These days I have a posh fly vest for guiding and nice waters and an older one which is a bit more ragged in appearance and gets used on waters where my smartness is not so critical. Heading for the Derbyshire Wye yesterday, I selected the newer one but in my haste forgot to remove…

Grayling are back in season and whilst one of Europe’s top Grayling rivers is still off limits to me, I’ve been able to reacquaint myself with this beautiful creature on rivers other than the Welsh Dee. As this strange season trundles on, I’m presented with a unique opportunity. The good weather, relaxed restrictions and the…

As we’re still locked out of Wales, I’ve been ‘forced’ to stay in England to endure the charms of the river Wye in Derbyshire. A quick glance at the web page revealed a video update from the river keeper stating that as a result of the previous nights thunder storms, the river had risen and…

With the big flies now done for this season and the river shrinking away in the summer sun, the fishing gets a little more tricky. Stealth now becomes really important as the fish not only become super spooky but almost shut down after gorging themselves on the larger, early season insects. Only small, perfectly presented…

After the bumper day last week we were hoping to catch the tail end of this years Mayfly hatches on Saturday. It was our friends Steve and Hilary who very generously gave us our first opportunity to experience a flush Mayfly hatch so it was really good to meet up with them again.   Today…

By now you will be aware of the allure of fishing a Mayfly hatch. You might also have seen that whilst we know they happen in early June, there are no guarantees that you’ll witness the spectacle first hand, as Chiara and myself know only too well! On arriving at the scene of our annual…

There was a little bit of rain today! I was selfishly hoping that in addition to swelling the river, it would keep the dog walkers, stone skimmers and BBQ‘ers indoors. It did exactly that early doors but as the day wore on and warmed up, the rain stopped and the Sunday Strollers took advantage of…

Under normal circumstances, I might not have ventured out yesterday but with the threat of some much needed rain and commitments to honour later in the week, I was back on the Derbyshire Wye.   The Wye at this time of the year is all about Mayfly. This important insect was successfully reintroduced to the…

Having missed Winter and Spring, it was a little weird to be fishing in the toughest Summer conditions on only my third visit to a river this year. I’m not complaining mind you as I know many of you are still unable to get to the rivers you love so when you can, here’s what…