Double D's

Even windier today but dry. Had 20 minutes in the pool but too gusty so swapped to pike gear and headed off up Cyanide Straight just below the second bend above the Mill. I use to fish this straight a lot, it once threw up a twenty, several doubles and some back up singles in a frenetic last day morning. That was several years back and though I do fish it now takes seem far and few between and otter signs are frequent.

Today though something made me stop at the big bend and set up to leapfrog down to the stile through some serious waves. I'd just got the middle rod in straight out in the main push when the buzzer and baitunner signalled a take.  A decent fish powered down then back up into the push. I reached for the net which had snagged and as I pulled it one arm snapped just above the spreader. I managed to bodge it and got the fish in.

A bit marked on one flank and some hook damage on the upper jaw but  a plump'un to be sure

Always best to get a bait back out on the spot and within 2 minutes the smelt was away again but  a lot smaller this time. Perhaps a consort for the one I'd just caught?

An hour in and as I went to twitch a bait the float shot away and this one gave  even more welly, staying unseen for over a minute The uneven net arms  caused some grief before I'd got the fish over the net cord. Though my hooks were only just nicked in a trace with a big single had been left in the fish and this looked far worse than the earlier one. I applied some carp care having removed the trace which had stayed in due to a knot failure it seemed.

I  got the battered  and torn mackerel back out there but perhaps it was too battered as when I went to retrieve it 20 minutes later it had come off.

I paused at the stile to watch a fellow member take two lovely roach either side of a pound on bread trotted under a crow quill Avon and made a note to explore....

Sossidge sandwich

Spent a windswept day on a bleak East Midlands still water drinking lots of tea and eating a rather fine sossidge sandwich with HP Sauce.

Ex-pat man mountain Shanus is back for a week from Canada and the Essex Loafer and  I selflessly invited him to watch us blank in an absolute hoolie with a  40mph+ SW meaning swim choice was purely limited to somewhere with that swirling dervish on our backs. We  worked the near grebe line with  nothing but wind relate clip outs for our efforts.

We did however surgically dissect that ridiculous orange wank puffin Trump and concocted several special hells for him to be banished to.

Shanus headed back  to make firm plans to drive his truck back onto a frozen river, pitch a shelter and bore holes to to catch pike and goldeneye. I called into Jimmy's Farm to leer at a few Boden clad yummie mummies.

What are the chances...

Twice now in one spot I've trotted a bait, got a drag under bite and hooked a Mepps or similar fair and square in the eye and both sans trace...

Sunday was bright, clear and cold and I thought the dace would be tucked right in under the cover of that grass mat so the pin would be well matched.  I had  a few but not as many as I hoped so I popped up on the iron work for a look see. There were significant numbers of dace and an odd bigger roach,  mostly in the further faster water but enough a little bit further than I'd been feeding to persevere.

A fixedie and a chubber or perhaps one of those carp dibbers would have been the better set up over just this side of that fast push so next time that's what I'll do, with plenty of hemp and maggot. I didn't pull up any trees but did enough to keep it fun and make the pain in my near frost bitten fingers in the still icy shade of the bridge just this side of bearable.

It was lovely to be able to catch fish virtually on demand when an inquisitive head poked over the bridge parapet and explain what they were to the myriad of families out walking and running. They had a perfect birds eye view of the shoal, the float approaching, burying and the fish darting and twisting once hooked in the clear water. Perhaps just one or two of the children will insist that their parents  keep good that promise to take them fishing one day.

Bish, bash, bosh

Very quick attack on the maggot in amongst the sleet showers. Found  some decent dace and the pike were in a feeding mood chasing fish everywhere so if all goes well I'll be back tomorrow for a longer  session. Lot of black spot on this river. It affects the chub, roach and dace.

Best laid plans

Despite still being lergied, and with 50mph winds suggested, with 63% chance of rain I got myself on the river for an hour this afternoon. I swapped the pin for a small fixed spool  but kept the 15 footer as I would be fishing over the fast water so needed to keep the line up. The maggots were mostly casters and the ones that weren't were quite torpid. I also stepped up considerably to a 5AA cane avon given the swirling water and wind.

The currents and wind were as mixed up as I'd thought they would be but not in the little shelter I had between the tank trap blocks.  I was able to keep the line up and off the water and not too badly wind affected given the length of the rod but was finding I had far less control  fishing open bale with the finger on the spool and perhaps because the little 1000 Hyperloop was perhaps under gunned for the rod and not really positioned well. I'd actually have managed to avoid line wrap round the pin where I was sitting and had far more control if I'd stuck to my guns.

