THAMES VALLEY

FLY DRESSERS

BRANCH OF FLY DRESSERS GUILD

The forecast for Wednesday looked good in terms of wind but not so good for rain so it was with some trepidation that I observed a bright red sky as I got up at 4:30 am. Rain on the way down seemed to confirm my fears but as we got to the dock it stopped.

As we steamed out east from Chichester the weather showed a conflict of good and evil.

Fishing a range of coloured bait fish flies we were soon into some nice bass. With the bass breaking on the surface and eating anchovy we just had to keep finding feeding birds and then the bass were below. Below is a typical fish of 2-3lbs.

As the day wore on the good weather forces had won but a high sun tends to put the bass down. Fishing over some mottled ground I was rewarded with a fabulous 5lb bass which swallowed my fly whole just sucking it in. After a quick photo we released her to fight another day.

The water was gin clear – just like being on a chalk stream.

A pleasant trip home under fabulous skies.

Richard E Bass Trip June 2020