Rotherbridge looked cold and barren so I went to Keeper’s Bridge. The water was coloured and there was a stiff breeze from the West but it was warm-ish. I saw a fish rise just downstream of the Alder trees so I sat in the sun on the North bank and worked the pool from top to bottom. Nothing. I wandered up to the Sandy Pool but the Aberdeen heifers had just been released into the field and I couldn’t concentrate with them charging around behind me. A Trout took a fly off the surface but it was not interested in my nymph. I tried a dry fly but the fish had spooked. I crossed back to the South bank and went downstream where a few Alder flies were hatching. I moved slowly looking for a feeding fish but found nothing.

After a couple of hours I had lost concentration and decided to have a cup of tea at the lakes. Along the lane the fields had been prepared for the potatoes.

At Great Springs the fish were feeding close to the bank, taking buzzers in the calm water. I used a black neoprene buzzer with the hackles chopped back. It was a good imitation of a hatching fly and was taken just a few inches under the surface. I had about five Roach and a small Trout. I lost a good Rainbow as it charged through the weeds and off into the middle of the lake.

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