Piddle Intro

We arrived today at our holiday cottage beside the upper reaches of the River Piddle, a chalkstream in the rustic Dorset of Thomas Hardy. Our cottage is thatched in the typical style of the county and sits in the grounds of a Tudor estate dating from the 15th century.

I'll fish the Piddle 'proper' on a day later in the week, some miles downstream from here, where the river is more substantial and commands a day fee. 

The river beside the cottage is thin and crystal clear, and mostly choked to the seams by ranunculus in bloom. Real jungle bashing is needed to reach it. I doubt that anyone fishes it.

After dinner I wandered off to scope out the river, with a rod at the ready of course. My expectations were rather low so I was delighted to find a pool of some substance no more than 50m away from my door step, hidden away behind a wall of green.

From the pool I caught a wild trout with a dry fly. It's safe to say spring has truly arrived when trout look skywards. What a lovely surprise to find a trout from a hidden place.