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Post by boisker on Aug 9, 2023 20:06:34 GMT
I called in at Postbridge stores to get a duchy day ticket.. they haven’t sold them for 3 years… it was longer than I realised since I fished the Dart😏 Parked in the car park on the right, 1/2 mile past Cherry Brook heading to Dartmeet… then walked down the road to pick up the footpath to the river… I’d forgotten how long a stretch it was back up the West Dart to Cherry Brook, hard wading and the gorse completely blocks in the river for long stretches, you can’t get back out the river once committed… although hard work it’s a stunning stretch. Perfect conditions when I arrived at 12’ish, 22C, over cast and no wind… I can’t remember the last time I fished when it wasn’t 20mph plus.. Fish were definitely feeding when I arrived, bizarrely they didn’t want an emerger, but after a couple of fly changes they were happy to smash a Galloup cripple… I think river Dart trout are the closest in speed of take to the Brook trout in the alps I have encountered… I seemed to be struggling with a 50:50 hook up rate which seems poor. Caught over 20 in the first 90 mins and got broken by something large.. somewhere between 1.5-2 lb….sea trout I reckon, it was too light/bright for a brown trout; the bugger steamed off in an arc, then raced towards me and straight under a stone ledge about 15’ in front of me, completely shredded the tippet… slowed down after the first 90 mins, no idea why, as still loads of olives about… Knackered by the time I’d worked my way up the Cherry Brook and walked up the road to the car… I must get up on Dartmoor more often🙂
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Post by Pete Tyjas on Aug 10, 2023 7:32:05 GMT
Lovely review Boisker, sounds like just about a perfect day!
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Post by terry on Aug 10, 2023 14:26:13 GMT
Nice report Boisker, thanks for sharing. A lot of the Duchy water is becoming very overgrown or perhaps it’s just me these days. The knees ain’t what they used to be. I think you’re right re the peal there are few in the system now since the rain. I think the season is making up for lost time. Well done!
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Post by boisker on Aug 10, 2023 17:11:40 GMT
Certainly that section is worse than last time I visited, there are 100 yard stretches where the gorse extends out from the bank 30m in solid blocks…. There were some places I would have much preferred to get out the river rather than the sketchy wading I was forced into… I love that stretch but not sure I’ll be back to soon.
I did plan to fish up from Park Hall and up the Blackabrook, but someone had just started fishing… will try either that stretch, or up from Two Bridges or Postbridge next time..
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Post by johnesmithson on Aug 10, 2023 18:26:02 GMT
Nice work Boisker, and I'm delighted to hear that you got up there after your leg trouble. I am sure that will have been a sea trout that you bumped into, thanks to the high water we have had for the last few weeks. Not very often that they are taken by day on the moorland Dart. I agree with you and Terry, the banks are d**n hard work these days, and if you commit to staying in the river you can end up with the agonising decision to either gingerly retrace your steps, or risk the water lapping over the top of your waders as you optimistically press on....I've been having fun on some of the higher bits of the system recently, with a small black F-fly working best. And a real thrill last weekend when I ran into a group of four red deer in a remote spot; the stag was a really impressive beast with well developed antlers. I thought I was seeing things, but checked with the Dartmoor ecologist who confirmed that there is a small breeding population of reds up there, but they are rarely seen.
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Post by boisker on Aug 11, 2023 22:18:04 GMT
Yeah, the reds are slowly spreading… there’s a decent sized population west of the A30, which is increasing. Undoubtedly they will expand in numbers across Dartmoor. Stunning to see but they do cause a few issues on sites further west in Devon…
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Post by johnesmithson on Aug 11, 2023 22:32:23 GMT
I was up there again today and had a similar experience to you: the trout switched on around midday for an hour or two when almost every cast was met with a rise, then it all went very quiet later in the afternoon. I couldn't work out why. Conditions still seemed good (upstream breeze, broken cloud and sun), but maybe it was something to do with atmospheric pressure which fell steadily after peaking about noon according to the Dartmoor remote weather centre. Huge numbers of fry in the margins. Elk Hair Caddis and another sedge pattern worked well, and there were plenty of naturals around. I didn't see any olives for a change. A few crane flies in the grass, so it would be fun to throw them something leggy in the next few weeks.
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Post by halfstoned on Aug 23, 2023 7:27:13 GMT
Hi Boisker, I'm hoping to try this stretch in September, is the path down to the river pretty obvious? I've looked on Google earth but can't make it out. To my shame I've never fished on the Cherry Brook (despite reading about it in MW's book some 33 years ago), still better late than never.
