Wednesday 15th March 2017 - First and last grayling

I've just returned from a two-week trip to the Danish Fly Festival and the London Fly Fishing Fair. I had hoped to fish for sea-trout after the Danish fair, but sleet and snow on the Monday morning frightened me off, so I began the long drive home. Back here, the evenings are lengthening so I decided to do some last-minute pruning of a big apple tree after work. That was successful - until, in the dusk, I fell off the ladder onto a steel compost bin. Lots of bruises, but nothing serious resulted. I have rejoined the Birmingham Angling Association after many years. They still have lots of waters on the Severn, from Newtown all the way down to Gloucestershire. High water had prevented me from grayling fishing last month, but I determined to have a last cast on the last day of the grayling season. Yesterday afternoon Ceri dropped me off while she went shopping, and I had a delightful couple of hours , catching some nice trout and grayling in the Spring sunshine. I fished a couple of spiders (orange partridge and Greenwells) above a hare's ear nymph, and caught fish on all three flies - not huge but several of each species of about 8 or 10 ounces.