No Place for a Dace

I've neglected the blogging recently, so I'll start with a brief catch up from the past couple of weeks down on the Avon..

Two weeks ago I fished on the Sunday which turned out to be the same day as the rescheduled annual raft race. I hadn't registered that it had been postponed earlier in the year. I was now thrust into the midst of this annual spectacle that saw around 50 rafts making their way down river from Wasperton to Stratford Recreation Ground.

I picked a peg that had an upstream bush protruding out quite a way into the river. This gave me a nice inside slack area as well as creating a barrier from the rafts who had to steer out towards mid river. This left me quite a decent area I could plunder and be confident that no rafts would pass directly over my baited area.

As it happened the rafts didn't bother the fishing one jot. It was a fish a chuck for the whole session, with mainly Dace, Roach and Perch showing up. The fish were of a generally small stamp though with only a Perch of about a pound leaving me grabbing for my landing net.

Last week was very much a case of deja vu - another session with lots of fish being caught throughout the day but yet again nothing of any size.

This week I returned with Brian, who was fresh from his recent trip to LA and Las Vegas. The river looked bang on after the flush through from earlier in the week and despite it having returned to almost normal level, it retained a very healthy colour.

Confidence was high and once again the fish were responding straight from the off. It was mostly Roach and Dace, with the occasional Gudgeon and Bleak. Again they were all of a smallish stamp. In an attempt to put that right I tried a worm on my wand rod in the margins to see if one of the resident big Perch would take a fancy to it.

The worm rod produced some small fish before something a little better grabbed the bait. I thought it was a nice Chub when I saw it flash through the water, but it turned out to be a Pike that eventually got free. That set the tone for the day, with various other Pike encounters cropping up throughout.

I did eventually manage a nice Chub that took a liking to my floatfished double caster offering - a fish of 4lb 2oz.

Back to the Pike and over the past few weeks I've been gradually running down my old supply of deadbaits ahead of this year's campaign. I hadn't had a sniff of a fish in the past couple of weeks, albeit I 've only dabbled for a few minutes here and there during each session.

As a result I only slipped a couple of Roach into my bag this week but I could have done with a whole lot more as it turned out. I went for my tried and trusted wobbling approach and it didn't take long to get the first hook up, but I suffered a hook pull and half of my bait stash was gone. The other Roach came up trumps later on and I banked a small jack with it. 

Now deadbaitless I returned to my normal fishing and I later had a couple of fish nobbled on the way in by Pike - one of which saw a Dace eventually being swung in with a severally mangled rear end, albeit it was still alive somehow. I changed over the Pike rod to a plug and thrashed it through the swim a few times. I managed to get another small jack for my efforts.

Brian also had 2 fish snaffled by Pike but he failed to bank either of them. I don't know what has caused the swing in Pike fortunes. After the previous 2 weeks where there was no hint of a Pike, they were clearly rampant now. Maybe I should start the winter Pike campaign early this year!

The Perch on the other hand were conspicuous by their absence and neither of us had one all day, which is quite rare at this time of year. That said I did get sight of a Perch and it was one of the bigger samples of around 3lb+ that roam the margins. It went for a Dace that I'd returned to the water and then stuck around all day and kept popping up in front of me from time to time. I tried to tempt it with a lobworm but it wasn't having it. I'll get a decent Perch from there one day!

Back on the Wye

This week saw me and a friend back down the Wye again. Conditions weren't great with the river very low and clear, coupled with bright conditions. Our host didn't fill us with confidence boosting stories of recent catches either, but it never bothers me too much when faced with stunning surroundings.

The early morning mist masked the beauty of the river valley.

It gradually lifted to leave a splendid backdrop.

The fish were thin on the ground. A couple of Chub to about 3.5lbs and a brace of Barbel were all I had to show for my efforts. Both Barbel were around 5.5lbs.

Three other anglers on the stretch had reported just one Barbel between them, but one had a surprise catch of a 12lb Common Carp. A return trip has been penciled in for next month when we hope to find a bit more colour in the river and the fish in a more obliging mood.

Expectation, but not Realisation

Blogging has been slow recently, which largely mirrors my fishing.

I had been filled with optimism from a report I'd been given by a friend. He'd recently had a couple of Perch on livebaits, the largest of which he claimed was a similar stamp to one he'd had from the river 2 years ago which weighed in at 3lb 5oz. The smaller one he was suggesting was maybe a little under 3lb. Nice fish indeed and I've now seen the photos taken on his phone to back it up.

On that occasion he didn't have scales to hand and it proved to be more annoying when he later hooked a big old river Bream that he reckoned was knocking 8lb. I've seen the photos of it in the net and by a towel and it looks every bit in that ball park. Another impressive fish and it inspired me to have a crack at the Bream over ther past couple of weeks.

Sadly I failed miserably and took a bit of a spanking from the river for two visits. This week saw an upturn in fortunes and plenty of fish on the bank though.

No monster Perch though - a 1lb 4oz sample was the best of that species.

