Countryfile - Angling
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00:00Fishing is one of the UK's most popular outdoor pursuits, with 3 million anglers casting a
00:14line each year.
00:19Our islands offer incredible fishing opportunities, from coastal cod to salmon surging up rivers.
00:27It's a sport I've been hooked on since I was a boy. It gives you the opportunity to learn
00:32about fish habitats, understand their behaviour and get up close and personal with these underwater
00:38creatures.
00:39But some fish are trickier to hook than others. Now I've come to a spectacular Dorset coast
00:44to team up with an expert fisherman to take on one of the UK's most notoriously difficult
00:50fish to catch, mullet.
01:20I've come to Mudderford, a former fishing village east of Christchurch in Dorset.
01:33These waters are home to an array of fish species. You've got two rivers just up there
01:36feeding into the harbour where you'll find carp, pike, roach and dace and many more.
01:41And then in the harbour here you start to get bass, flounder, sea trout, maybe even
01:46the occasional salmon and I would love to fish for all of those. But today we're after
01:51one particular family of fish, mullet.
01:57There are three species of mullet in the UK. The thick-lipped, thin-lipped and golden grey.
02:04All of them have been deemed near impossible to catch due to their feeding habits, their
02:09caution and their impressive speed.
02:11Now I'm a keen angler but mullet is a fish I haven't even come close to catching.
02:17But I'm meeting up with an expert angler who I've long admired and he claims it is possible.
02:22He's developed his own methods and techniques to achieve success. So surely if I'm ever
02:27going to come close to catching one of these beautiful fish, it's got to be today.
02:34I'll be finding out how the right fly is the key to enticing them.
02:39That's it. There we go. Romy's sand shrimp. Romy's sand shrimp. Amazing.
02:44Gaining valuable knowledge from local anglers.
02:47You just never know with mullet. I love the fact it's so challenging. You can go down
02:51a nothing and then you'll go down and catch a few and that's the kind of drug.
02:57And hopefully landing a decent catch.
02:59There they are. I can see them. There's quite a few of them.
03:04Perfect, perfect. They're on the fly. Start stripping. Come on.
03:09Plus I'll be trawling the Countryfile archives in search of the best catches and techniques
03:14used to fish our waters responsibly.
03:18Often pike will come out of curiosity.
03:22I can see some bubbles coming up but that's not...
03:24No, that could be fish.
03:27Let him go. Brilliant. He'll become a natural in 30 years' time.
03:31Just the image of you doing this is going to inspire a lot of young women.
03:35And young men, I'm sure.
03:37Got one. Yes!
03:44Summertime is mullet season.
03:47So now is my best opportunity to land one of these tricky fish.
03:53Now I've been fascinated by fish in the underwater world ever since my teens.
03:57I snorkel, I scuba dive, I fish.
03:59Basically anything to be in and around water,
04:01to give me an excuse to sort of understand these incredible creatures.
04:08I've done plenty of fly fishing before,
04:10but I have never managed to catch a saltwater fish that way.
04:15And I'm hoping that might be about to change.
04:20Today, pioneer of saltwater fly fishing for mullet,
04:23Colin McLeod will be my fishing guide.
04:26Colin was fortunate enough to catch a mullet on his first cast in these waters.
04:31Hopefully today will be equally as quick.
04:35Tell me about your background. How did you first get into fishing?
04:38Well, I was brought up in the north of Scotland in a small village.
04:42My grandparents lived there, about 200 metres away from the River Thurso.
04:47And my grandfather had permission to fish for trout in the evenings in the summer.
04:51I would tag along with him when I was about maybe eight, nine years old.
04:55So they bought me a small rod, gave me a five-minute casting lesson,
05:00and then just set me free. And that was it.
05:04So when did you start actually fishing for mullets?
05:06Well, that really came about because of the bass.
05:09And when I started fishing for bass in the sea, wading around,
05:12then mullet were ever very, very obvious and very, very large.
05:16And they caught my attention.
05:17But the advice that my peers gave me was forget it.
05:21They're impossible to catch.
05:22Don't waste your time.
05:23They'll drive you crazy.
05:25But one evening in June of 2009,
05:28I went down to an estuary to fish close to my house.
05:31The water was boiling with fish, but it turned out they were mullet.
05:36And I just had a bait fish, which you use for bass or sea trout.
05:39So a little something on the end that looks like a little fish.
05:41A little fish. So for 20 minutes, I kept casting the fly in front of them.
05:46They just ignored it. You could see as the fly came through the water,
05:48the fish were turning away. And then my phone rang.
05:52So I just let the fly drop to the gravel.
05:54And after 20 seconds on the phone, the rod was almost ripped out of my hand.
05:59I thought, what is going on here?
06:00And it was a big mullet. After a few minutes, it got off.
06:03But those few minutes were the most crazy of my angling career.
06:07The power of that fish was just astounding.
06:11I knew at that point in time I had to get some more of that.
06:14Oh, really? So that was the moment you were like,
06:15OK, I've got to find out a way to fish for these creatures.
06:19The largest I've caught is 8lb 12oz on fly.
06:23And that's a British record on fly.
06:25You've got the British record? Yeah, on fly.
06:27Amazing. So I've definitely got the right person showing me today.
06:30Time will tell. Have I just jinxed it? Hopefully not.
06:38So what are we going to be looking at and using today then?
06:40Well, flies are a big part of the picture.
06:42In terms of equipment, the smallest piece of equipment,
06:46but I would say by far the most important.
06:48These are a range of flies that I've developed over the years.
06:52So how did you figure this out?
06:54How did you work out what to put on a hook, how to tie these flies
06:57to make them look like what the mullet were actually eating?
07:00I watched them as the tide flooded over some mud, very shallow water,
07:04and the fish were rushing in with their backs out of the water.
07:07So I followed them in and I could see these little shrimp
07:10burrowing down into the mud.
07:12So I was able to copy what I had discovered.
07:15So all of these imitate an insect, do they?
07:17They're feeding on shrimp, and that's why these flies,
07:20the majority of them, represent shrimps.
07:22The shell back that forms the back of the shrimp,
07:25all slightly different colours, and they do work in different ways.
07:29Some very bright colour. I mean, I've never seen a shrimp
07:32with a fiery orange tail like that.
07:34The colour red is very important,
07:37and the best source of red I could find was red wool,
07:40and that actually came from my grandmother's knitting bag.
07:43Wow! Sandwiched from granny's cardigan.
07:45But now I actually use a fluorescent material.
07:48That's called a tag.
07:50The tag represents the tail of the shrimp,
07:53and the red wool works perfectly to give the shrimp
07:56lifelike movement in the water.
