Sugar frosted trees
To boldy go...
River Wye
January 1st
January 1st is a good time to start fishing. Or so I thought. The logic was start as you mean to continue; and so it might prove. (See the 4th January report from the River Avon). Anyway I decided to fish the Abernant beat of the Wye. The river had finally fallen to a sensible level for fly fishing. But it had fallen because all the surface water that should have been entering the river was locked up as ice.
It was a cold day. That’s an understatement only made possible now I've thawed out. The water was 37F and that was 10F warmer than the air. The fly line froze in the rod rings which made the poor casts, executed with numb hands, even more pathetic.
I had persuaded a friend to join me in this madness. We started late – putting off the moment – and finished early. This even though I had just hooked and lost the only fish of the day. Normally I would work the spot, encouraged by the bite; but today the allure of a nearby warm pub was too much. So with less than 2 hours of standing in a freezing river, we left. Was it worth it? You bet. The river was beautiful and the countryside surreal. The water was low and clear, the valley empty and silent, and the trees on the hill sides were coated white with hoar frost.
Sugar frosted trees
To boldy go...