During the journey from Devon to Sussex my mind wandered from motorway zombie mode to day dreams about lakes and rivers. The traffic was light and the weather was kind, the southerly breeze and high, hazy cloud looked set for a few days.

I walked around the lakes and watched the over-wintered trout swirling, testing the leaf debris and taking the occasional buzzer. Orange clouds of daphnia billowed across the lakes and the hazel catkins dusted yellow pollen on the surface of the water. In five days I would disturb the peace, restoring muscle memory to my casting arm and hopefully, wielding a landing net. I had a long chat with the Keeper, afternoon tea in Petworth and a productive visit to the bookshop.

Carp fishing in Cornwall, river work parties and too many meetings filled early March with distractions. I felt unprepared for the new season. I planned to spend most of my time on the rivers in Devon and one week each month fishing the Rother in West Sussex. That had also been my intention last season but my arrival at either end of the A303 seemed to coincide with bad weather and coloured rivers. Four days fishing with my grandsons were planned, trout must be caught, the pressure to deliver was building.

Saturday – Great Springs

A chilly north east wind pushed the clouds over the South Downs National Park and out to sea, there was no chance of rain. The rugby international and the near freezing conditions meant that we had Great Springs to ourselves. A quick casting refresher and a deep sunk, black fly soon brought results. Despite some confusion and slack line, a beautiful rainbow graced the landing net and the pressure to catch a trout was off. We resolved to catch nine fish before lunch. An hour later, after two more trout had been caught and released, we lowered our expectations and settled for chocolate doughnuts on the tail gate of my car. The cold wind had blown away our enthusiasm and we drove home through the lovely, Sussex countryside in glorious Spring sunshine, mission accomplished.

Sunday – Great Springs

A very bright morning with a north east breeze brought about a change of plan. A family walk with the dog followed by lunch, with no beer, delayed my solo trip to Petworth. The boys had other plans, fishing is not compulsory.

When I arrived at about 2:30pm the lakes were deserted. I was amazed but pleased that I could wander around without distraction. The eastern bank of Little Springs looked very relaxing. I spent about an hour casting a nymph on a short line and letting it drift round in an arc while soaking up the afternoon sunshine. The fish were not active and I walked up the slope to Great Springs and lounged on the bench beside deep water. The bright sun had driven the trout into the depths and I decided to fish a weighted GRHE nymph on a long leader. The left to right breeze blew the line into a curve and the line tightened four times before I decided to leave. The trout were in beautiful condition and fought hard, well above their weight. Only one escaped, the other three were safely released.

What better way to spend a peaceful, sunny Spring afternoon ? No television or Fortnite, just relaxing with a rod. A perfect start to my season. Next weekend I will visit Little Bognor in search of a big, overwintered brownie.

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