Icy blast

The promised snow came today, on and off with fierce winds. Dry powdery stuff it was and at times out of bright skies, what the newly arrived swallows made of it only they knew. Found a sheltered spot beside  a big willow and  had a couple of small roach and this bream as well on triple red maggot on the waggler. It wasn't a chore to be fishing despite the conditions but I'm not sure I put a huge amount of effort in to be fair.  

That's it really, house is creaking and groaning under the onslaught of the fierce north westerly, my knee has swollen up and I'm just about to seek solace in a hot water bottle and later wine. Work tomorrow I think will be remotely performed once I've done and reported my twice weekly lateral flow test.

Interlude

Easter Sunday punctuated  by a trip to get my second Pfizer vax. When people need to get things done  they can can't they? 

After  a splendid lunch cooked up by the Prodigal it was games in the garden with the whole Bure Boi tribe for the first time since early March 2020. Well, it was a good reason to get the self timer fired up.  And drag the Greg Wallace cap out again.

Off for the last hour of light (no coat required),  a couple of missed dips on the float and a few branches retrieved from the swim and back home to prepare the sleds for the forecast snow.....

Love this stuff in 10m or 12mm by the way.

 

Barryat trick

Back on it again Saturday and no sooner had I sunk the two front sticks in the soft clay bank in as swim across the water from Friday's session than then two gimlet eyes fixed me in their six mile stare. Quite similar markings round the head to my constant companion the day before but a bit smaller I'd say. They obviously have learnt from their own personal furlough that anglers mean free food, rather than six points of steel.

The attack was based on method feeders packed with spicy sausage goodies and a little pink or yellow tempter over groundbait, hemp and corn. I find the yellow pineapple tends to out fish the pink tuna but it's always good to keep ringing the changes

Not many plucks or jangles today, just good old butt ringing baitrunner fizzers.  First two on pink and yellow perils respectively were two female tench, both putting up a decent show even on the excellent 1.5lb tc 12 foot Korum All-rounders. Never outgunned and with a nice full action.

The first had a hitch hiker which I thought might have been a damsel fly nymph.

The most butt ringer baitrunner fizzing take was from this very athletic 'Barry' which did tear about a bit. Much solider than Friday's bream with some weight in the net as I hoisted it away from my salivating crocodilian companion. Lovey buttery colour too. Perhaps that's why it fancied a yellow peril: you know, like when we put  a buttercup under our chin to see if we liked butter as kids.

This lovely oily hemp went in with the left over groundbait for next time.

Three more for the species challenge

I say species challenge 2021, it's not going to be a long list but I've added to the current listees  (dace, chub, roach, pike, minnow and brownie) today. Three times in fact and also one that got away, and how. Read on reader.....

Not bone chillingly cold today but that was only because I had a hoodie, bib and braces, snood and big coat on.  Neoprene Gloves would have helped.as well.   Thought I'd the waggler a go, maggots might have made things busier but I went for a classic cocktail of dendro and corn as I wanted a tench or a bream.

First to fall victim to the cocktail was a tench, one of the smaller blotchy ones that occasionally turn up. Good to have the rod tested a bit and a tench for the list.

The rod was severely tested next and my knuckles well and truly reel rapped by an unstoppable mudpig that tore about a lot before the  #14 B560 inexplicably came free. Never mind. Or words to that effect. 

A couple of small roach and this debutant perch to bring the species list up to eight.

Last but not least this wet sack of a bream (ninth on the list), a very solid and fresh looking wet sack to be fair and the first fish of 2021 to trouble the Korum digital scales at a getting my estimating eye in  5lb 6oz.

All observed through the cold calculating eyes of  a killer at my feet. Mid doubles minimum. And on furlough still.

Might go back on the method feeder tomorrow, or try my rejuvenated for now Very Local water . 

Signing off as its wine o'clock. Toodle pip.

Making hay

Phew what a scorcher.....sun, warm, my go to locals shut till Thursday (work day) so next best thing, fire up Mark 2. No frills barbie, not my faffing about foodie choice but alcohol would be involved which is always my choice. 

Thursday and winter was back, and continues today. Charabanc loaded up, just need to click and collect from Dangling Indirect and find a spot with the mean Northerly on my back. Shorts and tee shirt? Not today fella.

Who pays the ferry man?

Pre-Easter temperatures soaring, a couple of days off and what to do? None of my local club waters or day ticket options open till 1st April so I hit the much travelled commute route to  a lake the other side of Fakenham, that should have warmed up a bit. Stopped for a coffee to get some change for the day ticket but card only.  Never mind, they must have change right? Stopped for a bit to drink my coffee. Pleasant spot where the Glaven is forded. Let's hope that blossom does not foretell a blackthorn winter cold snap, though snow at Easter is not that unusual event.

Down the flinty path and on to fairly firm sward though any further might even trouble a Discovery. Ticket person arrives as I unload the charabanc, a bit miffed I'd only got  a shiny 20 to hand, with no change. Anyhoo, I was allowed on my way with a return visit with change promised. I found my usual quieter spot tucked away in a corner and set about the pre-season prep I hadn't done whilst I soaked up the welcome sun. If  I'm after mud pigs it's usually the sleeper rod, with a ready made braid braid hook link and a small pva bag of  pellets  more of an anti-tangle device with a bonus of a small amount of goodies round the bait, which is usually a Source wafter. I had a few bags pre-tied up from the autumn, and just needed to load up the applicator for a fresh injection of interest.  ( I'm sure that's happened in many bivvies that have sprouted up since the 29th....just how have we anglers got away with being able to do outdoor sport during recent lockdown and now stay away from home overnight since  Monday?). Spot the tub aged variant.

I'm not one for sitting behind motionless rods so I would be also using a small method feeder to at least have a few casts and hopefully jangling alarms. As written above I usually plump for this swim, in truth as well as being tucked away it's usually (or because of?) productive with margin and open areas to go at. Once the  fish are active and homing in on bait and feeders I've found I can get them going well about 25 yards out with plenty of fizzing and bites with the sleeper rod over by the reeds under the alders, quite tight in but not exclusively. One bonus of the over wintered bags impregnated with spicy sausage was a quick recast  could just about be managed if needed. 

As it happened the method rod was just an interest  maintainer with five good takes from the sleeper. rod. Three slightly better mirrors got off near the net but on long enough for the thrill of the fight and the sight of them twisting and turning in the clear water. Two made it to the oversized net, another mirror and a common.

All in all a pleasant few hours and as a bonus a beer and an escape before the ticket money was extracted...

Duty calls

Must have done several of these over the years, can't remember doing any of them though. Anyhoo, we have six at home so double bubble.