Evening Meanderings

Got the kids off to bed last night and jumped on the bike to go and see what was happening down at the river. No decent fly hatches to speak of although I did get the odd eyeball and mouthful of midges. It was encouraging to see plenty of fry around, but I'm not so sure Phil Clayton & Adam Mack will be pleased to see an armada of goosander in one of their favorite swims.

I followed the river down through Salford into Manchester and then onto the Medlock and the Ship Canal. I didn't string the rod up, didn't see anything to cast at, but it was nice to be out and great to see a young heron fishing in Castlefield and a kingfisher flying down the Medlock at Potato Wharf.

The relative rude health of these urban waterways and the return of fish stocks has brought about this abundance of fish eating birds, but the balance is fragile and the damage a flotilla of 30 cormorants can do should not be under estimated. If the fish are gone then so are the kingfishers and herons.

Ship Canal Migration

The annual Serengeti style Ship Canal migration was in full flow last week, a highlight being a couple of huge ghost common carp. In the picture above you can just about make out that the river is thick with bream the size of bin lids.