New Forest Walk, Wild Fish, Extreme Terrier!

The weather this Easter weekend has been glorious - a little unseasonal but welcome. We struggle to remember the last time we had any meaningful rain - there may have been some early in April, after a relatively dry and warm March. Thursday evening saw Ellie and me taking some exercise, with a walk into one of our favourite bits of forest nearby.

If I believed in reincarnation, I would come back as a dog living in the New Forest...but I signed up to a different creed a few years ago.

Ellie and I followed a couple (with black Cocker Spaniel pup) down to a small stream, which is popular with all manner of forest users. There's a small bridge for those that want it, but dogs and horses tend to just wander into the stream at this point, as it’s shallow and easy to cross.



View downstream from the bridge



I found myself wondering whether there might be any fish in this tiny stream, knowing how in warm summers previously it had pretty much dried up. So Ellie and I wandered stealthily downstream to check out the deeper pools - the air was busy with insect life so I reflected on my chances of seeing any fish that were present "rising" to feed from the waters' surface.



Insects active as the heat goes out of the day



I was captivated for the next half an hour or so, mesmerised in fact by a series of enthusiastic, splashy rises. These were small, wild fish feeding on insects on or near the water's surface. So that was my question answered - this tiny stream does support a head of wild fish!

Anyway, I returned the next evening (Good Friday) with Ellie and my wife. I was able to wander stealthily downstream and take the following pictures.

This deeper pool follows a shallower, faster stretch of water

This was a different spot from the previous evening, but the insect life was again abundant and the heat had drained a little further from the day. I watched for about 15 minutes or so, another series of very enthusiastic, splashy rises from the population of wild fish in this little stream.



Need a better camera, or a better camera operator?

This was more by luck than judgment, and I have no idea of the species....guessing it’s a wee wildie brown troot or grayling, but it was satisfying to catch the act on film.

Anyway, this started me wondering as regards the legality or otherwise of heading back down one evening with a fly rod. I think the Forestry Commission and the New Forest National Park Authority are not notably pro-angling, and the fish stocks in this stream are probably relatively fragile, so I'll pass, for now. Quite apart from the fact that it would probably need a far better fly angler than me to put the right fly in the right place at the right time in the right manner......

At this point my reverie was broken by Sarah (my wife) calling after Ellie - she was after the rabbits again! Luckily, we managed to retrieve one very hot, muddy Border, and marched off home......

Two beautiful girls!