appropriate swear word or two, we pointed the van Northwards and off to pick up Kev from Macc, and then on to the Motorways 6, 74 and 73 calling in Glasgow to collect Glen's newly purchased Sage rod that he was keen to try out on the wild lochs of Islay during the week ahead.

I had agreed to work at the Lagavulin Distillery open day on Saturday which required us to be on Islay in time for my 8am start at the distillery, and so, we camped at Port Mor campsite for the night, our accommodation at Finlaggan House not being available to us until late Saturday afternoon.

During the early evening, Glen took Kev to have a look at a nearby stream, and began casting to the wee rising troots......the perfect start to their fishing week, although Glen managed to leave his new Greys scoop net that he'd desperate miss in the open fishing competition, the following day on the famous Loch Gorm.

The campsite was very convenient for the Port Charlotte hotel and later that night, whilst Snapey and Pointon caught up with some much needed rest, Kev and I met up with Mark and Helga Unsworth and Ian Gray in the pub and checked out the Islay ales and enjoyed some local music......I'd need the ale to help me to sleep as the wind whipped and whistled about the tiny tent in which I attempted to sleep and eventually struggle out of at 6am the following morn...the facilities are great at Port Mor, under floor heating in the shower blocks and red hot showers soon warmed me up and prepared me for the day's work ahead. I was really looking forward to getting in to Finlaggan House though, the van was full of the kit of 4 blokes, most of which were geared up for a week's wild angling and one of which was geared up with a multitude of photographic equipment....it had become impossible to find anything in the back of the van, that was if you could get in to the bl@@dy thing, the doors having decided to refuse to open. How the boys laughed as my OCD reached dangerous levels.

The lads took me down to Port Ellen and dropped me off at Lagavulin Distillery, where, during their Feis Ile open day, I'd host a whisky tasting for attendees, paring Lagavulin 16 year old with Catriona MacGillivary's home made treacle tablet and Lagavulin Distillery Edition with Rochefort and Stilton cheeses...winner...

Glen was itching to enter the Feis Ile open fishing competition on Loch Gorm and Kev had decided to join in too. The pair were dropped off at the designated meeting point on Gorm and they met up with the other local anglers....Glen had met some of these local lads before, among them some of Scotland's finest fishermen. These guys put us English anglers to shame....down our way, a lot of anglers chose fly fishing because they think it gives them a certain status, they chose to do it instead of golf...they talk about the 'ethos of fly fishing' whatever that is, and thankfully, these Scotch lads fly fish because there is no other style of fishing available, that's it, so they are all normal guys, not a jot of pretence amongst them, and that's why Glen thought it appropriate to walk in the the barn full of them and say....

"Well, I've met all sorts of blokes in my time, I've met Scousers, I've met Geordies and I've met Mancs but you Jocks are the biggest c@nts of them all!"....nice one brother....

I'll let Glen tell you / explain about (delete as appropriate) the competition on his blog....seemingly it was a near run thing. One thing I will say...all the lads were incredibly brave out fishing in those conditions which was basically a storm that had blown in off the Atlantic and was reeking havok on the loch. I reckon Kev must have thought he was in Heaven when he eventually reached the comfort of Finlaggan House, and tucked into his first Islay

I finished my day's work and headed of to Finlaggan. Throughout the evening, more and more members of our party started to arrive. Glen and Kev had much to tell us about the competition and, at about 9pm, we were joined by the Luxembourg contingent which consisted of Terry, Mark and James. Introductions were made, drams were had and later, Herman and Katey joined us for drinks in the large dining room where we planned the week ahead and shared our expectations. Pointon, as ever, giving it the big 'en, kept everyone's feet firmly on the ground and it was obvious from the start that we'd managed to bag ourselves a bunch of normal people, all wanted to fish, all wanted to drink, all wanted to have fun and all wanted to enjoy the experience of eating freshly caught wild loch trout, from loch to pan to plate all within a few minutes.....

Once again we were lucky enough to be joined by Jason Snape. All the good pictures on this post (and the ones to follow) are taken by him. Jase kept an eye on things for us whilst we were out on the loch. He made sure the house was warm and that the kettle was at the ready when we got back at the end of the day. He also kept Pointon under control and at times I wondered if he'd slipped some medication into Glen's tea, so uncharacteristically chilled out he appeared to be.

On Sunday we took it easy during the morning. It was a good opportunity to get a good breakfast, settle in to our wonderful accommodation and to sort through our fishing gear. Some of the group were keen to talk about and indeed tie some of the patterns that Glen and I were recommending. At about 12 noon we left the house. The conditions were looking quite good, although a little breezy, and after a team photo or two, off to Loch Finlaggan we went....

From left to right....Mark, Glen, Me, Terry, James, and Kev.

We all dropped in to the loch in the visitor centre bay and immediately started to see fish rising to our dry flies. Islay is great for dry fly fishing, in most conditions and the rises are often spectacular. Even if fish are not freely rising to insects floating on the surface it is worth casting a dry fly even during a gale as we'll see later on....

The LTD orange tag was a favourite and some had opted for the recently launched LTD Mouse variant which received much interest from the wee angry Finlaggan troots. Mark was the first of the Luxembourg contingent to catch and he was over the moon. It was great for me and Glen to see that the lads were catching so early on, it took the pressure off us a little, there would be nothing worse than the lads blanking all week having made so much effort to be there......It was ace to see the looks on their faces each time they landed a fish..

It had been a long day and we had managed plenty of fish between us. We decided that a good feed was required and we agreed to head in to Bowmore for a curry. It was 7.30pm. I could see that conditions were improving all the time and as we walked back towards Finlaggan Castle and the house, I remember turning to Kev and Mark and saying that Glen could be on for an amazing evening if conditions continued to improve. Glen decided to stay and fish and when we got back from our huge feast in Bowmore, Glen told us how he'd had 26 fish in an hour or so worth of electric fishing and I knew he wasn't exaggerating, I'd seen how the conditions were improving and have been on the loch before with David Morris and with Glen where there have been fish rising everywhere, battering the naturals in the calm warm breeze of a quiet Loch Finlaggan Evening...superb. Glen got back to the house before us and met Herman and Katey. Herman got the stove fired up and set about turning Glen's catch into a feast. Glen told me later that it was the best fish supper he'd ever had, and washed down with a glass or two of Black Bottle, he went to bed later in no pain at all.

What a start to our Islay trip May 2011, and there would be much more to come....

To be continued....

LTD!!

Woody

PS nice video of the trip by Glen......Click Here

Sorry....had to raid Glen's comments again as Terry left this great message....

"What a week! Fishing Islay was incredible! First and only time in my life I've been able to shoot my entire line with only one false cast but then I suspect I won't be casting in Gale Force winds with gusts of 120 Km/H too often! The memories are incredible: Shooting the bull with Glen and the guys in the evening over numerous pints and drams while the wind and rain pounded against the windows, fishing up to my ass in water while the wind and rain pounded against me, Glen cooking eggs on the Aga with a headlamp when the electricity cut out, the looks we got when we walked into the curry house and the pub wearing waders and boots, letting myself be persuaded by Mark that an eight mile hike through the woods during a gale was a good idea, watching trees and branches come down in front and behind us while hiking, watching Jase striding along with his jacket wide open and no hat while James, Mark and I looked like drowned rats, those two nice kids who gave us a ride back to Finlaggan house so we didn't have to walk the last two miles, discovering the ultimate death sauce and, maybe just maybe, adding too much to my pasta sauce, (I did noticed that everyone was walking around bowlegged the next day) turning the air blue with curses when I lost those three lovely trout on Gorm due to my lousy tippet material, bringing that first lovely fish to the net on Finlaggan, the heart stopping rises on the infamous LTD SEDGE. tying my first flies in over twelve years, the pleasure of having fish take them, the torture of having Mark and James taking swigs of Laphroaig's Quarter Cask while I was driving us from the airport and couldn't drink and most especially the memory of a bunch of fantastic people who made this a magical moment in time! I'm there next year with a cheeky smile and a glint in my eye...."

What a Week on Islay

2011-05-30T10:42:00.001+01:00

It's Bank Holiday Monday Morning, and it has taken me a good couple of days and many power naps to get over the fun packed time we have just experienced on the magical Isle of Islay. Despite the weather, the fishing, the food, and the craic was superb and all of us can't wait to get back to the wonderful Hebridean island.

One of the reasons that the week was so good was the fabulous mix of people that joined us on our trip. Glen Pointon came along as chief guide and comic, you can read all about his exploits on his blog by clicking here. We were also joined by Terry, Mark, Kev, James L., Herman, Katey, James H., Bassey, and not forgetting Jase Snape who looked after us all and made sure we came back to a warm house everyday when we came back from the windswept lochs, he was also responsible for most of the photography that you'll see on my blog as I post his pics over the coming week or so.

I'm hoping to post all the pics and stories over the next few days ago, but don't want to post them all at once as I know Glen is doing his posts a day at a time and I don't want to steal his thunder. All you need know is that we had the time of our lives, caught a lot of fish, drank a lot of whisky and had a right laugh......

'There's only one Glen Pointon,
One Glen Pointon,
He's got a glint in his eye,
A cheeky smile,
Pointon is a f**king **********'

Woody

PS....here is a comment that Kev Pollard left on Glen's blog...soz Kev and Glen but I had to copy and paste it on here as it sums up perfectly what an ace week we had....

"What a terrific week's fishing on Islay with some special people (some in fact more 'special' than others!).

Despite the freak weather comditions I'll remember: casting a fly on a small river for the first time on a beautiful evening (and losing Glen's net: perfect gent all week and didn't blame me); Gaelic music in the Port Charlotte hotel; J Snape's modern Karma Sutra expertise; Fishing my first fly match against 'the Jocks'; Gale fishing on Finlaggan; Curry house in waders (I mean ........ ' COME ON!, 'you gotta be kiddin me'); 2.30am bed; 10.30am drams; Tarte raclette?? (cheesy spuds), baked trout (done in 7.2 minutes - no longer 'ermann), Death sauce, Undertaker, Caol Ila cask strength to combat first stage hypothermia; snail gorging trout; terns, deer, hares, pheasants, angry dragons, victorian child marked with the sign of the beast and even zombies.

To tie your first fly then catch a fish on it is a real pleasure. Roll on next year and pen me in 100% because if you're like me and love fishing, scotland, whisky, wildlife and good company then you can't beat this. Special thanks to Woody and GP who organised the wonderful Finlaggan House and supplied whisky, beer, wine and expert fly fishing advice. See you next year maltmakers!

'There's only one Ralfy Ralfy.....'

up the clarets (Stoke and Vale YC's)

Kev"

Gooaarrrn Stoke!!!

2011-05-13T20:08:00.004+01:00

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Come on you mighty potters!!!!!!!!!!!

Anging and Dramming Trip to Islay May 2011

2011-05-10T15:24:00.011+01:00

Looking North towards the Paps by Jase Snape

It's that time of year again. My favourite time of year. Summer is nearly here, the rivers are alive with rising fish, the evenings are getting longer and longer, some of the local farmers have cut their first grass of the year and that can only mean one thing. It's time to pack the van with as much angling and dramming related kit and people as possible, and point it North t'wards my favourite place on Earth, the Isle of Islay.....Angling and Dramming Heaven.

This time there will be quite a large party of us travelling to and meeting on Islay, some to work, some to fish, some to drink good whisky and some to do all three. Among us will be people who are lucky enough to have travelled to this beautiful island before, but there will also be people who are making the long trip for the first time and I'm enjoying seeing their faces when they encounter the island's magic and get sucked in to 'Islay Time'.

Finlaggan House with the Paps of Jura beyond by Jase Snape

During the week, our party will be fishing the wild lochs of Islay. Glen will be guiding anglers on the loch Finlaggan and we'll be exploring further afield, visiting other fishy places such as Lochs Ballygrant, Gorm and Ardnahoe. With Glen for company, I'm sure there will be laugh or two, and by the end of the week, our Islay newcomers will know for sure that they have truly been given the 'Pointon treatment'.

The Paps of Jura and Finlaggan Castle by Jase Snape

Our base will be Finlaggan House overlooking the historic Finlaggan Castle, once the home of the Lord of the Isles.

Finlaggan House by Jase Snape

Woody into the wind on Loch Finlaggan by Mark Williams

Pointon casting to rises late September evening 2009

We'll be happy if we catch a few like these.....

A 5lb fish from Ardnahoe.......

Click here for info about Laggan Estate fishing

Click here for info about Dunlossit Estate fishing

Click here for info about Islay Estates fishing

We've picked a great week to visit Islay. It is the week of the Islay Festival of Malt and Music. I'll be working at Lagavulin Distillery on Saturday 21st May and at Caol Ila Distillery on Monday 23rd of May where I'll be holding 'nips and nibble' whisky and food matching events...I can't wait!

