Good luck to you all.

 

Tight lines to everyone....let's hope for a better run of Salmon/sea trout this year...

 

Well, has any one got the Jungle Drums out of the cupboard under the stairs yet, let alone started beating them ?.
These past few days of clement weather surely has enticed a few folk out for a cast or two, is there anything to report at all, even a sighting or a splash or two?.
I'm getting all too itchy for a cast and will be out in the next couple of weeks or so soon as the transport issue is sorted and I'm fully mobile once more.
It seems to have been a long grey cold winter this year and I know it's still early doors, but glad things are on the move.
A day the like of today and a Ribble Jerry would certainly be a day to remember!.
Pedro.

 

Has the blockage at Waddow gone yet?

 

Re Waddow. I'm reliably informed from our EA fishery officer that the part blockage has been cleared, so all good.

 

That great news Fred.
The Eden is showing a good run of early fish, more than in previous seasons, so hopefully that’s a trend that will also apply the Ribble.
I shall be giving it a bash towards the end of this month and we shall see what we shall see.

 

Waddow Fish Counts We did not have any counts at all through during January. The count for February was 5 fish between 35 and 50cms 1 fish between 50 and 65cms and 1 fish over 65cms
If you're fishing above Waddow good luck in finding those two

 

Had a little casting practice yesterday, it felt more like late May than March. Low, clear and bloomin' warm! Obviously, not a salmon in sight, but then I didn't expect that- it was just a pleasure to be out.

 

The trout should start looking upwards soon

 

On Thursday I went to do a couple of jobs on the cabin, and saw no sign of trout or grayling surface feeding, during my breaks, but yes, it won't be long.

Mice had eaten my gas pipes, which I'd spotted on a trip up the week before to do a little woodwork. Its never happened before, so not really sure what to do. They're in now, and likely won't be leaving anytime soon. I left the old gas pipes on the floor, so they can chew on them rather than on the new, but eventually they're sure to have a try.

I've bought an electronic mouse scarer, but how effective they are I couldn't say. I'll deploy it on my first fishing trip, likely on Monday 17th, with a bit of luck, weather wise.

If the scarer doesn't work, I'll have to replace it again, but this time with galvanised over braid. Seems like it will be tricker to work with, but needs must.

 

The incredible movement of Skirden Beck running into the Ribble in just one year 24 to 25.jt

8

 

Crikey, didn't think we'd had that many big waters. That's a lot of gravel.

 

I prefer the top picture.

 

Does anybody have any pics of the PAAS BEATS.

 

Message sent

 

Received with thanks.

 

Yes alot of gravel movment over winter completely filling in and destroyed a good Lie What amazes me is the movment of the Beck over the years, if you look at the top picture from last summer there is a willow bush in the left of the photo, ln the bottom photo the Beck is hard up against this willow moving some around 12ft overwinter.

 

Slighty off at a tangent, Ken Clower the great Nottingham angler once told me that the floods on the Trent had moved essentially a gravel Island half a mile downstream, I presume similar happens on the Ribble.

 

It does when you get the huge floods that we seem to get nowadays.

Although that seems like a distant memory at the moment ....

 

Just been looking at the RFCA cams and it's scary how low the Ribble is falling, currently 1mm of rain predicted Monday. That should just about get the feet of the wading boots wet-if that.
Not even been near the river yet this year and we're almost half way through the year now!.
I can't bring myself to even drive over for a look, think it'd be too depressing!.
Pedro.

 

It’s a sad state of affairs. We need a big deluge to clear out the crap, and another one a few days after to bring some fish up. Unfortunately nothing like that is in the forecast for weeks. Let’s hope that they have it wrong and we get some serious rain soon or else the fish will be buggered.

 

 

I don't know if it stops the big trout returning to their normal summer 'homes', or if they're just hiding, but we're barely seeing anything move. My mate had a 37cm trout on Thursday, but mostly all we're able to get is tiny fish, trout, salmon and grayling, which is good, in that there are so many about, but honestly I'm not happy about catching them, because I can't imagine it doing them any good, despite our efforts to handle them really carefully, and quickly. There's also almost literally millions of half inch fry at the edges, protected and seemingly thriving in the weed covered bottom, so maybe something good will come of it.

There was the guy who linked his thesis in here about fry survival being all but perfectly proportional to river height in spring. The more floods the fewer fry survived, and vice versa, so maybe some good will come of it?

Maybe that bodes well for future years? We can but hope, but right now it's terrible fishing, with not a chance of a salmon being seen. Not that we ever see one where we are, well, rarely, but it must be much worse right now.

 

Fg

 

Landowner taking advantage of low river levels extraction of hardcore

 

Some rain in the forecast every day from Sat 24th to Friday 30th May, lets just hope it is enough to make a difference.

 

Doubt it'll be enough to wet the grass, we got some here this morning, dampened the road, little else!
Pedro.

 

I get that feeling too, but it's desperately needed. I went on Tuesday, and the blanket of weed/algae, across the bottom is now awful. Still no big fish moving about, and not as much insect life about as I would have expected, especially considering the number of warm days we've had in a row. I thought they would have been coming off like a haze, on Tuesday, it was such a nice day. Picked up in the evening, but still nothing like I've seen in the past. We pondered if they might like more humid days, but have no idea really.

 

Well the river reached the dizzy heights of 0.38 metres at Penny Bridge. More rain to come this week though so hopefully there might be a bigger rise in levels but probably not the big flood needed to clean things out.

 

Hopefully enough to take the smoults out they've been sitting ducks for weeks.