Happy dace

Well, that's it, the nights are already drawing in......Not sure if that is what the druids, crusties and  middle englanders thought as a very dreach dawn broke over the sarsons of Stonehenge on Friday. My best remembered mid summers day was at that other hallowed ancient bowl at Milton Keynes watching U2 when it did actually snow. Guzzer man brought a bivvy, or at least a 50 inch brolly. How we envied him.

I did sneak on to the Pond for an hour of the longest day, Macca had a belter of 18 (common) from a tight hole in the weed after changing his presentation after 3 dropped fish a couple of days earlier.I  must either put a decent amount of hemp and maples in, or buy some "carp" rig making stuff. Do I really need lead core, rig putty, back leads, pva foam, bags etc? I don't hold with the mudpig smear,I had forgotten in honesty just how big a carp can look but I am not sure I want to change much either. I had some fish moving over the meat but with out much more that that out here it was more an excuse to enjoy the late evening sun.

Saturday dawned as it must have done down in Wiltshire on the Friday and didn't pick up much till late afternoon. I was on the Bure by 7.30pm, with a worsening sinusitis but an urge to fish. No chub present on the gravel above the bridge so down to the long glide I had seen last week but not fished. Plenty of marginal cover with a dearth of streamer weed. At this time of the year the only swims are those we decide to open slightly by flattening a few reeds and nettles  and I don't think anyone had been on this area since I looked last week  For once I tied the 20 first time with spade end tier (my eyes can't cope with an eyed 20 anymore) and it was dace a  chuck from the off. The was a massive hatch and the swallows were out in force despite the blustery, cold wind  and I had been tempted to feed and fish higher given the dace surface activity but really the amount of fish taken a little way down the run meant that there were enough fish on the maggots nearer the bed of the river. Flow enough to take the line smoothly of the 300 spool and the bale closing sweetly and the Drennan Waggler rod does really bend in the tip section.

I am not sure that  this is all dace as it didn't have the real toffee flanks and is little deep, however  I think that I might just weigh a few of the better fish in future.I did loose one that was a lot bigger. Definitely not a small chub and if you saw it quickly you would think that's a nice roach. It wasn't. Would have definitely been a weigh job and that uncomfortable for a small fish Dave Plummer pose and  a few yee-hahs over the floodplain, nor my illness dampened  curse. The sinusitis and the cold wind (why just a tee-shirt?) were winning over the regular dip off the float and this brief burst of late sun and unusually for once the last cast was just that and I was off the river by 9, despite bemoaning the "turn of the year".

I don't know if you get that cold inside feeling but even when I got in a hot  bath I still had goose pimples.I called it man-meningitis, it was enough for me not once on Sunday to even think about getting the rods out again. And no wine for two days. Did have a medicinal Glenfiddich last night though.