Click here for loads of info about the Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2011

Please watch the video below which was put together by Mark Unsworth from Islay Studios. The film shows scenes from last year's festival.........

If you are interested in joining us on one of our trips to Islay, please don't hesitate to get in touch.......

First one to the bar in Duffies gets em in!!!

Woody

The Stunning May Upper Churnet

2011-05-03T19:27:00.005+01:00

One of the most useful things about having ones own blog is being able to look back at how the fishing was at the same time in the previous year. This morning, before I walked down on to the river, I looked back to see what conditions were like and to be honest the start of the trout season in 2010 was a little poor. Glen was having quite a good time on the wye over in Bakewell but everywhere else in Staffordshire and Derbyshire saw a bit of a slow start. I remember the first time I saw a fish caught on the dry last year was around about now....the 3rd of May.

The start to my season this year has been amazing. I'm fishing some beautiful venues in glorious summertime like conditions. The flowers are out, and the wildlife too and to be honest, it's just a joy to sit on the river bank and a bonus to catch a wee troot or two.

This season I'm fishing some of my favourite stretches of river. I'm back on the dove with Mr Pointon, (good to see you back son, and good to see how many others are enjoying having you back), I'm fishing the Derbyshire wye, and, like last year, I'm incredibly lucky to be fishing my favourite river, the upper churnet above Leek,

The wye is so full of beautiful wild fish, the lathkill too with rainbows and brownies a plenty. The dove so often runs through glorious surroundings, the fishing is tremendous and the place is steeped in angling history.

Where I fish does not depend upon quality of fish, or how many fish or who else fishes there, or how much it costs. Of all the places I'm lucky enough to fish, the Isle of Islay aside, the upper churnet is by far the quietest. It's the one place I can be away from crowds of folk or busy roads and still be able to catch a fish or two. Don't get me wrong, I love all the places I fish but the churnet above Leek does it for me. It's the sort of place that, if you've got any worries, they can be forgotten very quickly....

(6th May)

(13th May)

The churnet suffered a major pollution incident a few years ago and over 700 fish were killed in the stretch that I fish alone. There was a fish count in October last year that was encouraging and certainly, I had a fair bit of success there last season, albeit they were quite small fish.

This season, things have got off to a good start and bigger fish are starting to show. I found a dead sea trout a little further downstream and I've seen Grayling.Further downstream Otters are now present and there is a run of salmon too...who would have thought it, our churnet that was every colour of the rainbow thanks to Leek's dying plants, and now its flora and fauna so rich. Long may it continue to prosper.

There is always an abundance of fly life above the river and during this last week I've been seeing lots of hawthornes, olives, large dark olives, green fly and a single mayfly. The fish have been smashing small flys on the surface but I've had as much success on very small flys as I have on larger sedge immitations, twitched across the surface of faster running water.

Second Busiest Weekend of the Year and They Close Our Street Again

2011-04-23T13:37:00.003+01:00

At The Wine Shop, in Russell Street, Leek, Saturdays are busy. Easter Saturdays are incredibly busy, so busy in fact that they are second only to December Saturdays. Busy that is unless the Town Council and, ironically, the Leek Chamber of Trade, decide to shut the street to accommodate it's very own St Georges Day celebrations.

I'm all for the town's people celebrating what ever they like, The Royal Wedding, Christmas Lights Switch on, Club Day, Leek 800, Leek Show, or St Georges Day as long as it works along side local businesses, I don't even expect the events to help local businesses but I do expect these events to avoid having a detrimental affect on the trade of local businesses at all cost.

In the last two or three weeks or so, I've been hearing more and more people commenting that it feels like this recession has only just begun and that it is going to get worse before it will get better. As a small business, we are certainly finding this to be the case. No individuals like Councillor Steve Povey or Mike Cozens, or any organisation such as the Chamber of Trade or indeed the Town Council should be allowed to ever come close to having a negative effect on it's local businesses especially in such desperate conditions.

And so, Steve Povey, Mike Cozens, the Chamber of Trade and the Town Council got their way. They closed Russell Street, and the top of Derby Street to traffic today. What for? So that an actor can ride up Derby street sat on a white horse dressed as St George, so that a man could display his owls, and a couple of local organisations could set up their fund raising stalls. These could have been shunted a few yards up the street on to the pedestrianised part of Derby Street and our one way street could have remained open. Cars could have parked, people could have ran into town shops for provisions instead of being turned away at the bottom of the street and redirected to....Morrisons...where the cars were queuing right up to the Leek Road. The very people who organised today's event protest about Sainsburys coming to town, and protest about the road changes that will inevitably come, and shout 'save our town'. When independent shops begin to close in Leek, it won't be because of Sainsburys who will simply take market share from Aldi, Morrisons, Coop, and Netto, when those shops begin to close it will be down to you Povey, you Mr Cozens, you Leek Chamber of Trade and to you Leek Town Council. Leave us retailers to worry about Sainsburys, let us give the town an independent presence, don't pretend you are doing us a favour by arranging these events just let us get on with keeping our heads above water in these incredibly tough times.

We preach to the people of Leek, begging them to shop local, and then we close the town off to them and play right in to the hands of Morrisons who are loving it.

Traffic in town was horrendous because of the street closures. Those vehicles trying to turn up Russell Street added to the gridlock and those trying to pass through Leek to enter the Peak District will only remember Leek for the misery it hat to go through to get away from it.

I'm sure the ice cream man sold a lot more ice cream. I'm sure the coffee shop sold a few more cups of coffee. But our trade was obliterated, I don't mean we were 10% down, I don't mean 20% down, I mean that up until 1pm today, we'd sold £60 worth of goods where on a normal day we'd have sold £600 and on Easter Saturday more like £1000. And that stock that we ordered in to achieve those sells sits on the shelf, and the corresponding invoice requires paying.

Leek needs tow worry about some of it's Councillors, shops opening on Thursdays, not closing our streets and radical things like that before it worries about Sainsburys.

Save Our Leek

Stoke City 5-0 Bolton Wanderers Pitchside highlights | The FA Cup semi f...

2011-04-20T08:28:00.000+01:00

Bolton Wanderers vs Stoke City FA Cup Semi Final 2011

2011-04-18T15:06:00.010+01:00

FA Cup Semi Final

17th April 2011

Wembley Stadium

Bolton Wanderers

vs

Stoke City

Awaiting our 8 coaches at The Dyers Arms, Leek.

All the way to the motorway, through Stoke on Trent, people were stopping and waving to us and cars were peeping their horns. Once on the motorway, all we could see ahead were dozens and dozens of SCFC buses, minibuses and cars with red and white scarves and flags, with just the occasional car with one or two Bolton fans making rude gestures at us...

Passing a huge crowd of Bolton fans, and just around the corner, we found the Stoke fans, in fine voice and well oiled.

Our first glimpse of Wembley, awesome.

I was expecting our view to be poor given the fact that we were in inexpensive seats but Wembley has been designed in such a way that the sides rise up much more steeply than pictures suggest and the view is amazing wherever you are.

Stoke City had sold every single ticket they were allocated whilst Bolton had returned 6000 tickets. Empty seats in their half of the stadium was easy to see and they struggled to make enough noise to counteract the roar of the city supporters.

Red and white everywhere on this glorious Sunday afternoon.

"Come on you mighty potters!!!!!!!!!!"

Just before kick off, 'Delilah' was played over the PA system much to the delight of the city support.

Jen positive that Stoke are going through........

Bolton coaches on the left, Stoke on the right, mind you, most Bolton fans left at half time.

Oh...sorry, I didn't mention the score....

Bolton Wanderers 0
Stoke City 5

(Etherington 12', Huth 17', Jones 30', Walters 68' and 81')

I'll never forget the roar from Wembley stadium when Matty Etherington smashed the first goal into the net in the 12th minute. I've watched it a again and again on the FA website and find it very hard to describe. The goal was at the Bolton end of the stadium so the noise started with the nearest Stoke fans on the half way line and slowly crept to the back, building and building like a huge thunderstorm....totally awesome and mindblowing.......

That's Stoke in the FA Cup final for the first time in the club's 139 year history, and in all probability a ticket into European football......

Bring on Man City in the Final, we've got nowt to lose...

Come on City!!!

Woody

Delilah, 5-0 Stoke

2011-04-18T15:06:00.009+01:00

A spectacular Grannom Hatch on the Wye

2011-04-05T19:08:00.004+01:00

I was lucky enough to discover quite early on this morning that I would be given the opportunity to set off to fish for the day. This was most unexpected and given the fact that I went to bed thinking about nowt but fishing after such a great day yesterday, and consequently dreaming about nowt else but fishing, the last 48 hours has turned out to be a full on angling experience.

I jumped out of bed to have a look at the weather. No more rain during the night, a light breeze and yes still overcast. Looking good I thought. A quick call to the Peacock, a text to Jan, and I was booked on. Yes!

I decided that I should perhaps give my confidence a boost and head to a spot where I thought I was most likely to get into a fish early on, and so, it was on with the trusty LTD sedge, a couple of casts with a careful mend to avoid the drag and wallop...fish on.

The river was up by a fraction compared to yesterday with a slight colour in the main flow, all was looking good for 'ron. I was tempted to revisit more of the water where I had success yesterday but managed to persuade myself that I should visit other places where I hadn't fished with the dry during trout season before, so I called in at the Spar shop for some provisions and pointed the car towards Caudwell Mill and the lower beat of the Peacock Wye.

I walked a little way up the river and started to see rises and made a cast or two. The LTD was getting hammered by Brownies and Rainbows alike especially in the faster water. The lower beat is the place to be if you want to get away from the people and the traffic and I knew quite early on that I was in for a special day.

I began to walk further upstream and noticed an increasing amount of fly life as I did so. I reached a short stretch that I hadn't had much success in during grayling season. A deep long glide with a myriad of complex swirls and flows, basically drag hell. All of a sudden the river was alive. There were fish moving everywhere and the river appeared to boil. I've never seen such a response to a hatch before and I found my self gazing at the spectacle for minutes on end instead of getting on with what I was there for and cast a line. There didn't seem to be a pattern to the rises, fish were leaping from the river, brownies and rainbows alike as well as more delicate rises that just blemished the surface. Tight in to the opposite banks and hugging close to line tangling, expensive fly stealing branches and tree roots, bigger fish emerged, top and tailing mostly in the most impossible to reach without drag places.

For roughly 40 minutes, grannom were hatching so profusely that, if it wasn't for the fact that the air temperature had risen to what felt lie about 14c, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was snowing. As I watched the river, there wasn't a moment when there wasn't some disturbance that had been caused by a rising fish, and I've never ever experienced anything quite like it before, it was amazing and the fish were going mental! Around this time last year, I remember reading an angler's comments on a fishing forum concerning the fact that trout don't like grannom and, in fact, it isn't until other flys start to hatch that trout become interested in rising for food. Let me tell you, Wye trout love grannom.

I made a cast and kept as much fly line off the turbulent water as I could and waited to see if I'd managed to put them off their rises by getting so close to them and the river.....smash, a brownie was on and it gave me a right run around the whole pool. Rises, still everywhere I made another cast, and another, nothing it would seem would put these fish off their feeding frenzy as the grannom came off in their hundreds. I was chuffed to bits to see such a spectacle, and obviously, I'd taken advantage of the situation and managed a few fish. Jan arrived and he encouraged me to have a go at a fish that was top and tailing right in the most difficult place to cast to on the far bank. A fish of much bigger size, age and one that knew what I was at. I made a good few casts to it but it never once made a move towards my sedge.

When all the activity was over I sat down to think about what had just happened on that short stretch of this beautiful river. If I was still a smoker, It would have been the perfect moment to light up a fag....I carried on upstream, preferring to fish the faster, shallower water and I continued to tempt a fish or two, mostly brownies today and no grayling (all excepting my last cast of the day that is). I couldn't believe how different the banks looked compared to how they were when I fished there during the winter. Jan and Warren have obviously been doing a lot of work and their are some very fishy looking, previously hard to get to swims that will now be accessible to the Wye angler come the summer months.

What a top day, without question one of the most amazing day's fishing I've ever had, and one that could spoil the angler for ever. I think I may pack in and take up golf.......not.

Woody

Stoke City Potter Mouth Wembley FA Cup Full Version with VIDEO-MUST SEE

2011-04-05T08:31:00.000+01:00

A Superb First Day on the Wye

2011-04-04T19:46:00.000+01:00

I've been looking forward to getting back on to the Wye and today was my first opportunity to do so. I watched the weather last night and was gutted to see that temperatures were dropping and there was a fair bit of rain coming Bakewell way....Typical, I thought, just as I was getting on to the river, all hopes of bagging a few fish dashed!

