A Welcome Change

Saturday 5th June 2010 - Hawkesbury Golf Course. "Parkers" Pool.

This was another brief session and started a bit later than planned due to me waking up with a thick head. It wasn't beer related for once - I think I'd thoroughly dehydrated myself a day earlier with all the walking and climbing through undergrowth I'd done. A couple of tablets, a good guzzle of water and another hour in bed did the trick and I was revitalised for a 3 hour morning stint.

With time against me, I had to go with whatever bait I had to hand and that meant bread, corn, worms and pellets were on today's menu. I headed for Parkers, as I wanted to have a pop at the bigger Roach, Rudd or Perch, with the outside chance of hooking one of the larger Carp.

Fishable swims are now at a premium on this water and I settled on a relatively clear area well away from the normal dog walking route.



I was expecting a slow start on the corn, but my float buried so quickly I didn't even have time to put the rod properly on the rest! I'd plumbed the depth, set up a few inches over depth and shotted the float down perfectly. So, having cast out and then looked down towards my rod rest, I was shaking my head as to where my float had gone when I looked back towards the water. The penny then dropped and I struck into a Rudd of the usual stamp for this complex.

The action was fairly brisk for a good hour or so before it slowed down a little. All fish up to this point were Rudd or Roach in the 4-6oz class, with the occasional one looking a shade nearer to 8oz.



Then I connected with something a lot more spirited and I started to get excited, thinking that I'd cracked it with one of the better specimens. Although slightly disappointed to be proven wrong, it was still a pleasant surprise to catch my first Crucian from the site - a fish of about a pound.



The sport slowed for a while and bites became harder to hit as the fish had probably backed off a bit and became a bit more wary. With limited room to work with, there wasn't a lot I could do apart from put more feed in and be patient. The fish kept coming at regular intervals though and once again one of them was a Crucian similar to the one I caught earlier.



I've called it a Crucian, but is it? It's a lot darker than the other fish. I'm no expert when it comes to the Crucian v Brown Goldfish debate, so if anyone has any views, feel free to comment!

I didn't take the keepnet on this visit, but I estimate I had about 7lb of fish, which made for a pleasant morning's work.