The morning was warm and humid with high hazy cloud. The perfect fishing weather gave me confidence and as I drove towards Hampshire, away from the madness of London Europe, anticipation grew. I expected to catch something and to enjoy the scenery. I stopped for diesel and bought a pork pie to further enhance the day.

As I crossed the road bridge I paused to admire the river,  the weed was bright green and the water sparkled. I saw a small fish on the gravel shallows, the scene was set for a memorable day. Before setting up my rod I wandered through the trees to look at the top of the Beat. In between the fronds of weed a huge fish became agitated as I watched it from the footbridge. My presence made the Trout uncomfortable and it joined an equally large specimen under my feet, beside the bridge support. They looked about 6lb and I returned with my rod a few minutes later. Unfortunately several eager casts placed the fly on a strand of wire under the bridge and while messing about retrieving it, both fish departed upstream into the next Beat.

I found a small fish on the shallows between two Willows and floated a Black Gnat directly over it on the first attempt. There was no reaction. As I crawled forwards another Trout shot out of the margin and settled near my target. Both fish repeatedly rejected my offerings and eventually disappeared into the weeds. I found fish in every pool but after ninety minutes of concentration and hard work, I’d had no response. While carefully presenting the fly to a brace of good fish lying deep on a patch of gravel, a smaller Trout came from midstream and grabbed the fly. It was a dark coloured Trout about 2lbs and as it rocketed back into the pool I thought that I would celebrate with a Marmite sandwich.

Lunch over I started again at the top of the Beat. The two big fish had not returned but I found several Trout and tried to coax them with different fly patterns and sizes. The fish mainly ignored the flies but several moved aside as the fly passed, returning to their position as it drifted away. They had clearly seen the fly. Thoughts of Sea Trout returned, some of the larger fish were very dark and could have been Salmon.

Near the end of the Beat I found a group of good fish in a large pool on a bend. They were active but unsettled.  My first cast alerted a big Trout, it bolted for cover. A few minutes later the smallest fish in the pool grabbed the fly and used the fast current to put up a very spirited fight. It was about 2lbs, the other fish were spooked and I rested the pool. From further downstream I could see a shoal of Sea Trout, resting grey shadows, highlighted against the dark algae on the bottom of the run. They were competing for space and the best lies.

Trout started to show an interest in my flies and a few Sedges hatched. Two fish in thirty minutes bought my tally to four two-pounders and I thought that was sufficient. I’d worked hard, been rewarded and there was no point in continuing. It had been a perfect day and another brace would not feel right, just greedy.

I drove back through Midhurst and detoured via Little Bognor to visit the lakes. The valley was silent and the lakes flat calm but as the light faded several fish started to take buzzers. I couldn’t resist the temptation. My slow sinking buzzer was ignored and it became too dark to tie on a fly.