30th September  –  Last Cast at Thirkleby Mill

I had intended to go to Kirkbymoorside to fish Howkeld Beck and the River Dove on the last day of the season but had to change plans as I had limited time available. Knowing I would only manage a couple of hours either side of mid-day, my obvious choice was to have another session at Thirkleby Mill and while it hasn’t been great this year I had managed 4 trout last time out so was hopeful of at least some action on the last day of the season.

It was actually quite nice weather, warm and sunny and the beck looked OK just a little higher than last time out but nice and clear. I didn’t get any interest at all until I was above the footbridge at Balk Grange Farm where I got a good trout just under 10 inches from the run below “Janet’s Hut”. It felt good to get an entry in the waterside log book on the last day of the season as blanking would live with you till March next year.

I moved on and got a second trout from the tail end of “19 Second Pool” (so called because Go-Pro Gordon filmed me casting hooking and landing a trout there in 19 seconds on two consecutive visits!).

Having measured and returned that trout I cast again a little further up the pool and the Hi-Viz Adams Para vanished in a big swirling rise and I was hooked into another good trout. This one measured just over 11.25 inches, the strange thing is I don’t think I’ve had a trout from “19 Second” all season and now on the last day I had two in consecutive casts!

I was running short of time and fished quickly through the remaining pools to the weir pool at the top of our beat but got no further interest but I was happy that my season ended on a reasonable high note with a good fish.

As a post script to the season it has been one of the hardest I have recorded in the last 25 years. I have had more trips and spent more time on the becks and rivers than in previous years and although I ended on 93 trout for the season the average number of trout per visit was well down. I have heard that other YTAA members have had similar experience with the becks not fishing as well as previous years especially during the warm dry spell through May, June and July. I don’t think there was a proper “Mayfly season” this year, if there was I certainly missed out on the so called duffer’s fortnight. During this season I also caught 8 grayling, 15 chub and 2 dace but again each of these were lower than in previous seasons.

  24th September  –  Thirkleby Mill

I had intended to go to the River Dove for a full day but got delayed and side tracked and ended up at Thirkleby Mill at 2.30 hoping I would do better than a blank in the time available.

The afternoon didn’t start well and I got no interest at all until I was quite a way above the Mill and I missed a rise. Trout have been few and far between on my last several trips so I wasn’t best pleased, but I was a bit happier when I landed a nice little trout a few minutes later. Missing two consecutive rises a bit further up didn’t help my mood.

The tree blockage below the footbridge at Balk Grange Farm has grown so I exited and walked up to get back in the beck just below “Janet’s Hut”.

A couple of trout in quick succession here improved my mood no end but I had no more action till I got to the weir at the top of our beat. The weir actually looked quite promising but I had to settle for just one more trout that took the tiny black F-Fly that accounted for all the fish today.

It’s probably my last trip to Thirkleby this season as I am off to fish with Go-Pro Gordon in Scotland this weekend and if I am back in time to fish on the 30th (last day) I will probably head to the Dove.

  11th September  –  River Riccal

Last time out I went to the Riccal and failed to catch a thing, I wanted revenge and with a full afternoon available I was optimistic of some action.

By the time I was tackled up it was starting to drizzle and there was a very annoying side wind which is exactly what you don’t need on a narrow overgrown river.

I tried very hard using a fine variety of dries and goldheads but didn’t get a touch on the lower part of the beat. The only consolation was the drizzle had stopped.

After brief and rather late sandwich lunch back at the camper van (it was nearly 4pm!) I set off to fish the upper beat. It was pretty much the same story not a rise to be seen in all my favourite bits of the beat until I reached a long run completely shaded by overhanging trees. I saw ripples from a rise near the bank, I cast and the fly vanished in a rise so small I almost missed it under the shade of the trees. I struck just in time and a lively little trout was soon safely in the net.

I fished on for another hour but didn’t get anything else or see any more rises. One small trout for six hours of effort may not seem much but believe me it was a lot better than completely blanking.

  29th August  –  River Riccal – Not the evening I’d hoped for.

I wanted to try the Riccal again and timed it so the rain storm that was passing over would be clear of Nunnington by the time I got there to fish.

By the time I was set up it had turned into a beautiful sunny evening and the river was crystal clear and I was hopeful of some good action starting at the bottom of our beat and basically having a go at every bit of water I could get a cast into.

I missed a rise early on then missed a rise from a small grayling that flipped out of the water as I struck. I tried dries and goldheads and my usual Klink and Dink rig in the deeper holes of which there are still many but all to no avail.

It has been a strange season this year and I have really struggled to catch the numbers of trout I usually get. The Riccal is still one of my favourite beats and can usually be relied on for at least a few trout and the odd grayling so blanking on it hurts.

  25th August  –   Isle Beck above and below the A19 - but not the best of days!

