30th September  –  Howkeld and the Dove

The last day of the 2023 season for trout from our becks and rivers and I was hoping for a really good day on Howkeld Beck and the River Dove.

I was a bit later than planned starting but just before midday I slithered down the bank and into Howkeld beck. The beck looked good, clear and a nice height and not too fast. I tried dry flies in the first couple of runs and the first decent pool without success, but knowing that there had to be a trout or two in the telegraph pole pool (can you guess why I call it that?) I switched to a copperhead nymph fished Klink & Dink below a Royal Wulf and first cast was into a good solid trout. Once in the net it measured up at 11.25 inches and was returned safely after a quick photo.

Moving on I got two good grayling of 10.5 and 11 inches in quick succession from the same pool. I’ve given up trying to get photos of decent grayling they just wriggle so much it’s near impossible and I don’t want to hold them too tight. Moving on I picked up another grayling and a small trout, still on the copperhead nymph, before a slightly better trout took a fancy to the Royal Wulf and I added him to the log book.

It was now just after 3pm and I wanted to have a reasonable time to fish the Dove so I walked back down and got into the river in the wide pool just below the run of slabs. My third cast produced a solid take and I knew straight away that it was a very respectable grayling. I measured it in the net at 13 inches and although I tried to get a photo of it in the net it was no use so I quickly slipped him back.

My next fish was also a grayling and was one of those “I don’t believe it moments”. As my line came back to me it looked like my fly had caught on the bottom but as I lifted my rod tip it came free and I went to roll cast it but it didn’t roll out. I tried again but it still didn’t roll out and then I saw what I thought was a leaf on the copperhead but as I picked the line up to clear the hook it turned out to be a 3 inch grayling! What a contrast from the previous 13inch beauty to a 3 inch monster! This was one grayling that did stay still long enough for a quick photo before going back safely. Actually it is good that we are seeing a wide range of grayling sizes on the Dove as they are obviously doing well, in fact my next fish was also a grayling a nice 12 inch fish but again no photo.

The afternoon had turned rather damp and miserable and although I carried on for another hour I got no more action and actually gave up before I had reached the top of our beat bringing the season to a soggy rather than spectacular finish.

In the end my tally for YTAA becks and rivers was 141 trout, 25 grayling 21 chub 10 dace and 3 minnows making it my 8th best season for trout since I started keeping full records 24 years ago.

I hope I’ll be back for more Kingfisher Diaries next season.

  29th September  –  Thirkleby

We anglers are a funny lot when it comes to weather. I’ve just got back from Wales and the last little upland lake I fished is one that requires a lot of wind and rolling waves to fish well. The wind and waves mean all the trout are looking up for tasty morsels blowing down the wind lanes and I had a trout bonanza. Thirkleby on the other hand fishes best when there is no wind to blow your flies and line into the foliage that overhangs much of the beck there. It almost goes without saying that when I arrived at Thirkleby mill the wind was rather strong and not to my liking at all.

I started below the mill and it was a little while before I got any action and when it did come it was in the form of a couple of small dace from the big pool. A small trout followed from the run above. But then it was quiet until I’d waded under the little bridge and quickly got a small chub and a trout from the pool above. Then having waded under the mill bridge I picked up a nice little trout from the mill wall when the wind helped to blow my fly right by the wall and under an overhanging bush.

I had a quick break for some lunch before heading up above the footbridge at Balk Grange farm and getting some shelter from the wind under the trees I started picking up more trout and a dace. I didn’t get a touch in some of my favourite runs and pools and even the top of the “pylon length” produced nothing. A couple more from the weir pool at the top of our beat left me with a tally of 11 trout, 3 dace and a chub. Three of the fish came on copperhead nymphs fished K&D style, three on black F Flies and the rest on small Adams Parachute flies.

Overall a very satisfying outing.

  13th September  –  Howkeld Beck and River Dove

I had hoped to fish the Howkeld Beck and the Dove yesterday but the weather wasn’t great and the Dove level gauge at Kirkby Mills showed a rising river, but today both looked better. I got a bit delayed setting off and again in traffic so it was nearly midday when I was walking down to start in Howkeld Beck. I was a bit surprised to find the beck running rather fast and a dark tea stained colour. Once I had scrambled down the bank and in the beck I tried a few casts with a dry fly but it seemed hopeless so I changed a goldhead K&D but even that didn’t get any attention and I was about to give up when I saw a rise at the top of the run, cast to it and caught a nice little trout. This was followed a couple of minutes later by a slightly better trout.

Moving up I got no more action until I saw some small rises in one of the deeper slower pools and a change to a small Olive F-Fly produced two grayling and another trout. I was only about half way up the beat I normally fish but it had taken me more than two hours so I climbed out as I really wanted to have a go at the Dove, in particular the pool where I had twice hooked and lost a very substantial trout.

The Dove was in a similar state to Howkeld Beck, the colour of dark tea, running fast and also a couple of inches higher than normal.

