Phillippa Hake tells us about her river and the flies she uses to fish it
For me, there's no better feeling than catching fish on a fly you've tied; it's something I thrive on when I'm fishing and I'll never get bored of it. Sitting at my fly tying desk, I love tying up new creations to put to the test on my local river to try and tempt the wild brownies and grayling.
With the river a mere 10 minute walk from my back door, in the summer I often get in from work, take the dog on a walk and head straght down to the river for an evening's fishing. Does it get much better than that?
So what are my favouite river fly patterns?
When I'm struggling and the fishing isn't great, my go-to nymph is the Olive Jig. There's just something about this fly that the trout and grayling absolutely love. It's a fly that many fly tyers have different ways of tying and different variations too. However, most of all, it is responsible for my personal best river brown trout. At around two and a bit pounds, not a massive fish if you were to ask other anglers what their PB is, but for me it was, and still is my most memorable fish.
To tie the Olive Jig you'll need the following;
Hook - preferred Jig hook
Thread - olive/brown 8/0
Bead - slotted tungsten to suit hook size
Tail 1 - glo brite orange
Tail 2 - Coq de Leon fibres
Body - Transbrite olive
Thorax - spikey hare's ear dubbing
How do I fish the Olive Jig?
During the colder months and in the summer when fishing for trout and grayling I like to fish using a french leader. My typical set up is Hends Camou French leader, at the end of that a bright indicator such as a flouro braid in orange or yellow. Then, I fish two flies, on the point a heavier fly to get down in the deeper pools and above that a lighter nymph.
I do tie this fly on a lighter standard nymph hook and fish it using the duo, which is a method using a bouyant dry fly, such as a sedge, Klinkhamer or other parachute fly with a nymph below. A great searching method!
Other favourites I like to use are small midge patterns, quill emergers, infact the list is endless! I recall one day I had on the river last year. I had sat and watched a nice brown trout actively feeding under a foot bridge. I knew I only had one shot at this fish building myself up, I took the plunge and made the cast just passed the fish. It was as though time had slowed down. The greedy trout engulfed my size 20 midge and all hell broke loose! The fight wasnt that long but I had to control the fish as there was an overhanging tree I didnt want my line to get caught up in and a rather large rock the fish tried to take me round. No sooner I was admiring the fin-perfect trout in my net! Happy days!
The River Calder is an urban river, so always has the threat of pollution from the surrounding towns, mills and other buisnesses. You may recall back in 2015 when the calder was one of the worst hit by the boxing day floods. Imagine a river and a football pitch say, 100-150 yards from the bank, the water was inches off the top of the crossbar. it was complete madness. Not to mention all the locals who had their houses and buisnesses ruined in the space of 24 hours. There are many sewage plants dotted along the banks of the Calder, that was all washed into the river. It was a worrying time for the anglers who fish the river regulary to see how it would bounce back.
The weeks passed and the smell of the sewage still lingered in the surrounding fields but once the river was safe to fish again I was keen to see what would be the outcome. I think it was safe to say we had a lucky escape, the grayling were thriving like nothing had happend and the trout were still there, they just take more tempting! A challenge I will rise to. Mother Nature never fails to amaze me.
Be sure to visit Phillippa's excellent blog HERE