28 April
Two weeks have flown by since my last visit. Since then the water has been low and the weather fine. Today was no different. It was challenging fishing. However, as I walked upstream, I noticed a fish rising right under some brambles on the far side of a very deep pool with crossing currents. With trees behind me and to the side of the pool, not to mention the currents, it was an impossible place to cast to. But I decided to give it a go.



Twenty minutes later and I hadn’t even managed to get a dry fly to land anywhere near the spot. But at least I hadn’t lost the fly. Then I found an angle of approach. Better. The fly landed in a current that carried it in the right path, backwards, and then in a circle and forwards to the outer ring of the current. A take! And I missed, too quick. Heartened I kept trying, and eventually I got embedded in the brambles. Due to the circumstances it would have to be a heave ho of the line, my first of the season, and my line was a sorry mess afterwards. And then it was time to go back to work.



The line untangled fine. But the event reminded me that maybe I should get a spare line. I have been using the same TenkaraUSA line since I started fishing with a Tenkara rod in July 2009. That’s a long stretch! I normally wouldn’t make it through one season with a line for my other rod – which has been largely gathering dust since…July 2009!

9 May
From the photos I know it was the 9 May but have only a vague memory of visiting the river and not getting so much as a knock on the line.

11 May
Another hot day on the river, water looks lovely in the photo, but there were no fish interested in dry or wet flies.

27 May
I had only 30 minutes to spare so I had a quick venture to this spot, again in bright conditions. However I found one trout rising and he rose to what I offered him, a size 14 parachute olive. This was a visit where I nearly had my first unplanned dip of the season. Stepped into the shallow water, and it was not so shallow, with at least one foot of soft mud!

24 June
Nearly four weeks away from the river. It was nice to be back, but again although the water looks lovely, there were no fish interested in my offerings apart from in one deep pool when two small fish darted after my bead head nymph as it came to the edge of the pool.

6 July
It was a wet and dark afternoon. It seemed a good time to fish and the opportunity was there. But when I got to the section I wanted to fish I nearly turned back to go sleep in the car instead. The water was not looking good, slow murky and with no fish moving. But here I was. Might as well try. I set up NZ style. A size 12 klinkhammer with a so called ( I call it a red maggot) red chironomid 12 inches below. How wrong I was about the water. First cast upstream, a take on the chironomid, a good fish on, and lost. Grr, my only chance gone, the pool now disturbed. How wrong I was again. I inched forward, heavy vegetation all around making each cast carefully prepared for and delivered. And every cast produced a take or a fish. The pool was alive with fish, some to the chironomid, but most to the klinkhammer which could hardly be seen, as it was almost under the surface because of the weight of the ‘fly’ below it. Maybe that helped, who knows, it was a great session, all trout and no grayling strangely enough, and with one really big trout, perhaps a coloured sea trout as it was too big for that pool ordinarily. That was just one pool, so it was hard to leave to go back to work.





A selection of trout landed below.

8 July
Another wet and dark afternoon. Off I went again to the river, enthused by the visit two days ago in similar conditions. It started lashing rain as I left so I went for the same pool, which is under a road bridge, having packed no waterproofs in the boot of the car. First cast and a take. I missed again, same set up as before a size 12 klinkhammer with a red chironomid 12 inches below. Next cast, a rise to the klinkhammer and a nice 10 inch. Then the rain simply bucketed down and I couldn’t even see the klinkhammer. I only had 20 minutes fishing time but it was impossible to fish and by the time the squall passed it was time to go, just when it would have been a deadly session!

2 March 2012
Its been a long break from the river! I think i went fishing a few times in July and August but never took photos or wrote it up. Had a quick lunchtime scout today ahead of the season opening on Saturday, river at just above summer levels, temp nice with lots of olives hatching. relatively warm and dry on Saturday. Should be a good start to season.

Thursday 22 March

I have not fished since about July or August last year. Family and work pressures were the catalyst for simply falling out of the routine if I am to be honest. A lunchtime expedition to the river had inexplicably became an insurmountable chore.

Today though something clicked in my brain, it was probably the large dark olive that landed on my arm in the morning outside the office, which has a mill race that feeds off the main river only a few hundred yards away.

Lunchtime beckoned and I heard the distant gurgling call of the river Alyn.

After parking a few miles upstream of the office I opened my gear box for the first time in 8 months. It took 10 minutes rather than the usual 3 minutes to walk to the river.

I reached a good spot, there was warmth in the day and the large dark olives were hatching in volume.

As I opened my Ayu rod I was delighted to find a decent fish on the rise at the peak of the hatch.

I spent the next 20 minutes stalking that fish with a size 14 parachute hares ear olive. Eventually I found the right spot, the fly presented ok, a take, and good fish was on…. and as quickly again it was off.

I worked my way upstream and although I lost two more fish and put down a few more I did hook and land two small ones. It was a lovely action packed one hour visit in which all that mattered in life was the river… and I realised what I was missing all these months. Fishing is back in my veins.

ConorUK,

I'm glad to hear you made it back to the water. 8 Months is a long time to be away, and I've missed your stories since then. I have read them all over the last 2 1/2 years and you write them well. Thanks for once again sharing your adventure with us.

JD

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"The reverse side also has a reverse side"