Play has put paid to prose in recent weeks as fine weather has encouraged rods to wave, lines to loop and leaders to unfurl fly to up and feeding trout.
I was reminded of this fact last night whilst standing on the banks of the Wharfe at Kilnsey under ashen skies, the rain palpable and river raring. For once on this occasion I was not fishing, but having being in that neck of the woods earlier in the day on business it seemed foolish not to reward a hard days graft with a pint, grub and leisurely ramble along the part of the water kept by the local angling club of which I am unfortunately not a member!
As I pushed my way through the long grass on the right bank peering into the tea stained torrent running through a leafy avenue of lush vegetation and trees in their mid summer finery, the sky lit up with lightning which was quickly followed by the inexorable roll of thunder. This occurrence in a way caused my mind to kick back to the “Private Fishing No Footpath” sign that I’d selectively turned a blind eye to when first setting off from the pub, the rain that had threatened to fall for so long started to drop in large dollops and it gave the surface of once mirror like pools lively new character.
As I contemplated this change and my surreptitious infringement of a hallowed angling haven a second bolt of lightning flashed overhead, closer this time, but like an electric leader in the atmosphere etching the surroundings against the sullen skyline. The frequency of the lightning and the increasing transparency of my shirt finally gave me reason to turn on my heels and head back the way in which I came. In fact if truth be told I felt somewhat barmy at having stayed out in the prevailing conditions for so long and at the same time incredibly buoyant from the experience of it all!
So there we have it, I have many great tales to tell and new experiences to relate from these past few weeks, fortunately I didn’t have to ride the lightning to find the inspiration this time around but last night certainly was enough to give me a friendly jolt back in the direction of the keyboard. Be prepared and watch this space for future posts throughout July!
