Two Rivers

1st day, plans to hit the fleshpots of the upper tidal before the circus descended, 3.30 wake up, bun dat. Chores then earn my corn "checking yer permit mister", just how many signs have you walked past before resting your rod bag on that sign? No, you can't carry on now you are here. Melts.

Which left me an hour or so to trot down the mill run off in the shade of the poplars. Simple, uncomplicated bliss. First trot a dace, one of many.

Chublets too, this greedy fecker stuffed to the gills with loose feed.

Black spot common here.

The standard few in a net, just enough for me to feel ok about when trolling the usual bream angler carnage shots. (yup, double standards but that's me folks).

Tuesday and the Wensum called, Chicken Bridge as usual. It's a bit over grown but found a few. I'll probably wait now till autumn to come back for the roach which do still lurk about but its brownie and dace city really.

Spot the Loafer chubber

  

Either way, there is always Spoons, can't beat this combo for under 7 quid in a hot day.

Pond dipping

Golden Pond has been good to me last couple of trips, the rhodos and flag iris are going over now but it is still a picture.

The usual barrys with a liking at present for corn/dendro kebabs  though they won't turn their snotty noses up at a Source mini either. I do like  a screaming baitrunner on the method or a bag  but the silt has given me an excuse to get back on the twizzled loop link ledger, hitting bites on the up. Might even press the swingtip rod in to action. Once anyway.

They are a bit spawn bumpy at present.

I did try a bag with a lighter lead and a Source wafter and this barry tripped up.

And the first Pond tench of the year. Angry little bugger. Rivers next.

Never trust a man with egg on his face

"She pulled out a gun, I saw the sparks, messed up the suit he'd bought from Marks."

It's a bit early in the year for countless 'my perfect cheese paste recipes' designed purely to wind up The Loafer so whilst house bound due to Cartrouble Part 2 and taking a decorating break lunch I was minded to share 'my perfect scrambled eggs method'. 3 eggs, milk or preferably cream, salt (pepper after as it makes them grey if added first) and a small frying pan with melted butter. Pour in whisked mixture and slow heat, whisk again gently, turn off pan and slide onto heavily buttered granary toast, two rounds, sliced in triangles. Maldon sea salt and pepper. If you can't simply wipe pan clean with a paper towel you've fecked it up. Absolutely no dried egg should be left in the pan. No sauce required and definitely no baked beans. Smoked bacon or sausages with brown sauce or smoked salmon are ok but really it's  a dish in its own right.

Car back, and teatime pass after the rain headed to The Occasional. I've found some tench, mostly on a Source wafter down an edge with a bag, this time fluffed one up on the drop first swing in, second fish came off after  a bit of a trundle down the lake then this high backed belter before the rain swept back down the valley.

I'd better not get egg on my face.

Cartrouble

So much for  a week and a bit of no work hedonism. Car MOT  early to be sure of having it for the river season. Failed, perhaps ready by the end of the week and not cheap. As Stuart Goddard wrote-Cartrouble. Saw this on Saturday whilst queuing for Lydon . What irony. Might go as its local and on the train again but it'll be all the post Dirk Wears White Sox crap so perhaps not .

 

So as the Loafer cruelly but accurately observed I've been pottering about.. Haven't joined Neighbourhood Watch yet but I've painted the 'Best' room. I did get on a train yesterday to get lunch as I'd got Wordle in 3, Connections in 4 and the Mini in under a minute.  

It's raining and I can't attack the hedges so I might don my galoshes, visit Mr Pharmacist  and go a bit further on the train for more lunch.

He's got the moves has the boy Lydon.

Up the City to see PIL play Epic Studio courtesy of eldest son Global Head. Getting on the train was a squeeze with standing room only all the way to Norwich. Must have been the heat bringing everyone out for an evening out. Lost count of  the pissed people at 7pm. Best was the bloke who walked face first into a pole, spinning round it in a daze. Met up briefly with the Global Head for a pint before the queue snaking down Magdalen Street.

Astounded as per usual with the price of pints in Epic Studios, nearly 8 quid for a Stella. Plus the preponderance of glasses wearing pensioners.  The four-eyed community of which I am firmly part of. Spot the obligatory aloof Indie guy, tall, skinny,  big hair, big nose, jacket and skinny black jeans, There is always one.

  

Lydon is a big bugger these days, probably surviving on mountains of Country Life butter. Got a big voice and stage presence to boot, a proper showman with a vicious turn of phrase. Told us his dad worked in Bacton. Yes those are people who have paid extra to sit down.

Didn't recognise all of the songs  but Poptones which Jah Wobble did here, Public Image of course and  Burn, Hollywood Burn stood out. He looked like he was enjoying it, as opposed to Peter Hook having to work hard to play bass and sing the Joy Division/New Order sets .

Back on The Vomit Comet to meet up with middle son Teacher Will who'd been out all day on a paddle board  visiting riverside pubs on a Stag with Daft Andy. The train fell ominously silent.. A man with a clipboard got on.  The train was going nowhere. Eventually taxis were found for a banter filled onward transfer to Bure Boy Villas. 

