RIVER KEEPER

17th November 2011

2011-11-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

Two pictures of a pair of freestone Grayling caught on the river today by my good friend Jim Curry , both caught on F fly`s imitating stoneflies emerging in the autumn sunshine on what has been a glorious Thursday , looking forward to fishing Mulbherry Whin with him on Monday in search of larger ladies ! It surprises me how few step up to dance with the girls , guess you lack the moves :)

Monday 14th Novvember 2011

2011-11-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

Monday morning and river level is good to go , although very few anglers taking the challenge recently .

07th November 2011

2011-11-07T00:40:00.001-08:00

A frosty start to the week and the river is in fine condition , the grayling were caught on a small F fly last week close to Sandholme car park .

27th October 2011

2011-10-27T00:42:00.001-07:00

Thursday morning and level remains good . very overcast with light rain at present .

20th October 2011

2011-10-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning and the river level is good , a frosty start but a few early risers could be seen in front of the stepping stones .

05th October 2011

2011-10-05T00:44:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning and the river is in good shape , blustery winds at present with the threat of rain later although it feels very mild .

23 September 2011

2011-09-23T00:47:00.000-07:00

Friday morning and the river is in perfect condition having dropped a few inches overnight .

21 September 2011

2011-09-21T00:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning and the river is dropping to normal , and the weather looks settled for the next few days , so all is good .

15th September 2011

2011-09-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning and following a few days of showers and very windy conditions , today sees calm and the river looking very inviting .

09th September 2011

2011-09-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Although yesterday was very wet with repeatedly heavy showers , the river has settled down and the colour is good .

8th September 2011

2011-09-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Camera refused to work this morning , but if it had then the pictures would be as yesterday incessant rainfall over the last few days keeps river level high . As at 07.45 hrs rain is falling steadily and the skies are black !!! what joy .

07th September 2011

2011-09-07T00:36:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning and following yesterdays big lift the river has dropped overnight , however with more showers forecast for today this may well change .

15th August 2011

2011-08-15T00:18:00.001-07:00

Monday morning and the river is in superb condition , last weeks large lift has subsided and has cleaned up the river a treat .

13th August 2011

2011-08-13T00:25:00.001-07:00

Level has dropped as you can see and importantly the colour is good .

Glorious 12th

2011-08-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

24 hrs later and level is dropping and importantly colour is improving another day without rain , and conditions will be ideal .

11th August 2011

2011-08-11T00:48:00.001-07:00

As I expected a very different picture from yesterdays . The river has doubled in size overnight and its still raining !!

10th August 2011

2011-08-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning and the river remains unchanged , however heavy rain is on the cards and tomorrow's picture is far from certain as the next few days look unsettled .

08th August 2011

2011-08-08T00:43:00.001-07:00

River level is back to normal following a lift yesterday , much needed at this time of year helping to liven things up a bit .

05th August 2011

2011-08-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

,
River remains low , with no change since the last update despite the heavy showers yesterday .

26th July 2011

2011-07-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and river remains unchanged . The large Brown was caught by Mark Whitmarsh yesterday , upstream nymphing with a 15 ft carp leader , the fish took a #16 olive nymph on the top dropper .

22nd July 2011

2011-07-22T00:37:00.001-07:00

Friday morning and the river has returned to normal following yesterdays lift .

21st July 2011

2011-07-21T00:36:00.001-07:00

Thursday morning and yesterdays rainfall has risen the river once more or though it is falling , and the colour isn`t too bad and will it will suit nymphing .

20th July 2011

2011-07-20T00:45:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning and river level is good , currently overcast with light drizzle .

19th July 2011

2011-07-19T00:40:00.001-07:00

Tuesday morning and river is good considering yesterdays downfall , gloomy forecast though with very heavy downfalls later , currently dry and warm .

18th July 2011

2011-07-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly given the rainfall over the weekend , the river is in reasonable condition and seems to be falling , however it has been raining overnight so the picture is very much uncertain .

14th July 2011

2011-07-14T00:53:00.001-07:00

River level remains good and the weather is glorious as you can see above .

12th July 2011

2011-07-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and river remains unchanged and a warm day in prospect .