07:58This looks very fiddly. I've never tried to tie flies.
08:02Essentially, you've got the gold hook here,
08:04and you're going to dress it in these different materials,
08:07and somehow that's going to transform it into this shrimp.
08:10The shrimp is made of four sections built around the hook.
08:13The body, the shell back, the rib, and tail.
08:17And after a few more twists and turns,
08:19we have one perfectly formed Romi's sand shrimp.
08:23I've actually got some flies for yourself as well.
08:25Oh, wow!
08:27And with this fly, I might just have the chance
08:30of landing my first mullet.
08:33For people like Colin and myself, fishing is a passion.
08:37Others, though, depend on our waters and the fish within them
08:40for their livelihoods, as Matt discovered in 2022 in Herefordshire.
08:49There are more than 30 species of fish in the River Wye,
08:52and while some remain common in these waters,
08:55its star species, the Atlantic salmon,
08:58which made this river a magnet for anglers, is under threat.
09:02So I've come to meet one family
09:04whose livelihoods have depended on this prized species for generations.
09:08Now, back in the day, if you wanted to know the best place to catch one,
09:12you would need a ghillie who knew all the best spots on the river.
09:20Lynne Woodward-Davies was the first-ever female ghillie to work on the Wye,
09:24and today is passing on her expert knowledge of the river
09:28to her ten-year-old daughter, Jessie.
09:31But before we can get the fishing rods out,
09:33we're having a lesson in fly tying.
09:37What a backdrop. Yeah.
09:39Oh, that's heavenly.
09:41And are you quite crafty, Jessie, as well?
09:43Do you like making things like this? Yeah.
09:45What we're going to make today is going to be what we call a stope tail.
09:49It's very boring, but they're very, very effective.
09:51Stope tail's a bit like going back to the little black dress.
09:54Right. Do you know what I mean?
09:55We have all those clothes... The classic.
09:57..and you just river it back to that.
10:00It's an interesting term, ghillie.
10:02I think it was a Scottish word originally,
10:05and I think it was like a manservant,
10:08which, you know, looking after gentry, fishing.
10:12And when did you realise that this was the life for you
10:15and that you wanted to do it for a job?
10:17A vacancy came up on the River Wye with my father as a ghillie,
10:21and I was asked the most ridiculous questions,
10:25because, of course, it was two men interviewing me.
10:27Right. What did they ask you?
10:30Was I frightened of worms?
10:33That's a ridiculous question.
10:35There you are, Jessie. You said it.
10:37Who would ask a silly question like that?
10:39When you think back to when you were Jessie's age
10:42and your dad was introducing you to all of this,
10:45what are your memories of that time?
10:47Erm... Oh, really happy.
10:49I just wanted to be outdoors. Yeah.
10:51Outdoors was the main thing.
10:53You see, this is exactly how your mum learned. Yeah.
10:56From her dad.
10:59It looked like something very intriguing for a fish.
11:03That's it, you see.
11:04And then all these tips and techniques are then passed on
11:08from generation to generation. Yes.
11:11What was life on the river like back then?
11:13And has it changed much?
11:15Oh, my goodness, it's changed so much.
11:17So many more people around now, I think.
11:20The peace has gone from the river, in a way, I think.
11:24And, of course, the fish have gone as well.
11:27In its heyday in the 1960s,
11:29during the season nearly 8,000 salmon were caught in the Wye.
11:33But in recent years, that number has dropped to below 400,
11:37due in part to loss of habitat,
11:39barriers along their migration and pollution.
11:43In order to protect the fish during its delicate spawning season,
11:46the Wye is closed for sale.
11:48So today, we'll only be practising our fly casting.
11:52While Jesse learns with Lynn downriver,
11:54I'll be under the expert supervision of her grandad, George,
11:58who, at 79, still works as a ghillie.
12:01Bring him back.
12:03Pause.
12:04Push.
12:05Let him go.
12:06Brilliant.
12:07Nailed it.
12:08He'll become a natural in 30 years' time.
12:11LAUGHTER
12:13That was OK.
12:14How old were you when you first picked up a rod?
12:17Do you know, I cannot genuinely remember a time when I did not fish.
12:22Really?
12:23I must have been a bit younger than Jesse,
12:25a little tiny brook at the back of our house,
12:27and I used to stand there thinking,
12:29how can I get that fish out of there in my hands?
12:34So when your daughter, Lynn,
12:36started to show interest in fishing,
12:39So when your daughter, Lynn,
12:41started to show interest in your world,
12:44I mean, you must have been absolutely delighted.
12:50Don't tell her this,
12:52but occasionally I'm reasonably proud of the thing.
12:55Reasonably.
12:56She's had a good teacher, hasn't she?
12:59Yeah, so I've fished basically all my life.
13:02And then when the opportunity came to be a ghillie here,
13:07it was like being sent to heaven, really.
13:10Yeah, how old were you then?
13:1246 years, yeah, 40-odd years ago.
13:15And I mean, it's absolutely breathtaking down here, isn't it?
13:18Just listen, peace, tranquility, quietness.
13:21It's lovely.
13:22Could you think of many nicer places to be on a nice day?
13:26Incredible.
13:31If you rewind back time to like 30 years ago,
13:34at this time of year,
13:35what would it have been like down here?
13:37The river would be a high of activity with salmon fishermen, you know.
13:41In 1976, a 360-odd fish off this beat.
13:46It was the top scoring beat on the Y.
13:48Last year, do you know how many we had?
13:54Really?
13:55When you look at it,
13:56and then you see the way it's deteriorated
13:59and the big outcry of the algae in the river,
14:02it does really make you sad.
14:04It's just like watching that old friend slowly die.
14:10How would you describe your career as a ghillie here?
14:16You know, if I got to live my life again,
14:19I would alter very, very little of it.
14:22Very little.
14:23Would you?
14:24I've lived all my life in the countryside.
14:26That's the sad part about the decline of the Y.
14:30Yeah.
14:31People before me was good enough to leave me something to enjoy.
14:38I don't think that little child's ever going to grow up
14:41with the opportunities that I have had to enjoy this river.
14:48One of our major roads get congested.
14:50We can build another road, can't we?
14:54We can't build another river, why?
15:02Despite salmon numbers still not increasing in the Y,
15:05everyone is working hard to improve the river's condition
15:08in the hope that one day salmon numbers will rise again.
15:17I'm on the Dorset coast
15:18under the expert tutelage of fly fisherman Colin MacLeod.
15:23With the flies tied...
15:25That's it.
15:26There we go.
15:27Almost sand shrunk.
