Interestingly May (at Ardleigh Reservoir) was an OK sort of month this year. Nothing special (although there was the odd moment) and nothing too catastophic. It could have been better, but it could have been a damn sight worse. But in a jolt of optomism I am anticipating great things for this coming month.

June always is good of course; evening rise, morning rise - given favorable weather. The sedges have begun to appear in quantities and buzzer hatches are impressive. Try deer hair caddis, Shipman's and suspenders.

According to my book, 'The beginners guide to stillwater trout angling (including some advanced thinking)':

June is the boat fishers paradise. If you cover the water and are prepared fly wise then there should be no problem in securing first class sport. Freak weather conditions can disrupt sport about once every ten years, and when this happens you had either better treat the month like August or get back to the banks.

So there you go then.

You know it's nice to have a little book like this from which you can extract small pearls of wisdom. If you haven't already done so I recommend rushing out right now and buying a copy, or better still get one via email - sent one to Norway last week and expect a little spiral of sales as a result.

So anyway, there is a NEW ITEM appearing this month. Guided float tubing at Ardleigh Resevoir. A very exciting addition to the Paul Arden Fly Fishing Experience. Basically we fish the evening rise together from float tubes. I provide the tubes, neoprene chest waders, an inflatable life jacket, fins, and myself. You turn up with a flyrod, a sense of adventure and £80 cash (all inclusive). This is a one-to-one deal. I can cater for more, but need (a) some time to arrange tube/wader loans and (b) more money.

Included in this NEWS item is an article which appeared in last years Fly Fishing and Fly Tying magazine, called 'the early bird' (not my choice), which has since had a few comments, namely about a picture of some guy (who everyone naturally assumed was me) wading off into the distance, when in the text I dismiss wading as a particularly bad idea. A letter was even pubished on the matter:

Wonderful, wonderful wading - it isn't so bad!

Paul Arden's article "The Early Bird" criticises people who wade, yet it also includes a photograph of him knee deep in the water and the bank is not in sight. Yes, that's right - he is wading.

etc.

To which I replied (an as yet unpublished letter):

In reply: Thanks - you raise some interesting points, and its true - nobody likes a bit of a splash more than I. In fact often (in warmer climates) I have been known to celebrate some particularly dramatic catch with a long victory swim.

However the point I was making is that thoughtless wading achieves nothing positive and at 4am at Ardleigh (to be specific) everything negative.

With regards to the attached photo to the piece; it looks all wrong to me: wading, waistcoats, 10ft rod. I'll bet it's not even a morning shot, no idea who that guy is - it's certainly not me!

Whether the reply is published remains to be seen...

AND NOW that I've captured your total attention, here is