River Chew 2017 home coming ,,,,

First trip back to my local River Chew after many months. Lovely day, warm with light winds. Water incredibly low after weeks of very little rain in the west country. Anticipated a tough time expecting fish low in the deep pools. Just a few Grannom coming off and lots of Hawthorn flies drifting in the verges, no discernable upwing hatch. First fish a nice Grayling and then two wild Brownies taking the dry to my amazement from a shallow riffle under the shade of trees.

I scrambled the banks of my old haunts and the fish were there in good numbers, nothing large but beautifully marked, buttery iridescent wild Brownies. After the initial few fish on the dry the majority of fish took the nymph on the drop later in the day. Lots of small shoals of Dace also tugging the Size 14.

 I really was out of condition, used to fishing the nicely kept banks of the Wiltshire chalk streams, and it showed when I lumbered back into a hole filling my waders! Really pleased the river has maintained its life despite the low water conditions. I ended up netting about twenty fish mainly wild Brownies.