Work or fishing? Kris Kent makes a tough decision.
We decided the members of Brampton Angling Association must be half-man half-goat.
I had been fishing on the Annan on the Sunday, following the Grayling Society Symposium, and was on my way to Preston for work on Tuesday so I decided to stay with Paul in Keswick en route. I had thought I would do some work on the Monday but when Paul mentioned ‘going fishing’ all thoughts of work ebbed away. We could have gone fishing on one of Penrith Anglers' beats on the Eden or Eamont but Rob in John Norris had mentioned in passing the quality grayling fishing on the River Irthing around Brampton, near Carlisle. A quick search on the internet revealed that tickets were available from the Post Office in Brampton and that the best of the grayling fishing was on the lower section of the river.
So on Monday morning we rose a little bleary eyed after one or two beers the night before. Paul made two of his usual rocket fuel strength coffees and we decanted into the cars. My car was full of training gear and couldn’t accommodate Paul and all his gear so we both drove. We stopped off in Penrith for a big boys' breakfast and a further caffeine boost before winding through town and onto the A6 heading north. The scenic route seemed preferable to another run up the M6. Paul drove like he was in a rally, old habits from his Isle of Man TT racing days, and I struggled to keep up.
The town was heaving when we arrived mid morning. Brampton is a small bustling market town with a good selection of small local shops, pubs and cafes. Parking was at a premium so I pulled up on the side of the road whilst Paul ran in to get the tickets. Brampton Angling Association have extensive fishing on the Irthing and Gelt around Brampton and are a very enlightened club. A year's membership is just £30 and they sell a grayling season ticket for just £10. Paul emerged from the Post Office armed with a permit, rules and regulations and a map. Everything we needed.
Fishing a new river is always a challenge, unless you have local expertise to help you. I had Paul, who was no help at all. Some fisheries make it as easy as possible for anglers by providing extensive guidance with maps showing parking areas, access points and footpaths. The Brampton AA map showed which banks fishing was allowed on, mostly double bank, everything else we had to work out for ourselves. Things didn’t start well when Paul took the wrong exit off the first roundabout. A hasty three point turn got us back heading in the right direction. We headed for the bridge towards the bottom of the lower beat. We were a bit confused when we found gates at either end of the old road that crosses the bridge but we figured we were allowed to open them and found a pull-in just by the old red sandstone bridge. The next question was what length of rod? We didn’t know what would face us. Was it a broad open river, suited to a longer rod, or a small overgrown stream, more suited to a short soft rod? Paul decided on a 7’ modern fibreglass rod whilst I went for an 8’9” soft action carbon fibre wand.
The old bridge over the Irthing
Whilst there were no marked paths to the river we figured the trampled down vegetation indicated where anglers had accessed the river. We made our way in and emerged just above the bridge. There was a lovely more open run below the bridge and a more overhung run above it. Paul fished a dry fly above and I prospected below with klink & dink. Neither of us had anything but I saw a couple of rises which raised the spirits. I lost Paul for a moment. I wandered upstream following the trail of trampled vegetation. The river tumbled down a steep gradient over stones and gravels around a small island. I flicked my flies into the fast runs to no avail. I found Paul above the island standing on a high bank looking out over a broad expanse of deep water. A massive pool with steep red sandstone cliffs on the opposite bank, so different to the fast run I’d just fished it was difficult to believe we were on the same river. Small grayling were dimpling the surface taking something tiny. We decided to push on upstream.
The big pool
Above this huge pool the gradient is much shallower, long slow runs with the occasional riffle. Brampton AA clearly don’t engage in much active river management. The trees reached out low over the river with lots of large woody debris left where it falls. Perfect habitat for brown trout and grayling but not the easiest fishing.
The Irthing running through wooded banks
The instructions said to keep as close to the river as possible so we stayed inside the fence line and followed the rough path as best we could. Weaving around brambles, over and under fallen trees, along narrow paths perched high above the river, precipitous drops to our left. It was at this point that we decided the club members must be half-man half-goat. The river below looked tempting but we couldn’t work out how to get down to it and even if we could it was so heavily treed we would have struggled to be able to cast. The opposite bank looked easier but we couldn't see any obvious crossing points. We appeared to be on the wrong side of the river. The Irthing is a deep tea-stained river. Despite it being low and free of suspended matter the peaty colour meant we could see the bottom and discern the depth.
