Rivers on this page include:- River Ribble
- River Swale
- River Skirfare
- River Bain
- River Cover
The Yorkshire Dales has many rivers and smaller streams
with good fly fishing for trout and grayling. These smaller streams
are known across the North of England as Becks, the Viking word
for stream. For me, living at the southern end of the Yorkshire Dales near
Skipton, the Rivers Nidd, Ure and Wharfe are my main fly fishing rivers, but
there are many more within only a short distance. All share similar
characteristics of being fast flowing, oxygen rich, rainfed and unpolluted. They
all have brown trout in varying numbers and sizes and some have grayling too.
These rich waters attract many kinds of flora and fauna and a day spent fly
fishing on a Yorkshire Dales river or beck usually results in the sighting of
dippers, kingfishers and grey and pied wagtails in or near the water. Away
from the water we see curlews, lapwings, kestrels, buzzards, hares, stoats
and weasels, etc. But much as these rivers share some of the same
characteristics they are all different and all need to be understood; their
moods, their fish and their hidden corners. Away from the main 3 rivers the rest
tend to get neglected by the fly fisher. A day spent fly fishing on these waters
is usually a solitary affair with just the dales sheep to keep you company.
There is no more relaxing way to fish than to set off from your car with only your short 3 weight fly rod, box of
flies, sandwiches and flask, and flick your fly into each and every inviting
lie as you progress, fishing upstream. Then, when the long summers day draws to an
end, you know that you have had a fantastic days sport, not only measured in
numbers of fish, but the sights, sounds and smells that is fly fishing in the
Yorkshire Dales, off the beaten track.
FLY FISHING ON THE RIVER RIBBLE
The River Ribble is a typical Yorkshire Dales river with a prolific population
of brown trout and grayling, and also invertebrates. A days' fly fishing and guiding on the
River Ribble in May 2005 saw a constant hatch of flies throughout
the day, of which, various species of upwinged flies predominated. The trout and
grayling responded as they would and a 2½lb grayling was the highlight of a very good day. I fish the River Ribble in
the Settle area, a typical Yorkshire Dales market town with a backdrop of high
limestone cliffs and wooded steep sided hills. The River Ribble here is
perfectly suited to fly fishing, with fast runs interspersed with long smooth
glides where trout and grayling are often to be seen taking surface flies and just
waiting to take your well presented dry fly. Downstream of Settle the River
Ribble becomes slow and deep, certainly not suited to fly fishing and beyond
this it flows out of the Yorkshire Dales and into Lancashire. Obviously the
'Yorkshiremen' of old knew a thing or two and kept the best for themselves when
drawing up the county boundaries! Unlike all the other Yorkshire Dales rivers,
the River Ribble flows west to the Irish Sea (the others all flow east to the
North Sea, via the Yorkshire Ouse). It is for this reason that the River Ribble
enjoys a run of sea trout and salmon (the distance to the sea is much shorter
going west), but our quarry is the brown trout and grayling. I leave the
migratory fish to those that enjoy a day out fly casting!
FLY FISHING ON
THE RIVER SWALE
The River Swale is reputedly the fastest flowing river in England. I must
say I have not found it to be any different to the other Yorkshire Dales rivers.
It is also said that it is one of the fastest rising rivers in England and this I
can believe having seen it rise at a frightening speed. It appears more rocky
than the other rivers in the Yorkshire Dales, which is usually a characteristic
of brown trout habitat, but there are grayling in the River Swale in substantial
numbers. The River Swale near Catterick, where I have fished regularly, has a
good population of coarse fish and I was once fortunate to catch a 4½lb
barbel on a Czech Nymph. Totally by accident I must admit; I actually
thought that my flies were snagged on the bottom for some time, before it awoke!
The River Swale is about as big as the River Ure or River Wharfe in this area
and is suitable for most methods of fly fishing. I have had most success when
fishing dry flies and Czech Nymphs depending on the conditions.
FLY FISHING
ON THE RIVER SKIRFARE
The River Skirfare is the main tributary of the River Wharfe in Upper
Wharfedale. It joins the River Wharfe between Kilnsey and
Kettlewell and nearly doubles the size of the main river at this point. The
River Skirfare has its source in Three Peaks country and flows through
Littondale on its way to meet the River Wharfe. It runs very clear unless
there has been recent rain and holds a good head of wild brown trout. The fly
fishing on the River Skirfare is not for the angler who wants easy fishing or
for those who measure their success by the numbers of fish caught. These are
some of the most difficult trout you will find anywhere, extracting them
requires a high degree of fly fishing skill and stealth. There are good sized
brown trout in the River Skirfare and they have a tendency to hug the banks. Fly
fishing here is mainly dry fly, to fish observed rising to naturals; fishing the
water generally results in spooked trout that spook the next trout and so on.
The scenery here, like so many other places in the Yorkshire Dales, is nothing
short of magnificent. Again green fields are interspersed with limestone rocks,
dry stone walls and stone barns. The sheep outnumber people quite easily and
buzzards ride the updraft above the valley sides.
FLY FISHING ON THE RIVER BAIN
The River Bain is a tributary of the River Ure, which it joins at Bainbridge
in Upper Wensleydale.
Its main claim to fame is that it is the shortest river in England. It flows only 2
miles from Semerwater down to the River Ure, but it provides delightful fly fishing for wild
brown trout that rise feely to your fly. A day's fly fishing on the River Bain is best split in two;
between the lower river (from the confluence with the Ure up to the village), and
the upper river (from just above the village to Semerwater). The fishing is good
fishing both upstream and downstream of Bainbridge, however, the river that
leaves Semerwater is very canal like and doesn't offer very good fly fishing
for quite some distance downstream, until the gradient increases and the
water becomes more broken and faster flowing.
FLY FISHING ON THE RIVER COVER
The River Cover is another tributary of River Ure in Wensleydale which
joins the main river at Cover Bridge, between the villages of Middleham
and East Witton. It is another small stream filled with wild brown trout which
are generally on the small side, but these fish are truly wild and size does not
matter one bit. They are a delight to look at and they generally rise freely to
dry flies. The River Cover also contains grayling which grow to quite large
sizes. My first ever River Cover grayling was an 18 inch specimen! A day fly fishing on the River Cover is a cure for the stresses of
every day life.
