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COUNTY DURHAM

05 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in County Durham

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When I asked Geoff Hodgson to help me in my quest to capture the three North East counties, he declared  – “ we could do that in a day!” Geographically, he is probably right, but in reality….!?

In searching for somewhere interesting to try to net Co Durham, and through Fly Fishing Forum, I had an exchange with Daran S, who advised that –

“…the Tees is a magnificent river. At the source it is wonderful wild brown trout fishing. Rugged,  boulder-strewn river in remote, isolated countryside. You can fish for £12 and not see another person all day. An 8oz fish is a scrapper and they will rise to dry flies all day long. Not easy fishing, but get it right and 30+ fish a day is not unheard of. Up there, the river is in County Durham.”

In a later email he offered this additional guidance –

“If it’s the upper reaches of the Tees you after, go to the gift shop next to the High Force Hotel. You can buy day tickets for (I think) £12. Ask for a map and the code for the gate to Widdybank Farm.

Drive up the valley and turn left just at the Langden Beck hotel and follow the road. You’ll see the gate down to the farm on your left (there are signs showing Teesdale Wildlife by the gate). Follow the track down to the farm and park. You then have miles of the most unspoilt wild brown trout fishing in the country. Fish anywhere. There are plenty of fish behind and in front of every rock. I usually fish dries as they will rise to almost anything. Something bushy and black is a good place to start. You’ll miss loads of takes as they are lightning fast. If you think you’re missing too many, change down a size. If they aren’t taking dries, try a small beaded nymph, fished Duo style. I like an orange bead for the peaty, stained water.

One warning. The weather can change very quickly so be prepared. A gentle breeze further down the valley can mean a bit of a gale in the upper reaches. I usually use a fairly short rod and fish very close. You can actually fish from the bank if you don’t want to wade. The river is full of ankle-breaking rocks and in places can be a bit hard to wade in.

Just keep moving. One or two casts into each run and then move on. A good day will see you take 30+ fish………”

I was intrigued, and was bound to follow his advice and head to the upper reaches of his stream.

May 2012 – the Tees

The A1 is endless, but more interesting than the M1. The A66 is much more interesting than both, as it heads towards the Pennines, but get onto the B 6277 as it leaves Barnard Castle, and you get into serious ‘shock and awe’ territory, where the views of the North Pennines are simply glorious, and stretch out, horizon to horizon.

This year, after a warm March and wet April, when everything went onto hold, plant life eventually came to terms with the volatile weather, and the result which I saw was a green and luxurious vista which was welcoming and almost soft and gentle, but I bet at times it looks raw and unforgiving, and especially when the sleet is driving laterally across the windscreen, and it is cold, and “did I remember to put a shovel in the boot?”

The drive through Middleton-in-Teesdale is punctuated by the sight of many white washed buildings which I later learn are all owned by the Lord Barnard, whose family has lived in Raby Castle since 1626, and is still considered to be one of the finest medieval castles in the country. The drive to my overnight destination at the High Force Hotel, at Forest-in- Middleton

takes me to an elevation of some 1000 feet above sea level, and the welcome from Mike and Vicki is genuine. Actually, this early in the season, I am their own guests, so they really are pleased to see me!

I cannot wait for the next morning, and to try to ’net’ County Durham, and so waking early, I jumped into Tonka, and used Daran’s instructions to find where he feels I should fish. The rains then are what I would call ‘mizzle’ but hardening to serious rain, but it is a long way off the beaten track, and I am here, so will bear whatever Nature has in mind for the day, and in fairness, the forecasters have been advising that what I see is quite what I should expect. The Tees is fed by the Cow Green Reservoir, and I figure that means, that so high up its length, the flow is constant and under influenced by the run off that downstream stretches will be coloured by.

The north bank waters are part of the Upper Teesdale Estate, and I had to drive back to Middleton to buy a day ticket from the Raby Estate office, and then retraced my steps to whence I had been a couple of hours earlier, and off road, drove the mile to Widdy Bank Farm. It was raining, seriously, now!

