What a thoroughly convivial and enjoyable evening we had yesterday.  About 40 members, guests and farmers crammed into the dining room at the Crown for the Hot Pot and judging by the constant din of conversation throughout a fantastic supper everyone was busy recounting fishing exploits or putting the world to rights.  The conviviality continued in the bar afterwards and I eventually got home close on midnight.  It was particularly good so see so many new members present and being welcomed into the brotherhood of the MAA.  They do seem to have given the club a real injection of enthusiasm over the past couple of years and certainly added much to the rich mix last night.

We had much talk about the health of the fishery and the river generally and what we should do to engage with other bodies to conserve and enhance the Ribble.  Some of this will be followed up at the Council meeting this morning so more later.

It's the first year I have known the bar become so warm in October that many members repaired to the forecourt of the Crown to get some respite from the heat in the bar and unusually for the Crown there was no fire alight!

Some success was had with the rod yesterday too and Alan M got a 6lb salmon down near Row End in far from ideal water.

A delighted Gavin P came up to me early on in the evening to show me the receipts for two books he had just bought.  A set of Anglers' Evenings and the book by Hutton which I mentioned yesterday so it's nice that this wandering volume has at last found a home close to the MAA where it originated.

It's another grey and damp day with a thick mist shrouding the fells above the valley and a lot of damp leaves littering the pastures and verges.  It's not really raining so the dampness will do little to lift the river and make for better fishing.  But the local forecast is for rain over the next few days so we yet get some decent water before the end of the season.

Ian