Quote:
Originally Posted by grandadbob
I was lucky enough yesterday afternoon to be able to take a rod on Howden Reservoir in the upper Derwent Valley. Howden is the upper reservoir in the chain of Ladybower, Derwent and Howden. The water is not stocked and contains only wild brown trout.
Howden is set in the breathtaking surroundings of the Peak District, it is miles from the nearest road and the only other people nearby are the odd walker and mountain biker. You also get the reservoir to yourself! Although you do get buzzed by the odd bird of prey and military aircraft.
It is the stuff that fly fishing dreams are made of and the only thing I can compare it with are some of the remote Scottish Lochs. The water is clear and yet peaty brown and the wildlife and surroundings are just stunning.
As for the fishing it is just fantastic, I had a brace of truly beautiful wild brownies of about half a pound each both on a "Peter Ross" traditional wet fly. Although there were a few rising I found the best method was to cast a wet near the rise and gently work in through the water. I also lost a couple and had plenty of takes
If you want truly wild brown trout fishing in the heart of the Peak District then Howden is a great place to try. Don't expect any big fish and you are in the middle of nowhere so the ground is very rough and wild. But if like me you occasionally want to get back to nature for the afternoon then you will love it. It is so beautiful that sometimes I forgot I was meant to be fishing and just found myself watching the buzzards circling high overhead!
On the way back down the Vallley I stopped at Ladybower for a couple of hours on the Derwent Valley stretch and took 3 rainbows for tea, all took traditional wet flies cast to rising fish
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My favourite cast for Ladybower was as follows,
Top dropper - Claret bumble
Middle - Gold butcher
Point - Black pennel.
All fished on a floater......
Howden Reservoir
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