Anyhow, I'd arranged to have the day off and I was already booked on to fish so I thought I'd go anyway, it would give me a chance to get back into casting a dry fly at least. I bumped into Jan the river keeper at the petrol station at about 9am and he seemed surprised that I wasn't on the river already. "Isn't it too early?" I asked, "..and too bloody cold?" and he said that I should get straight on the river. So I headed up to a favourite spot up towards Riverside business park and set up my 8 foot 4wt Hardy Demon and set about casting an LTD sedge across the fast water. I was gobsmacked to find that I was into a fish immediately, a fighting fit, Wye wild rainbow and I was over the moon. I found some of the casting a little tricky with the Demon and was having trouble with drag so I switched to my 10ft Streamflex and immediately found that controlling the line was much easier, confidence started to grow.

I never strayed too far from town. The furthest upstream I fished was Riverside and the furthest downstream was that run just below the pumping station, and although I did have a problem picking my way between the grayling which seemed hard on the feed. I managed around 25 rainbows, none very big but all giving me a right run around on light tackle.When I set out this morning I had absolutely no expectations of the river and just when I thought I was sure to be on a blank I end up having one of my best days on the Wye. I've found the early season on the Dove incredibly tough and frustrating and today has been a very welcome change.

Thank you oh wonderful Wye.

Woody

Goooaaarrnnnn Stoke!!!!!!!

2011-04-01T12:09:00.000+01:00

New Season Checklist for the Angler With OCD

2011-03-31T11:09:00.009+01:00

Well....the first day of the season is upon us. Tomorrow, the wonderful Derbyshire Wye opens for trout fishing. Some of England's finest and most enthusiastic anglers will descend upon it's banks clutching fly boxes full of dry flys, eager to land a specimen fish or two.

During the season, the angler with OCD quickly establishes a routine. Each pocket in his waistcoat holds exactly the same item of kit as it did on the previous outing, each fly in it's correct slot on the appropriate row within the fly box, colour coordinated of course. If you're anything like me, arriving at the river bank and opening ones fly box to find colours mixed up, flys the wrong way round, and heaven forbid, nymphs among the dries, is a sure sign of a frustrating day of tangles, swearing, high blood pressure and of course, no fish. Worst still is when the eager angler arrives at the bank to discover he's forgotten a vital piece of angling equipment, such as his reel, or even his rod, days like these are best forgotten and never again talked about...

And so I've been inspired by one of the Wye's most famous anglers, Richard W, who has devised a checklist to help the angler avoid unnecessary forgetfulness. It's perfect. Follow Richard's checklist and you cannot go wrong....unless you have OCD like me and you'll be rearranging yourself for a fortnight before you even wet a line. So I've devised my own list, that's more realistic to my angling day, and is inspired by some of the other 'anglers' about me.....you know who you are.

Please feel free to leave a comment to add to the list and as with Richard's list you will not require some of the items on some of the waters you fish so simply miss them off for that day, for instance, on the first day I intend to fish the Wye I'm missing out the item 'rod' cos I'm going to catch f*ck all....

I've tried to keep my list chronological and it begins before I leave the house. Can I just add a disclaimer in here, any rude or obscene suggestions have been donated by Glen Pointon.

Paracetamol
2 Pints of milk
Toilet Paper (pref Izal)
Pie
Benson and Hedges
Wading boots
Thing for scraping dog muck off wading boots
Waders
Rod
Checklist?
Money to replace flies lost in trees (£85 per day)
Stella
Dry fly box
Wet fly box (NOT WHEN FISHING THE WYE!!!)
Pie
Liverpool accent phrase book in case of meeting Glen Pointon on the bank
50 spare flies in case of meeting Glen Pointon on the bank
Tie (WHEN FISHING THE WYE!!!)
Spare underpants? (GP was adamant about this one)
Mucilin
Gink
Vaseline (GP)
KY(GP??)
Large unhooking mat (for JT)
Intermediate unhooking mat (for GP)
Small unhooking mat (for me)
Pie
Reel
Line
Tippet
Blood pressure pills
Fly fishing by JR Hartley
Razzle (GP)
Weed (GP)
Little black book
Valium (for GP)
Poo bags (for GP)
36 more cans of Stella (for JT)
lie detector (essential for the bragging/exaggerating angler)
Weigh net (for GP!!!)

Angling and Dramming Related.....

2011-03-31T08:45:00.000+01:00

A Challenging Start on the Dove

2011-03-30T17:02:00.003+01:00

Well it seems like I've neglected the blog a little so time to put fingers on keys and try to find something interesting to say about the fishing at the start of the 2011 trout season. Help.

Over the last few days, I've found myself scrambling for excuses as to why my fishing trips have been so unsuccessful in terms of how many fish caught...."Worst time of year for fishing" I've said to at least a couple of folk. The grayling, who up until so recently, were happy to take any wee nymph that trickled downstream towards them are now very out of season, and spawning and the trout, even though we are nearly two weeks in to the season a few and far between.

Best to treat the start of the season as an excuse to be out and about in the countryside, that way lack of fish can't spoil your outing.

Conditions on the Dove have been testing. The river is lower than I've ever seen it and running gin clear. Like most anglers, I've spent the whole time since Christmas, counting down the days until the start of the trout season, imagining how I'd be catching a dozen or so eager wee broonies on the dry fly every time a stepped foot near to running water....I imagined the sun beating down and the warm evenings and how wrong I was...all this built up anticipation makes the start of season experience of this novice river angler all the more challenging.......It may be time to regroup, retreat, and head off for a little stocked stillwater fishing at Westlow Mere.

Don't get me wrong, I've had some enjoyable outings with Pointon and Wesser, and spent a delightful afternoon strolling up as far as Ilam Rock with John Tyzack, the pair of us determined only to fish if we saw a rise and consequently the inevitable lack of rises gave us the chance to have a good blether and to put the world to rights. And it's given me a chance to get to know the new stretch of the river that I can now fish thanks to my invite on to the LTDFFA syndicate, and I'm sure that all the standing and river watching that I've done may help me later on in the season when the rises will be so plentiful that I won't have time to stop....I hope!

This morning a met up with Wesser at the Hotel and after coffee and bacon butties it was on to the LTDFFA lower beat to see if we could coax a troot or two. We had a little rain last night and I was desperately hoping that this may have lifted the river levels a fraction and added a tinge of colour that the Dove desperately needs to encourage a little fishy activity.

Once again, we found that the river was incredibly low and we could tempt nothing to our nymphs. I tried the duo method and casting to a spot that I know holds a good brownie, I managed to tempt a rise from a decent sized fish to my black klinkhammer but I didn't connect and we moved further upstream, encouraged but becoming more and more irritated by the freezing rain that was now directly in our faces....I tied on the trusty LTD sedge and managed to persuade another splashy rise but again could not connect...it started to look like it definitely wasn't going to happen.

On the way back downstream, Wesser had another chuck at the first fish that I had missed to the klink and once again, the big brownie came to the fly, this time an LTD sedge, but again, instead of taking the fly, it kind of battered it and then was gone as quick as it had arrived and disappeared into the watery nothingness....

Ah well, the Wye opens on Friday and I can't wait, but I must admit that more than anything, I'm looking forward to fishing running water that is a little closer to home, just as long as the sun is on my back, and the birds are singing, I'll be happy with any we troot that takes a fancy to my dry. You can keep spring if it's going to be like this.....bring on summer.

New LTD Hoodie...

2011-03-11T14:12:00.001Z

New hoodie design to celebrate The Living The Dream Fly Fishing Association....

Glen Pointon Fish Observing Techniques

2011-03-02T18:56:00.001Z

Hurry Up Spring

2011-02-26T15:32:00.000Z

Not long now....only a couple of weeks until the start of the trout season. I'm looking forward being able to wander down the fields to the Churnet and to cast a wee dry fly or two at the lovely brownies that race and rise down there.

I'm also looking forward to fishing the lochs of Islay again but will probably have to wait until the end of May before that...then I'll be catching lovely wildies like the ones in the pic above...

Classic Teviot Grayling Action

2011-02-23T13:50:00.001Z

Thought I'd post one of my most memorable angling moments from 2010. Wesser reckons that everytime he feels a bit down, he has a look at this video and the look on my face and it tends to cheer him up a little.

We'd travelled up to the borders for a little Grayling action on the Teviot with none other than English rivers champion John 'JT' Tyzack. John gave some expert tuition and eventually I was in to this stonking fish of over 2lb.

The hat was plonked on my head just seconds before the video was taken......

Eastern Rises Ad: Great Film Recommend

2011-02-07T16:13:00.004Z

Eastern Rises | teaser from felt soul media on Vimeo.

This short video goes some way to explain to those who are perplexed by why we anglers go angling...why the hell we do it.....

Seeing those huge trout taking large flys off the surface, and that take, makes me want it to be summer even more!!!!!!

Thanks for the Recommend Herman....

Hurry Up Summer

2011-02-07T15:54:00.000Z

Christ I'm bored of winter. It's 3.45pm, it's going dark, windy and cold. It rained all weekend and the rivers are in flood.

In a few weeks time we'll be walking about in shorts and very much taking for granted the sunshine, the warm and long summer evenings, the babbling brook and the splashy rise of a wee broon troot or two. Next season I'll be fishing more rivers than ever before, the Derbyshire Wye, the Dove, the Churnet, the Severn and possibly even the Laggan but there is one stretch of river that beats all the rest for me and it's on my doorstep....the Churnet upstream of Leek.

Last season I really enjoyed walking down to the river and spending an hour or two stalking fish in the stunning surroundings of the upper reaches of the Churnet valley, where once an abbey stood and where the Roaches can be seen dark and gloomy on the distant horizon.

I'm hoping that the trout come back stronger than ever and that the winter was not to cruel to them. The river is pushing through strong today, and once it settles back down again, I hope to see more evidence of fishy activity.

Roll on summer......

First Tutored Whisky Tasting @ The Wine Shop in 2011

2011-02-03T10:27:00.000Z

Just to let you know that I've planned our first tutored malt whisky tasting to be held at The Wine Shop in 2011. Please click on the image above to expand the poster for all the details about the event.

The tasting will be an in depth look into the world of single malt whisky and we'll be tasting 4 classic drams:

Glenkinchie 12 year old (Lowlands)
Dalwhinnie 15 year old (Highlands)
Singleton of Dufftown (Speyside)
Talisker 10 year old (Islands: Skye)

To reserve your ticket please contact us ASAP as places are limited. 01538 382 408.
The event takes place on Saturday 26th March, 8pm at The Wine Shop in Leek.

Slainte,

David

The Lesser Spotted Pointon

2011-01-18T10:52:00.001Z

Had a walk up through Dovedale on Sunday to have a look what conditions were like...not too good as it turned out. The river was running pretty clear but well up and it was the wind that was causing the havoc on the LADFFA section of the lovely Dove.

As I walked back to the car park I noticed that an angler had sensibly sought a sheltered swim and was having some success with it too. As I neared the angler I was surprised to see that it was Stoke on Trent's very own 'vital spark'..none other than Glen Pointon..a rare sight indeed since summer last year. His identity was confirmed to me as I got a little closer and he glared at me in a broad potteries accent....."WWWwwoooddddyyyyy you ***t!".

Anyway, great to see Lord Rocher back in his natural environment...skiving as usual and pulling fish out left right and centre like he'd never been away from the river. Jammy git.

Woody

My Top 3 Festive Drams

2011-01-07T10:43:00.007Z

I thought I'd post a wee note or two about my favourite whiskies that I was lucky enough to taste and imbibe over the festive period. These are 3 amazing whiskies each with their own individual characteristics. All are incredibly complex, all suite my palate perfectly, all were perfect for Xmas drinking, and 2 out of the 3 are incredibly rare.

Festive Whisky Number 1

Caol Ila Single Cask Bottling Feis Ile 2010
Islay Single Malt Whisky
Filled to cask 19th August 1999
Bottled 2010
Bottle Number 064 Cask Number 305646
61.9% abv

Nose: Cinnamon, winter spice, honey marmalade, rich red fruit, raisins, sultanas, hint of bonfire smoke
Palate: Winter spice and marmalade right at the front of the tongue with an amazingly rich and oily mouthfeel
Finish: The red fruit and winter spice are huge with a fading waft of bonfire smoke

What a monster of a winter dram! This Caol Ila has been bottled from a single sherry cask and the overwhelming characteristics are of red fruit and sweetness rather than the usual, medicinal, peaty flavours of this Islay classic.What a Caol Ila to taste at Christmas. Bottled exclusively for the Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2010, I probably should have kept this beauty for another couple of years just to keep an eye on it's value as rarities like this can quickly sneak up to a price tag of £500 per bottle. I'm glad I opened it though and it is one that I shall enjoy sharing with friends over the next year or so....

