I just got back in from a day spent on the river Wylye with a writer/angler and a photographer. I'm not going to write about that, I'll leave it to the professionals, suffice to say however that it was a fantastic day. Not the best day for fly hatches, but one of those elusive 'memorable' days. Thanks Paul & Rod, great to meet you both.

What did get me thinking was that angling truly is one of those pastimes that bring you into contact with the most interesting, diverse group of people. Jeremy Clarkson wrote in the times the other week that anglers were a group of people who hate their families, as if in some way the river makes us anti-social. Perhaps he was talking about carp anglers, and in which case OK, I can see that given their propensity to squirrel themselves away in bivvies for days at a time waiting for a beep to go off. River fishing however, and roaming trout fishing in particular is an altogether more social experience, but I can't imagine that Mr Clarkson would ever get invited. Lets face it, would you want to spend a day chatting to the self opinionated, eco-phobic arse?

The actual fishing is one thing, but increasingly to my mind, what sets it apart is those down times in-between. Basking in the sunlight chatting while you let the water rest, the pint at the end of the day, the sense of shared pain when a fish is spooked or lost. A days fishing therefore is definitely a case of being greater than the sum of it's parts.

As my guests were getting back into their cars and dreading the 6hr journey back up north I jokingly suggested I might pop in on the Nadder on the way home. I left the camera at home so thought I'd resurrect an old photo but I did it, first Nadder trout of the year. One about a quarter of a pound, the other around a pound. Thanks go to Frank who tied the fly, you may think your eyesight is going but it seems no-one told the fish!



~ malcolm

First things first. I'm genuinely humbled by the fact that people have been willing to donate hard earned money to help me keep writing, snapping and publishing. Nice to know that I may be doing something that people actually like to look at and read. Thanks guys! (and of course if you'd like to donate, even a tiny amount, you can make a donation via paypal using the new easy-peasey button on the right.) Every weenie bit helps.

Other than to say thanks and keep begging, today was a short update to let people know that today was something of a landmark. I took the not-so-wee lad fishing again today. He's been really enjoying sitting watching a float with me, searching for perch but today I took him fly fishing for the first time. Casting was a bit of an issue, then at 4yrs old I didn't imagine it would be anything but. Retrieving the line was somewhat erratic, mostly done on the reel which made the rod tip jerk around violently with every turn.

BUT

He caught his first trout on a fly, and at 4yrs old I think that's cause for celebration. Of course, it wasn't any old fly, not for my son! It could only have been a dry fly :)

Stealing directly from Mr Maclean

"He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first class fishermen on the sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favourite, was a dry fly fisherman."

Anyway, I may not be a religious man, but I find that by turns amusing and touching.




Amsterdam? Nah, Tulips from Barrington Court is what you want ;)

~ Malcolm

The trout season on our waters opened, as usual, on april fools day. I've managed a few trips to the waters so far, a couple hours on the Nadder, an afternoon on the Avon and a day on the headwaters of the Wylye. Not a whole heap to report to be honest, the rivers are high and coloured still, air temperatures are on the chilly side and although fish are being caught it's not the norm. I think April forgot the definition of shower so I thought I'd better remind it:

See the reference to brief and light? Last night Wilton looked more like an alpine village as over an inch of hail covered the ground, having fallen in under 2 minutes.

But anyway, it's early days in the fishing year. Raise a glass to warm sunny days for me!

What else has been going on? Well, house sale fell through, something major that a solicitor missed when we bought the place. Means I now start a lengthy legal battle to resolve it all. Something that fills me with no small amount of dread.

You may notice that I've removed the google ads from the corner of the page. As a way to help raise the cash for me to continue writing this without selling out and accepting sponsorship and adverts it has proved singularly unsuccessful. In fact, they've eared me $3.67 in 3 months... I don't want to do a formal charging scheme, mainly as I'm not sure people would actually be willing to pay to be subjected to my ramblings. What I thought I'd do, and this way there is no expectation at all, is ask for help.

If you enjoy the site, if I can give you a smile when you're sat in the office away from the rivers all I'll ask is that you think about making a paypal donation to (malcolm@nadder-diary.net). I'll leave it up to you as to whether you do or not, but even the odd £1, £5 or £10; Whatever you feel appropriate. It would all help go towards keeping the site together. I hope to keep the site going anyway, regardless of whether people feel up to making a small donation to the cause, but it depends just how expensive my oncoming legal fight becomes!

Anyway, drop me an email if you are able to help, even if only a tiny bit.

~ malcolm






oh, yes, almost forgot. Look at how the Bourne ends up where it flows into the Avon. A disgusting mess, full of litter and human detritus. Unloved and uncared for. The funny thing is, despite the mess, the water still runs clear as gin and hidden away I could see the odd fish tailing in the current.

Just a heads up really this time. The Wild trout trust auction is up online (www.wildtrout.org) and can be found on ebay here. Among the lots you may find lots 147 and 181. Bid more for them! Really, it's a great charity and as a bonus you get some great fishing from both lots.

You can fish some nice relaxing Avon waters, have a good chance of catching some fish, have a lovely day and think no more than that. OR, you could try some true wild chalkstream... I won't go into too much detail as I cover that many times, but will leave you with a couple piccies to whet your appetite. Never stocked, truly wild, fish to 2lb and by god, you'd be lucky to catch one! The perfect spot to challenge yourself though :)







~ fancy, ebay giving you the opportunity to buy me, well, for a day at least! Worth every penny I say... Malcolm