Autumn Barbeling in Autumn

My original intention for today was to go pike fishing. Then I remembered that I'd chopped up all the old wire traces, I'm trying to tidy up a bit, and needed to make some new ones. As the barbel kit was still set up I decide to have another go for them. Unlike the last outing the weather was decidedly autumnal. The bit of heat in the sun, when it got through the clouds, just about made up for the chill breeze. There was also the occasional bit of drizzle thrown in as well. There was only one other angler when I got to the river. As I wandered along trying to decide which swim to fish I had the bright idea of fishing a swim that's never produced a barbel for me. Given that very few barbel have been coming out and the usual swim weren't producing it seemed a reasonable gamble.

I plonked a largish piece of meat and hemp feeder as close to the tree roots, on my left, as I dare with out snagging. On the upstream rod I had a worm and a plain lead which I was going to try various spots in the hope of picking up something. Somewhere behind the trees the buzzards were active judging by their squawks. When I did see them for a short while it looked like parents chasing their young away. This was confirmed by a man with binoculars who'd been watching them the day before. He also told me the red kite I'd seen previously had been chased away by the buzzards. The fishing was slow. In fact totally bite free until the middle of the afternoon when I wound in a tommy on the worm rod. I didn't even know it was hooked I just thought I had a load of crap on the line as usual.

The only other thing of note was a RAF A400 that came trundling past just as I was thinking it had been quiet on the aircraft front. The RAF do seem to like fly down the valley.

Talking to the only other  angler we agreed that it had generally been crap down here this autumn, apart from a brief period when the water rose. Time to get the pike kit sorted me thinks.