What a Collection

It's a great British tradition to have a group of blokes standing around watching, while one of them does a bit of work, especially when they all have lots of helpful advice to offer. There was a bit of that going on today (very lightheartedly) as we had another workparty, on Beat 3a (Stonebridge) this time, but nonetheless, we managed to get some good work done. We installed a new deflector to liven up a slow stretch, and we added a berm further down, to encourage spawning and provide sanctuary for the fry.

Admittedly, by this stage we'd finished all the work, and one member had even gone off to fish, but we had all worked really hard up until then, honestly. We may have stopped part-way for one of Nigel's very posh coffees, and the odd doughnut, like you do, but we all felt a good sense of satisfaction after a job well done, so congrats to Nigel, Keith, Tony, David, Matt and Dexter (and me I suppose).

The weather has been a bit unpredictable lately, but the torrential rain on Friday didn't prevent a nice day at Trottenden, and the river was still surprisingly clear, and hadn't risen at that point, though it may be up a bit by tomorrow. Despite the rain, there was still plenty of action, and it's good to note that Spiders are definitely featuring in the catch returns currently, either as droppers above a nymph, or on point. Well worth giving them a try if you see a rise, or in any fast riffly water. It's almost as good as dry fly fishing to see a trout rise to your spider, but un-solicited rises seem to be few and far between during the day lately, despite lots of Mayflies and Olives etc on the water. I gather that evening sessions may be more productive, as you might expect.

If you do go down to Beat 2a, don't be surprised if you see a camouflaged wildlife photographer waiting patiently to snap a kingfisher landing on a carefully placed branch.

And some people think that fishing is a strange pastime!

Finally, you'd better start dusting off those size 18 nymphs and double badgers ready for the Grayling season which starts again on 16th June (a week on Monday). It'll be interesting to see how many Grayling are caught this year, after a lower count in the Catch Returns last year. Please be sure to include them in your Returns from 16th onwards.

Tight Lines

PeterB