A wonderful start to the Easter weekend, time out at Bossington with Gilly Bate and Ian May. Gilly has helped organise a charity event with over 200 invited guests for a day of birds, guns, dogs and fishing within the estate on the 13th April…

Today was an opportunity to spend time going through our demos… Gilly and I in front of the Manor.

Ian May turning through a double spey on the Test directly in front of the Manor House… heavenly.

Working through presentation casts on the manicured lawn… and this ended up being what exactly?

A little ‘Spot the difference competition’… no prizes for this obvious one.

Did you spot it?… of course you did… the hatching fly, it wasn’t in the first picture.

The way the best of Easter days are meant to end, tea and hot cross buns.

Vision are apparently bringing out a range of underwear, soon so I’ll have a full set

We’re almost there, but not quite yet so as to ply my trade on the rivers and enjoy the search for brown trout once more. With that in mind I joined Warren today on our stretch of the Wylye. We’d not seen it in such a while, for no other reason than that of the great flood and appalling weather of November through March in the year 2012 – 2013… you may recall it.

We were pleasantly surprised to see how she looked… the ground work laid down last year paying off.

Not all however, perhaps a gardening buff can tell me what’s happening here… it may be normal.

The real excuse, Warren’s dismissed his Micro 4/3rds and gone all SLR. A New Nikon (Get you)

There were no plans to do anything really other than look, but we couldn’t resist it. A section of the bank was eroding so we took it upon ourselves to find some of the best of mother natures materials with which to shore it up.

When the 4×4 counts, moving it otherwise meant hernias of epic proportions.

Now we’re ready to roll…

And roll it we did… down the bank and into position, stakes and pins in place… a problem sorted.

Now looking forward to seeing the habitat drawn to it and the hope it doesn’t float off downstream.

Still one more day to go before the season opens here in deepest, darkest Wiltshire. Thankfully a season that will draw nearer by an hour tonight as the clocks go forward to signify Summer ‘officially’ ~ laugh, I nearly soiled myself.

Tight lines & Happy Easter all, have a great season where ever you are… ke-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-p fishin’

Making the best of what felt like a seasonal changing day… We return to the Wylye to fish the water seemingly at it’s lowest level for nigh on a year gone.

We have a weir pool at the lower end of the river that over the last 3 visits has drawn but a few fish and the odd blank. The pool is such that one look brings an inner warmth and a knowing that they are there and almost within reach, they’re just playing darn awkward to catch… we hoped!

We spent time deep in thought over a cup ‘o’ tea as one would expect, and the need for perhaps a change of method to try and entice the blighters. Fly pattern wasn’t a concern as long as it was small and buggy, today was about depth and shot patterns for bug like swim presentation. Some of it on low line droppers as above…

…or plummeting depth chargers as below

Warren with an up and across approach… the ‘TF’ indicator as always in place to assist

Thyself below attempting similar type presentations in the calmer upper water only but confirming that certain shot patterns warranted pools and troubled water… they were not for glassy glides.

We’d cracked it, no need for a sacrificial fly and not a snag to be had, fingers crossed… we just need a return visit to repeat the exercise to ensure it wasn’t just a barmy fluke. Shall be sharing some simple ideas and graphics soon ~ stroll on the grayling!

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