Rother

It was with some apprehension that I returned to the stretch of the Rother I've written about previously (see post "Fishing the Improbable") - I guess because you never know what you'll find after not having set foot in that area for a few years. My initial fears were realized when I saw the state of the river when dropping into the water in my usual entry point. A plethora of plastic, tin and other trash people have without conscious dumped into the river. A few yards up I stumbled across a dumping site for garden refuse including old plant pots, plastic bags - you name it ! In the past this was a near definite run and pool in which a fish could be extracted however this was not too be. I pushed on nervous as to what was underfoot as the going was dicey to say the least. Eventually I entered into a "cleaner" stretch which seemed to hold a bit more promise. A small rise up ahead elicited a stab of excitement and anticipation - fears of the river having been stripped of fish slowly abating. A gentle roll cast saw the parachute adams in the right vicinity - a few seconds followed a sip of the surface and we were in.

 
Relief ! Not bad at all for the first trout of the day.

I continued for another two hours, missing more than I landed but the fish that came to hand were of great quality. What a testament to these little fish that surviving the murk and waste that is this stretch of the Rother is in fact achievable. What a shame to those sociopathic individuals who see no issue in tipping all manner of waste into a small stream with so much as an iota of consideration for the environment or others trying to enjoy it.