19/06/2014 - Still got my trout head on

Decided I'd have a couple more sessions of trout fishing before tackling anything of the non adipose fin variety, so took the morning off work and headed back to Derbyshire bright and early. Skirting the maize field it looked as if the lapwings had been successful this year, with two adults and four scruffy, brown juveniles circling and calling overhead. Found the river low and clear in contrast to my previous visit. Again, whilst there was the odd sedge and mayfly knocking about, there was no obvious fish movement, so I stuck with the nymph approach. Had plenty of rattles and knocks from the off from small fish and eventually manage to hook one of the little beggars.

Tiddler

Worked slowly upstream and caught a couple more tiddlers in the faster water, but failed to connect with anything more substantial in the deeper pools. There were a lot more prints in the freshly exposed mud at the side of the river, which made me think perhaps that Mr Otter had been active recently and sent everything to ground.

Otter

A bit further on I found a partially eaten (or regurgitated?) crayfish, which seemed to support that idea.

Otter snack!

There was also evidence that somebody else had been fishing the section other than myself - a fly on a length of nylon hanging from a branch over a little pool. Inexcusable not to retrieve it on a river this size unless they were fishing in their slippers! Soldiered on and lost another small one that went absolutely bonkers airborne, throwing the barbless hook, before getting a couple of bigger fish. However, still not the stamp of fish I'd had on previous visits.

Bit better

My one chance of a better one came when I had an immediate take from a fast run alongside a mass of tree roots. Needless to say that's where the fish headed for like a flippin' torpedo as soon as I hooked it and where I had to retrieve my hook, minus trout, about thirty seconds later. Doh! Was well up towards the top of the section by now where natural ochrous springs are in stark contrast with the ferns and mosses on the steep banks.

Ochre

Had one more and the best of the day, casting up into the branches of a fallen tree grounded in the shallows.

Last, but not least

Had a quick look under the bridge at the top of the section and found a mass of prints in the mud - obviously an otter "des res" -  before slogging it back along the road, dodging death by quarry lorry and nutters in 4x4's.