The river, high in the Pennines, had an Iceland look to it,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and made me feel I was on a practice run for our next trip in early August! It is bleak up here, and the wind was blowing in showers of penetrating wetness, and I was pleased that just recently I had purchased a new Patagonia wading jacket. The river here is boulder strewn and the peaty water made it difficult to determine the depth, so I fished from the bank. That gave me problems because I had taken my Loomis, and punching a 4 weight line through the breeze was challenging, but after working the calmer water in between runs I hooked up, and soon landed a beautiful little wild brown,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and thereafter did not feel quite so wet and damp! I guess I must have walked a couple of miles searching through the runs and riffles, and no matter that no more fish came to net, I had captured County Durham, and decided to try downstream in lass bleak conditions.

And so, just a mile or three later I was near Bowlees. The river here, downstream of the famous High Force waterfalls is dramatic in its runs over monstrous rock formations,

and into deep pools, along pebbly glides, and between tiny wild flower covered islands. So beautiful…but such difficult wading. I have rarely encountered such slippery stones, even more than the Usk’swhen the algae is in full growth, and that’s saying something. Fishing now with a five weightline and longer rod (Greys 8’ 3”), I was able to cast a fair way and cover a lot of water, and along came my second CD fish, of deep butter flanks, and this one nearly one lb.

 

I had hoped that I would be fishing dry, but in the wet and windy conditions, I never saw a rise so Skues won, and a PTN was the taking fly.

And then I got to wonder about Geoff’s assertion, and thought, “well if I head off to Rowlands Gill, now (it was one-ish) then potentially I have two bites of the cherry, if there is nothing rising, tonight!”….so did!

I loved the setting of this wild part of our country…a ramblers’ paradise, but be prepared. I can see how conditions could turn nasty, and the hills are remote and isolated. The towns and villages are attractive, and the people are most welcoming, for they know that only the committed make the long trek to be there, and they need visitors. A poor summer makes it a long winter for those dependent on this trade.

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WEST MIDLANDS

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in West Midlands

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This tale is another example of how forums, or at least, Fly Fishing Forums, can work.

After a number of attempts at identifying a likely stream in this industrial area, I connected with thetrouttickler, who introduced me to the River Cole, because in December 2010, he was one of three local anglers who worked with the WTT, for whom Paul Gaskell conducted a Site Visit and wrote up his findings in a fascinating report which he, Justin, shared with me. It was known that the odd trout had been caught from the Cole, and Paul’s report directed me to where it was more likely that I might.  Both Justin, and his companion angler, Steve Williams offered to accompany me, which was comforting because both warned me that the river flows through a less than desirable part of the country, “The Cole can otherwise flow through some pretty built up and dodgy urban areas”….he wrote, and I should take note that in such a deprived area, Tonka, certainly would attract attention!

As, I imagine might a wadered individual….

So when I received a further email from thetrouttickler, which told me with some excitement that there might be another option, it was here, where I began to focus.

April 2012 – the Blythe

The Blythe is a lowland river in the Midlands which runs from Warwickshire, through the borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau, is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the Tame, and it joins the Trent on its way to the North Sea at Humberside.  It is considered to be one of the cleanest rivers in England.

Running over clay, it is not a typical trout stream, and is known to hold a good head of tench, bream, rudd and barbel.

My venue was a stretch running through the land occupied by the West Midlands Golf Club, which thetrouttickler advised – “I don’t think the Blythe is a natural trout water, or the most perfect water for trout, but people do stock it…”  He continued – “The river has a coarse feel to it – slow and deep- but then there are shallower sections with riffle and gravel beds”

On arrival, I met the truly helpful, Nigel Harrhy. He advised that few fished the river. Also, that the beat upstream, leased to West Midlands Police, was stocked, as was the beat downstream, adjacent to the fabled Forest of Arden Golf Club, so why, he argued would some trout not migrate into his beat, which he does not stock. And that he could not remember trout being caught, or at least for a while! But I was there, so I had to try! And with a modestly priced day ticket, I was about to, with only similarly modest expectations, after my chat with Nigel.

The afternoon started sunny.

