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- PeterBQH
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
I don't know how long it will last, but finally today, the river rose to a decent level (33cm) from the painfully low 23 or thereabouts that it has been, for far too many weeks. It's even risen a bit higher still this eening. I was lucky enough to have chosen today to visit the river again, and it was such a pleasure to find a decent flow almost everywhere.
Admittedly the very strong easterly wind and the bright sunshine, combined with very murky water, all provided excuses for my failure to catch anything, but it was still good to see the river back to normal-ish once more. The brown gunge was still there on the bottom, but there's a chance some of it will get washed away in places now, and it may slow its rate of growth as the water is deeper and currently not so clear. Some rain is due at the weekend, so that might help as well.
I did try a new technique to dodge the slime a few days ago, namely using a small Zig Bug (as pushed by Barbless Flies a while ago) which has a tiny lump of foam designed to help it rise off the bottom. I used that on the dropper over a size 16 Perdigon, and had some good results, though I failed to land one today. My fishing companion did succeed in landing some, though that was no surprise, however he also managed to catch 2 Grayling on the same line, and even better, spotted a River Lamprey (not the little Brook Lamprey we often see) in a very shallow (and thus clear) riffly patch. This was about 9 inches long, whereas the Brook Lamprey are tiny - maybe 2 or 3 inches.
Although we have had a few reported sightings of River Lamprey before, and an injured one was photographed a few weeks ago, this is definitive proof that they are present in the river, and this one was probably building a Redd. It was downstream from the Sewage Outfall, so I guess the Water Treatment works can't be doing too bad a job.
Here's a link to the video:.
Let's hope this rise signals a more permanent improvement, or it could be connected to the new siphon system at Bewl being tested perhaps. Make the most of it anyway, and be sure and keep you eyes peeled for more Lamprey, especially when wading in stony or gravelly areas.
Tight Lines
PeterB
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