15:29I'm hoping I'll land my first mullet.
15:35And while Colin, the authority on mullet fly fishing,
15:38makes his last-minute preparations,
15:40it gives me a chance to have a little practice before I wade in.
15:47Fly fishing is unlike any other fishing technique.
15:51Essentially all you have on the end of the line
15:54is this tiny little fly, this imitation insect.
15:57This is the one Colin has just been making.
16:00It looks great, but it weighs absolutely nothing.
16:04If you were to throw it, you couldn't get it more than a metre.
16:07How do you deliver this to the fish you've just seen out there?
16:11The answer is the fly line.
16:13This is a weighted fly line.
16:15Essentially, by flicking the rod backwards and forwards,
16:18you build up a momentum.
16:20The fly line then takes the fly out to sea.
16:25Because there's going to be a hook flying around,
16:27I'm just going to put my glasses on.
16:29You can see, if you just flick the rod backwards and forwards,
16:34that transfers the energy into the fly line.
16:37Eventually, I'm letting out more and more line.
16:40When I'm happy there's enough out,
16:43you just lay the rod down in a straight line.
16:46Hopefully, you put the fly right on the fish's nose.
16:50Some people make this look absolutely effortless,
16:52but trust me, it is not easy.
16:55As Anita found out for herself on Norfolk's River Burn in 2020.
17:04Since lockdown, more of us than ever have been embracing the great outdoors.
17:11And if there's one thing that's really got us hooked, it's fishing.
17:16Fishing licence sales have shot up by over 230% in just two months.
17:22And angling has reeled in 200,000 more fans than this time last year.
17:28Perhaps it's no coincidence that a solitary sport,
17:31perfect for social distancing, surrounded by fresh air,
17:35can do wonders for your mental health.
17:37But fishing can get a bad rap,
17:39and it's sometimes considered a male preserve.
17:42UK fly-fishing champ Marina Gibson,
17:44who's been fishing since she was knee-high to a sprat,
17:47runs the Northern Fishing School here on the Swinton Estate.
17:50And she's on a mission to prove it's something for everyone.
17:55Hello, Marina.
17:56Hello, Anita.
17:57Hi.
17:58Nice to see you.
17:59Good to see you too.
18:00Fly-fisher extraordinaire.
18:02If you say fishing and golf to me, I'm sorry,
18:04but in my mind I immediately think sport that boys are into, really.
18:08Is that changing?
18:09Well, last year we were probably 50-50,
18:11which is amazing to see 50% women coming through the school.
18:14And why do you think people are drawn to it?
18:16A lot of people are trying to reconnect with nature,
18:19you know, getting you outdoors, into fresh air,
18:21with your family and friends.
18:23And fishing is an activity that ticks all the boxes.
18:26OK, so I put these on then?
18:28Yes, put your waders on.
18:30It's good that you've got them in my size.
18:32Yeah.
18:33They might be a little bit big.
18:35Just a bit.
18:37While I get into waders fit for a giant,
18:39the weather takes a turn for the worse.
18:44What do you do when it starts chucking it down like this, Marina?
18:47This is proper fishing weather.
18:49Proper fishing weather. Good, I thought it might be.
18:51That's it.
18:52We're getting waterproofed up.
18:54That's what's so great about the Yorkshire weather
18:56is you never know when it's going to turn.
18:59All right, into fishing position.
19:01Rod tip down.
19:02All right, into fishing position.
19:04Rod tip down to the water surface.
19:06Yeah, like that.
19:07OK, so now we're going to peel gently up to eye height.
19:11Yeah.
19:12And you're going to accelerate to a stop and down.
19:16And we normally keep to the rhythm of one, two, three,
19:20one, two, three.
19:21OK.
19:22It's like the waltz.
19:23Nice, like that. Good dance reference.
19:28But the torrential rain means a quick step to the river
19:31for Marina to take over and show me how it's done.
19:36So you had a really strong female role model.
19:38Yeah, and I still fish with my mum every year to this day.
19:42We must have been fishing now together for 24 years.
19:49Ooh, that was a fish that jumped. Did you see that?
19:51No. Amazing.
19:52We'll try and catch him when we go up there.
19:54Oh, by the way, if we catch a fish here, can we keep it?
19:56We're actually on the burn. We're all catch and release.
19:58So we won't be taking any for the table here
20:01because we want to protect the wild stocks.
20:03Is it like a lot of other things where women have fly fish
20:07but we just don't know about them?
20:08There's always been women paving the way for someone like me.
20:11In fact, the top three biggest salmon caught in this country
20:15are by women.
20:16Yeah, I think just the image of you doing this
20:19is going to inspire a lot of young women,
20:21and young men, I'm sure, to want to do it.
20:23Yeah, fishing is so accessible to everyone.
20:26It's relaxing, it's therapeutic, it's good for your mental health,
20:29you can do it in a pandemic,
20:31and you can look as cool as this whilst doing it.
20:35Got one!
20:36Yes!
20:37Woo-hoo!
20:39Woo!
20:40Marina, that was fantastic!
20:42Got my net.
20:43Look at that. We actually...
20:45Well, Marina.
20:46No, you're clean. That's who we're here for.
20:48Team effort.
20:49So what have we got?
20:51We've got a wild brown trout.
20:53Woo-hoo!
20:56I can now see why people are getting into fly fishing.
21:00I'm sold.
21:01Well done.
21:04Marina is still flying the flag for equality and engagement
21:08in the sport that has given her so much.
21:18Back on the Dorset coast,
21:19I'm targeting a fish notoriously difficult to catch, mullet.
21:24But I'm with fly fishing expert Colin McLeod,
21:27so I'm fairly optimistic.
21:30Give me an idea, Colin, of how this is going to work.
21:32So we've got the rods, you've got the flies on the end.
21:34What's the actual technique?
21:36Well, we're looking for a fish moving nervous water,
21:39fins and tails ideally, so you're aware of where the fish are.
21:42Yeah.
21:43Then you try and determine the direction that they're travelling in.
21:46In fact, there is a shoal moving about in front of us,
21:49and you just put the fly in front of them,
21:52and when you think they're by the fly, the strip is like that.
21:54That's a retrieve, just like that.
21:56And so you are actually moving the fly?
21:58Yeah, because the fly is a shrimp pattern,
22:00and it's trying to imitate a shrimp that's darting through the water
22:03to escape the tensions of a fish.
22:05And you'll feel just a little pull if you get a bite?
22:08Yeah, sometimes it's a very gentle pluck,
22:10other times it's quite a hard hit, as hard as a bass.
