It's almost Christmas again and I'm thinking back on the past fishing season. To be honest it was memorable for all the wrong reasons. It kicked off with a cold dry Spring which seemed to suddenly morph into a hot dry Summer; challenging at best. Personally, I struggled to connect with fish most of the season and the majority of trout landed were small. The prolonged drought revealed rocks and structure on the riverbed that hadn't been exposed for years so fishing the deeper pools and trying to find effective patterns occupied my time when I could be bothered picking up a rod at all. Still, by way of consolation it seemed no better for anyone else either on the Braid or other rivers in the system.
As Summer gave way to Autumn we started to get some rain at last. Salmon and dollaghan which had been waiting downriver for ages began to appear in Club waters. Large numbers were reported going over the weir at Sainsbury's in Ballymena, although I have not heard of any great number caught. Club Members Tom Bell and Robert Neeson accounted for several between them. Any salmon I saw myself were, not surprisingly, well coloured and I failed to connect before the season ended.
Let's hope 2019 is more productive and in the meantime I'll get on with my Christmas wish list. Tenkara looks like fun.
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