Still no sign of an end to the current drought and the river is really not fishable now.  Unusual for so early in the season.

I went last night to a talk given by an entomologist on the subject of aquatic invertebrates and very interesting it was too.  I learnt that I know more about these creatures than I thought I did, but also had answered a few questions that nag away at the back of my mind when sampling the river here.  For example I have regularly turned up a creature very similar to a caseless caddis, but fatter and usually much larger.  I had been unable to positively identify this until last night when we looked at crane fly larvae and all was revealed.

I also learnt a good deal about the life cycle and morphology of the stone fly that this such a vital part of the trout diet on the upper Ribble.  Our experts are to run a practical session on the Wenning in July and I plan to use this opportunity to question them on steps we can take to raise the populations of our main invertebrate families on the Ribble.

Last evening a member dropped off a fish he had netted from the Tarn that appeared to be blind and showed some sign of trauma around the head.  I am getting an expert opinion on the state of this fish, but first inspection suggests that the trauma is the result of cormorant predation.  However, better to be safe than sorry so we will check for disease.  If any member sees any evidence of other distressed fish please try to net it out, knock it and give it to me.  Don't count this as one of your brace and a half.

Ian