Grin & Bear it, It was worth it.

A few hours last night on the river was all I was able to muster this weekend with a few severe aches and pains hindering me at the moment, It was just nice to get out and try and forget things for a few hours, so a few painkillers popped and I left the house just after 5pm heading not too far from home. On route I couldn't help but stop at the side of the road and take this picture, it just looked so peaceful and calming.

The fields all over the Dale are currently full with rapeseed all in bright flowers and the fragrance fills your nose as soon as you stop.






Continuing on I parked up and looked over the bridge to be met with a couple of small fish sipping flies off the surface, so that was it my mind was made up, dry fly from the off.

Sliding down more than climbing down the riverbank into the water would be a fair statement to say,  I noticed an array of wild flowers of all colours blooming in the late afternoon sun. Im if right these lovely blue flowers are Alkanet.











A few casts and the first of the rising fish I had seen from the bridge came to the net.

Small but perfectly formed in every way.









The second fish continued to rise so a few casts later & slightly bigger in size that graced the net also.

With nothing else moving by the bridge  I climbed the bank and headed up stream passing all the hawthorn bushes in bright white colour as I went.






I sat down at my next chosen spot and my nostrils were instantly filled with the mixed aroma of wild garlic and wild mint, growing all along the bankside.

The flowers also were an array of colours, with the Pink Campion, and yellow's all around.

I watched a fish sipping flies from the surface as a hatch of LBD with the occasional yellow mayfly hatching amongst them had started, just after 6pm.

Tail damaged.

A few casts later and a Grayling was heading to the net.

There was a lot of swarming flies, from very small green fly, to midges and the larger olives and yellow sallies that were hatching off.

I came upon the one of the Geese nests I had discovered in eggs a few weeks ago and looking at the state of the nest and the amount of down that was in it, it looked like the goslings had made it.

and a short time later I seen them with their parents and another goose which was trying to tag along with the family.

The hatch was starting to disappear as a cool wind started blowing up the river, so much so my sleeves came down as my arms were getting cold and fish surface movement fell away, but I did see a couple of fish still continuing to pluck insects off the surface just by the side of an overhanging hawthorn bush, I sat and watched for around 10 minutes before I was confident that they were continual risers and the first cast down one of the fish obliged.

I sat back down as the others had ceased to rise and it was another 15 minutes or so before a single fish started rising again, so a few casts later and he too graced the net, glowing in the evening sun before it dipped away.

I continued to plug away and missed a further 4 fish, just too quick on the strike on a couple of occasions and a couple of long distance releases before the aches started to fill my head again so a quick photograph with the sun dipping away from the Dale and I made my way home, much to the relief of my aching knees and back, but worth every moment.