The Ladies & Frustration

I had plans to fish one of my local haunts today but when I got up this morning & looked on the calendar, I couldn't go where I wanted as the club had a river match on which incorporated the part I was going to fish so a quick change of plans and we headed off a bit further afield.

I knew it was going to be one of those days when I tried to park the car & the front wheels couldn't get any traction on the soft dirt which ended up the whole front of the car caked in mud as I tried to get myself out. Finally managed to out of got the car onto some decent hard standing.

The river over the last few days has been up & down like a yo-yo with all the snow melt and I wasnt sure how this part would fish as it was lower on my last visit.

My first sight of the river and my expectations turned more upbeat as it was flowing nice all be it slightly higher but definately looking good.









It didn't take long to get amongst the Grayling and a couple of fingerling Grayling came to the net before I hooked into something more substantial which by the looks of things had been through the wars and looked very familiar.

Predation today

This Grayling has had a close escape with a predator as it has got a stab wound in the back of it and part of its tail has been chomped off which looked very familiar to me at the time as I thought I had caught this very same fish 2 weeks ago & it wasn't till I got home to check it against the fish that it is very similar in ever way shape & form to the fish 2 weeks ago even down the the black markings on the scales, I'm still undecided if it is actually the same fish but I'm 70/30, there is too many similarities.

predation 2 weeks ago

Managed another small fingerling Grayling after that and then things went dead and the Glare from the sun was obscuring my vision on the trotting so had a bit of an exploration and found that the snowdrops were now out in abundance all along the banks.

Found some new water after lunch where things just went from bad to worse. 2nd trot through lost my rig to a big angry trout and watched the float disappear downstream into the sunset, never to be seen by me again. As the afternoon wore on fish after fish got hooked and lost, all substantial Grayling too when finally I thought I had shook off the streak of frustration only for another rig to be snapped off and left dangling in the branches above me as I was up to my waist in water, thinking I could retrieve the float I grabbed for the Branch and missed the line parted company with the branch and i watched the 2nd float of the day drift downstream into the sunset, someone downstream is going to have a good day if they find both my floats.

After that I didn't have the heart to re tackle and it was getting on well into the afternoon too so started heading back to the car when I came across all the Geese flying in to roost for the evening.

The ladies certainly frustrated me today but that took nothing away from being on the river, seeing the dippers and kingfishers dart up & down the river and just take in the atmosphere of the surroundings, The floats will be remade & I will return to see if I can winkle out those Ladies.