Carnage

Had pondered perch today but yesterday was mainly bright and I wasn't staying out late today so on to the Syndicate stretch, avoiding the last straight. Green woodpecker yaffling and plenty of tree drilling from their spotted cousin  and raucous jay screeching as as I headed on to the flood plain to cut out three bends and straights up to the Beck confluence. Overcast, mild but very strong upstreamer, with real rollers.This is in a brief lull

Dropped into second swim and nearside herring half was on its way across the river. A spirited  tussle from a lean pike of around 5 lb, which pivoted it's weight round on my finger and a gill raker "tooth". Resultant painful carnage that took a long time to stop bleeding. A very neat L shaped laceration. And blood every
where.

I'd  just started to reply to a text from the Essex Scribbler when the far bank herring half was taken. This was a very different  fight, boring in the deep near margins and surging back up river, sending out large boils of disturbed water. A very heavy fish, with  a smallish head. The weight in the wet net was 19.10, and after deductions 18.02.

As well as the high level air traffic from Lakenheath or Mildenhall preparing for a soberingly possible calamitous showdown with Putin I was treated to a very low level pass by a Tornado and a couple of go rounds from a Hawk trainer..

Down to the willow bend for the last hour, and indeed on the last chuck almost as soon as I'd set the bait runner the downstream and across sardine was away and  another even plumper fish was in the net.

Pictures well taken by a pair of passing just out of school dog walkers in spite of their hounds taking more than a passing interest in the pike, both when I was holding it and when I was in the swampy margins returning it. Didn't weigh the fish given the close proximity of canine teeth and claws.. but I 'd guess over 10 in girth and belly/roe if not length. Perfect primrose and moss colouration , with an ivory belly with no silt stains or leeches, and better still no otter scars.

I know where I am not fishing the last week now...

Fished through the last straight on the syndicate stretch above Buxton with no result so I probably won't spend anymore time on there for the last week which I have booked off. Did see some reasonable sized silvers topping though at last knockings last night and it always does look roachy....

Probably will have a day on Blickling which is open later this year right through to the end of the season, some pike out today to the chaps on the dam and plenty of chances from the bream whilst I was looking around.

He was a lucky boy....

Having gone 1-0 behind to Preston North End a six yard box scuffle sees ex-Canaries keeper Rudd inexplicably decide to rake  Col U's Bean's thigh with his studs in front of the referee. A penalty was an unavoidable decision for the referee. Iberhe clutches the ball as Rudd awaits his seemingly inevitable fate

Okuonghae has rather forcibly reminded Rudd of what he has just done and just what to expect.

Most of the sparse crowd  are taken back by the rather weak wafting of a yellow card only and Rudd is a very lucky boy indeed

Unlike Ibehre who seems bemused by the ploughed field like condition of the 12 yards between him and Rudd and plops the ball conveniently at his feet. Quite easily the worst penalty I have ever seen on a League ground.

Ibehre recovers a little to score a thundering strike  to level up but in the second half  the hapless Dickson plays Garner on, despite his waving armed remonstration and Garner's cross ends with the even more hapless Wilson ballooning the ball  into the net for an unfortunate own goal to give the End 3 points to take back to Lancashire.

Note to Joe Dunne. Bringing Mr. Static Clinton Morrison on with 10 minutes to go when 2-1 down is not one of your most astute of decisions.

Note to lino and ref. If a through ball is played off a defender then the attacker cannot be offside....

I'll have chub with that

Dropped in at this NACA event at Bawburgh last night:

Reasonable turn out for a meander round a few spots on the Wensum and later the Waveney. Bread picked up a few roach with the chub then mostly cheese paste so no roach. Fished long spells without much other angling competition, fishing relatively easy as long as you read the water, often fished well into the night. That just about sums it up, left at half time when he planned a few more frames from further afield.

Pleasant bloke and given the single species, classsic John Cadd poses did well to hold us for nearly an hour. Good old slide show, no apps in sight for which I heartily congratulate you, Mr. Rawden.

I think you are right Essex Scribbler., no nonsense hairy arsed sleep in the van and why not.

Surf's up.

Yesterday's big offshore hooley had blown over to the forecast almost nothing this morning and instead of the waves being blown back on themselves the swell was crashing into Walcott Wall even on a dropping tide.

The busy rebuilding of the devastated clutch of single storey, often pre-fab dwellings was well underway but the spray from the top of the tide had  cleared the road and showered their frontage and this was without a strong onshore wind to power the sea landwards. This is all that holds back the sea. The behmoth Bacton Gas terminal which may at times be bringing in 10% of Britain's gas can be seen as the next headland before the Mundesley and Trimingham cliffs in the far distance.

No crock of gold today

Saturday. Judging by the debris in the roads today any fishing would have to be away from trees, and given the wind not over to the far bank, rather down the edge with rods low. Enthused by Two Terriers recent 20 headed for the straight just above Buxton Mill. The deeper channel is down the near bank and give the waves crashing up the length when I got there that was just as well. Strong but steady flow and coloured.