I had limited time available for fishing as I had to be home before 5pm so I thought a short trip to Isle Beck would be fun. I decided to have a quick look at the big pool below the A19 as I hadn’t managed to fish it this season. I thought I’d start with a deep Klink and Dink goldhead but when I had pushed my way through balsam, thistles and nettles was surprised to find a tree down into the pool making casting “interesting”. I did manage to get a couple of good roll casts right up the pool and landed a small wild trout to get things under way.

The tree down across the pool, which has always been rather deep made wading upstream absolutely impossible so I retreated and walked up to the bridge and down the side to try for the Alder Tree trout and wade upstream from there.

It was at this point that I remembered someone had mentioned a big willow tree down above the A19 and sure enough it was right across the stream but with a few small branches cut away so you can just about wriggle through.

Immediately upstream the beck was filled with scummy water with leaves and thistle heads so I kept wading and tried the pool around the next corner losing a trout and once again I was forced to retreat downstream when I couldn’t push my way through the tangle of balsam and nettles and old fallen branches. I had to walk quite away upstream before I could find away to get back in and I still had no success until I came to another deep pool.

First cast a trout came up and looked at the Klink but didn’t take it. So I switched to a small olive F Fly and that was ignored too. Casting further up the pool I got a rise and managed to land a half decent 10 inch grayling.

I have really struggled to catch good numbers of trout this season and so I switched back to a deep Klink and Dink rig to try for some of the decent trout that I know this particular pool holds. A couple of casts later the Klink slid under and I tightened into to something very heavy that slowly moved towards me. My poor little rod was almost bent double as I eventually landed a large Wellie Boot! You all know the joke about anglers landing old boots, so let’s just say I was suitably embarrassed to become a living example of the old joke

I think my day went downhill from here. I tried to wade on up through the edge of the pool to get in range of a rising fish and managed to top my chest waders so was forced to retreat again. Now I was rather damper than is really necessary but I still fished on for a couple of pools but got no more action and was quite glad when I had reached my time limit and had to pack up.

  10th to 12th August  –  Fishing Goes Wrong

My good friend Gordon was coming down from Scotland on business with the possibility of a couple of days fishing on YTAA Becks and Rivers. Fishing with Gordon (aka Go-Pro) is usually fun and as his alias suggests he is always ready to catch the most inconvenient moments of me catching trees, crawling in and out of becks and heaven forbid occasionally falling in.

Armed with guest tickets we decided the Riccal would be a good place to start after all it would be good cool water as it is limestone fed and while it would be low (like all YTAA running water at the moment) there was a strong chance of some good action.

Although the Riccal is overgrown at this time of the season there are a number of nice runs and pools that were open enough to cast in and we could see several good fish that were within range of the 5 foot #2 hardy glass rods we were both using. It all started so well with several trout rising but nothing staying on long enough to reach a net and by lunchtime we had only managed 3 trout between us in the overgrown conditions.

Suitably refreshed by a leisurely lunch we tackled the upper beat of the Riccal in the afternoon fully expecting a lot more trouty action. We both failed to connect to rising trout in the first couple of runs above the road bridge and then didn’t see any more rises or get any reaction to dries or nymphs carefully cast into all the likely places.

The following day we set our sights on the River Dove with 6’ #3 rods as the weapons of choice as the Dove is in the main more open for casting. The river was low but there are plenty of good runs and pools to go at but our progress was slow and it was quite some time before “Go-Pro” got proceedings under way with a decent trout.

I continued to struggle to get anything to rise to a dry or take a goldhead, then in one of my favourite runs I was plagued with fish hitting the fly but I failed to hook them. After several frustrating minutes I eventually changed to a size 24 F-Fly and managed to hook a small grayling. (I have these tiny size 24 flies pre tied on to a tippet at home using a magnifying glass as they are so tiny and almost impossible to thread onto a cast when you are standing in a river holding a rod!

Of course Gordon had to go one better and caught an even smaller grayling on his size 14 Adams but that was the last of the action we had.

However at one of the more open pools we spotted several very big trout moving sluggishly in the shallow water. We didn’t exactly throw everything in our fly boxes at them but over 40 minutes tried quite a few with no interest at all. Eventually we moved on to fish the rest of the beat. We stopped for a drink and a rather late lunch before heading back down to that pool to try again, but the trout had vanished.

Our final trip was a late afternoon at Thirkleby Mill hoping for a little more action but although we both caught several chub we got up to the weir pool at the top of the YTAA beat without seeing or landing a trout. Our hopes of a trout at the weir pool were unfounded as it was exceptionally low with hardly any flow.

  3rd August  –  Cod Beck

I hadn’t fished Cod Beck very much this season and decided to give it a go knowing that I was likely to get a mixed bag rather than the net full of trout that has been lacking this season - I wasn’t wrong.

I had a quick look at our original beat on Cod Beck but there was nothing doing and even above Willow Beck there were no rising fish and two hours went by without a touch. Then, in a small run below the junction with Paradise beck I got a minnow on a goldhead. I didn’t even move my feet before casting again and hooking a 4 inch chub. I was really glad that I hadn’t blanked and cast again and hooked a better fish on the same goldhead. This turned out to be a better chub all of 9 inches. Three consecutive casts and 3 fish and for a moment or two I thought things were going to take off but it wasn’t to be and I didn’t get any more interest at all though I tried various dries and nymphs though and I tried hard.