Another one around the pound mark showed up later in the day and spurred me into a trophy shot with the pin and one of my home made floats. I must admit that for £30, the reel (one of the original Marco Cortesi pins marketed by Dragon Carp) has proved to be a real bargain.

The obligatory Pike showed up by accident - this jack was taken on a Prawn intended for Perch!

Best fish of the day was a Bream of 4lb 5oz - far from a stunner though with it's odd shaped mouth.

I also suffered an annoying hook pull after a spirited fight from a decent Chub that looked in the 4lb+ range. Beyond that there were plenty of nice Dace showing, along with Roach to 6oz that would have seen me comfortably to a mid double figure bag. As always, the river was peaceful and there's no better place to while away a lazy late summer afternoon & evening trotting a stick float.

Somerset 2012

I was back down in Somerset at the back end of last week to catch up with my family and to grab some opportune fishing. I only squeezed in 2 sessions, both of which were during the middle part of the day on two hot days. Not ideal by any means, but I was just happy to grab a few hours here and there to wet a line.

The first session saw me on a river that I have developed a liking for over the years - the River Brue. It's a small river that I'm sure many people very easily overlook in favour of other larger and better known natural venues in the area. I've generally found it quite reliable and there's a cracking little field owed by a farmer who charges a couple of quid a day - that's when he can bothered to collect the money. You can even park by your peg.

The reliability angle I mentioned earlier took a bit of hit on this occasion and it was tougher than normal. The water was unusually tanking through - the result of the Environment Agency pumping excess water off the Somerset Levels via the river and out to sea. The water did briefly return to a normal sluggish flow at one point and I thought I'd have a window of opportunity to make hay. It didn't take long to start tanking again as the floodgates must have been reopened! The level then dropped 4 inches in about half an hour.

Water fluctuations aside I did manage a few Chub up to half a pound, a small Silver Bream, plus the odd small Roach and Perch. The only fish of any size was a Bream of 5lb 8oz.

My other session was on the River Huntspill at Gold Corner. This is an area I've fished many times over the past 30 years and I'm quite fond of. It's in the middle of nowhere, albeit the end of the section has the distinctive landmark of a large pumping station. It's stuffed with fish.

I decided to tackle the deeper water near to the pumping station and gave it a bit of stick with the groundbait to see if any of the resident slabs would show up. The picture below is not of me shaking my fist at the river in some Basil Fawlty style rant! There is a ball of bait sailing out into the distance just above the smaller of the trees.

It was a fish a chuck, but nothing of any size - but I really wasn't bothered. A Perch of bang on a pound showed up.

I was having loads of Pike trouble during the session - often inevitable in a water with loads of fish and loads of weed cover close to the bank. I had a couple of fish nobbled on the way in, but the Pike let go and the fish seemed to get a lucky escape. A third encounter later on in the session took a different turn and it became obvious that the Pike had got itself hooked up. I reduced the scoreline to Pike 2, Sean 1!

Lesson learned though - I didn't have any Pike gear on me again. I must drop some basic lures and traces into my kit for emergency summer Piking.

An All Too Brief Visit

I had a Somerset engagement lined up at the weekend, but I couldn't resist the chance of hooking up with other friends who had booked in for a couple of days on the Wye. So, I took a bit of a detour and ended up in the heart of the Wye valley for a brief session before heading off down to the West Country.

It was nice to be greeted by an altogether friendlier river that was 10-12ft down on my last visit. Being fickle, a bit more colour wouldn't have done any harm on this occasion, but I wasn't going to complain.

Ever since my first visit a couple of years ago, the Wye has totally grabbed me. It's just a stunning place to visit whether the fish are biting or not. On this occasion, it was more struggles for all of us during the few hours I was there. The timing wasn't the best, as the best of the morning had passed and then it's often late evening into dusk and beyond before things pick up again. We all need an excuse!

I managed just a single Barbel of 6lb 12oz.





There's always next month...

I was back on the Avon this week and I returned to the same peg that threw up a varied haul of fish a week ago. For the first time this season I was faced with a river at normal level and running clear.

As with last week I kept things pretty simple, concentrating most of the feed on a inside line about 7ft deep. I mostly stuck to a single rod approach - using the long float rod and holding the float back about 6 inches over depth. I deployed a sleeper rod with a straight lead from time to time, but it didn't yield any success on the bigger baits.

I had a positive start on my first cast with a Perch of 1lb 1oz taking a liking to my 3 maggot hookbait. It didn't lead to a frenzy though and bites were noticeably harder to entice this week in the bright and clear conditions.

I persevered though and stuck to the plan of building up a bed of feed on the inside. Once again I was using the same creative mix of goodies that worked well the previous week. Eventually I connected with a better fish but it tore off at a hell of rate and caught me out slightly as I was busy changing the channel on my radio when the bite came - typical!