Festive Whisky Number 2

Glen Grant Single Cask Bottling Feis 1987
Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Distilled December 1987
Bottled March 2010
Bottle Number 104/272 Cask Number 44648
57% abv

Nose: Olorosso sherry, raisins, vanilla, parkin, bled radiators.
Palate: Huge hit of Xmas cake and parkin then classic Spanish oak vanilla.
Finish: Very long, deeply rich finish, perfect accompaniment to rich festive deserts.

This was a gift from Leonie for Xmas and is just a classic, does what it says on the tin, sherry cask matured Speysider. If you don't like this, you don't like whisky. The type of sweet sherry monster that took us on trips to Speyside again and again to look for the odd special bottling forgotten about in a dark corner of a whisky shop or bar. Cigar anyone?

Festive Whisky Number 3

Benriach 'Importanticus Fumosus' Tawny Port Finish
Peated Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Aged 12 years
46% abv

Nose: Strawberry jam, cranberry, peated barley, a hint of peat reek
Palate: Strawberries, raspberries, giving way to increasing peat smoke, tar, and jeyes fluid
Finish: Drying, the peat smoke quickly takes over from the red fruits.

I'm a great fan of what the Benriach Distillery Company is doing with it's range of Speyside whiskies from both it's Benriach and Glendronach distilleries, the latter having been acquired by the company in the last two years or so. Although it does produce non-peated whiskies, of late, Benriach has become more renowned for it's peaty spirit. The company has also dabbled in 'finishing' some of it's peaty whiskies in particular in different pre-used casks. On the whole I'm not a great fan of these finishes, particularly when the spirit has been decanted into ex wine casks as I think that the whisky can become overpowered by the previous occupant of the casks very quickly. Benriach, however, always seem to manage to get the balance right where the second cask has added an interesting subtle twist of flavour to the whisky without detracting from the intended distillery character. In this case, the peat is predominant with an extra dimension of red fruit that hasn't overpowered the whisky. It makes a good introduction for those who haven't dabbled into the world of peaty whiskies, it being not too much of a monster. For those already used to a little waft of smoke, the addition of the fruity factor does make this a little too easy to drink! Unlike the previous two whiskies, this is not a limited edition bottling and you should be able to find this at any decent whisky shop, especially those found in Russell Street in Leek......

Slainte

David

My Last Trip on the Wye until April......

2011-01-04T16:48:00.001Z

I had quite a pleasant surprise yesterday on speaking with Mr Pointon. I had been under the impression that fishing on the Haddon Estate Wye for Grayling finished on the 1st of January when in fact the last day is the 6th so I managed to sneak in an extra morning's fishing. I checked the weather and all looked quite well for this time of year. I was up bright and early only to find that it had been snowing so wondered whether my extra trip would go ahead after all. Nonetheless I packed up the car filled one jeans pocket with pork pies the other with Quality Street, and made my way up the Buxton Road. All was not well as I drove over the tops, the road was covered in snow and I was sliding everywhere. I'd texted Jan the keeper early in the morning to see if it had snowed over Bakewell way and he'd replied that it hadn't, so I plodded on hoping that the weather hadn't changed.

As I got closer to Bakewell the weather improved vastly and as I parked up near to Caudwell's Mill I noticed that the air temperature was a good couple of degrees warmer than at home in Leek too. I got tackled up and made sure I'd got a few extra layers of clothes on. I hadn't fished since the beginning of December probably the longest I've gone without fishing in the last three years so I was hoping that a dip in confidence wouldn't affect things too much.

The going was tough. I visited all my dead cert spots and for a good couple of hours I didn't have a bite. What made it worse was that on bumping into Jan on the river bank he assured me that the river was fishing it's head off just a couple of days ago.....

I eventually managed a few small grayling but thought it might be time to head back up towards town, near to the pumping station to try some faster, shallower waters. I was soon into one or two fish, the best of which being the one in the pic above that came to a tiny pink shrimp on my top dropper...a beauty...

Farewell wonderful Wye....I look forward to fishing for the troots with the dry later on in the spring...

Slainte

David

Looking Forward to Angling in 2011

2011-01-03T16:59:00.000Z

At last it's the new year is here. The busy Christmas period means that this angler gets out on the river less than any other time of year but as soon as the festive period is out of the way, I look forward to where I'll be fishing and which pals will join me on the way. Tomorrow I'm hoping to embark on my first day's fishing in 2011, I'm hoping to pop over to the Wye for a couple of hours in search of some silvery ladies. I'm looking forward to fishing a wide variety of waters this coming season. I'll retain my Leek and Moorlands ticket so that I can fish the upper section at Eaton Dovedale and the Derby Railway ticket so that I can fish the lower section at Eaton Dovedale plus the excellent stretch of the Dove at Ellastone.

This year I'm looking forward to fishing the Wye quite regularly along with many of the lads I've fished with previously on the Leek and District ticket at Dovedale and on the Churnet in Alton. I've renewed with Leek and District too, I was reluctant to waste my joining fee and the proximity of the waters to where I live make the ideal short fishing outing....Pointon, Squire and I acquired the tag of 'pop along possy' a couple of seasons ago because of how easy we could get to our waters.

I'm hoping to take a few more anglers up to the Isle of Islay this year. I'm fully booked for the week of the Islay Festival of Malt and Music 12 of us are travelling to the magical isle to once again stay in Finlaggan House and to fish all the nearby lochs specifically Loch Gorm, Loch Ballygrant, Loch Inver on Jura and Loch Finlaggan itself. I'm hoping to arrange a trip in the early part of the season too so if you are interested in joining me on an angling adventure to the western isles with a few drams thrown in please get in touch ASAP.

Happy New Year to all....

Slainte

Woody

Pottermouth's Battle Cry (for Stoke City) - BBC Radio Stoke

2010-12-24T08:59:00.000Z

Glen Pointon Dry fly Techniques: Part 1

2010-11-24T17:04:00.000Z

On a lighter note...here's Pointon....

Woody

French Market Chaos In Leek

2010-11-19T17:07:00.005Z

Sorry about this but...

In the current economic climate, you'd think that it would be the responsibility of local councils and of local organisations such as chambers of trade to think incredibly seriously about how its actions affect local trade. Over the past couple of years events within our town centre have seemed to be a popular route that the chamber of trade in particular seem to have chosen in a bid to improve the town's trade. Their thinking is that if you bring thousands of extra people into the town, they will automatically spend money in it. Put a funfair in the market place and families will pour into the local shops and spend extra dosh...have a living nativity in the town, and after singing a song or two, the choir will quickly make its way through every establishment in town, spending as it goes. Even better still, close the whole town off, bring traffic to a standstill, make parking almost impossible, bring a few stalls in under the banner of 'French Market', shut our streets and hey presto...all the happy shoppers that visit it will be the making of Leek's Christmas 2010, oh and don't forget to be grateful shop keepers, we've brought the extra footfall in, it's your responsibility to get them spending.

And so, we've just witnessed our worst Friday's trade ever since we took over The Wine Shop in Leek in 2002. Russell Street is closed to traffic because traders in Sheep Market and Stanley Street wanted the market...NIMBY but in busy thoroughfare Derby Street...necessitating the closure of Russell Street... are there are no important traders down there....?

This was Russell Street just after 12 noon today. Usually cars would line the street. People stopping for 15 minutes to run to the bank, or go to the butchers, stopping for a quick lunch or to visit our independent shops. Russell Street is about the only place the shopper can do this in the town centre. Close Russell Street and we lose our trade..no one is able to carry a case of wine through the streets of Leek to their far away car. This event is over 3 days so a closed street is what we are having to put up with on Friday 19th Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st November.

I thought I'd better have a look at the market and hoped that, given our sacrifice of trade in this incredibly tough time in retail, that at least there would be a bustle of many people in town.....it was empty and we're seriously p@ssed off about the fact that we should be grateful for the council's, and the chamber of trade's efforts to show us how business is done and improved....just leave us alone and let us do what we know how to do...let our customers get to our shops and leave us to get on with doing our business and endeavouring to survive. Christmas is the most important time for many retailers, it is when we take most of our yearly turnover. Start taking 3 days out of our Christmas trade and we're talking about the loss of thousands of pounds in turnover.

After making various enquiries, I've discovered that these stall traders, as well as obviously not paying rates, are not even required to pay rent for their pitch.

What concerns me is that most of the people who have endorsed the coming of the French market, are also the ones making terrified protests about Sainsburys building an edge of town complex that will be bringing many jobs, housing and let's face it, a much more enjoyable shopping experience than any of the supermarkets than Leek already has. Is it acceptable for a small market like this to choke our town in such an important trading period, and for the money that it does manage to take to be taken out of Leek, and further afield as far as France?

I agree with the council and the Chamber of Trade that these events do bring lots of extra people into town, but......if I'm visiting Leek to attend a Leek 800 charter event, a living nativity, a french market, a St Georges Day celebration, a Club Day, all of which involve the mandatory closure of Russell Street, then I'm visiting Leek to visit that event, why should or why would I shop in the local establishments...I can do that any time. Why not hold these events at Brough Park or California car park so that they are a success in themselves and local traders benefit because our customers are able to get to us?

The most important point of all that I would like to make in this rare Angling and Dramming rant is this....this isn't a game, we're not sitting outside the front of our house selling rose petal perfume or knackered toys, we're trying to run our businesses in the way we know how to....we do know how to run our business.....don't ask traders to be grateful for any of the work you do for the town because if events continue in this vein you will kill Leek town centre...it's not Sainsburys we should be scared of...many more occasions of closed streets in Leek will mean closed shops...for good.

Windy, Wet yet Wonderful Wiver Wye with JC

2010-11-04T17:09:00.002Z

I get to meet up a couple of times a year with Johnny Colemans, usually, I tend to get called away from the fishing session early, or it's raining cats and dogs...the latter was the order of the day last Tuesday, along with a good gust of wind too....not nearly enough bad weather to put these two eager anglers off so it was an early meet up at the car park and on to the river by 10am.

I hadn't fished this stretch for a couple of weeks and it is amazing how long it can take to get your eye back in after being away for a wee whiley. I was getting dozens of takes....pretty furious ones too...but struggled to hook in to many of these angry Grayling. I reckon I managed to land a fish for every 6 takes I missed.

It was good to catch up with Johnny..he clearly needed a fix of the river after such a busy time at work with new jobs and at home with new children. He said he'd be happy just to be near the river to chill out a little. I knew that was code for he'd like to land a few ladies though....

We moved around a few favourite swims and had a good few fish between us, nothing huge but fantastic sport just the same....

Cheers for a great day JC....

Woody

Goodbye Drummuir

2010-10-22T10:13:00.000+01:00

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

The Dee @ Balmoral

2010-10-18T09:25:00.000+01:00

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

A Room With A View

2010-10-18T08:46:00.000+01:00

Arrived at our hotel in Ballater in Royal Deeside last night. The meal was fantastic...Ravioli of Woodpidgeon followed by venison washed down with Sancerre and Pouilly Fume.

After dinner it was in to dramming mode with the terrific Talisker 25 year old and Rare Malts Linkwood 26 years old, finishing off with a classic Lagavulin 16 years old.

Just getting ready to meet Donald Renwick for a day at Royal Lochnagar Distillery at Balmoral.....

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

IMG00035-20101017-1400.jpg

2010-10-17T17:04:00.000+01:00

I'm currently sitting in a mini bus travelling from Aberdeen airport on the way to a hotel in the heart of the highlands. We're driving upstream on the banks of the Dee and I'm passing some of the most expensive water to fish in the world.

Posts on this blog have become more 'angling' than 'dramming' and so it's time to throw the spotlight back on to whisky for a wee while. During the next few days I hope to post a few pics from my travels which shall take me to some gems of distillerys including Lochnagar, Glen Ord and all the way over to Skye for Talisker.

I've been lucky enough to be invited on the Diageo Malt Advocate course and it promises to be a few days packed with nosing and tasting many a wee dram of the amber nectar....

Slainte

David
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Looking for the Lunking Ladies on the Wye

2010-10-14T17:24:00.003+01:00

I was desperate to get out fishing again this week as I'm away in Scotland and then London with work for a good couple of weeks quite soon. Earlier in the week, Jan, one of the river keepers, very kindly showed me around one or two spots on this lovely Derbyshire river. I remember swearing every few yards or so as I came across fishy looking swims over and over again. Other anglers reading this will know exactly what I mean about Tourettes syndrome setting in as you round a bend and find a deep glide, or a fast riffle dropping into a deep trench, or rippled moving water that has fish written all over it. If you'd have heard me a couple of days ago, when first visiting this stretch of river, you'd have thought I'd turned into Glen Pointon, or worse still Roger Mellie (the man on the telly).

