An evening of Lost Opportunities

Last night I decided to go out for a few hours up the Dale to relax and chill out after a hectic day of running around a couple of local towns to get things done with the Wife, booking things etc, but the last visit was the best of all, I got to pick up my new car.

The wife surprised me last weekend when we took my old car for its service & MOT only to find she had been up to her old tricks and had arranged things with the garage, so this weekend it was collection time. Volvo number 14, I wouldn't change from them after seeing an incident in Germany in the 90s where a good friend and his family walked away from what I would only describe as a major crash, any other car and it would have been the cemetery for them all.



I arrived on the river just before 1900hrs and the drizzle had just started as I sat on the bridge looking down on the river for any signs of movement, purely to see what sort of tackle I was going to tie up, either dries or nymphs.
I seen one solitary fish rising just downstream of the hanging trees, so decided to have a bash.

I slipped under the trees on my home bank watching and waiting for the trout to make another appearance opposite, the rain was starting to come down a bit heavier than the drizzle 5 minutes ago but the fish made another appearance and gave me a target to go aim for.








second cast over him up he came & I connected with him only for him to somersault once and throw the hook.
I moved 100 yards upstream in the search for other rising fish again under the trees on the far bank. a few casts over its head and up it came, this time I missed completely. This went on for the next 4 or 5 rising fish, I would cover them they would have a go for the fly but I missed them completely. It was as if they were not taking the fly properly but simply splashing at its presence. Finally as it started to get dark I seen another fish and decided to have one last cast and was rewarded that the fish stayed on this time.

A lovely wild fish.












Released to give sport another day as always.

Today is our 29th wedding anniversary so what were the chances of the wife allowing my to visit a fishing show, I thought Nil, How wrong I was!!

With no plans set in stone for the day we decided to just jump in the car and head off for a drive and have lunch somewhere, on mentioning to her about the Wharfedale Fly Fishing Show and wanting to catch up with a few friends we decided to head there first.

It was great to meet up with old friends again and have a laugh and some banter with old & new, and a few items bought.

Stephen Cheetham from fishing with style certainly knows how to greet me, he wants a hug.....

He didn't want any money so I obliged and actually got some bed time reading from him.

Then I spotted two old friends, David Southall who I haven't seen since a meeting at a Grayling Society Symposium a couple of years ago and my friendly local Orvis representative and Forces friend Clark Coleman.

The banter was great as always even if Clark is trying to show David that you dont even need to look at the river to catch fish, against his better judgement. 

Great friendly banter all round and a few hours spent in some great company. 

Then I had to keep my side of the bargain with the wife, lunch out the middle of the Dales which just happened to be next to Kilnsey Park Estate so a lovely meal in the Tennants Arms which has only been taken over 4 days ago by new landlords and I have to say the food and service was 1st class I wish them all the luck in their new venture,  and a walk around the fishing complex completed a lovely day out, here's to the next 29 years of marriage xx