It's very wet here this morning and looks set in to rain for some time so with any luck the river will rise a bit and give some reasonable fishing by tomorrow.  In fact it's pretty grim at present with a stiff westerly breeze and a lot of heavy cloud right down in the valley.  The swallows are having a fine time hawking flies and grouping on the phone wires preparing for the great migration that can only be a matter of days away now.  There do seem to be a lot of youngsters this year.  Most nests were active with at least two crops of young presumably triggered by the abundance of food in the damp conditions that have prevailed all summer.

I see from reports of fishing on the river Aire that they have had a record year for brown trout with both big catches and big fish being the norm throughout the season.  It will be interesting to see how this compares with reports from the Ribble clubs including our own club returns.  Anecdotal evidence from conversations I have had with members suggests that there have been mixed fortunes, but overall experience has been pretty good.

There is no posting tomorrow as I am at York with Mrs F who is being treated to a day playing with a Ferrari on Elvington race track as a birthday surprise.  See you on Tuesday if I survive the experience.

Ian