I went to the river to see the effect of the recent rain. The water was roaring over the weir sill and was unfishable. It won’t be back to normal until next week. I checked the other beats and saw an enormous, black cormorant flap it’s way down the straight at Keeper’s Bridge. I thought the trout would be safe in the murky water, perhaps not.

I checked the lakes then drove to Great Springs for a cup of tea in the sunshine. The wind had swung round to westerly overnight but hadn’t lost it’s strength. It was blowing debris off the trees and a few trout were rising to terrestrial flies. I started on the point with my #2 weight rod and had a take second cast on a GRHE nymph. The fish got off, a long range release. Never mind, it boosted my confidence. There were fish taking.

Half an hour later I was losing faith so I moved to the platform near the hut. I had another take but I was too slow, I told myself it was probably a roach. I sat on the oak bench and used the wind to drift the nymph round, Arthur Cove style. I had a take, quite deep, but again the fish escaped. There were lots of fish cruising, including the giant blue trout, none of them were interested in my fly. I think the fly line was scaring them, it was bright sunshine and crystal clear blue water. A longer leader might have helped. Difficult with a short floppy rod.

I had to leave early but it had been a relaxing couple of hours in beautiful surroundings and sunshine.