I didn’t get a touch in the pool that had held the “substantial trout” but did get a couple of trout further up and was particularly pleased when I managed to extract one that was rising from under a right tangle of overhanging willow. I tried hard for more trout but nothing was working and by 6pm it was getting a bit chilly and I’d had enough so called it a day.

  8th September  –  A Quick Trip to Cod Beck

I sneaked a quick trip to Cod Beck after some work at Stearsby and decided I would have a look at the middle beat at Gristhwaite farm as I don’t often fish it. While it was a bit overgrown it was nowhere near as bad as the Riccal! The beck itself looked lovely and there was plenty of casting room for most of length I fished so I really should fish there more often.

I had limited time and didn’t get any trout but did get two dace and two chub, the first of the chub was a good 14 inch fish that really didn’t want his photo taken but I just about managed it. Funny game this fishing, yesterday I was annoyed that I only got three trout and today I didn’t get any and but it didn’t seem to matter.

  7th September  –  Hard Work at the Riccal

Out again hoping to get a decent number of trout to boost my season total. The Riccal is clear and although the gauge is showing 20cm it seems a little low.

I definitely have a love / hate relationship with the Riccal. It is a beautiful little river and on the right day can produce a bag full of trout (and the occasional grayling) with very little effort. Today was not the right day. No matter how cautious my approach was I seemed to see trout streaking off into the distance before I could even get a cast in.

After an hour of trying I managed to get a small trout on a black F Fly. I thought things were looking up but it was more than 2 hours before I managed the next trout on a green sparkle F-Fly. Then switching to a Goldhead Nymph on a K&D rig I hooked another small trout, and as I was playing it in two kingfishers came zooming up the river and one hit my line with a huge jerk splashed into the river then flew out and carried on as if nothing happened, I was lucky the trout was still on the line!

That was the last trouty action I got, though the kingfishers continued to zoom up and down the Riccal for the next half hour by which time I was at the top of our beat, I was hot and tired and quite happy to call it a day.

  5th September  –  Thirkleby

Time seems to be going so quickly and we are in the last month of the Wild Trout Season. I am keen to top up my trout numbers for this season so head to Thirkleby for a short session to fish between Balk Grange Farm Footbridge and the Weir Pool.

The beck is quite low but carrying a bit of colour and it isn’t long before I start catching. It’s a small trout to start with but then its several “micro” chub all of them under 5 inches. I keep moving trying to get trout but keep getting these tiny chub with not even a tiny dace to relieve the monotony.

Eventually on the Pylon length I get another small trout followed a cast or two later by a really good trout after a careful cast to a gap in the overhanging foliage.

I get a couple more micro chub before its time to head home ending on just three trout and eight chub, still it beats working for a living!

  21st August  –  Isle Beck

Almost a month since I last fished YTAA becks, so with a couple of hours spare I am hoping for a bumper afternoon to make up for lost time. I decide to fish above the A19 as it is probably going to be the least overgrown of our becks and rivers. Looking over the A19 bridge the beck looked a reasonable height and clear, it has been a bit high lately and when I got further up the reeds either side had been pushed flat by some obviously very high and fast water.

I tackled up quickly but didn’t get a touch in the first couple of runs, but after quarter of an hour I got a nice little trout from some skinny water at the top of a run. It almost looked too shallow to have a fish but I’ve learnt that they need very little depth to sit in ready to pick off any tasty morsels that drift down and a black F-Fly obviously looked tasty enough.

A dace on the F-Fly was next flowed by a minnow on a goldhead fished Klink & Dink searching a deeper pool. Switching back to an Olive F-Fly I picked up another dace a bit smaller than the first.

As there was nothing much rising I went back to the goldhead on the Klink & Dink rig and the fun began. I was getting a fish of some sort every few minutes, trout, dace, chub, another minnow, they just loved the tiny goldhead and it was turning out to be a good mixed bag. Then at half past five I realised I hadn’t actually landed a grayling (I’d lost one early on!) so decided to skip a few pools and walk up to the bend pool below Arden Bridge where I know I can almost guarantee a small grayling.

Sure enough a quick cast onto the edge of the current and the Grey Wulf I was using as the “Klink” slid straight under and I tightened into a good fish which was yet another trout and not the grayling I was hoping for. The trout had made a bit of a disturbance in the pool so that was the end of the afternoon, a grayling short of a “full house” but with 10 trout, 4 chub, 4 dace and 2 minnows I could hardly complain.

  27th July  –  Riccal Afternoon

Those of you who were around in the 60’s may remember a group called “The Yardbirds” who amongst other things had a hit with a song called “Over, Under, Sideways, Down”. It sounds a bit dated now but is a fairly accurate summary of fishing on the River Riccal. You need to cast over bank side vegetation, crawl under fallen trees, cast sideways under branches and occasionally get down on your knees for a chance to get a cast in…! That pretty much sums my five hours on the Riccal on a grey, windy and occasionally drizzly afternoon, but it’s not all a tale of woe.

