A Trip Down Memory Lane

First visit to the Dove for years produces a beast!

- Dave Harrell

THE last time I fished the River Dove was back in my Shakespeare Super team days in the mid- 1980s, and a good catch of dace won me a major prize.

Since that time I’ve never been back, but over the past few months I became aware of small matches being held on the river again.

What’s more, local star John Harper had been extolling the virtues of the place for a while on his own Facebook page, so who better to have a day on there with?

John has an excellent record in matches in the Derbyshire area and has recorded many wins on the Trent and on the Dove, where he has match fished for the past 50 years!

We duly arranged an early morning session at Tutbury, but John was concerned. “The river is in good trim but I’m a bit worried about how the recent frosts might have affected it,” he said. “I reckon we’ll catch chub and grayling, but I can’t see any barbel feeding. The water temperature is really low.”

I explained that barbel weren’t that important for the day and that just a few chub could still make a good feature.

We met up by the river just as it was getting light. John had sorted our bait and my guest ticket from the Fisher mania shop where he works a couple of days a week.