The first two weeks in May have seen me both on the local stillwaters and the rivers again with visits to the Wye at Rowsley and Monsal Dale. With the water levels very low and the weather patterns somewhat strange for this time of year, fishing is a little patchy at times but all my clients have caught fish. Fly hatches are very sporadic at the moment and the fish have seemed preoccupied with aphids, of which there are simply thousands on the water this year with the stiff breezes knocking them off the trees. This has meant some serious work at the tying vice in an attempt to tie something small enough – I am down to size 24 hooks with the dressing only on one third of the hook now, so maybe this will work!
I have been to fish the Press Manor lake for the first time this year and found that, whilst they were moving freely, the fish were very choosy there as well. Eventually the ‘shuttlecock’ buzzer came to the rescue and took a first fly caught fish for my client towards the end of a hard morning. Shortly after that he added another fish on a hopper which rounded things off nicely. Press Manor is not just a trout fly fishery as there are two other ponds in the chain down through the valley. The middle lake is a Carp only lake and the bottom one is a Coarse fishing lake. Both of these lakes are tucked away quietly yet have easy access and off-road parking facilities are good. Full details of these lakes are available from Bernie Maher on 01629760996 or 07976306073 or pop along to the trout lake and talk to Brian who will give you all the info.
Having complained earlier in this piece about the weather apparently affecting fly hatches, it is good to report the start of the Mayfly hatch on the rivers – I have seen them on the Wye and the Noe this week which is about the normal time of the year. Let’s see how good the hatch is this year.