I put up a pic on the previous post of my first decent sized grayling of October on this particular river. Having seen the pic, one or two readers have given me a pound and a half for it...any advance on that? I'll certainly be wanting more than that for the lovely fish I caught early this afternoon which is shown in the two pics on this post.

I started out fairly early today. I got the car packed up even before the kids were up and ready for school. It was a cool and completely overcast morning and I thought it looked almost perfect for grayling fishing. There was a spot of rain in the air and at first, I had a job to get organised and my OCD started to kick in when I realised that, because of the low air temperature and the threat of rain, I may have to wear a coat. Those that have fished with me know how my head goes if everything isn't just how it ought to be....

And so I made my way down the river, trying desperately to remember all of the spots that I'd fished a few days ago and where Jan had pointed out features, swims and runs to me. Once again I was completely taken aback by the beauty of the place, the river and the whole valley really. It reminds me so much of Pitlochry in the Highlands, you're never far away from a dipping dipper, a fleeting kingfisher or the eerie scream of a buzzard above the trees. There's many a spot that wouldn't be out of place in a Turner. The banks are a pleasure to fish, yes it can be a challenge to the angler to get the right cast in without wading, but all the more rewarding when the take comes and a fish ends up in the net. I've found that, even with my 10ft 4wt Streamflex, it's nearly always possible to make that cast whenever, and wherever you want to.

I was taking fish all the way down the stretch and once at the end, I sat down and tucked into my lunch and took in the surroundings once more. I had a leisurely stroll back and had a particular spot in mind. I'd fished it in the morning and dropped a couple of fish but was sure that it was holding a good few more. I'd got an hour before I was to leave in time for the school run so I had enough time to get a few casts in before heading off back to the car. I was dropping fish again and was getting a little frustrating and started to think about my last cast. This time I'd cast just that little bit further, and nearer to an overhanging branch. No sooner had the drift began than the tip of the line shot away and a good fish was on. I new it was a decent fish immediately and I was desperate not to drop this one as I knew it would be a perfect end to the day.

After a decent scrap, this lovely fish came to the net. It had taken the point fly which I was surprised by given that almost all of the others had taken the dropper.

Another superb day's fishing on the Wye. I'm hoping the grayling just keep getting bigger and bigger....

David

Great Grayling Sport in Derbyshire

2010-10-13T18:51:00.000+01:00

Had a couple of hours on a new stretch of water that I'm fishing over winter yesterday and had some fine grayling sport. This lovely fish was the best of the day and one which I shall endeavour to beat during the next few occasions that I visit this fantastic river.....

Woody

A Few Fine Autumnal Hours on the Wye with Pointon....

2010-10-11T15:26:00.003+01:00

Enjoyed a few hours on the Wye with Glen yesterday. I called round to Pointon Palace at around 2pm to find him collapsed in his living room with piles of paper all over the floor along with an upturned child's size desk and chairs. A used, and unemptied potty sat in the corner and it basically looked very much as if he'd been burgled by angry toddlers. Amongst the debris and empty Benson & Hedges packs was one Tarquin Pointon who I'd clearly woken up when I knocked on the door. He swore at me in his strongest Liverpudlian accent, asked me what time of day it was, I think, swore at me again and slowly began to get his act together to eventually leave the house and get off to do some fishing....

Things must be on the up for 'The Vital Spark' because the first thing I noticed was that the space on the drive that is usually occupied by the knackered old VW van was now occupied by a snazzy looking Porsche Cayenne.....and so, this turned out to be our choice of transport for the day. I half expected to find a tray or two of Ferrero Rocher and a bottle or two of Asti Spumante on the back seat to accompany our arrrfternun fa*king tea.

And so, it was on to the river with a couple of hours of day light to spare and Pointon was straight into the Grayling. The fish were hammering the dry fly and great sport was had for the rest of the day. The rivers in Derbyshire and Staffordshire have benefited from the much needed rainfall that we've had in the last couple of weeks and now that the warmer weather has returned, the fly life has gone bonkers with the many hatches that are coming off during the day. On the last day of the season I had one of those mental days at Dovedale where hungry fish are rising everywhere and nailing every fly that they can in preparation for the winter to come. Many of the bigger brownies came out to play, each taking olive patterns and sedges.

The pic below shows Glen's biggest fish of the afternoon session. I don't know why he has got the expression on his face but he went down hill after that, he gets tired in the early evening, and so It was time to get him back in to the Porsche and back to the sheltered accommodation.

On the way back, Glen and I agreed that we'd had a fine afternoon and that we'd enjoyed travelling in style in the Porsche....but, at the end of the day..it was no LDV.....

Woody

A Few More Islay Trip Pics.......

2010-10-06T10:40:00.002+01:00

Just a few more pics to wet the appetite of those anglers joining me on our next trip to Islay. This time the pics have been very kindly donated by Mark Williams.

The pic above was taken on the last day on Islay as some of the lads decided they'd fished enough and wanted to see a bit of Islay. This particular bit of Islay is the still house at Laphroaig distillery.

The second day's fishing on Islay took place on Loch Gorm. I've fished it with some success from the bank a few times but this time we had booked boats and I have to say that I didn't enjoy being restricted by the boat and felt the urge to climb out and start wading. My head dropped very quickly and my fishing was never going to be any good as my confidence was low and I was getting more and more frustrated by the many tangles that I was finding myself in. Anyhow, whilst I was throwing all of my toys out of the pram. Peter "Pollock" was simply chilling and catching one or two lovely wee Gorm brownies all of which had the buttery colours that are typical of the fish caught in this huge machir loch.

I'll be bank fishing it next time. You can keep your boats.

I'm more at home, and more confident on Loch Finlaggan and on future trips, especially if we are based at Finlaggan House, I'll be creating an itinerary that includes at least a couple of day's fishing on this large, wild and beautiful loch. The fishing can be quite rewarding. Fishing the Northern end of the loch, particularly on the visitor centre shore, many small fish of less than 1/2 lb can be caught in a couple of ours on small sedges and F flies. For those that decide to invest the time in walking all the way down either shore, the fish tend to get bigger, they're angrier and generally much more fun to catch. If it's a lunker you want, get yourself down to the reeds at the southern end of the lock where the river Sorn makes it's way out towards Bridgend. The odd Sea Trout makes it's way up this wee river into Loch Finlaggan.

Jase Snape's Pics from our Sept 2010 Islay Trip

2010-10-05T16:18:00.001+01:00

My good pal Jason Snape has kindly made some fab pics available for me to be able to pinch and post on Angling and Dramming. They were all taken during our recent trip to Islay and I hope that they are enough to persuade one or two of my fishing buddies to join us on one of our trips in 2011. Those of you who are booked on our trip in May 2011 have this fantastic scenery to look forward to.

The pic above is taken from the west shore of Loch Finlaggan looking towards the Paps of Jura. Finlaggan House which, since the closure of the Bunnahabhain Cottages, is now Angling and Dramming's preferred retreat, is just off the left of the picture.

Ian Gould (of Errwood) and I sit on a Wade Bridge on our way to the ferry to Islay....the reason we don't look too happy is that we're not yet on Islay.

Ian and I were desperate to tackle up when we spotted this lovely burn.....

Jase started to get all arty farty on the ferry and took this lovely pic over the sea to Islay.

Me on Calmac's Isle of Arran.

Our home for 5 days, Finlaggan House.

Ian of Errwood wades into the depths of Loch Finlaggan for the very first time. Neoprene waders were his wise choice, due to the cool conditions.

I have the craic with Ian whilst making our way to some of my favourite swims on Loch Finlaggan.

Fishing the east shore of the loch.

David Morris turns up to show us how it's done.

Ian tries to convince David Morris and I that he's just dropped a 6lb wild brownie.

Views over Loch Finlaggan.....not bad eh?

Fancy joining us next year....get in touch ASAP!

David

Best Finlaggan Brownie of the Week

2010-09-30T13:27:00.001+01:00

Not big fish but beautiful in colour and markings. This one came to a large red-tailed muddler twitched gently through the Finlaggan ripple.

The Islay Anglers Return

2010-09-29T11:52:00.001+01:00

From back to front...Jase Snape, Mark Williams, Ian Gould and last but by no means least...Peter 'Pollock' Dracup on Calmac's Isle of Arran nearing Kennacraig on Kintyre....
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Another Fine Trip to Islay

2010-09-29T09:27:00.001+01:00

I've not had chance to update on Angling and Dramming, we've never really stopped for more than 5 minutes between each fishing session.
On Monday morning we set off for Dunlossit estate office to buy tickets to fish Loch Ballygrant. We used two boats on the loch and set our drifts so as to cover as much of the water as possible. Ballygrant is a stunning location, totally tree lined with the Paps of Jura as the backdrop.
We set up with various teams of traditional wet patterns but the fishing proved to be quite difficult and it was only down to the skill employed by Peter Pollock and a wee black sedgehog, that a few brown trout were managed.
Peter and Ian decided that it might be a better idea to get in a spot of sea fishing so it was off to Bunnahabhain to enjoy some fine pollock sport from the rocks beside the wrecked trawler 'Wyre Majestic' . Between them they managed no less than a dozen of these hard fighting fish from racing waters in the rocky depths in front of the distillery.
Mark and I made our way back to Loch Finlaggan. I felt that we'd not taken advantage of the loch, particularly as it had been literally on our doorstep and Mark, writing an article for a fishing publication, needed more pics of the stunning location. So we made our way up the West bank, past the visitor centre and the remains of the ancient causeway that once was the only way of reaching the fortifications on the two islands at Finlaggan.
Once again the fishing was tough and the wind was strong and fresh in our faces but we managed a few fish on our way around the loch. We decided to make our way over to the East bank in search of more favourable conditions and this involved crossing the narrow but incredibly deep burn that flows out of the loch towards Ballygrant and Loch Indaal. We made our way through the trees and high reeds and picked up many a tick on the way and eventually found the tiny footbridge over the burn constructed of just two planks. As soon as I saw it I thought we would have to turn around and return the way we had came as the footings of the bridge on our bank had given way and it was a gamble as to whether we'd make it across without getting wet but Mark convinced me that it could be done and with a little swearing and a bit of a adrenalin rush, I was eventually over and we battled our way through the incedibly tough terrain and fished the other bank in much better conditions and winkled out a few more wee broon troots.
We returned to the house and tucked into a huge lamb stew that Pollock had kindly put together and washed it down with several pints of Saligo Ale.
Yesterday was a chance to show a couple of the lads some favourite spots on Islay, and so, after delivering one or two cases of wine to customers on the island, we made our way to Lagavulin distillery where we enjoyed a dram of the distillery only limited edition.
Lunch was had at Kilchoman distillery and we had the chance to taste their fantastic summer release along with the famous Kilchoman Victoria sponge. It was good to catch up with John Mac and tony, my pal on a free transfer from Bunnahabhain.
Last night we enjoyed great food and the best pint (Saligo Ale) I've ever had on Islay at the Port Charlotte hotel.
And now we're on the boat awaiting a Calmac full breakfast and preparing ourselves for the mainland and the dreaded M6. It will be good to be home but it has been another wonderful trip to Islay in great company and we've stayed in sheer luxury at Finlaggan House.
Our next angling trip will be in April followed by a visit in May during Feis Ile 2011. Places are still available for both trips so please get in touch ASAP if you would like to join us on the magical Isle of Islay.
Slainte
David

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

David Morris, Ian Gould and Me @ Finlaggan

2010-09-26T21:12:00.002+01:00

Nice pic of Ian Gould trying to convince David and I that he'd just dropped a 6lb wild brownie @ Finaggan....
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

A Tad of Frost @ Finlaggan and The Prospect of a Great Day's Fishing on Loch Gorm.

2010-09-26T08:44:00.001+01:00

What a day our first full one on Islay turned out to be. Our journey to this beautiful island was a nightmare. An overturned lorry at Lochgair on the A83 not far from Lochgilphead meant that the road was closed and we had to turn around and make our way North to Oban before arriving at the ferry in the desperate hope that, having missed the 1pm ferry, that there would be space for us on the 6pm Calmac.

We're staying at Finlaggan House and all that I can say is that it is simply stunning in terms of the quality of the accomodation, and it's amazing location..I cannot recommend it enough.

On Friday night, Peter, Mark, Barny, Jason and Ian of Errwood and I tucked into the 2 barrells of beer kindly delivered to the house by Islay Brewery. One cask of Saligo Ale and one of Black Rock Ale. Plans for the fishing were made, tales were told and one or two wee drams were enjoyed before we retired after our mammoth 18 hour journey.

Yesterday the fishing began and Ian, David Morris and I fished Loch Finlaggan. Conditions were bright and breezy but the troots were eager to come to our muddlers, black pennels and snatchers and I managed my best day on the loch yet with 18 fish.

