Golden memories

Thorpeness Meare is the centrepiece of the holiday village created by Ogilvie early in the 19th Century on the Suffolk Coast.  Shallow, weedy and and extensive at 60 acres it's a lovely place with it's colourful hire boats and the iconic Head in the Clouds which is clearly visible from Aldeburgh.

It has fish, and they're free to fish for which is more than can be said for the hire boats. Just right for the not so Little 'Uns.

I did have a quick bash myself each of the three evenings we were there, and it's just as stunning at dusk.

Full of rudd, and the odd roach or hybrids and plenty of pike activity. I had corn which might have been more selective but I made do with maggot. As near to a roach as I got

Mostly rudd though.

 

  

Bleak outlook

Bit more warmth to tide us over until the long dark descends upon us. An hour on Golden Pond before dusk, little movement but  a tiny fizz of bubbles and this cormorant scarred skimmer took a fancy to  a Swim Stim durable hooker. Hateful birds. I'd lost a puddle chucker early doors but a fitful breeze conspired to drift it  cocked just into netting range at the same time.

Sunday and after checking on the Old I stopped off on a very moribund Suffolk Stour. Negligible flow, duckweed and clumps of dying off silkweed. Hordes of mostly well mannered SUP and canoe jockeys and Captain Pugwash taking wedding guests out on Kathleen, quite deliberately coming as close as he could. Bastard.

Bleak in abundance, all big yellow eyes, tiny mother of pearl scales, a bream like anal fin and a yellow cast to the body. Bigger ones look more fetching.

Got through to a few roach, dace and perch but I didn't get as far as opening the fresh pint of reds before heading back to the charabanc.

A pleasant hour or so but not much more than that. A pint might help, especially as pub only a few hundred yards down the road.  A better heeled John Boy Pub. A pint of XX please, and a packet  of crisps. £9.30 Sir. How much I spluttered having taken a sip whilst the Card Machine was being retrieved. How much is a pint? £7.80. Sorry, not paying that and off I flounced, whistle barely wet. Shame cos it tasted gorgeous. I'll ask first  next time. 

And it was dark when I got up for work at 6 this morning. Still, not long till I can fill my boots on the soon to be liberated mill pool.

Swipe left or right

Out prospecting for new waters, seems day ticket venues are increasingly using book by phone app
and stuff now. I'm not sure if Tinder or Grindr would be best for this one:

When Sunday comes

Not a bad start to Sunday though I struggled with the sossidges, 3 is plenty and I'm leaning to 2 these days. Linconshires, I've gone off Cumberlands.

Bit of a river day ahead. One rod, me big green bucket, a slimmed down tackle box and  an unhooking mat to sit on. 

Long walk up to the end of the old stretch, hoping to check out the newly acquired add on bit. Looks inviting but nettle city and I'd only donned shorts. (luckily the horse flies must have been eating people alive elsewhere).

First sit down swim had a near slack and glide across but weed in between so skimmed the edge of that, and plenty of sharp dips until I got my eye in and they were mostly chublets like this. A good sign for the future as not many other chub under 5lb about.

Fished a few more gaps down, some less weedy but all had fish in, dace and roach mostly but not comfortable swims to fish until I found a nice run down a briar bush with a flat high bank to fish from so I could see the float a fair trot down. Had to bring the fish up with feed but they were mainly better roach like this.

One move below the briar and a more exaggerated slack/weed/glide and holding a lot more fish (roach, dace, chublets) and my nemesis the minnow. I did notice that the fish felt cold to the touch.

A quick sample

And when you're bagging ol'essox often turns up. If you're lucky you often get them in

Got a bit black over Will's mothers so made the long trek back to the charabanc with seconds to spare.

Pub calling but didn't fancy Ceaser salad or beef lazange or anything with potatos .

so made do with a Madri all the way from Tadcaster and Scampi Fries (not from  a fishery) 

Down the farm track to my river just  time for Smith to hole out after putting more effort in than the rest of the England batters put  together. Bit of  a walk to find  a gap in the rosebay and a good steady run  down to an overhanging willow. Dace, lots of them and a much better stamp too. 

Throw in some cracking roach and  a much weightier bag, in a lot less time, and not a minnow in sight. Packed in early as a much bigger pike was making serious lunges at fish being bought in.

Micro

Haven't had a proper fish for ages or done a whole lot of anything. Mojo stuff probably. Anyway, whilst on sunnier shores had a bit of  a gift horse  One of those we've left something outside the hotel if anyone wants them gift horses.

I did look at the teeth, and as you would expect crap line, no shot and long shank 6 or 8 hooks. Grab some bread from the buffet and let the kids have a go anyway. Any bait gets mobbed straight away by tiny fish and even with bread squeezed hard enough to make it sink the shite hooks made it almost impossible to hook anything.  

However two did slip up up somehow.. A  bream of some description (Google gave  a few names) and an even smaller mullet, again of some sort. Even if I don't pack a couple of telescopic rods next time we go away I'll take some shots, floats and hook links. #16 or  #14 with push stops would be ideal. The   rods went back and  it was nice to see them being used again.

 .  .

A pesky cormorant showed up too.

Closer to home and crabbing on the Blythe at Walberswick resulted in a few tiny crabs and equally tiny fish, mostly spotty things like this

and a basslet too. A couple of proper hand sized ones were caught next to us. Happy days.