After two hours it was starting to feel like I was heading towards a blank, but then I landed a nice little trout from one of the few open runs, I say open but my back was right up against an overhanging willow that I had just crawled through and so it still needed a roll cast to get a Copperhead nymph on a K & D rig up into the run.

Half an hour later came the fish of the day, a good sized trout that nailed the Copperhead nymph flicked out over willow branches using a catapult cast – I couldn’t actually see a fish but as the river bed shelved from a shallow run into a deepish looking pool under the willow branch I guessed correctly there would be a fish there. This was the start of the best spell of my afternoon with two more trout in 15 minutes, the first on the copperhead and the next on a small Adams Klinkhammer (one of the few overhead casts of the whole afternoon!).

Moving on under the tree lined section there is a bit more casting room and the river looks really fishy with good gravels and a good flow of water. I’m not saying it is easy fishing but it felt better and eventually I got a couple more small trout - one on a black F Fly and the last back on the Copperhead.

I really do have a love hate relationship with the Riccal, it could be one of the best waters we have. Its limestone fed so runs clear and cold and it takes an awful lot of rain to raise the level and colour up so it is often fishable when other becks and rivers are bank high and muddy. We really could improve the fishery if we had a few members enthusiastic enough for a couple of working parties. As at the moment even using my 5 foot #2 Hardy Glass rod there is little room for casting. Having said that I do enjoy the challenge, I did catch 6 trout and more by good luck than good management, I didn’t lose a single fly all afternoon which was a real bonus!

  20th July  –  Howkeld Beck and the River Dove

After surviving some fairly serious jungle warfare last time at Howkeld Beck /River Dove I was surprised to find myself back there, but this time with David Aspinall who wanted to see where I had lost the two big ones last time out.

We fished Howkeld Beck for nearly 4 hours with very limited success, David had one brown trout and I lost a small grayling which was the only thing I hooked.

Moving on to the Dove things improved slightly, I got a 10 inch wild trout and was about to move on through the run when David suggested I try again so I did and was straight into a good fish which turned out to be a 13 inch grayling. The moral here is if Mr Aspinall gives you advice it’s worth taking seriously.

We moved up to the pool I described last time where I had lost two very good fish in 2 minutes. David had a couple of trout slash at his fly in the middle of the run but didn’t connect, then I had a go. I dropped the fly right into the riffle by the overhanging grass and hooked into another good trout which came off 5 seconds later. More rude words were said!

We moved on and I managed to get a small trout which was my 100th from YTAA Becks this season. After that we had some rain most of which was heavy, so we sheltered under a willow for a while but got pretty wet anyway. When the rain did eventually stop we moved on and I caught a small grayling.

100th Trout

The river was actually flowing a lot faster and started to colour up, we were both cold and rather damp and quite glad when we thought we could call it a day.

You might think it was a bit of a poor day but when you are out doing what you want and have some good banter and learn from each other it’s never a bad day. I said earlier that Mr Aspinall’s advice is worth taking seriously – all the time I have fished Howkeld/Hodge beck I have struggled to cross one of the ditches on the way back to the Dove, its steep banks, slippery mud, nettles, high balsam and thistles but that clever Mr Aspinall showed me there is actually a built up crossing point not 10 yards further up the ditch from where I’ve been struggling! Live and learn!

  12th July  –  Howkeld Beck and the River Dove

An afternoon and evening session on these two adjoining waters, both very overgrown since the 1st of June when I fished them with my Scottish fishing buddy as a guest. Saw lots of kingfishers sometimes two at a time. Three wild browns, a grayling and a 12 inch “wild” rainbow from Howkeld were followed by seven wild browns from the River Dove. I lost two stonking great browns from the same big run on the Dove (so apologies if you heard me swearing – I wasn’t a happy bunny at that point). I did however end on a reasonable note with this very solid 13 inch brown - but it was still tiny compared to one of the ones that came off!!

  10th July  –  A Damp Afternoon at Thirkleby

I fancied a quick trip to Thirkleby via Stearsby lakes to collect the June Log Sheet. By the time I got to Thirkleby the nice sunshine had gone and it was starting to drizzle. Most of the Thirkleby beat is under trees so with a showerproof jacket I was confident of some trout related action.

It was sometime before I got underway with a couple of small chub and a decent grayling before I got the first trout. I then walked up to the footbridge at Balk Grange Farm and fished up to the Weir Pool. I ended on 6 trout, 4 chub and 1 grayling which under almost continuous drizzle, occasional thunder and a very windy rain squall to finish felt like quite a good result.

I do enjoy “pickpocketing” trout from difficult places and this afternoon was very pleased to get a nice trout from under some overhanging grass ahead of a half sunken log. You can see in the photo that the beck is really shallow only an inch or two on the right side and about 10 inches under the grass, but that is more than enough for a trout to take up station. I’d seen the trout rise and it needed a delicate cast to drop the fly in a small gap so it went right under the overhanging grass. I didn’t get it quite right first try but a quick lift off and cast again put it exactly under the grass and the trout nailed it straight away - it was a just a matter of strike and pull hard to get it clear of the weeds and half sunken log.

