I thought I’d try and construct a more sophisticated coiled leader for short-range nymphing. I’d previously made one up from some old brown Maxima nylon and it had worked ok but was a bit difficult to see against the dark water. Essentially you make these things by tightly winding a length of nylon in touching […]
Category: Pickering Beck
A spot of unexpected sunshine, so after dropping number 1 daughter at Leeds Bradford airport for a hen do in Nice I sped across to Pickering to see if the fish were moving. The temperature had dropped, only about 11C, but the water looked bonny enough: I tackled up the Hardy Marquis 7ft 3wt with […]
Up to the Duchy beat of Pickering Beck to do the regular invertebrate sampling then have a go at tempting one or two of the skittish little wild browns that reside in the sinuous and occasionally jungly stretch of this little river. Judging by the little beasts in the sample, the water is in good […]
A belter of a spring morning and it’s up to Pickering Beck to see if the troot have woken up yet. This was my second foray – I was up on opening day on 25th March but the blighters were not interested. Today would be different, surely? My confidence has taken a bit of a […]
When I set off from home this morning it was freezing fog, a real Vale of York pea-souper with the thermometer down to -6C. But as I climbed up towards pickering the air began to clear and by the time I reached the Seven it was a glorious, crisp sunny day, with the temperature up […]
Back up to Pickering Beck with the French leader. I find the method hard work and frustrating, but it’s starting to become disturbingly addictive. If I was more adventurous I’d have a go at the Seven, but as far as the grayling are concerned that river has been a dead loss so far this winter. […]
Up to Pickering Beck once again to have yet another go at getting to grips with this French nymphing business. The conditions were pretty much spot on: no wind and the water up an inch or two from last time and with the merest hint of colour. It was pretty cold though, 3C according to […]
Up to Pickering Beck with the French leader outfit. Pretty nippy at 3C but no real breeze to speak of. The water was low and surprisingly clear. On with the hot pink copper-headed nymph to the point and, as per suggestions passim, a dropper fly – a size 16 gold headed hare’s ear. A couple […]
A rare opportunity to get out of the house and up to a fly river. Bliss. Having had a couple of blank sessions on the Seven in the past few weeks I decided to give the Pickering Beck a whirl. I’m getting a bit disillusioned with this French nymphing mallarkey – well, my version of […]
If a poor workman blames his tools then I suppose the incompetent angler blames the conditions. I had a swift session on the Duchy beat of the Pickering beck yesterday but it was hopeless. The water was still very low, flowing slowly and as clear as I’ve seen it. It looked pretty enough: But hardly […]