Pritts Apprentice
Well-known member
Recent fishing on the Wharfe has been excellent, providing your prepared to work hard for the fish. Water height and clarity has been excellent and plenty of hatches of Black Fly and Needle flies over the water. Providing the drift was right, I have had a lot of success on small, size 20# Black parachute patterns, parachute Adams with Krystal Flash tail and traditional Greenwells Glory, tied with a soft Indian cock hackle, so it sits low in the water. Nearly all of my fish were taken off the glides between faster stretches. Fast hooking to hard feeding, angry fish. All though most fish have been small below 7" I have also had the very odd, cracking fish of 18-20". The last one I had was most pink in color, I put that down to eating Signal Cray fish, it sized confirmed it, you don't get that fat on terrestrials alone. A warm, determined upstream breeze and breeze blowing from the West has made for good fishing. I have put in a lot of walking, fishing water that probably doesn't see that much traffic and this has helped secure fish. However there a big risks to this type of fishing! I had a very serious encounter with a bank collapse which could have been much worse for me. Having left rod and net above me I had faced inward, to step down a 2ft step of solid limestone rock, only it wasn't solid but booby trapped. After a millennia, it decided to break in to large chucks as I stepped on it. Down I went with my feet on top of a hugh boulder and a couple of cleaved out limestone blocks following. The first big rock could easily have broken my legs or feet or even trapped me down in the river, luckily only a foot of water was present. My fall on to rock was heavy and has left me black and blue around the rib cage, I feel as if I'd been in a Camden town street fight, against some handy geezers. I got out and shook a bit, but with true British grit, I continued upstream fishing for a couple more hours before succumbing to discomfort and stiffness, plus the fishing were slow.
Funny season for me, I have taken a lot of tumbles on the river bank, never in it thank fully, I have been lucky not to damage too much gear, though I did require a Hardy reel repair to my Bougle, after whacking it in to boulders. I always throw my rod out front, preferably in to water when I am going down...that's is if I get the chance. I had a dodgy trip about 6 weeks ago, falling over boulders in a very low beck and this beck was very remote, probably not fished that much, a quite road bridge was above me, where I might have been spotted if I had hurt myself where I could not move. But it really brings home the dangers of fishing in out of the way places. The very fact they are not fished means that rocks, branches etc, are hazards that have not been moved out of harms way by other fisherman. River & stream fishing can still be a bit of an adventure sport, with a certain degree of risk. Its never worth taking a chance but even so like my bank collapse it can just happen, even on supposedly solid rock. Take Care and stay alert for hidden dangers.
Funny season for me, I have taken a lot of tumbles on the river bank, never in it thank fully, I have been lucky not to damage too much gear, though I did require a Hardy reel repair to my Bougle, after whacking it in to boulders. I always throw my rod out front, preferably in to water when I am going down...that's is if I get the chance. I had a dodgy trip about 6 weeks ago, falling over boulders in a very low beck and this beck was very remote, probably not fished that much, a quite road bridge was above me, where I might have been spotted if I had hurt myself where I could not move. But it really brings home the dangers of fishing in out of the way places. The very fact they are not fished means that rocks, branches etc, are hazards that have not been moved out of harms way by other fisherman. River & stream fishing can still be a bit of an adventure sport, with a certain degree of risk. Its never worth taking a chance but even so like my bank collapse it can just happen, even on supposedly solid rock. Take Care and stay alert for hidden dangers.