Trout Fishing in the Southwest begins here...

On the first of May, right on cue, we saw the first swifts and the first Yellow May Duns. A couple of days later, we saw the first yellow sally, and the first fledgling heron, in the fields by the lower Lyd. On sunny days the black gnats are swarming over the stickles, with trout rising like well-oiled machines. Spring is now well and truly with us, the May blossom a riot in the hedges, and trout fishing is good, if a little demanding in very low water. Rain is falling as I write, we do need a good soak now to fill the river, and bring up the salmon and sea trout which are pushing into the estuary and lower beats.