  7th July  –  Below the A19

I hadn’t set out to fish below the A19, but meeting David Aspinall at the bridge he asked where I usually started so I decided to walk down with him. It was a hot afternoon and three fields down we were glad to get into the beck and under the shade of some trees.

David soon had a nice little trout to add to his tally but I struggled to connect to anything. The beck was very low and even my favourite pools failed to produce a fish. We were seeing a few fish moving and little ones were splashing at our flies but we weren’t getting fish on the line.

We had some good banter and David was really getting into his fishing with some careful wading as even when the beck is very low there are always pools that are deep enough to top your waders if you don’t tread carefully.

We spent a bit of time cutting away enough branches of a fallen tree to squeeze through to try a really tasty looking run still without success. By 7pm David had to go but pointed me to a pool where he’d caught in the morning and switching to a small goldhead I managed a small blank saving trout.

Finally on one of the deep pools with a fast flow in I saw several good fish rising and after a switch back to an Adams Parachute I landed three more trout in quick succession, the first of which was a very respectable 13 inches.

Having caught four trout in under an hour I was happy to finish and grab an alcohol free beer from the campervan before heading home.

  4th July  –  WTT Auction 2023 Winner’s Day

I met up with James at 9:30 on the A19 Bridge for a nice early start for his Wild Trout Trust Auction Winners day. As much of his fishing is done on bigger rivers (and on Auction wins on the Test and Itchen) he borrowed one of my 6 foot rods for some real “jungle warfare” fishing something he’d never tried before.

Isle Beck was a bit low and although there were a few fish rising results were a bit slow coming while James got used to the rod and casting from crouched or kneeling position. After a couple of missed rises a decent grayling got things off the mark, followed by some dace and a trout before it was time to retreat to the campervan for some lunch.

After lunch we moved up to Thirkleby Mill as James remembered fishing the weir pool at the top of our beat as a child many many moons ago!

Trying various flies we found a small Parachute Adams was the answer and the action gradually improved as we worked our way up above Balk Grange Farm until we got to the weir pool. I’ve seldom seen the weir pool so low, but the trout didn’t seem to mind and James quickly got a trout on the #18 Adams Para, his first trout from the weir pool in more years than he cared to remember. Another trout came a few casts later.

Two more trout followed when he switched to a #14 Adams and then trying a purple beaded nymph fished Klink and Dink style for a few “last casts”, James landed one of the smallest dace I have ever seen to finish the day.

Casting on small overgrown becks is very different to fishing big rivers with plenty of casting room, so James had a sharp learning curve but acquitted himself rather well ending with a good mixed bag of trout, dace, grayling and a chub.

  8th June  –  A brief Visit to Thirkleby

I wasn’t meant to be fishing today but then my Scottish Fishing Buddy phoned and asked why I wasn’t out and before I knew what was happening I found myself wading upstream at Balk Grange Footbridge!

Six trout and a small dace, my first this season, to finish made it a pleasant short session, before I head to Scotland next week.

The big surprise of the evening was seeing a Little Egret fishing by Thirkleby Mill – it’s the first I’ve seen on our waters!

  5th June  –  Frustration at the Riccal

The plan was collect the May Catch returns from Stearsby then drive onto the River Riccal for a pleasant afternoon with a dozen or so trout to add to my 2023 log book. However when I got to the Riccal and saw how overgrown the lower beats were I thought I might be lucky not to blank!

Then within three minutes of starting I got the first trout of the day, which followed shortly after by trout number two both coming from small open bits. My optimism returned and I started thinking I might be in for the dozen or so I had originally hoped for but that optimism didn’t last. During the next 4 hours I missed rise after rise after rise, I got broken once, I lost flies in trees, I lost flies in the reeds, in fact anywhere and everywhere and it became a most frustrating afternoon. Just for good measure at one point I slipped when getting out to go around a fallen tree and rolled sideways back down the bank and into the river! (no serious harm done and at least my Scottish fishing buddy wasn’t there to catch the moment on video!)

At that I more or less gave up on the last hundred yards below the road bridge but walked up and waded underneath to see if I could get a consolation trout before calling it a day. Sure enough a small trout obliged from by the river level gauge. That trout, number 3, came 4 hours and 7 minutes after trout number 2. Then just to crown the day I saw a decent fish rising further up the river and got a perfect 11.5 inch trout a couple of casts later! At least I finished on a high note.

  2nd June  –  I Like a Bridge Trout

A beautiful day and I can’t resist going fishing somewhere. So early afternoon finds me parked at the A19 tackled up and setting off to fish Isle Beck below the A19 Bridge.

The path is overgrown but 200 yards down in the open patch with recently planted conifers there is heavy machinery and two huge newly installed RSJ’s spanning the beck. Chatting with one of the farm workers who was waiting for concrete to arrive it seems the farmer has had too many close shaves driving tractor a trailer down the A19 and trying to turn right with high speed traffic in both directions that to avoid accidents he is putting a bridge across the beck so he can get to his fields without risking the A19.