I'd only been there a short while and the heavens opened. No brolly and no waterproofs. I don't know who was wettest, me or the dog walker who appeared out of the hail, shortly followed by this lovely rainbow.

Despite some leapfrogging down the stretch I had no takes and was off the river by 5.


This short stretch threw up my best days piking on the last day a few years back now. I'd started up by the church in quite a sharp frost, having a pug of about 9 lbs in the first swim.  I'd worked down the length, with only one more dropped take and nothing from the usual banker big bend swim and by 11ish settled on the straight, opposite a large willow with the plan to fish till about 1, have a pint in Buxton then finish off on the chub below the mill through to dark. Fish started to  come soon after the first cast:, at one point as I was playing a fish back in the second float started to move upstream and I was playing these two doubles at once.

The icing on the cake was this big old croc, ready to spawn, possibly why there were so many fish in such a small area. 23lb and my biggest fish only bettered last season with I caught at 25 and then back down to 23 after spawn below the mill.

I'd only just got a mobile then, and The Essex Scribbler had to endure increasingly excitable texts as my tally increased, having already suffered Shanus snagging a 20 elsewhere whilst he sat at work. Instead of chubbing I ended up in the Recruiting Sergeant and fishing above Horstead Bridge as I could then walk rather than drive as I had had a couple to celebrate rather than the planned one and finished with several more smaller pike. A day to remember.

Wak n Roll

Tidying and found this CD which I don't ever remember receiving and certainly not playing....

Gave it a whirl on the way to Saino's for an upgragde wine (not from LIDL today) and this is what I found.

Strangers in the Night, Saxon.  Somewhat of a surprise
Warm Leatherette, The Normal.  Very early Human League
The Story of the Blues The MightyWah. Of it's time. Not Hey Joe though
24 Hour Garage People, Half Man Half Biscuit. Genius in moderation
Parklife (live), Blur Footie warm up anthem
I had too much to dream last night, The Electric Prunes. Self explanatory
Waving Flags, British Sea Power. Swelling, stirring stuff.
Run for Me, Richard Hawley. Didn't even have to open Lyric Search to work that one out....
Baby, Please don't Go. Who knows? Not the Muddy waters one. Bloody good though
Down by the River. Neil Young, not Al Green. Genius anytime and in any quantity
Martin Newell, John Cooper-Clarke. Wivenhoe Anti-BoHo and Salford sharpness
Aisha, Death in Vegas.Rather frightening to be honest
Tank Park Salute. Billy Bragg. What you hear is what you get

Many thanks The Essex Scribbler, it's pushed Eek-a-Mouse out of the cd player..

The book? A ride and walk up the Colne from Lee-over-Sands to the Ridgewell Brook by Ken Rickwood. I would not imagine any of these would be on Ken's thoughts as he traversed the 42 miles of North East Essex life spring. My old stamping grounds.

Wind-up

With no footie and another short-notice pass-out decide to use up the last few deadbaits in the freezer, no chance on the rivers with all the rain, sleet and hail so a very short trip to Captains. Level up and unusually coloured. Problem? There has been some weed clearance, a very short man spends half the winter literally up to his neck in the water talking out lilies, I suppose to sell on (water level high enough to top his head at the moment) and I think Hell Bent Logan has been running his impressive weed clearer through by the look of the floating weed piled up in the windward margins but  even so with level so high hard to see any resultant gaps to fish into.Wind  squally and variable  so decided to fish the Norwich bank rather than the stages as they were very exposed. Gave me an opportunity to watch and listen to one of the group of buzzards that roost in the plantation and rhodo-scrub.

Nothing took a liking to the sardine I halved and despite the wind I decided to head round to the stages for the last hour. Surprised how much pond weed was still present and just how strong the wind was and just how much the wind was swirling around.. The staging itself was quite wet and it didn't take much hesitation to reel in before the hour was up. Put a few of the remaining deadbaits in a couple of spots on the way round to the gate.

Should have I chanced the river?

That's torn it..

We won't be heading down the A140 today then...

Rain stops play before it begins, 8.30 pitch inspection failed

http://www.cu-fc.com/news/article/070214-pitch-inspection-called-1345710.aspx

Pressure drop

Glass in the kitchen is reading 29.5. Wind is accordingly strong and sky strangely clear. Quite a lot of water dumped resulting in a very coloured but not particularly high river. Not sure if chubbing was the best plan in retrospect. Skirted past the successful swim from last week to search a bit further down. Thought I'd fished through quite well but no bites at all, not even on a last half hour smelt.

A very brief lull in the very gusty and strong wind

The first of the season renewals dropped through the letter box today. Will be able to opt for a no extra cost fly permit for the stretch from 1st April through to 30th September. Do fancy some nymphing. That's a brownie in the mill pool (1st left of this group of 3 fish).

Not a bad little pool to search through on an early spring morning with a 6#. Not sure about the claimed sea trout though.