Bleak House

Down to see Pops a couple of Sundays back, more breathless than he'd before. I had a feeling and gave him a bigger hug than usual, still quite an awkward thing for him at 88. I'd got to the river and realised I'd left my phone so went back to get it before he left to meet up with my niece and made sure I hugged him again.

The river was low and and lethargic but what little flow there was did pull the waggler along enough for a few small bleak, dace and roach think it worth chasing the maggots.

Sure enough a call from my younger brother on the Thursday morning to say Pops had been taken to Billericay but to no avail. We've got a job on to get the finances and house straight and then it's just us two left. He didn't go through what Mum did so that is something to hold on to. It'll be fireworks  for both if them on New Years Day.

In a whorl

Sacked off work early doors, done my bit and more last week so they owed me one. Top of the tidal, no one there so I had the whole back eddy to myself. Not sure why but the flow over the sluices  kept changing which moved the fish round a bit and it wasn't that easy to get a feed, trot, bite rhythm going but when I caught they were plump things and as ever bent the tip section nicely in the flow as I batted them back up the eddy. Very pleasant hour and a bit.

Catch up

Picked up the bite a chuck from Thorpeness with slightly bigger gold bars elsewhere and enough roach to have me thinking about a different approach to get a few for old times sake.  

The river had changed after  a couple of weeks away, a few more gaps but frustratingly  fresh reeds growing up in place of the dying willow herb. Couldn't get many decent trots in but did find a much deeper area for future reference.  

Not much to write home about. And sorting a tangle out and disaster as the cannibalised anti-reverse pawl popped out and that bought an end to my trip .I'd had to tighten the  locking nut a couple of times beforehand. By chance I saw it as I made one last check having broken the rod down and packed up.

Cut to today. I 'd got some fresh reds and even casters for a crack on a different stretch. Got the broken down rod out to retackle and the spool fell of the reel. I'd lost the locking nut somehow. If only I'd  retackled on the bank and made sure the locking nut was tight.  Out with the other pin (also without a anti reverse pawl) to nick the locking nut. Family stuff intervened and I ended up with an hour at best. l  need an excuse to use them up the week.  Perhaps those roach.....

An unseen knot kept jamming in the rings, once sorted  found some nice fish in the flow from the weir till it was too dark to see the float. Roach, perch and chublets but no dace. Nice  to get amongst them.

Gonna have to find some spare parts for my (now discontinued) reels.

Golden memories

Thorpeness Meare is the centrepiece of the holiday village created by Ogilvie early in the 19th Century on the Suffolk Coast.  Shallow, weedy and and extensive at 60 acres it's a lovely place with it's colourful hire boats and the iconic Head in the Clouds which is clearly visible from Aldeburgh.

It has fish, and they're free to fish for which is more than can be said for the hire boats. Just right for the not so Little 'Uns.

I did have a quick bash myself each of the three evenings we were there, and it's just as stunning at dusk.

Full of rudd, and the odd roach or hybrids and plenty of pike activity. I had corn which might have been more selective but I made do with maggot. As near to a roach as I got

Mostly rudd though.

 

  

Bleak outlook

Bit more warmth to tide us over until the long dark descends upon us. An hour on Golden Pond before dusk, little movement but  a tiny fizz of bubbles and this cormorant scarred skimmer took a fancy to  a Swim Stim durable hooker. Hateful birds. I'd lost a puddle chucker early doors but a fitful breeze conspired to drift it  cocked just into netting range at the same time.

Sunday and after checking on the Old I stopped off on a very moribund Suffolk Stour. Negligible flow, duckweed and clumps of dying off silkweed. Hordes of mostly well mannered SUP and canoe jockeys and Captain Pugwash taking wedding guests out on Kathleen, quite deliberately coming as close as he could. Bastard.

Bleak in abundance, all big yellow eyes, tiny mother of pearl scales, a bream like anal fin and a yellow cast to the body. Bigger ones look more fetching.

Got through to a few roach, dace and perch but I didn't get as far as opening the fresh pint of reds before heading back to the charabanc.

A pleasant hour or so but not much more than that. A pint might help, especially as pub only a few hundred yards down the road.  A better heeled John Boy Pub. A pint of XX please, and a packet  of crisps. £9.30 Sir. How much I spluttered having taken a sip whilst the Card Machine was being retrieved. How much is a pint? £7.80. Sorry, not paying that and off I flounced, whistle barely wet. Shame cos it tasted gorgeous. I'll ask first  next time. 

And it was dark when I got up for work at 6 this morning. Still, not long till I can fill my boots on the soon to be liberated mill pool.