I can’t say I blame him just scuttling across the road to go fishing feels like you are taking your life in your hands with the speeding vehicles in both directions. The bridge will have very little impact on our fishing and anyway where there is a bridge there is usually a bridge trout so it will be interesting to see how long it takes for one to take up residence once the bridge is finished!

As to my fishing well it felt like hard work there are more trees down and getting through a couple was interesting. In the end I managed to land 5 trout, 1 grayling, 1 chub and I only lost one fly to the scenery so that almost felt like a win bonus.

  31st May  –  Howkeld Beck and River Dove Revisited

Following his expensive Wild Trout Trust Auction winner’s day on Isle Beck, I had agreed with the YTAA secretary that I could take Gordon for a look at Howkeld Beck and the River Dove. Although these aren’t the easiest to fish and are further away than most of the YTAA waters they really are beautiful and can provide some exciting fishing for good trout and grayling.

We started on Howkeld beck. As I hadn’t had a single cast while being a good ghillie for Gordon on his winner's day I was more than happy to go in first on Howkeld Beck and netted a trout second cast in the first run.

After that it got a little harder and by lunchtime it was only 2-1 to me but we had seen some rather good fish. After lunch we worked our way up the Dove and gradually the trout came on to the mayfly hatch and we both had some fun. The two standout moments were seeing a trout of circa 4lbs slide away under some large woody debris with a slightly smaller trout – at least 2.5 lbs following him and also picking up a very decent trout out of the tiniest back eddy on the edge of a very fast run.

Howkeld Beck and the River Dove are in my opinion under used, yes there are steep banks, yes there is large woody debris, yes the banks are overgrown with willow that we should be trimming, but (and it’s a big BUT) there are some very good trout (and grayling) to be caught if you are prepared to give it a go.

For the record we both used 6’ #3 Shakespeare Agility Rise fly rods and simple mayfly or F-fly patterns. We both used DT3 lines with leader and tippet of about 2 meters (6ft 3 inches) - any longer and you will spend more time retrieving your flies from branches than fishing! Chest waders and a wading staff are essential.
Tight lines.

  30th May  –  WTT 2022 Auction Winner

During the 2022 WTT Auction I was talking on the phone with my Scottish Fishing Buddy as the final bids were coming in for the YTAA lot. A late bid came in with seconds to go to win the lot. Two days later my Scottish Fishing Buddy confessed to me that it was he who put in a late bid as he suddenly thought if he won it he could have me as guide and Ghillie for him all day and he could have first cast (well every cast) on every bit of the Isle Beck System. He seems to think there are a couple of pools I never let him have first cast at - I can’t think why!

For a number of reasons he was unable to travel down to take the lot in 2022 and it was agreed he could take it this year so 30th of May found us parked at the A19 Bridge ready to start upstream. I have always said I enjoy showing off our Beck to the auction winners and although Gordon has fished our becks a few times as my guest it would be different today as I really wanted him to get some first class fishing for his £93.25 WTT bid and not just because I would never hear the end of it if he didn’t! Gordon has fished with me for 9 years so he knows that one secret of success on small streams is keeping a low profile and blending in so you don’t scare the trout. Even so the morning was a bit slow and by lunchtime only three trout and grayling were in the log book.

We moved up to Thirkleby had some lunch and then fun really started. There had been a few mayfly about in the morning but the trout hadn’t shown any great interest but now they woke up and while not a full mayfly frenzy there was plenty of interest so by the time Gordon had finished at the weir pool more trout had been added to the log book for a total of 16 trout and a grayling making it a very successful day.

  26th May  –  Howkeld Beck and River Dove

The last time I fished these beats was on opening day of the 2021 season… it didn’t go well and I blanked (so did another member who was there!)

I really fancied my chances and wanted to check what they looked like as I want to take a guest next week.

In the morning I had two and a half hours on Howkeld beck and managed 3 brown trout, 3 grayling and a small (apparently wild) rainbow trout! The beck looked pretty good but it needs careful wading and getting out and round the deep parts is “interesting”.

I had a brief stop for a sandwich and then I started on the Dove – the bottom 100 yards or so of the Dove is a nightmare of trees and high banks so I started above that. The Dove has changed a bit since I was last here and a couple of the pools that were very nice are now impossible to get to through a combination of fallen trees, collapsed banks and overgrowth. Having said that the trout were very obliging there were mayfly aplenty and I added another 8 trout and a grayling to the record. There were mayfly around all day but a my fish all came on a size 12 loop F-fly which looks a bit like a small mayfly.

Some warnings … when I arrived in the morning the farmer offered to drive me across the field to the barn as the middle of the field was very boggy (he wasn’t kidding) but I politely declined and made it down the left side and then close to the flood bank. The Dove has steep banks so getting in and out is not easy and the bank side vegetation is high. (The farmer thinks I was the first YTAA member there this season?) Finally I strongly recommend you use a wading staff, the bottom drops away suddenly in places and great care is needed when wading.