Today we have boats waiting for us on Loch Gorm. The weather is glorious and we're not sure whether this is a good or bad thing in terms of the fishing but either way, I'm looking forward to steadily drifting accross the loch and having the craic with the lads.
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Who Needs The River San When Staying in a Palace Like This 4 a Week?

2010-09-25T08:21:00.000+01:00

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Islay Bound

2010-09-24T10:26:00.000+01:00

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Islay and Finlaggan House....Here We Come.....

2010-09-23T14:36:00.001+01:00

That's it. The car is packed, all the final arrangements have been made, ferries booked, fishing boats sorted, and we're off to the wonderful Hebridean Isle of Islay once more.

This trip is more than anything, an angling outing and I will be joined by a couple of familiar faces and some lucky folks for whom the trip is the first to this magical Island. The weather looks set to be good, and if it is anything like what Glen, Peter and I had this time last year, we're all in for a treat.

I've ordered a cask of each of Saligo Ale and Black Rock Ale from the Islay Brewery, that should see us through the weekend until Monday, and Peter (aka Pollock) has kindly agreed to be chef for the week. I'm looking forward to his superb cooking as much as I am to the fishing.

On Saturday, we have boats booked on Loch Ballygrant and on Sunday, on Loch Gorm. We'll also be fishing Loch Finlaggan and may even have the chance to get on to the River Laggan as I'm told by my David Morris that there is some water in it and the salmon are running.

I'll be posting pics from my mobile of all of the action and a full report upon our return.....

Slainte

David, Peter, Ian, Barnaby, Jason and Mark

Don't Tell 'em Pike!.jpg

2010-09-19T09:56:00.000+01:00

@ Goodwood.

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Tesco Take World Domination One Step Further....jpg

2010-09-19T09:34:00.000+01:00

and travel back in time to the 1960's at Goodwood Revival....whatever next...
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

Medicated Izal @ Goodwood!.jpg

2010-09-19T09:29:00.000+01:00

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

I Spot A Bottle of Whisky...With My Name On It...jpg

2010-09-17T10:40:00.000+01:00

At Goodwood Revival.....

David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

The Weather Forecast for this Weekend

2010-09-15T11:19:00.001+01:00

You must have a browser that supports iframes to view the BBC weather forecast

Early September Angling on the Rivers of Staffordshire and Derbyshire

2010-09-06T12:33:00.002+01:00

What a mixed bag of fishing the last week or so have been. I've been out and about nearly every evening and yesterday, for a full day on the Derbyshire Wye.

Earlier last week I had a walk down to the upper Churnet upstream of Leek, only a field or two away from where I live. Whilst I did see quite a few fish, rises were few and far between. Cattle are grazing nearer to the river than I've seen then before and there are quite a few sections where I usually do quite well, that the cattle now use to wade in and drink so I wonder whether this has moved the fish about a bit. I still managed to catch a few on the dry though and can't help noticing that they seem to be growing rather quickly which is great news for the seasons to come. In the next month or so, after the end of the trout season, I'll enjoy walking the dog down there and keeping my eye out for the odd, much larger silver fish that may make it there...and don't tell me there's no chance as that's what folk said when I asked if it were possible for these large silver fish to make it to the upper Dove, or if sea trout could be running in the Dove, which they of course are...I know, I've caught one.

Anglers of Derbyshire and Staffordshire will recognise the fisherman in the pic above, and he and I visited Ellastone and Eaton Dovedale last week too. Many anglers have found it tough on the Dove this last few weeks, largely due to lack of water. We tried Ellastone together and other than dropping quite a large Grayling in the fast water at the top of the DRAC stretch, we had no luck at all.

On a couple of occasions, I headed down to Eaton Dovedale and had more success on the nymph for the Grayling than on the dry and the trout do seem to be hiding away

I bumped into Brian on Saturday night, he'd had quite a bit of success on tiny dry flies during the daytime but he noted that rises began to disappear during the late afternoon period. Light conditions do seem to be changing and Autumn is definitely on it's way and fishing, especially late on in the day just seems to have gone a bit weird.

Yesterday I had the last minute opportunity to meet up with Glen and JT at the Peacock Hotel in Rowsley in preparation for a full day's fishing on the Derbyshire Wye.

John took me to a couple of places I hadn't visited before, where, because of the tricky swims and bank vegetation, we took it in turns to cover the grayling and brown and rainbow trout that were abundant there. We had some great sport on the LTD sedge and other sedgy flies. Among others, I had a cracking grayling of about 1lb 1/2 and JT had a huge brownie. Cheers for the help JT..

Again, late on in the afternoon rises were few and far between, but wherever we saw them, we'd creep up and carefully present our tiny dries to them, hoping to induce a splash or two.

Late on in the day, Glen had great fun on a run where fish were switched on to a spinner fall and he managed about half a dozen fish in 10 minutes or so.....

Next Sunday, there's quite a few of us on the Wye and a couple of weeks after that, 7 of us head up to the Isle of Islay for trout, salmon and sea fishing.

Slainte

David

Islay Here We Come.........

2010-09-03T17:01:00.000+01:00

That's it, all the arrangements have been made, the ferry is booked and 3 weeks today our party of 7 anglers heads off to the Hebridean Isle of Islay for another angling adventure. This trip is now full but if you'd like to join another one, please contact me ASAP to get your name down.....

For this next trip to Islay, with a little help from some friends on the island, we've managed to secure Finlaggan House which has to be situated in one of the most breathtaking spots in the whole of the British Isles. If you expand the pic below, you'll see a rather large house in the trees...that's Finlaggan House.....

Fine Grayling Sport at Eaton Dovedale Farm

2010-09-02T15:05:00.001+01:00

Had a trip out to Eaton Dovedale last night after Brian tipped me off that he'd had a great day's fishing there a couple of days ago.

The Dove upstream has struggled of late with the water levels being so low. Also, whilst day time temperatures have increased since the weekend, night time temperatures are much cooler, and so, when I was deciding where to spend my evening's fishing, I opted not to go to Dovedale as I knew that temperatures would drop quite quickly as the sun dropped behind the valley tops. And so, It was off to the Dove at Eaton Dovedale where the flood plain is wide and where I'd have the benefit of the warmth of the sun for just that little while longer, and hopefully, there would be a few rises.

I called in at Ellastone on the way and had a quick look over the bridge. First thing that was evident was the herd of stirks that had given chase to Brian a couple of weeks ago, and second was that there were quite a few rises along the margins of the Dove. I decided to leave it for today and stick to my original plan....that way I'd avoid an encounter with the playful stirks!

And so I tackled up at the car park at Eaton Dovedale and kept a look out for a rise or two. Most of the fish that were showing seemed to be tiny but there were a couple of more promising rises under the far bank so I walked down stream a little, quietly got into the river and slowly made my way up towards them. The most noticeable rise was of the head, tail, fin variety and so, having tied on rather large, Griffiths Gnat that I had liberated from an unsuspecting angler on the Wye on Monday, and made a cast to it. Initially, I didn't feel too confident about attracting a take as recently, I stupidly made the decision to try a different type of mud for my tippet, moving away from my usual choice from Orvis. This newly purchased mud refuses to sink my tippet, no matter how much time I spend smoothing it along my tippet, and no matter how much of the damn stuff I choose to apply. (Email me if you would like to know the brand of this mud that could easily be substituted for Gink!).

Anyway, back to the head, fin, tail rising fish. I cast about 3 feet in front of it, and within a second or two there was a splash, and the fish was on...a good sized Grayling to my surprise. I'm sure that this was the fish that was rising. Do Grayling rise like that or did it just happen to be sitting beside a rising trout before it walloped my Griffiths Gnat?

I took another Grayling and a Salmon parr, and all went quiet...well...on the fishing front that is...I could soon hear an old van rattling it's way down the lane, accompanied by the sound of "Wwwooodddyyy!", shattering the still evening air. "Wwwooodddddyyyy!". A white van sat on the bridge, it's 3 occupants overlooking the river. "Glen Pointon Electrical Contractors" emblazoned on the side in a broad potteries accent. "Wwwwoooddddyyyy!"

Glen arrived with his girls. He'd promised to take them to see Wwwoodddyyyy catch a fish as they'd never seen one caught before, and so, the pressure was really on and the fish had stopped rising. So we decided to move upstream of the Derby Railway Angling Club stretch and fish the water upstream of the bridge which belongs to Leek and Moorlands Fishing Club. Very few people fish this lovely stretch of water and the banks are very overgrown but, once in the river, you can wade the whole stretch.

Pointon persuaded me to fish with nymphs and what a method this proved to be in the absence of any rises. I began wading slowly up the river running the nymphs through slowly and started to take fish after fish. Loads of Grayling of various sizes and the pick of the bunch, a lovely little Chub that was an absolute delight to catch. I was please to see the Chub as years ago I fished under the far bank here with a swim feeder full of maggots and corn on a size 16 and one day had 5 large Chub in as many minutes, one of my all time best angling moments, what beautiful fish and what a scrap they give.

Anyway, another fab short fishing session...with loads of fish...where to tonight Pointon?

WWwwwooodddyyyyy!!

There's Gould In Them There Hills.....

2010-08-31T14:35:00.006+01:00

Ian Gould's first visit to the beautiful Wye in Bakewell and the tourist board marks the occasion with a specially commissioned balloon.

Bank holiday Monday the 30th August had been a long time coming. I'd booked onto Derbyshire's unbeatable river Wye along with Ian Gould of Errwood Fly Fishing Club. Ian enjoys reservoir fly fishing, and the occasional river fishing and really fancied landing a large Wye Grayling.

From the early hours of Saturday morning right up until lunch time, we'd had heavy downpours in Leek and I wondered what the weather would be like in the hills above us. Those very hills that supplied our destination with its waters. One or two anxious texts between Ian and I resulted in me piling the kids into the van to speed off towards Bakewell to check out the conditions. I needn't have bothered, the river looked perfect, and as long as we didn't have too much more rain, all would be fine as long as the wind dropped.

And so, at 10am Ian was collected from Buxton and we made our way towards Bakewell, very much looking forward to an incredibly large breakfast to see us through the day. I'd forgotten the fact that it was bank holiday and basically, every parking space in Bakewell was spoken for so we'd collect our tickets and start fishing early instead.

Ian had set himself a target early on. As long as he went home having caught 1 of each of the native, Grayling, Brown and Rainbow Trout, he would be a very happy man indeed, and he was soon off to a perfect start with this wee Rainbow.

What started as a chilly start, soon turned much warmer and I was glad that I hadn't bothered with my waders or jacket. There was loads of fly life and plenty of rises to be seen but during the day, it was smaller fish that we seemed to be attracting to our tiny flies. Griffiths Gnat and Grey Dusters seemed to do the job with the LTD putting in a rare, and certainly the first for me...wait for it...blank! Maybe it's time for a new LTD Pointon....the fish have seen it too many times! :-)

During the evening we made our way towards the town and enjoyed quite a few small Grayling to our tiny flies. The town centre had been incredibly busy during the day and unfortunately, the lunkers were not particularly hungry, in fact, they were that full they'd gone off to bed early. Despite this though, Ian managed a lovely, touching 3lb Brownie which was a classic end to the evening.

Ian and I had a great day, and Ian's aim of 1 of each of the native Grayling, Rainbow and Brown Trout was achieved. Come on Ian...get on the Wye on the 12th September!

Thanks to Richard W for spending time with us explaining the spinner fall and indeed providing us with a couple of his own patterns for the evening rise.

We finished up chatting with Dave and Jan besides the Wye in the town centre and I thought it was a good time to fetch out this week's mystery dram from the van......a lovely single cask, single grain whisky, 40 year old Invergordon, which was about the same colour as the sunset reflected on the river in the pic above...good health!

Slainte

David

Queen of the Moorlands Whiskies Reviewed by Whisky Online Blog

2010-08-25T13:26:00.005+01:00

Angus from the Whisky Online blog has reviewed some of our best Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask bottlings and has written a great post about how our first bottlings came about....

Check out the post at......

http://whisky-online.com/blog/the-queen-of-the-moorlands-an-olfactory-investigation/

David

Fancy a Trip to Islay, Angling and Dramming Heaven??

2010-08-24T10:14:00.002+01:00

Anyone fancy a trip to Islay?

I'm planning a trip to my favourite Hebridean Isle to enjoy the last of the season's fishing and to pick up a whisky or two. Anyone interested in joining me should email me or give me a call (07875 405 980).

We'll be fishing Lochs Finlaggan, Gorm, Ballygrant and Ardnave and there is a possibility that we'll be heading over to the Isle of Jura to fish the incredibly remote Inver for sea trout and salmon.

We'll be staying in self catering accommodation. The cost for the trip will be around £200 to include transport to and from Islay, and accommodation. The fishing is £15 for the 5 days in Islay and £10 if we head over to Jura.

