One of these statements is a lie. See if you can guess which one.
- I seen a fish rise on the River Carron
- I seen my first red butterfly of the year
- I found a Kingfisher’s nest
- The river was very low
Yeah I suspect you got it, you did didn’t you?
Where do you find a Kingfisher’s hole… “under it’s ….” nope, in the bank
Mr Kingfisher enjoying the sun on the River Carron- wonder if he found any fish?
I was out on the River Carron this afternoon and not a single sign of a fish did I see. Not a wee splash, the sight of receding rings in the distance, a tug, pull or otherwise. Nada, nothing. In fact it is fair to say, the nearest I came to fish was probably passing the chip shop in Dunipace on the way home.
I arrived around 12:30 and it was a lovely spring day with a little heat in the air, though sometimes a downstream breeze made things a little tricky. As I made my way to a spot to start with my cast of bugs, I seen the flash of blue as a Kingfisher sped by. Having my camera with me I tried to get the long lens fitted before it took off. However the bird hopped into a hole in the bank and now I know where it lives. So I sat patiently waiting on it reappearing but it didn’t. However I suspect it is one of a pair and its partner showed up after about 10 minutes. This time I was ready and managed to get a few snaps. Hand holding a 300mm lens can be tricky, not a solid as with a tripod, but I did manage at long last to get a few shots of the better angler.
Even high in a tree 25 yards upstream the Kingfisher is quite visible
The Kingfisher, a splash of colour on the river bank, photographed at last
After this delay to my fishing proceedings, I fished quite a reasonable stretch of water. One that I have not been to for a few seasons to be honest, and today the outcome was much the same as last time, not a fish to be found, actually that’s slightly inaccurate, last time here, I did engage with a pretty big trout but it managed to slip the hook. I had the usual issues with dogs running in the water in front of me, a farmer ( using a tractor in the adjacent field) who decided to throw something from the field into the river upstream of me, no idea what it was but it made a fair splash, and coming across the waste of less considerate anglers- branches fashioned onto rod rests and half emptied bottles of coke and empty spirits bottles abandoned on the bank. I despair at times, why folk think this is OK.
I lost about half a dozen flies too on snags and sub surface obstructions.
Nice to be out, nice to enjoy the weather, not a lot of insect life, though some pale olives, and not a fish to be seen or had. It’s really turned into a poor season’s start for me this year.