11th June 2011

2011-07-11T00:50:00.001-07:00

River level is good and settled , good day in prospect with the risk of an odd shower .

09th July 2011

2011-07-09T01:33:00.000-07:00

Little change on yesterdays picture and only a slight improvement in colour !

08th July 2011

2011-07-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays heavy showers have lifted the river overnight , currently falling but very silted so not good , normally this will clear during the day , however with more showers forecast tommorows picture is uncertain .

07th July 2011

2011-07-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

Recent heavy showers have failed to have any effect on the river as you can see , however with more showers forecast for today and Friday the picture could change .

24th June 2011

2011-06-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

River level rose during the day yesterday , peaking overnight . Currently the level is as shown and colour is good and will only improve .

23 June 2011

2011-06-23T00:53:00.001-07:00

Following an unsettled period of weather the river lifted yesterday , current condition is as shown above and falling slowly , however the situation remains unsettled .

21st June 2011

2011-06-21T00:29:00.001-07:00

A cool overcast and damp start to the day , in contrast to yesterday which felt decidely tropical . However heavy showers materialised around 8 pm , but as you can see the river remains unmoved at present .

Monday 20th June 2011

2011-06-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

River level remains good .

14th June 2011

2011-06-14T02:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and the sun is shining , river is still carrying a bit of water and colour , and dropping slowly . Yesterday saw those anglers on the river struggling to catch on the rising water , however I helped a young angler on his first visit to the wharfe to set up a czech nymph rig , and demonstrated the method , and handed him the rod . After what for him had been a fishless morning , he was quickly in to a fiesty wild brown which fought hard in the strong current before entering the net .

13th June 2011

2011-06-13T00:41:00.001-07:00

Monday morning grey and dull with light drizzle but feeling very mild . River remains at summer level despite the heavy showers yesterday .

11 o`clock three hours later and as you can see the river has risen 8" and rising slowly , however colour remains good .

09th June 2011

2011-06-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning and the river level is good and unaffected by yesterdays showers .

01st June 2011

2011-06-01T00:53:00.001-07:00

27th May 2011

2011-05-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Friday morning and river level is good with little change on yesterday . The second picture shows a young Roe buck being forced to cross the river following a territorial dispute , the other buck ( out of picture ) had chased it from woodland to the right of the picture .

26th May 2011

2011-05-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

River level is good . Overcast with the risk of showers later , no sign of the wind at the moment !

25th May 2011

2011-05-25T00:38:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning and the river has settled down and thankfully for now the wind has eased considerably .

24th May 2011

2011-05-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

River is currently currently falling after peaking once again during the night following yesterdays showers . Level is good and colour is fishable , with the risk of more showers the situation could be reversed .

Monday 23rd May

2011-05-23T00:43:00.000-07:00

River level as at 0800 hrs showing evidence of yesterdays showers , stepping stones just visible .
Colour is ok . However the wind is strong and set to get stronger ! Strid Wood will offer respite in places or perhaps an opportunity to try czech nymphing .

20th May 2011

2011-05-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

Conditions as at 0800 hrs this morning , slightly down on yesterday and looking good . Yesterday fished well to both dry and wet fly/nymph .

19th May 2011

2011-05-19T00:39:00.001-07:00

Following yesterdays blog showing conditions as at 0800 hrs , the picture above shows the river at 1300 hrs after the river rose rapidly carrying alot of colour and large woody debris !!

However as can be seen from the picture above taken at 0800 hrs this morning the river has dropped overnight and is running clean .

River down !! 18th May 2011

2011-05-18T00:49:00.000-07:00

Following yesterdays lift the river has dropped and importantly the colour is good and will hopefully improve as the river runs off during the day . Currently very overcast with light drizzle as at 0800 hrs this morning .

A few rods ventured on yesterday despite the conditions and most if not all ( one was still trying last I saw ) were rewarded with fish , one of them with a good 2 lb fish ! from the margin .

River up !!! 17th May 2011

2011-05-17T00:44:00.001-07:00

As you can see 24 hrs later and the river is up 18 " and coloured , a far cry from yesterdays conditions which saw this and other fish being caught on the dry .

Monday 16th May 2011

2011-05-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

Monday morning river remains low and is running very clear , overcast and light drizzle as at 0800 hrs .

