There was indeed a pollution incident in 2009 which originated at the NW water treatment works at Allensford. The pollution killed fish down as far as Ebchester weir, but it now appears that the grayling, which are much more susceptible than brown trout, have all but disappeared below Ebchester and down though the Blackhall Mill area as well. They ‘reappear’ at Lintzford on the last section of the upper club (DAA’s) water, and are still prevalent on the lower stretch of the river, where they seem to have been unaffected.
NB. The upper club’s waters were partly restocked using wild fish that were netted from the un-fished section above the reservoir, but even before the dam, that was probably too far upstream for grayling to have been present in any significant number. I’m sure they have plans to restock with grayling in the longer term. They may already have done so in fact, as I have very recently encountered considerable numbers of small grayling in the river up and downstream of Lintzford. Either that or a good number of yearlings have survived from 2010 owing to the generally lower water levels this last year(?)
Wherever they have come from, these small grayling have been making themselves shown in the last month or so on the lower club’s waters. Larger specimens can often be taken from both park areas (Rowlands Gill and Derwenthaugh) as well. Running a nymph through deep in the points pool is always a decent bet, and there are number of good grayling pools in Derwenthaugh Park.
There’as an article on this site about grayling fishing on the lower Derwent that can be found
here
tight lines,
w_n_d
The Lambton Worm: The Definitive Guide to Angling in North East England
The Fishing Archives
Grayling on the Derwent (Durham)
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