The farm pond has been loathe to give up almost any of it's treasures and I had one more chance to winkle something out for the 2021/22 season. Small wafters fished with small flat bed feeders though I had toyed with setting up a standard open ended feeder with a longish tail to fish corn and worms on the tip. Two rods won out in the end. Things seemed different, surface activity and the odd patch of bubbles, though not over my bait. Skylarks singing all afternoon. Did they know snow (yes snow) was forecast for tomorrow? It snowed two years ago and I think I caught a bream in it.
Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Point to prove.
Monday, 28 March 2022
Scratching for bits
I've been confined to barracks by Covid. Fortunately it's been quite a mild dose, and I've worked through it as well by the medium of Teams. Only just getting some taste and a minute amount of smell back. Food tasted like this.
Yesterday was the first time I've left the extensive grounds of BureBoi Villas for a week. Just a quick drive round the syndicate beats to check for malingerers and chancers, of which there were none. Nice to see the dace and roach on the gravels.
Celandines and fresh and fiery nettles emerging.
Tuesday, 15 March 2022
Clearing away the cobwebs.
Thought I'd end the season where I started on a lovely little urban stretch of the Wensum. 16th June was a real sweltrerer, and Monday was a no coat day. Busy little stretch but the bread feeders could at least keep some of the suicide squad ducks away from my lose fed and hook baits. White and red maggot, under a slightly undershotted float big enough to drag over the bait over the bottom and that I could see with my aging eyes down the glides. Bulk shot down and a #6 dropper and a #16 wide gape fine wire spade end. B560, natch.
Bright sun, and pacey, clear water with little or no weed, find the cover and slightly deeper, darker water. Little and often, keep 'em chasing after the bait. And first run down bingo. A lovely little brownie, first of many and such variations and colours. And game little blighters, though a bit splashy at times
And this is the last fish of the season before it being drawn to an untimely end as after another tangle, line guard or not, necessitating removal of the spool the ratchet pawl dropped out into the grass and was lost for good. ( I have since cannibalised one from an old Ikon). 30 brownies. 12 roach and 6 dace. I'll take that.
Sunday, 13 March 2022
Gets me out of the hoiuse
Mood much improved I had a short afternoon on the river to see what was occurring. Amazing what a bit of sun can do for you. And views like this.
And winkled out this tiny but lovely brownie. We have some absolute lumps on the river now and it will be interesting to see if any come out to wets and nymphs before the LFR kayakers get on them in June.
I had pike on my mind, the river was low but not ripping through so headed down to the Noddy train bridge with a plan to work back up to the bend below the mill. Had a look over the bridge, but not a dace or roach to be seen on the gravels. Normally a sure fire spot. Where have they gone?
The Noddy train bridge with a Noddy train puffing by
Often silk weed here so clipped on a lifter before swinging out the still frozen smelt.
.
Saturday, 12 March 2022
Epic fail repeated
Wordle. One of those fads that once you start you just, well, carry on with. I think I'd got to about 18 straight "wins". Until yesterday. Simply ran out of lines. That threw my day into a slump of despair usually only portended by the sight of a single magpie that all the tipping of non existent hats and "Good morning Captain's" in the world can't resolve. Throw in a non-descript consultation with the Quack with appeasing chest and shoulder x-rays to come and a need to have the tribes washing on the line before I could head out, I was prevaricating, not even livened by the Loafer's news of 3 chub in the bag.
Got to the river to find two cars already there. No point following two loads of mash down each likely spot, not in the mood I was in anyway and the wind was doing my head in even more so settled for a bash on the pond to use up some hemp and caster but I wasn't really at the races. Made more grim by knocking over and breaking my bait water, breaking it and depositing most of said hemp and casters on the grass. Some interest but no hook ups on the second string bag down the edge which meant something was down there and probably "normal" or method feeders might be on the cards next time. Then it rained. Sodden stuff chucked in the charabanc and bailiff duties performed (one crayfish between three anglers reported) it was off home. Thankfully one of the tribe had sensibly got the washing in.
Wednesday, 9 March 2022
Soup
Changes a foot at Bureboy Villas as the Commander in Chief has gone back to work so things have to be fitted in round school runs, first opportunity to get out despite being off myself was today for the afternoon and though the river seemed perfect for trotting no bites occurred. Quick late lunch of tomato and chorizo soup back at the the charabanc before the short walk to the lock.
An altogether different story in the lock on the succulent white grubs from Dangling Indirect. I always go for reds but figured these might show up better, and it seemed they did. I'd picked up the trotting rod in error from the boot which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The 15 foot rod and pin combo were perfect to drop the bait in along the far wall and keep close contact to the float from the off. Like fishing the whip but with extras.
A bite every put in, nothing earth shaking but mostly bright as new pins roach and dace with some splendidly marked little perch and a chublet. Happy days.
Monday, 7 March 2022
Bright at least
Sunday saw a trip to what was the biggest tackle shop in the world once, Ken Latham's in Potter Heigham to spend some tokens. It s a a confused hotch potch now, I guess mostly for the Broads tripper demographic. I won't be buying these again but did also get a 24 inch landing net which I'd like to fill with a chub or two over the next week. So you might see it. Or you might not.
Home to an excellent lunch by the Creative, straight outta Slater. Big glass for the better than usual wine too. Nice and oaky. Just a taste for me though
Friday, 4 March 2022
A leap frogging we shall go
Probably walked 6 miles yesterday, spent a fait bit of time in each swim for chubbing because of the activity on the tip. Today only a couple of hundred yards to the top of the stretch on a different river but the order of the day was cast, twitch back and leapfrog mackerel top and tail sections. Well, until a fellow piker staked his clam half way down the reach. Half each, fair enough. Lightest of the leads today, 1.1 oz.
As well as the two standard rods across I had a zander type set up to fish down the near margin with a single circle hook and micro sardines.
Bit of a struggle as the light set up didn't pull the powergum stop through the smallish rings in the Avon rod. I could have retackled I suppose using the lighter powergum as a stop, think I'll revert to the 12 foot All Rounders in future as the rings are a decent size all the way to and including the tip ring.