June 18, 2020

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…

June 18, 2020

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…

June 9, 2020

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…

June 7, 2020

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…

June 3, 2020

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…

May 28, 2020

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…

May 20, 2020

There are of course many great superheroes but In my opinion, one of the least celebrated is Green Flag Man! Neil (which is the name he has given to his human form) arrived within an hour and started my car within minutes! Not only that but he was a carp angler so he spoke passionately…

May 19, 2020

Firstly, thanks to those who contacted me to check on my sanity after my last post. I’m feeling much better! I’ve suspended indefinitely all guiding and personal appearances but I have been delivering FaceTime presentations on watercraft from my bath using the trees from my model railway and a selection of objects from my aquarium….

March 28, 2020

My social media self is being pestered by bored “friends” demanding that I accept their challenges to post pictures of past fishing exploits. The idea is to post one picture a day for the next 10 days and keep the ‘chain’ in tact by nominating some other ‘saddo’ each day to do the same. This…

December 6, 2019

Two half days on the ice cold Dee have been good for the soul but with a catch rate averaging out at just one fish per hour, I’m happy with my decision not to fish in this weekends Hanak Grayling Festival…as I should imagine, are my former team mates!   Although this weeks fishing was…