Sun
shines at Ladybower
I have always prided myself on being able to stand cold weather better
than most people, and when I was a young man I believed that the weather
in England was never too bad to go fishing provided that I could actually
get to the waterside.
It is not quite like that now that old age has arrived, but I still love
winter sunshine when we get it.
However, as opening day at Ladybower reservoir approached the weather
forecasts were horrendous (some of them anyway, for they never seem to
agree with one another) and I was probably not the only one to be apprehensive
about prospects for sport on opening day, Wednesday, March 1.
As it turned out we had a cloudless sky and bright sunshine all day long,
and though the wind was cold, from the Arctic apparently, it was not too
strong a blow.
Strangely though the fishing was not anything like as easy as it normally
is on opening days.
The fish are in there alright, but in the cold water and bright sun they
proved hard to tempt.
Some anglers had four fish limit bags from both boats and banks, but some
others drew blanks. I felt very lucky to bag three trout myself.
The best of the three was a nice rainbow of two and a half pounds weight
with pink flesh when I gutted and cleaned it at home. Another smaller
but silvery rainbow was joined by an out of season brown trout.
I will hopefully be back afloat on the big water before these words are
in print and I anticipate great sport when the numerous new stock fish
start to feed, and when the lovely new blue rainbows start being landed
from this, the greatest trout reservoir of them all.