Shrinks when dry

With almost indecent haste I responded to the all clear on the now Very Little Water within half an hour beating another member by the time it took for him to wolf down his tea.  Not much water over the silt under the bridge to the island paradise but enough water (just) in front for the fish to swim upright.  The mini Source was taken on the drop but the flappy old bream didn't stay on long. Just as soon as my post prandial brother of the angle had settled on the somewhat marooned end staging my loaded puddle chucker dipped and slid to the left hand lily cover. Tearing about and bashing the line with its paint brush tail and everything I had my intended tinca target  in the bream stinky pan net.

A bit parrot beaked (not from my barbless #14 QM1)with some raspberry blotching but a tench.

A month off the VLW has seen Lighting Up time come down considerably and a Stygian gloom meant the last fish on the stroke of 20.30 needed some flash assistance to pick out a familiar line of enlarged silvery scales down the right flank. I hadn't seen this fish for a couple of years when it had become almost Kevin-like in its friendliness. I have always wondered if some carp care product had been applied and promoted advanced scale regrowth?

A couple of evening's grace before I could bear it no longer and back to the VLW  and my island paradise, this time alone and fairly late.

I was hampered by a slipping lock shot and the float wouldn't behave so it was with some relief that one fish stuck. A comprehensive line bashing from a nip-tailed male tinca  and a good male at that.

I do wish I had had a Man Friday on my island paradise to take some shots of the rod bent against that coral pink sky and pike toothed moon.

I had that Friday feeling as soon as the the first after work cast  saw a smash and grab spectacular as a waiting hybrid tore off with my mini Source.again on the drop  Certainly more rudd than bream in fight as well as colouration it had the Drennan 13 foot Specimen and Tench bent through the cork good and proper. Not weighed but from past captures of similar VLW  fish nearer 4lb than 3. That is a good size stinky pan net for scale. Considerably more solid than old big scales above.

I had considerably more rod bending from a red tailed, bristling dorsaled and burnished copper common that tore round and round before contemptuously shedding the hook at the outstretched stinky pan net soaking me with more silt than water.  Wine time.