My Rod Bent Double

Got the chance to fish the upper Ribble with
Rob . The night had been a little warmer so
I thought we may stand a chance ,the high
pressure that had settled and caused clear
nights and deep frosts seemed to have moved.
We arrived at the river I've fished the spot a few
times and it's great water .
Every time the Christmas break comes along me
and Rob try for a few Grayling ,he had a cracker
a couple of years back .
The river was very cold and clear as usual at this
time of year spent Salmon litter the bank and
shallows.

It's sad to see these King's of fish dead and dieing
but such is life and with the sacrifice comes a new
beginning .
I imagine a lot of life along the river feasts at this
time on dead Salmon remains and after a few years
we have decided the pink flies we fish are more than
likely imitating the flesh that washes down the river
and Grayling gorge them selves on it , almost
prebaiting the river for us .
Today was hard going, I tried three flies under a
stick on the pin , spiders , Czech nymphs you name
it . I spotted a fish or two in a pool and gave them a
go . I thought I had hit bottom but then all hell
broke loose my little 6# rod bet double and my
line stripped off down stream I hoped for a
monster Grayling but I knew only one fish
could be responsible ''Salmon''.
No matter how I leaned in to the fish it would not
yield . After a good struggle it made another run
and the top dropper found the only snag on the river
the fish was still on so I gave Rob the rod and
waded out I could see the fish a big double and
not as dark as I thought!! only thing it saw me one
shake of it's head was enough and away it went.

I blanked but it was still a good day Rod had
a couple of wee fish .
I tried hard today and would have loved the
slightest sign of a fish on what was a new method
for me but not a sniff , even on the fly rod we both
struggled . I sort of expected we would after reading
a few reports and blogs of people who had fished
earlier in the week .
Not to worry hopefully plenty more days fishing
to be had .
Happy New Year.