Where have alll the QM1 #10s gone?

Another hot afternoon, the surface of the pond was covered in poplar fluff and great hippo like bream slowly rolled on the greasy Limpopo surface. Time to seek shade and ditch the flat beds and fish for bites, not fizzing baitrunners. A few handfuls of pellets and  a sprinkling of Source minis and draw the puddle chucker back over that bed of oozing attraction, just off the pads.

The flouro orange tip of the puddle chucker wobbled and slowly sank away, the strike hit home and the anti- reverse slipped off, The fish, a lovely hybrid did the usual, punching way above either parents fighting weight. A thick set fish, a good two pounds plus I thought.

Another bite, and another fight, unmistakeably a tench, sorely testing the 13 foot Drennan, in the pads and  then the bankside fibrous roots and trailing briars. A cracking spawned out female with an unusual white edging to the ventrals. Lovely custard yellow belly and those teddy bear red eyes.

Disaster, the next fish tore off before the grudging clutch kicked in or I could slip off the anti-reverse and I was pointed, the line parting just above the short ready tied hook link. I knew it was the last one I had, I think the bigger hook is better when using the 12mm boilies as opposed to the 8mm wafters or pellet O's. I've been searching every tackle shop I go past for a month now, plenty of #12 or #14 but no #10. Delivery and order sheets drawing blanks. A head scratcher indeed. I do like the simplicity of the push stops but the bait has to be soft or the stops split and are useless. So much so I keep my 8mm wafters and these Source 12mm quite moist.

Anyhoo, on with a back-up QM1 #12 hook link and as it happened straight on a bubbling fish and I'd only got the rod on the rests when the float slid away.  

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Another decent scrap and another female was eventually in the onion bag. They fight so hard.

Wasn't long before another one slipped up, skinnier than the first two but still as strong.

I'd chucked a sleeper  rod out with a standard mud pig and a bigger Source wafter, it did go just on packing up time, an out gunned and under performing bream rounded off my nap hand. Drove home listening to England setting up a likely day 4 loss.....