River Ure

What a great couple of days at Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales fishing for brown trout and grayling on the River Ure. It runs down Wenesleydale and is almost as good as the cheese!

Last week it was the site of floods that left people stranded that had to be rescued but luckily for us it is a spate river that levels out very quickly and when we arrived it looked great. As i stood on the banks if I wasn't fishing i did fancy climbing the hills. The beat was 17 miles of meandering river with some great pools with a mix of open grassy fields or overhanging trees. Mmm mouth watering.

Day one was spent in a chicken fields next to the bridge and with loads of rising fish in the foamy water. It was almost as though I was being watched!

Trying many flies I settled on olive patterns of beacon beige, kites imperial as well as partridge and orange and snipe and purple. I must have been out of practice and lost 4 fish that i couldn't keep on. yes thats what i want!!

The second day started great with a Dipper perched on a rock as as it swam for food and Common sandpipers were on most pebbly spits making a racket to distract you away from their nests. As i searched under the trees on the far bank i put a size 16 black parachute dry on a short leader. This allowed me to get closer more consistently. A fish rose under a bush and i cast a foot above and let it drift over the rise and up it came again - yes i was in! It is surprising how well a fit river brownie can fight on an 8ft 4wt.

It was afternoon before the next fish after we had moved to a pool further down the river. Phil cast to a fish with a dry sedge and yes he was in with another great coloured buttery brownie, magic.

It was starting to drizzle a little and i thought one last pool. It was shallow gravel on my side and i walked up that casting to the far bank. There were a few sedge coming off and as a fish rose up stream i cast upstream again and a perfect second rise and i was in again. A lovely fight and it was safely in the net. Pub and food i think next!

My last morning and it was raining steady. It kept getting worse so i decided to head home and leave Phil too it. I wasn't far down the road and the text came through - just had a grayling and it stopped raining - damm i should have stayed longer!!

The shortest boat trip

Matt had attended a beginners course but had not been out since, so tonight was a bit of casting practice. It seems though that they had put a few fish in the small half recently so just a 50 yard hop in the evening boat and we were fishing. I forgot how much there is to learn when you start fishing, just setting up and casting takes a while to get to grips with but tangles - wow they always take ages! Matt did well and casting improved loads and he was fishing well. My first two fish took well, early in a long cast they hooked themselves and after a bit of pulling and jumping at least we had something to take home. The next fish was played by Matt and he was a natural! We moved for the last 45 mins into the shelter of the bay and the swifts and swallows were buzzing the water but unfortunately the rain had started. After 10/15 mins i was starting to think that the fish were not here and suddenly the line went tight and a large fish wallowed on the top on a full cast - nice! Matt played it like an expert and and there was a pristine 4lb brownie in the net - gorgeous! There were a few fish rising and i finished on the dries. Raining a bit heavier now it was nice to get in the dry but a great evening though.