Game of two halves

Two halves is a pint. I had one (a pint). Norwich went 4-4-2 after going 1 down and equalised. Second half went back to 5 at the back, conceded and took off  the striker . They lost. Good riddance. Unloaded the charabanc and walked the 10 paces to the river. One flattened maggot, Cold, bored, packed up.

Kept the bib and braces on, just in case as I planned to check if Storm Benjamin had dumped too much cold rain water into the non-tidal. Stopped on the bridge, fish rising and pike attacking. An intense feeding period with fish taking whatever was hatching all around the pool and a way downstream too.  A roach or dace on every trot. Hands got too cold to be able to bait the  #16 B560. Neoprene gloves and the big coat next time.

Pint, pin and the lurking pike.

I had a short window from 4.Well, after a riverside pint anyway.

Inside of a bend and the top of the tide and I had an hour or so, double reds an easy swing out .

Plenty of bites, all roach bar two tiny perch. 

Pike quite active and eventually one took off downstream towards Wroxham having snaffled a roach on the way in. The line parted above the float and the red tipped Loafer chubber continued still attached.

A short time after I thought I was seeing double as two Loafer chubbers buried together. The pike had headed back up to it's feeding zone on my maggot line. I snared the returning chubber and it pinged off the line and I was able to retrieve it.

A pleasing post pint hour in fairly mild conditions made sweeter by news of a 4th consecutive win by the U's.

Dank and gloom

A week of high pressure, no rain. My arse. Well, in my corner of Norfolk anyway. Cold, fine and instantly soaking through mizzle from a low cloud base. Do I stick with what I know and build  a up a good net of dace and roach or check out some areas for big roach? These S bends on an otherwise long slow meander must be worth  a go on dusk surely?

More indecision and more rain, Clear the 'best room' for the carpet man tomorrow, chicken soup and focaccia courtesy of LIDL and pack up the charabanc, pissy rain or not. To a different part of the syndicate, but still looking for roach. Nasty down streamer, cow shit wherever I put my hand or feet and of course rain. A few better dace and one lovely roach that needed the net but evaded the camera (there will be more I thought) then this long, lean acrobat. I rarely notice if fish have tongues or not  but trout (and perch) do. The # 16  B560 was firmly lodged in it.

There were no more so upped sticks to try the banker. Local Barbel Hunter (it says so on his car form a previous barbel paradise life) perched on my favourite dug in tank trap block featured in a Bailey and Miller perch book. Bugger.. Home to dry every thing off.

The carpet man is here earlier than expected. The non forecast rain has stopped. Perhaps an hour later?

From Beasley Street to Beasley Boulevard.

Cracking Thursday evening up in that there Fine City with the Global Head of Content. Not long till the Greater Anglia Trains are rebadged as being part of Great British Railways.

Down past the Edith Cavell 

and over the Wensum to the perfectly adequate Glasshouse (Spoons) with perfectly adequate food and beer. Good bogs too.  We hadn't come out out just to put our money in Tim Norman's pocket. No, we'd come to Epic (shocking beer prices and shocking bogs) to see the (once of) Salford Stick Insect and he'd circumnavigated the globe ten times to perform for us.  No longer de riguer in the glorified Beasley Boulevard now he'd gained an ounce post non-recreational drugs he told us. Firmly ensconced in 'East Anglia' (Essex) and picking up the lingo. Fahking cahnt and all that.

Yes, they are sitting down. Faux shambolic searching for lines aside he still is a spindly wordsmith of the highest order. Well worth a watch. Cheers son. I might catch Hugh Cornwell next month.

From Amy to balmy

Little Un played football on Saturday in Storm Amy whipped up 50mph gusts. Made for some interesting ball trajectories. Still battering us till lunch ish Sunday as the Canaries capitulated (Upper Towen) but noticeably dropped enough for me to find  a sheltered spot to winkle out a couple of tench, boy do they go on float gear. I fancy one or two last bashes before the pads die down.

Chores done Monday fancied a change after catching up with the gardening in unseasonable warmth so headed down to Noddy Train bridge with some none too fresh reds. 

The roach and dace didn't seem  to mind with a bite a trot. Put a few in the net for a pic, nearly had to tip them back sans photo  as a pike, which had been harassing the fish on the retrieve hung on a while before the dace escaped, another bit me off so I called it a round 90 minutes and headed off

Prompted me to set up a just in case rod to stick in the holdall

Didn't have to get it out of the holdall today but absolutely bagged up on dace, some quite decent and roach in the mill pool. Perhaps the riddle and maize meal helped. Bite a trot again, but many more hooked than yesterday, fantastic sport in the faster water on the pin.

You expect a brown on  many rivers these days and this belter really tore me up in the clear water. Haven't seen these markings before, almost sea trouty. Happy days.