Diversion

Something possessed me to get the pike rods out yesterday. Which I haven't done for ages. Up past our stretch and some nice looking bends.  4 buzzards wheeling and mewing over that copse. Kestrel food sharing courtship behaviour too on the floodplain behind me. Very mild and no wind. Gloomy though.

 

Standard lowland river tactics for me, one deadbait down the margin to twitch back and one upstream across to twitch back diagonally then move down. Both under a float. Popped up one sardine, and one on the bottom. Given the evidence in the otter middens I feared crayfish trouble but thankfully none. Second lift and twitch on the upstream rod sparked a pike into action. Not big by any means but good to break in the new pike rods now I have moved the broomsticks on.

Some more pikey doors opened for me today for when the non-tidals are in the fields and I sense my enthusiasm for them returning. Chub tomorrow however.