Monsoon May could mean a great start to the season

THE TV weather presenter seemed almost sad the other day when she revealed that May had been one of the wettest months on record in some parts of the country.

I think we all must admit we got a bit sick of the constant drizzle mixed in with flash floods, mini-monsoons, unseasonal hailstones, and gale-force winds we experienced right up until the very end of the month.

Looking back at my diary and some catch pictures on my phone from previous May fishing sessions, it was all about T-shirts and smiles, big tench, and catching shallow on the pole and waggler.

I even found a pic I took of the back of my camera which showed a warning that it had overheated in the sun!

Thankfully, the better weather is now upon us and we can at least take some positives from the month gone by.

One in particular being the fact that our waterways have had a good flush through just in time for the start of the new river season in a little over a week’s time.

With a bit of luck there should still be some decent flow and colour to greet us a week on Wednesday, and some hungry fish too.

Walking the banks over the past few days I’ve bumped into several anglers doing reccies and even a bit of prebaiting, something I’d not seen anyone doing on my local stretches for a few seasons.

River fishing hit peak popularity at the back end of last season while we were in lockdown, and I get the feeling that this summer our waterways will be busy places to visit once again.

Whatever the weather throws at us on June 16 I’ll be joining the army of river enthusiasts enjoying the first day back on the bank… now where did I put those waterproofs?