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 […]
As I say, I don’t really expect to catch much, if anything, in March or April so I headed up to our stretch of the Seven at Sinnington with few expectations. The temperature had dropped to around 8C, with a thuggish little breeze that had a distinct easterly aspect. Last year I resolved to have […]
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 […]
The river down at the bottom of the field – the Lower Derwent – has been rubbish lately. It’s been well up, right over the banks and the colour of milky tea, for much of the past couple of weeks. But over the last few days it has started to drop and fine out. I’ve […]
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 […]