Back on it

It's been a difficult week with what they called a technical redundancy. I await my fate.. 33 years of public service for that. Heigh  Ho.  4 blanks in a row haven't helped so Saturday had a lot to live up to, especially after my Saturday is shite lambast last week and Col U 's inevitable slide into League 2 surely confirmed by 4.50pm.

The newly reopened Stage 2 was occupied down the side by a bivvy boy. so it was back to Stage 1. Swirling wind taking the edge off the late afternoon spring sun and as soon as I stepped on the platform the cob swan hove into view to await the first pult of hemp. Bugger.  I decide then to fish little and often stylee till he got sick of me. Despite the wind the peacock waggler was held nice and steady with two No. 8's down and not long before the grain of corn on a barbless 14 was taken by a decent fish. Flash of silver,, splash of red and hope pike doesn't get this. What a lovely fish. Looking later tail perhaps not quite right but who cares, 100% roach or not nice way to end a dismal run of blank sessions. Not sure about the tail colouration.

By now the swan was getting into a right hemp frenzy and the inevitable hookup happened. The rod had a crack which I had meant to tape for ages and as the barbless hook pulled out the rod splintered half way up the  butt section. Nothing for it but to break out the newish 1.5lb tc 12 foot Korums. I had screwed a couple of eyed hooks to hold a bank stick at the front of the staging and for the first time ever employed one of Wak Lite's cast-off buzzer bars. Quite what he used them for I don't know.  For today though ideal. Used the ruck bag as a rear rod rest and some semblance of order established . Not too keen on link ledger and bobbins so close in but needs must. Prawn on a size 8 sedge hook of course, the manky chick peas had gone past soft stage so instead of two a hair it was a couple of grains of corn direct to hook. Swan continued to do my nut in, upending all  over the baits and a slough of despondency descended on me amongst an extended burst of swirling, stinging hail.  Nice


Swan had buggered off briefly. Had  a firm take on the corn and a supercharged bream punching way above it's weight threw the hook right at the net.  A second on prawn only on briefly then another lost on the top. Was it the new rods? Where they a bit fierce? I did loose that tinca on the res as well? Perhaps the long tags I was leaving to fashion hairs were interfering with hook-ups? Trimmed them and took advantage of a protracted swan/canada goose stand off  to load in some hemp corn and sloppy chick pea mush and instant results from this little electric blue hybrid on corn followed by two proper bream who preferred the prawn.. this little feller really was a mix up

Interesting colours on this battered old bream

Cleaner version the second one

It was getting much colder now, cold enough for gloves and perhaps too cold even for the swan who
was skulking about in the reeds. Characteristic charge off on the corn road and a decent tinca was having a right go, even causing a passing white van man to slow down and watch. A bar of smooth soap, and true to Captains form another tench colouration variant. Never seen red fins anywhere else on a tench before. Very solid and certainly over 4lb

Last fish of the day again on corn was this absolute pearler of a dog roach. On cue the first buzzard of of the day mewed overhead and off the staging I bounced, a colder but much happier Bureboy.