Monday 26 March 2018

Better Conditions on the Horizon

Snow on the Eden
Given the recent conditions we have been faced with here in Cumbria, and elsewhere, there was nothing to report in February with plenty of snow and high waters, and following on from that was snow melt and more high waters.

We are only now just coming out of the cold snap as I write, but coming out of it we are, which is good news as we are now moving towards the end of March and into April when historically the trout fishing is often beginning to flourish.

High Water following Snow Melt
That said in recent years the salmon fishing has also been improving in the early part of the season, so let's hope we have the same scenario this year, as this will afford us additional options throughout our spring fishing days.

Hatches have been sparse in this bitterly cold weather, although there has been the odd Large Dark Olive in attendance, but having said that, there has also been very little interest shown in them from the trout as temperatures have remained low, which will often delay many trout dropping back into the main system and feeding in any meaningful way.

One of my guys out practicing
However conditions look set to change in the near future and when temperatures improve, as they inevitably will, it will not be long before we are catching a few nice brown trout once again.

In the meantime we have recently had one of our biannual AAPGAI assessment and open day events at Cockermouth in Cumbria and I am happy to say it produced some good results with several instructors being successful in their attempts to pass their individual qualifications. I am also proud to report that I just happened to mentor three of the successful candidates, which gave me great pleasure indeed.

A great picture from the Open Day
The open day also produced a very good turn out, with a mix of people attending, ranging from those who simply wanted to come along and enjoy the variety of demonstrations, to those wishing to gain some insight into the AAPGAI instructor programme, and everyone enjoyed the one to one tuition in the afternoon. A very successful event indeed.

More tuition planned for this weekend as people are now re-appearing following the recent cold weather. Looking forward to these sessions!