  22nd May  –  Thirkleby

At last I manage to get a really good session on the becks. I fished at Thirkleby between 16:15 and 20:15 starting below the Mill first then walked up to the footbridge at Balk Grange farm and fishing most of the beat up to the weir pool.

It was a bit slow at first but I picked up a couple of fish on Black F-Flies, then came up to some more serious woody debris blocking wading just below the small farm bridge. It looked bad from below but getting out to go around it it looked worse from the top, still it is good protection for juvenile fish.

Above the little bridge I lost a good fish that took me into tree roots and then I saw a trout take a mayfly so changing to a mayfly I got him next cast. Sadly that was the only fish I saw take a mayfly and they showed no further interest so I switched back to using either black or green F-Flies and the trout kept on coming. I ended on 14 trout including 3 from the pylon length and 4 from the weir pool.

I hope to be out again later this week as the trout must start on the mayflies soon.

  21st May  –  Cod Beck With My Daughter

A lovely afternoon and my daughter Jen wanted to have a go at Cod Beck and hopefully catch a grayling. I never need much persuading to go fishing so late afternoon found us parking the campervan by the Railway Bridge at Gristhwaite Farm.

Sliding into the beck I had first go as there was not a lot of room for casting and caught a half decent Brown within a minute of starting. Jen has only just taken up fly fishing again after a long break and Cod Beck isn’t the easiest of places to fish particularly as there it comes with challenging wading. Jen lost a decent grayling then missed another as we waded cautiously upstream. I picked up another trout before Jen finally landed her fist grayling a nice 10 inch fish that too on a black F-Fly.

We were a bit pushed for time so packed in shortly after but it was mission accomplished for Jen,

  19th May  –  Cod Beck

I had intended to go across to fish the River Dove today, but with reports of diesel leaking into Cod Beck above our beats I agreed with Bob that I would go and have a look at Cod Beck at Gristhwaite farm to see what was going on.

The threat of pollution on our becks is one of my greatest fears so I arrived at the railway bridge almost dreading what I might see. I was very pleased to see no sign of an oil slick or any pollution and no dead or distressed fish, but of course the only way to be certain the fish were ok was to have a few casts – that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Cod Beck is not the easiest to get into and starting 50 meters or so below the railway bridge meant an interesting scramble through head high nettles and an ungainly slide into the beck.

I got a grayling in the long run below the bridge on a black F-Fly within 5 minutes but I felt one grayling wouldn’t really prove that all the fish were ok so I fished on above the railway bridge!

Apart from one moment when I slid backwards into a deep run soaking a sleeve but just managing not to go for a full swim it was a perfect afternoon. There were quite a few mayflies about but the fish were not yet latched on to the abundance they provide. Instead it was small black F-Flies and green Sparkle F-flies that were getting the results.

Cod Beck looked beautiful with plenty of weed and clean gravels it was almost idyllic and after 3 grayling and very respectable wild trout in less than a quarter of a mile I was so relaxed and chilled out that I called time. (Even before it was too dark to see – I must be getting old!!)

P.S. WARNING It doesn’t go without saying that Cod Beck has deep runs and there is slippery mud so take care wading – you need a wading staff!

  17th May  –  Willow Beck & Isle Beck

I have wanted to fish Willow Beck so set off to give it another try this afternoon. A few years ago when I used to fish Willow Beck regularly 6-12 trout between Cod Beck and Willow Bridge was about par for the course, but it has become more overgrown since those days. At Willow Bridge a quick glance over the parapet was enough to see the beck was running clear and would be ok to fish so I set up and headed down to the junction with Cod Beck. I don’t trust the little footbridge over the ditch near the bottom field but managed to scramble across the ditch and under the barbed wire. A quick walk down the field and then under the next barbed wire and I slithered rather precariously into Willow Beck.

I said previously that some of the pools and runs on Willow Beck are looking rather good and they do, but of course having the casting room to fish them is a different matter. It was some time before I found a rising fish and with a careful bit of stalking I was close enough to drop a roll cast just above where he was rising and he took first time. A nice 10 inch fish that was quickly photo’d and back in the beck.

There are still pools on Willow beck that are too deep to wade through so if you are going to try fishing it tread carefully and check the depth in front of you with a wading staff.

I only saw one more rise at the tail end of a very overgrown pool and though I managed to crawl close enough to roll cast to him I didn’t get a response and as I was just below Willow Bridge I called time and went back to the camper van. I was not unhappy as I had at least caught a trout on Willow Beck.

It was still early enough for a couple of hours on Isle Beck so I went and parked by the bridge and fished upstream. I managed 5 trout and 1 grayling in two and a half hours on a mix of F-Flies and goldheads. I thought I might be getting stocked fish but all the trout were beautiful wild fish and despite a couple of large woody debris blockages and one pool too deep to wade the fishing felt a lot lot easier than Willow Beck.

