A combination of stormy weather and waking up feeling very lethargic meant that I'd written off all hope of an evening session after work on Friday. As the day wore on I perked up and the weather prospects did likewise.
I headed off to the Leam and was up and running by 5-45pm. I tackled the deep section again and armed with the bolo rod I wanted to find out the full extent of the depth. 16.5ft was the result - probably the deepest river swim I've ever tackled around these parts.
It looks perfect for bream and having taken a couple of nice hybrids from a marginal swim previously, I was hoping to prove the existence of a slab.
Bites were slow to come by, but half a dozen perch in the 4-6oz class kept me interested. A 4oz dace was routinely being reeled in when it darted into the lily pads and straight into the jaws of a small pike! I somehow managed to extract the pair from the snag and only when in the net did the pike drop its prey. They really do deserve the accolade of dumbest fish swimming!
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| Hunter and Hunted! |
I lost a fish towards the end of the session and discovered a tell tale blob of snot above the hook. Bream, roach or hybrid I wonder? Always another day...
By close of play there were plenty of fish topping and I think a waggler approach spraying in maggots might have given better results. I'm still feeling my way around the river though, enjoying the challenge and change of scenery. The beauty of it is the peace and tranquility, which makes any barren periods all the more bearable.
There are a couple of swims on the Stour that are stupidly deep, well compared to the size of the river anyway. 16ft wow. The Leam is a river I've hardly fished, might give it a go in winter time though as I bet there it will throw up some decent fish.
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