Well, it's almost over; only 7, days to the end of the season on the 30th, of September! How's your 2009, river fishing season been, good or bad? As you expected? or maybe better than you expected. I've had a really good season, there have been some extremely happy moments and some not so happy, there have been some funny moments, some scary and some eery times while fishing alone on the river during the evening. I've also been for an unexpected swim on a couple of occasions! I've enjoyed fishing in the company of old acquaintances, I've also made some new friends; and not just Human friends, like the Swan who wanted to see what I had in my back-pack! such a beautiful gentle bird, then there was the Otter chasing the Lamprey towards me; that was a scary moment! But, I've enjoyed every bit of the season, I've had the pleasure of fishing and sharing the rivers with friends, animals, birds and insects; and, I have certainly loved every minute of the 2009 river trout season.

What's your season been like? do you have any stories to tell about your 2009 season, whether they are silly, funny, happy or even sad, dramatic and entertaining reminiscences of your 2009 season. Can you look back and laugh or cry about something that happened while you were on the river fishing! I would love to read some of your experiences! I'm sure we all have a story to tell about our 2009 fishing exploits! Please share them with us!!

Thanks in advance!!

Mostyn

I've had precisely 3 days of fishing on a river this year and I loved every minute of it. I'll get more in next.

Plus I caught my first proper Grayling on a dry fly.

Its been a great season here on the Welsh Dee with over 80 trout (although 75 were stockies) and well over 100 Grayling including my new pb of 3lb 4oz which came at 21:30 at night back in July and saved me from my 1st blank of the season, sadly ive had a couple of blanks in the last 2 weeks. And then there have been far too many Parr Chub and Dace to keep count.
I also took a swim back in June went too far down a run and ended up unable to wade back up and then slipped I spent what seemed like an age looking at the sun through the surface and then crawled up the bank phone ruined and looking around to see who was watching.
Altogether it’s been a wonderful season and I have met some great people. Welsh water tried there best to spoil it with water releases from the dams up stream but the Parr still obliged on these difficult days.
Although the trout season is coming to an end the Grayling are getting better every week and should keep me going till 2010.

Every season is wonderful for different reasons.

I love learning and have to say one or two things stick in my mind , sitting on my **** for hours just watching has paid untold dividends for a number of reasons. The second thing that sticks with me is how few bloody fly patterns you need, really! On a personal level i think my self doubt about my casting ability is dwindling.

Too many highlights to mention, new friendships started and old ones rekindled and all that. On the pure fishing front it amazes still how easy it is to catch fish while simultaneously being one of the hardest things in the world.

Doing something thats hard and making it look easy is still my goal, the self imposed dry fly rule for trout will remain.

What has become abundantly clear is i live in a bubble where i thought every fisherman has the water and fellow anglers best interests at heart. That is clearly not the case and unfortunately egos and self interest have to a degree turned me off some people in our wee world. That is really news to me, naive i know.

I suppose as a general comment i should say how bad the weather has been since the end of June and the knock on effect that has had on formally almost clock work like fly hatches (some species not appearing or being just a shadow of there former selfs). The second general comment is i dont fish enough my self!

Sometimes i have to sit back and think why i found fishing in the first place, i know what it means to me but the current question is why?

It helps you spend your money.............

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www.paypalsucks.com

If this includes sea trout, well I've had a difficult year.

I did manage to break my PB with a 13lb 2 oz fish which was very very special, but as for actual fishing opportunities it's been shocking. Constant rain and river levels too high for sustained periods. Third year in a row now.

i have had a belter, not blanked on a single outing this season, though i have to admit a few times it has been on the cards.. i have only missed 2 weeks this season due to the swine flu...

PB brownie was shattered (though the exact weight i couldnt say)

learned some new skills, north country spiders are a revelation, so versatile

shame to see the season end, however, we have grayling to keep us busy over the winter...

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I've had a reasonably good season,. but not as good as 2008, mainly because I haven't fished as much! 2008 was a great season for me crowned by a wild Taff brownie of 5lb+. It's difficult to top that, but the 3lb wild brown I had from the Irfon a couple of weeks ago was quite a thrill. It'll be my last Welsh trout session of 2009 this weekend, and probably two more chalkstream trips before that season ends on October 15th, and then it's the grayling! I have a business trip to New York coming up and the possibility of a day on the Beaverkill with a colleague so the season is quite over for me yet.

I didnt have a great season as numbers go ,the weather took some of the blame for that ,but i caught quite a few good fish ,one of them my personal best brown from a river,i would also like to say thanks to buzz who has helped me achieve this goal with his tips and sound advice,also met a few good guys of this forum

I really enjoyed my first season of river fishing even although i never caught in great numbers. I managed my first Grayling (2lb), and caught brown trout up to 2lb also.
After years of fishing #6 and #7 lines i enjoyed the thrill of a good fish on a small #5 rod.

I probably would not have managed this without the words of wisdom from Buzz and many others like him, who are never short of great advice. From my experience i find river fishermen take more time to talk to you on the bank compared to stillwater anglers, and are quite happy to discuss methods, flies etc.

Looking forward to the Grayling season so will be at the river all year round.

Cheers Diarmid.