THE car-scraping ritual has started and it feels a lot like winter is kicking in.
Ever the pessimist, I thought that it might just rain until March, putting paid to dreams of picturesque grayling trips, and the glorious Clyde would keep looking like Willy Wonka’s chocolate river.
Nothing lasts forever, though, the rivers will soon drop and run clear again and anglers will be free to roam them.
I hope you’ve been getting out if you’re under restrictions, even if it’s just for a wander.
The Japanese practice called forest bathing promotes relaxing in nature, the simple method of being calm and quiet among the trees.
Observing nature around you while breathing deeply can help both adults and children de-stress and boost health and well-being in a natural way.
Trees are all well and good but I do prefer a loch to watch over or a river flowing to help my peace of mind. I got my fishing fix this week with a long walk to a local trout water for a couple of hours on the bank.
A contactless payment, some masked fishing chat at the bothy and then some very socially distant casting as I worked my way around the pegs keeping the wind coming over my left shoulder.
There might have been better fishing on the other side but a comfortable, pleasant blank was more appealing than having to work against the elements.
In keeping with my Zen state and slowing down to enjoy the world around me, not at all because I was a tired from the hike, I managed to pick up some fishing at a snail’s pace, keeping everything simple and mixing up buzzers, bloodworms and mop flies.
Starting with as long a leader as I dared cast, fishing deep off the dam wall on a floating line and just retrieving enough to stay in contact it was a big buzzer that did the trick.
As I moved along the shore shortening up and switching over to an indicator setup, I missed several gentle takes before a hefty rainbow hammered the MOP fly and took off towards the deep water.
They might be a touch more lethargic to feed in the winter but they have power in reserve to fight hard all the way to the net.
This one tried to make me look foolish, coming in spotting me preparing to scoop it up and turning tail a couple of times before succumbing.
As it gets colder it’s worth remembering that rainbow trout are a cold water species, they fare well in Scotland’s chilly winters and although as the water gets closer to freezing they might not need as much food, they will still be active even when there’s ice on the water.
