Final Day

Why I fish the final day of the river season I don't know, It never really amount s to anything.

Using the same tactics as yesterday, roaming with cheese paste I tried further down the same stretch. After trying a couple of swims I was getting a few knocks in the third and latched onto a cheeky dace that had managed to get a size 6 hook in it's mouth. I tried a bit longer in this swim than scheduled before a small jack grabbed to hook as I was winding in and bit through as I drew it to the net. I think it was the orange bead that I'd hair rigged, to give the paste something extra to grip to, that had attracted it.

A few swims later and another little jack grab the cage feeder before coming adrift. By now the wind had got up and was blowing straight upstream, making bite indication a tad awkward. A couple more swims failed to produce. In the next I got a slow steady pull which resulted in I rather hollow 1¾lb chub, which put up no resistance at all, but seamed to swim off strongly enough. A few swims further on I pulled out of what seemed to be a good fish. Inspecting to hook showed no obvious problems, but I swapped it even so. Only for the same thing to happen in the very next swim. Over last few swims the only attention I got was another jack taking a lunge at the feeder as I lifted it from the water.

Not the worst day's fishing I've had, so that's it from the rivers until the 16th, or the 25th of March if I decide to do a bit of trout fishing.

Penultimate Day of the River Season

With the river season for coarse fish about to close and the rivers not looking too bad, I thought I'd use up a couple of my remaining holidays and have a go chucking cheese paste about.

Yesterday when I passed over the river it was a bit high but not too coloured. Today the colour had returned. Still I carried on with Plan A, roaming with one rod and a lump of cheese paste. It was well into the afternoon when the first bite materialised and what felt like a heavy but sluggish fish was contacted with. Eventually a chub of around 2½lb surfaced, along with a branch snagged in the feeder. Another, almost identical, chub turned up an hour later and several swims later.





























Not the monsters I was hopping for, but at least it wasn't a blank. We'll see what the final day, tomorrow, brings.

Taking Something's Dinner

For various reasons, like work parties, I've not managed much fishing this years and what little I have done has resulted in rather boring blanks. I wasn't full of confidence on Sunday when I arrived, rather late, at the syndicate water on Sunday, despite a couple of twenties being reported.

Having selected my swim I dropped half a float fished herring under the tree to my right. A small float fished smelt under the trees to my left and a popped up bluey in the tree in front of me. A gentle pull saw it land in the water just where I wanted it. After a few minutes the alarm sounded and the drop off bobbed up and down. I wound down into nothing. The bait showed no sign of damage. I managed to cast it back with out assistance from the tree this time.

The float to my right then bobbed up and down, and again I contacted with nothing, although there was sins of damage to the bait. I dropped it back under the tree. A little while later I went through the same procedure with the same rods. Half an hour later the float over the half herring bobbed  about before moving off. A small jack was quickly landed with noticeable scar on it and damage to the jaw as if some thing had attempted to have it for dinner.

 















A while later the popped up joey moved off and this time I latched on to a feisty jack around 6lb. Whether these were the fish that I'd missed earlier I don't know. Soon after this the rain set in for the day. Despite moving the baits about I didn't get another bite.