It was a real pleasure to be out on the river yesterday.  Everywhere there were signs of emerging spring with green shoots beginning to show along the river margins, trees in bud and wildlife busy with preparations for nesting and breeding.  My guest seemed impressed with the fishery despite the fact that we saw no fish.  The sun sparkling on the water really lifted the spirits after such a cold grey winter and the warmth brought on a hatch of sedge towards mid day. Hopefully we have another enthusiastic new member as a result of his visit.

The big surprise was how few members we saw despite visiting all the most popular beats from Helwith Bridge up to Selside.  As I reported yesterday morning, conditions were near perfect yet only one member was found up by the Tarn.  Perhaps it will take a while to build momentum after the months of enforced idleness.

It's rather duller today with much more thick grey cloud although it's still quite warm with just a hint of a westerly breeze.  The river is in good water which carries just a hint of colour and there are definite signs of hatching fly life so fishing with adult representations rather than nymphs should prove rewarding.

Now there's a shock. As I write this two swallows have just swooped past my office window.  I did a double take as I just caught sight of them as I glanced from the keyboard (I don't touch-type), but I'm now sure they are swallows as they have just passed by again. Spring is definitely here at least for this week.

Ian