Ladybower very quiet at the minute.

I have had three trips to Ladybower since returning to the UK and have blanked each time. After chatting to the other regulars I have discovered that it isn't just me! Up until a couple of weeks ago the reservoir was fishing really well but all seems to have gone quiet. I am not sure how the boat anglers are fairing but from the shore its very difficult.

I have experienced quiet periods before at Ladybower but it's normally quite obvious why because the fish are switched on to tiny flies on the surface and you can see the trout on the move hoovering them up. It's very difficult to catch the trout when they are switched on like this.

At the minutes there is very little sign of fish anywhere I have only seen a few hitting the surface. Having tried every method from lures to tiny midges on sinking and floating line without so much as a pull I am coming to the conclusion that it's not the choice of fly but the fact the fish aren't there and are holed up out in the middle of the reservoir somewhere.

If you are debating whether or not to make the trip out to the reservoir my advice would be to try somewhere else until the fishing improves.

Fishing in Locquirec, Brittany for Mackerel and Sea Bass

With my wedding over, me and the wife jetted of to Locquirec, Brittany for our honeymoon. She was of course delighted when unpacking to discover 2 telescopic travel rods and a bag of lures and Mackerel feathers!

Before I set off I tried to find some local fishing information on the
Internet but I drew a blank so I figured I would have a bit of fun just scrambling around the rocks and the beaches seeing what I could find. My impressions on our first walk down the beach were very positive. I was amazed at the quantity of life on the beach and in the rock pools, it was teeming with thousands of small crabs, mussels and small fish.

My first thoughts were that this would be a haven for sea bass as the tide races through the gulley's and rocks stirring up all the crabs and other crustaceans.


We were staying in the beautiful Grand Hotel Des Bains which has a lovely terrace and private beach. When the tide is in it laps right up to the edge of the hotel lawn and there is some lovely deep water just a small cast away.

The wife turned out to be a great fish spotter and came up to the room to tell me she had seen a couple of fish jumping a few yards out. I tackled up both the rods and went down for a look with a large glass of whiskey. Sure enough after a couple of casts I hooked in to a Mackerel just a few yards out. We soon saw why the Mackerel were there, they seemed to have been hounded in to the bay bay some huge salmon which were jumping, hoovering up a Mackerel supper.


I then caught sight of a truly wonderful sight for a lure fisherman, a big Sea Bass following my lure right in to shore. Unfortunately, despite jigging the lure trying to induce a take I ran out of line and had to reel in. For another couple of nights I tried for Sea Bass and the wife showed her fishing skills by catching 5 Mackerel. Despite the fact that I was trying for Sea Bass most of the timw she is keen to point out that she caught more Mackerel than me!


Anyway we cleaned some of the Mackerel and cooked them fresh on the beach with a glass of the local cider and as usual they were delicious.

The rest of the haul were packed in salt by the hotel and brought back to be smoked and the turned in to pate.

Brittany and especially Locquirec is famous for it's sea food and I can see why. It's teeming with life and for the Angler is a fantastic spot to try. From the bigger towns such as Roscoff there are loads boats you can hire to take you out for a few hours catching Mackerel or a bit longer chasing Bass, Pollock and Ling.

Choppy waters on Ladybower! But great conditions for fly fishing

Managed a quick session on Ladybower this week. It was blowing an absolute gale so I choose to head down to Raspberry bay as it was slightly more sheltered. I only had a couple of hours to fish so I decided to walk a stretch of the bank, after trying a couple of different depths with my Montana Nymph I found the fish. The huge breakers were bringing all the fish in towards me and I instantly got in to a fish of about 3lb only 3 or 4 yards out. This proved to be great fun as I was able to walk the bank roll casting every few yards. I lost a couple and pricked another 3. I have noticed over the past month or so that the fish at Ladybower are starting to get bigger. Hopefully by the end of the season someone will land a double!