In one long shallow open stretch I did see two of the biggest chub I’ve ever seen, certainly 4lb plus in fact when I first saw them I thought they were carp. Needless to say they ignored the dries and a goldhead I chucked at them before slowly vanishing upstream.

At this I’d had enough and packed up thinking of an early night but when I came to drive out I found the gate to Gristhwaite farm closed against me. There was nobody around at the farm but with the help of our chairman, who knows the owners, a means of escape was eventually achieved.

  25th July  –  Thirkleby

It’s been nearly two months since I last visited Thirkleby which despite the unsightly and rather smelly area around the Mill is still a favourite and one of the most productive beats that we have on the YTAA books.

Today was a 5 foot Hardy Glass sort of day (well later afternoon) and the little rod proved its worth yet again. A chub on my second casts was quickly followed by a 12.25 inch wild trout. A rather plump trout and obviously living a life of luxury under the willow tree in the first field.

As I made my way upstream I was catching chub mostly around 8 inches, good fun on the little Hardy rod but not the trout as I would have liked. I did miss or lose three trout which is a bit frustrating when I was hoping for a big net full, but that’s how it is some days. I fished the whole way up to the weir pool at the top of our beat where I caught the fifth and final trout of the day on a Green Emerger; in fact each of the 13 fish today had come on the Green Emerger, though I had tried several other dries and a goldhead without success.

The weir pool was pretty low but not quite the lowest I have seen and the water was slightly murky so I think we could really use a good bit of rain to freshen things up. I ended on 8 chub and 5 trout which I suppose is still a reasonable sort of a day.

  30th July  –  Isle Beck below the A19

I was a bit late setting out but wanted to try Isle Beck below the A19. The path down the beck is very overgrown so by the time I had got to where I wanted to start over four fields down I was quite warm and it was just gone 4 pm.

I started with a Green Emerger but changed to a Klink and Dink rig after 20 minutes to try a deep pool and landed a 6.5 inch chub. I kept trying the Emerger in the open runs and switched to the Gold Head K&D for the deep runs when nothing was showing interest in dries. There was nothing much happening so two hours after the chub I down sized to a Size 18 Green Emerger and the first run I tried it I saw the shape of a good sized fish checking it out but not taking it. I retrieved the fly, dried it and cast again and this time the good sized fish took it and a lively battle ensued before I could get the big trout into the net. It was a very good wild brown measured at 14.5 inches, a quick photo and safely released.

I thought the trout might have been my best from YTAA waters this season but checking back I found I had an identical size trout from Cod Beck on 25th April. I kept trying for another hour or so but got no further interest, but did find some very overgrown areas blocking progress up the beck.

In the end despite only landing the one trout I’d had enough and skipped several runs and pools near the bridge as I was absolutely exhausted.

Below the A19 bridge the beck is very low and in many places sluggish and covered with a dusty film full of thistle seeds. Apart from the trout I caught I only saw two other rises and failed to tempt either of them. I don’t think I will be trying below the A19 again this season, but if we had some rain to freshen things up I might just be mad enough to try again.

  25th July  –  Thirkleby

It’s been nearly two months since I last visited Thirkleby which despite the unsightly and rather smelly area around the Mill is still a favourite and one of the most productive beats that we have on the YTAA books.

Today was a 5 foot Hardy Glass sort of day (well later afternoon) and the little rod proved its worth yet again. A chub on my second casts was quickly followed by a 12.25 inch wild trout. A rather plump trout and obviously living a life of luxury under the willow tree in the first field.

As I made my way upstream I was catching chub mostly around 8 inches, good fun on the little Hardy rod but not the trout as I would have liked. I did miss or lose three trout which is a bit frustrating when I was hoping for a big net full, but that’s how it is some days. I fished the whole way up to the weir pool at the top of our beat where I caught the fifth and final trout of the day on a Green Emerger; in fact each of the 13 fish today had come on the Green Emerger, though I had tried several other dries and a goldhead without success.

The weir pool was pretty low but not quite the lowest I have seen and the water was slightly murky so I think we could really use a good bit of rain to freshen things up. I ended on 8 chub and 5 trout which I suppose is still a reasonable sort of a day.

  23rd July  –  River Dove

Despite delays before setting out I really wanted to fish the River Dove as I have only had one brief visit to it so far this season. By 15:00 I was parked up by the old barn at Ings farm, at least I was parked up by what was left of the old barn that has finally had a fairly catastrophic event and a large part of it is now completely tumbled down.

I set up the 6’ Rawson S Glass with the size 16 Black F-Fly which did so well on the Riccal two days ago and made my way down to start at the “slabs” pool.

