I had an interesting trip to Ladybower last weekend. On Saturday I arrived at Pickles Meadow with a good friend of mine. The water was very still which is never a good sign. There were lots of fish rising out in the middle and a few right on the edge of my casting range. After playing around with a few dry flies without any luck I put on my trusted black buzzer. I drew it over the water near where the fish had been rising and sure enough had a cracking take.

The fish fought like crazy and as I was just using a 2 pound leader I had to be careful. After about a 5 minute fight, including being down to the backing at one point I managed to net the fish. What a cracker it was at just over two and a quarter pounds. This is my biggest Ladybower fish this season and is a pretty good size for the reservoir. It was also delicous as it was salted and then hot smoked outside when we got home!

From here on the day was very frustrating. The sun came out and was very hot for the rest of the day. There was also very little breeze and the water was very still with little or no ripple. I had a couple of more takes but nothing more. There were lots of fish rising all day but they were out of reach of the bank anglers. Normally at Ladybower the fish are holding just a few rod lengths out however there was nothing close in. I spoke to quite a few anglers as I was leaving for a pint of iced cider at the pub and everyone had had the same kind of day.

On Monday I decided to have a couple of hours after work at Mill Brook as it was a cooler and more overcast with a good chop on the water. I put on a big orange lure to work through the waves and sure enough hit a fish after about ten minutes of walking the bank. Over the next two hours I manged to take my bag limit of four fish. It just goes to show, even in this comparatively easy stocked fishery the weather really makes a difference.

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http://www.myanglinglife.com

I was doing a hill walk nearby on Sat, looking down on Ladybower from Whin Hill - I'm not surprised you struggled - boy was it hot and breathless, even up there!

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2lb leader

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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i used to fish the ladybower a lot and still do from time to time but the fish are very small and dont have any tails. I speak to a lot of people and they all say the same thing no tail and not a lot of fight.

Hi Joe,

Ladybower is certainly not a big fish water, I would say the average size is about 1 and a half pounds with anything above 2 being considered a good size for the water. Unfortunatley, as you mentioned you do get a few fish that have worn tails.

The stocking programme for 2008 in the brochure says that they are stocking rainbows up to 10lb and browns up to 4lb. I have yet to catch a single brown this year despite fishing 3 times a week! My biggest rainbow to date was caught last night from Mill Brook and weighed 2.5 pounds. As to the number of these bigger fish and browns or the volume of the stocking, there is no information that I can find!!

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http://www.myanglinglife.com

I had season tickets for Ladybower for ten years through the 90s and never caught, or saw, a brownie for about eight of them, although they advertised that they stocked with them regularly.

I knew a guy who regularly followed the boat around when they stocked it - it was done on a weekly basis. You could count the numbers of fish as they were scooped up and put in. He estimated that there were considerably less than half the number of fish put in, over a season, than the 35,000 advertised - as for the browns? - and catching a trout with a full set of fins was a memory to be cherished.

The Stocking Programme (1999)
"Nearly all the fish that you catch at Ladybower have been reared here, and during the season we will be introducing up to 35,000 mixed brown and rainbow trout, including browns to over 4lbs and rainbows to over 10lbs".

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

you could allways go to the top lakes
howden or derwent where you cannot
complain about the fish.
see blog below
john

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Derbyshire flyfishing blog.

http://derbyshirefishingblog.blogspot.com/

Is anybody here familiar with the day ticket stretch of the derwent immediately below ladybower reservoir? Just wondering what rules apply ( c&r / bag limit ? ) and any pointers on methods of attack would be well appreciated!


Best wishes

Mr.K

Check my blog for river Derwent and its the one with Rainbows with all info needed.

Good luck

Mick

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"I will give him seven feet of English ground, or as much more as he may be taller than other men"
http://derbyshireonthefly.blogspot.com/

Mr K, Fished this short stretch earlier in the summer. Caught three nice browns,all around 10-12 inches in length, caught on a Peter Ross. The river is a nice spot, quite a lot of overhanging vegetation but for accessible and reasonably priced river fishing it's hard to beat near Sheffield.

Best book access with Alan at the fishery office before you head off as he likes to limit access.

Tight lines,

Stuart