It is doing ok. It could be better; a lot better however it could be a lot worse like last summer when it was just totally shite. What we need right now is some rain to liven thing sup a bit, not the torrential months lasting kind more the couple of days “just enough to give us a spate” kind or even a few nice days and then a day of rain to keep the river topped up. This will ensure the trout are getting plenty of oxygen as well as making some of the more spooky stagnant like pools fishable. A few inches on the river turns a long very slow spooky pool into a glide where the trout are less spooky.
There were a couple of weeks there when folk were catching big trout; they (the trout) have now all buggered off and are probably sitting on the bottom of the river playing cards or something as what they do not appear to be doing is rising to dry flies.
As I was driving into work this morning I considered my past fishing exploits, do you remember when every weekend I would have a full day on the Clyde with more than the odd evening session thrown in? It was great however the rising cost of petrol and the fact that children now play a major role in my life this has now been curtailed. That being said I think it is time to head down to the Clyde at some point, for a change if anything!
The gossip mill on the Kelvin has been going into overdrive at the start of the season and it has been great hearing them all however sometimes I have got to wonder about the intelligence of some folk if they actually believe them.
1. The association bought a pair of binoculars for £700. I found this funny and then it got bigger; the association bought two pairs of binoculars at £700 each. I mean really?
2. The annual petition to have Paul Reid removed is doing the rounds. Yes, a petition to have a volunteer who can be voted out if someone else is willing to do the job every two years is rumoured to be circulating. “I should be so lucky” he mused the other day..
3. The river is being netted. I was talking to a member who assured me the river was definitely being netted as no salmon had been seen above the falls. Immediately a large Salmon splashed in the pool behind him. You know who you are!
4. The river is infested by Rainbow trout. There are usually a few caught every year going by my diary, not much can be done and if you do catch one bash it unlike one of the chaps that caught one and let it go. I have still not seen any signs of them.
5. There are Grayling in the Kelvin. This is actually a throwback from last season however I was assured from an angler that he had caught well over a dozen Grayling while trotting maggots. He was furious when I pointed out he must have been mistaken, this from a chap who marks par as Salmon on his catch returns.
There are a few more however none really that affects me or have reached my ears, I asked Paul the other day and he said there was a rumour we were best of buddies before he became secretary. The first time I seen him he was sitting with his head in his hands at an AGM as he had just asked one question to many about the running of the association and was immediately voted in as secretary.
As I write this the rain has finally started (and I do hope it actually stops at some point) and hopefully it should freshen things up a tad. Of course there is always the possibility it is going to pour down for the next six weeks however here is hoping that is not the case. I am still phoneless so contacting me via email is going to be kinda slow, I phoned up the insurance folk to be told they were waiting on “parts” for my phone that had spent 6 hours underwater, what exactly are these parts of which they speak?
Anyway, this afternoon was warm and muggy however my evening was spent putting the boys to bed so no fishing for me. I hope you guys fared better!
Interesting about your phone, I pay almost £30.00 a month Halifax home contents insurance. I recently bathed my Sony Experia in the Kelvin (waded too deep and found out mywaterproof pockets are only waterproof from the outside), but on contacting the Halifax, I was told that the phone was not covered for water damage of any kind. In the booklet given at the time of taking out the insurance, no mention of this is included, but on trying to claimthey sent out the full booklet and lo and behold….. I now have a new Experia, that is waterproof to 10ft. Hope you have better luck than me.
I claimed through the Halifax Ultimate Reward free insurance – got my phone back today good as new, they had even stuck on a new glass screen seeing as how my old one was chipped and scratched. I have heard a lot of negative things about Lifestyles Services however I found them great!
I thought you had sworn yourself off urbanflyfisher?
Nuff said.
Lets meet up for a fish and a chat – you out over the next few days?
Alistair,That realy is a nice Brownie.A reward for your efforts in learning to Fly Fish.There is no substitute for experience.Best of luck for this season.:-)