On the Eden

Just squeezed in a great morning on the lower Eden in Cumbria, trying for a spring salmon with our good friend and fellow AAPGAI instructor Glyn Freeman. Glyn had kindly invited me up to fish one of his beats ahead of the AAPGAI assessment meeting in nearby Cockermouth this weekend.

Bob concentrating hard on a cracking lower Eden pool

We had a stunning spring day and the Eden, though a little low, was looking beautiful. This is one of my absolute favourite English rivers and made me look forward very much to our special one-day trout course on the Eden with Glyn in May.
I had a strong pull on a Spring Boyo fly - the Illtyd Griffiths pattern that Glyn has popularised through his success with it on this river - but after a brief roll on the surface, the fish was gone. Almost my first spring salmon of the year!
We fished through until the effects of the high tide pushed back the current and then, right on cue, a strong hatch of brook duns emerged, enticing some trout to feed on the surface. After a quick coffee, we switched to the trout rod and managed a few cracking wild trout on dry flies - a taste of what is to come on our course in May.
Glyn is also a brilliant H&B trip host, so the flying visit gave me the chance to talk through plans for some international trips we have in mind. Keep an eye on our hosted trips page for news of what Glyn is up to. And if you get the chance of a day on the Eden this year, I can strongly recommend it. And no one knows the river better than Glyn. Contact him at Cumbria Fly Fishing.
Now on to the serious business of assessing aspiring instructors and the AAPGAI meeting...

- Bob