Memorable images from my 2023 season. It was a good year. The rivers were full and I caught a few trout.

River Plym

I fished on thirty occasions from March to the end of September, split evenly between Sussex and Devon.

February Water Nymphs

February in Devon was very dry, only 2mm of rain fell. The high moor dried quickly. The rivers and brooks were full but the water levels were dropping. We needed a lot of rain in March.

River Cad in March

At the end of March it rained. A lot.

Little Springs

The start of the season in Sussex was cold.

River Plym, Bickleigh

April was cold and wet, the rivers were full but the trout were not feeding.

Lower Beat, River Tavy – April

On 2 May I caught my first Devon trout from the River Tamar.

River Plym, Commando Pool

The mayfly hatch in both Sussex and Devon was good. I spent more time chasing mayflies at Little Springs than fishing.

Ephemera danica – Little Springs

On 21 May I caught my first trout from the River Rother.

Mayfly spinner – Little Springs

I mainly fished the Devon rivers with a GRHE nymph but occasionally used a dry fly.

River Tavy – June

It was a very hot June, the heat wave continued into July. The water levels were good. I was distracted by carp, on both dry fly and nymph.

River Tavy, Lower Beat – June

In mid July heavy rain washed the trout downstream. It took a long time for the fish in the pool below the old bridge to reappear. The river levels remained slightly high for several weeks.

River Rother – July

Unrelenting rain during August maintained good water levels and I had a wide choice of rivers to fish.

River Tavy, Lower Beat after John Constable

Heavy rain at the start of September produced several spates. High winds knocked a few trees over.

River Plym

At the end of the season all the stars aligned and I caught seven trout from a short stretch of the River Tavy. The fish were in shoals feeding on nymphs in the shallow glides.

River Rother – Fish Pass

On the last day of the Devon season, after the first of the autumn storms, the water level was up slightly and I caught a 3lb+ brownie from the Ludbrook Run on the Lower Beat of the River Tavy. Last day, last cast. A perfect ending.

River Tavy, Lower Beat – 3lb+

I walked my favourite Beat on the River Plym, salmon were running but I didn’t see any.

River Plym – Shaugh Bridge

I have a question. Where do the small trout go during a spate ? I watch the little fish racing around in the deep pool below the bridge in the village. I see them most days, they feed on nymphs stirred up by the children swimming in the fish pass. After a big spate there are no fish to be seen. They have all gone. Are they washed into the estuary to become sea trout ?

The bound volumes of my diary record nearly four hundred fishing adventures. This years online diary will be formatted and printed ready for the bookbinders to work their magic.