The weather has gone a little pear shaped this morning.  There is a nasty cold north west wind blowing down the valley and the cloud has increased as a precursor to more unsettled conditions forecast for this coming week which should see a drop of rain which will be welcome as the river is now looking quite depleted.

I have often been puzzled by my failure to spot fish lurking in likely lies especially when on visits to other rivers trout can easily be seen holding station behind suitable rocks and debris.  I thought maybe that I was just not tuned in to penetrating the camouflage that our wild trout adopt, but an email yesterday tells me that others have equal difficulty spotting fish lying where they should be.  One member sat for a long while eating his lunch down by the Pipe Pool and failed to spot a single fish yet this is a pool that regularly provides very good fishing.  They do say that if you can't see them you can't catch them and fishing becomes a lottery based on chuck it in and hope.  Perhaps it's just a bit too early in the season and our fish are low down and tucked away under the banks.  It would be good if regular fishers of our waters could share their observations by posting comments on this blog.  I fact my correspondent suggests just that.  He would find it helpful if the river experts could share knowledge with newbies about flies used, places fished, technique used etc. which will build to a body of knowledge about fishing here at Horton.

We have pondered the idea of restarting the old Anglers' Evenings so how about picking an evening in early summer and having as a theme 'good practice fishing at Horton'.  We could start with a brief look at the river then adjourn to the Crown for supper and a series of talks or presentations by the club's master fishermen.  We could even video the session as part of the club archive.

We put 160 really bonny fish into the Tarn yesterday.  I am mightily impressed with the stock from our new supplier.  These are fit, full bodied fish with perfect fins and tails.  All are around the 2lb mark with some up to 3lb.  You will find a few blue trout amongst the rainbows.  These fight well and make superb eating having a firmer flesh than the rainbows.  Do let me have your thoughts and views on your experience with these fish.

Ian