I'll be leaving Leek at 4am on the 24th September and we'll be back in Leek in time for tea on Wednesday 29th September. I can of course arrange to pick anglers up anywhere en route to the ferry.

I've got 3 spaces available at the moment.....contact me if you're interested. If you've not been to Islay before, I cannot recommend it enough.

David

Dawson's Olives from Farlow's of Pall Mall

2010-08-16T09:12:00.000+01:00

Well, its a long way to go to try to 'match the minnow' but I've visited my fave London fly fishing shop and armed myself to the teeth with horrible looking Dawson's Olives, determined to crack the Errwood code tomorrow with Brian.......
David Wood, The Wine Shop and The Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Co. 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

On the look out for Her Majesty's Royal Carp, St James's Park SW1

2010-08-16T08:22:00.001+01:00

Oh, if only Pointon was here with his Streamflex and his chum flys. This looks a likely spot for some city centre angling. I'm just off to one of my fave angling shops, Farlows of Pall Mall.

Te Te

David
David Wood, The Wine Shop and The Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Co. 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

An Afternoon at Errwood Reservoir

2010-08-09T12:00:00.008+01:00

Errwood Reservoir in the stunning Goyt Valley

I was delighted to have the opportunity to fish at Errwood Reservoir yesterday, just a couple of miles outside Buxton amidst the beautiful scenery of Derbyshire's Goyt Valley. I'd arranged to meet up with Commo and Mick (aka Bonehead) at around 10am in Leek from where we'd make our way, in our dodgy vans to the picturesque venue.

A few months ago I was contacted by Ian Gould, secretary of the Errwood Fly Fishing Club. He asked me if I would be interested in selling day tickets for the 85 acre reservoir, through The Wine Shop in Leek. I agreed straight away. Not only would I get new faces through the door of our shop in Leek, it would also give me extra opportunities to blether about fishing.

Other than the lochs of Islay, it's rare that I get to enjoy a little still water fishing as I've been keen to explore the rivers on my DRAC and LADFFA tickets, and so, I had a job to decide what to pack in terms of tackle for the outing. On Islay, I enjoy fishing the lochs with my 8ft 6" 4wt Hardy Demon, much to the amusement of David Morris who always gives me grief about my choice of light tackle. It's great catching the wild brownies of up to 1.5lb and there's usually a stiff breeze to aid the casting. And so I thought that I'd get away with it on Errwood too....

King Commo of the Reservoirs into his first Errwood Rainbow

Earlier in the morning the weather was quite dreach and we'd driven over the roaches in a blanket of cloud and drizzle, but as we arrived at Errwood, conditions were much drier, warmer and overcast, all in all looking good for the fishing ahead, and there were plenty of rises too. There was an angler coming off as we arrived and he advised that the fish were near the surface and he'd been taking them on red diawl bachs.

I was able to do a little preparation before I attempted to fish at Errwood. The fishing club has an excellent website containing an array of useful information for the angler, whether a member of the club or the occasional visitor on a day ticket. There's all the information you need for a good days fishing from how to get there, to where to park, what methods to use and a map (see below) that's linked to specific information about all the various locations on the reservoir. www.effc.co.uk

The club also hosts it's very own forum, and I'd used this to get information from members about how and where to fish and I found this to be very helpful. Without this info, we could well have spent an hour wondering about where to start. I'd also arranged to meet up with Ian and he found us later on at Duffer's Bank...the perfect spot for Commo, Bonehead and I! http://effc.myfreeforum.org/

Please click on the map below to expand.

Initially, I thought I'd be clever and set up like I would at a loch with a team of 3 flies. An LTD sedge on the first dropper, then a black bibio with a red flash, followed by a weighted pink tailed hare's ear nymph on the point. I had little success on this, although I did have a couple of large rainbow's chasing the nymph right into the bank and creating huge boils and bow waves as they did so. Commo was enjoying most success, he gave up quite early on nymphs and the like preferring a huge bushy daddy, which did the trick almost immediately. Well done Commo!

I pinched his idea early on and did have a couple of takes but it wasn't until I tried a static cdc emerger that I had any real success in the form of a rainbow trout. We'd noticed that the fish did seem to patrol the banks, appearing in our swims at regular intervals. Most fish were topping and tailing but I took my first fish when there wasn't any visible surface activity and the 2 1/2 lb fish came from the depths like a missile, battering my small cdc fly, and actually hitting it that hard that it will never be used again.

Commo does it again on the daddy

Commo stuck to his daddy patterns and quickly took another great looking rainbow on a black daddy, basically the biggest in his fly box. By this time, Bonehead was following suit with his fly selection and he too was beginning to land fish.

Before long we were joined by Ian Gould who offered me some great advice. He was a little perplexed by my choice of rod and particularly the length of my leader, which was about 5ft. I asked him how long my leader should be and he said he never fishes with a leader if less than 16ft! He kindly gave me a couple of the biggest flies I have ever seen...big hairy green things with huge black eyes, this would do the trick he assured me, as I couldn't help imagining the flies squaring up with the rainbows their enormity being so vast.

Anyway, he was of course correct, and I'd managed to "match the minnow" and it wasn't long before I was into a good sized fish that bent the rod right over as I'd quickly retrieved my aesthetically challenged imitation through the murky depths of Errwood Reservoir.

By 4pm, Commo and Bonehead had 3 decent trout each in their tackle bags, each destined for the dinner table. I'd had a nice brace of rainbows and it was decided that we should each point our dodgy vans towards Stoke and to head back home over the rugged roaches.

EFFC offers day tickets at £15 each that can be purchased at various local outlets including The Wine Shop, 22 Russell Street, Leek, SY13 5JF. 01538 382 408. The club also offers an annual membership that is set at an incredibly reasonable price...more info on the club website. The fishing season takes place between the 3rd Saturday in March until 31st October. As well as the stocked rainbow trout their is also a population of native wild brown trout.

To sum up, we had a really enjoyable afternoon at Errwood. The Goyt Valley is an absolutely stunning part of the Peak District National Park and an area that I'm very much looking to exploring with the kids of the remainder of the summer holidays. The fishing is cracking with an abundance of good sized fish that are more than willing to take the dry fly, even huge ones, and at close quarter. The parking is great, and the company is good too, fishing for normal folk with a complete lack of pretence, something that we could do with more of on the river bank.

Woody

Ian with a good sized rainbow caught on a previous occasion

Come on Pointon, Let's Get On The Wye

2010-08-06T12:02:00.000+01:00

I managed to free myself up yesterday for a whole day's fishing. I've struggled on my local waters of late due to low water levels and I knew that if I ventured to one of those, that I might give up if conditions were tough.

I thought about giving the Derbyshire Wye a go. That way, having purchased my day ticket, I'd be more likely to preserver and to concentrate harder if the going was tough. I was aware that it was the second day of the Bakewell Show and that I might have to think about avoiding the crowds. I usually like to spend an hour or two in Scott's Garden but this would be out today due to the fact that it had become a temporary car park for the two day event.

I gave Jan a call first thing to check conditions and he told me that there was a fair breeze and there were occasional light showers. I packed up and sped off to the Peacock Hotel at Rowsley to pay for and collect my ticket and a few flies, managing to resist Pointon's habit of morning coffee, preferring to find a quiet spot away from the show goers and to land me a couple of fish.

I made my way to a spot where I'd done well on my last outing on the Wye. I tried a few different patterns but seemed to struggle and quickly felt my confidence drop. I'd been sure that I'd be into a fish on my first cast.

10 mins to observe the river and chill out was required. 5 years ago, this would have been time for a smoke and a little contemplation.

A small hatch of sedges commenced.

Glen's LTDs were running low in my fly box and I seemed to be down to the dregs of them, ones that I'd probably tied after a few too many glasses of Sauvignon Blanc and gave the appearance of what can only be described as a distressed sedge.

I managed to get one to look somewhere near presentable, carefully muded up my tippet and cast to the far bank, mending my line continually and trying to remain drag free for as long as possible so as to be still fishing when my sedge made it's way under the low branches of a willow on the far bank. Almost immediately, and to my great surprise, there was a huge flash of silver, a big swirl of fin and water and a tremendous bang on the tip of my 8ft"6 4wt rod. The result of this frantic activity was a lovely Grayling in the net and at last, the first fish of the day.

A successful time was had at that spot and I managed another Grayling, a Brownie and 3 wee Rainbows. I made my way downstream and fished around the sheep bridge managing a nice brace of Rainbows and then my OCD kicked in and I started to worry about illegal parking and where I would park in town in time to rendezvous with Pointon who was imminent. I shifted the car and queued up for chips, peas and gravy with 500 Bakewell Show goers and waited for Pointon to arrive. I was glad for the rest as I'd been walking up and down quite a lot and new that energy would need to be conserved for the evening's fishing around the town centre.

Pointon arrived and he was clearly a man on a mission. When ever he goes fishing he always has some sort of a target in his mind. He is unlike me, when I go fishing, I just enjoy catching fish and am grateful for anything. Glen is driven by a particular fish, in a particular swim and doesn't get closure until he's caught it. e.g.....the 9lb Wye Brownie, the Tean 2lber and so on. He'd been watching a particular, large Grayling in Bakewell and raced to the spot to have a cast or two at it before me. Almost immediately he requested that a might bring the flipping net while he tussled with the fish whilst it thrashed in the shallow waters, continually displaying it's huge dorsal fin.

Before long the beauty was landed and weighed. 2lb spot on, a clunker of a Wye Grayling and an angler's dream fulfilled...again.

Jan joined us with his dogs and as the light faded we strolled upstream, casting here and there and awaiting the spinner fall. Rises were not as prolific as they'd been a few weeks ago in more than favourable conditions when we fished with CooommmmoooooooOOO and Bonehead, but a couple of 2lb plus Rainbows were managed along with another nice Grayling.

All in all I'd enjoyed catching 15 beautiful fish, Browns, Rainbows and Grayling. Another belting day's fishing on the region's finest stretch of river. I can't wait to return and to explore upstream and the swims that I've not even seen yet. Come on Pointon, let's get on the Wye.

Woody

Glen Pointon's Living the Dreamworks Poacher Watch Campaign

2010-07-19T11:49:00.000+01:00

The Upper Trent and Early Nineteenth Century Romanticism

2010-07-17T14:14:00.008+01:00

Knypersley by Jason Snape

I first went fishing at the age of 6 on the river Churnet in Leek. My Grandad and I would fish for Sticklebacks above the bridge at the bottom of Ladderedge in the field that is now occupied by the Golf Club car park. Later, Perch became our prey, and they were a joy to catch on my Grandad's split cane rod. A year or two later, I was allowed to fish further afield. I joined what was then the Cheshire Angling Association and immediately started to enjoy fishing one of the club's main waters which was Knypersley Reservoir. We caught Perch, Roach, and lots of Bream and I loved fishing there. At that time I lived in Endon and I'd walk the 3 miles with all my gear, calling on my pals in Brown Edge on the way.

When I wasn't fishing at 'Knypo', I'd be playing there in the woods with my mates, or walking it's many paths with my Grandad who told me many tales about the place. His Grandfather had been Head Keeper at Greenway Bank, and the banks of Knypersley pool belonged to the estate of the now long gone country house. When my Grandad was a lad, his farm was only just up the lane from the pool, so he, as I, played in the grounds all the time. My Grandmother's childhood farm also had land that was adjacent to the estate and she also enjoyed the place.

The tower shown in the two pics above are probably the most famous landmarks at Greenway Bank Country Park. The facade was built in 1827 in the Gothic style, and everything about it's design was steeped in the romanticism of the early nineteenth Century. There was absolutely no expense spared in the design and construction of the tower to the extent that some of the river Trent was diverted to form a moat to compliment the tower and to complete it's fairy tale appearance. My Grandad had stayed in the tower many times when he was a lad, he was a friend of the boys of the family that lived there. Sadly, the tower has been empty for over sixty years.

The 'moat' begins it's life about a 1/4 of a mile away, upstream on the infant river Trent. Here, a sizeable weir was built for the sole purpose of diverting water into the moat (See bottom left of pic above). The moat then winds it's way, following contours, to pass in front of the tower and then runs parallel to Knypersley Pool for another 1/4 of a mile and then empties in to The Serpentine, Greenway Bank's second reservoir. I imagine that, during the Victorian times, the banks of the moat would have been well kept with ferns drooping into the running water and fresh, exotic plants (that would later become a pest to us) being introduced here and there. The extent that the architect went to in the design of the tower and this fairy facade is incredible. A large weir, 1/2 mile of canal and a canal at a gradient to promote a slight trickle, must have cost an absolute fortune. What a shame that it no longer runs and that most of the moat, along with the tower, is now derelict and overgrown. The best place to see the moat today is near to the dam between Knypersley Pool and The Serpentine. It can be seen for quite a while here and some of it's fine stone work is exposed along with a another facade, a small footbridge heading nowhere.