A walk to the bottom of the beat showed a gravelly run, and I optimistically tied on an Adams and began casting, but into a downstream wind which made presentation hard and often the fly landed my side of the fly line! But I sensed, nor saw any fish of any description, so walked upstream. Entering the water at the end of runs and casting into them I spooked a couple of fish which may have been chub, and amused some carp anglers on the adjacent Barston Lakes who told me there were no fish in the river anyway, but generously wished me “Tight lines , Mate” and went back to kneading boilies (or whatever they do!).

The weather was deteriorating a little, as I spied a likely run.

Here the river bends a little between two trees, runs over a gravel bar where it remains shallow to its left hand side, but has a hole under the roots of the stand of alder to its right hand side, and a back eddy just ahead of the same hole, where I noted a couple of little swirls. The waters shallow again down the length of the pool from whence I cast, up into the gravels where the pheasant tail nymph would sink, before tumbling along the bottom of the hole where I thought there might be a fish, or one lurking in the roots of the alder…

Only two or three casts later, a tug , a pull, a short struggle and a fish into the net…a chub of about  ¾ lb.

But still, I wondered, might there be what I am seeking in the same spot!?

So I cast a few more times, getting as close to the roots, as a growing wind would allow…until ‘Bang!’ and a take of an altogether, much more aggressive type. This chap did not fight like a brown, though, no waggling of the head, rather, and whatever it was, it torpedoed down the pool towards and past me, and headed to some roots. Leaning my rod to my left to apply a lot of side strain to keep him from the woody comfort, the 7ft, 4wt. Loomis bent alarmingly, more from my determination to get the fellow than his size, and when he came to the surface, I smiled a rainbow smile, as I realised I had another ‘county’ and a fish of about 2lbs.

Two more fish, small dace, and the weather which was ‘threatening’ all afternoon, finally collapsed, and the rains returned, for which I was pleased. Eight to go, and Tonka, intact!

CUMBRIA

11 Tuesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Cumbria

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I first fished Cumbria in the mid nineties when staying at the Samling near Windemere, and found my way onto the Brathay. This is a short river (4 miles) linking Elterwater and Windermere via the River Rothay. It has small wild browns in it which are hard to catch, and I only managed to net one!

Years later, and Sue was invited as Guest of Honour, and Key Note Speaker at St Bees GPDST. A lady Governor’s husband, Anthony Creed, on hearing of my misfortune, offered to take me fishing instead!

May 2008 – the Derwent

Anthony, a doctor, collector of old cars, furniture restorer, and I met at the Great Braughton beat of the Cockermouth AA water, just a few miles south of the town. The river here resembled what I feel a salmon and sea trout water should, with the trouty bits limited to just a few riffles, and if maybe this affected my confidence, and there no fish for either of us, though in truth I did see some rises, but in water too deep to reach. The day was cool, damp and windy.

Ours was only to be a morning together, and in order to get onto the AA’s Guest Water upstream of the town, in the afternoon, I needed a permit. After trekking the town following the wild goose chase from those with no interest in fishing nor local knowledge, it was Cleelands, the furniture shop in Main Street which yielded what I sought. Why I did not think of that….?!

Again, the water upstream is salmony, indeed the guest map highlights the key pools (Ladyboat, Woodbottom, Danger Hole) and I picked up a number of parr and smolt, but, and in mainly faster runs, but also a warmer afternoon, I also took four beautiful brownies to about 3/4lb on black gnat, and goldhead PTNs. Visitors beware…follow the footpath shown on the beat map to the river. Otherwise its a long stroll, or a bull avoidance exercise!

I might not have posted a report of my trip. but ‘davidms’, a contributor to the Fly Fishing Forums enquired whether I had visited Cumbria, so I decided to.

Since my visit, the fishing must have changed, as I replied in my note to him –

David….thank you for your response.
I have fished Cumbria, and had success on the short River Brathay, maybe ten years ago, and then on the Derwent in 2008 (see ‘GB’ page) but have to write these up (so will do so).
The Derwent is an impressive river, but as recent events reveal, a tragic one too, and I hope that for all those affected by the disastrous floods of November 09, life has returned to normality. On my trip there I stayed in Cockermouth, and the TV news footage showing the town centre was unimaginable. I understand that much of the fish life was washed downstream in the flooding, and wonder how the efforts of replenishment have gone?