Earlier this month I passed yet another year, a few more grey hairs and a few less grey cells.It was one of those birthdays you just don't really celebrate. But it did have an upside, a gift from my mother-in-law, a days fishing on the Derbyshire Wye.
I used to live close to this lovely river as a child, I have vivid memories of monster trout easily barging their way through the flotilla of ducks in Bakewell, to take the tourists bread. I'd wanted to fish the Wye ever since, but never thought I would. I had childhood dreams of tying the perfect "bread fly" and doing battle with the Wye equivalent of Moby Dick. My taste in flies have changed a bit since then, bread flies would be a little unsporting, even if they abided by the dry fly only rules. Anyway, it was the height of the Mayfly, so who needs bread flies when you can float an equally large Ephemera danica.
I'd been looking forward to this day for almost twenty years. The momentous day dawned and ........ the heavens opened. Let's say, even though there is no wading allowed, I'm so glad I wore my chest waders. There was almost as much water falling from the sky as was rushing between the wonderful banks of the Haddon estate waters.
With all that rain coming down, the going was slow, there were one or two mayflies brave or foolish enough to try and escape the surface of the river - about half of them made it. The others got smashed by the rain drops ......... easy food. There were also a few olives popping off and sheltering under the trees. At first glance there wasn't anything happening, but closer inspection showed one or two rises, close to the banks or tucked under overhanging Alders. So I sat and watched, what were they taking? Not the Mays, a bit disappointingly. I couldn't see what it was, but something was causing a slow but steady rise. Well, it was Mayfly season, I was sat on the banks of one of England's finest dry fly rivers and I was not going home till I had at least cast a Mayfly to a rising trout, so I tied on a Grey Wulff.
Grey Wulff - by Regular Rod |
Wild Wye Rainbow |
It ended up being a really fun day. Five decent fish (2 rainbows, 2 browns and a grayling). A very nice packed lunch provided by the Peacock at Rowsley, where you also purchase your day tickets, and a cold beer whist I waited for the kids and my wife to come and pick me up.
I think I'll be coming back again ~ Chris.