This pic shows the weir for the moat again. My Grandad and his pals regularly bathed in the pool below the weir in the early 1920s.

The majority of the moat looks like this today. This section is near to where it leaves the Trent and contains running water. However, it only runs for a short while and at the point here it once met a small reservoir that held water back to ensure a constant, regulated supply for the moat, the flow has recently been diverted back into the Trent, causing the reservoir to dry up and become overgrown. This in turn has left the majority of the rest of the moat, quite dry and overgrown.

The river Trent above the moat weir. This pic was taken after a very long period without rain and would usually contain a greater depth of water. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a healthy population of wee broon troots.

One of the places I enjoyed visiting as a lad was Gorton's Well the remains of which are shown in this pic. Gorton was a hermit. Apparently, no Victorian country estate was without it's own hermit. Usually, one's hermit lived in a cave somewhere on one's land, and this was all to add to the fairy tale romanticism of the age. They were often given a place to live, and fed and the guests of the house would go and visit what was very much promoted as some sort of circus act.

Gorton's Well is a spring. A series of troughs has been constructed at some point with walls surrounding them. I can remember my Grandad telling me that at one time the structure had a roof and that many folk from the local farms, including my Grandmother, used to wash all of their clothes here. The tall wall that was constructed around the well as a deterrent to deer is still in good repair.

Walking deeper into the woods, eventually Gorton's Cave is reached. My Grandad used to tell me that this was where Gorton the hermit lived.

There are many, very old initials carved into the supporting rocks of Gorton's Cave. These initials are those of my Great, Great Grandfather.

Walk a little further past Gorton's Cave and eventually you will drop down to the lovely upper Trent. From here, the river runs into Knypersley Pool. The reservoir was built by Thomas Telford in 1827 to feed the Caldon Canal.

Mystery River Quiz

2010-07-14T13:39:00.002+01:00

Had a trip out to a spot where I spent many of my boyhood days this morning and I thought I'd post a couple of pics to see if any local anglers might know the spot.

I'm not going to say too much about the locality so as not to give it all away but I do intend to write a post about it sometime in the near future.

Usually, this river carries much more water. Our region is desperate for a prolonged downpour to give all of the rivers a good flush out and to improve the fishing. The Dove in particular has suffered this summer.

Anyway, here is the deal. The first angler to contact me with the correct answers to the 2 questions below will win a wee prize from The Queen of the Moorlands range. (a 200ml bottle of whisky, or, if you're under 18, a bar of Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Soap!!!). Prize to be collected from The Wine Shop in Leek.

To enter, please leave your answers on a comment on this post.

a. What is the name of the river
b. Where were the photographs taken

Addition to post 17th July.....

It may as well be the Amazon rising in the hills above Fegg Hayes given the response I've had to this post :)

Cheers

David

The Wonderful Wye (Glen Pointon appears courtesy of Forrero Rocher and Cucumber Sandwiches With The Corners Cut Off)

2010-07-06T16:17:00.002+01:00

Just a short post to say thanks to The Peacock Hotel for another absolutely wicked day on the wonderful river Wye. I say short because our host for the day, none other than Glen Pointon seems to have stolen my thunder on his blog as usual. So i've poached some of his pics from his photobucket site to get my own back.

It's good to see that he has settled in at The Peacock. When I arrived at 11.30am on Sunday Morning I thought that I had made it before the others because it was so quiet, in fact, I walked straight past Pointon, I couldn't see him, so well did he blend in to his new surroundings.

When I eventually spotted him, after being called over by Commo, I thought I was hallucinating. Sat there, quietly tying his flies for the day to come, sipping Twinnings English Breakfast tea from fine bone china, his little finger pointing towards the ceiling as he occasionally raised the cup, was none other than Pointon, Lord Rocher himself.

"Hi Woody", he says, "come and join us".

I think that those are the most words I've ever heard Glen say without him swearing. Look back at all the posts I have written on this blog over the last year or so that involve Glen. In almost every case, in the first paragraph there will be a mention of an unfeasibly large breakfast, not today....just the tea and a nice, wafer thin biscuit would suffice.

At just after 12 noon, Johnny arrived, and I'm sure he to was in a state of utter shock to see the "Stoke on Trent One" so at home in his new habitat.

We decided to make a move and it was down to Caudwell's Mill to go look for a few rising Grayling. Commo had a nice wee wild Rainbow Trout early on and Johnny managed a Grayling.

We walked upstream a little and found a few fish rising under a tree on the far bank and Commo and I were given the task of casting at them, under the watchful eyes of Johnny and Pointon, the latter, now away from the posh surroundings, slipping in to his Liverpudlian accent, and hurling abuse at us for casting too short, casting too far, casting into trees, and generally cocking it up...but a nice wee Grayling was managed eventually.

We had a drive up to town and Glen showed us around the river. We knew there wasn't really any point in fishing too hard for the 2 or 3 hours to come as there was very little happening. The fish were not moving, there were no hatches, and energy would need to be conserved for the inevitable burst of activity in the evening to come. So for a couple of very well spent hours, we took our time examining the pools and riffles for a later date.

At about 4pm, we were slowly walking along the riverside path in Scots Garden, and Glen went all weird again. He stopped and turned to us, dismantled 9ft 4wt Streamflex in one arm, Port Vale FC emblazoned on the other, and suggested that we might "return to the Peacock for arrrrftarnun tea".

Johnny, Commo and me just looked at one another. There was nothing to be said really so we motored back to where we started and made our way into the lounge where refreshments would be served, Pointon having arranged for them previously.

Five minutes later, in the lounge, sitting dangerously comfortably in our chairs, were were served with more English Breakfast Tea, but this time, it was accompanied with homemade crumpets and lashings of strawberry jam.........I know.

Later on we'd head to the town centre and witness huge fish rising everywhere. Johnny had 2 or 3 cracking wild Rainbows and I a personal best (wild) Rainbow of just under 4lb and a Grayling of just under 2. Both to Glen's LTD sedge.

A cracking day's fishing in the great company of Commo, Johnny C, and Glen. Thanks to the Peacock and the river keeping team...

Woody

The Millstream Churnet

2010-06-22T10:52:00.005+01:00

I consider myself incredibly lucky to live in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands. Leek is truly the gateway to the Peak District. The Pennines rise here and within that rugged landscape, our beautiful rivers are born. The rivers Goyt, Dove, Manifold and Churnet all rise within a few miles of Leek, all born out of an area of absolute outstanding beauty that rivals any other in the British Isles.

The nearest river to my home is the Churnet. My hometown of Leek stands on it's banks, and it was here, after the industrial revolution, that mills started to be built, harnessing the power of the river to drive their machinery. James Brindley built his famous water mill here, and had is offices in Leek and come the days of the Arts and Crafts movement, Sugden and William Morris had offices here in Leek, such an important place was Leek to the British textile industry. Long ago, the dye works of Leek were the textile manufacturers in the world that had the ability to dye cloth black, from here, cloth for the clergy was dyed and shipped out all over the world...and it's all down to the little river Churnet.

Of course, it was this heavy industry that eventually ensured that for a long time, the Churnet was regarded as one of the most polluted rivers in Europe and absolutely devoid of life, let alone Salmon, Brown and Sea Trout.

I've been lucky enough to gain permission to fish the Churnet just minutes from my home and it is a beautiful place to spend an hour or two. The wildlife in and around the river was severely damaged a couple of years ago when a pollution incident caused a massive fish kill. As well as the hundreds of trout, chub, perch and pike that could be seen dead on the banks, other wildlife was affected too. The heron, kingfisher, dippers and many other birds that could once be seen along the banks disappeared too. At long last, these have returned, along with the fish.

Apparently, the Environment Agency has restocked the river, and I've certainly seen a few fish but I wouldn't have said they were stockies. Most are a hand length, and I may be wrong but I would have thought stockies would be bigger. I would say that all the fish that I have seen rising freely along the stretch are wild. There have also been reports of large silver fish being seen a little down stream at the weir of the Brindley Mill. Not possible some people would say, there are too many obstacles for the fish to negotiate further downstream. Well, the same people said that it would be impossible to see these fish in the upper Dove, and I know that they are the because I've caught them, and a week or so, I saw two caught in the Derwent too. The thought that Sea Trout and Salmon could possibly be trying to spawn so high up in our river catchments amazes me.

I've been lucky enough to catch a few of the small brownies, most have come to a very small olive or a cdc Klinkhammer. I've missed a massive amount of takes purely because the rises are so frantic and come from completely out of the blue, but when they are on, they give a right scrap considering the size of the fish. I'm looking forward to coming across a larger fish maybe in one of the two or three deep pools further upstream from where I've been catching.

Being able to walk out of my door and onto this lovely little trout stream is a privilege and I'm looking forward to spending the occassional evening there, with my kelly kettle, 6ft glass rod and a small selection of flies.

David

A Narrowly Avoided Blank In Tough Conditions at Dovedale

2010-06-20T16:23:00.000+01:00

I managed to get out and up to Dovedale for a couple of hours last night. I've never seen the Dove so low and clear and I was amazed at how few rises there were and how few fish I saw...I guess in the low conditions, most fish are seeking deep pools for cover and safety and most are resting after gorging on mayfly.

It's always a privilege to be at Dovedale, whether the fishing is tough or not and I did manage to avoid a blank by, landing this lovely wild brownie of about 1 1/2 lbs. Blimey..it gave me a right scrap too...

Let's hope the fishing improves over the next week or so..a few good downpours are desperately needed to liven things up on our rivers.

David

Mr Kelting's Exceedingly Good Bakewell Puddings, Derwent Brown Trout, and Lashings and Lashings of Luke Warm Ginger Beer

2010-06-16T13:45:00.003+01:00

No angling and dramming post goes more than a couple of paragraphs without the mention of a large breakfast, a pie, or at least a bag of chips in this one, of course, is no exception for was to meet up with my good pal Chris Kelting for a sunny afternoon on Darley Dale Fly Fishers stretch of the Derbyshire Derwent at Rowsley, and I was charged with the catering arrangements.

I'd made my way, upon Chris' strict instruction, to the Bakewell Pudding Shop where I bagged up on sandwiches and cakes of all description....and a large bottle of ginger beer to wash it all down with. Chris attended a posh school near Oakham. It appears that if one didn't care too much for sport, one could opt for Fly Fishing as part of the curriculum, and so, Chris studied the subject with a passion at the schools nearest venue, none other than Rutland Water. It was to be a fun day then, not least because we spend quite a bit of the time, taking the michael out of each other for the way we speak.....

Chris was amongst the first to offer me a little help when I took up fly fishing, and each time we are on the river, he tries to teach me a new technique. Today was to be the upstream nymphing technique, and after the results I had during the day, I'm very much looking forward to employing it on my own rivers....It was incredibly effective.

The river was a couple of inches up with a fair amount of colour and Chris reminded me to make sure that I use my wading stick to feel my way as there are some really deep holes knocking about...

We parked the car by the river and, having set up with a two nymph rig, a mayfly nymph on a dropper and a PTN on the point, Chris showed me how it works and I started to get takes immediately. The fish, which were all wild and in lovely condition, were mainly taking the PTN just below the surface. What was noticeable early on was that there was a distinct lack of mayfly....for the moment.

I decided to have a walk downstream and got into the river at a spot where I've landed a nice fish or two in the past. I left Chris in a favourite pool of his, he was clearly content as he was managing quite a few fish including a surprise Sea Trout.

I fish this pool for about ten minutes, taking a couple of fish from under the overhanging trees. A few minutes later, I saw a very sorry looking figure walking down the bank towards me, a very sodden angler indeed. Chris had broken his golden rule and stepped in front of his wading stick whilst up to his waist in water. He then slipped down a gravel bank right into a 8 foot deep hole and was completely immersed. His wading belt had prevented his waders filling with water and he had floated down the river, he'd used his wading stick to feel for the bottom and eventually he scrambled out. He sat for an hour on the bank in the sun, all but naked with his clothes drying on the grass in the sun.....it wasn't long before he was fishing again.

We made our way upstream for the last hour or so and spotted a pod of fish rising quite frequently. These we took to be stockies as they were not spooked easily when we got into the river. We took it in turns to cast wee dries at the fish and hooked into one or two of them....all of a sudden at around 6pm, loads of mayfly started to appear and the fish went mental. I stuck on a mayfly and started to catch some lovely fish. This frantic action continued for about 5 or ten minutes max, and all of as sudden, the mayfly disappeared along with the rises...that was it...all over...

It was a cracking afternoon's fishing and between us we had managed about 25 or so fish in challenging conditions. My first, although very short, experience of how exciting mayfly hatches can be.

David