Paul targeting dimpling Grayling
We came to a long run where fish were dimpling. We slid down the bank and dropped in. Whilst the river appeared deep it was actually quite shallow on our bank. I made a couple of short casts and the majority of the risers desisted. In these low, slow flows stealth was going to be critical. A few small grayling carried on rising and enthusiastically took small CDC ant and stonefly imitations. We were off the mark.
Irthing Grayling
A little further on a broad shallow riffle allowed us to cross the river. A little further upstream we realised that we were still on the wrong side of the river. The trees thinned out on the opposite bank and became denser on ours. Typical. We struggled on until we came to another riffle and I crossed back again. This involved bum surfing down a very steep bank. The plan was to land feet first on a rock shelf just below the surface. As I touched down my feet carried on, sliding off the wet rock, and I ended up sitting on my arse in the river. More embarrassed than injured I quickly got to my feet hoping nobody had seen my ineptitude. I think I got away with it.
The sun had come out and having caught a couple of small grayling from under the trees on the far back it felt like time for a bite to eat. Paul reappeared with lunch just in time and we sat in the sun enjoying the bit of warmth it offered. The pork pie, fruit cake with Wensleydale cheese and bottle of Anglers Reward ale was very welcome.
Fish still rising
Fish were still rising above us and this drew us onward. Where we could manage to get in we caught fish; beautiful little grayling. Nothing huge but all greatly appreciated. The Irthing obviously has a good head of fish and we were glad not to catch any out of season trout. The day was starting to run out and we were only half way up the beat. As the sun started to touch the horizon we reached a more open section above a weir. Fish were still rising and Paul dropped at the tail and started to fish up. He immediately got into small grayling. As I watched him from below the weir the clouds parted and a rainbow arched out of the trees above him and a flock of gulls lifted into the sky illuminated silver by the ebbing sun. Stunning.
Paul fishes the final pool
I wandered up to see how Paul was getting on. Standing above him on the high bank I noticed a rise at the head of the pool where the water was funnelled in by a fallen willow on the left bank. It rose again and then again. This would be the last cast of the day so I decided I had better make the most of it. I slid down the bank and slowly waded in, edging up towards the faster water. I then noticed another fish rising just below the first. I checked my leader and tied on a red drop arsed F-Fly variant with long tails, a John Tyzack pattern. Third cast the fish nearest me smashed the fly. As I lifted the rod and felt the weight of the fish I could tell it was a better fish. It bore deep into the faster water and turned its dorsal fin into the flow. I applied side strain and the fish eventually emerged into the slower water. I held the fish up to the handle of my rod and the neb reached the Sage logo, 13” of lovely Irthing grayling. I slipped the barbless fly out of the top lip and slipped it back into the water. It surged away for the deeper water. I looked up to see the original fish still rising confidently. I edged forward another yard and cast again. Second cast the fish porpoised through the surface engulfing the fly. As it slid out of sight I lifted the rod and it was on. In my hand it was the twin of the previous grayling, peas from a pod.
I looked round to see Paul landing another fish. Seemed like the perfect time to retreat to the cars before the light went completely. We climbed over the fence and followed the field edge back to the pull-in. It was now that we realised that there was easy access along the edge of the fields with regular stiles allowing access to the river. Why hadn’t we realised this earlier!
The clambering up and down steep banks, pushing through dense riverbank vegetation and wading left us feeling tired but the willing grayling and top of the water action left us invigorated. It had been a challenging but deeply satisfying day on a new river. It doesn’t get much better. So we celebrated with a pint at the pub where we pulled off the main road. It was well deserved.
For further details on the fishing the Irthing and Gelt visit Brampton Angling Associations website:
http://www.bramptonangling.co.uk/
Biography:
Kris Kent has been fly fishing and trotting for brown trout and grayling for over 20 years in the UK, Europe and Scandinavia. He is PR Officer for the Grayling Society and helps out The Wild Trout Trust with their online communications and events.