AUTUMN CREEPS IN
September is favourite a month for angling and it is always a dilemma where to cast a line, as every species seems to be on offer.
This morning I fished the fly for salmon on a falling river Torridge. The colour seemed to be dropping from the water as I fished. Tomorrow would be perfect but I knew salmon would be present today and was surprised to fish through all the known lies without connecting with my quarry.
It is however a delight to be beside the river as the swallows and martins twist and turn above the river valley. Wood pigeons coo and barely a breath of wind stir the leaves that have now long lost that vigorous green of high summer.
There is a pool from which I have had most success and I always give this section extra effort. Today I had fished it through three times without a touch. There had to be a salmon there though didn’t there? I tie on a sunray shadow casting it across the current and allowing a belly to form in the line before stripping it quickly back. Wallop the line pulls tight and the rod arches over. A few minutes later a grilse of around 5lb is safely in the net.
A grand way to start autumn the season of mellow fruits, misty dawns and falling leaves. A robin whimpers its autumn lament as I pack away the gear. Hard to believe there is only a month left of the season.
