When the needle goes round twice.

As I negotiated the broken stile on to the flood plain 3 buzzards spiralled over the copse. The river looked in fine fettle for my first foray above the Mill this year. Settled in just below the feeder. Sardine over to the long reed run and one down the near side. Green woodpecker yaffling and egret on the bend.

When the wind  blows up the long straight rollers build up and I was not quite sure if the float dipping and holding under was a take or the effect of the wind but the bait runner began to give line. Engaged the drive and just slipped of the anti reverse in time as the fish bored up the stretch. Not explosive but inexorable. High hand hold required on the 12 footer and that lovely line noise in the wind. In the net, and struggle to get on to the mat. Huge flank, clusters of leeches. Hooks in the scissors and quickly out.

On the Waymasters and the needle clearly twice round again..24.06, take off a generous 2 lb for the wet net. What a corking great fish from a small river. Don't know what they eat up this far.

6

Clearly not indigenous to the Bure..what are blueys? Pike like them, quite solid and very oily

Had a further take, resulting in a very spritely jack, thought it was a brownie at first as it dashed about and pulled out of another large fish as I wound down on the last rod out. Good days work on a very cold and mostly dark and dank day. A very white barn owl hunting down down the marginal growth under the lee of the floodbank lighting up the gloom and many otter fòotprints and tarry black spraints down the margins. Car lights lighting up the road on at 4pm, a reminder that the snowdrops, crocus and daffodils don't necessarily mean spring is hear yet..