Bretford Obliges

Thursday 22nd July. River Avon, Bretford. 10am to 12-15pm.

This is a new stretch to me, having just joined a club that controls the fishing here. Although I had never even seen the stretch (other than from the road bridge), I sort of knew what to expect having read Jeff's (Idler's Quest) posts on his visits here in the past (when CDAA run it).

Time was short, so it was only going to be a very quick exploratory session to suss the venue out for future sessions. With just one meadow on offer I started at the far end and worked back to the bridge. It was choked with weed and I only found two comfortable swims.

The first one failed to produce and all I could catch was weed. I quickly moved on to the better looking swim further downstream. I could see a Chub of about 2lb grazing on the surface, which instantly gave me confidence.

I started out with a maggot approach and after a few minutes I caught my first fish of the day - A Perch of about 4oz. As I reeled it in I noticed a bow wave appear at right angles to the line of retrieve. I figured it was probably a Pike.

A few minutes later I was into a second fish and this one was very lucky. A Pike was definitely in the swim and I managed to haul it clear of the water just as a Pike launched at it. It was a Perch of about 6oz.

Out with the Pike gear and I thought it would be easy to catch the Pike if he was in this sort of mood. Sadly though, he didn't fancy the taste of anything plastic and I didn't get any interest from it.

Back to the maggot rig and it wasn't long before the tip slammed round and this time something more serious was on the other end. I got the fish under control quickly by hauling it into the weed under my near bank and sticking the net under it. I think it felt safe in the weed but didn't figure on a net being thrust under it from above! It was an immaculate looking Chub of 3lb 3oz.

I had some left over meat from a couple of days ago, so that came into play now. Another Chub soon obliged, albeit a smaller fish of 2lb 6oz. I didn't get any more takes after that. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me today. The session was hastily arranged and as I was expecting to do a bit of walking, I scaled things down a fair bit. The camera was a casualty in my haste to get out the door.

This looks more of a Winter venue to me and as it's only a shade over 15 minutes from my house, I can see me having a good crack at it later in the year when the weed has died back.