22:13So if you think a fish has taken the fly,
22:16don't lift the rod like that to strike as you would for trout,
22:19because the hook won't penetrate the mullet's hard mouth,
22:22and it will be off within a few seconds.
22:24So if you think a fish has taken the fly,
22:26you just give a little strip like that, and the little strip sets a hook.
22:29Easily said calmly.
22:30When you actually think you might have a fish on the end,
22:32and you sort of panic, I don't think I'll be quite that calm,
22:35but let's see how it goes.
22:37Right, I'll hand you yours then.
22:38I'll have a go with this one, I'll come to your right-hand side.
22:44So this is sight fishing,
22:45and this is where you've got a very attuned eye.
22:47You're looking for any disturbance in the water, any unnatural ripples.
22:50Yep, because the water is pretty clear,
22:53and most mullet fishing is done in 3 to 12 inches of water.
22:57God, it's nothing, is it?
22:58Yeah, nothing, because that's the depth that the shrimp come out.
23:08So hang on, let's just get this in the air.
23:10Oh, there we go.
23:11Oh yeah, I see it.
23:14Nice cast.
23:17It's a start.
23:19Yeah, some people are lucky and they get mullet on their very first cast,
23:23on their first attempt.
23:24It wasn't me.
23:26I'm lucky to be here, because this is pretty glorious, isn't it?
23:29It's a beautiful spot.
23:34Why are estuaries so good for mullet?
23:37Because they're such food-rich environments, very biodiverse.
23:41They also offer the fish shelter in terms of protection from the weather,
23:45because they're so shallow, and also to a degree from predation as well.
23:49If you go on the open coast or if you go in tidal rivers or creeks,
23:53there is food there, but a lesser amount.
23:57It's this big larder.
23:59It's a big larder, yeah.
24:00Underneath the sand and the mud.
24:01That's right.
24:02And are they here year-round, or do they disappear in the winter?
24:06They will migrate for a period of time to spawn.
24:09So they spawn in deep water, do they?
24:11Yeah, nobody's quite sure,
24:12because there's not been much research done into them,
24:14because they're not a table fish.
24:16So the suspicion is they go to the Irish Sea, for instance.
24:19They will migrate late October into November, come back in March.
24:24It's going to be the first week in May, really,
24:26before shrimp have developed enough to sustain the mullet.
24:30Gosh, it's very seasonal.
24:31There are certain rhythms to it,
24:33and that's what you're trying to latch onto here and imitate.
24:36That's right.
24:43Oh, you're right on a fish there. Nice cast.
24:48Quite a few moving.
24:53It's so exciting, because you're seeing some nice ripples,
24:56and yet they're always just a bit out of reach.
24:59Exactly.
25:00That's just typical of mullet.
25:07I haven't quite yet got the fly in the right place,
25:10but the idea is if you can get the flies maybe 6 to 10 feet ahead of them,
25:14then you can retrieve it across the fish as it's travelling.
25:17Got you.
25:18Which is harder than it looks if you can't really see their nose.
25:21You can see their nose. I'm struggling to see their nose.
25:33My awareness may not quite be as fine-tuned as Colin's,
25:37but once I'm on the water, I'm able to spot the telltale ripples of fish nearby.
25:45Oh, there they are. I can see them.
25:47Oh, there's quite a few of them. You can see them.
25:49I can see them.
25:51Cast now.
25:53Perfect, perfect.
25:54Start to strip now. They're on the fly. Start stripping.
25:56Come on.
25:58Please.
26:07I think they have moved on.
26:11It's so difficult. You just see them for a second.
26:14You get one cast, don't you?
26:16You do, really.
26:17It's tantalising, isn't it?
26:19And it's so close, but yet so far away.
26:21Just waiting for that bite.
26:23I always remind myself, it's fishing, not catching.
26:26Absolutely.
26:27Especially if we're mullet-hooking.
26:29That's the mullet.
26:30Devils at times.
26:37The mullet haven't been deceived by our imitation shrimp just yet,
26:41but replicating the favourite food of a fish is the essence of fly-fishing,
26:46as I found out in 2019 when one particular insect was on the menu.
26:55I'm near the tiny Hampshire village of Timsbury,
26:58on one of the most fabled of all rivers.
27:02This cool, gin-clear water is filtered through chalk,
27:06which enriches it with nutrients,
27:08making it the perfect habitat for brown trout.
27:14This is the river Test.
27:21The Test is renowned with anglers the world over.
27:24It's said to have been the place
27:26where the sport of dry-fly fishing was born.
27:30And it's this incredible natural waterway
27:33that's home to many wonderful species,
27:35including the brown trout's favourite nibble...
27:40..mayflies.
27:44They emerge in their millions,
27:46having spent two years underwater as larvae.
27:49Once they take to the wing, their sole purpose is to mate.
27:54The river Test still has a good hatch of mayfly,
27:57but that isn't the case everywhere.
27:59Populations in many places are in decline.
28:05To the rescue is Dr Cyril Bennett,
28:08a freshwater biologist and entomologist.
28:11He specialises in river insects and, chiefly, the mayfly.
28:17He's the mastermind behind a research project
28:21He's the mastermind behind a remarkable piece
28:24of wildlife restoration.
28:29Have you got a PhD on mayflies? Absolutely.
28:31What is it? What is it that captured you then?
28:33When I started fly fishing,
28:35I could see all these strange flies that I'd never seen before.
28:39They looked so superior with their upright wings
28:42and I thought, they're fascinating, they're just so different.
28:45Gradually, I spent more time hunting mayflies
28:48than I did trout fishing.
28:51Today, I'm Cyril's personal mayfly catcher,
28:54ably assisted by Paddy, the Labrador pup.
28:58Are you coming to help, Paddy? Come on, then.
29:04They're behind you.
29:06Oh, yes.
29:08Turn it like that so they don't get out.
29:12All this is part of a special breeding programme
29:15to help restore mayfly populations
29:17to rivers where the insects have disappeared.
29:20There's one on the water there, but she's already laying her eggs.
29:23We've got to catch them before they lay.
29:25I'm going to take her anyway. There we go, we got her.
29:27So we're trying to catch them just at the optimum moment,
29:30which is the females who've already been fertilised
29:33coming down to lay their eggs on the water.
29:35If I get to them too late, the chances are they've got rid of their eggs.
29:38I'm trying to get them just before.
29:40You're getting the net wet. I know.
29:42I'm getting told off. I've got to keep the net dry.
29:45Oh, there's one.
29:47Oh, yes.
29:49Oh, no.
29:53Paddy.
29:55It just shows, like fishing, this takes a bit of patience.
30:00They're taunting me, Cyril.