The first day of the rest of my life

I've done it. I've retired. Nearly 43 years of service and I'm taking my slice, having a long 'week' off and going back for 3 days a week for now to feed the hungry mouths at Bure Boy Villas. Buggered if I'm working till I'm 67 though. Took a slow drive home. 

More tench. And why not?

 Still not got a lot of words but I do have The Source. Bloody brilliant stuff it is too.

The tench love it. All you need to know really

Keep the tenchion on

Been a bit quiet blog wise, the up and down weather hasn't helped much.

The Loafer fancied a mullet and I called in on him a little while back as he and a couple of mates surveyed the estuarine ooze.  A few were about, including one absolute tank. 

Anyway the grey ghosts are his tale to tell. We'd swapped books  and of course the first page this book fell open at was the mullet chapter. The Loafer likes to get to know the enemy .

The next page that fell open was about the Railway Sleeper. Gibbinson's tale of a big pike that grabbed  a smaller one on Abberton. I had the same experience, probably a few expansion cracks away on the dam wall there and probably around the same time. Mine was a fish that suddenly stopped on the way in, from some way out. No known snags and after a long dour stand off the heavy weight was replaced by a more familiar sensation and this low double came to the net, bearing massive puncture wounds across its back and flanks

I have been on the tench, and have had some good short sessions. More on the bag down the edge than the float but they bloody pull. Couple of weighed upper 5's but all in all good. fun and this last trip they felt warm for the first time.

Last hurrah

Today was probably my last on the rivers this season, woke to a frost  then a 'wintry mix' followed by actual rain. Wasn't on the river till 2.30 and a nasty mean cold down streamer made things tough so every bite hit was a bonus. Had to alter my position several times to try and exert some control to hold  back, but the smaller dace roach and chub were determined enough to chase the maggots, but I wonder if the bigger, wiser ones were more choosy.  Toodle pip and roll on the tench.

Second chance

The Aquarium has been quiet of late so I figured its winter residents had moved back into the main river. I gave two swims a good searching with maggots under  a stick float. Two missed bites in the second swim and the morning had gone. Popped over to the fleshpots of Wroxham to reccee for tomorrow,  lined with likewise blanking anglers and cold to boot. That's torn it. Picked up a fresh pint of reds and headed off to the dace swim before the promised rain set in.  

Bites from the first trot, all dace bar one chublet, most enjoyable. Not sure where to go tomorrow.

An absolute shambles

Off to Chicken Town was the plan. Stop for a decent coffee and a sossidge sandwich, back in the charabanc and the  auto wipers came on. Bugger. Weather App said clearing by 12 so sat in Chicken Town Bridge car park listening to rain in the roof and the noisy old guinea fowl (Name change coming on?). Rain petered out by 12. 15 with a two hour rain free window so short walk down  the club bank to Bog Shed Door Blue Rope Swing swim 

Nasty down stream wind  messing up my swing over to the darker water and pulling the float down too fast. Back to the charabanc for the loaded waggler rod to cast direct with the fixed spool. A lovely Drennan waggler rod, but with poxy Drennan sliding reel fittings. As we discussed yesterday Loafer, the poxy things don't grip the reel seat properly after a little use.   Reel fell off walking back to the swim and first cast over the waggler got stuck in the far bank cover. Bollocks. Walk down to what I hoped to have left as the close-in dace and roach banker. Three trots, three brownies then a big tangle on the pin.

More bugger and I nearly sacked it off there and then. Walk up to a clear bit of bank to retackle and three trots above half way bush and three browns again then nothing.

Heavier Loafer balsa (5.5grm) and another attempt  in the BSDBRS swim, first trot in the now slightly more accessible glide and bingo brownie again.

Second swing out and another, bigger bugger rang out down the valley. Accurate casting though...

Walked round to retrieve both floats and the predicted rain began again. Everything chucked in the boot and off to Spoons.

Cold Harbour

Last day of OK weather the Weather App told us so another trip to Ely today. I even beat the Loafer to 'the' peg. It  was absolutely freezing all day. I'd bought my new feeder rod, frozen some maggots and whizzed up a tin of corn for the groundbait. 

First cast rudd, and a get here What's App to the Loafer.  

Today was mostly rudd day in fact. I did get  a run of silver bream, roach and skimmers when the Loafer left and lassoed a bleak somehow earlier in the day but I could catch rudd like these all day long.

Loafer served up a cracking toastie on his Ridgemonkey and had some decent rudd too. Poor old bugger  looked colder than me.

Re -run.

 Pretty much the same to report again today.  Fished a bit longer and it was colder in the shade. A bit of squabbling to my right and a water vole or shrew plopped out of its burrow having been ousted by something. tiny with a tiny tail, not much bigger than a dece3nt muddler minnow, swam up to my landing net, thought better of it and dashed across the surface to the other side. 

 

Mostly small dace again but a couple of better ones, two roach and  a chublet

And as per a regulation brownie. a bit on the long and thin side.

Last forecast good day tomorrow so heading off to Ely again to try out my feeder rod. I'm hoping to murder a bag of reds in the freezer tonight.  Might be pub lunch too.