2010 saw Wessex moving out of what had been a very difficult phase in its life. The previous year had started with the Branch in some distress and through the hard work of Members, the strengths of 2009 were built on in 2010. It seems odd to look back at January 2010 and talk about cold given the snow has just left us now, but in January we were complaining bitterly as we gathered about the wet and the cold. Fishing trips started off slowly with a couple of us making the trips a regular diary event Manningford, Felix Farm, Holbury Lakes, Frensham, John O'Gaunt, Chalk Springs, Chiphall, Moorhen, Meon Springs saw us through the year. As the year moved on the group that enjoys the days out has got stronger and more comfortable, the banter and heckling makes even a blank day fun, not that we have seen many of those.
Fly Tying saw us tying patterns such as:
Salt-water Flies, GRHE, Daddy Long Legs, Flashback Pheasant Tail, Deer Hair Emerger, Diawl
Bach Variant, Ace of Spades, Damsel Fly Nymph, Royal Wulff, Christmas Tree,
Kate McLaren, Braided Damsel Fly, RS2, Adam’s, Deer Hair Sedge, Bloody Butcher,
Parmachene Belle, Olive Humpy, Olive Sally, Comparadun, Sparkle Dun, Lunn’s
Particulaar, Black Gnat, Lunn’s Caper, Bow Tie Beetle, Foam Patterns, White
Moth, Hardy’s Favourite, Peacock and Orange, CDC Mayfly, Bergman Fontinalis,
Iwamasa Dun, Woodchuck Caddis, Brown and White Bucktail, Peeping Caddis, Jig
Fish
and others. We saw several novices start and now see very nice flies coming from their vice, maybe not show standard (yet) but certainly enough to fool the most discerning trout.
Our hosts at the Atherley Bowling Club and at Toronto Court have been exceptionally accommodating and made us feel most welcome and we thank them for this.
We started out the year as a very small band and find at the end of 2010 that we are stronger in numbers (still looking for more Members), with a good programme ( still with room to improve) and enjoying ourselves. All in all 2010 was a good year for the Branch.
