Eva the Optimist

Fishing on Christmas Eve has become a bit of a tradition for me. My wife works a half day shift from home and that's my excuse to leave the building, returning for lunch. It frequently throws up some rough conditions though and today was no exception.

Although I wanted to explore more of the Upper Avon, it would have been crazy really. With storm Eva pushing through during the heart of the session, a muddy uneven river bank, high winds and ever increasing water levels was not a thrilling prospect.

I plumped for the easy option of the estate lake and its well manicured flat banks. Luckily the rain largely held off while I settled down and secured a brolly in place in anticipation of a battering. And then the heavens opened...

I sat it out on one rod with straight lead over a small amount of groundbait at about 25 to 30 yards. Alternating maggot and corn I scratched around for bites. They were hard to come by but I managed to winkle out half a dozen of the usual stamp roach for this venue.

The last hour when conditions improved was actually the toughest for bites. It went colder though - down to 6C by lunch whereas it was 9C on arrival at 8am when there was a bit of cloud cover.

A bit of sport I guess and even with the poor weather, it beat working. I hope to get out again before the end of the year, but it's looking doubtful for the river after today's rain and more on the way. Could be another pursuit of stillwater roach, but I must also remember my pike gear next time. I have no idea what it might hold, but there's no harm in deploying a sleeper rod to check it out.

Have a great Christmas everyone.