Thinking man's thinking cap.

Dad, can we go fishing? Why yes, of course we can. Just an hour and it just so happened to be the Next Nearest so I could don my thinking cap whilst guiding them to a 28 fish whip to hand  bucket full. Now and then, chances to catch, not just go fishing. Who knows if they will get the bug?

Plenty of bubbling, mostly everywhere so thinking cap plan hatched to beat my doldrums from yesterday if I was allowed out later. I was, but still was deliberating over Plan  A (2 Puddle Chuckers close in with heavier baits or Plan B (2 flat bed feeders an underarm  swing out) as the clock chimed 6 and I was mixing the groundbait. Plan B won, and it took a few more minutes to soak the 3mm Spicy Sausage pellets and and a dusting of dry groundbait to keep them on the dry side as these smaller ones tend to stodge up if mixed too wet. 

Not sat behind a pair of rods for a little while, these 12 foot Korum 1.5 tc rods are perfect for this sort of fishing, but I do think it might be ok to step up to 8lb rather than 6lb main line as the pads grow. Standard 4 inch pre tied flouro hook links with a bayonet stop on the QM1 barbless #10's

Fluorescent yellow pineapple 8mm wafter on the left and a 12mm Source on the right, both with 25gm Drennan flat beds on the right. No bubbles but lifts almost straight away to both rods and it was the left hander that saw the first pull and baitrunner fizz. A barnstorming scrap,  but no real weight to it, no tenchy tail slaps on the line or carpy dorsal pings. A big but short dorsal then dark flank eventually broke the surface and an accusing flouro yellow dot on the back gave away the secret of the bionic bream. Foul hooked.  Great scrap though. Faint spawning tubercles again, and coarse scales. And flecked with corn from the groundbait.

I'd sunk the right hand rod when playing the spawny get and was alerted to a baitrunner fizz, fish still on with a gob full of Source. Felt like it was going to be a busy evening.

It proved to be but I did get a chance for a mouth and throat zinging pick me up between takes. And fiery it certainly is. Let's hope we can keep the hot soup times at bay for now.

Bream number 3 and I was on a roll, a decent slab this one as well. And boy was that stink net humming in the humid conditions. The mat is beginning to rot too. Strong stuff bream and tench snot.

It was getting gloomy early  with the odd distant rumble but no rain yet so I pressed  on, planning to be in the  pantenchnicon by 8.30 and I'd added these two to the score sheet by 7.40.

 

Then disaster struck at 7.45. Fishing two rods fairly tight means you're on the money twice over but it can get tricky, with double takes and crossovers. Not quite sure what happened here but I was in a pickle. It had taken the left hand bait but the take was on the right hand rod.

Nice fish with the prospect of several more, but I couldn't re-rig two rods, what with tying small loops, threading in-line feeders whilst melting in the humidity and checking for incoming monsoon rain so I gave it best and was in the car by 8.05, and never a drop of rain........thinking cap had done it's job anyway.