  14th May  –  Thirkleby

A nice afternoon and I set off intending to fish Willow Beck from the junction of Cod Beck to Willow Bridge. When I walked down from Willow Bridge to fish Cod Beck on 5th May I had noticed that some of the runs and pools on Willow Beck were looking rather nice and it seemed a good afternoon to give it a go. However when I got to Willow Bridge the beck was running quite high, fast and muddy and I didn’t fancy it at all.

Jumping back in the camper I headed up to Thirkleby where I hoped the beck would be lower and clearing and I was right – it was still fast and a little higher that I would have liked but at least I could see gravel in places.

I was going to fish from the footbridge at Balk Grange Farm to the weir pool at the top of our beat, but seeing trout rising in the section by the wall of the Mill House was far too much temptation so I slipped into the beck and got a small trout there on my second cast which was a nice way to start. Having carefully returned him I then got another from further up the same run a few minutes later.

Moving on under the trees I didn’t get any more action for a while but was surprised to find a huge difference to a pool where the farmer has dragged out a fallen tree that previously almost blocked upstream wading.

I got another from one of the more open pools but then found that the two trees that had already fallen across the beck below the Balk Grange Farm footbridge had recently been joined by half of another crack willow completely blocking upstream progress. It wasn’t there when I came up on 25th March so maybe it came down in the recent thunderstorm. It was with no small difficulty that I managed to get out and round it on the left bank. Once around it and looking across it from upstream there might be a better way round on the right bank, so I might try that next time.

Above the footbridge wading was easier and I picked up a couple more trout on small F Flies from the pylon length pool before getting a final trout on a copperhead fished K&D in the weir pool which was running very fast.

It had been a funny session and not what I had in mind when I set off but at least I had caught trout and enjoyed myself.

  7th May  –  River Riccal – Above the road bridge

A beautiful afternoon and no forecast of rain hail or thunderstorms so I head off to the Riccal for some fun.

The river Riccal looked perfect … the overhanging trees and bushes not so much! Actually the river was just a tad high, I think 19cm on the gauge is perfect but 21cm is near enough and it was clear with nice clean gravels.

Having said that it was hard work at first, there weren’t many fish rising and those that were showed no interest in anything I offered, but eventually I managed to extricate a small trout that was rising consistently just beyond a tangle of small branches. It needed some careful approach work, I poked the little rod through the branches and used a catapult cast to get the fly out across the run, but it worked.

It was quite some time before I got anything else but on a slightly more open run I came across a trout rising fairly regularly but I couldn’t see what he was taking. He ignored small F-Flies and small Adams, but then I saw a mayfly take off just above where he was so I changed to a small green mayfly. Even a small mayfly (size10) looks huge compared to the size 18 F- Flies I had been trying up till then and I was just thinking how silly it looked and it wasn’t going to work when the trout grabbed it and was soon in the net logged and returned.

Sad to say that was the last action I got though I laboured on for another 2 hours. As I said at the start the Riccal looked lovely but getting a fly in under the overgrowth was not at all easy and even the more open bits have branches high overhead to get your back cast. Having said that I do like a bit of a challenge and the Riccal certainly provides that. On its day it is a very productive little river, maybe today was just a bit too early in the season.

  5th May  –  Cod Beck Near Dalton

Well that didn’t go to plan!

It was supposed to be a pleasant hour or so on a nice afternoon fishing the 200 yards from the big pool to the junction with Willow Beck.

It was supposed to be a couple of grayling, two or three good trout that usually hang out just below the junction and maybe a half decent chub.

I struggled a bit as nothing was rising but a switch to a goldhead got me an almost half decent chub from the junction pool.

I didn’t want to fish further up Cod Beck so started up Willow Beck as I had seen some nice looking runs and pools on my walk down to Cod Beck.

I had just missed a small trout that rose to an F-Fly when the thunderstorm, that had been swirling around in the distance for a while arrived in full fury with vicious pea sized hailstones and torrential rain. I tried sheltering under the smallest tree around but it didn’t make much difference. The thunder and lightning was getting closer and closer and when the flash and the bang were simultaneous I was decidedly unhappy and didn’t feel at all safe even under the smallest tree. I was soaked through already so made a dash across the sodden field back to the campervan to find the road to Willow Bridge completely flooded but hooray for a campervan with towels, spare clothes food and a kettle!

  1st May  –  Isle Beck Above A19

Only my third trip to YTAA becks but it is a nice afternoon so I’m hoping for some fun. I start as I usually do going under the bridge and fishing above the sill and the Alder tree run and then the big pool and the run above it but there is nothing doing. It isn’t until I get to the run above the high bank where the kingfishers used to nest that I connect with a trout. This was a nice 10 inch fish that took a goldhead after I had tried various dry flies without success.

The wind had picked up and was blowing mostly downstream but sometimes left to right so it made casting a little interesting and it was a while before I connected with another fish. This time a small trout that took an Adams Klinkhammer from the top of a more open run. Take care wading this, it is deeper than it looks – I took a couple of steps up it and retreated to get out and walk around.

