Rectory beat, upstream from the bridge
Banded Demoiselle
River Wye, Rectory Beat.
June 2nd
The Wye can be a moody river, and today it was being difficult. There was a good morning rise, due to the swarms of Caenis spinners collapsing onto the water surface; those that weren't consumed by the screaming flocks of swifts that wheeled over, under and around the bridge.
Whilst the fishing wasn't easy there was much to compensate. Sea Lampreys were digging their redd and spawning in just a foot of water. These strange animals are not strictly speaking fish but jawless vertebrates that as a design predate the true fish by millions of years.
There were Banded Demoiselles, damselflies, disputing their territories along the river bank by spectacular aerial displays, and of course there was the river, as beautiful today as I have seen it.
I did catch a few fish, a motley assortment of chub, trout and grayling, but best of all I watched nature at her finest.
Rectory beat, upstream from the bridge
Banded Demoiselle