...isn't it life-affirming to stand in a river with the sun on your neck for the first time in months?

Six trout to just over a pound, and a half-dozen small grayling - several of the trout from a tiny wierpool which necessitated horizontal casting about a foot above the surface. The bushes, with a small complement of my flies in the branches, gave silent witness to my rusty casting. The day ticket stretch at Amesbury was the place, as I found out to my chagrin that I was a week early for the Services water (note to self, read your bloody ticket!)

Anyway...not much fly life about. If I'd followed the advice of checking spider webs on bridges for a clue to the hatch, I'd have been fishing spider patterns all day. Saw some small olive sp. coming off in dribs and drabs, a few hawthorn - but nowhere near enough to have the fish looking up - and a solitary, bemused-looking mayfly dun. I caught a couple on an olive klink, but the fish I saw closely were feeding - and feeding hard - right on the river bed.

Less of a report, more a celebration - but what a glorious day.

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Navybloke

Nice thank you

Frank

What a lovely report. I'm surprised that there wasn't more surface activity with some of the weather we've been getting, but then the chalkstrems do seem to get off to a slower start than the freestone rivers.

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'If you're doing things the way you've always done them then you're probably doing them wrong'