Off to the local river and searching for a degree of shade and oxygenated water in the very low mill pool. In hindsight I should have paddled over to the eyeot and stand to fish on there but I didn't and struggled to get a longer cast sitting on the tank trap block without tangling so not many dace fell to the casters but those that did felt sand papery rough. Having baked enough I switched over to a rolled or twitched bunch of worms on a # 8 wide gape.
I was rewarded with a string of out of season young wild brownies that fairly rattled the 2oz tip round and all of which "got air".
Very light touch and release.
One felt better but it had stripes not spots and was very greedy indeed.
Off back down the flood bank to the irrigation pond and a refreshing cup of builders made on the camping stove. I'd a lot of rapidly baking casters to use up and alternating on the hook with red maggot had a reasonable catch bearing in mind the heat if the afternoon.
This plump roach (no skimmers or hybrids today) was the best at about 8oz but it was bite a cast with a kingfisher bombing the smaller fry in the next swim.
A couple of perch showed up as well, all fins up attitude. The sunlight shining through it's back like an x-ray.
I shallowed off on the micro sardine rig to take advantage of a brief ripple that had sprung up as I was packing away the waggler gear and it didn't take long for the small float to pop under and shoot off. A very deep, surging battle really put the Avon to the test and though probably not quite as big as Saturday's hen fish she was again a spawn plumped fish.
Another cup of fresh tea then off home past the roach straight and not dark at 5.30. It's meant to be overcast with a light nor-westerly on Thursday so I might drop by with some bread along the roach straight into the early part of dusk anyway.