Odds Against

An away day this weekend at the glorious Blenheim Palace.

Sadly the fishing was less than glorious. Joined by 9 other boats on the day we only saw one fish caught and that was while we were approaching our first port of call near the Grand Bridge.

We worked hard all day moving our way around half the lake, eventually getting back to our starting point, taking in 9 different swims.

Brian takes the oars. Rio 2016 beckons!

Shallow water, bankside margins, rotting lily beds, reed beds, overhanging trees, deep water, open water. Every likely swim was tried.

Deadbaits (4 types) were tried hard on the bottom, suspended and wobbled. Plugs, spoons, jerkbaits and a strange but hypnotic looking squid lure were all given a shot too. All this between two anglers across four rods.

Only one fish was seen topping and when you see what they have to put up with, it's hardly surprising.

There are 12 cormorants in the above photo and number 13 was just out of shot. Whatever fish are in the lake are possibly tightly shoaled wherever they feel safe.

A brief chat with a local bank fisherman in the car park before we started fishing revealed he'd had just one pike in five sessions. He said it was a shadow of what it was, but blamed much of it on migrant anglers taking fish.

I tend to think that our feathered competitors are a more obvious concern. They were present on my previous visit two and a half years ago, but numbers seem much higher now.

It's a lovely venue to fish and the whole boat experience makes it something totally different to the norm. It's one of those settings where fishing is just a bonus and the autumnal colours on this occasion were very easy on the eye.

Will I go back again? - Yes I probably will. Not for the prospect of prolific fishing, but more for the novelty factor, the idyllic setting, good company and the off chance that i might get my net wet. Some fishing days aren't all about the fishing.