Nothing showed an interest in the Black F Fly so I swapped to a Klink and Dink to try the deeper runs so of course a decent fish then slashed at the “Klink”. So I changed to a Green Emerger which with the white “post” would be easier to see but got no reaction. I moved on but it was nearly an hour before I got the first trout which came on a goldhead in one of the deeper runs. An hour later I got trout number two and a few minutes later lost a good trout from a fast run. It is the fourth time that I have lost a good trout from that particular spot thought whether it is the same trout I don’t know but it is getting a bit frustrating.

I moved on and got a “micro” grayling from a shallow run on a small Green Emerger before everything went quite for two hours. I had never seen the Dove so low and I was able to wade through several places where I would normally be getting out and walking round, but despite this the action didn’t improve.

I was nearly back at the remains of the barn when I saw a couple of fish rising, I cast at the first fish, it rose and just as quickly came off. I cast at another rising fish further up with the same result. My frustration was tangible but then I saw another trout rising and this time a 9 inch fish stayed on to be netted. I had just returned him when I saw yet another trout rising further upstream and cast and got him too. At 10.5 inches he was just the biggest of the day.

It was a funny sort of a day with long spaces between the two early trout and then when I had almost given up hope the trout came on for a few minutes just before 8pm and I had two in 7 minutes.

  21st July  –  River Riccal Lower Beat

I had intended to have a full day on the River Dove, but then I got a call to deal with an issue at Stearsby Lakes and by the time that was sorted it was early afternoon so I decided a few hours on the lower part of the River Riccal would be my best bet for action.

There was a very good work party on the lower beat of the Riccal this year but I have only had one visit to this part prior to today. I was a bit surprised by how much of it has now been choked up with tall reeds but walking down I could see a few good runs and a couple of open pools that looked promising.

I tied on a size 16 Black F-Fly which was clearly a good choice as second cast I hooked (and landed) a pretty little 8 inch trout, this was followed by another slightly smaller trout a minute or so later and then 5 more trout in the next 40 minutes. After missing a rise to the now quite chewed Black F-Fly I switched to a Green Emerger and got another trout next cast.

I have really struggled to land trout this season so today was going really well. In fact almost every bit of water that I could get a roll cast in was producing fish. I got several more on a fresh Black F-Fly, before switching to a goldhead to try on particular deep run and straight away hooked and landed a 10.5 inch trout. I tried the goldhead in a couple more runs before seeing a rising fish in a shallow but fairly open run. The Black F-Fly went back on the cast and another 9 inch trout went in the log book, this was the 12th trout of the session and was caught exactly 4 hours after I had started so it seemed like a good time to call it a day.

It had been a really good session not least because the thunderstorm that looked like it would catch me out as I started blew over, but also because it was only the second time this season that I have reached double figures in a session (The other was Thirkleby in May). Despite the tall reeds blocking some of the narrow deep runs, there were a number of really nice little pools that had rising trout which made for very pleasant afternoon.

  12th July  –  Jungle Warfare above the A19

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to fish this afternoon but headed off up the A19 eventually deciding I would fish Isle Beck above the A19 bridge if nobody else was parked there or otherwise go on round to Gristhwaite farm and try Cod beck.

Isle Beck was a rather low and quite sluggish but a few pools in I got an 8 inch trout on a beaded Pheasant Tail fished Klink and Dink Style in a deep pool.

I moved up stream with caution trying not to disturb fish in the low clear water. I caught a second trout on a small olive F-Fly, this was tiny just 3.25 inches and quickly returned. It is encouraging to see trout this size as it means the wild fish are breeding successfully, in fact I saw quite a lot of trout this size in various shallow runs as I made my way upstream.

Isle beck has become considerably overgrown in the last few weeks, mostly balsam and in some places this towered several feet above my head, but there was also tall reeds and wild rhubarb to contend with.

I only caught one more trout, a very respectable 11 inch fish that was rather acrobatic leaping several times in a short fight.

I didn’t fish on for much longer as I was about half way between the bridges and I guessed the walk back down to the A19 would be hot and dusty through the long grasses and I wasn’t wrong.

The above diary sounds a bit negative but wasn’t meant to be, yes it was hot, yes it felt a bit like hard work but there are still plenty of open runs and deep pools that are well worth a cast with a dry or a sunken nymph.

  10th July  –  A Hot Afternoon On The Riccal

It’s been a while since I fished YTAA becks as I have been in Scotland and Orkney (loads of lochs and free fishing!) so I wanted to have a nice afternoon with some trout. All our waters are very low and the Riccal being spring fed had the best chance of cool water and the chance of catching and releasing trout safely.

When I arrived at the road bridge a gentleman from the EA was just packing up some kit that they use to measure the volume of flow of rivers. I didn’t know but the equipment in the little shed does it automatically as well as recording the river height. The EA like to check manually to ensure the data is correct particularly during low flow when abstraction from farmers is reducing the river levels.

I have to say it was a very hot afternoon even under the trees which cover large areas of the Riccal and the fishing was a bit slow and casting needed great care to avoid getting caught up on back casts, in fact most of the time I used roll casts to get the fly out to cover rising fish.

