Wednesday 1st August 2018 - much later!

Half a year has gone, with little sport to report. A damaged shoulder has made both fishing and shooting difficult, and a serious case of laziness has curtailed my diary-keeping. Two major irritations today. First I heard - too late - of an online auction in America of a serious collection of angling books. I looked at the site and the prices realised were pathetic. Presumably that is down to poor advertising by the auctioneers. Certainly , had I known about it, some of those books would have fetched higher prices. Then, against my wishes, Amazon refunded a customer in Alaska. He had given me a street address to which, he afterwards told me, USPS will not deliver. So not my fault, but it cost me a hundred and fifty quid! We're just home from the Game Fair at Ragley Hall. It was blazing hot on Friday, high winds on Saturday, and pouring rain on Sunday - normal Game Fair conditions, and we didn't do too badly. Takings are about half of what they were ten years ago, and the stand prices are only double what they were. No sport to relate. While at the Northern Ireland Game Fair at Shanes Castle I had a couple of hours on the marvellous River Maine. During a dusk caddis hatch I caught fish continually - roach, perch, trout from tiddlers to a pound or so, and finally, as it got dark, four dollaghan, each over a pound. I've never known such a density of fish. Of course, the shoulder suffered for a couple of weeks after that! Drought has kept me away from the Dyfi. I missed a tiny spate over the weekend so I went for a look last night, but only came home with mushrooms. Tomorrow I have planned a mullet hunt. I'll keep you posted. Now that the powers-that-be have completely banned anglers from taking bass, the estuary is full of them. Those with commercial licences continue to take hundreds, while the holidaying angler cannot take one. There are boats fishing over the reef every day, livebaiting and lure-fishing for bass. I assume that they are putting them all back.