Northumberland angler Scott Nellins competes at World Fly Fishing Championship

As a parent or teacher, you always want to inspire or give your children or pupils the opportunity to find what they enjoy and maybe excel at. Over the 30-odd years I taught, I hope I inspired the talented pupils I had the pleasure of teaching.

One of the things I did at school was to start and run a club called the Trout Ticklers. It gave lots of pupils the chance to go fishing with their parents or grandparents. I still bump into some of the members when I’m fishing now. One of the first six pupils to join the Trout Ticklers was a nine-year-old called Scott Nellins. He has been representing England at the World Fly Fishing Championship in the USA.

Over 30 national teams were competing, and England ended up a credible seventh. For his part, Scott finished 19th individually out of well over a hundred of the very best fly fishermen worldwide.

On the local scene, the still water temperatures are starting to lower and the fishing is improving. I’ve had more trout this last week with flies that I fished in or just below the surface. My claret Shipman’s Buzzer did well, as did my F Fly and the size eighteen Pheasant Tail Nymph.

The Coquet remains very low and the fishing remains challenging. There are still a few swallows around but the overnight temperatures are dropping so they will be disappearing soon, unfortunately. Hopefully we will get some decent rain soon, and the river anglers will enjoy some good sport before the end of the season.