I think I’m having a mid-life crisis. Again. Rather than get myself a Harley, tattoos and a ponytail (ha, fat chance) I’ve gone a bought some kit. First off I thought I’d treat myself to a new tackle bag. I first started fly fishing probably in something like 1992 with a lesson from the genial […]
After twenty years of telling myself I really should nip up to Danby and fish the Esk, today I finally got round to it. A glorious last day of May, sun beating down and little breeze. Had picked up a day ticket from the pub in Danby the day before (fiver) and parked up opposite […]
A quick trip up to Pickering Beck before the bank holiday comes round and the A64 towards the coast and North York Moors becomes gridlocked. A mightily hot day, blazing sun and a pesky breeze blowing in my face. Tackled up with a Hardy Marquis 7 ft with 3 wt floating line and trusty emerger: […]
Something of a nostalgia trip this afternoon as I made my way to the Costa and Oxfolds Becks near to Pickering. The tale of these spring-fed becks is a rather sad one. They are in fact the same watercourse, with the Oxfolds running into the Costa, separated only by a weir. Anyhow, many people will […]
Off to the upper reaches of our beat on the River Seven in North Yorkshire for my third session on the water this year. The omens were not bad. A decent downpour had put a tinge of colour in the water and raised it noticeably. It was reinvigorated and had lost its sad soupy texture […]
Off to Thornton Beck, a superb little stream running close to the Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire. It’s a Pickering Fishery Association water, and for many years was largely neglected. But a team of members of the club has recently rejuvenated the water fantastically, opening it up and installing features to improve the flow patterns. […]
Fishing in a 17 mph wind is not great fun at the best of times, but when it is coming straight at you from the north-east it can be a real pain. That’s what I was, literally, faced with when I nipped up to the River Seven for a session today. Wasn’t sure how I would […]
To the upper reaches of Pickering Beck on a nippy April afternoon with a gusting westerly breeze. We call this the Duchy section, on account of it being on land owned by the Duchy of Lancaster. The water is not stocked so all the trout in here are truly wild. The club has carried out […]
And on to one of the most exciting days of the season for me: the first crack of the year at the wonderful River Seven, a couple of miles west of Pickering at the base of the North York Moors. A magical river with a bit of everything – glides, riffles, pools, sand, gravel… everything […]
And so at long last the trout season begins. With a slight uplift in temperatures it’s off to Pickering Beck for the first crack. This time of year is inevitably a struggle. The water looked ok, but not at its finest given the lack of greenery. Selected the 7ft rod with a 3wt line carrying […]