It's a stunning morning here in the valley.  Early on we had a mist down on the river that gradually thinned as it climbed the hills and gave a soft almost iridescent light as the sun broke through.  Add a heavy dew and crisp feel to the air and you have an almost perfect autumn morning.  All it needed was the smell of wood smoke and cooking bacon. Wonderful.

We had a classic illustration yesterday afternoon of the principle that in game fishing the only true theory about catching fish is that there is no true theory.  Alan Maden dropped by to catch up with things, tell me about his trip to Lewis and try the river for a sea trout.  A great time was had by all on Lewis with a good bag of salmon and sea trout, much good company and a dolphin experience of a lifetime.  About an hour after he left me Alan was back to tell of the 6 and a half pound cock salmon he had just landed by the rock pool.  Now, the river is low with very little flow and one would have thought that the chance of a salmon on that water would be nil.  Yet, there it was, in good condition and ready to take a fly intended for a sea trout. It just goes to show - you never know!

It's the last day of the trout season today but if we get some rain soon then the river will still be worth a try for  salmon until the 31st and of course the Tarn has only been stocked with rainbows this year so remains open until October 31st.

Ian