Here’s to the new river season and all its surprises

IT’S ALMOST here! A fraction after midnight tonight the new river season kicks off.

It might be a sign of getting old, but the closed season seems to have flown by in a whirlwind, with the soggy month of May already consigned to history.

So, what are your dreams for the new season – a new personal-best chub, your first barbel from a new stretch, or just being able to take advantage of the opportunity to get out there and enjoy the wild nature and relaxation rivers can deliver us?

As all seasoned river anglers will know, the first fish of the season is one to be savoured, no matter what its size or species.

I feel that it’s important to start small, so everything else you catch for the next nine months is a step up the ladder. At least that’s what I told myself when my tip quivered and an angry gudgeon was brought to the net – my first fish of the new season last year. It did get better a few weeks later, though, when a huge shoal of bream – possibly once at home in Ferry Meadows – made their way along the River Nene and took up residence on the far bank of one of my favourite stretches.

It was thanks to some amateur paddlers who seemed too frightened to move away from the near bank that I ditched the float approach and had a tentative feeder chuck to the normally barren far side.

Third chuck saw the tip go round and stay there, and after more than a dozen fish of around 8lb apiece I stopped counting them. It was only because I ran out of casters that the action was curtailed.

That’s the great thing about rivers – they can deliver something amazing when you’re least expecting it.

So wherever you’re fishing this season, and whatever your target species, I hope all your dreams come true.