Adrians birthday weekend celebrations included his first attempt at fly fishing. The previous nights revelry meant that the group was slightly more manageable than a group of beginners/improvers this size might usually be.
 
Brothers James and Michael had fished with me once before but the river was in flood and the day produced only one small Grayling right at the end so they were determined to catch this time.
 
Birthday boy Adrian was already a keen coarse angler and Peter was eager to catch his first ever Trout or Grayling so with the river at a good height, we were all hopeful of success on the dry fly.
 
Conditions flipped between baking sunshine and torrential rain but spirits remained high. Although there were a couple of half hearted takes during the dry spell, the real action started once the rain set in. All of the fish were caught during heavy rain and the associated rise in water temperature.
 
Adrian who had already missed a couple of fish looked set to land his first ever Grayling but a tangle with James’ rod and some shoddy netting from myself meant that his trophy shot would have to wait until his next outing. I am though, going to officially allow him entry into the Grayling club!