Yes, another musical gem, and there certainly seem to have been plenty of Browns in the Catch Returns recently. That might be due to a lot more being stocked lately, (I wouldn't know), but it's always a bit special to catch a healthy looking well-marked Brown, even if it was stocked; if it's small one, then it must be wild.
The other nice thing about Browns is that the'yre a bit more inclined to rise than the stocked Rainbows. There have been quite a few catches on dries lately, espacially big Mayfly patterns, so if you do spot a rise, don't miss the chance to give it a try. The rewards can be exhilarating.
Of course the other manifestation of Brown has been the persistently brown tinge in the water which just doesn't seem to want to clear. Even when the level was getting quite low (mid 20s) the clarity was still not great, though better than it has been. It seems that in the absence of any rain, we have been getting water pumped into the river rather a lot lately, and it hasn't been helping the colour of the water. That's better than allowing the water levels to fall too low of course, but it can be a bit frustrating.
When it's really too brown, nymphing seems to be the only option, and some members have done well with the Duracell nymph recently, probably using the contact nymphing technique. The good old pink Grayling Bomb still works as well, and the Grayling Bug, and don't forget that in just over a week, on 16th June, we can actually try them on Grayling once more (though they generally work better on Trout in my experience).
The best thing about Grayling is that they are really not shy to rise, so with plenty of Browns around, and the Grayling being legal again, 16th June is something to look forward to, so don't get Browned Off in the meantime.
Tight Lines,
PeterB
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