W/C 22 May.

Peter Wheelhouse managed to winkle out a lovely 9lb fish from Crofts on Tuesday. Given how poor the overall catches were for the week plus, the far from ideal fishing conditions experienced, this was no mean feat and just reward for dogged determination.

From Tuesday onwards, Deeside was predominantly bathed in glorious sunshine which, although adverse for angling activity, reminded me nonetheless of just how beautiful this area of Scotland really is and especially so at this time of the year. There was often a strong breeze though which, was cool at times.

After a small lift in water height at some point on Sunday, the level trickled away yet again as the week progressed. The water temperature hit the late fifties by Saturday.