The River Usk Before The Rains Came…

Saturday saw a great visit to the River Usk and, at times, you’d find yourself so immersed in casting to rising fish that you’d forget about the threatening approach of very dark rain clouds…

A great few hours of fun, ended a little depressingly by a vanguard of howling winds before the eventual arrival of rain, lots of wet rain, which hasn’t let up in over 24 hours. Still, we needed a good down pour, and it’s nice to see the rivers up and in spate for a change.

The day ended with one of those moments which sees you just stood there, with a slack line pointing downstream, hands shaking ever so slightly, and thinking to yourself ‘What the hell did I just connect with!?’. Rewind five minutes and I’d just made a rather tricky but successful slack-line cast to a confidently rising fish holding beneath an overhanging branch. Within seconds (a little too soon for my liking) an eruption of water followed by a heavy shake of it’s head, and the fly was spat away.

Now I know where you live…bring on Round #2.

Feels like Summer…turn around and you’ll see a ceiling of oppressing clouds

From Usk Gold…

…to Usk leopards…

A glorious run, packed with fish…

A safe return…

…and a tail to die for

The Dave Collins Yellow May Emerger (#18)

Hook: Partridge Klinkhammer 15BN, #18
Thread: Sheer Ultrafine 14/0, primrose
Wing: Four CDC feathers
Tails: Microfibbets, yellow
Body: Superfine dubbing, yellow
Thorax: SLF Masterclass, #24 (Amber, Caddis)
Wing-Buds: Goose biot, dark olive
Legs: Mallard flank feather fibres