Looks like those in England might be allowed to fish on Wednesday though there is very little water to fish in. Don't get squashed in the rush!!!

                                      1988 AND ALL THAT.

Those of you who were fishing in the Wye in 1988 probably remember it with affection.  It was the year the river really showed what it was capable of and  the rods produced a catch in excess of 6.500 fish.  For various reasons it was probably  a good deal more than that but that year there was no need to lie and there was no, shall we say, creative counting back then.

It was particularly good on the middle and upper river as good water was available most of the summer with the Elan Valley lakes doing some maintenance work and needing to release water continually.  It often meant that consistent levels were maintained for much of the time, allowing fish to run throughout the river.

There was often a lot of colour too which meant a good deal of worming went on, nothing wrong with that, and shrimp and prawn were also allowed.

At the Nyth that year we did not have a very good start to the season with a dearth of early fish with only ten or a dozen in the book by the start of June.  However it was the 2sw fish and later on the grilse that then showed up in real numbers that made the season such a memorable one for many.  Unfortunately my boss was not well that year and was unable to get down to the beat and for much of the time I was fishing on my own. A good few guest came now and then and most caught fish.

There were fish in the beat all summer and on every rise fish would be seen running through in good numbers. It was a case of fishing the worm when it was coloured, the fly when conditions were good and on the odd occasions the shrimp too  There were not many days as I recall when you couldn’t fish . Twice we had 12 fish in a day and many other times perhaps five, six or seven.  As I say I fished alone much of the time and accounted for, if my memory serves me right 162 of the 206 fish caught that year on the beat.   Never got anywhere near that amount since, nor likely to ever again.

I mentioned I did quite a bit of worm fishing and I suppose the playing of fish too meant I got tennis elbow which was pretty painful.   I went to the doctors eventually for a steroid injection.  I remember he put my arm flat on the table and told me to grip the edge.  There was a nurse in the room too and as he was about to do the injection I saw her visibly wince.  I soon found out why as it seemed the needle was actually going into the bone and was really painful.  However it seemed to do the trick and after a few days it was less severe.

Not sure anyone really knows, apart from the consistent river levels, just why there were so many fish but it was a real eye opener and a glimpse back into the past ,though the numbers then would have had much more of a springer component than did 1988.

Fish numbers have always fluctuated wildly on the Wye and there are many factors that might account for this and more these days than back then.  However having seen over the years just what damage a huge winter spate can do I was always convinced this was a major factor.  I saw so much damage to the redds with whole fords washed away and destroyed.  I suspect in three or four years time we may well reap the result of this winter floods and it won’t be good I think.

One could hope that out of the blue another 1988 might materialize but I somehow I doubt it given the current situation.

Don’t personally take much credit for that salmon catch. I was lucky. Right place, right time, is almost always the answer and with that many fish around not too difficult either.   Most of you would probably have done the same given a similar chance.

So when you get fishing again and blank, remember it's probably nothing to do with you or your ability there's simply very little there to catch -sometimes nothing at all.

       This was the stamp of fish mid 1988   Sorry cant rotate picture|!!