It has been raining for most of the week, the upper Severn is bank high, shall I sit at home or get out there and give it a go? Lets give it a go.

The weather on this day is a little drier, but much colder, wandering a long the river bank, it looks as if it could be a hard day. The river is pushing through the runs at brake neck speed, I must be careful as the last time I went out with a friend I nearly ended up having a bit of a soaking!

It looks very much like another Czech nymph type of day, so out with the 10’, for a 5# , braided leader and the flies/bugs quite close together, a very heavy sacrificial bug on the point, pink bug middle dropper and an experimental pattern on the top dropper. I think I will start off working my way along the edges and slacker water first.

I’m quite surprised the river is high, but not dramatically coloured, with the amount of rain we’ve had, I think there is little mud left to be washed into the river. So here I go, keeping well away from the edge of the bank and dropping the flies just over the edge, letting them trundle along in the slacker water. That feels like a pull, a lift of the rod and I can feel some weight on the end of my line, a small stick ! surprising how it can feel like a fish for a couple of seconds. After about 15 minutes and about as many sticks, the next one kicks into life, a lovely small brown trout about ¾ lb. In the fast water he gives a good account of hiself, not a bad start for the height of the river, as the water evens out a little , I slip into the water and brave the flow, more little twigs, with the heavy rain and all the gales that have battered Wales , half of the twigs seem to have fallen in the river.

Now that I’m in the water you can feel it’s full power even though it is only knee height, a little tremor through the braid leader, here we go another twig, but no another little trout, smaller than the first, but a little scrapper ! This fish has taken a new nymph I’ve made , nice to see, quickly released back into the river .Working further down the run, this time all goes solid, a lift of the rod tip and a very solid feeling, are the flies stuck on the bottom, No a good feeling of something shaking it’s head, this feels really good, but what is it, it seem like an eternity before I see that telltale purple fin, this is a really good grayling. I knew that there was a good fish in this run as Konrad a gentleman from South Africa who I guided had got broken here a week or so a go. After what seemed like hours finally it slips into the net. This one is worth getting the tape and scales out for, so keeping the fish in the net in the water while I get myself sorted out,48 cms and 2 3/4lbs, what a nice fish and a good way to start 2007. I wonder if this was the fish that Konrad hooked? As I looked at the fish I noticed a fly in his tail, it was one of my patterns but I hadn’t put it on my leader today! Well it looks like Konrad had lost a good fish, it would have been a fish of a lifetime for him, as there are no grayling in South Africa.

After reviving the fish in the slack water and watching him slide away into the main flow of the river, I’m feeling very happy . There is about 40-50 ft of the run left, so I wonder if there are any more fish like that in this run. After several twigs and leaves a judder through the leader and another fish is thrashing about below me, could it be? no not a big fish but a nice grayling of around a pound, this one on the new fly again, could be onto something here, I think, I finish this run but with no more fish.