River Avon
Salisbury & District Angling Club
The clocks had changed last night and winter has begun. Yet the day had been unrelentingly gloomy; grey clouds and rain. No sign of cold crisp days. However the forecast promised more wintery conditions.
I spent the weekend in London working, so a quick dash to a river was needed, if any sanity was to be preserved for Monday morning. The River Avon found itself on the way home from London. Well it sort of is, but perhaps only if you're a fisherman.
By the time I arrived, there was only an hour or so of light left. The clouds had gone and the temperature was falling. Everything seemed to conspire against any sport. Grayling appear (to me anyway) to have less light sensitive eyes than brown trout and so tend not to feed into the evening. The cold air was likely to stop any insect activity. So imagine my surprise and delight when I arrived on the river bank. There were grayling rising and the odd late season caddis fluttering over the water. Good sport was had until after sunset. In fact until I feared it was so dark I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to the car. And just to prove it's not winter yet, the bankside beech trees showed off their glorious autumn hues.