Last Cast Saloon

After a one week lay off due to other commitments, I returned to the Leam this week for an afternoon session.

I'd been closely monitoring the river level all week and it did push up to around one metre above normal at one point. A drier end to the week saw it dropping nicely for my arrival though.

After a brief chat with a fellow blogger who had been plundering the abyss, I settled into a swim just below an overhanging tree. The far side offered an enticing slack while the main channel of water was running beneath my feet.

It didn't take off though and a biteless half hour saw me itching for a move. With the deep hole now vacated and no doubt fed, I made a simple choice of dropping in there. Roach were topping from the off, which is always a pleasing sight.

It developed into a strange old session where I missed a lot more bites than I hit. I was using two rods and it was perhaps one of those occasions where one rod fished with 100% attention might have been better than two.

I managed a couple of roach, a perch and a gudgeon which gave the most violent of bites for such a small fish.

The worms weren't successful again and neither were the prawns or bread flake. Bites tailed off over the last couple of hours and the roach were less active on the surface.

I pretty much gave up all hope of catching something that might require netting. Loading up a size 14 hook with 4 maggots I dropped the feeder tight to the far bank in an area I hadn't cast to previously. This was to be my last cast.

I dropped lucky and the tip pulled round. A plump perch popped up in front of me and slipped into my net.

At 1lb 14oz it's a Leam pb for me and over a pound bigger than any other I'd caught from the venue previously.

Maybe I've been attacking the wrong part of the swim all along? It has given me food for thought though because this part of the river has double bank access. The far bank is too overgrown in the summer months but now looks a lot more accessible. A little investigation might be needed when the water levels drop down fully.

If my phone is to be believed we should have a drier and cooler week ahead. A return to the pike could be on the cards.