12th May 2011

2011-05-12T05:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning and an unsettled day ahead weatherwise with gusting wind and showers , with the sun pushing through at times . River level remains unaffected by the showers over the past few days .

I expect the grey and windy start and the rain resulted in few anglers out this morning , so I put up my rod and decided to look at a pool that had recieved some attention yesterday . Much of a challenge really , anyhow after renewing my tippet whilst keeping low and one eye on my chosen area I dressed my Klinkhamer`s wing post with Dilly wax and placed it up the rod on a rod ring and looped the butt around my reel and tentatively entered the water .

Two slow steps into the river and I reached for the fly and unlooped the leader butt , snaking the line onto the water with the rod tip a short cast of six foot another short cast allowed the Klink to sit upright . Another cast a little longer to a spot 10 ft upstream and the fly was taken confidently after a short drift , the reel screamed as 10ft bacame 30 ft as the fish tore upstream before I managed to turn him , pleased he was on fresh tippet .

After what seemed an age I was able to slide him to hand .

A stunning brown !! with no more than a few short casts and a slow stealthy approach , after taking a few hurried pics , I watched him swim powerfully away still marvelling at his beauty as I smoked a celebratary cigarette , before tackling down .

Monday 09th May 2011

2011-05-09T01:32:00.000-07:00

Monday morning and the river is carrying a few inches of fresh water as a result of some welcome rain over the weekend , the river fished very well last week .

04th May 2011

2011-05-04T01:44:00.000-07:00

der=

Wednesday morning clear skies and temperature set to rise after a cold night , the easterly wind has dropped considerably and swinging to southerly . River is fishing well recently despite the low water , abundance of fly available , as you can see the Hawthorns are about and very numerous on beat 6 below the road bridge , Brook duns , olive uprights ,black gnats and aphids !!

Fish are rising freely however this may not last as angling pressure increases , particularly in accessable spots !!

26th April 2011

2011-04-26T01:28:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and much cooler with a fresh breeze , dark clouds threaten to drop a shower , river level remains unchanged .

20th April 2011

2011-04-20T01:23:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning dawns on what is set to be another fine day , river conditions remain unchanged and fishing remains difficult , fish are starting to show but not in any numbers as food remains scarce . I managed to raise four fish to an f fly missing three and losing a good fish after a short struggle during a 30 min spell , very rewarding and challenging placing the fly with a combination of aerial mends and tuck casts to eradicate drag .

19th April 2011

2011-04-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and another warm sunny day in prospect , river level remains unchanged and those anglers I talked to yesterday where finding it tough going , with very few fish showing .

Lots of Grannom on the wing pushing upstream with the help of the warm conditions , unfortunately not readily presenting themselves as menu items , as they are migrating from lower down river .

18th April 2011

2011-04-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

Monday morning 0800 hrs and the fine weather over the weekend is set to continue , river level remains unchanged .

14th April 2011

2011-04-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning and level remains unchanged .

Small brown taken on the dry yesterday .

Close inspection of this Signal Crayfish found two canine puncture holes in the shell , which clearly match those of a mink . Ironic that both species are non-native and both escapees from man`s attempts to farm them in the past .

13th April 2011

2011-04-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

River remains unchanged , good cloud cover and very light rain at present with the risk of it turning heavy , although it is forecast to pass .

12th April 2011

2011-04-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

River level remains the same , decidely cooler than the weekend and much more in line with what we normally expect early season .
Fish are proving difficult to come by , and I am spending most of my time encouraging and picking up defeated anglers and willling them on , for those that don`t buckle then the reward of a fish given the early season challenges , should leave you stronger as a flyfisher . After all isn`t that why we do it ? or have I got it wrong !

11th April 2011

2011-04-11T01:13:00.000-07:00

Monday morning following an exceptionally hot and dry weekend , the river as you can see is low and very clear , conditions which always prove testing , and my conversations with anglers on the bank yesterday mostly centred on lack of fish to the net , and very little movement at all .

However one new season rod reported landing a fine 2lb brown at Barden .