30:02I've managed to catch some females with fertilised eggs,
30:06and critically, just before they laid them.
30:10Time for the next stage in Cyril's plan.
30:13OK, so we've got one here.
30:16You can actually see the eggs starting to come out.
30:19Just push them down there, and you can see them slowly disperse.
30:23It's incredible.
30:25Cyril can collect the eggs from each individual mayfly.
30:28He's just giving each mayfly a squeeze,
30:31and sure enough, the eggs start coming out the back,
30:34and there's this yellowy clump that just sinks down through the water,
30:37just as it would in that river.
30:39It's amazing.
30:41Job done,
30:43Cyril can now take a look at them under the microscope.
30:48I love the van, Cyril. I'll have a 99 with a flake, please.
30:51Don't do those.
30:54Plenty of mayfly eggs. Right.
30:56Do you get some funny looks in car parks up and down the country
30:59when everyone else is just sitting having a cup of tea in their van,
31:02and you're there with a microscope?
31:04If you look down, you can't see through the glass.
31:07I'm showing probably about 1,000 eggs there.
31:11But that's nothing.
31:13Mayflies can lay up to 5,000 at a time.
31:17You'd keep a close eye on these now,
31:19or every day, to check when they're ready to hatch?
31:21About every day.
31:23They go through various stages, and you can time each stage.
31:26We need to get them back in the river just before they're about to hatch,
31:31and this species, about 24 days when they hatch,
31:34so about 20 days we'll be looking at putting them back in the river.
31:39Well, Cyril is still busy studying mayflies,
31:42and since we met, has completed a compilation of all our native mayfly species.
31:54In Dorset, I've spent the morning with Colin McLeod, casting for mullet.
31:58Found in harbours, coves, tidal rivers and the shallows of estuaries,
32:02mullets swim in small shoals, feeding on shrimp and insects.
32:09Unsuccessful so far, I've taken a walk down the beach
32:12to meet one of Colin's mullet converts, Jilly Bait.
32:19Hello, Jilly. How's it going?
32:20Not a lot happening at the moment, but it'll be later on this afternoon, hopefully.
32:23You look the part. What's it like fishing around here?
32:26It's really good, because it's one of the few places where you've actually got nice sandy flat,
32:31so some places you've got a lot of seaweed, or it's quite rough,
32:35this is perfect for wading, and really when the mullet come in or go out,
32:39you need to be able to get to them.
32:41Not that they're that far, but it's just really nice being in the water as well.
32:45And you're an experienced angler?
32:46Yeah, I've sought water, fresh water, yeah, I've done a lot of it, so love it.
32:50It's a mullet!
32:51Yeah, it's really cool.
32:53Mullet fishing was something that we all just thought, you just can't catch them.
32:57They were the impossible fish, were they?
32:59Just impossible, and with the fly rod and the flies, like, forget it, it's just not going to happen.
33:03But when Colin started to catch mullet with flies, word quickly spread.
33:10It kind of, we heard about this guy who just started putting out there he was catching mullet.
33:16Was there a sense that, what is this guy doing?
33:18Why is he wasting his time trying to catch these things?
33:20I think people are a little bit sceptical, until it was mullet after mullet after mullet,
33:24and he developed the flies, and then it became,
33:26OK, this is something we can all go out and have a go at doing this.
33:29And I think I probably first tried about four or five years ago,
33:33and kind of went out there and literally I tried for a couple of years,
33:36and I was getting the odd eh-eh, but it just wasn't happening.
33:39So it's hard, really hard.
33:41I think it's really hard, and it wasn't happening.
33:43So it drove me insane, because I like to catch fish, but I just wasn't quite getting it.
33:47And then I met Colin, and he said, well, come out with me for the day.
33:50And so it was like, yes, please.
33:52And I was like a magnet right next to him, and I spent a whole day with him here.
33:57And I had four on my first time, so I was like, oh my goodness.
34:01And that just changed everything.
34:03It's exactly what I'm doing today.
34:05Changed everything.
34:06I've lured him down here to teach me to buy fish for mullet.
34:08Amazing.
34:09Well, he said if you catch one, I'll be really happy, because they are a fish of a thousand casts.
34:13So in your opinion, how important has Colin been to unlocking this sport?
34:18He completely transformed it.
34:20Now, there are quite a lot of people who are probably doing it the whole of the UK.
34:25People have been fishing for them all over the place.
34:27But he's the one who's really put it on the map.
34:30Got a good feeling for today?
34:31I have, sunny.
34:32I've seen a few popping around.
34:34What I like about mullet is they're really difficult,
34:37and even if you do the perfect cast, it's difficult to hook them.
34:42It's sort of making me feel a bit foolish that I think I can just rock up here and hopefully catch one today.
34:46Oh, no, no. I mean, you just never know with mullet.
34:48I love the fact it's so challenging.
34:50I mean, you can go down a nothing, and then you'll go down and you'll catch a few,
34:54and that's the kind of drug, you know?
34:56It's that kind of like, I want to catch one, you know?
35:00Eager to taste that same success, I'm heading back out on the water.
35:07Now, if you're fishing in most rivers and lakes in England, you'll need a fishing licence.
35:10Very easy to get one online, and some of them are little works of art.
35:16As Sean found out in 2022, when he went to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
35:21to meet the man who illustrates them.
35:26Though they may look natural, Bosherton Lakes are man-made.
35:29Three flooded valleys created from the 1780s onwards, comprising 80 acres of water.
35:36A perfect habitat for many fish, including the fearsome pike.
35:41They're ambush predators which can grow more than a metre in length
35:44and pounce on their prey at lightning speed with a mouth full of sharp teeth.
35:52For local artist David Miller, the pike, along with other wildlife here, are his muses.
35:58Hello, David.
35:59Hi, Sean.
36:00How are you?
36:01I'm good, mate. Good to see you.
36:02What a lovely place to meet.
36:04I can't believe how clear the water is in this lake.
36:07It's magic. I mean, from a fisherman's point of view, it's wonderful
36:11because it gives you an opportunity to see the fish.
36:14But from my perspective, as somebody who paints fish, it's magical.
36:21What is it about this place that you like?
36:24I fell in love with it when I first saw it as a college student
36:28studying wildlife illustration in Carmarthen.
36:31To see it in its full glory in the summer, where it's lilies as far as the eye can see,
36:37you can often see the pike sort of drifting in and out of the gaps in the lilies.
36:41There's enough here, even after 20 years of coming regularly,
36:46it feels like there's enough to last a lifetime.
36:49If you're an angler, you've probably got one of David's masterpieces in your pocket.
36:54That's because for the past 14 years, he's designed the exquisite artwork on the front of rod licenses.
