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We don’t make stuff any more – the Chinese do it
for us. What’s the upshot? Clean rivers in Britain’s
cities. Overlooked and unloved, they are cheap and offer some of
the best fishing in the land. Fill your boots! |
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The Calder at Copley, on the outskirts of Halifax, epitomises urban fly-fishing. It’s ugly, it’s dirty, it’s cheap, and it’s full of massive trout. You have a choice – you can say you don’t want to fish
in a place like Copley, and that’s fine. That’s your
business. Or you can say you want to. And that’s fine, too.
But here’s the catch, if you say you don’t want to fish
in Copley then don’t go around yapping that the people who
fish in Copley catch more, bigger fish than you do. Copley is good
because you don’t want to fish there. It’s good because
the people who do fish there put the fish back because frankly,
the Calder at Copley smells bad. Once again, if you don’t
like it you don’t have to fish it. It’s almost entirely
catch-and-release because the trout from this rather dirty river,
taste off-puttingly of soap. Why? I don’t know why. Who am
I – Jacques Cousteau?! Get your permit from Jewson’s, 28 Horton Street, Halifax, 01422 354146, and hit the water. Jewson’s can also sell you personal protective equipment, guns and the like, and if you’re planning any night-fishing in Copley you’ll be needing a shooter. It’s not exactly a fly-only water. I did run into a couple of pretty serious-looking fly guys on the
river, split-cane rods and stuff. I asked them if they got lost
on their way to The Wharfe. They laughed, but it’s their local,
they fish it all the time, and they love their fishing. The truth
is it’s a great place to fish, and the dry fly works very
well, and you’ll easily catch more fish than you would on
The Wharfe. Also long-shank things cast across and down work very
well. There are lots of good grayling too. There are some very low
power lines above, so look up.
The day before I fished Copley, there was a huge fish kill just
below Copley, which apparently killed the fish for two miles On the subject of fishing shops, Jewson’s is one of those places that is emphatically a coarse fishing shop, when it’s not being a gun shop. As their advertising says – ‘A J Jewson (Est.1900) GUNS and FISHING ACCESSORIES Fresh Bait All Brands Stocked’. You get the picture. It’s very near Halifax train station. They are knowledgeable and friendly, and know about flies even if it isn’t their main business.
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Halifax
- Straight Outta Copley
I
walked to the river from Sowerby Bridge train station. Just follow
the river downstream, it’s a couple of miles. I said hello
to an old lady. It’s an intimidating looking place and I wanted
to put her at ease. “It’s lovely down here, int it?”
She asked me and then it was me that was terrified. I quickened
my step to get away from the old crack hoe. A few years ago next
to the river in Copley a man objected to three young men trying
to steal his car. They stuck a screwdriver right through his head.
The police found them and threw them in jail for ever, but that
doesn’t mean he gets to go fishing again or see his children
grow up. So keep it very tidy in Copley.
downstream
to Elland. There is a place called Elland, and yes, Elland Road
is a road that goes to Elland from Leeds. Leeds United were playing
at Elland Road, trying to avoid relegation by beating the mighty
Ipswich. The river was the best place to be for a moment of denial,
of not wanting to know. The fishing was very good. As I headed downstream
past Copley towards 
Leeds,
the river began to smell very bad. It already smells a bit, it’s
The Calder, but this was raw, pungent, untreated sewage. The sun
set. Copley smelt of shit. So did Leeds United. It takes a long
time to recover from a really disgusting incident that reflects
badly on everyone. 
In
contrast is the extraordinary Lathkill, 19a King Cross Street