Last night the weather forecast was set fair, so I was hopeful, if I felt Ok , that I might make it out for a few hours today. I quite fancied heading further afield ( again depending how I felt) its only worth the travel if I can fish 4 hours I reckon.

The day started all bright blue sky and still- a perfect late autumn day. A perfect day to be on the river chasing the Grayling, but I am not up to that at present unfortunately. I need to be able to rest my hip regularly. By the time I was able to get out, after running my son to work, it was greying over and before I knew it, the rain was coming down like shards of ice. Very cold indeed. That’s my mind made up for me I thought as I sat down to tie a few flies. Then the sun appeared. Surely not? I checked it out and the sky looked relatively clear again.

Sod it I thought, put a few items in the motor and headed out, it was a bit of a make it up as I went along, I was wanting to fish somewhere new but that was out, so somewhere near that I haven’t been for a while. That means Wellsfield. Not a place I love but I have to admit that it’s really looking very natural now compared to the first time I visited and the water is full of small fry. I was a little dismayed at finding the lower lochan was a bit brown and muddy looking so headed up the top lochan which was much clearer though I have to say it was patchy. Some areas seemed gin clear, while some were distinctly cloudy and brown.

What really caught me out though was the wind- it was really pretty strong yet there wasn’t a breath at home only 5 miles or so up the road. I was set up with a long 16 foot leader with only one dropper, a white zonker on point and a Diawl Bach on the dropper. Covering all bases I guess. Never had a touch so changed the colours to a black point fly and a pearly cruncher above in case the fry feeders were around. Still nothing. I had a move and still nothing. There were a couple of other anglers who arrived around the same time as me and they were all similarly bereft of fish.

I put on a sinking line, a short leader and a FAB on a solo leader, sort of fishing like a booby would, and see if I could attract any deeper fish. Still nothing. A few colour changes- nowt.

I fancied putting on a buzzer or two from the windward shore but it was really biting and the rain came on very heavy and I could not face turning in to the teeth of the weather.

I was down to my last 45 minutes and by now there was only me and an older guy there, still both blanking. I headed back down to the deeper corner nearer the lodge on the top lochan. I stuck with the sinking line for a minute then decided to rerig with the 40+ floater and a couple of buzzers, an Okey Dokey on point six feet below a glass buzzer about 4 feet under a small indicator. The first cast and I got a tentative but very real tug. A few more casts and nothing came in the same area. Then a fish moved on my right so I moved to cover it but my first cast caught in the wind like a sail and I thought I was about to end up wrapped in my line, I never but my leader ended up in a right state. I had 20 mins left- was it worth sorting out or call it a day? I remember young Stevie at Butterstone saying how it can all happen in a few casts right at the end…. don’t give up. I gritted my teeth ( it was tipping down by now and freezing) , pulled out 5 feet of 8lb fluorocarbon tied another 5 feet to this with a dropper between. No time to make up a tapered leader as I usually fish.  Fixed the indicator, tied on the two buzzers and cast out. As I retrieved the line gently tightened and the indicator rather slowly headed away- and I merely lifted slowly as the fish hooked itself. A 3lb fat rainbow to the Okey Dokey, though it looked well fed it was evidently too full to fight and I simply stripped it straight in to the waiting net. Result at last!

It’s been weeks since I had a fish!

That was pretty much it, a few fish moved during my last 10 minutes and though I covered them I never had any offers but at least I managed a fish at all, the others there all seemed to blank in what was dour and hard conditions.