Lower Itchen Fishery

0830 - 1830

Warm (still 19ºC when I got home at 2030!), overcast and very windy - rainy for the first hour or so. River very low and weedy with lots of leaf litter and detached weed coming down.

50+ Grayling - nearly every fish in the 12oz-1lb class with a lot just over 1lb too. Nothing substantially bigger - alas - best went 1lb 7oz. 2 Chub; 3lb 5oz & 2lb 14oz. 1 Roach (13oz) & 10 brownies to 2½lb.

A very blowy day in Hampshire - upstream wind, so by and large it helped presentation - though on one occasion my 4ssg loafer got blown upstream - impressive considering the speed of the flow here! Nearly lost my hat on more than one occasion too! Rotated between red corn and maggot hoping to find some bigger fish and found the bottom of the fishery (between the M27 and concrete bridge) particularly productive - possibly because it appeared to have had less angling pressure (I didn't see anyone else on that stretch!). Tired limbs and tennis (fishing!) elbow this morning!