That was the week that was

Its been a strange old week .  I should have been fishing the Usk and the Monnow with friends at the weekend but sad circumstances and this never ending rain meant this wasnt going to happen. I promise I will never pray for rain again as since I did it hasnt bleeding stopped .  Rivers are  either full or full to overflowing.  I guess calling on him upstairs is a risky strategy and is something I will be more wary about in the future.  I certainly didnt realise I had so much influence in high places .

 All April and now into May things have been difficult . But then today I have  managed to get a few hours on the Dove a friend came along too, the fishing wasnt easy the water was high and the wind too strong and too cold but we both caught a fish or two.  I guess in a normal year when warm evenings and rising fish had satisfied that early season hunger we would have stayed at home.  But at the moment an opportunity to get onto the river has to be seized.

The hawthorn flies were on the wing today , and you would have thought that enough were getting blown onto the river to raise an interest.  But no, only a brief hatch of olives produced anything like a sustained rise and then only for a few minutes  Otherwise It was a case of covering the water with a speculative cast to likely lies and for this my choice of flies is a small black klinkhammer.

My guest showing fine style covering a rising fish, just a shame that there werent more rising fish to be seen.  Lets hope that the weather takes a turn for the better those nice neat rows of mayflies I have tied need to be used this year not next.

It was great to be out on the river today and proves the benefit of having a few waters at your disposal this stretch of river is high up the catchment and high water runs of quickly compared with the valley bottom streams that can take a week or more to shed heavy spates .