Peter Anderson tells us all about a couple of trips he made to Derbyshire to fish the Dove.
The Derbyshire Dove is one of those rivers you have to fish. There are, of course, connections with Isaac Walton and the birth of fly fishing so there is history here but actually it’s irrelevant. You have to fish the Dove because it is a very inviting little river and where it runs through Dovedale it boasts one of the most beautiful settings in the country. You need to be careful, though. Dovedale is a playground. There will always be walkers along the footpath beside the river, go on a nice weekend or in school holidays and it is packed with people (and dogs) enjoying the river. It gets busy! Those who should know tell me that the fish are used to this and it doesn’t put them down and I’m sure that’s true.....but I go fishing for tranquillity as well as catching fish so on my two visits I have been sure to go midweek out of the school holidays.
The Derbyshire bank is controlled by Leek & District FFA and no day tickets are available, but the Staffordshire bank is available on day ticket from the Isaac Walton hotel, though these are limited and it is wise to book ahead. The Izaac Walton water also extends beyond the southern end of Dovedale to the confluence with the Manifold and if Dovedale is busy, some peace can be found in these lower reaches.
My first visit was in early May and although there were a few walkers it was fairly quiet, it was also a glorious day. Staying at the Isaac Walton hotel meant a mere 100 yard stroll to the river and I was fishing. I’d had a chat with local expert and guide John Tyzack beforehand and he recommended French nymphing or upstream dry. I have not done much French nymphing but this seemed a good opportunity to give it a try and I did find it a bit tricky at first, mainly getting into the rhythm of casting a pair of small nymphs with no fly line outside of the rod tip. Actually I soon got into the swing of things and after half an hour or so the indicator stopped and I was into a fish of about a pound. As I brought it to the net I heard a sharp word behind me and turned to see a collie looking very interested in my fish. Fortunately the sharp word brought it to heel and it didn’t jump in and try to catch the fish!
Fish continued to come steadily as I targeted the deeper water and I even took a couple next to the stepping stones but quickly moved on – it is a popular picnic spot and I don’t really like an audience.
Upstream of the stepping stones, the gorge tightens and there is no footpath on the Staffordshire bank which gives a bit more solitude, though you are never exactly lonely here! I switched to the duo and continued to catch plenty of trout and ended with a double. I saw a fish rise and cast to it, the dry dipped away and I tightened into what looked to be a decent fish. It shot off upstream and I brought it back to the net, a little puzzled that it had taken the dry and disappointed that it was quite small. I slipped it back but the line tightened and I thought I must have failed to unhook it properly. Not so, attached to the nymph was a bigger fish! I can only assume that the bigger fish took the nymph, took off upstream and the smaller fished grabbed the dry as it shot past!
My second visit was in September 2011 when the river was very low after a long dry spell. I fished the Leek & District water as a guest of Neil Hotchin and although there were plenty of walkers using the footpath, they were never intrusive and I was only asked if I’d “caught owt” when I was out of the river on the path. The flow rate was down on May but there were still plenty of fish around and the duo was very effective. I hooked and lost a huge grayling – Dovedale is noted for these, a 3lb fish is not unusual. We each had plenty of trout and at the end of the day I had a nice grayling too. I had expected to find the fish in the livelier streamy runs but most came from the slower, deeper water which might be something to do with the low water level.
Dovedale is glorious, give it a try.
http://www.izaakwaltonhotel.com/fishing.php
Catch more from Peter via his excellent blog