.......River Windrush - 13.04.11

    Met up with Andy Grey a fellow forumite and a member of the Cotswold Fly Fishers Club (CFF). Haven't fished with Andy for a couple of years or so now so it was good to meet up. Temperatures fell today hitting a maximum of 12.0C with a slight SSW 9although it was blowing well along the River Windrush and some rain just we were leaving. Rendezvous was just past the Maytime Pub in Asthall and we managed to meet up at around 09.30am.

Asthall is not very invigorating place but it did hit the headlines in 2007. In the summer of 2007 a hoard of 110 gold angel and half-angel coins were found during building work at Asthall. The coins were minted at dates from 1470 to 1526, most of them in the brief second reign of Henry V1 (1470-71) or the reign of Richard 111 (1483-85). The hoard is believed to have been buried in the latter half of the reign of Henry V111 (1509-47). The village sits beside the River Windrush where we had arranged to meet.

The Windrush forms part of the catchment of the River Thames and rises in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds North East of Taddington and flows for about forty miles from west to east through Windrush to meet the River Thames at Newbridge. The river is host to fish, including trout, grayling, perch, dace and other coarse fish. It held good populations of native crayfish until at least the 1980s. River waters were used in cloth and woollen blanket making in Witney from mid 17th century.



^{Met up with a cock pheasant just behind the village. They are stupid birds but do provide wonderful feathers.}

^{The bridge at Asthall................}

Having parked up Andy arrived and we donned our waders and walked into the field. Andy wanted to do a bit of a casting tutorial with me, he is studying for the GAIC certificate. I had explained that I was a bit of a hopeless case but after a few minutes he said he had noticed I wasn't holding the rod handle firmly enough and soon the back cast the wrist was being 'brocken' and hence a not tight enough loop was being formed for the forward cast. Otherwise he said there wasn't too much wrong. I think he was being polite! Across the sheep field walked.

Having walked downstream of the bridge for about half a mile we came to a small weir sitting by a dilapidated farm in the throws of some renovation. The wind with a cool tinge was whistling down the river. On went the olive Goldheads that Andy had suggested I tye in lieu of the trip.

Having had a couple of takes above the weir and lost a fish I manged to hook up with a wild Cotswold Trout. Nothing to shout home bout in size but it would win first prize in most beauty competitions.

Andy caught a couple of stockies - I had given up by this time as my waders had leaked and were full of water.

We stopped for a bite to eat - Andy had brought steak pasties from a butchers shop and we ate them whilst I dried out. Then we drove into Widford and parked up to venture into another part of the Windrush with again lovely scenery and a little more manicured than earlier.

This bit of the river played host to some large weir pools and we fished the one next to the stock pond. A tight cast was needed and Andy manged to hit a few and I lost one and enticed one for a short period.

Time for a glass of lemonade and a drive back to the Swan Inn at Swinbrook - gastro pub.