I am lucky enough to own one of Watermole's beautifully crafted rods, but until last weekend I hadn't managed a day fishing with it. Even though I've had the rod since last October I was determined its first outing would be somewhere fitting and for various reasons events conspired against me meaning last weekend was my first opportunity to fish with the rod.
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
First outing for the new rod
- Plot36
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Re: First outing for the new rod
Wonderful stuff. I've never fished the Dove but I fell for fly fishing and the Dove when first saw it as a eight year old. Totally magical I thought…
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Re: First outing for the new rod
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. The river looks lovely, as does the tackle
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Re: First outing for the new rod
Very nice Plot36. :hat:
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Re: First outing for the new rod
Lovely looking water. Is that a Cortland Sylk line?
- Plot36
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Re: First outing for the new rod
It is indeed, although I'm thinking about replacing it with an artificial silk line from Terenzio.gloucesteroldspot wrote:Lovely looking water. Is that a Cortland Sylk line?
Thanks for all the nice comments
Last edited by Plot36 on Fri May 11, 2012 10:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First outing for the new rod
Beautiful stuff Plot36 :sun:
“Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers,” Herbert Hoover.
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Re: First outing for the new rod
What a nice read, nothing beats dry fly fishing in my book, though I say that about all my fishing. Regards Martin