It’s been quiet here on the fishing reports front, primarily for the rather obvious reason that I have not been out fishing. My last outing at Butterstone Loch took me a few days to get over with this bloody arthritic problem I have and since then the weather has been rubbish for one thing and my condition worsened to the point where I was struggling to walk more than a few dozen yards before needing to stop and take the weight off my hip. Not ideal to get out on the water. Best I could manage was a bit fly tying and I suspect I will be doing a lot of that this winter, and fishing outings might be limited to non-existent. I hope not as I desperately want to get out on the river for the Grayling again this winter.

However the weather seemed settled Saturday and while not great my hip felt marginally better, enough to let me get up there- and at least set up my backpack/stool and fish from a seated position. Supposing I caught nothing I really did not care- just to be out was everything. I am also “on call” this weekend which limits the options in case the pager goes. When I arrived up at Pendreich it was flat calm with the gentlest whisper of a breeze from the west. There wasn’t a lot happening though, a fish would rise here and there but nothing continuous enough to allow you to target many. I started off with a sedge pattern as there were lots of big fat sedges about with their gangly antennae and I put the fly on top of one rise, near the dam wall but got not so much as a look.

A rare rise

A fish makes a splashy rise near to me, but it wasn’t coming to my fly.

I tried a few patterns, Olive parachute dry, a CDC quill olive and a tiny black midge pattern but nothing elicited a response. The odd rise here and there went on though, but never near me.

But you know? I genuinely did not care, it was just great to be out and at the waterside.

Today my hip felt better still though my hands have been a nightmare. I can sort of cope with them as long as I keep them moving. So I tried to get out for another couple of hours this afternoon. Unfortunately my plans were thwarted by road closures. Three of them! The road up to Bridge of Allan was closed due to road works, then the road from the Sherriffmuir road up past the stables was coned off, and the alternate road up through BoA and Glen Road was blocked by a road closed sign. It wasn’t to be, so I returned home to watch and record to PC hard drive a bundle of Paul Young Hooked on Fishing programs I have been keeping on the Sky Plus for ages. Plenty of viewing for the long ( I suspect) hard winter ahead.