Swipe left or right

Out prospecting for new waters, seems day ticket venues are increasingly using book by phone app
and stuff now. I'm not sure if Tinder or Grindr would be best for this one:

When Sunday comes

Not a bad start to Sunday though I struggled with the sossidges, 3 is plenty and I'm leaning to 2 these days. Linconshires, I've gone off Cumberlands.

Bit of a river day ahead. One rod, me big green bucket, a slimmed down tackle box and  an unhooking mat to sit on. 

Long walk up to the end of the old stretch, hoping to check out the newly acquired add on bit. Looks inviting but nettle city and I'd only donned shorts. (luckily the horse flies must have been eating people alive elsewhere).

First sit down swim had a near slack and glide across but weed in between so skimmed the edge of that, and plenty of sharp dips until I got my eye in and they were mostly chublets like this. A good sign for the future as not many other chub under 5lb about.

Fished a few more gaps down, some less weedy but all had fish in, dace and roach mostly but not comfortable swims to fish until I found a nice run down a briar bush with a flat high bank to fish from so I could see the float a fair trot down. Had to bring the fish up with feed but they were mainly better roach like this.

One move below the briar and a more exaggerated slack/weed/glide and holding a lot more fish (roach, dace, chublets) and my nemesis the minnow. I did notice that the fish felt cold to the touch.

A quick sample

And when you're bagging ol'essox often turns up. If you're lucky you often get them in

Got a bit black over Will's mothers so made the long trek back to the charabanc with seconds to spare.

Pub calling but didn't fancy Ceaser salad or beef lazange or anything with potatos .

so made do with a Madri all the way from Tadcaster and Scampi Fries (not from  a fishery) 

Down the farm track to my river just  time for Smith to hole out after putting more effort in than the rest of the England batters put  together. Bit of  a walk to find  a gap in the rosebay and a good steady run  down to an overhanging willow. Dace, lots of them and a much better stamp too. 

Throw in some cracking roach and  a much weightier bag, in a lot less time, and not a minnow in sight. Packed in early as a much bigger pike was making serious lunges at fish being bought in.

Micro

Haven't had a proper fish for ages or done a whole lot of anything. Mojo stuff probably. Anyway, whilst on sunnier shores had a bit of  a gift horse  One of those we've left something outside the hotel if anyone wants them gift horses.

I did look at the teeth, and as you would expect crap line, no shot and long shank 6 or 8 hooks. Grab some bread from the buffet and let the kids have a go anyway. Any bait gets mobbed straight away by tiny fish and even with bread squeezed hard enough to make it sink the shite hooks made it almost impossible to hook anything.  

However two did slip up up somehow.. A  bream of some description (Google gave  a few names) and an even smaller mullet, again of some sort. Even if I don't pack a couple of telescopic rods next time we go away I'll take some shots, floats and hook links. #16 or  #14 with push stops would be ideal. The   rods went back and  it was nice to see them being used again.

 .  .

A pesky cormorant showed up too.

Closer to home and crabbing on the Blythe at Walberswick resulted in a few tiny crabs and equally tiny fish, mostly spotty things like this

and a basslet too. A couple of proper hand sized ones were caught next to us. Happy days.

No nubiles to bring on

The best the Forbidden could offer up on the Nubiles front this time was this sedate postprandial trip from the best known eaterie/function venue on the river hereabouts, down to the next mill and back.

   

Yup, another quick stop- off after checking up on the Old. River quite sedate to match the crew and passengers above and a 3 or 4 metre  whip to hand would been perfect. The fish didn't really settle  (perhaps a pike or bigger perch about) so a quick burst then quiet again.  

Dace and chublets, interspersed with roach, perch and bleak.

Scouted out a few autumn spots on the Roadside, very handy for a posh pint. Regatta in this case .

Nice drive back listening to the two Hundred games on from Headingly, cracking games as confirmed by Teacher Son, walking back from the game in the gathering Leeds gloom. Museum/C&RT Son lived  almost opposite the ground a couple of house moves back.

 

Dibs n drabs

In a bit of a lull, doing bit of this and that but the Champion is flowing and summer is here. A quick hour on my river.

And a couple more on the Loafer's river  amongst the nubiles in SUP boards. Not really on getting the camera out in the circumstances so most of my quarry went back quick plus it was so hot my eyeballs were sweating. Chub, dace, roach and of course perch, all a few yards from the roar of the London bound traffic. Deep stretch.

A bit of flatbed flinging, right down to the last feeder full and a few more casts after.

And a few trips to the coast.

Swifts are still here and the harvest is mostly in. Toodle pip.