I'm also lucky enough to have access to nearly 3 miles of the River Dove in Derbyshire and where better to try the rod. It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine (I think that’s what we used to call it), although despite this the temperature probably struggled to reach double figures.
But, who cares, the rain we've been having has worked wonders and the river hasn’t looked this good for a couple of years.
Whilst the fishing wasn’t easy, from about Midday onwards it wasn’t too hard to find a fish rising and small (size 18) Olive emerger and dun patterns worked well. I ended the day with 9-10 fish - all on a dry.
A couple more photos
The reel means a lot to me – it belonged to a friend of mine who loved fishing the Dove, but sadly died just over a year ago.
This was my first time fishing a cane rod (it's a 7'6" 4wt) and I must say I now begin to understand what all the fuss is about. It's beautiful to look at and hold but also fishes like a dream - casts accurately (well, what passes for accuracy in my casting) and even small fish put a pleasing bend in it. I'm most definitely smitten - anyone want to buy a Sage SLT?
This golden-coloured fish was the largest of the day, though not necessarily the most beautiful.
A day to remember :D
