'Four inches longer....

...and with a rattle!' I wasn't in the best of moods, and the comments from a dog walker about how our flies were too small compared to the lures he had been catching Bass on last summer, were enough to make me wince. 'You catch them on flies?' he questioned, while his canine companion chewed on my mates hand. We tried to explain the sporting virtues of catching even smaller fish on the fly, but I got the feeling he was missing the point. Amazing how many people do, still all the more for us!
I'd pulled myself from the bed at 06.30 on a sunday morning at the insistance of my mates, despite letting them know of my reservations that a brisk north easterly wind was not going to be very helpfull when casting a fly line, especially on our first outing of the year. Basically I was told to 'man up', so I did, just to humour them. Ten minutes after walking down to the freezing shore line, we retreated back to the cars, tails firmly between legs. 'Told you so', I said. They just scowled back at me. I de togged and sat in the car looking smug. On the way home the sun mocked us all by poking through the thick cloud.....

 This is all firmly tongue in cheek, because actually we had a good laugh about it all, as we always do, no matter what happens on a session. We're all so desperate to make a start and get fishing this year, and in reality we are probably at least a month away from any meaningful sport. We will continue to try our hand with regularity now, despite this mornings debacle, as long as the weather is actually conducive to casting a fly!!

Loomis, Orvis, Orvis, the Tackle Tarts are in town,...nice gear,shame they can't catch fish!!