Mayflies...

Wed 18 May 2022, 17:43 (last edited on Wed 18 May 2022, 17:51)

They were late last year (see below) but already hatching in nos this year (despite the worst efforts of DEFRA and the water companies....).  Always amazes me how many manage to run the gauntlet of fish and birds waiting for them...

Tue 8 Jun 2021, 23:35

And still they come! Or at least, they did today if not in the same nos as a few days ago.  A 'man who knows' told me they are usually at their peak around 29th May.  But this year had barely started by then, which may account for the more recent heavy hatches.  Many fish will take them, not just trout, once their little fishy brains have woken up to the fact that here is something 'meaty, big and bouncy' - literally!  (apologies to any Who fans)

To answer Hannen's question, in short, no, sorry - though lower water should mean less sewage etc going into it. It's certainly no clearer, a horrid grey colour still but the only way really to tell is through water sampling and analysis.  I believe this is happening somewhere but haven't looked into it lately. 

Sun 6 Jun 2021, 22:16 (last edited on Sun 6 Jun 2021, 22:26)

We saw several fish catching mayflies at the weir, but they looked more like roach than trout. And a very large brown rat (the fish weren’t catching the rat)!

Sun 6 Jun 2021, 11:45

There were about 8 trout catching mayflies by the Cornbury bridge on Friday evening. 

Sun 6 Jun 2021, 11:23

Does this mean that the Evenlode is getting cleaner?

Sat 5 Jun 2021, 16:34

We had a swarm in our garden last night here on Sturt Road.

Fri 4 Jun 2021, 19:24

Other side of the bridge 

Fri 4 Jun 2021, 18:19 (last edited on Fri 4 Jun 2021, 18:23)

Another huge hatch today, lovely to see.  It's said that pre-WW2 the hatches on the Kennet could be prolific enough to stop the trains running.

Flora - whereabouts?  Not many people know this (deliberately!) but my neighbours and I put some brown trout from Bibury in the river last year when the first lockdown started and we were told we couldn't go fishing.  I did point out that there was nothing in the Regulations to prevent it but hey - who cares what an old lawyer has to say?!

Probably only a few of those fish are left now (all infertile btw so they can't mess up any wild fish stocks - are there any still in the Evenlode? Anyone know?) but surprisingly few fish taking the mayflies - look at the colour of the water...

Fri 4 Jun 2021, 15:24

I saw a large trout take a mayfly in our 'river' yesterday Rod...

Fri 4 Jun 2021, 12:08

...  arrived late this year but yesterday's was quite the biggest hatch I've seen here, some even got as far as the Co-op!  Two years in the mud, run the gauntlet past fish & birds to emerge as an adult, 48 hours of rampant *** - and then you die - what a life eh?!