Gone fishing

I do a lot of fishing. Mainly for trout and salmon, which means there are set seasons - mostly between March and September/October. I get major withdrawl symptoms in the winter without it. It's partly a relaxation thing, a bit of excitement and generally it's amazing just spending the whole day by a river or loch.

Because you are in the river and usually being very quiet, you see a lot more wildlife than most people. I've had bats swoop under my line to catch flies at dusk and owls flying over the river within inches of me. I've shared the day with otters and ospreys who know far more about catching the slippery things than any humans.

Mr Heron is another friend that is often sharing the river.

I spotted this one on the Water of Leith this morning - a great wee river that runs right through the centre of Edinburgh. Managed to get fairly close as he/she must be quite used to people, being a city bird. I watched it for ages, just waiting for a fish to come along, but no luck. I know what he feels like, I hate it when anyone else is watching me fish (unless I've got a huge salmon on the line).

I love the winter, but can't really wait until the spring...