I have spent much of the day at Bradford Royal Infirmary having a six month check on my eyes.  I know from long experience that this appointment can take the best part of 3 hours moving from test to test and today was no exception.  At first light I was casting around for a decent book slim enough to slip into a pocket and absorbing enough to while away the time spent waiting for various bits of kit to become available and for eye drops to work their magic.  I happened upon "Keeper of the Stream" by Frank Sawyer which I have not read for some time.  As soon as I sat down on the train and opened the book I was transported to the banks of the Hampshire Avon at a gentler time by Frank's lucid flowing prose which conjures clear mental images so vivid that you can almost believe that you are standing by his shoulder observing with him the scene he describes.  His wisdom is legendary and the book must be essential reading for any budding keeper. 

His observations are minutely detailed and he has a scientists method of testing his ideas and hypotheses yet he never evever loses sight of the big picture - the preservation of brown trout.  He was years ahead of the conservationists in taking what would now describe as an holistic aproach to fisheries management  So a potentially rather tedious day turned ito a delight thanks to one old time keeper.

Thanks to the generosity of members I now have the offer of an air rifle so this 21st Century keeper will attend to his duties and attempt to remove one threat to fish that Frank did not have to contend with, the North American mink. 

The river is once again on the low side, but with some rain forecast here for tomorrow conditions on Sunday may be rather better.  At theTarn the fish are feeding well at the surface.  So well in fact that I was accused this evening of slipping in an extra stocking.  Not guilty Guv!

Ian