I eventually hooked a nice trout and despite him going under some roots where I thought I had lost him, I managed to keep the tension on the line and extract him safely into my net.

Moving on I got a couple more smaller trout on the same olive F-fly and another from a deep pool on a silver beaded pheasant tail fished K&D. I then managed to hook and lose 3 consecutive trout just when they were ready to net. A rather frustrating end to an otherwise pleasant afternoon.

  16th June  –  Isle Beck Above A19

I managed to get out to Isle Beck to fish above the A19 Bridge and hopefully get right up to Arden Bridge which I haven’t managed so far this season.

Having failed to hook the “Alder Tree Trout” from just above the bridge I waded upstream without getting any more offers in the next two runs. Getting out to avoid a deep pool I was pushing through the high balsam and nettles when I was hit by a bee which somehow got under the frame of my Polaroid glasses and managed to sting me right on the edge of my eye socket. It was extremely painful and I suppose I was lucky it wasn’t actually in my eye which probably would have ruined my fishing trip.

Moving upstream and feeling a bit sorry for myself I missed a couple more rises before I got a nice wild trout on a mayfly from a pool that is normally a bit too deep to wade through. A few minutes later I got a second wild trout also on a mayfly.

I was making good progress towards Arden Bridge as there are a couple of runs I haven’t fished there so far this season. In the first of these I got a good sized trout but the lack of red spots clearly identified it as a stocked fish and an identical fish a few minutes later confirmed it. I have fished Isle Beck quite a few times this season but these are the first stockies I have seen.

On one of the deeper pools I had several fish splash at the large mayfly without taking it, so a quick change to a small Adams Parachute got me one more fish, a small chub.

The beck was very clear and very low, probably the lowest I have ever seen it so a little rain might help to liven things up. Apart from the bee sting it was quite a pleasant session wading and casting beneath the trees.

  1st June  –  Mayfly on the Riccal

I headed off to the Riccal hoping for a great afternoon of mayfly fun with lots of greedy trout almost begging to be caught. Sure enough there were plenty of mayfly about and trout were taking them but with a strong left to right wind I knew it was going to make it a challenging afternoon.

Despite some poor results from the Riccal this season it is still one of my favourite YTAA beats. It’s a beautiful little river. Today it was exceptionally clear and low with only 17cm showing on the river level gauge so I knew it was going to mean some very slow and careful stalking to avoid scaring fish. As well as the wind the forecast was for showers and I had hoped that rain falling on the river would help to obscure my approach, something that has worked in my favour before but the rain didn’t really arrive.

Despite my best efforts I missed the first four rises in a row before I eventually hooked and landed a trout, in fact missing or losing trout seemed to be the theme for the day and I think this was partly due to the larger hook in the mayfly patterns and the trout not taking them fully in at first bite. In the end I only managed to hook and land 5 trout all on big mayfly patterns and several of them were barely lip hooked. The best two trout were 10 and 12 inches which is as about as good as you can expect on the Riccal.

  29th May  –  Mayfly at Thirkleby

The last few visits to YTAA waters there has been the odd mayfly about bit the fish were showing no great interest, but today was different.

The weather was definitely less than ideal with a strong westerly wind blowing twigs and small branches off overhead trees, which was a bit alarming, but the wind was also blowing large numbers of mayfly onto the beck where they were gratefully received by waiting trout and by the shape of some of the trout they have their bellies stuffed full of mayflies.

A large green mayfly did the business and carefully timing my casting between gusts of wind, I had the best afternoon of my season so far. Despite the wind I didn’t lose a single fly to the foliage and I ended on 2 chub and 10 good wild trout the best two both 11inch fish. I got trout in consecutive casts from the top of the pylon length – first one to the right of the log and the second to the left, and after the slow, hard start to the season that felt good.

  16th May  –  Isle Beck Below A19 – Like Clockwork

A little late starting but I was in the beck by the little copse and ready to start casting by 15:20 but it was nearly two hours before I got my first rise and landed a fish. I was actually very pleased with this one - a good sized wild trout that I had lost on opening day, I had watched him taking something from the surface for some time before I saw him take a mayfly. I switched to a green mayfly pattern but he ignored it, so I tried a large Grey Wulf and he took it first time.

An hour later I landed trout number two, another good fish that I saw rising in a run where I had also lost a good fish on opening day. This one took a large Adams Parachute fly. I moved on upstream but it was another hour before my third fish. This was also a rising trout from the bend below where the farmer has now bulldozed in a load of soil and rubble where the bank was being eroded.

I do seem to be struggling for trout at the moment, I am catching some good quality fish but not in big numbers. The three fish today were perfect big wild trout, (11-14 inches) and I didn’t see a sign of any recently stocked fish anywhere.

So why “Clockwork” in the title of this diary? Well as you know I keep a riverside log book of all my fishing where I note the time, size of the fish and the fly used. I noted today’s first trout was landed at 17:06. The second trout was landed at 18:06 and the third was landed at exactly 19:06, how weird is that?

