At long last, I saw the first Hawthorn fly of the year yesterday. Bibio Marcii is so named because it appears on St. Mark's day, which is 25th April. Being almost a month late demonstrates what a cold, late spring we are having here in Devon. Our little wild brownies absolutely love this big, juicy land-born fly, which falls helplessly to the water on breezy days, and we are having plenty of those.
The trout were rising well in the slower pools, and there is still a good flow after a big spate last week. As well as a few hawthorns, there were plenty of olives, some yellow may duns and more black gnats, and fish caught were fat and full, as they jolly well should be in late May. The Mayfly itself, Ephemera Danica, is at last being seen on the Ottery, where two rods caught 45 trout yesterday. I told them that they could try harder, but it was a reasonable effort.
David Pilkington
