Small Dreams of a Millstream

With the continued absence of a canal carp (5 nights, no runs!) what better way to relieve the doldrums than a stroll on the mill stream at Countess Wear? Having had almost no sleep and a thick cold, followed by a tough few hours at work, it was high time to have a little relaxing fun.


The stream itself is lovely here- lots of shallow runs and little pools. There are no big fish, but what a terrific range of species. I took a light fly rod, Rob Darby used a light spinning set up and we enjoyed catching chub, perch, roach, dace and even what looked like a salmon parr. Such simple but gratifying fishing here too- I took most fish on either a tiny hare's ear or a black woolly bugger for the perch. Rob had fewer species but the chunkiest fish of the day- a perch of, ooh, all of half a pound.

The visual nature of the fishing is the real draw here- just about every take was witnessed first hand and you never quite know which fish will arrive next. A couple of hours here is delightful on a sunny afternoon, even with a bad head.
As for those carp, their pursuit remains a kind of torture. Sinuses are still blocked as I type- although a double whammy of a hot sauna and a vindaloo curry did have some effect yesterday evening.