37:01And just last month, the Environment Agency unveiled three more of his designs.
37:06Do you get any feedback from anglers when they see the rod licenses?
37:09Yeah, yeah. People are very keen to tell you if they think you've got it right or wrong.
37:14I think they end up in over a million wallets,
37:17so you really do want to try and make sure that you get the image right.
37:22Right now, it's closed season for angling at Bosherton,
37:26but we've got a different way of catching fish.
37:30On camera.
37:32Often, pike will come immediately out of curiosity.
37:37I can see some bubbles coming up, but that's not...
37:40No, that could be fish.
37:42I'll put some bait in, and then we'll see if we can't get pike.
37:48And what we should be able to get is either a little roach or a little perch.
37:53A little ground bait, and now it's a case of waiting.
37:58So how did you get into fishing? What were you like as a young boy?
38:02I was that boy where you'd go with the little cane handle net and a jam jar to catch the sticklebacks.
38:08It was just a beauty.
38:10If you've ever seen a stickleback, even though small, absolutely perfect.
38:14Perfect little creature.
38:16Forty-five years on, I'm still as obsessed with fish and the world that they live in.
38:23Like David, many more of us are being lured into fishing,
38:27with over a million licences sold between April 2020 and March 2021.
38:33Today, the fish are camera shy.
38:35So we're heading to David's studio in Pembroke Dock,
38:38where he's got thousands of underwater photos, including this striking image of a perch.
38:44Can I have a go?
38:45Certainly, yeah, be my guest.
38:48I can see you've prepared something for me here.
38:50I've got, yeah, it's a bit like Blue Peter.
38:52I was good at stickmen at school, and my artwork has got worse since school, so I'm really very basic.
38:58I'm sure we can get something to develop.
39:02Thankfully, I don't have to worry about the outline of the perch,
39:06so we can start straight away with oil paints to create the watery background.
39:11You can see how quickly now that we're establishing the shape of the fish.
39:16I can see yours, and what yours is doing is bringing out the fish.
39:19I get it, I get that.
39:21Initially, it's all about three dimensions, what an artist would call volume.
39:27I've picked something which really does have a lovely sense of light and dark.
39:34Do you ever tire of this?
39:35Not the whole craft of it altogether.
39:38It just runs too deep.
39:40It's like a sort of magic, even now after all these years,
39:43to take a piece of board and then transform it into an illusion of the real world.
39:49It's still a joy to me.
39:51Are there any fish that you would like to see on the rod licenses that you haven't done,
39:57that you would like to draw?
39:59A miller's thumb.
40:00A miller's thumb?
40:01Yeah, it's got a flattened head because it sits on the bottom of fast streams.
40:06And the miller in olden days used to have a flattened thumb from testing the grain.
40:11So the miller's thumb has this flattened head,
40:14but it's an incredible, almost like a sea monster.
40:18That would be quite something to see on a license.
40:21Well, my picture isn't going to end up in a gallery, or a wallet for that matter.
40:28So I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.
40:30So the thing that all artists do is sign their paintings.
40:33Where would I do that?
40:34Bottom right for me.
40:37Making a pig's dinner of this.
40:39It's quite difficult, isn't it?
40:41That looks terrible.
40:43I think I've ruined it with my signature.
40:56Well, no luck so far with the mullet, but plenty with the weather.
41:00It's been glorious.
41:01But what's it doing over the week ahead?
41:03Here's the CountryFar forecast.
41:07Hello.
41:12Well, we've seen a real mixture of weather around today.
41:15Across eastern areas of England, it's been hot and humid
41:18and very sunny across East Anglia and South East England.
41:21Contrast these blue skies with the rather grey and murky skies
41:24that we've seen working over recent hours to Mousel in Cornwall.
41:28Between and betwixt, we've got some heavy showers and thunderstorms.
41:32So far, the heaviest downpour that I've seen has worked in across the West Midlands,
41:35bringing 14 millimetres of rain in the last hour.
41:39That's heavy enough to cause some localised surface water flooding issues.
41:42The main boundary of cooler, fresher Atlantic air is behind this stripe of cloud
41:47that's yet to move in to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland yet.
41:51Now, overnight tonight, I think some of the heaviest downpours
41:53will work across northern England and into Scotland.
41:56And then we're looking at another batch of thunderstorms
41:58developing and moving across Wales.
42:00So it's one of those nights where the weather could wake you from your slumbers
42:04with an odd crack of thunder around, some low clouds, some murk,
42:07even a bit of drizzle out towards some of our western areas.
42:10Now, tomorrow, it's going to be an unsettled day.
42:13Low pressures overhead and we are looking at further downpours.
42:16The heaviest rains probably across northern England and Scotland,
42:19heavy enough to cause some localised surface water flooding issues,
42:22quite murky around some of the Irish Sea coasts.
42:25Best of the sunshine, perhaps across East Anglia and South East England,
42:28where it will continue to be humid, could see highs of 26,
42:31but probably brightening up in western counties of Northern Ireland as the day goes by.
42:35Through Monday night, there will still be bits and pieces of rain left over
42:38to work across northern Scotland.
42:40Still quite murky weather for some of you as well.
42:43But that takes us into Tuesday.
42:45Well, eventually, we are going to get some fresher northwesterly winds
42:48moving in off the Atlantic.
42:50And so the humidity levels will drop and so will the temperatures.
42:53It's not a bad day, though, to be honest.
42:55Many of us will see some bright or sunny spells developing as the day goes by.
42:59But there will be some showers for West Scotland, Northern Ireland,
43:01and probably a few for the northwest of both England and Wales.
43:04Temperatures not doing too badly.
43:06We're looking at highs into the upper teens to low 20s.
43:10Now, beyond that, there's a lot of uncertainty in the forecast,
43:13and it's down to our jet stream pattern.
43:15The jet stream's crucial to know what's going to happen with the weather.
43:18It makes moves around our areas of high and low pressure.
43:21One scenario is we could get a really big trough over the UK.
43:24But sometimes these trough patterns get so big
43:27that the jet stream kind of breaks apart.
43:29And that could happen.
43:30It's kind of like a meandering river forming an oxbow lake.
43:34And there's a second scenario.
43:35We could get a cutoff low right over the top of the UK.
43:38The winds in the whole of the atmosphere would change direction
43:40and the weather would be vastly different.
43:42Let me show you what I mean.
43:44One scenario is Wednesday through Thursday and Friday.
43:47We could see some showers across the northwest of the UK,
43:50whereas towards the south and the east of the country,
43:53with pressure relatively high,
43:54we might be looking at quite a lengthy spell of dry
43:57and settled weather with some sunshine.
