Today marks the start of the Grayling season on the river Dee so we are now able to fish freely for Trout and Grayling using any of the permitted methods. With the river benefiting from the recent storms and the wild life responding to the weather, it is a great time to be out fishing….

The Derbyshire river Wye is remarkable for a few different reasons. First and foremost, it is absolutely brim full of fish… they’re everywhere! It also has a rich and diverse invertebrate population that gives rise to some spectacular hatches. The water is chalk stream clear and the well tendered vegetation provides cover and food for…

With the Dee running almost half a metre higher than it’s optimum level, I was forced to postpone today’s guiding session. I declared myself available again for duty and after orders were dispensed, I was granted a 3 hour window to spend however I wished. It is often the case that when a river is…

Why does the appearance of these Mayflies causes anglers to lose all control? The main reason is that they also cause the fish to lose control. They will literally leap out of the water to try to catch these huge mouthfuls. So, as our annual pilgrimage to the Derbyshire River Wye approached, we were excited…

A busy day today with lessons on both the river and the Stillwater. Shaun, the owner of Chirk fishery told me that Mayfly had started hatching in good numbers so I stuck around after my afternoon casting lesson to see for myself.   Mayflies are big, highly visible and protein packed. They make a great…

Sunday was spent exploring another under-fished CADAC water. My one previous visit revealed that it was a 10 minute walk from the car and that once there, there wasn’t an awful lot of water to go at. It also revealed however that this short beat could be excellent for dry fly fishing.   My two…

Another short introductory lesson on the Dee and then off to fish one of the lesser trodden beats on the CADAC waters. A spectacular hatch had the swallows and swifts swooping all around me and the fish (especially the trout) seemed to enjoy it too! It lasted less than an hour but it was the…

After a short casting lesson, I bade farewell to my client and headed off for some fishing. Today’s river was the clearest and lowest I’ve ever seen it. I was gutted when I finally arrived as the journey had taken an hour longer than usual due to roadworks and the sun was now at its…

This stunning fish absolutely inhaled a size 20 shuttlecock after I’d spent a good 20 minutes of trying to make the right presentation. As it tore up and down the thin, clear, snaggy pool, I was struck by that eery feeling of deja vu. The fishes eventual presence in the net confirmed it…. I had…

It has been a busy month with new venues to explore, near perfect conditions and of course a new name and web site. Normal service should be resumed fairly soon but to tide you over until the blog is back in full swing, here are just a few of this months Brown Trout.