Under these conditions fish can be difficult to locate ,with many seeking cover or refuge especially in the absence of food abundance to stir them to take risks , so a careful approach is vital to improve your chances , think chalksteam tactics , low profile upstream approach and observation , these conditions will suit a well presented and naturally drifted dry fly or try Klink and nymph , or upstream wets .

08th April 2011

2011-04-08T01:17:00.000-07:00

Clear morning and river is good , breezy south westerly wind will test those loops !

07th April 2011

2011-04-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

River remains settled following a small lift yesterday , still carrying colour but very fishable , favouring nymph and wets , however good chance for dries given a hatch and as the colour improves .

06th April 2011

2011-04-06T01:08:00.000-07:00

As you can see the river has dropped considerably overnight after a heavy lift yesterday , and the colour is good , forecast looks good and very mild .

05th April 2011

2011-04-05T01:11:00.000-07:00

As a result of yesterdays rainfall , the river is up 12 " which is ok however the colour is Cadburys which is not ok , it is on the fall steadily and clearing but with more rain on the cards this could easily be reversed .

The other picture is of one of a couple of small browns coming to hand in the shallows after having fell to a dry during an olive hatch yesterday afternoon .

As you can see above 2 hrs later and river has risen rapidly and still rising !

04th April 2011

2011-04-04T01:49:00.000-07:00

Monday morning and level is normal and clear , rain approaching from the west later is forecast , possibly heavy .

02nd April 2011

2011-04-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning and river is settled after a small lift yesterday , the wind strengthened in the afternoon causing problems in exposed areas , currently overcast mild and threatening to rain any moment .

01st April 2011

2011-04-01T01:32:00.001-07:00

River conditions remain good , currently overcast and very mild and the strong breeze which caused problems yesterday has eased greatly .

The picture above is of a Large dark olive spinner , taken this morning and measured 2 feet nose to tail !!

31st March 2011

2011-03-31T02:55:00.001-07:00

The river remains unaffected by the overnight rain , conditions are unsettled with a brisk breeze in open stretches , however it remains mild and forecast is for the showers to clear leaving bright spells later , although wind is set to increase !

One of four fish taken on the dry yesterday afternoon from one of my favourite pools , with Olives drifting off the pool in steady numbers , well enough to stir this fish a wagtail and me .

30th March 2011

2011-03-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning at Barden bridge , very overcast , mild and very little wind , once more showers are forecast , however they never materialised yesterday and the river is unaffected and remains at summer level .

29th March 2011

2011-03-29T02:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and low pressure is creeping in , which promises to bring showers later today , still mild and with light winds and overcast , a good number of rods on yesterday with mixed fortunes to tell , Mr Winterburn was on a high after landing two well wintered browns , both around 2lb .

Grayling are actively preparing to spawn at Harrisons Ford in Strid Wood , river level and clarity is good making observation easy , I am erecting notices this morning asking visitors and anglers to avoid this area .

28th March 2011

2011-03-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

Monday 28th March and as you can see the river is good , as I crossed the bridge I observed three good sized Grayling hovering over the gravel in preparation for spawning , the largest around 15" .

It was good to see those anglers I met on opening day Friday , some of whom had already landed their first fish , others still searching but all cheerful to be out on the river after a long winter .

I had no time on the river Saturday or Sunday as I was busy heather burning as part of the moorland management as the other pictures can testify , so my apologies to those of you you out over the weekend .

25th MARCH 2011 NEW SEASON

2011-03-25T02:14:00.000-07:00

Following what has seemed an age , Winter seems to be behind us and Spring has sprung and a new season has started today .

As you can see levels are excellent and a glorious day is in prospect , I struggle to remember an opening to a season as favourable as today looks , and I look forward to meeting new and old Fly men on the river .

Always an exciting day as I can begin to assess how well the fish have wintered .

22nd December 2010

2010-12-22T01:13:00.001-08:00

The big chill continues and as you can see parts of the river are now completely frozen across !

20th December 2010

2010-12-20T01:01:00.000-08:00

The big freeze continues , and as you may see parts of the river are frozen , the slowly spinning ice wheel was found below Cats cragg !

14th November 2010

2010-12-14T01:15:00.001-08:00

Tuesday morning and the river is in a good settled condition and running very clear . Looking ahead the forecast is for the cold weather to return as the Arctic air returns from the north east on Thursday ,and with that the risk of more snow , with the cold air lasting well into next week !

