Waiting for winter

WINTER is almost upon us and while my grayling rod is out of its summer hibernation, the river gods haven't yet given their blessing.

- BY LOUIS FEROX

A series of deluges coinciding with fishing days raised the levels and coloured the water, putting paid to my early plans for bugging about.

Checking the water levels on the Sepa site has saved many a wasted journey - youlll still catch fish in a flood but I'm not sure I've got enough tungsten beads or skill to make it work in water that looks like cold chocolate.

Still, the changing season isn't all bad news. A big storm has stripped the last of the leaves from the trees while the high water will be sweeping them downstream, clearing the way for proper winter conditions.