However, despite missing or just pricking several fish I found dace in most spots round the pool. Nothing of great size but all hand or hand plus. The strong flow meant that the Greys was often nicely bent as well.

I picked up one roach just where I thought there might be one which was pleasing. I haven't seen many cormorants but a lot of the fish did have telltale signs

There were several slashes in the whiter water but no trout fell to the bait today. The last fish was the best,  it didn't thump or go airborne so I guessed it might be a chublet and it was. Just about attaining chub size I'd say.....

I'd had another delirium affected hour on Friday, this time for pike. A blank that left me thinking a bit and perhaps leading to further experimentation. We'll see.

Tackle tarts

It seems these days that rods just have to be shorter and shorter. What are the point of these?

One chance...

I took a risk and hauled my creaking back over some stiles to check out a new section of river on Saturday. At last there is some water in the river but that brings with it restricted access due to the unmanaged marginal growth. 

I worked several bends with smelt and pollan where I had gingerly established the floating mats would at least bear my rather large frame should  I need to net something. I'd  got down to the last stile when I was presented with the dilemma of encroaching swans and dog walkers all converging on the pinch point of the bend and the stile. I avoided a 4 swan tangle on the upstream rod and as they scattered down all flailing wings and hissing I sunk the line of the downstream rod just in time. The float shot under and a pike was on amongst the swan maelstrom. I turned to locate the net and it was being chewed by a dog. Needless to say I slackened off inadvertently and  my only chance had gone. 

Offaly good stuff

I'm crocked with a seized lower back so a planned quick raid on the Wissey for some plump roach and even plumper perch had to be put on ice, rather like me. Move over Murray.

Still, managed to sneak  this  little snack for lunch.

Kidneys on sourdough. Not especially devilled but  much better than a Greggs vegan roll. Bit rare to be fair and a certain air of piss as bought to the table but devoured none the less.

Gloom. Cold. Pike. Leeches.

Despite the Solstice the days have been dark and frankly cold so far this this year. Today was no exception and  the stinky and battered old wax coat was donned over the thermals and fleece. I  headed off down below a favourite bridge to where an old drainage ditch, a stile and the start of a long stretch of reed cover on the far bank caught my eye. Two joeys were placed to near and far margins.

I'd just sent this phone shot of the swim on Instagram when the far bank joey was away.  Even through the chop the fish was plain to see in the clear water, darting  and twisting down in the deepish margin. Heavily leached (only on the other flank) and a plump pike indeed. 

Despite several leapfrogs  that was  my lot and by 4 I was off the river and longing for the charabanc heater to start pumping out hot air.

Urbanisation

Have access to some city centre free parking at the moment and it's a groundbait dropper's reach from the river...lovely jubbly. Fishing is free within the city limits but a lot of the riverside access is problematic in that there are high walls and often safety railings. I found a nice recessed bank and  found about  4 feet down the edge. The river is tidal to the works just above and there had been about 18 inches more water on the top of flood judging by the watermark  on the piling opposite. I'd packed a tip rod  in case perch were the only option but started on the pin.

First trot with double red and the float buried  abut 15 yards down. Nice way to get the year off and running. A touch of urban graffiti as a bonus.

I've been faithful to the Kamasan B520's for a while but they've either made the gape narrower or my gumby hands have got more sausage like as I find them harder to unhook without a disgorger so I picked up some wider gaped B560's today. I can still see a #20 spade  unlike the  Essex Loafer but tend to  go for #16's if there's a chance I'm going to try a small dendro or caster. Just maggot and its  an #18.

You can't beat  a roach.

I didn't get into a proper rhythm in the heavy showers and might have done better with some brown crumb to localise the fish but even  so it was a useful couple of hours spent prospecting as some of the roach put a proper bend in the 15 footer. Think it will be worth having  a float pat rod set up as I'm sure one or two pike would home in once you'd got the roach going. 

A litlte bigger than I thought?

Had enough small perch to think the back up or even first line worm would be a cert but none was above wasp size today. 

Urban fishing certainly has its attractions, especially when the fish come river for the winter months away from the big salt incursions. However, its pretty full on even by day. I had houses behind and offices in front and that pint of IPA had to go somewhere..... Further down and the Riverside complex and the cattle market that is Prince of Wales Road and the burgeoning night time economy would really bring into question even contemplating fishing into dark.  And then there's the footie crowds......