It darted straight into the lily pads but I managed to coax it out. Control was only maintained momentarily, as the fish then decided to resume psychotic mode again and was back into more snags. I moved it again and got a brief glimpse of a darker looking fish before things went totally wrong and the fish slipped off into the depths. It was certainly a Carp or Tench. On what was proving a trickier day, I thought my chance of landing something half respectable had gone.

I pressed on and continued to catch some fish on maggots and caster - mostly Dace and small Perch. Things then went altogether more solid as I hooked into another spirited fish that led me a merry dance around the river, but thankfully it kept out of snags. It turned out to be foul hooked, which explained the tough fight. A Tench of 4lb 5oz - my first from the river for nearly 2 years.

My final act was to put a welcome Bream on the bank - 4lb 9oz.

A tougher day, but I still slipped into double figures for the overall bag of fish. Brian had a frustrating day which wasn't helped by a couple of Pike taking the mickey. Both slipped his hook when he turned his attentions to catching them.

A change of scenery is on the cards next week, as we're heading back to the Wye. I'm crossing my fingers for better conditions this time.

A Bit of Variety

With the river levels high last week I gave it a miss, but I was itching to get back this week. The Avon was bang on - 5 inches up and dropping, but still with a nice bit of colour to it. The weather was glorious for once and this time I was on an afternoon/evening jaunt with Brian. 

I settled on peg 4 and had to do a bit of gardening work to make a comfortable access point for my rods. It's a nice peg with a bit of slack water about 7-8ft deep close in, with the main flow being about a third of the way over. With lily pads close in and bushes either side, it makes for a feature packed swim with plenty of cover.

I kicked off with 2 straight lead set ups close in on different lines, feeding golf ball sized balls of groundbait over the top, with the occasional bait bait dropper full of maggots. The groundbait was a right old concoction containing a 50/50 mix of explosive feeder and my own blitzed up bread mix which was enfused with honey and molasses. Caster, hemp, pellets, chopped tutti frutti mega corn and normal sweetcorn were also added. How could anything refuse that?!

Well, the answer is that they couldn't refuse it. I won't pretend it was all down to the groundbait - it could just be any combination of conditions, luck, or maybe even a smidgeon of skill or good tactics. Either way, the fish fed pretty solidly throughout. Roach were first to show, but only small - 5oz at best - but I'm always happy to catch them. Gudgeon, Dace and Bleak also got in on the act.

I then lost a couple of fish - both to hook pulls, albeit one was foulhooked and left me with a single large scale on the hook. It felt heavy and Carp-like. The Perch started to show soon after and the best one was my first which went 1lb exactly.  

I had one other better stamp Perch of about 14oz.

The next fish of note was a bit of an odd one. It fought like crazy but I still thought it was a Bream as I netted it. The more I looked at it, I thought it was a hybrid of some kind. Whatever it is, it was a nice enough fish at 2lb 13oz.

The inevitable Eels then turned up - two of them back to back - one from each side of the swim. That's six I've seen this year in four visits (4 for me, 2 for Brian). All have been in the 12oz to 1lb range. I've heard reports from other bloggers saying they are catching them too this year. Maybe the reported decline (which I've seen quoted at 95-98%) is a little exaggerated?

Next up was an unplanned predator encounter. I have a knack of getting attached to them when small fish I've hooked are snaffled, but on this occasion the Pike decided to make its presence all too obvious. There was an almighty splash just in front of my right hand swim that made me jump out of my skin. Brian was even stirred on the next peg and we both thought something huge was down there.

A few minutes later and another splash was made in the same spot, so I decided it was time to take action. An overly active Pike in the swim wasn't condusive to what I was doing! Brian had some Sprats on him and I borrowed his ever ready telescopic Piking set up. It took just one cast to find the culprit - a Jack of of 4-5lb.

The Pike was swiftly transported 100 yards away and released in peg 10 and I set about building the swim again. By now I had given up on one of the lead rods and replaced it with a light homemade stick float set up on my long 17ft rod with a centre pin reel. Although ideally rigged for trotting I just wanted to change the presentation and stick to the area I'd baited throughout. The long rod enabled me to leave the rod on the rest to simply hold the float in position just a couple of foot from from rod tip.

I was rewarded with a sail away bite that saw line screaming off the centre pin. Only having a 3lb bottom and being in a snaggy swim, I feared the worst when the fish headed towards an overhanging tree. Luckily it turned out to mid river and I spent a few minutes patiently playing it before Brian did the honours with the net. It was a Common Carp of exactly 6lb and gave a great fight on light gear. That's only my third river Carp, all of which have come from this stretch and have been within 6oz of each other.

I finished proceedings with a definite Bream of about 2lbs.

In total I managed 9 species on the day - Roach, Perch, Dace, Bleak, Gudgeon, Eel, Bream, Pike and Carp - not forgetting a possible hybrid. I don't think I've done that many in a session before and I missed out on an easy one - Chub! My total weight was certainly over 20lbs.

It's nice to see the river in such good nick. There were loads of fry in the margins and fish were topping throughout the session. Long may it continue.