By and large wading boots seem to me to be something of a rip off. The pricier ones cost as much as a decent pair of hand-stitched welted leather brogues and the cheapos fall to pieces after a couple of seasons. The last pair I went through were Greys – can’t remember the model. They […]
To Oxfolds Beck on the warmest day of the year so far – 21C, bright sun and not too much breeze. This pretty spring-fed beck has been truly battered by pollution over the last few years. Intensive effort by the club with help from Fish Legal has brought about some recovery, but the water is […]
To the wild, top section of the Seven on Spaunton Moor on a chilly May morning but with no rain predicted. We’d had virtually non-stop rain two days ago but the water was eminently fishable, containing just a hint of copper. My plan was to give the spiders another outing, so I tackled up the […]
To the lowest beat of the Seven for the first time this season. This stretch is probably the least interesting of the club’s waters in terms of features. Mostly it’s pretty slow-flowing, with the odd little riffle and the deeper weir pool. But there are some good fish here and on its day sport can […]
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 […]
With rain predicted over the next few days I thought I’d make the most of the sunshine and nipped up to the top beat of the Seven at Spaunton Moor. It looked like it should be a good day, with temperatures due to rise to around 15C, and only a gentle breeze from the east. […]
To Thornton Beck close to the Dalby Forest, the prettiest yet by some distance most challenging water that I fish. It’s tiny, clear as gin and very overgrown in places. Plus there was a briskish breeze right into my face. Those are today’s excuses. Against that, the temperature was up to 17C or so, which […]
Hard work on the lower beat of the Seven today, despite the temperatures soaring to a heady 11C. That irksome easterly was still blowing hard though and the fish are keeping their heads down. I fished a lot of water but for scant reward. Started prospecting with a single pheasant tail on the 9ft 4wt […]
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 […]
Up to the top beat of the Seven at Spaunton Moor on a day that didn’t really hold out much prospect – cold with a biting little north-easterly. I was keen to give the spiders a go on this water with the 9ft 4 weight before the trees start to come into leaf, when things […]