The plan was to give the river a go if it was in a decent state, but with the pool as a back up. A quick glance over the bridge at Barford confirmed my thoughts. It was pushing through, with that unappetising drinking chocolate look about it. Probably OK for the die hard Barbel fanatics, but not for us, so off to the pool it was.
Peg choice was a pretty simple affair on a chilly, foggy morning, with a nagging cold breeze. Throw grass in air, watch where it goes, determine wind position and thus locate the most sheltered pegs. So, we went to the left bank a couple of pegs down from the car park - pegs neither of us had fished before.
Anticipating the usual bottomless peg, I set up the trusty 17 foot rod, so that I didn't need to fish a slider or the pole. I don't like fishing the pole here because I've been smashed up with a big fish too many times before. I opted for a positive groundbait approach - well I had some groundbait open and figured it might as well be used! A few balls went in, laced with casters, into about 12 foot of water, in the hope of getting the Bream going.
All was quiet - the silence only broken by a group of 9 swans gatecrashing our solitude. A bit odd really, as I'd never seen a swan anywhere near the pool before. They didn't hang around long and soon headed off.
Swan Pool
Then a moment of excitement, as Brian watches his float dip under. In total disbelief he can't remember what to do and the bite is missed. Not to worry though, as he soon had a small roach safely tamed and his account was opened after his 3rd successive blank. A further roach followed it soon after and I was still blanking.
Eventually my moment came though and a small roach kickstarted my campaign. One of the other anglers popped round for a chat and we ended up reminiscing about days gone by on the pool - the good old days when the place was full of chub. I pointed out that since rejoining Leamington abut 4 years ago, I hadn't caught a chub from the pool. He returned to his peg and bugger me the next fish was chub of about 4oz. Speak of it and thee shall catch it!
Brian rounded his roach tally up to 3 and I extened my species count with a tiny perch. It all went very quiet after that, with only the sound of Brian's occasional snoring (and boy can he snore), interrupting the peace! A day rarely passes that Brian doesn't fall asleep on his peg and we weren't to be disapointed today. Both of us finished up cold.
The challenge
Inspired by other blogs, Brian suggested we start a challenge. So, it's going to be a simple points challenge, with 1 point gained for each different species caught throughout the year. Each species also has a 1pt bonus available for the heaviest of that species, meaning the bonuses could to and fro throughout the year. I refuse to try and weigh the biggest gudgeon or ruffe though! So, bonus points are only available for fish over 8oz. Only days where both of us fish together will count to the challenge.
Current Scores:
Sean 3 (roach, perch, chub)
Brian 1 (roach)
No bonus fish yet!
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