Still 'enjoying' the 'wonderful' summer of 2018

You may have noticed that it has been rather warm this summer, and slightly short of rain. Here in the now green and pleasant land of Devon, one could almost believe that all was well. Sadly, the dribs and drabs of drizzle which fell here and there in August, although just sufficient to green up the fields and bring the silage munchers out in force, has been woefully inadequate to top up the parched ground. While digging a hole for a fence post recently, David went down to his elbow in the soil and it was still coming up like dust, completely dry. So, unsurprisingly, our rivers are a tad low.

This is the river Thrushel at the gauging station at the top of beat 5B.

This is the river Lyd on Beat 2 by the Ambrosia factory. Although very low and tranquil, the Lyd is fed from the high tops of Dartmoor and has still managed to retain some hint of a resemblance to a river. Sea trout have made their way through to above the weir on Beat 3, but even for night fishers they have been elusive in the sedate and clear water.

Wow! A river bubbling with a strong flow of water. This is the gauging station on the river Thrushel on Beat 4, only a couple of miles downstream from the first photo. Roadford reservoir is currently releasing 80 megalitres of water a day, which comes down the river Wolf, into the Thrushel, then the Lyd, and on down the Tamar to Gunnislake, where it is all pumped out to go and keep the good people of Plymouth suitably hydrated. This picture comprises about 95% reservoir water, and of course this does not reach the sea. However it is very useful to give our guests some flowing water in which to drift a fly.

The river Tamar at Polson gauging station on Beat 9A. Odd bits of drizzle and the occasional shower have given a lift of a few inches once or twice during August, the line of bleached algae on the concrete showing how the river came up all of about 3 inches a couple of times. Amazingly there is a very small number of salmon upstream of this point, but they are unlikely to take at any time soon. A serious monsoon is now very much needed.

The trout have at last come into their true form for September, feeding enthusiastically, but requiring good casting and presentation.