I decided to fish in the afternoon,  I thought that the trout might be feeding later in the day. On Tuesday afternoon I had seen a few terrestrial flies along the river and a few buzzers had hatched.

Nobody had visited the fish ladder and nothing had been caught at Rotherbridge. A couple of wild fish had been caught from the middle beats. I parked at the end of the old railway line and walked around the edge of the field to sign in.

Ladymead looked good but despite working hard mending the line and casting into the wind,  I didn’t get any takes. I went back to the long straight below the bridge and tried a nymph but again, nothing.

The shallow run above the Monster Pool always produces a fish. Nothing. I had high hopes for the Monster Pool,  the water swirled around the entire width of the river,  surely there would be a trout waiting for my fly. Nothing. I was losing heart but I had to give the Long Pool a few minutes. I trundled the fly around the head of the pool expecting a take but there was no response.

I walked back upstream and as I came to the Monster Pool, a big fish rose confidently on the bend at the top of the pool. I fished that area thoroughly but the trout was not interested.  I had the impression that the fish were there but were spooked by my casting or the flies. Another member had fished the beat just before I arrived, the trout may have been put down. The weather is settled and the water should be in excellent condition at the weekend.