A very quick Ladybower update

Ladybower is fishing really well at the minute. The fish are lying in the top few feet of water. Montana Nymph fished high in the water or cast to rising fish is proving deadly. The pontoon is fishing really well (You need to ask permission from the Office first) I took six fish earlier in the week including my best Ladybower fish to date of 3lb.

Otherwise all the usual haunts such as Rasberry Bay, Pickles Meadow and Grainfoot are producing.

Sorry for the quick posts but the wedding is less than two weeks away and there is still loads to do!

An Afternoon Fly Fishing On Howden Reservoir In Derbyshire

I was lucky enough yesterday afternoon to be able to take a rod on Howden Reservoir in the upper Derwent Valley. Howden is the upper reservoir in the chain of Ladybower, Derwent and Howden. The water is not stocked and contains only wild brown trout.

Howden is set in the breathtaking surroundings of the Peak District, it is miles from the nearest road and the only other people nearby are the odd walker and mountain biker. You also get the reservoir to yourself! Although you do get buzzed by the odd bird of prey and military aircraft.

It is the stuff that fly fishing dreams are made of and the only thing I can compare it with are some of the remote Scottish Lochs. The water is clear and yet peaty brown and the wildlife and surroundings are just stunning.

As for the fishing it is just fantastic, I had a brace of truly beautiful wild brownies of about half a pound each both on a "Peter Ross" traditional wet fly. Although there were a few rising I found the best method was to cast a wet near the rise and gently work in through the water. I also lost a couple and had plenty of takes

If you want truly wild brown trout fishing in the heart of the Peak District then Howden is a great place to try. Don't expect any big fish and you are in the middle of nowhere so the ground is very rough and wild. But if like me you occasionally want to get back to nature for the afternoon then you will love it. It is so beautiful that sometimes I forgot I was meant to be fishing and just found myself watching the buzzards circling high overhead!

On the way back down the Vallley I stopped at Ladybower for a couple of hours on the Derwent Valley stretch and took 3 rainbows for tea when I got home all took traditional wet flies cast to rising fish

Quick Ladybower Update

Just a quick update as I am getting married at the end of the month and fishing is taking a backseat for a few weeks! Fished Ladybower twice at the weekend - lots of fish rising but couldn't get a look in with dry flies or buzzers however huge bright cats whiskers cast to rises resulted in takes! Best spots were near fishery cages from the boat and stalking individual fish on Snake Meadow. Lots of people were blanking from the Fishery Office end but Snake Meadow was heaving. Took 4 fish overall and lost loads.

My First Trip To Pennine Fishery - A Four And A Half Pound Rainbow In The Bag

I was so excited with the prospect of my first trip to Pennine fishery. For those of you that have not heard of Pennine it's the Dever Springs of the north. The smallest fish are 2.5 pounds and the largest go up to past the 20 pound mark.

My Sat Nav got me to the gates of the fishery for about 7.30 am and the bailiff opened up shortly after. My first impressions were that it was immaculate. There are two spring fed lakes, a restaurant and bar and a smokery and farm shop. The grounds are immaculate and well looked after. I went to the ticket office to buy my 3 fish ticket which cost £28 (Great value when you consider that you can take any fish no matter what the size). On the three fish ticket you can also catch and release to your hearts content once you have bagged up. The bailiff was very friendly and offered me some tips on where to fish as I had never been before.

The weather was perfect - overcast with a nice ripple on the water. I used a variety of different techniques throughout the day - The fish were rising like mad all day and I caught on the dry fly, bloodworm, damsel nymph, midges and olives on the floating line. I also caught using cats whiskers on the sinking line. My best fish of the day was 4.5 pounds. I caught 14 in total and lost about 3.

All in all Pennine is very impressive. I am used to fishing big wild reservoirs or rivers in the middle of no-where so it was a different experience to fish a busy manicured small still water. It was very sociable with lots of banter between the fishermen which was very enjoyable as I normally don't come across anyone all day!

I will definitely going back and next time it will be a double.