43:59In this kind of scenario,
44:00temperatures don't really change very much day by day
44:02between Wednesday and Friday.
44:04We'll be looking at highs into the upper teens to low 20s.
44:06It would feel pleasant where the sunshine comes through.
44:10However, in the second of those scenarios,
44:13the weather could look completely different,
44:15turned on its head, if you like.
44:17And instead of showers across the northwest of the UK,
44:19we might actually end up seeing some of the driest weather here.
44:23And instead of the driest weather towards southern
44:26and eastern parts of the UK,
44:28we might actually see an area of low pressure form
44:30that could bring a zone of wet and windy weather our way.
44:33So there's a lot of uncertainty in the forecast
44:35from Wednesday onwards.
44:36One way to find out for sure is to stay tuned to the forecasts.
44:48In South Dorset, under the expert tuition of Colin McLeod,
44:52I've been attempting to fly fish for thin-lipped and golden grey mullet,
44:56which not so long ago was considered a fool's errand.
45:00And I'm beginning to see why.
45:04It's a waiting game, isn't it?
45:06So, in an attempt to increase our odds,
45:09Colin and I have split up.
45:16I mean, it really is proving as difficult as people say.
45:20You often just get one shot, one cast,
45:23at where they are and then they're gone.
45:26And, yeah, today I haven't really come close.
45:29To be fair, the UK record holder also hasn't yet caught a mullet today.
45:35Actually, there are some real concentrations of fish here.
45:40If only I could put the fly amongst them.
45:43Keep trying, eh?
45:50I mean, Colin, it's clearly really hard.
45:52Can you explain, sort of boil it down,
45:54why you're so obsessed about this?
45:56For me, especially initially, it was a pioneering field,
45:59because very few other people were doing it.
46:02Probably because not too many fly fishers were fishing in the sea.
46:05Because the tactics we use are really river and lake tactics.
46:09It was pretty much a niche fish a few years ago,
46:13but now it's definitely coming back.
46:16You get quite a lot of interest in this from abroad as well, don't you?
46:19I mean, there are mullets all around the world.
46:21It's really catching on globally now.
46:23In America, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil.
46:27I get people contacting me from all over the world
46:30to ask how they may perhaps catch a mullet.
46:33Wow.
46:34So, yeah, the interest is definitely rising.
46:38Mullets here mostly feed in shallow water,
46:40so they're not as easy to catch.
46:42Definitely, definitely rising.
46:44Mullet here mostly feed in shallow water,
46:46and with the tide now coming in,
46:48our window of opportunity is fast closing.
46:52But you don't become the UK's fly fishing record holder
46:55for two of our three mullet species by pure luck.
47:00Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
47:03God, nearly lost it, nearly lost it.
47:05That was a little trap round there.
47:08Oh, I can see it.
47:09Lovely silver fish.
47:10Look at that.
47:16You know what?
47:17Goodness me.
47:18It's a bass.
47:19It's a bass.
47:20It's a bass.
47:21No way.
47:22But it's a shame, not quite what we're after.
47:25Yeah, it is.
47:26I can see a black spot on the gill plate, so...
47:28Yeah, that's it.
47:29Take a bit of a bass.
47:30You'll know that yourself, of course.
47:32That is a decent fish.
47:34And he's in.
47:35Very good.
47:36Well done.
47:37Well, congratulations.
47:39A fish is a fish.
47:41I was hoping it was mullet.
47:42It's always a pleasure to catch a bass as well.
47:45And it just shows how effective the mullet flies are,
47:49because anything that eats shrimp
47:51is likely to take a mullet fly.
47:55So the fly that we tied earlier has worked its magic.
47:59How about that?
48:01Two and a half.
48:02Two and a half?
48:03Two and a half pounds, yeah.
48:04A nice little fishy.
48:06Beautiful, sharp fins, gorgeous fish.
48:09And just as we would if this had been a mullet,
48:12we're practising catch and release.
48:14Good.
48:15There he goes again.
48:16So this young bass will live to swim another day.
48:19Well, a fish is a fish is a fish.
48:21Yes.
48:22A success of sorts for Colin, but has Gilly had any luck?
48:28Gilly, I saw you out there.
48:30You looked like you were doing well.
48:31How did you get on?
48:32Well, I've had a really good day.
48:33I mean, I've caught two, so...
48:35You've caught two?
48:36I've caught two.
48:37Oh, my goodness.
48:38So I'm super, super happy, you know.
48:40OK.
48:41And on what?
48:42What did you have on?
48:43Rummy shrimp, which is my favourite.
48:45It works really well down here on the sand.
48:47Well, it's done the business, so I'm really happy.
48:49Amazing.
48:50That gives me hope.
48:51Yay!
48:52Yay!
48:53Yay!
48:54Yay!
48:55Amazing.
48:56That gives me hope.
48:57Yay!
48:58It's worth persevering.
48:59You know, and it's...
49:00You know, how beautiful is this being out here?
49:01It's just so pretty.
49:02It's amazing.
49:03Well, well done you.
49:04Congratulations.
49:06So calling it a day?
49:07I'm heading off now.
49:09Well done again.
49:10Lovely to see you.
49:11Thanks so much.
49:12Bye.
49:13Take care.
49:14It's increasingly unlikely for me today, but Gilly's success is proof the methods Colin
49:17single-handedly conceived and championed can bear fruit.
49:23The benefits of fishing go far beyond catching, as Anita discovered back in 2019.
49:29We're in Hampshire, exploring the many wonders of the county's precious chalk streams.
49:36They're beautiful, abundant and inspiring, but they also offer another great gift, the
49:44power to heal.
49:46I'm here in Itchin Beat, a secluded bit of river, to meet a group of ladies for whom
49:51our rivers and streams offer a lifeline.
49:55Looks like I found them.
49:57Maybe just a little bit of I'm breathing in, I'm breathing out.
50:02These women are all battling with breast cancer and are here seeking an unexpected type of
50:06therapy.
50:08This is a fly-fishing retreat organised by the charity Casting for Recovery.
50:13Bring our awareness to sounds.
50:18A mindfulness session is the first step.
50:22And when you're ready, just allowing the eyes really gently to open.
50:26Everybody okay?
50:29Yeah.
50:30Sue Shaw is the founder of these very special retreats.
50:35Why fly-fishing?
50:37The actions that you use when you go fly-fishing, which are similar to pulling back when you're
50:41retrieving or when you're casting, are very similar to the exercises that you're given
50:45post-surgery.
50:47So being able to use them in some stunning locations, it's just a lovely, lovely sport.
