I am lucky. With the river a short walk away, when the Mayfly are up, they end up being blown into the garden. Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of watching them flutter through, only to be met by an army of House Martins, Swallows and Sparrows, all making the most of the easy pickings. It beats the television - at least for me it does...

With so many spinners in the air last night, I had expected a good, sustained hatch again today, but the river was pretty quiet with only a few rises. I saw some Large Brook Duns take to the air but there were no mayfly. Rises were sporadic. I hooked a nice brown quickly, rising in a tiny channel of faster water. Nice to make contact.



After making my way through the riffles and runs, I found another fish rising by a semi-submerged, fallen tree. Casting was tight. However, perseverance pays off and I hooked the fish - albeit it a small one - under tricky casting conditions.

Rising fish highlighted here:


Eventually another few rises were met with solid pulls. However it was down to #20 and #22 Loop emergers and the IOBO Humpy to save the day (To be on the River Fly Box soon!)





Tiny these brownies may be, but they pull hard!


Interestingly I found a Brook Lamprey. These smallish lampreys emerge during April & May - judging by this specimen, spawning had recently taken place. A healthy sign:



~Dave