I switched back to a goldhead for the next pool which is also deep but again nothing doing. I got out to get around a big log jam above the next run and getting back in I saw a good rise in the next decent pool. This is a pool where the stream comes in from the left and swirls along the far bank, before coming back towards you. I have caught good trout and grayling here before so I wasn’t surprised when a trout took the goldhead first cast. Some aerobatics followed but he was soon under control and in my net, measured, a quick photo and back in the beck.

Again it was sometime before I got any action, this time in a run known to hold grayling, something was rising consistently and I guessed it was a grayling. My goldhead was ignored and so was an Adams Klinkhammer but a small black F Fly did the business and a 12 inch grayling was in the net in the log book and quickly returned.

In the next run I missed a very respectable looking grayling, and then missed another similar size one from a yard or two further up the run.

I think I must be getting old as I had been fishing for nearly 4 hours but had only fished about half the distance between the A19 and Arden Bridges, even so I’d had enough and it was getting cooler so I called it a day.

  21st April  –  Isle Beck Below A19

Yesterday would have been ideal for a visit to Isle Beck below the A19 Bridge – it was sunny, it was warm, there was hardly any wind, but today it was grey clouds, it was cooler and just to add to the fun there was a strong gusting wind. Never-the-less, at 11:50 I was tackling up and making my way down the path intending to go three fields down to one of my preferred starting spots.

A couple of hundred yards down the farmer had cleared the grass (or killed it?) between his barbed wire fence and the beck and planted several rows of very tiny Christmas trees. We had also cleared the way down the beck a little bit during a working party and anyway at the start of the season it’s not too overgrown to walk through so I was soon at my starting point.

I had decided to use my 5’ #2 Hardy Glass as I wasn’t sure how overgrown the lower part of the beck would be (Bad in places!). I started with a Parachute Adams and missed a rise early on. I switched to a Klink and Dink using a small copperhead to search some of the deeper pools and it wasn’t long before an 8.5 inch trout was in the log book. I then managed to hook into some brambles and lost both flies which fell in the beck when my cast snapped.

Switching back to the Adams I got a nice little grayling from a much improved shallow run and another when I switched back to a goldhead for a deeper run. I should say that it is usually worth making the changes between dry fly and goldheads fished Klink and Dink to search deeper pools particularly if there is nothing much rising. I do prefer dry fly as it is very satisfying casting to rising fish or dropping the fly in an eddy that you just know will have a trout, but it’s about catching fish and if it needs goldheads then that’s what I will try.

Next up was a small grayling on a goldhead quickly followed by a decent trout that took the size 10 Grey Wulff I was using as the Klink.

By now it was getting quite windy and a little chilly and it was clearly trying to rain. I have to say that the wind wasn’t really a problem as much of the beck downstream of the A19 Bridge is below high banks so my casting wasn’t too badly affected. What was interesting is that some of the pools have changed a lot overwinter, a couple that weren’t productive last season have improved no end and look very fishy. While elsewhere others that I used to wade through without a second thought have become very deep and had me grabbing my wading staff to ensure I had safe passage through. You have been warned the becks do change overwinter so tread carefully on your first few visits.

By 4 o’clock it was starting to rain and it gradually got heavier so although I added a few more trout (and a right chunky minnow) by just after 5 o’clock I’d had enough and called it a day.

I was actually quite pleased with the session, the beck was a little high, slightly cloudy and flowing fairly fast and with the weather less than ideal 5 trout, 2 grayling and a bonus minnow felt like a good result.

  25th March  –  Thirkleby

Well here we go again. Opening day on the Becks and my daughter Jenni and I are heading to Thirkleby for a fairly early start as rain is forecast for the afternoon and we decided to fish from the footbridge at Balk Grange Farm up to the weir pool at the top of our beat. We are going to fish together and alternate on who has first go at each pool /run.

Nothing much happens on dry flies for the first few pools but switching to a goldhead Klink & Dink got me a trout first cast. OK it was only about 5 inches but they all count!

My second trout on the goldhead was enough to persuade Jenni to change to K&D and she got her first trout of the season straight away. She followed this with a nice little chub and was particularly pleased as it is the first chub she has caught.

A couple more for me from the next pool up and then I switched back to an F Fly to try for a rising trout on the pylon length but missed him both times he rose. I had done a bit of work on the branches and overhanging bushes on the pylon length so there is a bit more casting room, but we didn’t get any more fish.

There is a good but shallow run below the weir pool which is always worth a dry fly and sure enough a good trout rose twice but I missed him both times - must be lack of practice. On the weir pool itself Jen was quickly into a trout and I followed a minute later. The weir pool was flowing very quickly as the water was still quite high but Jen picked up her third trout from the slacker water on the right. I was having trouble seeing the Klink in the faster water so swapped it for a bright yarn indicator and straight away picked up my sixth trout which was just about the biggest of our session.

We had been fishing for four hours and were pleased with what we had caught and as it was starting to rain we headed back to the camper for some lunch. The rain got heavier so we called time on a very pleasant start to the season.

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