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Post by boisker on Aug 23, 2023 8:56:59 GMT
This is the route I follow, park in the little roadside car park and walk down the road, and then drop down to the river… there is a footpath sign. You can head down to the river at any point once on the moor, I generally walk to the stepping stones bridge and then have a coffee before starting fishing. Obviously head back down the road at the top of the Cherry Brook… in all it’s about 4.5 miles, but some of the stretches up the west dart are fairly tough… but makes a great full day if you take your time. I didn’t take enough water last time and was feeling it on the last bit of the west dart…
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Post by terry on Aug 23, 2023 11:31:26 GMT
Chris, If you fancy just the cherry then I would suggest park at the Dartmoor training centre and walk down the west dart to the confluence of the cherry ( take care if you decide to cross over the bridge as I’ve previously mentioned ) and fish up to the road for the lower section. The upper section ( my preference) park at the car park where the road crosses the cherry and walk up the track with that rather lovely house on your left. Continue along the fence until you come to a stile where you can get down to the brook. You can then fish up to the top road which goes to post bridge. I’ve had some good days on both sections although it is a tad hard going, for me that is😄 Hope you make it.
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Post by johnesmithson on Aug 23, 2023 17:02:37 GMT
Or how about a third variation?! Leave your faithful steed in the car park at the road bridge over the Cherry (to the right of the blue dot on Boisker's excellent map). As far as I can see, the only way to get into the river at this point and avoid the impenetrable barbed wire-reinforced walls is to wade upstream under the bridge. There are some cracking pools and runs from that point upwards. Fish up to (and beyond) the lovely house that Terry mentions (Bentley and Evoque parked outside last week, the farmer must be doing well), then walk back down his track to your car where you can enjoy a restorative cheese and pickle sandwich washed down with a cool pale ale. Freshly invigorated, wander down the lower river as far as you like then fish back up to the car. The advantage of this strategy is you don't need to be encumbered by too much food and drink as you stagger about, you can avoid the death trap gorse on the West Dart, and you don't finish with a walk along the road. When I looked at the latest Duchy map, a section of the Cherry below the upper road bridge is private/out of bounds if you manage to get up that far: the moor and banks are pretty tough going, especially further up; that's where I bumped into a group of red deer a couple of weeks ago. The Cherry has been good to me this year, but I did fish it when the levels were a bit higher than now. Please do report back, or even better, put up a video if you manage to fish it this season Chris. Tight lines to all!
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Post by terry on Aug 23, 2023 18:43:17 GMT
I’d definitely go for option 3. It was the cheese and pickle sandwiches and the cool ale that did it for me. Heaven on the moor
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Post by halfstoned on Aug 23, 2023 18:55:29 GMT
Many thanks for all the great replies guys, so many options!! As its the cherrybrook that I haven't ever fished I think I'll try the the pale ale option 😉 I have the whole day free so I suppose I could have a look at the Dart when I walk down to the bottom of cherrybrook. Is it obvious where the fishing ends upstream of the lower cherry Road bridge or is it so far up that lunch will call long before that? I'm sure the camera will be going John, my dad likes to see what I'm getting up to back here in Devon after they moved away. If I finally make it to cherybrook and don't film it for him then.......
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Post by johnesmithson on Aug 23, 2023 20:33:27 GMT
I didn't get far enough up to look for a sign Chris, and that was after spending a whole day working my way up from the lower road bridge. But the off-limits bit is shown on this map which is taken from the DAA website. dartaa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Dartmoor3.pdfThere's just so much water to go at, both on the lower and middle river, and I am sure a few of the pots that I walked past without even trying could hold a surprise or two. Johnny
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Post by boisker on Aug 23, 2023 21:07:47 GMT
The other benefit of the Cherry Brook is it’s easy fishing compared to working up the West Dart to the Cherry Brook… I’d forgotten how hard the West Dart can be
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Post by terry on Aug 24, 2023 10:44:50 GMT
No sign as such Chris but there is a barbed wire fence across the river (at least there was the last time I managed to get up there) you are virtually in sight of the road so can’t go wrong. Mind you at my age I tend not to worry about “restricted” areas on the moor these days. Go for it you’ll love it.
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Post by halfstoned on Aug 24, 2023 20:52:53 GMT
Cheers Terry, I'm looking forward to it already👍 do you use felt soled boots up there? (Checked, clean and dry obviously).
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Post by johnesmithson on Aug 25, 2023 8:28:34 GMT
Cheers Terry, I'm looking forward to it already👍 do you use felt soled boots up there? (Checked, clean and dry obviously). I prefer felt soles up there Chris, as long as I’m not doing too much walking on wet grass. My wading staff provides extra stability in the bouldery sections of the rivers as well as on the rougher parts of the moor.
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Post by terry on Aug 25, 2023 16:06:16 GMT
I’m sure felt soles would be fine although I don’t have them anymore since a mouse in my garage ate mine.
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Post by halfstoned on Aug 26, 2023 12:43:29 GMT
I think I already know the answers to this one, but just to keep the conversation going, which are the fly patterns you regular moorland anglers wouldn't want to be without?
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