Fly Fishing Derbyshire - Dry fly fishing on Ladybower

Well, after trying all my big lures such as Cats Whisker's and Dog Nobblers, exhausting my Montana Nymphs and Hares Ear Gold Heads, I decided to try going through my dry fly box. Quite often at this time of year Ladybower can go quite flat for people fishing below the first few inches of water as the trout become switched on to the insects on the surface and sub surface. After taking half an hour to observe the insect life on the water I saw a few fish rising to small black flies.

Fishing from the pontoon near the Fishery Office is always a treat on a Summer Evening as you watch the sunset over Lose Hill

I tied on a "F fly" which is the buoyant feather from the Mallard Duck tied in to a small black V. Within 5 minutes I had a rise and to my surprise hooked in to a brown trout. I realised that the side of the reservoir was teeming with Brownies which are probably hardly ever fished for.

I caught a total of 6 Brown Trout 3 of which were keepers and are going in to the hot smoker. Ladybower is an interesting place to fish. It is viewed by many as a lure water and if you chuck a lure in and don't catch a fish then that is because there is no fish there. When it started going quiet for big nymphs and the lure a couple of weeks ago I had to go through my entire collection of flies until a finally found something that the fish are interested in!

I think that the fish are there but it's going to take a little more of a dainty approach to winkle them out at the minute. Small black flies seem to be working, especially in the warmer spell of weather we are having. One of the regulars who was fishing next to me also had some rainbows on small black buzzers fishing just under the surface of the water.

Boat fishing on Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire.

Ladybower is very quiet at the minute but the compulsive angler (and optimist) in me decided to take a motor boat out at the weekend to see if I could find the fish. After tackling up a couple of rods one with floating line and one with sinking I set out up the Derwent arm of the reservoir towards Grainfoot and Pickles Meadow. I attached an Orange blob to the sinker and an orange cats whisker to the floater (these two flies will always winkle a trout out of Ladybower!) I had a drift down the bay using each method but didn't have a take. I repeated the process on Raspberry Bay and on the dam wall but without so much as a look in.


My last place to fish which you can almost guarantee a fish is to drift near the fishery cages. The fish tend to hang out near here to catch the loose feed that spills out in to the reservoir. Sure enough I had a fish first cast on the floating line using the Orange Cats Whiskers. Over the next to hours I had a further 3 fish - a mixture of Rainbow Trout and Blue Trout on a mixture of the sinking set up at a depth of about 15 feet and the floating line. When I returned to the fishery office I had a chat to two of the other boats both of which had blanked. I also chatted to some of the bank anglers who had all banked too. So my advice, if you are planning a trip to Ladybower at the minute would be to hang fire and try somewhere else until the fishing improves.


I did have a spectacular take from one of the Blue Trout however. The fish nailed the Cats Whisker but as I lifted in to the fish the hooked came out in to the air. Instead of leaving it the Trout leaped out of the water and took the fly a few inches above the water!

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.