FEBRUARY 2010 COVER STORY

Dry Fly Reigns Supreme

Conditions are just about perfect: shafts of sunshine break through the cloud cover from time to time and there’s not a breath of wind to be felt on our cheeks as Bernie Maher and I climb the steep steps up to the 1½-acre lake that is completely hidden from view. We both feel like boxers entering an arena as we mount the last step, almost feeling as if we should do an ‘Ali shuffle’ as we reach the top and the lake spreads out before us. Every year, Nottinghamshire angler Chris Cooper treats himself to a couple of days here at Yeaveley Estate Lake, near Ashbourne, and he is the only angler fishing as we circumnavigate the gin-clear lake. Chris is surprised to see Bernie, the governor at Press Manor Fishery near Matlock, here today. He’s a regular at Bernie’s fishery but is quick to heap praise on this extremely scenic stretch of water: “The fishing here at Yeaveley is first class, but don’t expect big trout on every cast. The fish are a decent size, and fight as well as any I’ve ever caught, and that’s what brings me back every year.” Chris is using a single dry fly on a long leader and the reason for his selection is clear to see – there are fish rising in the middle of the lake, all the way from one end to the other. These are proper feeding fish, sucking in small emergers from the surface film… lovely jubbly!

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE IN THE FEBRUARY 2010 ISSUE OF TOTAL FLYFISHER

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