2013 River Fly Fishing Inspiration

Apologies for not updating recently but weather has dampened activity and enthusiasm for posting. Red likes to remind me of not catching fish - so yet again I visit a local lake and blank while he nets a couple of nice Rainbows on a Snipe and Purple no less. What's wrong with the good old Buzzer or stripped Damsel I ask myself! Anyway I had had some luck few weeks previous stripping on an intermediate at Chew Magna Reservoir - ended up netting 4 fish in a couple of hours but I'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark. Standing still for too long and not casting to sighted fish I guess is just not my thing at the moment.

Today we went for a walk on a local Somerset stream and after catching a few glimpses of fish on the shallow gravel runs it got the old mojo back for the new year. The stretch which we haven't fished before looked good, hidden in deep banks with a high tree canopy great for the roll cast. The water was fairly high but clear in the shallow sections. An interesting sight was a large adult dead Otter which was curled naturally in the crease of some steps. Not far from the road, although it looked in tact, we assumed it had been hit by a car and found a corner to die quietly - sad. Small flocks of tits, Siskin, Treecreeper and Nuthatch moved through the Alders that lined the banks whilst a pair of Dippers lead us down the stream. Raven and Buzzard overhead.

Dead Otter

A beautiful Beech tree straight out of the Shire!