Hidden in plain sight

Ignoring the wisdom of those members who don't bother fishing the river in July and August, I decided to try and catch a Grayling today so naturally I went to Beat 3B at Harpers. Testing the water first, the results were very good, and the temperature still a reasonable 17.8 degrees, however the clarity of the water just now is quite exceptional. Consequently, I decided to try dries for a while, as there would be no problem for the Grayling seeing them.

I did have a few rises to a tiny Deer Hair Sedge, just up from the footbridge, but they didn't connect. They looked like Grayling, but might have been Dace. It was noticeable how many fish were visible there, and all the way up the river, including quite a few Trout, but also lots of small Dace/Grayling in shoals, and loads of Chub everywhere. Catching them proved a whole lot harder than spotting them however.

My fishing companion, who invariably catches far more than me, and much more quickly, was struggling a bit, so we spent some time in Grayling Alley, frustratingly watching dries, nymphs and spiders drift past the noses of what looked like a shoal of concrete grayling resting on the bottom of the shallow run. Admittedly they did move occasionally, so probably not concrete, but they were no more interested in our flies than concrete ones would have been.

Eventually, his persistence, skill and a huge variety of tiny nymphs yielded a fish at the bottom of Grayling Alley. It appeared to initially be a Grayling, or a Dace, or a Chub, until it was in the net,when it proved to be - a young Barbel!

It was the rubbery lips on this baby Barbel (Barbelette?) that gave it away, plus the tiny barbules under the mouth. Not what we were expecting to find one in that bit of river, and a rare find anyway, so we did wonder if some, or even all of the other unresponsive wish there, might be Barbels. That was reinforced when he caught a second one in the same spot, so who knows how many there are or were down there.

Although we don't ask for Returns for anything other than Trout or Grayling, we'd be interested to know if others are catching Barbelettes.

Do also let us know on your Catch Return if you spot a MInk anywhere on the river, and please report it to the Wildlife Recovery Trust at https://www.waterliferecoverytrust.org.uk/report-a-sighting/ with as much location detail as possible.

Even if you don't catch anything at the river, it's still worthwhile walking and looking, as you can now see lots of features in the river, and can judge the depth of various parts in a way that's not usually possible. It's also fun trying to work out just what those ghostly grey shapes are, and just because they're in Grayling Alley, that don't mean a thing.

Tight Lines

PeterB