Sunday 25 September 2011

Thank You and Good Night ...

All good things come to an end as the saying goes and sadly the 2011 trout season draws to a close - but what a send off ! We had to choose one final stream on which to bid the season farewell and no more fitting a stretch of water than our little "Improbable" gem (See "Fishing the Improbable" 16 July 2011).
The day kicked off just before mid-day - the water seemed a little more coloured than usual and definitely colder through the waders. Initially not a rise to be seen ... and then a small splash to the right of Matt. Instantly the nymph was removed from our trusty New Zealand rigs and the rest as they say was history.
You sometimes just hit it right and today was no excepetion. No sooner had Matt's Klink hit the water when it was eagerly sipped off the surface by a stunning brownie - touching the 12 inch mark.

First to Matt
This set the tone for the rest of the day - each little pool revealing its resident in the way of brown trout.





Final to me
The autumnal sun finally dipped below the horizon signalling the end of the day and season. The river stretched on, undiscovered by us as yet but already we've wished the next six months of our lives away and are looking with eager anticipation to uncovering her hidden treasure.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

The Inevitable Return

Benjamin Franklin is famously quoted as saying "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Having had two weeks fishing the Duchy Of Cornwall Estate in Dartmoor earlier this summer, a further certainty was my imminent return before the winter nights draw in spelling the end of the 2011 trout season. My brother-in-law (Matt) had walked the area on a previous trip and had expressed in no uncertain terms the potential the place held. Having seen my earlier posting (see “West Country Gold” August 2011) he began to display the facial twitch so common in us fly fishermen followed by a frantic rush for the calendar. August Bank Holiday weekend was the obvious choice – so it was set. We met at Langstone Manor campsite just outside Tavistock after having sat in the usual Bank Holiday weekend mayhem that is the traffic and enough rain to impress Noah himself. Several pints of quality Devonshire Ale in the campsite pub saw us formulate a plan of attack for our three day foray into the hidden Dartmoor valleys where crystal waters run.

Favourite outfit - Hardy Flyweight 6ft 2wt

After my success/failure on the Lower Cherrybrook during my previous visit I had to start on this spectacular stretch of river. Occasional showers and a fierce head wind upped the challenge somewhat resulting in a good outing but not one the scale I experienced back end of last month. Several fin perfect brownies came to hand though so overall a success confirmed by the ever widening grin on Matt's face.


Matt starting out on the Cherrybrook

Searching out fish amongst the boulders
... a just reward
Saturday was concluded reliving each fish missed and landed over a curry and several more pints of Devonshire's finest. A quick glance at the BBC weather on the pub TV suggested a better day on Sunday but you can never tell up on the Moor - come rain or shine however the Upper East Dart above Postbridge was top of the agenda.

We arrived in Postbridge bathed in glorious sunshine but a stiff wind was blowing directly down the valley - both armed with only 6ft 2wt wands we were in for a testing day. We got straight into it as I lost a sizeable fish, Matt however had more luck when a fin perfect brownie around the eight inch mark sipped the dry off the surface - it was going to be a good day.

Upper East Dart - First of the day
The stretch of the East Dart above Postbridge is in a word spectacular - the river altered her mood around each corner, amplified by the ever changing weather. No visible signs of fish rising belied the fact that there were several brown trout ever willing to take a well presented dry.

Gin clear waters
Close quarters casting ...

Result !
The higher we got up the valley, the more sheltered conditions became, the wind abated and sun shone with a lot more enthusiasm than what we'd seen of late. It was one of those days you wish would never come to an end. We eventually called it a day and strolled back to the car discussing Monday's potential - our final day was almost upon us. Several more pints of Devonshire Ale and a Sunday roast at the Bearslake Inn seemed a fitting end to what was to be the best day of the weekend.

Monday morning arrived along with a mild yet definite hangover - this was handled as all hangovers should be with coffee registering 6 on the Richter Scale. The final outing was to be the Cherrybrook below the Higher Cherrybrook Bridge. According to the 2011 Dartmoor Fishery Guide the 600m below the bridge offers some good fishing which seemed as good a reason as any to conclude our visit by fishing it.
The Cherrybrook in this location is true small stream fishing in all it's confined, overgrown glory - this small fact combined with the ubiquitous headwind that was determined to test our casting prowess to the max almost made me reconsider. Matt at this point was already tooled up and marching with purpose down towards the river stream. About 1000m downstream of the bridge we got down to the business of fooling small brown trout into thinking bits of fluff and feathers really are an insect worth eating. And fool them we managed to do. Several of Dartmoor's watery residents made their way to hand and were carefully released back to swim another day.

Small stream trouting ...
Last of the 2011 Dartmoor season
All too quickly the beat, and visit, came to an end. A hint of melancholy crept its way over us as the knowledge that this was the last visit to this fly fishers paradise for the 2011 season. I mentioned in my previous post that the fishing in Dartmoor exceeded my expectations on all levels, I wasn't sure if it was possible for it to get any better - it did. The weather may not have been as forgiving as my earlier trip but this certainly did not detract from the magical beauty Dartmoor has to offer. The 2012 season already has a visit planned - I'm certain that this is now an annual inevitability.