Military Maneuvers

As I had appointments on Friday, Thursday was to be fishing day this week. The recent warm weather and rain had washed the snow melt down the river. Although it did peak on Wednesday it had been expected to continue rising, before falling on Thursday. Given the uncertainty of the river levels and the fact it was going to be wet and windy most of the morning, and I have no great desire to get piss wet through these days plus news that pike were been taken at the clay pit I opted for a day there. There are a couple of spots where you get a good command of the water with plenty of features to go at. I managed to arrive before the rain arrived and got the brolly set up and pegged down before the wind and rain arrived.

I wasn't wholly optimistic when I saw the water as It had a blue green tinge to it as if ice had just melted. This colour was to disappear by lunch time as it turned to it's more normally brownish colour. I'd been reliable informed that pike, mainly jacks, were been taken on small roach or sprat dead-baits suspended around three to four foot under a float, so that's what I set one rod up for. The other was set for the usual float leger tactics with a trout as bait. This was cast over to the far-side ledge. The sprat was allowed to drift over the remains of a weed bed that seemed to be sprouting new growth already. The sprat was recast regularly to allow it to drift different lines. The trout was also moved every hour or so, alternating between a feature and the middle of nowhere.

The rain varied between drizzle and quite heavy downpours. When the noise of the rain wasn't too much I could hear the squaddies on the firing range some three miles away. Mid-morning there was a great deal of chatter from birds in the trees behind me. I couldn't for the life of me identify them as I only got a brief glimpse as the flitted between the branches. I turned back towards the water just in time to see the float above the trout disappearing. Initial contact suggested something decent, but it soon became apparent it was just a small but spirited jack. The fight took far longer than it should as the other float rig had drifted the wrong way and there was danger of a real tangle. I'd left the landing net slightly out of reach as well. Still it had stuck to the hooks and was most welcome even at 62cm.

That had been the last of the trout so a slightly freezer burnt sardine went out. Despite the claims by many that baits should be as fresh as possible, I've done equally as well with old baits that may have been in the freezer over a year. The rain gave up by lunch and the wind eased off but change direction slightly. Occasionally the sun would pop out. I had a wander round dropping the sprat near various bankside features with no luck. For a while military jets were flying over I only saw one through the trees but boy did I hear, and feel, them. The noise really did shake the atmosphere. As I sat preparing a cuppa the float above the sprat bobbed about. Winding down produced nothing. This occurred a couple more times. Just as I was pouring boiling water in the cup the float shot away. I did contact with it but, like last week, it slipped the hook. Instead of my usual double hooks I'd used a single size 6 treble for a change, mainly because it was the only one hook rig I had. I continued on until I struggled to see the floats but nowt else showed. At least I'd landed one this time.

 

Do you ever get the feeling you're doing something wrong as everybody else seems to be having better days. I have no reason to doubt my informant. I have seen him blank more than once so I know he has his of days.