  11th and 13th May  –  Riccal and Riccal Revisited

A perfect afternoon so I headed off to try the Riccal calling at Stearsby briefly to collect April log sheets on the way. The Riccal was a perfect height (19cm on the depth gauge) and running beautifully clear so I knew it was going to be an afternoon with very careful stalking to get close enough to cast without disturbing trout.

I slid into the river just above the road bridge and was pleased to see a few fish rising. I covered several of the rises without any interest and then missed a trout that did take the Adams Parachute. That was a costly mistake as it was over 2 hours before I got another take and landed the first trout of the afternoon, only a small trout but pretty with bright red spots.

Quarter of an hour later I covered a fish rising consistently in a long pool beneath tree cover and another perfect, albeit smaller trout went into the log book. I thought I might get more action on this pool as it always looks good but it didn’t happen. In fact I reached the top of our beat without any more action at all and with just two small trout for what was now four hours of effort I decided to walk back down and try a few of the pools just above the bridge again. I gave it another half hour and managed to miss two more rises to make a rather disappointing to what should probably have been a good day.

I was very disappointed with my low catch rate on my Riccal visit and thought I should have done better so on the 13th May I found myself back at the Riccal tackled up to try again. Sadly it was the same story very little action for nearly 2 hours but I was seeing a lot of fish dart away as I roll cast towards rising fish. I noticed that as I roll cast a fast shadow from the line was falling across the water and wondered if this was scaring the trout. To counter this I changed from my usual set up of a leader and tippet of around 5 feet long to one of nearly 7 feet long. This would mean less shadow from the main line near a rising fish. This change worked and I started catching trout, but the longer leader also meant I was catching more trees and foliage on my back cast which added to my frustration over a lack of fish.

In the end I managed to get 5 trout to the net, all on a small dry olive F-fly. I did try my much favoured goldhead on a ‘Klink and Dink’ rig in some of the deeper runs but got no interest at all. Five trout was not as many as I wanted or had hoped for but an improvement on Sunday’s effort and I took some comfort that I landed every trout that rose to the fly.

The Riccal really is looking really beautiful, the depth gauge currently shows 19cm which is pretty much perfect but the water is very clear so cautious wading and a careful approach is essential if you are going to try it.

  9th May  –  Thirkleby Mill

After the working party on the beck I headed up to Thirkleby for an evening session hoping for some good dry fly action. So far this season it has felt that the trout really aren’t coming on despite some reasonable hatches and several YTAA members have also said it has been hard work catching a trout.

I didn’t get any action for the first 40 minutes but got a nice little trout from the willow tree corner on a small Adams Parachute to start things off. Moving on I disturbed a heron in the chicken field but failed to get any more action until I was nearly at Balk Grange Farm and a good trout took the Adams Parachute. A few minutes later a 6 inch trout from “Janet’s Hut” pool started to make this feel like a good session, but it was still hard work and some of my favourite pools didn’t add to the action.

I landed another good trout this time from the long pool before you come to the pylon length and I was feeling confident that the pylon length would produce some more trout. However I was wrong because despite several rising trout I didn’t get any takes until the very top of this length and then I manage to hook and then lose a good trout that was rising by the big log.

When I got to the weir pool it was fairly low with not much water coming over the weir. I got no interest in dries but changing to a Klink and Dink rig I eventually manage to get another nice trout which was the last trout of the day by dropping the goldhead right up against the wall of the weir pool.

As I walked past the mill back to my camper van I disturbed a Little Egret fishing just below the mill bridge – It was the second time I’ve seen one there so I hope he wasn’t feasting on trout fry.

  29th April  –  A short evening session on Isle Beck

I was able to get out for a late start on Isle Beck above the A19 Bridge. I chose this beat because you can be fishing in a couple of minutes after tackling up so ideal if you haven’t got much time available.

The trout that hangs out by the alder tree failed to show but the tail end of the run into the first big pool had a fish rising. My first cast was not as delicate as it needed to be and he didn’t rise again.

I waited a few minutes to see if he would but with no sign of him doing so I decided to try a goldhead on a K&D rig. I had just set it up when the trout started rising again. I wasn’t about to switch back so just cast a few feet up from the last rise and as the line came down the trout took the goldhead. After a bit of a tussle a very decent trout was in the net measured (13.5 inches) and with a quick photo safely released.

I moved upstream keeping the K&D rig on as just round the bend is a deep pool where a log jam had been and I thought I might want to search the depths for a trout. However keeping well-hidden and poking my head around the corner I could see a fish rising so off came the K&D and on went a black F-Fly. The fish rose again as I watched so I cast a little way upstream of the rise and as the fly came down he took it. This was a lively trout leaping out several times before I slid him into the net. At 10.5 inches not a big as the first one but still a very nice fish and safely released.

