Gonna roll with it.

Stuck in a rut? Loving that comfort fit? Fill yer boots? Making hay while the sun shines? Or you never know what's round the corner? Winds of change and all that. So, inevitably it was off to Dangling Indirect to stock up on dwindling supplies then down to the Homestead with just two plans bouncing around my skull. Open all the bait buckets (yes, three) to discover the treasured method pellets were still at home, excepting a few in odd packets. Enough for a go later? Maybe but not enough to get excited about. So, plan B it would have to be. Create a tight feeding area with 

cupped- in balls of thick black magic, laced with succulent goodies. Or in my case some not so black magic (they had none in Dangling Indirect), rather a less sweet smelling lighter version, haphazardly strewn about the place and corn on the waggler with pellet and corn as a top up at characteristically irregular intervals. 

First to the party were the on the drop bandits, roach, skimmers and hybrids which filled a happy half hour or so.

Should have perhaps weighed this  one as it was very solid indeed. Need to find  away to target these without the rest of the lake joining in, back in the day if you applied yourself in a half decent manner with  maggot or more likely caster and hemp 20lb plus bags of dog roach were always on the cards. There are still old warriors left, much bigger in frame but thin and light to hold. These though are bright young fish. 

Activity over the spot and the on the drop bandits seemingly pushed put by a better stamp of fish, and a classic slight lift  as the fish below levelled up taking the weight of the two number 1's  deployed to get the bait down a bit quicker then sinking into the depths and  bream on. One of the red finned variants, weighed out of interest at 6.03.



Bubbles can be deceptive, huge sheets of  bubbles usual indicate a fish turning or bolting, and quite often it seems striking pike. Rather than a shoal of mud grubbers up to their pecs in it. Either way, seemingly classic bream bites can also be from pike. Three times I had to give line to a deep irresistible force, the first I did consider might have been a mud pig after the #14 B560 pinged back at me but it became clearer the next time a green and primrose spotty thing leapt out of the water, a serious fish which eventually severed the line at my feet after all the hard yards and the next, even bigger also. I'm sure the tiny fine wire micro-barb hooks will either work out or grow in, certainly less harm than a set of trebles being left in which always leaves you with a dreadful feeling in the pit of your stomach, even if it's thankfully its such a rare thing with proper pike tackle, regularly checked and replaced and good bite indication

Another red fin

Time for  a slight bait change, to the classic worm and corn cocktail (in fact all three pike took it) and one that can be even deadlier if you give it  a twitch, often with instant results. Need to get some more #12 B560's but seem to be hard to get.

Tench definitely love a worm and another male which deserved  a weigh at 4.11. They really don't know when to give up do they? My favourite fish I think.

This one had crossed ventrals which is something I don't recall seeing before and the reddest of red teddy bear eyes. Think it's gone  on a cleb diet too, just like Adele who seems to be growing into her new face at last.

My normal drift beating set up, two number 6's which usually copes with what can a significant tow down at the Homestead.

9 times in all the stink net was graced by bream, along with the tench and lesser skimmers, hybrids, those two better roach better and some swinger-inners,  that didn't need it. A very satisfying afternoon indeed. I can't get multiple grid pics on this interface so here are most if not all of them.

Classic matchman hold

And this one ate my last worm.