First signs of summer and first on a dry

Last season this upland stream was new to me ,  it was great to fish during those first few weeks when the high waters everywhere meant that this little stream was still fishable due to its pocket water nature and you could always find fish ,  moving on twelve months we have the opposite ,  following the driest march for 60 years the rivers are low , the ground is dry but the pocket water nature of the stream keeps things interesting 

It was a frustrating day to start with its a fair trek down to the river. deep valley through a couple of fields and conifer plantation .   which is not a problem normally and indeed is part of the charm but when you start fishing and realise that the very old silk line that you have used for years and passed the out of season checks is actually past it best and passed failed the giving it a tug test which meant a trek back to the car for a spare reel.  Which is even more frustrating given that usually I have a spare line and reel in the backpack but due to closed season cleaning I had taken the spares out.

Anyway here is my first brown trout of the season ,  small I grant you but very very welcome especially as it took a dry fly . There is no better way to start a season 

There were some clear signs from the huge winter floods the rock below that has been broken in half has the area of a ford focus and the slab is about 450 mm thick , had to imagine just done by water it isn`t me in the picture above. it is an older friend . I was having a breather and watching and learning , 

A couple of days after this I had my first trip of the year to my local chalk stream.  The river was as low as I have seen it and considering it should be bank high from the winter rains it is a worrying state. The stream is of course spring fed and even very heavy rain now would be lost in the ground and not make it into the aquifer.

On the day I took two rods , not something I normally do but the bamboo rod is a winter build on a set of blanks that were made by Barry Grantham and I wanted to try a line on it, Barry said it was based upon the Hardy CC d France taper  , I got it from him some time ago. It was nice to christen it in style .  I didn`t get the line choice quite right so after that fish I put it away and went back to my old faithful Streamflex plus ,

The fish were very fit wildies and this one tail walked up the river like a rainbow . I have had this rod for many years and I still think it is one of the finest longer river rods out there.

The fish  were in beautiful condition 

I couldn`t help taking this picture seemed like spring encapsulated 

Then on Saturday we had a work party on another local stream and afterwards myself and a friend walked the river to discover that the hawthorn flies have decided to show their face early this year. 

Its a pretty little stream and it has become an old friend ,  on the day i would have caught many more on a nymph but while there was a chance of a fish on a dry I was going to persevere , 

I think you can see the fly stuck in his jaw and that by the time I caught this fella the fly had already lost his legs ,  The first few I caught were , well lets just say well smaller ,,,,I don`t like fishing the hawthorn on very fine tippets so never go below 5 x ,  The wing and the legs make it a bugger for twisting the tippet. 

That day I used a new rod and for me a new material .  its glass. well S glass which i think is just glass but a bit faster.  When I was fishing the upland stream I was stumbling about due to me not being very fit after hardly fishing since before Christmas also my balance seems to be not getting any better due to a duff knee and ears that have being in the wars and have affected my balance ,  so I reflected that wafting a four figure value bamboo rod about isn`t the best idea on rough upland streams , Also  I here much chatter these days about the new glass rods so have got this one to try.  its a 7ft 3 wt and has an action very much like cane and not unlike the old Hardy featherweight carbon ,  Watch this space to see it it grown on me , but first impressions are good .