I didn’t see or get any more action for an hour but then spotted a small rise on the edge of a fast run into a deep pool. The small black F-fly was still on my cast and the trout took it first time. This was another good fish but with plenty of room in the snag free deep pool it was easy to play and net him. Once again measured, a quick photo keeping him as wet as possible and safely released. At 14 inches it was the best of the day and also the last though I fished on for another hour without any action.

  25th April  –  Cod Beck Revisited

After resting my sore knee for a week I was keen to get back to Cod Beck seeking “revenge” for blanking here last week. Revenge may seem a strong word to use about trout fishing but I do take it personally when trout ignore my flies but continue to rise for something else.

I was back at the junction with Willow Beck before 2pm armed with the 6’ #3 Rawson but there was no sign of rising fish so after trying a few dry patterns with no interest I switched to the faithful goldhead Klink and Dink rig and straight away hooked into a good trout. He was soon in the net, carefully measured, photographed and quickly released. At 10 inches a good fish but by no means outstanding but it was very satisfying to complete the “revenge”!

I tried a couple of pools above that run without further success and then decided to drive round to the railway bridge and try the deep run below the bridge. This was great idea and produced two excellent trout the first at 14.5 inches and the second at 13.5 both safely released after quick photos.

  18th April  –  Cod Beck Got Personal

That lovely looking run from just above the junction with Willow Beck was not the scene of triumph I expected. There are normally both trout and grayling to be had in this run and when I arrived there was a trout rising close in on the left and several fish that were probably grayling rising further upstream and I thought this was going to be fun.

However the trout ignored an F Fly, then an Adams parachute, then a gnat, then an Adams Klinkhammer, but continued to rise and take something from the surface. I cast further upstream to see if I could get one of the grayling and they ignored everything I threw at them but continued to rise either side of the fly I dropped near them.

This is when it got personal and I spent nearly two hours going through my fly box trying goldheads, nymphs, buzzers and dries but nothing seemed to interest the fish that continued to rise steadily throughout. Eventually I tried a spider pattern on a K&D rig and a grayling grabbed it, I struck and felt him but he was off in seconds.

I gave up and moved upstream but didn’t see any more fish rising and failed to get any takes on goldheads. What I did do was get stuck by a pool too deep to wade and crawling my way up a very steep bank did something to my left knee. I had thought I might go back to the run above Willow Beck the next day for “Revenge” but I really have done something to my left knee so haven’t made it back yet.

  15th April  –  Isle Beck Frustration Below the A19 Bridge

I wanted to fish Isle Beck below the A19 again before the weather breaks so early afternoon found me well down the beck by the little copse which is as far as the working parties reached.

I tried dries but with nothing much happening in the way of rises switched to a goldhead and for 40 minutes or so nothing kept on happening. Then I saw a goodish trout rise twice so changing back to an Adams Klinkhammer and cast to where he had been rising. He took it straight way, I felt him but just as quickly I somehow pulled the hook out.

Moving on and switching back to the goldhead I hooked and lost a grayling, then in a bigger pool I missed two takes in succession from what were probably small grayling. This was getting frustrating as I had been fishing for 2 hours and hadn’t landed a fish, however the next cast produced a firm take and I managed to keep a 10 inch grayling on and into my riverside log book.

I moved upstream and a few minutes later a good take produced a very lively 12 inch trout that also stayed attached to get in the record book.

I had hoped this was the start of a great late afternoon session but I got no more action before I reached the A19 Bridge. I was going to pack in but looking upstream over the bridge I could see the “Alder tree trout” rising. I watched for a couple of minutes and he kept rising so I changed back to a dry, carefully waded under the bridge and cast to where he had been rising. Sure enough he took the fly first time and I promptly pulled it straight out! My frustration afternoon was complete.

  10th & 11th April  –  River Riccal

The weather is still holding up and I decided to have a good go at the Riccal hoping that the trout there would be in a better mood for taking dry flies than has been the case on the other waters I have fished so far this season.

On the 10th I fished above the road bridge which is one of my favourite bits of the Riccal and I was not disappointed. The River itself looked perfect; in fact I don’t think I have seen it as clear and sparkling.

I made a good start with a small but perfectly formed trout that took a goldhead on the edge of a fast run, under 7 inches but they all count towards the rather ambitious target I have set myself to try and catch from YTAA waters this season.

After the first trout things slowed down and it was 40 minutes before I found a rising trout. He ignored an F Fly I drifted over him several times but I changed to a small Adams Parachute and he took it first time.

I had fished almost to the top of our beat without any further action and decided to walk back down and re-visit some of the pools just above the bridge. It had been 2 hours since the last trout but a rising fish by the river level gauge took the Adams Parachute and was added to the log book.

It was another 40 minutes before I added to my tally with two trout in consecutive casts from the same run, both taking an Adams Klinkhammer. The Klinkhammer version does sit just a little lower in the water than the parachute version and sometimes works better. Anyway these last two trout were enough. Just 5 trout in 5 hours fishing felt like hard work, but it was a nice warm day and amongst other things I had found some brook lamprey clearing a spawning redd, which I haven’t seen on the Riccal before.

