So I had a strange day at the river today. I left the house at around 4pm…it had been warm and muggy all day. Almost as soon as i got to the river it started to rain. I didnt bring a jacket….all i had on was my waistcoat and waders. No hat.
Anyway, I was sheltering from the rain under a tree when I had a sudden urge to carve my name into a very large tree branch. Its not something Ive ever done before and you know how much I love trees so it was a little weird.
I did it. I carved my name. It got me thinking about how the river and probably the tree will be around long after Im gone……kinda strange really when you think of it. How many marks does someone leave in the world. I wonder if even in a few years someone will see the marks I made and wonder what the person was like that made them…….its a nice thought I think. I see things all the time and I wonder how they got their…..I mean you have the mills and things like that beside the river….th eold abandoned ones I mean……..people went to work everyday in them…people like you and me……I wonder if any of them made marks on a tree one day!
Once the rain stopped I carried on fishing…..upstream with a dry. I thought I was going to blank untill I caught a lovely little brownie of about 5-6 inches long. Carried on fishing getting carried away with the feel of casting and the concentration of watching for any signs of a trout. Sometimes Its the smallest rise, the supping of a fly betrays the bigger trout. And that is exactly what happened. I made a tricky cast …….here
That is an old photo but the same place……just right in at the tree……..there was the most gentle of takes, a tiny little sup…..the fly just disapeared……I would have thought that the leader had got snagged and pulled the fly under if i had not been waiting on this happening……I struck and was into a nice brownie of around 1/4 to 1/2 a pound…….it fought strongly…..very strongly. I find after the river has had some rain the fish seem to get very “fighty” I think its got something to do with the amount of oxygen in the water.
I met a guy who I have not seen all this season. An awful nice guy. I seen him a lot last season……he fishes with a bubble float and wasp grubs. He always does well, or did last season, he says that things are a bit harder this year. We spoke about using different techniques……he comes from a course fishing background so is used to handling fish well, and making sure they are returned safely. He treats the fish with a bit of respect……I like that!!
Anyway, we ended up walking up the road together, swapping stories…..he too gets the heaby jeabies at night down on the river. Before we left their was a good few fish rising and he said he would like to watch me fish for a bit, he had already packed up. I got into the water and within a dozen casts had a couple of fish………he was very impressed …..secretly so was i 😉