Fishing Report - 30th July 2012

Fish Caught: 7 (3 Browns / 4 Grayling)
Conditions: Mild, sunny spells, 17 - 19 degrees
Top Flies/Tactics: All fish to small (16) black tungsten quill nymph or gold bead pheasant tail nymph, French Nymphing tactics.

I managed a rare early finish from work that left me with room for a good 4 hour session down the Don, however 4 hours quickly turned into 3 after an accident on the A1, and then down to 2.5 hours after hitting traffic in Sheffield City Centre. At one point I was even contemplating turning round and heading home when I was on the A1, but I was stuck in the outside lane and my left indicator decided to pack up so I couldn't even get anyone to let me over to exit the motorway!!

When I finally got to the river and tackled up (as quickly as I think I've ever done!) a lovely Grayling second cast made all thoughts of traffic jams a distant memory and I was thanking my broken indicator! I started off at the back of the Bassett's factory, where I picked up the first fish, with a second fish just upstream of the Penistone Road bridge. I moved up through the back of Hillsborough but struggled on this section with a low sun shining down the river that made visibility hard, moving up to the pool just below Leppings Lane. I was surprised not to pick up any fish in this pool as it has been consistently good for me. Working my way further upstream I had some decent action against the steps / brick wall midway between Leppings Lane and Niagara Weir.

As the light was fading I dropped into the pool just below Niagara Weir and this fished really well, I caught 4 fish through this section and losing about 5 others. Just before I left I had a few casts at the base of the weir as this has given me a few fish before but couldn't manage any this session. I left the river pleased having caught a few fish and pleased just to get the opportunity!

A couple of pictures and the best fly:

Tight Lines - Jon Warner, SPRITE Member.

Fishing Report - 15th July 2012

Fish Caught: 8 (All Brown Trout)
Conditions: Warm, Sunny, 17 - 19 degrees
Top Flies/Tactics: All fish to size 14 San Juan Worm, French Nymphing Duo tactics.

With 2012 giving us the wettest June since records began and July continuing the theme it was good to finally get a nice day to fish the Don the first time in a good few weeks. Water levels were still high in places but are coming back down after the recent floods and it was fascinating to see how high the river has been from the marked banks, and also the way a high river opens up new options.

I started further upstream than normal at the Leppings Lane Bridge rather than behind Owlerton Stadium, picking up an early fish in the excellent pool just downstream of the bridge but then lost a lovely fish in the middle of the pool which was disappointing as it seemed to spook the whole area. I did see what looked like a huge mirror carp cruise through, would not of fancied hooking that on a 3 wt / 2lb leader!

Had 4 more fish upstream of Leppings Lane and it was interesting to be catching while casting direct from the footpath without wading due to the high water levels.

The pool below Niagara weir was again productive with 3 more fish and numerous lost fish, was thankful to have a 9.5ft rod as the nymphs needed to be cast to the slack water on the far side and then everything held off the current to get to the fish - Tenkara would of worked well! Lost 3 more fish at the base of the weir itself. I fished through the stretch at the back of Middlewood Park for the first time but couldn't manage any fish down there, before moving on to the dry fly (Griffiths Gnat) upstream of Beeley Wood Lane but didn't catch on the dry...with hindsight sticking with the duo nymphs would have probably been better.

All in all a good days fishing (would have been a very good one if I hadn't lost so many!) with a few new areas and flies tried - first time I'd tried the San Juan Worm and it proved excellent, but didn't catch on any of the droppers that I tried, either ones that I've caught on before or new ones, first time I've not caught any Grayling too! A couple of pics and a shot of the most productive fly:

Tight Lines - Jon Warner, SPRITE Member.

As promised - belated inclusion of new website link!

The main SPRITE website can now be found at www.sheffieldsprite.com and includes regularly updated events calendars as well as a wealth of other information about SPRITE. There is also a "Donate" paypal button for our remote supporters and visiting anglers to contribute to the ongoing care of the river. This is located on the "Day ticket" page under the "Membership" tab.

PG

New website and 2012 "opener" social

The new website is just about  ready to go live in the very near future. I'll post the link to the new site when it is up and running! Don't miss the "Welcome to 2012" SPRITE social on the 20th Jan in the Hillsborough Hotel.