I was back on the Riccal by mid-afternoon on 11th April for a shorter session hoping to see some action and maybe even an evening rise.

This time starting at the bottom of our beat I appreciated how open it is after our working parties, but it was still half an hour before I got off the mark with a near 10 inch trout on the goldhead. After this trout, things went downhill and it was nearly 2 hours before I got a similar size trout on an Olive F Fly.

By this time it was clear that the repairs to the left leg of my waders were not as good as I had hoped and I had a very soggy feeling from my left knee down so I decided to call it a day, in any case another YTAA member had arrived for an evening session and I was happy to leave him space to enjoy what was left of the day.

Oh I nearly forgot to mention I saw two more rarities I haven’t seen on the Riccal before. The first was a bullhead – a good indicator species for clean water and I also saw a native white claw crayfish, itself quite a rare sight in UK rivers.

  8th April  –  Above the A19 Bridge

Another outing today in my quest for trout.

It is early days for the trout season but at the moment it feels like hard work. At least today I did see two rising fish neither of whom ended up on my line. An hour and a half of careful stalking and casting produced nothing but about half way up our beat there is a deep pool with loads of casting room and using a goldhead on a Klink and Dink rig I finally hooked a lively trout which was safely netted, measured at 10.5 inches and after a quickly photo safely released.

Half an hour later in one of my favourite pools a better trout took the bulk parachute fly I was using as the Klink and after brief but hectic battle on my little hardy rod was safely in the net. This trout was 12.5 inches and was also quickly photo’d and safely released.

I did see one more trout and it was a very good fish indeed, it was just off the current in a big pool and kept sipping in flies. I watched it for a few minutes before changing to a black F Fly and carefully checking the hook knot and all the joins in my cast, as a I said this was a very good fish and I expected it would be a very lively battle. I moved as close as I dared without disturbing him and watched as he continued to sip flies. I dropped a fly just in from of his last rise expecting an instant take but nothing happened, I cast again and then again but somehow I must have spooked him because he never showed again, I even waited for 20 minutes to see if he would come back but he didn’t. Still I know where he hangs out and there is plenty more season to come.

  5th April  –  A hard day at Ings Farm

The plan was to have a couple of hours on Howkeld Beck and then a couple more on the Dove and hopefully get a net full of trout. However it didn’t quite work out like that.

Howkeld beck looked pristine running beautifully clear but I didn’t see any rises at all and only managed one grayling on a goldhead.

I’d had enough after 2 hours and walked back down to try the Dove. The Dove was also looking good running clear and maybe a little fast. I sat and watched one of the good slabs pools as I had a quick sandwich but again didn’t see a single rise.

I tried a few dries as there were plenty of flies about but got no takes so switched back to a goldhead and got a nice 11 inch grayling from one of the faster runs.

Everything went dead for nearly 2 hours and then I got some action landing two grayling and losing a third one in three consecutive casts. The first of these was a touch over 12 inches and put up a big fight in the fast current. I had hoped this sudden spell of action might mean a nice evening rise but it wasn’t to be and I had to settle for just the four grayling

  25th and 26th March  –  Season Starters

Well at last 25th March opening day arrived and as working parties had done a great job below the A19 I decided to start down there. It is quite a walk down to the little copse but I was fishing by 11:15 and catching the first trout before 11:17. A great start to what I hope will be a bumper season.

A few minutes later I was pleasantly surprised to see our Honorary Secretary appear on the bank above me and after a brief chat he went off upstream a couple of hundred yards and we agreed to leapfrog each other as we made our way back to the A19 bridge.

Actually by the time I caught up he had already landed two and was about to start on a good pool so I left him in peace and moved up. I soon caught a second trout and then Bob passed me having caught “a real clonker” from the pool where I left him. I stopped to have an early lunch and to give Bob a chance to get well ahead.

I only managed one more trout albeit the best of my day and by the time I got back to the Bridge Bob had left. (I later found out he had managed 5 trout and a grayling so that was a good start.)

The next day I decided to have a look at Thirkleby hoping for a better catch rate. I was disappointed to find more trees down both below the Mill and above it and between the Mill and the footbridge near Balk Grange Farm a lot of rubbish and blockages.

Above the footbridge there is just the same blockage but it has got bigger overwinter but is passable.

I was struggling to catch anything but eventually a goldhead fished in the deep water at the top of the “Pylon length” produced a take and I was very glad to get a 9 inch trout safely on the net.

Moving up I saw a very large and clearly well fed dog fox run off up stream, and then a few minutes later a black mink ran off into the bankside undergrowth.

It was starting to get cool so I skipped a couple of runs to have some time to fish the weir pool at the top of our beat, but again I didn’t get a touch.

I was actually very glad I had managed not to blank and while only 4 trout over the 2 days doesn’t seem much it is still very early in the season and things should start to pick up in the next 10 days.

Design  StarwebSystems