50:52Sue's a champion fly-fisher who's represented England in competitions all over the world.
50:58So we're in safe hands.
51:00But these retreats are all about having fun.
51:03And it starts with a demo of how to bag a fish.
51:07So the fish is coming for the fly, grabs the fly, and there it runs off.
51:11And it goes around, it goes up, and it goes down.
51:13It's a very energetic fish.
51:16It is a very energetic fish.
51:18And then it's being reeled in now.
51:20And have we got it?
51:21Yes!
51:22In the net!
51:27So that's how it's done.
51:28In theory.
51:29Now to try it out for real.
51:32Most people here are beginners, but everyone has their own coach.
51:38Have you caught anything?
51:41It looks like you've caught something.
51:42Weed.
51:43Weed.
51:45Nwake Akiba first took part in one of these retreats last year, and hasn't looked back.
51:51I'd been diagnosed with breast cancer about a year ago, and I was just really unhappy.
51:57But the retreat, I don't know if it's fly-fishing, if it's the people, it's the environment,
52:05it's just really magical, and I started to smile again.
52:09Yeah, it's good to see that.
52:10It's a beautiful smile.
52:13Everyone here is at a different stage of their journey with breast cancer.
52:17For some, like Debbie Wyatt, it's impacted the whole family.
52:22I was diagnosed in 2016, and I came on the retreat in 2017.
52:29My daughter convinced me to do it, and in fact she had breast cancer, and she was diagnosed
52:37at 23, and she actually died earlier this year.
52:42She was just a couple of weeks off her 31st birthday.
52:48After losing Katie, Debbie found that fly-fishing offered the calming space she needed.
52:55While I'm fishing, I'm not thinking about anything else.
52:58I'm just fishing.
52:59I'm enjoying where I am.
53:00I've seen some amazing things.
53:02I've seen kingfishers, otters playing.
53:05You can't do that anywhere else.
53:07You've got to be out in the countryside to enjoy it, and we love it.
53:10It's great fun.
53:11You've convinced me.
53:12I promise you, it's great fun.
53:13You've convinced me.
53:14I'll get up there, but I'm going to give you a hug first.
53:15Please.
53:22Well, unlike Debbie, I'm a complete beginner.
53:25But how hard can it be?
53:28Accelerate, stop, and tap.
53:34That wasn't supposed to happen.
53:36Evidently, a lot harder than it looks.
53:38It's really difficult on moving water.
53:41Right, so, here we go.
53:43Right.
53:45That's it.
53:46Come on, fishy, fishy, fishy.
53:48But if at first you don't succeed...
53:51Oh, oh, oh, oh!
53:52Is it, is it?
53:54No.
53:58Nice one, let me get you sorted out.
54:01Well, there was hope.
54:03There's always hope.
54:05Well, fish or no fish, I've been truly inspired by the women I've met today.
54:11And I've seen these beautiful waterways in a whole new light as roads to recovery.
54:22The sights and sounds of nature tempt us into the great outdoors,
54:26often with our cameras at hand to capture those special moments.
54:30And that's just what our 12 finalists did in this year's photographic competition.
54:34You've still got time to vote for your favourite image for the Countryfile calendar for 2025.
54:39Here's John with all the details.
54:44From the thousands of photos you sent in this year, these are the final 12.
54:50Now it's up to you, our viewers, to decide the overall winner.
54:56You can find the full list of all the 12 photos we've chosen
54:59and details of how to vote on the Countryfile website.
55:02The winning photo will feature on the calendar's cover.
55:06You can vote for King of the Quarry,
55:11Woolly Jumper,
55:14Star Jump,
55:17All Ears,
55:20Take a Bow,
55:23Over the Rainbow,
55:26Seal of Approval,
55:29Night Owl,
55:33Technicolour Temple,
55:36Coming into Land,
55:39Last Light,
55:42or Beeline.
55:45There's no voting by phone this year, but you can find everything you need online.
55:51To vote for your favourite, go to bbc.co.uk slash countryfile to cast your vote.
55:57The terms and conditions and privacy notice can also be found on our website.
56:03The vote will close on Monday 2nd September 2024 at 10am.
56:09If you're watching on demand, then the vote may already be closed.
56:13The best bit is that voting online is free.
56:17And for an even quicker way to vote this year,
56:20simply scan the QR code appearing on your screen now
56:24and you'll be taken straight to where you need to go.
56:34Here in Dorset, we had hoped that by now we'd have netted an elusive mullet.
56:44But our goal, difficult from the start, is now made increasingly unlikely.
56:49It's getting a bit later in the tide now, so we're sort of...
56:53We're chancing it a bit, aren't we? We've lost our sort of magical window.
56:57We have. The depth has increased to the point where the shrimp have probably burrowed away.
57:03So the mullet are not present in such great numbers.
57:13It's a special place, isn't it? And there is clearly so much to this.
57:17I didn't think I could probably get hooked on mullet fishing without catching a mullet,
57:22but you might just have done it.
57:24And on your special fly, Romy's sand shrimp, you had a bass.
57:27We saw Gillie earlier. She had a couple of mullet on your fly.
57:31It just shows it does work.
57:33It's a killer pattern.
57:35It's been fantastic. Well, thank you for your expertise.
57:37Thank you for your time and patience with me sort of flapping around
57:40with some pretty useless casting. But I'm hooked. I'll be back.
57:43Will you be back here soon?
57:44Oh, I will. First chance I get. Absolutely.
57:47Amazing. Well, thank you so much.
57:49That is it. That's all we've got time for today, but do join us next week
57:52when Anita and Sean are in West Exmoor.
57:55You can see straight away, she can see the definition of her back.
57:59You can see the bones, can't you, sticking through a little bit more.
58:02Exactly. We'll have to keep a very close eye on her.
58:04Come on. Here's a pal for you.
58:07Eventually, it allows the dog violet, which is the main food source of the high brown, to thrive.
58:12Wow, they look really impressive, don't they?
58:15Yeah, they're lovely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
58:17I notice you've given me the bucket and you've backed off.
58:19Are you setting me up to fail here?
58:21You'll be fine with them.
58:25But for now, from me, from Colin, from all of these mullet in Dorset
58:30who, quite frankly, are laughing at us.
58:32We'll see you next time.
58:34There's another one, Colin.
58:36I bet there's a few moving around.
58:42The devastating effects of a huge wildfire.
58:46State-of-the-art cameras watching Big Cats 24-7 on BBC Two now.
58:50And from War of the Worlds to Animal Farm, your favourite stories as audiobooks.
58:54Listen now on BBC Sounds.
58:56Next on BBC One, Antiques Roadshow.