The late arrival of spring has finally arrived although when looking at the river and hatches we seem to be a month behind the usual schedule! The bitterly cold February and March left members wondering if the river was still alive during the opening weeks of the season. As temperatures reached double figures some of the early olive hatches appeared and trout responded well to both wet and dry imitations. Hopefully now that leaves are starting to appear on the trees we will see some good hatches of hawthorn as these are yet to put in an appearance.
Members are having to work a little harder for their fish at the moment but those that have persevered have been rewarded with some cracking overwintered fish. Several of these have been in the 14-18 inches which is a good’un for this river, please handle and return these larger adult fish to fight another day as they are the lifeblood of the river for the future!
The committee are aware of some of the anti-social behaviour that occurred on the Lockhaugh Meadows over the bank holiday weekend and we are being well supported by both the police and local councillor to ensure this type of activity does not continue and spoil this beautiful spot.