The Dove has suffered with terrible water quality all summer, colouring up in April and not clearing for a moment since. Consequently the fishing has been dire, so much so that the new beats planned for the river were abandoned. I just felt too sorry for the fish!One that couldn’t stand the conditions was the gnarly old monster pictured; with a head and teeth like a Bull Terrier, but a body like an Eel, I picked this old Trout dead off a weir in Beresford Dale in August when the river was at its worst. Being no spring parr I assume it had just struggled and starved to death in the brown soup that the river had become.
Fingers crossed that the current spate leaves a clear river, and that a good flow remains for some time. So for all you fellow rain dancers out there, don’t stop yet!!
The Manifold has kept its end up though. Not as good as last year, but nevertheless worth a bit of a thrashing, particularly in the evenings. This is something that river fishermen need to bear in mind; when things get low and slow you are better off fishing for a couple of hours after work, and putting up shelves/mowing the garden on a Saturday, instead of fishing all day Saturday and leaving the river in time to be home for Strictly come Dancing, just as the fish start to feed!
Some big fish have been caught on the Manifold again this year, including a whopper of 51cm by 14 year old George, well done lad! This is only his second season on the end of a fly rod, but having started fishing on these little streams, he already knows how to creep about un-beknowns to wily brownies.
The new beat on the Hamps (Redmorlee) appears to have done well, but not all of the tokens have been collected up yet, so we will have a better handle on the results for the season soon.
But for now, onto the Grayling! Bank Top and Mill Lane will remain open for the winter. Bank Top has been awful this summer, but with more water can hopefully redeem itself in the next few months.
Andy
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