I left home with dire weather warnings ringing alarm bells, forecasts of 40mph winds and heavy rain showers which are not ideal conditions for casting a delicate fly on the water!
The journey round the M25 was its usual ghastly self with a huge tail back to the Dartford Crossing and I sat in miles of traffic wondering whether the abolition of toll booths has made one iota of difference.
When I arrived at Coltsford I was greeted by Neil, the fishery manager, who was somewhat surprised to see me as he thought the forecast would have put people off. This was somewhat surprising as he was in a short sleeved shirt, it was dry and the lakes were looking as pristine as usual.
At one time I had expected 11 anglers but due to illness, weather, holidays and dare I say age, we ended with 5 intrepid enthusiasts who all had a splendid day with everyone catching lovely Rainbow Trout.
The forecast was about 30% accurate as we did have the odd shower and there were occasional gusty squalls, two of which threatened to push Robert Taylor and myself into Willow Pool but on the whole conditions were fine for casting, with a good ripple on the water.
After a morning fishing the three lakes, we all adjourned to the lodge to eat our lunch and to have a good natter on a wide range of subjects, before returning for a short afternoon session that saw more fish caught.
Once again we were shown the way by a guest, Bill Berboth, who caught a total of 7 including the biggest fish of the day of about 4lb. Yours truly was the best of the PICT members with 4, one of which weighed 3lb and is now sitting in the freezer as Gravlax – delicious!
A wonderful day that defied the forecast and from all the comments everyone enjoyed themselves.