11th December 2010

2010-12-11T02:41:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning and the green is back !! The river rose slowly yesterday as a result of the snow melt and is currently falling , weather currently feels tropical after a week of sub-zero temperatures .

29th November 2010

2010-11-29T00:55:00.001-08:00

Monday morning and this weekends snowfall is set to stay awhile , river remains low and clear .

24th November 2010

2010-11-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sharp frosty morning , river remains clear and settled .

19th November 2010

2010-11-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

Foggy and windless start to the day . Level remains good and still continuing to run clear .

18th November 2010

2010-11-18T01:01:00.000-08:00

River level remains good and very clear !! Traps still picking up the odd mink .

16th November 2010

2010-11-16T00:46:00.000-08:00

Level remains good and the clarity of the water is crystal !! Fog maybe slow to clear , otherwise a good day ahead .

12th November 2010

2010-11-12T00:44:00.001-08:00

24 hrs later and a different picture !!

11th November 2010

2010-11-11T00:54:00.000-08:00

Following a settled day yesterday river remains at a good level and excellent colour , however today has started wet and very windy , forecast to get stronger later . Tomorrow`s picture could be different .

10th November 2010

2010-11-10T00:22:00.000-08:00

Wednesday morning , river is falling and fishable and the weather is very settled , but forecast to deteriorate tomorrow and Friday .

08th November 2010

2010-11-08T00:44:00.000-08:00

As you can see the large spate last week has made a few cosmetic changes , and repositioned some of the fixtures . Very windy and wet at present so I do expect the picture above to change later

04th November 2010

2010-11-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

As the rain continues to fall , unsurprisingly the river continues to rise !! If this continues ,I can see some localised flooding later , tomorrow looks to be wet too .

03rd November 2010

2010-11-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

As expected the heavy rain that arrived yesterday has produced a big lift , however as you can see the level has peaked overnight and has fallen .

02nd November 2010

2010-11-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and a damp start with gusting winds , otherwise mild and a good level for fishing . With heavy rain forecast later expect the situation to change .

01st November 2010

2010-11-01T01:27:00.000-07:00

Monday morning and the river is in good shape for those of you pondering a visit , the above visitors are not welcome and it pains me to see such a sight , which is sadly becoming more frequent .

20th October 2010

2010-10-20T00:56:00.000-07:00

No change on yesterday , crisp morning with clear skies . Couple of pictures taken yesterday of Grayling caught in Strid Wood yesterday , persistent targeting eventually producing three fish to hand . The size 12 dark tan Kinkhammer special clearly visible .

19th October 2010

2010-10-19T00:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning and as you can see from the pictures taken at 0800 hrs , river level remains normal .

18th October 2010

2010-10-18T00:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pictures today however level remains good and settled .

14th October 2010

2010-10-14T00:54:00.001-07:00

Thursday morning and conditions are still settled , much more overcast and looks to stay that way . Pictures show two Grayling I caught yesterday both just short of 12" , both caught on a size 18 olive paradun , however in order to locate the grayling I employed a size 12 Kinkhammer Special to force a reaction , once this tactic brought an interest then I switched down to a small pattern and covered the reaction area , after a few missed rises , dogged covering of the area resulted in these two fickle ladies .

13th October 2010

2010-10-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning and settled conditions prevail , good level and colour .

12th October 2010

2010-10-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

Level remains good and very clear , overcast with little wind at present .

11th October 2010

2010-10-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Monday morning and river level remains good .

07th October 2010

2010-10-07T00:53:00.001-07:00

River condition is good , misty start disappearing fast leaving clear skies and sunshine .

06th October 2010

2010-10-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Conditions are good this morning , and as you can see visibility is very good .

05th October 2010

2010-10-05T00:49:00.000-07:00

As a result of a good dry day yesterday the river has fallen to a good level and colour , still a little fining down to go , however conditions are presently good .

04th October 2010

2010-10-04T00:38:00.000-07:00

No great surprise following the heavy rain that fell for most of Sunday , that the river is high and coloured , however it has fallen considerably overnight and with a bright day in prospect , tomorrow should be OK .