Winter's Back?

I should have given up about a third of my way into the journey to the Esk, when the drizzle started. With a cold wind also blowing this was not going to be a pleasant day. Still I was only at the southern end of the moors, what the weather would be like at the northern end was any bodies guess. When I arrived at my chosen spot the drizzle had stopped, but getting out of the car the wind cut me in half.

I wandered up the river looking for signs of life, but nothing showed so set the rod up with a gold head PTN. A couple of hours later, having tried several different nymphs to no avail. I hid under a high bank out of the wind while I had some lunch. Just as I'd finished a fish rose upstream of me. A change to a DHE and I was in first cast. A slightly larger than average WBT. With hopes buoyed up I continued upstream. I saw about half a dozen fish rise, but apart from a couple of splashy rises at one spot I couldn't elicit any response from them.

By now then drizzle had started again and my hands were frozen. Walking back to the car I didn't see much to inspire me to stay, apart from a couple of little trout leaping clear of the water under some trees. I had a half-hearted go for them, but the strong gusty wind that had sprung back up only made a rather awkward cast, really awkward.

I had a look at a couple of other stretches, to see if anything inspired, it didn't. Se made may way home.